John and Maria DARLING of Bedford

Brocket and Brockett descendants now live in New Zealand and Australia, but no longer in the UK.

Contents of this page:

1. Background
2. Maria’s parentage
3. Children
4. Other contemporary Johns

Background

Who John’s parents were wasn’t known for a long time. The clue was found in the 1851 census: he was b c 1798 in Colworth, Bedfordshire. Colworth, lying in the NE tip of Sharnbrook, was a tiny hamlet of a few houses, one of which was the home at that time of Andrew and Ann LAWSON.¹ They would clearly have been John’s parents. John’s Bedford parish before he married—St Mary—was also where Andrew was later buried. There is also the fact that John and Maria named one of their sons Andrew, an unusual Broket name at the time. Further strong evidence that John was part of the wider Bedfordshire Grouping comes from DNA of descendants showing identity with others from the Grouping.

Colworth was an ‘extra parochial parish’ without its own church. Marriages had to be solemnised in a Parish Church, whereas baptisms at this time could be performed in chapels or privately at home. So either because Andrew and Ann lived ‘extra parochial’ or because they had nonconformist leanings—or both—their children’s early baptisms weren’t recorded and some were performed late. No record of John’s baptism has been found at all.

The first record found of John is his marriage on 15 Jan 1821 in Bedford St Peter by banns, as John Brocket of Bedford St Mary, Bachelor, to Maria DARLING of Bedford St Peter, Spinster; witnesses James CURTIS, and Elizabeth SHARMAN.² John signed, Maria signed with her mark. Although married in a parish church, John and Maria appear to have maintained their non-conformist affiliations until from c 1828 when they baptised their children in Bedford St Cuthbert. They still llived in that parish till at least 1851.³

John’s occupation: In 1841 he was described as an Ostler—a stableman who looked after horses. But he was mostly described as a Labourer, e.g. in 1828, 1851, 53 and 56,⁴ and in 1857 at probable death.⁵

Census records for John and Maria and family:

1841: At Brown’s Court, Bedford St Cuthbert, John, aged 40, Ostler; Maria, 35; John, 14; Joseph, 9; Caleb, 3; Sarah 6 days—all born in the County.
1851: At 33 Brown’s Court, Bedford St Cuthbert, John, aged 53, Labourer, b Colworth, Beds; Maria, 48; Sarah, 10, Scholar; Andrew, 6, Scholar—the last 3 all born Bedford St Cuthbert. Son Caleb, 12, was a Scholar, living at Harpur Hospital, Harpur St, Bedford St Paul.
1861: Maria Brocket, Widow, aged 58 [i.e. b c 1803], born in Bedford, Nurse, was at 13 St Cuthbert, Bedford, in the household of Henry Jones, Bread Baker.⁶
1871 and 81: Maria, aged 66 and 76, was living at son John’s house, see below.

John probably died 23 Aug 1857 of fever, 1 month, in the Fever Hospital, Bedford, aged 60, ie b c 1797, Labourer,⁷ but this record may possibly have been of John of Blunham. By about this time John and Maria’s surviving sons—John, Joseph and Caleb—were working as Shoemakers in Northampton, the centre of the trade, and Maria may well have moved there then too—she was there by 1871 at least.⁸ She died 1889 in Northampton aged 84, ie b c 1805.⁹ Several other Bedfordshire Brokets moved to Northampton in the 1850s, like sisters Mary Anne and Caroline, d/o Joseph and Anne WRENCH of Biddenham—and Abraham of Bromham and family moved there in the early 1870s. The parents of William of Richmond, Cordwainer, born in Northampton c 1802, were probably another.

Maria’s parentage

Maria was b c 1803-5—in 1851 she gave her age as 48 and in 1871 as 66.¹⁰ She consistently gave her birthplace as Bedford in censuses. Between 1800-10 the IGI lists baptisms of 5 Maria DARLINGs and 25 Marys—only 1 of the total 30 in Bedfordshire. The 5 Marias were baptised:

1. 11 Apr 1803 All Saints, Wakefield, Yorkshire, daughter of John and Hannah
2. 25 Dec 1803 St Mary, Reading, daughter of Thomas and Sarah
3. Oct 1805 St Paul’s, Bedford, daughter of Richard and Mary, b 13 Oct 1804
4. 1 Oct 1806, St Peter, Worcester, daughter of Benjamin and Elisabeth
5. 16 Oct 1808, Sunningwell, Berkshire, daughter of Henry and Elizabeth, b 18 Sep.

The third—the daughter of Richard and Mary, b Bedford 13 Oct 1804—probably married John Brocket.

The name Joseph appears to have been important for John and Maria. They called their first son Joseph, then another after the first died. Was the first naming simply as a Biblical name, as with all their children’s names? Or did it have a family precedent? Was the second naming for one of these two reasons, or rather to revive a beloved son who had died aged 6? The IGI shows no connection between any Bedfordshire Richard DARLINGs and the 3 Bedfordshire Joseph DARLINGs of the previous generation, so Maria didn’t apparently have a grandfather Joseph. Nor did John. On the Broket side, the IGI recorded 8 Josephs in England between 1720-1820—none were recorded in Scottish BMD. Only 2 of the 8 were in Bedfordshire, and they were either contemporary to John or younger, but might one have been his brother?

1. married Dorothy ATKINSON 13 Nov 1738 Auckland St Andrew, Co Durham
2. s/o Robert and Hannah CUMMING bap 26 Nov 1764 Auckland St Andrew
3. s/o Robert and Hannah CUMMING bap 7 Aug 1768 Auckland St Andrew; father of no. 6
4. married Alice HILL c 1770 Kirkburton, West Yorkshire¹¹
5. s/o Dew and Harriot bap 21 Feb 1790 Hammersmith, London
6. s/o Robert and Margaret ELAMORE bap 7 Jan 1798 Sunderland
7. s/o James and Lucy BATES bap 25 Oct 1812 Bromham
8. married Ann WRENCH 28 Mar 1815 Biddenham.

Might the last one, Joseph of Biddenham, who married Ann WRENCH have been a brother of John? No record of his baptism has been found and his apparent birth date is suitable. However, it is much more likely that he was the son of John and Mary KENDAL of Biddenham.

Children

The couple were married in St Peter’s, Bedford but their first son was baptised in the Independent Old Meeting House, Mill Lane, Bedford. All their subsequent children were baptised in St Cuthbert’s C of E, Bedford. Sons John and Joseph married in Independent Chapels. Brockett descendants survive only from 2nd son Joseph.

1. James, b 4 Mar 1821, bap 20 Apr 1828 Bedford St Cuthbert¹²—the same day as brothers John and Joseph. There is no record of his burial in Bedford in the NBI, as of his brothers Joseph and Thomas, but he wasn’t at home for the 1841 census, when he would have been c 20. Much later, the 1881 census recorded a James, Labourer aged 60 [ie b c 1821], b Bedford, as a Lodger in a household up in Lanchester, Durham. Then in 1896, in all probablility the same James, General Labourer, died in Fusehill Workhouse, Carlisle, aged 75 [ie b c 1821].¹³ This man was probably also the James recorded at 1a Adams Place, Finsbury, London, in the 1871 census, Bricklayer’s Labourer, married to Sarah, 40. His age was given as 45 [ie b c 1826] and birthplace as London, but both these census data are notoriously open to error, deliberate or accidental. In this case, the enumerator made mistakes with the ages of James, Sarah and the four following entries, which he crossed out and corrected as well as making a number of other omissions on that part of the page rendering it not fully reliable, and making the birthplace and age of James, as recorded, open to question. There is also the possibility that James may not have given his correct age anyway, seeing that Sarah was only 40. Considering also that there are no known James Brockets born 1815-35 other than:
   1. this s/o John and Maria;
   2. James s/o Joseph and Anne WRENCH, b 1822 Biddenham, who was recorded in Biddenham in 1871 and who had died before 1881;
   3. James, b c 1817, of Durham City, recorded there in 1861 and 81;

   the likelihood is strong that the three records in question—from 1871, 1881 and 1896—are all of this son of John and Maria. No death was recorded of Sarah in GRO after 1871.

2. Joseph, b 2 Jun, bap 29 Aug 1823 in the Bunyan Congregational Meeting House, Bedford.¹⁴ He was later rebaptised—in the established church—20 Apr 1828, with 2 brothers in Bedford St Cuthbert,¹⁵ but he died the next year and was buried 25 Mar 1829 Bedford St Cuthbert, aged 6¹⁶
3. John, b 19 Jul 1827, bap 20 Apr 1828 Bedford St Cuthbert.¹⁷ He was probably the John Brocket apprenticed to Thomas Gostick, Boot and Shoe Maker of Carlton in 1840/1.¹⁸ To be distingished from John of Bedford, b c 1828, s/o James and Lucy BATES. On 12 May 1853 at Castle Hill Independent Chapel, Northampton, aged 25, Bachelor, Shoemaker, residing Bailiff Street, Northampton, he married Eliza BATES, 23, Spinster, residing the Green, witness Joseph Brocket.¹⁹ Eliza died 14 Feb 1861 of phthisis, in Bouverie St, Northampton, aged 33, wife of John Brockett, Shoemaker Journeyman, informant Mary Ann BRADLEY.²⁰ No 2nd marriage is recorded for John after 1861. +Census records for John and family:
   

   1861: John was in Northampton, alone, aged 33, with son Joseph, 2—the only Broket household there.
   1871: At 10 Maple St, Northampton St Sepulchre, next door to brother Joseph: John, Widower, Shoe Maker, aged 43, b Bedford; son John, 12, Scholar, b Northampton; mother Maria, 66; brother Caleb, unm, 32, Clicker (Shoe).
   1881: At 15 Queen Road, Northampton St Andrew: John Brockell—‘t’s uncrossed—Widower, Bootmaker, aged 53, born Bedford St Cuthbert; son John J, unm, 22, Boot Clicker, born Northampton St Andrew; mother Maria, Widow, 76, Annuitant, born Bedford St Paul; Annie, Visitor, 6, Scholar; Arthur, Visitor, 5; both born Northampton St Giles.²¹ Comment: Annie and Arthur were John’s brother Caleb’s children. Caleb had died 1878 and his wife Mary Ann in 1896.
   1891: Lodger at 27 Albert St, Northampton St Sepulchre: John, Widower, Shoe Maker, aged 63, b Bedford.

   John Brockett, Shoemaker, proved brother Caleb’s will in 1878, and was residing then at 14 Bearwood St, Northampton.²² In 1882 his occupation was given as Rough Stuff-Man.²³ John died 1900 Northampton.²⁴ Child:

   John Joseph, b Northampton 1858.²⁵ He married Mary Sarah WATTS 29 May 1882 in All Saints Church, Northampton, he a Bachelor aged 24 residing Clan St, Northampton, occupation Clicker, she a Spinster aged 25 residing Bridge St, occupation Fitter.²⁶ A Clicker was a foreman Shoemaker who cut out the leather. Child:

   Annie Edith, b 6 Feb 1883 19 Ethel St, Northampton.²⁷ In 1901 she was living on her own in Northampton St Giles, occupation Milliner.²⁸ On 18 Mar 1905 Annie Edith Brockett, aged 22, Spinster, daughter of John Joseph Brockett, Clicker, married John Thomas Longhurst ADAMS, 22, Bachelor, Fitter, in Northampton St Giles, both residing 19 Spring Gardens.²⁹ Annie Edith Adams, aged 73, was buried 12 Dec 1956 in West Derby Cemetery.³⁰

   They lived in Queen Street, Northampton in 1890, when John Joeph Brockett was a witness at a fraud case at the Old Bailey: “I am a boot and shoe maker, of Queen Street, Northampton”.³¹ During the next decade they moved to Lambeth and by 1901 he was going under the name Alfred. Mary Sarah, at least, returned to Northampton, where she died 1904, aged 48, ie b c 1856.³² In 1906, as Alfred A J J Brockett, he married Emily Louisa REVENS or REVEN, or RENENS, or RENEN, in Stow District, Suffolk.³³ Census records for John Joseph and family:

   1891: At 20 Edith St, Northampton St Giles (formerly St Andrews), John Joseph, aged 32, Head, Boot Manufacturer, b St Andrews Northampton; Mary S, 34, b All Saints Northampton; daughter Annie Edith, 8, Scholar, b St Andrews Northampton.1901: In Lambeth, London, he was called Alfred, aged 40, b Northampton St Edmunds, Salesman, [no suitable John or Joseph recorded] and Mary aged 42, b Northampton All Saints.
   1911: At 57 Railton Rd, Herne Hill, Lambeth, London, Alfred, aged 52, Head, b Northampton, Leather Seller, employed at home; Wife Emily, 38, b Drinkstone, Suffolk, assisting in the business. Married 5 years, no children born alive; 5 rooms in the dwelling; entry written and signed by Alfred.

   “Emily Louisa Brockett died 28 Jan 1939 at Leaf Nest, Gt Wheatleys Rd, Rayleigh, Essex, aged 67 [i.e. b c 1872], wife of Alfred Arthur John Joseph Brockett, and her Will was proved London 21 Jul, effects valued at £2254 4s 9d, to Alfred Arthur John Joseph Brockett, retired Leather Goods Dealer”.³⁴ On 31 Oct 1939, aged 80, Widower, residing Leafmount St, Wheatley Rd, Rayleigh, Rochford District, Essex, retired Leather Merchant, s/o John, Bootmaker, married Lizzie Emily KEYS, 42, Widow, of 2 Ivy Cottages, High Rd, Rayleigh in the Pilkington Memorial Baptist Chapel, High Rd, Rayleigh.³⁵ A month earlier, on 29 Sep 1939, “Emily KEYS (corrected later to Brockett), born 13 Dec 1896, Widowed, Domestic, was recorded living with [daughter?] Muriel KEYS (corrected later to Wilkins), born 18 Nov 1920, Domestic Single, at 2 ‘Ivy Cottages’ High Road, Rayleigh, Essex”.³⁶ At the same time “Alfred A J J Brockett, b 29 Jun 1858, Leather Sector Retired, Widowed, was living at Leafnest, Great Wheatley Road, Rayleigh”.³⁷ Lizzie Emily Brockett died 1947 Rochford District, Essex, aged 51,³⁸ and “Alfred Arthur John Joseph Brockett of Leafnest, Great Wheatley Rd, Rayleigh, Essex, died a few months later on 8 Apr 1948, aged 89, effects valued at £6065 4s 10d, to Lloyds Bank Ltd”.³⁹ Alfred Arthur John Joseph Brockett just had the one daughter Annie Edith.

4. Thomas, bap 31 Oct 1830 Bedford St Cuthbert;⁴⁰ buried 2 Aug 1833 Bedford St Cuthbert, aged 2.⁴¹
5. Joseph, bap 5 Mar 1833 Bedford St Cuthbert.⁴² Died New Zealand 1881. Married Emma COTRELL 28 Oct 1856 in the Independent Chapel, Berkhamsted, Herts.⁴³ Emma bore Joseph at least 10 sons and 1 daughter, all but the last of those in England. In 1877 the family emigrated, and apart from a brief visit back to England by Emma and 4 of the children in 1882,⁴⁴ they and their many descendants stayed in Australia and New Zealand.
6. Caleb, bap 26 Aug 1838 Bedford St Cuthbert.⁴⁵ Working in Northampton 30 Sep 1870.⁴⁶ Recorded at brother John’s house, 10 Maple St, Northampton in the 1871 census aged 32, unm, Clicker (Shoe), b Bedford. Married Mary Ann ….⁴⁷ Mary Ann Brockett died 1876, Northampton, aged 28 [i.e. b c 1848].⁴⁸ No other Mary Ann is known at this time; it appears she died in association with son Arthur’s death. On 23 Mar 1878 Caleb, address 4 Victoria Rd, Northampton, advertised the sale of his “small shoe-manufacturing business due to failing health”.⁴⁹ “Caleb Brockett died 13 Sep 1878, aged 40, at Queen’s Rd”, Northampton.⁵⁰ The Probate Register recorded probate of his Will in 1878 in Northampton by John Brockett of 14 Bearwood St, Northampton, Shoemaker, estate valued at under £200; Caleb’s occupation was given as Shoe Manufacturer and his residence as 4 Victoria Rd, St Giles Parish, Northampton. Children:
   1. Annie Maria, b 1874 Northampton District.⁵¹ To be distinguished from Annie, also b 1874 Northampton, who went to Derbyshire.+Census records for Annie:
      

      1881: At uncle John’s house, see above.
      1891: At Cottesbrook, Northamptonshire, aged 16, unm, Dressmaker’s Apprentice, b Northampton, in the house of Wiliam WILLS, 46, Shepherd, and wife Anne, 46, Dressmaker.
      1901: At Cottesbrooke Entire, Northamptonshire, aged 27, unm, Ladies Maid Domestic.

      Annie Maria married 7 Sep 1901 Northampton St Sepulchre William DILLEY, she a Spinster, he a Bachelor, Mechanic, both residing 12 St Andrew’s St, witness brother Arthur Caleb.⁵²

   2. Arthur Caleb bap 11 Jun 1876, Yelvertoft, Northampton District son of Caleb and Mary Ann Brockett.⁵³ Married 1895 Beatrice Gertrude DUDLEY, Northampton District.⁵⁴ Witness to sister Annie Maria’s marriage in Northampton 1901. Census records for Arthur and Beatrice:
      

      1881: At uncle John’s house, see above.
      1891: A Boarder in the home of John R Barber, Principal of Waterloo College, 45 Waterloo, Northampton, Arthur, aged 15, b Northamptonshire.⁵⁵
      1901: At 120 Fawe Park Rd, Wandsworth, Southfields, London, Arthur Brockett, aged 25, Coach Body Maker; Wife Beatrice G, 25; both b Northampton.⁵⁶
      1911: At 94 Fawe Park Rd, Putney, Wandsworth, London, Arthur, aged 35, Head, Carriage Bodymaker, b Northampton; Beatrice Gertrude, 35, Wife, b Northampton. 4 rooms in the dwelling. Entry written and signed by Arthur. Married 15 years, no children born alive.
      1939: Arthur C Brockett, born 7 Mar 1876, Married, Motor Body Builder (Retired), was recorded living with Beatrice G Brockett, born 11 Jan 1876, Married, in Unpaid Domestic Duties, at 37 Holway Hill, Taunton, Taunton M.B., Somerset, England”.⁵⁷

      Arthur C Brockett died in Taunton, Somerset, 1946 aged 69, i.e. b c 1877,⁵⁸ and his wife Beatrice died there 1949, aged 73.⁵⁹

7. Sarah, bap 20 Jun 1841 Bedford St Cuthbert.⁶⁰
8. Andrew, b 1844 Bedford District;⁶¹ bap 7 Jul 1844 Bedford St Cuthbert;⁶² ?Died 1852 Bedford District.⁶³

Other contemporary Bedfordshire John Brokets

Following are all the Johns known from Bedfordshire Parish Registers and the IGI 1760-1811 and none was the John who married Maria:

1. 1. 1. b c 1771, married Elizabeth PAIN in Felmersham 1804.
      2. b c 1790, married Jane STOKES in Blunham 1811.
      3. bap 11 Oct 1801 Souldrop, s/o William and Hannah of Souldrop, bur 1801. See 5.
      4. bap 23 Dec 1803 Bromham,⁶⁴ married Ann JAMES in Bromham 1824.
      5. bap 10 Apr 1808 Souldrop, a 2nd son John of William and Hannah of Souldrop,⁶⁵ married Sarah BIRD in Souldrop 1837.
      6. married Elizabeth ESTHER in Blunham 12 Oct 1824 .⁶⁶

Page Last Updated: May 1, 2021