Bateman Ancestors

Anne Matilda Bateman

Matilda and her husband Joseph Jeffs adopted George, the son of Mary Bateman, and raised him as George Henry Jeffs. Many records list her name as Matilda Ann, but the only records that include Ann in her name place it at the beginning, such as the christening record below.

Birth

[LDS Branch Records, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England, FHL Film #87002, Record #36; 1845-1855; Page 29]
[No., Name, Birth: Day Month Year, Parish, Town, County, Country]
21, Matilda Bateman Jeffs, 8 10 1828, Chipperfield, , Herts, England
Christening

[Parish Register, Kings Langley, Hertfordshire, England, FHL Film #1042054, Item 6, Page 74, No. 588]
When Baptised: 1829, May 24th
Child's Christian Name: Anne Matilda
Parents Christian Name: James, Mary Anne
Parents Surname: Bateman
Abode: Chipperfield
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Bricklayer
By Whom the Ceremony was Performed: H. Dennis.
Census: 30 Mar 1851; Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England. Anne Ince is Joseph Jeffs' sister. Matilda and Joseph would marry later this year.

[Street]
Chapel Street
[Name, Relation, Condition, Age, Occupation, Where Born]
Thomas Ince, Head, Mar, 44, Ag Lab, Herts Hemel Hempsted
Anne Ince, Wife, Mar, 36, , Bucks Ivinghoe
Charlotte Ince, Daur, U, 10, , Herts Hemel Hempstead
William Ince, Son, 6, , Herts, Hemel Hempstead
Matilda Bateman, Visitor, U, 20, Plaiter, Herts Chipperfield

Mary Bateman

Mary is George Henry Jeffs' biological mother. The family stories give two versions of who Mary is. One says she was Matilda Bateman's sister and the other says she was her cousin. The evidence doesn't support her being Matilda's sister Mary Ann. Her age is not quite right and Mary Ann never went by just the name Mary in any of the records. All of the evidence points to Mary the daugher of Caroline Batemen.

The photo above has been passed down through the family as Mary Bateman, George's mother. Mary died in 1871 just before her 32nd birthday, which would place the photo in the late 1860s or early 1870s. A careful examination of clothing and hair styles of 1860s England shows that this photo is consistent with that time and place. Mary was said to have been a handmaiden to the Queen (which would have been Queen Victoria) and this would have placed her in a situation where photography was available and she could afford to have a photo taken. Camille Silvy, a favorite of Prince Albert, took hundreds of thousands of photos during this time, including nearly all members of the Royal Family and "servants". From all these details, the family story seems to fit well with the clues that the photo provides.

Mary was raised by her grandparents James and Mary Ann Bateman and appears with them in the 1841 and 1851 censuses. She seems to have used the surname Bateman until sometime after George was born, at which time she switched to her mother's surname Fox. The 1871 census shows her living in the parish of Marylebone in London being cared for by her sister (or half-sister) Jemima Fox. The census lists her as a "Sick Patient" and she dies just a week later in Bovingdon, Hertfordshire of phthisis (usually this was tuberculosis).

Birth

CERTIFIED COPY OF AN ENTRY OF BIRTH GIVEN AT THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE
REGISTRATION DISTRICT Hemel Hempstead
1839 BIRTH in the Sub-district of King's Langley in the County of Hertford
No.: 146
When and where born: May Twentieth, 1839, Bovingdon
Name, if any: Mary
Sex: girl
Name and surname of father: ---
Name, surname and maiden surname of mother: Caroline Bateman
Occupation of father: ---
Signature, description and residence of informant: Caroline Bateman, Mother, Her X Mark, Bovingdon
When registered: May Twenty Eighth, 1839
Signature of registrar: Joseph Hill, Registrar
Name entered after registration:
CERTIFIED to be a true copy of an entry in the certified copy of a Register of Births in the District above mentioned.
Christening

[Parish Register Transcript, Flaunden, Hertfordshire, England, FHL Film #0569720, Page 12; No. 16]
Baptisms solemnized in the Parish of Flaunden
1842
When Baptised. May 22
Child's Christian Name. Mary
Parent's Name. Caroline
Abode. Flaunden
Profession.
By whom the Ceremony was performed. R. M. Wood Curate
1871 census, taken on April 2nd

Civil Parish of Marylebone, Town of London
[Road, Street, etc.] 9 Henrietta St
[Name, Relation, Condition, Age Male, Age Female, Occupation, Where Born]
Mary Fox, Lodger, Unm, , 33, N. K., Herts Hemel Hempstead, Sick Patient
Jemima Fox, Sister, Unm, , 16, N. K., Herts Hemel Hempstead

Death certificate

CERTIFIED COPY OF AN ENTRY OF DEATH GIVEN AT THE GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE
REGISTRATION DISTRICT HEMEL HEMPSTED
1871 DEATH in the Sub-district of Kings Langley in the County of Hertford
No.: 412
When and where died: Ninth April, 1871, Bovingdon
Name and surname: Mary Fox
Sex: Female
Age: 31 years
Occupation: Domestic Servant
Cause of death: Phthisis, Certified
Signature, description and residence of informant: X The Mark of Phoebe Chapman, present at Death, Bovingdon
When registered: Thirteenth April, 1871
Signature of registrar: Joseph Bunyan, Registrar
CERTIFIED to be a true copy of an entry in the certified copy of a Register of Deaths in the District above mentioned

Notes:
1) All census and immigration information is from original images at Ancestry.com.