Eliminating Susana Wood

 My 4xgreat-grandparents were married in All Saints Church Laughton on 19th October 1807.¹ Their names were given in the marriage register as John David Davey and Susan Wood. John died in 1831, but Susan survived until late 1851 and completed two censuses.^2,3,5,6 The important census is the 1851 census, the first England census which required an actual age and a place of birth. Susan(nah) gives her age as 67 (implying she was born 1783-4) and her place of birth as “Sussex, Bucksted”. “Bucksted” should probably be equated with Buxted in north-east Sussex, about 12 km from Laughton.

Hunting through the indexes, there is only one Susan(…) Wood baptism in the correct era – Susana Wood daughter of Daniel & Elizabeth, was born18th February 1782, her birth being registered by the Wesleyan Great Meeting House in Battle in their non-conformist register in 1789.^6,7,8 It looked good to me (and it looked and looks good to a lot of other people too). Battle is about 27 km from Laughton.

However doing my due diligence on Susana Wood turned up another marriage, that of George Jupp and Susan Wood in Battle 1809.⁹ The couple moved to Bloomsbury where they registered the birth (in 1811) of a daughter, Mary Susanna Jupp, in the registers of Dr William’s Library in 1812.¹⁰ In this non-conformist birth registration Susanna, the mother of Mary Susanna Jupp, is stated to be Susanna daughter of Daniel & Elizabeth Wood.

Oh well, back to the drawing board (and probably another blog post when I sort it out). There are, at least, some Woods in the Buxted parish registers.

All Saints Laughton, photographed by the Author, 13 Jul 2016

 Sources 

1. Marriage of John David Davey and Susan Wood, married 19 October 1807, All Saints Laughton Parish Register, Laughton, Sussex, England, FHL Film 1067216.
2. Burial of John Davey, buried 23 December 1831, Hanover Chapel, Brighton, Sussex, England, bmdregisters.co.uk, accessed 22 Feb 2008.
3. Census record for Susan Wood, aged 50, 27 Crescent Cottages, Brighton, Sussex, 1851 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, HO107/1644/244, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 11 Feb 2007.
4. Census record for Susanah Wood, aged 67, Crescent Cottages, Brighton, Sussex, 1841 England and Wales Census, The National Archives, HO107/1123/5, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 11 Feb 2007.
5. Death certificate of Susannah Davey, died 7 August 1851, registered September quarter 1851, Brighthelmston registration district, General Registry Office, England, vol. 7, p. 203, no. 94.
6. Sussex Family History Group, ‘Data Archive on Frontis, Baptism Data’, http://sfhg.frontis.co/bin/index.php, accessed 23 Oct 2021.
7. FamilySearch, https://www.familysearch.org/en/, accessed 23 Oct 2021.
8. Birth Registration entry of Susana Wood, born 18 February 1782, The Great Meeting House, Battle, Sussex, Ancestry.com.au, accessed 23 Oct 2021
9. Marriage of George Jupp & Susannah Wood, married 13 Sep 1809, Sussex Family History Group, The Sussex Marriage Index (Up to 1837) (CD ROM). Lewes, UK, Sussex Family History Group, 2005.
10. Birth Registration entry of Mary Susanna Jupp, born 5 June 1811, Dr Williams’ Library Registry, Birth Certificates, 1805-1812 , Ancestry.com.au, accessed 23 Oct 2021.