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Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Family of William Elliot, son of Charles Elliot, of Uxbridge, Middlesex, England


In our previous post we found a number of birth records of the family of William Elliot (son of Charles and Lydia) and his wife Elizabeth Best, daughter of William and Joanna Best.  William Elliot's will, which was proved on May 20, 1841, can help us identify some marriages and deaths in the family between 1799, when the birth of their first child was registered, and 1841, when William died. 

"This is the last will and testament of me William Elliot late of Uxbridge in the county of Middlesex but now of Hillingdon End of the same county Gentleman....."

The upward mobility of some parts of  this family is quite fascinating to me.  Again, William seems to have been a working class man turned Gentleman by the end of his life.  He leaves an estate of "furniture...linen, china, books, wines and liquors"...as well as copyhold and leasehold land and possibly some kind of investment stocks or securities.  He names as his heirs "my dear wife Elizabeth"  and "my five children that is to say the said Eliza and Thomas Elliot Sarah the wife of the said Charles Woodbridge, William Elliot and Rebecca the wife of John Jackson".  Charles Woodbridge was an Uxbridge solicitor and one of the executors of this will;  he was a partner the family firm Woodbridge and Sons, the same firm that handled Charles Elliot's will.   I'm guessing Eliza was unmarried as William does not name a husband for her;  impossible to tell if any of the sons are married since the convention does not seem to require naming the spouses of male heirs.   However, having the names of William's five surviving children and and two of their spouses brings us a long way.

There are a few discrepancies among the children named in his will and the birth records I have found for this family.  We have birth records for Thomas, Eliza, Sarah, Rebecca,  two children named William (only one must have survived) and two children, Mary Ann and Joseph, who are not named in the will and have presumably died.   I did find a burial record for a Mary Ann Elliot who died in 1824;  I think it is probably William and Elizabeth's child, even though the parents are not named, since the birth date would fit and the burial was in Uxbridge (Uxbridge, Providence Chapel (Independent), 1812-1826).  



 Here is the marriage record for Charles Woodbridge and Sarah Elliot:


Hillingdon St. John the Baptist Church, Middlesex.  Charles Woodbridge and Sarah Elliot, June 1, 1825.  Witnessed by Eliza Elliot, probably Sarah's sister.


Was there already a family connection?  Nineteen years earlier there was another Woodbridge-Elliot marriage.

Westminster, St. George Hanover Square Church, 1806.  Henry Woodbridge and Jane Elliot. 

Ealing, Ealing St. Mary Church, July 8, 1831.  Wedding of John Jackson and Rebecca Elliot. 

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