Thomas Holden c 1775.
 

Thomas Holden, son of John Holden and Mary, was baptised 11th August 1776, Lower Chapel Darwen. He "died young" according to Jeremy Hunt, a local genealogist who I have found to be very accurate but not infallible. I have never found this early death recorded.

A contact has Thomas Holden, born about 1775 in his tree, married to Jane Whewell in 1803. He can only find the 1776 baptism and feels strongly that this is "his" Thomas Holden, because it is recorded in the Pole Land census family groups - evidence self reported at the time.

I am uneasy about this because the children of Thomas and Jane have no obvious Holden names for their children, apart from Esther, which was the name of one of Timothy's daughters. I would expect a grandson of Owd Timothy to have at least a Timothy and a Phoebe, lol. Esther is an Entwistle name, Jane Whewell's mother was an Entwistle.

Can anyone see an early death that might be Thomas, son of John and Mary, in the Darwen area? Or indeed, another baptism to account for Thomas Hilden?

Thankyou!

OC

"He can only find the 1776 baptism"

Oh really, is he wearing blinkers?

Here is the marriage:

Marriage: 23 Jul 1801 St Mary the Virgin, Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Thomas Holden - (X), collier, the parish of Blackburn
Jenny Whewell - (X), spinster, the same parish
Register: Marriages 1801 - 1809, Page 15, Entry 58
Source: LDS Film 1278807

Assuming (!) he was a bachelor and aged 18-30 or so, I looked for baptisms in Blackburn and there were 9 matches (1770-1782). I'm sure there would be a lot more if I looked further afield.

If he needs a Darwen connection, then two of the Blackburn baps were for two Thomas sons of William and Betty Holden of Lower Darwen.

As for the Aug 1776 bap in Darwen, it's not even the only Thomas Holden baptised there (in Darwen that is - how many chapels were there in Darwen??!!!) in that year, so I find it hard to see how he only found the one baptism!

There's this other one in the same year:

Baptism: 29 Sep 1776 Darwen Chapel, Darwen, Lancashire, England
Thomas Holden - [Child] of John Holden & Alice
Abode: Over Darwen
Source: LDS Film 1278778

But in any case, why can't his Thomas have originated from Blackburn, or has he eliminated all the Thomas baptisms that took place there?!

If I am looking at the right baptisms for their children, Thomas and Jenny named a son Moses, and there is a Thomas, son of Moses, baptised 30 Oct 1774 Blackburn. A possible candidate?

Thank you both.

Kate, that's interesting. I stopped looking when I discovered that Jane Whewell's grandfather was Moses Whewell, but your find opens up a new line that is perfectly feasible.

Merry, I think my contact is wanting to be a descendant of Owd Timothy. The Pole Lane census is extremely helpful, but as I have found to my cost, has often been tweaked to suit, by those who are passing on the information. When I eventually looked at the originals many years ago I could not see a lot of the family groups that have since been alleged, some of which are correct, some which are not.

OC

I have followed Moses Holden but can not rule this family in or out, lol.

I think this will remain a mystery unless a dna match comes up with someone who has inherited the family bible!

OC