Introduction
My 2nd great-grandmother Elizabeth Ann Smeed married my 2nd great-grandfather John Andrew Black on 24 Jul 1838 at St. Giles in the Fields Church in Holborn, Camden, London. But the question of who her parents were was not immediately obvious to me.
Here is the marriage record.
To find out when and where she was born we can use the census reports. She and her husband are missing from the 1841 census but she was recorded in the 1851 through 1901 censuses. Here are the entries:
On the night of Sunday 30 March 1851 she was at 4 Mary Ann Place in St. George Southwark, London with her husband. Her age was 34, if correct that means she was born between 1 Apr 1816 and 30 Mar 1817. Her birthplace is Ramsgate, Kent.
On the night of 7 Apr 1861 she was at 36 Stowage St, Greenwich with her husband. Her age was 44 meaning born between 7 Apr 1816 and 8 Apr 1817. Her birth place is Margate, Kent (about 5 miles from Ramsgate).
On the night of 2 Apr 1871 she was living in Deptford with her husband. The address looks like 3 Sandringham Rd. Her age was 54 meaning born between 2 Apr 1816 and 3 Apr 1817. Her birthplace is Margate again.
On the night of 3 Apr 1881 she was at 56 Doddington Grove, Lambeth. She was a widow and living with her daughter and son-in-law. Her age was 64 meaning born between 3 Apr 1816 and 4 Apr 1817. Her birthplace is Margate again.
On the night of 5 Apr 1891 she was at 13 Miller Rd, Preston, Lancashire living with her sone Andrew John and his family. Her age was 74 meaning born between 5 Apr 1816 and 6 Apr 1817. Her birthplace is Margate still.
Finally, on the night of 31 Mar 1901 she was at 265 Fletcher Rd in Preston, still living with her son Andrew and his family. Her age was 84 meaning born between 31 Mar 1816 and 1 Apr 1817. Her birthplace is Margate still.
Possible candidate baptisms
So, when looking for a baptism, we are looking for an Elizabeth Ann Smeed born in Margate, Kent (or possibly Ramsgate) between 7 Apr 1816 and 31 Mar 1817. Her father was William Smeed and was a Stone Mason who died before 24 Jul 1838.
So, let’s search for any Elizabeth Smeed baptized between 1806 and 1826 in Kent. Actually, since she was “of full age” in 1838 (meaning 21) that would mean she must have been born before 24 July 1817 but we will include up to 1820 for good measure.
- 29 Oct 1815, Elizabeth Smead born to Elizabeth Harlow, baptized in Sittingbourne
- 05 Jan 1817, Elizabeth Ann Smead born to Mary Ann Smead, baptized in Margate
- 12 Jan 1817, Elisabeth Smeed born to William and Caroline Smeed, baptized in Cowden
- 10 May 1818, Eliza Ann Sneed born to Ann, baptized in Lewisham
Two of these stand out, the Margate one because it matches the place of birth and the middle name matches, the Cowden one because the father’s name matches and the surname is spelled exactly as it is on the marriage record. These two both match the birth date (assuming she was baptized soon after being born).
Cowden is 70 miles from Margate – on the opposite edge of Kent. Let’s start by investigating the Margate baptism of the daughter of Mary Ann Smead.
Elizabeth Ann, daughter of Mary Ann Smead
The image of the baptism record is available:
We can find the baptism of Mary Ann fairly easily as there is only one Mary Ann Smeed or Smead baptized nearby. She was baptized in Sandwich (St. Peter) to William and Susanah Smeed on 6 Mar 1786. Sandwich is only 10 miles from Margate:
From the baptism of her daughter Elizabeth Ann we can assume that the child was illegitimate since no father’s name is given. But, if we look for marriages soon after the baptism we find that Mary Ann married a William Buzar just 2 months after the child was baptized. So it is possible that William Buzar was the biological father.
The marriage was at St. Lawrence, Thanet which is on the edge of Ramsgate, midway between Margate and Sandwich on 11 Mar 1817:
Her father William Smeed was a witness.
Mary Ann went on to have 4 more children with William Buzar:
- William Smeed Buzar, baptized 14 Feb 1819 at St. Lawrence, Thanet, Kent
- John Buzar, baptized 5 Aug 1821 at St. Lawrence, Thanet, Kent
- Susan Smeed Buzar, baptized 26 Oct 1823 at St. Lawrence, Thanet, Kent
- Mary Ann Buzar, baptized 4 Mar 1827 at St. Lawrence, Thanet, Kent
The important evidence I didn’t initially see…
If we now look back at the marriage record at the top of the page, where Elizabeth Ann Smeed married John Andrew Black we can see that the first witness was William Buzar. This could be Elizabeth’s step-father or her half brother, either way it shows a connection between this couple and the Buzar family. The other witness, Mary Dewar, could also a connection from the Buzar family. William Buzar’s sister Elizabeth married a John Dewar and they had a daughter, Mary, in 1808.
Furthermore, when Elizabeth Ann Smeed’s (half?) brother John Buzar married in 1840 (also at St. Giles in the Fields) John Andrew Black and Elizabeth Ann Black were witnesses:
So this provides fairly conclusive evidence that the Elizabeth Ann Smeed who married John Andrew Black was the daughter of Mary Ann Smeed who married William Buzar.
But… hold on
What about the fact that the marriage record for Elizabeth Ann Smeed marrying John Andrew Black says her father was William Smeed and was a Stone Mason who died before 24 Jul 1838? Well, we have established that she was an illegitimate child. Apparently, in this case it was quite common to list the mother’s father or brother as the father to avoid embarrassment. In this case the mother’s father was William Smeed (1750-1824) and the mother’s eldest brother was William Smeed (1777-1802) so both were deceased. We don’t know the occupation of either.
The other Elizabeth – William and Caroline’s daughter
OK so we are pretty sure that the Elizabeth Ann Smeed baptized in Margate on 5 Jan 1817 to Mary Ann Smeed is the same person who married John Andrew Black. But let’s check what happened to the Elizabeth Smeed baptized in Cowden on 12 Jan 1817 to William and Caroline Smeed. Just to be sure.
William and Caroline had 11 children, all but the last baptized in Cowden. Elizabeth was the 2nd born.
It is a little hard to track Elizabeth as she doesn’t appear in the 1841, 1851 or 1861 census (so far as I can tell). She does appear in the 1871, 1881 and 1891. It appears that she had an illegitimate child, James, in 1840 who was raised by her parents.
In the 1841 census the 9 younger children are all with William and Caroline at Brooklands Farm in East Grinstead, along with grandson James (the later censuses tell us that he is a grandson).
The eldest child, William, age 25, is married and living in Lambeth with 2 children. Elizabeth is not recorded anywhere.
The 1851 census shows that James was born in Lambeth and is William and Caroline’s grandson.
I suspect that James is the illegitimate child of daughter Elizabeth. There is a matching baptism (9 years after the birth):
So, William and Caroline’s daughter Elizabeth had an illegitimate son James in 1840. He was baptized at the same time as the daughter of her brother William in Lambeth. Looking at later censuses it appears that James was raised by William and Caroline in East Grinstead on their farm.
Eight years later, in 1857, Elizabeth married Richard Dunmall in Southwark. The marriage record lists her father William Smeed and his correct occupation of Farmer. Elizabeth’s siblings Edward and Ann were witnesses.
Elizabeth’s father William died on 7 May 1880 in East Grinstead. So, we can see that her father’s details do not match the marriage details at the top of this post. In 1838 he was not deceased and not a stonemason.
If we look at the marriage certificate for when this Elizabeth’s illegitimate son, James, was married we have another example of the father listed on the marriage certificate being incorrect:
James gives the details of his mother’s father as his father (just as Elizabeth Ann Smeed did when marrying John Andrew Black).
The two Elizabeth’s connection
As it turns out, the two Elizabeth Smeeds that were baptized in 1817 are actually related. The Elizabeth baptized in Cowden is the 3rd cousin 1x removed of the Elizabeth baptized in Margate. The connection look like this:
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
William Smeed (1750-1824) bap. Sandwich
John Smeed (1719-1775) bap. Tonbridge
Nicholas Smeed (1662-1718)
Nicholas Smeed (1703-1775) bap. Tonbridge
John Smeed (1727-) bap. Tonbridge
Elizabeth Smeed (1766-) bap. Tonbridge
William Smeed (1791-1880) bap. Otford
Elizabeth Smeed (1817-1898) bap. Cowden
DNA Evidence
Another way to confirm ancestry (or at least to strengthen evidence) is through DNA. I have used Ancestry DNA and have found some DNA matches that strengthen the evidence above.
Common ancestor Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858)
I have a DNA match with a descendant of Mary Ann Smeed that looks like this:
Myself
Private
Annie Louisa Black (1886-1953) b. Aberdeen
Robert Black (1852-1911) bap. Lambeth
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
John Buzar (1821-1856) b. Ramsgate
Elizabeth Ann Buzar (1852-1899) b. Whitechapel
Stephen Henry Tappin (1877-) b. Gloucestershire
Private
Private
Match
So the DNA match is my 4th cousin 1x removed if my tree is correct. The DNA prediction is that we are 5th-8th cousins (DNA match is 7 cM | 1 segment). If William Buzar was not the biological father of Elizabeth Ann Smeed we would expect there to be a slightly more distant DNA connection than 4th cousin 1x removed, which is perhaps what we are seeing here (though there is randomness in the DNA).
Common Ancestor William Smeed (1750-1824)
There are actually three different DNA matches (other than the one above) for this.
First, through Mary Ann Smeed’s brother Slodden:
Myself
Private
Annie Louisa Black (1886-1953) b. Aberdeen
Robert Black (1852-1911) bap. Lambeth
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
William Smeed (1750-1824) bap. Sandwich
Slodden Smeed (1783-1846) b. Sandwich
William Malpass Smeed (1818-1873) b. Sandwich
George Arthur Smeed (1854-1883) b. Lambeth
Eleanor Caroline Smeed (1877-1961) bap. Birmingham
Hilda Nellie Light (1911-1979) b. West Bromwich
Private
Match
So the DNA match is my 5th cousin 1x removed according to my tree. The DNA prediction is 5th-8th cousins (DNA match is 7cM | 1 segment).
Then, two connections through Mary Ann’s brother John Smeed.
Myself
Private
Annie Louisa Black (1886-1953) b. Aberdeen
Robert Black (1852-1911) bap. Lambeth
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
William Smeed (1750-1824) bap. Sandwich
John Smeed (1791-1865) bap. Sandwich
Henry Jones Smeed (1832-1900) b. Canterbury
Elizabeth Louisa Smeed (1859-1919) b. Ramsgate
Ivy Rita Housden (1894-1986) b. New South Wales
Private
Match
So this DNA match is my 5th cousin according to my tree. The DNA prediction is 5th-8th cousins (DNA match is 16cM | 1 segment).
Myself
Private
Annie Louisa Black (1886-1953) b. Aberdeen
Robert Black (1852-1911) bap. Lambeth
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
William Smeed (1750-1824) bap. Sandwich
John Smeed (1791-1865) bap. Sandwich
Henry Jones Smeed (1832-1900) b. Canterbury
Elizabeth Louisa Smeed (1859-1919) b. Ramsgate
Harry Smeed Housden (1898-1967) b. New South Wales
Private
Match
So this DNA match is my 5th cousin according to my tree. The DNA prediction is 5th-8th cousins (DNA match is 17cM | 2 segments).
Common ancestor Nicholas Smeed (1662-1718)
This is a remote connection but could confirm the connection between the Sandwich and Cowden/East Grinstead Smeeds.
Myself
Private
Annie Louisa Black (1886-1953) b. Aberdeen
Robert Black (1852-1911) bap. Lambeth
Elizabeth Ann Smeed (1817-1906) bap. Margate
Mary Ann Smeed (1786-1858) bap. Sandwich
William Smeed (1750-1824) bap. Sandwich
John Smeed (1719-1775) bap. Tonbridge
Nicholas Smeed (1662-1718)
Nicholas Smeed (1703-1775) bap. Tonbridge
John Smeed (1727-) bap. Tonbridge
Elizabeth Smeed (1766-) bap. Tonbridge
William Smeed (1791-1880) bap. Otford
Elizabeth Smeed (1817-1898) bap. Cowden
James Smeed (1840-1933) b. Lambeth
George Hubert Smeed (1883-1965) b. East Grinstead
Private (1920-) b. Perth, Western Australia
Match
So this DNA match is my 7th cousin 1x removed according to my tree. The DNA prediction is 5th-8th cousins (DNA match is 7cM | 1 segment).
There are actually two more illegitimate births in this connection. William Smeed (1791-1880) (the farmer in East Grinstead) was illegitimate and his grandson James Smeed was also.
Who was Elizabeth Ann Smeed’s biological father?
So we have pretty clear evidence that her mother was Mary Ann Smeed.
The only candidate we have for her father is William Buzar, who married Mary Ann a couple of months after Elizabeth Ann was born.
We really don’t know for sure if her was her biological father though. If it was William Buzar wouldn’t she have been baptized with the last name of Buzar? Also, all four of the children baptized to William and Mary Ann attended Greenwich Hospital School but Elizabeth Ann did not. The school provided free education to the children of Royal Navy pensioners (which William Buzar was). If Elizabeth Ann was his acknowledged biological child wouldn’t she have attended? It may be that, because she was born illegitimate, he could not provide evidence to have her admitted.
There are two options to gather more evidence.
- DNA. If we can find a DNA match between a descendent of Elizabeth Ann Smeed and a descendant of William Buzar’s parents that would be good evidence. I have not found one yet.
- Bastardy returns or other documents. As described here there were various records kept of illegitimate births because parishes did not want to be responsible for supporting the child. In this case these records do not appear to be digitized yet, but this page suggests that they are scheduled to be made available. Possibly old newspapers of that time could also contain information.
My motivation in writing this post
I enjoy writing posts like this as it provides an incentive to dig deeper.
But also I’m writing this because, currently, more family trees on Ancestry.com are using the Cowden baptism than the Margate one. This causes problems with DNA features like the new ThruLines that look at all family trees on Ancestry.
I’m hoping to get a few of these existing family trees to switch to using the Margate baptism and listing Mary Ann Smeed as the mother of the Elizabeth Ann Smeed who married John Andrew Black.
On my tree I have listed William Buzar as her father. I’m not sure if he was her biological father but he was at least her step-father and we don’t have any other candidates for biological father currently. By listing him as the biological father I’m more likely to find any DNA matches that would confirm that.
Other possible parents from Ancestry family trees
There are 21 other Ancestry family trees that show up when I look under “Hints” for Elizabeth Ann Smeed. Here are some of the other parentage from those trees.
William Smeed (1777-1838) and Mary Curling (1785-1862)
I assume that this is based on the idea that the 1817 Margate baptism that only listed Mary Ann Smead as the mother was accidentally missing the father. I.e. the Mary Ann Smead given as the mother was born Mary Ann Curling and married a William Smeed. So, if you choose to prioritize the father on the marriage certificate over the missing father on the baptism this makes some sense.
Note that the image of the baptism is not available in Ancestry yet – only on FindMyPast. So people only looking on Ancestry they could assume there was a transcription error that missed the father.
Here is the marriage record of a William Smeed marrying Mary Curling. The marriage was on 6 Jun 1808 in Herne, Kent. The groom was living in Reculver which is nearby.
These trees have the father as William Smeed born 1777 to William Smeed and Susanna Noakes. This William actually died in 1802 – before the date that a William Smeed married Mary Curling (1808). The burial record is available on FindMyPast and says: “William Smeed, Aged 24 years, from Sandwich” – which matches the birth date. Here is an image:
I have not found any records of a Mary Ann Curling on Ancestry or FMP. The marriage record calls her just Mary Curling.
William Smeed (1777-1838) and Ann Feakins
I haven’t worked out the logic of this one yet. I can’t find any marriage records of a William Smeed marrying anyone with a last name of Feakins.
William Smeed (1776-1838) and Sarah (1781-)
One tree has the father as William Gurney Smeed with the same dates.
Ancestors and Cousins 