John Watts (continued)

Who was John Watts and who were his family?

There are various John Watts in the Hampshire area born in the second half of the 1700s and the first half of 1800s.

This is an attempt to sort out the various families associated with John Watts so as to establish the father and grandfather of Louisa Watts.

Richard Broomfield

Started 13 Nov 2022 - 

The first task is to establish the number of Richard Broomfield's there are in the county of Hampshire, to help delineate between the records of one Richard Broomfield and another. Normally I would us my set of CDs from the Hampshire Genealogical Society. Transcriptions of Baptism, Marriage, and Death indexes.

Those records are now available on FindMyPast. So, online instead of by CD. However, I still keep my subscription going with HGS, and even do some transcribing for them.

I searched for Richard Broomfield records in Hampshire. Setting the approximate year of birth to 1770 reduced the list to 28.

Then I need somewhere to put all the information I find, so I start a One Name Study in respect of the surname Broomfield in the TNG database.

Normally, a person is added to the database, and then a family is created. Records are added to the person. However, in this instance, it is a case of adding a person for each instance of record, until there is sufficient evidence that it is the same person. Then those same people on the database are merged

For instance, there are two marriages recorded for a Richard Broomfield of Lyndhurst. One on 25 December 1820 to Sarah Ochelford and another to Mary Collins on 16 April 1831. The record has a note that Mary has been previously married but does not recall a name. There is sufficient time between the two marriages that it is the potentially the same Richard Broomfield in each, but nothing to confirm this. Hence a new record for each person as if separate, until proven otherwise.

I should point out at this stage that I do not know where this article is going. It may be the ramblings of a mad, eccentric, old man. Or it may come to a logical conclusion. It is written as the research progresses not as a report of the findings. This will therefore not be to everyone's taste.

Percy James Ricketts
1904–1978

BIRTH 19 MAY 1904 • Sholing, Southampton, Hampshire, England

DEATH JUNE 1978 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

The header photo is an extract from the Let and Percy's group wedding photo, which given that it was 1925, was in Black and White. The above photo is the header photo which has been colourised and enhanced in MyHeritage Family Tree website, and then retouched.

Percy was not directly related but became part of the family when he married my great-aunt Letitia Annie Collins.

Another Three Sisters, Ricketts

All 1st cousin 1x removed, and all met in person. Jean was the last survivor, until very recently when she also sadly passed.

From the header photo, three girls happy together.

Yvonne Letitia Ricketts
1927–2013

BIRTH MARCH 1927 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

DEATH 30 JAN 2013 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

Jean A Ricketts
1928–2022

BIRTH 12 DECEMBER 1928 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

DEATH 1 MARCH 2022 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

Patricia Ricketts
1932–2019

BIRTH 26 SEPTEMBER 1932 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

DEATH 12 JULY 2019 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

Yvonne Letitia Ricketts, Jean A Ricketts, Patricia Ricketts

Well perhaps it should be four sisters, as some researchers on Ancestry have found a information about a;

Betty Ricketts
1931–1932

BIRTH JUN 1931 • Southampton, Hampshire

DEATH MARCH 1932 • Southampton, Hampshire, England

According to the two records found, she unfortunately did not survive to her first birthday. Both records are registers so it should be interpreted as registered, born Quarter 2, Arp-May-Jun, 1931 and died Quarter 1, Jan-Feb-Mar, 1932. Both records are for Betty Ricketts, of Southampton, not Elizabeth.

Not surprisingly, I never knew anything about Betty, never heard mention of her. I have not seen a long birth certificate to be able to categorically confirm that Betty was part of the family, and as the impetus for writing this article was, in part, the studio photo of the three sisters together, I will not mention Betty further, which, for the avoidance of doubt, is not denying her existence as part of the family