Hello,

Have put this into English Family and now feel should have gone alphabetical under managers,forgive me if we have duplicated.

 

I have hit a real"brick-wall"in my search for further information on my ancestors' William and Maria Bennett.I have them on the English 1841 Census but that is the sum total of it.

 

William is listed as 35 and Maria 30,so,I expect they could be anything up to 4yrs over those ages.William is listed as a Police Officer living in Renwick or Benwick Row,Manchester(I'm not sure of the Row,could be some other variant,Beswick?).

I checked 2 images of the Census Book,pages 7 and 8 and there are 2 other Policemen listed,William Baxindale and William Coadingly.Other occupations listed were the usual mixture you would expect in a very much working class area.

 

An odd aspect is that a search of the IGI turned up the baptism records of 6 of the 7 children that I have listed,but records of Williams birth or of his marriage I couldn't find,so I don't have Maria's Maiden Name either.

 

Their daughter Jane married Feargus Bronterre Foster on the 6/10/1860 in the St Jude's Parish Church,Manchester.William Bennett is listed as Father of the Bride,occupation Police Officer(of course it doesn't add any other detail and,I suppose,he could have been dead by then)witnesses were Lawrence and Margaret Foster,siblings of the groom.

 

I have been in touch with the Manchester Police Museum and they confirm that the Manchester Police Force started in 1839 but that a search of cards from their records did not turn up any of the 3 Williams' I listed above.They speculate that there was a Parish of St Jude's in Ancoats which would have been near Deansgate,but there is no record of Renwick/Benwick/Beswick(or any other variant)Row.It seems that Policemen were given an allowence for living accommodation as there were no Police Quarters at the time.

 

I have traced marriages for 3 of the children of William and Maria(as well as that of my ancestor Jane)but have found no trace of Elizabeth,Sara Ann or Mary Ann who appear to have disappeared along with their parents.

 

Would really appreciate any assistance in solving this mystery.

 

Bast wishes,

 

Rob Kellett,Morrinsville,New Zealand