A page of burials from the Frensham Parish Register in 1810 can look like a dry piece of history – nothing more than a list of names. A closer look, however, shows baby Hariot Chandler born 8 September 1810 and buried the next day. A record further down the page shows baby James Chandler, buried 14 November 1810, aged 30 days. Tempted to look at this further, I did some research and from one page in a dusty old register, the story of a family came alive!
- Notes to keep in mind when reading the story of the Chandlers:
- Couples were often married when a baby was on the way; marriage before the birth was all that counted in village society.
- Widowed men often remarried quite quickly as they needed a homemaker and often married away from their home parish church.
- Potters moved around a fair bit as clay pits got worked out.
First step — I looked for other Chandler baptisms at Frensham around 1810 and I found baby Henry Chandler, son of Henry and Amey Chandler baptized 1812 by Reverend Tahourdin. Here we get lucky as ‘Amey’ was not a very common name. Second step — look back for a Frensham marriages between Henry Chandler and Amey Jenkins and I found this record of their marriage on 17 May 1810 conducted by Reverend Tahourdin:
-> SO NOW WE HAVE A STORY <-
The combination of the marriage record and that page of burials leads us to believe that Amey Chandler was carrying twins and neither babies survived long following their October births. Pre and ante-natal care was unheard of in 1810.
The life of Henry Chandler (Potter of Frensham) and his wife Amey Jenkins Chandler shown in chart form. All last names are CHANDLER and all events are FRENSHAM except as stated otherwise.
| 1810 | Henry married Amey Jenkins |
| 1810 | Birth/death of twins Hariot and James |
| 1812 | Birth of son Henry; died age 3 |
| 1817 | Birth of son Richard |
| 1820 | Birth of Eliza; died age 2 |
| 1823 | Birth of Benjamin |
| 1825 | Birth of Hariot (#2) |
| 1841 Census Family Living at Kingswood, Bramshott | Henry (52) ~ Potter Amy (59) ~ Wife Richard (20) ~ Agricultural Labourer Benjamin (15) ~ Agricultural Labourer + 2 lodgers |
| 1842 | -> Amy Chandler (age 60) died; buried at Frensham |
| Abt. 1845 | Henry Chandler married a young widow, Elizabeth Glazier (formerly Luff) with 2 children. Widow of William Glazier a farm worker of Easebourne, Sussex |
| 1851 Census Family living at Lower Churt, in the Frensham Tithing of Churt | Henry (62) ~ Master Potter employing a man Elizabeth (35) ~ wife Valentine Glazier (16) Stepson ~ Potter’s Apprentice William Glazier (8) Stepson ~ Scholar |
| 1861 Census Family living in Shottermill described as being in “Shottermill, in Frensham, Parish’. | Henry Chandler (72) ~ Master Potter Elizabeth Chandler (45) ~ Wife William Glazier (18) Stepson of Henry ~ Journeyman Potter Visitors: Valentine Chandler* (26) ~ Journeyman Potter Jasmine Chandler (21) ~ Wife William Chandler (1) * Note that Valentine is listed as ‘Chandler’ – this is probably an enumerator’s error as it should be ‘Glazier’. |
| Jan 1867 | -> Henry Chandler, age 77, was buried at Shottermill, St Mary 26 January 1867 |
Henry and Amey Chandler’s Children
Richard Chandler ~ Richard did not follow his father into the pottery business but remained a farm worker all his life. In 1844, he married local girl, Eliza Moody, and the couple raised a large family at Critchmere, Frensham.
Thirty years later, the 1881 Census still shows Richard as a farm worker at Critchmere Lodge, Frensham. Richard Chandler was now 61 and Eliza Chandler, 58 with adult children still living at home. 1891 Census: Richard is at Frensham Hall Lodge, Down End and is now a widow as Eliza Chandler died in 1885. Unmarried daughter Harriet is now the housekeeper and son Benjamin is described as a leather dresser.
-> Richard died, age 78, in 1895 and was buried at St Mary, Shottermill.
Valentine Glazier (Henry Chandler’s step-son): as the pottery business became industrialized, local potters had to find other work; in 1881, Valentine Glazier was doing farm work, and in 1891, he was a milkman in Elstead. He and his wife Jemima Baigent had many children.
-> Valentine Glazier died, age 66, at Brookwood Asylum in Woking and his family had him buried at Elstead 18 April 1900.
-> Jemima Glazier died, age 74, at Hambledon Workhouse and her family had her buried at Elstead 12 September 1914.
Henry Chandler’s Tree
Hopefully, this family story shows what can be built from a couple of burial records and should be an encouragement to others to tackle their own family trees. The key factor is to always look at the original images if possible as transcripts are often misspelled at best or wild guesses at worst.
Select Sources
- Parish Registers held at Surrey History Centre, Woking
- Census Records at Find My Past ($)
- Bing Maps
- Google Images