Stephen Greaves 1771-1850

February 12, 2022 by Clare Hopkins

Stephen GREAVES is the father of my 4th great grandfather James GREAVES, who was born about 1814 in Northamptonshire. It was mentioned on James GREAVES’ marriage certificate to his second wife Sarah MAYHEW that his father was Stephen GREAVES, a farmer, who was deceased when the marriage took place in 1855¹.

Stephen GREAVES’s name on one marriage certificate might seem like weak proof that I have found the correct Stephen GREAVES to be able to say with certainty that he is my 5th great grandfather, but yesterday my brother was asking if I could prove my family connection using DNA. Using research to build a family tree that includes pathways to my DNA matches have helped persuade me that I have found the correct Stephen GREAVES and his wife Lucy PICKERING. This is a copy of my grandfather’s ThruLines on Ancestry (some details have been removed to protect the identities of my DNA matches):

Marriage

Stephen GREAVES and Lucy PICKERING were married at St Michael’s & All Angel’s Church, Finmere, Oxfordshire on 28 February 1799². The banns read:

One of the witnesses of the marriage was Stephen GREAVES, who is the father of the groom Stephen GREAVES (my 6th great grandfather).

Lucy PICKERING was 18 years old when the marriage took place, so a license had to be applied for which provides additional details about the marriage³:

Resident of Finmere, Oxfordshire

Stephen GREAVES Jnr and his father Stephen GREAVES Snr were both Churchwardens in the year 1800 (as well as other years where they were served as churchwardens seperately⁴), and listed amongst the rent payers of Finmere in the year 1808⁵ (there were 12 rent-payers in the village in that year).

Stephen GREAVES and Lucy PICKERING also had 6 of their children baptised in St Michaels & All Angels Church, Finmere: John in 1801⁶, Ann Pickering in 1803⁷, Thomas in 1805⁸, Temperance in 1806⁹, Susannah in 1809¹⁰ and Stephen in 1810¹¹.

Resident of Kilsby, Northamptonshire

Sometime after 1810, the family moved to Kilsby, Northamptonshire. Possibly to find work. Here, Stephen and Lucy GREAVES had 3 more children, 2 of whom were baptised in St Faith’s Church, Kilsby: James between 1811-1814 (my 4th great grandfather – of which no baptism can be found), Charles in 1814¹², and Charlotte in 1816¹³.

It was mentioned on Charles and Charlotte’s baptism record that Stephen GREAVES was an innkeeper in Kilsby. Back in Finmere, Oxfordshire his cousin Robert GREAVES (1776-1815) was also an innkeeper. There are two pubs in Kilsby – The Red Lion, and The George. It is not known which one Stephen GREAVES worked in, but when we went to visit I thought it would be cute to get a photo of my George next to The George!

1841 Census

In 1841 Stephen GREAVES was living in Clifton Street, Clapham, Surrey with his eldest son John GREAVES and family¹⁴.

Death

Stephen GREAVES died on 17 April 1850 at Clifton Street, Larkhall Lane, Clapham¹⁵. The informant of the death was his daughter in law Lydia GREAVES, with whom he was living with in the 1841 census at the same address.

Stephen GREAVES was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Clapham, Surrey on 22 April 1850¹⁶.

Family Members:

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Sources:

1. Marriages (CR) England. Lambeth, Surrey. 05 July 1855. GREAVES, James and MAYHEW, Sarah. Collection: London, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1921. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 18 October 2020.
2. Banns (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 28 February 1799. GREAVES, Stephen and PICKERING, Lucy. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 12 October 2021.
3. SMITH, Donnette Stringham (1976) Index of Oxford Diocese Marriage Bonds and Affidavits, 1661-1850. https://whipple.one-name.net/oxford/diocesan_marriage_bonds.html#G : accessed 19 February 2022.
4. BLOMFIELD, J.C (1998) History of Finmere Oxon. Finmere and Little Tingewick Historical Society : Finmere. p.83. http://myfinmere.com/history/history/books/blomfield/blomfield.pdf : accessed 26 February 2022.
5. BLOMFIELD, J.C (1998) History of Finmere Oxon. Finmere and Little Tingewick Historical Society : Finmere. p.27. http://myfinmere.com/history/history/books/blomfield/blomfield.pdf : accessed 26 February 2022.
6. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 16 February 1801. GREAVES, John. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
7. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 16 October 1803. GREAVES, Anne Pickering. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
8. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 11 March 1805. GREAVES, Thomas. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
9. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 16 November 1806. GREAVES, Temperance. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
10. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 26 February 1809. GREAVES, Susannah. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
11. Baptisms (PR) England. Finmere, Oxfordshire. 11 November 1810. GREAVES, Stephen. Collection: Oxfordshire, England, Church of England Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1538-1812. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
12. Baptisms (PR) England. Kilsby, Northamptonshire. 29 November 1814. GREAVES, Charles. Collection: Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
13. Baptisms (PR) England. Kilsby, Northamptonshire. 31 March 1816. GREAVES, Charlotte. Collection: Northamptonshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1912. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 09 October 2021.
14. Census Records. England. Clapham, Surrey. 06 June 1841. GREAVES, John. PN 1053. Book 3. FN 6. p. 6. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 12 May 2021.
15. Deaths (CR) England. Lambeth, Surrey. 17 April 1850. GREAVES, Stephen. Entry no. 141.
16. Burials (PR) England. Clapham, Surrey. 22 April 1850. GREAVES, Stephen. Collection: London, England, Deaths and Burials, 1813-1980. http://www.ancestry.co.uk : accessed 14 October 2021.