Hertfordshire Genealogy: Saunders, Kings Walden,19th century

David Everest (davidjohneverest @t hotmail.com) of Great Sampford, Essex, writes: I am trying to make sure Herbert Saunders christened on 5/4/1857 at Kings Walden to Thomas & Eliza Saunders and shown in the 1861 census (ancestry.com) as born in Kings Walden is the same as shown in the 1881 census living in Dartford and married to Mary Ann Rose ( my great grand parents) where the place of birth is shown as Peter Green. I know from his marriage cert that his father was Thomas a farm labourer which fits (married 10/08/1879).

I found in the 1871 census that Herbert (b Kings Walden) was a servant at 15 years of age at Stoppley Luton I cannot trace any other Herbert Saunders for this year for this area.

It is important to realise the distinction between the village and the parish and the information given on different records, and its accuracy. Most rural parishes consist of a village (normally with the same name as the parish) containing the church, and a number of outlying hamlets. For instance Ley Green is a hamlet in the parish of Kings Walden, and Peters Green is a hamlet in the adjacent parish of Kimpton, very close to the border with Kings Walden Parish. In those days there was no house numbering or post codes and a hamlet name, such as Peters Green was the equivalent of the modern street address.

In addition the way the census returns were collected and entered could lead to variations and it is worth comparing the 1861 and 1881 returns for the family,

In 1861 Thomas and Eliza were living at Ley Green, Kings Walden and the relevant entries on the original return read:

Thomas Saunders	Head	27	Ag Laborour	D^o D^o
Eliza D^o	Wife	26		D^o D^o
Herbert D^o	Son	4		D^o D^o
Walter D^o	Son	2		D^o D^o
Jane D^o	Daur	1 m		D^o D^o

The D^o D^o are dittos from earlier entries on the page and stand for Herts Kings Walden - which is the recorded birth place of most of the people living at Ley Green. The 1871 census shows the family still at Ley Green, although the two older boys have left home and the initial " " stand for Kingswalden Herts:

Thomas Saunders	Head	37	Ag Lab	" "
Eliza	Wife	26	Plaiter	Kimpton "
Jane	Daur	10	"	Kingswalden "
Edwin	Son	8	Scholar	" "
Eliz	Daur	4		" "
Henry	Son	1		" "

By 1881 the family had moved to 28 North Street, Luton - and the information has come from the computerised index:

Thos SAUNDERS	Head	47	Bricklayers Lab	Kingswalden, Hertford, England
Eliza SAUNDERS	Wife	46	Straw Plaiter	Kimpton, Hertford , England
Edwin SAUNDERS	Son	18	Bricklauers Lab	Kingswalden, Hertford, England
Elizabeth SAUNDERS	Daur	14	Straw Plaiter	Kingswalden, Hertford, England
Henry SAUNDERS	Son	11	Scholar	Kingswalden, Hertford, England
Ellen SAUNDERS	Daur	9	Scholar	Kingswalden, Hertford, England
Mary A SAUNDERS	Daur	4	Scholar	Kingswalden, Hertford, England

In this case the dittos which undoubtedly existed have been expanded, and the place names rewritten in a standard form - so that the original wording, including dittos, is lost. I was unable to locate Herbert but Walter was living at Fogmore End, another hamlet in Kings Walden, and his wife was born in nearby Preston:

Walter SAUNDERS	Head	22	Ag Lab	Ley Green, Hertford, England
Emma SAUNDERS	Wife	23	Straw Plaiter	Preston, Hertford , England
Emily Eveline SAUNDERS	Daur	1		Fogmore, Hertford, England
Rosa Nellie SAUNDERS	Daur	2 m		Fogmore, Hertford, England

Jane was a domestic servant for William Felks, at 16 Melson Street, Luton, and is recorded as being born at Kings Walden.

It would seem that there is one family, and as Peters Green is so close to the Kings Walden parish boundary, I would not be worried about Herbert's identity. There shouls be no difficulty about getting his birth certificate as you know the approximate date, and both Kimpton and Kings Walden are in the Hitchin registration area.