Having decided some time ago that it was time to update the trees on my website to reflect the addition of more recent sources to the subscription websites I use, I’ve only recently made a start with the task. The first section I’ve updated is the one which holds family trees for London and the South East. It now contains just three trees.

The Sargenson’s of Rotherhithe contain three family groups the largest of which is headed by Joseph Sargenson (1731-1851) was a cooper. His grandson William Sugden Sargenson (1799-1861) became a wine merchant and by 1841 he was living in Pall Mall, London. William didn’t marry. When he died on 5 November 1861 he was living at 5 Pall Mall and he left his estate to two of his unmarried sisters. His effects were worth under £16,000.

Horwood 1799 map St Martin’s, Westminster

In contrast, Thomas Serginson, had a rather different experience with the authorities in London. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been possible to tract his birth/baptism. What is known is that he was discharged from the Fleet debtors prison on 17 January 1826. At this stage he was married with children. Just a short while later, on 24 January 1826, he appeared in the settlement examination books for the parish of St Martin’s in the Field (see Horwood’s 1799 map). It records his age as 31, his wife and the ages of his four children. The next record found for his was the birth of his son Luke in Leeds in 1829 where Thomas was described as a school master. Did the family move there because they had family there? The family continued to move around and were in London in 1837 and then Wolverhampton in the 1841 census. By the 1851 census Thomas’ wife Mary was described as a widow. No death for Thomas has been found. His son Thomas (1818-1877) became a plumber and was also found in the 3 Nov 1860 Penny’s Bankrupt Gazette where a partnership he was involved with was dissolved due to his debts.

Bibliography:

Births, marriages and deaths. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

Census records. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

England and Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1848-1995. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

England, Pallot’s Marriage Index, 1780-1837. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

Horwood map 1799 St Martin’s, Westminster. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page : accessed December 2024.

London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1917. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

London, England, King’s Bench and Fleet Prison, Discharge Books and Prisoner Lists, 1734-1862. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024

Newspapers. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.

Westminster, London, England, Poor Law Registers, 1561-1900. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed December 2024.