Mystery Monday - Those Budd's!

My family were in the village of Puttenham Surrey from around 1724. We know this from the Church Records, with a Baptism of Martha Budd in 1724 which reads daughter of Henry and Martha "First of the Budd's". That indicates that the Budd family were elsewhere prior to 1724 and this is confirmed in the church records. Certainly the marriage of Henry and Martha is not in Puttenham, it was found in the parish of Chertsey in 1723, which was the bride's place of birth.

Furthermore, the Curate for Puttenham, Charles Kerry kept a series of manuscripts and in one of the volumes this pedigree has survived. confirming that Henry was first of the Puttenham Budd's

From the Charles Kerry Manuscripts
Sourced from Puttenham One Place Study

On seeking a birth place for Henry I used a map and gradually searched each and every parish within a 5 then 10 mile radius. Given the proximity to the border with Hampshire I concurred that he came from the parish of Binsted and was born 1699, but I can not prove that this is "my Henry" only that there was a Henry in Binsted in 1699. Sometimes, there is a gut feeling that what documentation is found is not actually correct. I added a tentative Henry born circa 1699 to my working model tree, along with a question mark and carried on researching.

A chance posting on a mailing list mentioned a Henry Budd in a nearby parish to Puttenham. In reviewing my notes with a map realised that I had overlooked the records for Shackleford, a village a few miles across the fields. Shackleford is linked to Peper Harrow and the survival of records prior to 1837 is scanty. I have since established that a Henry Budd in 1720 was in Elstead, (another local village within walking distance), witnessing a marriage. I have also established that a Henry Budd was living in Shackleford, at a house called Cobblers in 1720. My gut feeling tells me that this is my Henry, but I need further proof to confirm this.

In this instance, it is important to look beyond the immediate Parish Records for that named person, perhaps your ancestor like mine appears on a parish record as a witness to someone else's happy day.

Over the last year or so I have tentatively looked into the Budd's again. I came across a marriage located in Peper Harow on the Sussex Family History Strays Index for a Daniel Budd of Lurgershall marrying Alice WILLSON in Peper Harow on 15th September 1704. I pondered that this might be Henry's father or perhaps an Uncle or no relation at all!

Marriage of Daniel Budd to Alice Willson 15th September 1704
Peper Harow Surrey England
Image courtesy of Ancestry

Then last week I was looking again at the Surrey Records, following the release of the Surrey records on Ancestry and spotted a birth for Mary Budd on 15th September 1704 daughter of Daniel Budd. 

Baptism of Mary daughter of Daniel Budd 15th Sept 1704
Peper Harow Surrey England
Image courtesy of Ancestry

I looked at the marriage and see that it is the same date. Clearly Daniel was a fast worker! I spent another three hours looking for any trace of Daniel in Peper Harow or Surrey for this period and it revealed, nothing. Zilch. Although I did notice a trail of Budd's in the mid to late 1600s in Pirbright, Guildford and Seale. Not a million miles away, but I am leaving that query for another day!

Lurgershall is a parish in Sussex, just over the border. It is not my first family link to the parish and I have to admit, I felt my heart sink just a little bit as I realised that I might be heading once again into a very tangled ancestry. 

That said, I have just come across a will for neighbouring Haslemere in 1713 and a death for a Daniel Budd in the same year. Needless to say I have a headache as I can see it mentions a sister in law Mary Wilson, and daughters Mary & Elizabeth and a son Daniel.

The plot thickens and I am no further in establishing the birth and parentage of my Henry Budd.