Skipping Down the Generations – Ancestral Surname used as a Middle Name

Despite being a Jones, the parents of my great, great grandfather did not prove very hard to trace.  The middle name of William Taylor Jones acted as a marker, so I could trace him in the censuses finding him in 1851, aged 7, with his parents George Jones and Hannah at 29 Spring Street, Birmingham[1].  William’s birth certificate names his mother as Hannah Jones formerly Beddow[2].  The census indicates Hannah was born ca. 1812 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire.

Marriage Certificate – George Jones & Hannah Beddow

Bride: Hannah Beddow
Groom: George Jones
Date: 15 March 1840
Location: Collegiate Church, Wolverhampton
Father of Bride: Joseph Beddow, an innkeeper
Father of Groom: William Jones, a plumber
Witnesses: Walter Parkes, Mary Parkes

Hannah and George are recorded on the 1841 census at Bridge Street, Wednesbury in the household of Joseph Beddow, which also includes Mary Parkes[3].  Joseph’s occupation is not recorded on the census, but he is listed as the proprietor of the White Horse, High Street in the 1842 edition of Pigot’s Directory[4].

The naming of William Taylor Jones did not follow the custom using the mother’s maiden name as a middle name, but I wondered if Taylor was the maiden name of one of his grandmothers.  I have not yet indentified George’s parents from all the other Joneses in a very large haystack.  Following the Beddow line has proved fruitful.  Joseph Beddow married Elizabeth Taylor at St Bartholomew, Wednesbury on 7 May 1792[5], and baptisms of 11 children followed, including Hannah in 1812[6]:

Name	Baptism date	Baptism place
John Beddow	22 Apr 1793	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Sarah Beddow	25 May 1795	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Elizabeth Beddow	26 Dec 1798	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Ann Beddow	23 Nov 1800	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Mira Beddow	22 Aug 1802	St Peter or Collegiate, Wolverhampton
Joseph Beddow	20 Feb 1803	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
John Beddow	17 Feb 1805	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Mary Beddow	16 Feb 1807	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Hannah Beddow	19 Jul 1810	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Hannah Beddow	03 Jul 1812	St Bartholomew,Wednesbury
Jane Beddow	13 Apr 1815	St Peter or Collegiate, Wolverhampton

The Taylor name was passed on to two more descendants that I know of, but this time down the Jones male line to a son and a grandson of William Taylor Jones.

Taylor name occurance in Jones family

---

[1] Census 1851. England. Warwickshire, Birmingham St Thomas. District 23, image no 20. Jones, George, digital image. Accessed http://www.ancestry.co.uk ,11 Mar 2013; citing The National Archives, Kew, HO 107/2052/691/1.

[2] General Register Office, Birth Certificate, Warwick, Birmingham, St Thomas. Jones,William Taylor. 1843/11/24. no 471.  image of register. issued 11 August 2005.

[3] Census. 1841.  England, Staffordshire, Wednesbury, District 13, image 7. Beddow, Joseph. digital image.  Accessed http://www.ancestry.co.uk, 1 March 2013; citing The National Archives, Kew. HO 107/984/4/24-25/11-12.

[4] Pigot & Co.’s Royal National and Commercial Directory and Topography (London, J Pigot & Co., November 1842), Staffordshire, Wednesbury, Inns & Public Houses. p. 89.

[5] FamilySearch, England, Marriages, 1538–1973, database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NV2R-BJT : accessed 11 Mar 2013), Beddow ,Joseph &Taylor, Elizabeth, 1792/05/07; citing Family History Library film no 421615. Baptisms, marriages and burials, 1776-1812.; citing Church of England. Bishop’s transcripts. St Bartholomew, Wednesbury (Staffordshire).

[6] FamilySearch, England, Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, database. query Father Name: joseph beddow, Mother Name: Elizabeth, County: Staffordshire.

© Sue Adams 2013

---