Client:
Date:May 13, 2011

My Leedham Antecedents

LEEDHAM BRANCH OF THE FAMILY

William Leedham and Mary Smith

As seen earlier in the Census records of Mary Leedham is recorded as a ‘widow’ in 1861 and 1851 when she was 56 and 45 years old respectively. In the 1851 Census her youngest child, Jebez, is four years old so fair to assume her husband was alive around 1846 and consequently can be found on the Census of 1841.

1841 CENSUS

 

Road /Street Name Age Occupation Born in the County
Black Friars (Street?) WILLIAM LEEDHAM 38 FWK (Frame Work Kitter) Yes
Mary Leedham 35 Yes
Elizabeth Leedham 9 Yes
Maria (Mary Ann?) Leedham 7 Yes
Sarah Leedham 5
Thomas Leedham 3
Emma Leedham 1
Mary Smith 60 No

As can be seen 35 year old William Leedham is a Framework Knitter, living with his wife Mary and their 5 children, in Black Friars Street, Leicester. With the family is a ‘Mary Smith’ age 60 years old. Her relationship to the family will be revealed soon…

 

WILLIAM’S BIRTH – 1802

William’s age on the 1841 is recorded as 38 years which places his year of birth around 1802 or 1803.

There is a record for the baptism of William Leedham on 29th August 1802 at All Saints Church, Leicester which also show William’s birth date as 14th August 1802.

All Saints’ Church is a redundant Anglican church in High Cross Street.

The baptish record also indcaites his William’s parents were John & Elizabeth Leedham

LEICESTER RECORDS OFFICE: Check Parish Records for All Saints parish

 

A MARRIAGE – 1830

Their first child, Elizabeth, as born around 1832, so I will seek the marriage of the couple around the years 1830 / 1831, and a record is found at the end of 1830.

12th Oct 1830 at St. Nicholas Church, Leicester WILLIAM LEEDHAM married MARY SMITH

 

LEICESTER RECORDS OFFICE: Check Parish Records for St. Nicholas parish

St Nicholas Church is probably the oldest place of worship in Leicester, with a history dating back to the Saxon period. It shares a common boundary wall with the Roman bath complex known as the Jewry Wall, and there are Roman columns in the churchyard. The church incorporates Roman bricks into its walls, and retains examples of Saxon stonework.

The church was built on a pre-Christian sacred site. The Roman columns in the churchyard came from the basilica, or town hall, which stood near this site (or it may possibly lie directly under the church). Leicester served as the seat of a bishopric from the 7th-9th century, and it is believed that St Nicholas was the cathedral of the Saxon bishops.

By 1825 the church was in an extremely poor condition, and plans were made for its demolition. Instead, it was extensively renovated between 1875 and 1884.

 

WILLIAM’S DEATH – 1846

There is a record to indicate he died in Q2 1846 and another entry, with a unconfirmed source , that gives the date of his death as 1st June of that year, 1846. His abode is recorded as Jewry Wall Street, St Mary, Leicester.

A SUMMARY

William Leedham’s life based on records found to date:

  • 1802 – Born 14th August 1802
  • 1802 – Baptised 29th August 1802 in All Saint Church, Leicester . Parents recorded as John & Elizabeth Leedham
  • 1830 – Married 12th October 1830, at the age of 28 years old, to Mary M Smith of Flore in Northamptonshire in St Nicholas Church Leicester.
  • 1832 – Birth of daughter, Elizabeth12th May 1832

Interestingly the record of Elizabeth’s baptism is within the records of Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers not the Church of England. It appears in the records for the George Street Chapel. Leicester. (Primitive Methodists). (1813-1834 Piece 2325)


“Elizabeth Leedham, Daughter of William Leedham
and Mary, his wife of Friars in the Town and County
of Leicester, was born May 12th 1832 and Baptised Aug 16th.
Father is a Frame work knitter. Mother maiden name
Mary Smith”

Primitive Methodism came to Leicester in 1818. The first Chapel erected was in George Street, which opened in 1819, and could seat 900 people. The baptism above took place in 1832, 14 years after the chapel opened. By 1858, the trustees of George Street realised that the growing industrial expansion of Leicester meant there was a need for a new church in the as yet undeveloped area around Curzon Street, where the streets were planned but not built. I cannot locate any photographs or drawing of the chapel,

  • 1834 – Birth of daughter, Mary Ann 
  • 1836 – Birth of daughter, Sarah 
  • 1838 – Birth of son, Thomas
  • 1840 – Birth of daughter, Emma
  • 1841 – Census. 6th June 1841. Age 38. Occupoation Frame Work Knitter. Living in Black Friars, Leicester with wife Mary 35, and children, Elizabeth age 9, Maria 7, Sarah 5, Thomas 3,  and Emma age 1 year. Also is the house in Mary Smith, age 60, this is his mother-in-law, his wife’s mother.
  • 1842 – Birth of daughter, Jane
  • 1844 – Birth of son, William Smith Leedham
  • 1846 – Died 1st June 1846 – age 43 years old. Residence recorded as Jewry Wall Street, St Mary’s, Leicester.  His wife Mary (née Smith) becomes a widow at the age of around 41 years with 5 children whose ages ranged from around 14 to 2 years old.

 

Back another generation…

Next Page:  The Parents of William Smith Leedham