Charles William Fuller and Maria Wilton

Village Green, High Easter, Essex
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © John Winfield - geograph.org.uk/p/108716

Charles William Fuller (bap. 4 Nov 1832 in High Easter), son of Benjamin Fuller and Mary Ann Mead, married Maria Wilton (b. 19 Dec 1843), daughter of Henry Wilton and Sarah Staines, on 3 Oct 1862 in Great Dunmow. Charles William Fuller's father, Benjamin Fuller, was then a miller in High Easter. (There The Old Mill house, former roundhouse and trestle of postmill, is a listed building. The listing tells us that, Isaac Mead, author of 'The Life Story of an Essex Lad' 1923 was an apprentice here and also inscribed his name in the main post. One wonders if he was related to Mary Ann Mead.)

Charles and Maria had six children:

1. Edith Mary Fuller b. 1864 S Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 341, bap. 28 Sep 1864 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
2. Annie Fuller b. 1865 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 363, bap. 7 Apr 1867 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
3. Henry Fuller b. 1867 M Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 384, bap 7 Apr 1867 in Great Dunmow (venue unknown)
4. Alfred William Fuller b. 21 Apr 1868 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 371, bap. 18 Nov 1868 in Great Dunmow 
5. Emily Maria Fuller b. 1869 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 362 (Died 1870 J Quarter in DUNMOW Vol 04A Page 249)
6. Charles William Fuller b. 1871 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 382, bap. 24 Aug 1873 at Ingatestone, Essex. The baptism record lists his father's occupation as Corn Factor.

GRO birth registrations confirm the mother's maiden name as WILTON.

In 1871, Charles William Fuller (38), Corn Merchant's Clerk, was in High Street, Great Dunmow with wife Maria (27), sons Henry (4), Alfred (3) and Charles William (0), as well as Jane Philpott (56), Monthly Nurse. Edith Mary (6) was staying with her grandparents, Henry and Sarah Wilton, while Annie (5) was staying with her other grandparents, Benjamin and Mary Ann Fuller.

Maria Wilton

Very soon afterwards, however, Charles William Fuller died, aged 38, in 1871 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 256.

Just 5 years later, the unthinkable happened: Maria Fuller (née Wilton) also died, on 18 Jun 1876 (1876 J Quarter in DUNMOW UNION Volume 04A Page 247), aged just 32.

In 1881, Edith M Fuller (16) was a Draper's Assistant to Joseph Parkhurst, Draper, in High Street, Chipping Ongar; Annie Fuller (15) was a Draper's Assistant to Denny Stone, Draper, in Market Place, Romford; Henry Fuller (14) and Charles Fuller (10), Scholars, were living with their maternal grandfather, Henry Wilton in Great Dunmow; while Alfred William Fuller (13), had been sent to the Infant Orphan Asylum, Wanstead (photo). (The building now houses Snaresbrook Crown Court, the busiest Crown Court in the UK.) Sad that the child was sent to such a place, when his paternal grandparents were still alive and living in Bishops Stortford, where the retired miller was then described as a 'Gentleman'. Both Alfred William Fuller and Charles William Fuller emigrated to Australia. 

Photo of Maria Wilton via Kerry Johns @ Ancestry

John Doe and Jane Brand

All Saints Church, Little Canfield, Essex

John Doe (b. ~1730 in Great Canfield) and Jane Brand (b. ~1732 in Little Canfield), a pair of my 6th Great-Grandparents, married at All Saints Church, Little Canfield on 1 Oct 1750 to become John and Jane Doe. 

After the requisite pause for giggling at this unlikely combination of names, I wondered when and where the custom had began to call people who you couldn't identify, either John or Jane Doe, depending on gender. We mostly tend to hear the term when an unidentified corpse turns up in a US crime drama, but in fact, the origins are in medieval English law, beginning perhaps as early as the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377): "Originally, John Doe was a sham name used to indicate any plaintiff in an action of ejectment (a legal action to regain property) in civil court. Richard Roe was the counterpart, to indicate the defendant. These fake names were used in delicate legal matters, a practice that was abolished in English law in 1852. Since then, John Doe has been used to indicate any man of unknown name, with Jane Doe used for females." - The Old Farmer's Almanac. Quite why these particular names were picked, however, is lost in time. It may have been simply because they were among the most common names in use at the time.

It would appear that John and Jane Doe had four children (or at least there are records for four), all baptised at St Mary's Church, Great Canfield:

1. Henry Doe bap. 19 May 1754
2. Elizabeth Doe bap. 23 Apr 1758 
3. John Doe bap. 20 Sep 1760 (Presume buried 14 Nov 1761)
4. John Doe bap. 20 Dec 1761

There had also been a burial of a John Doe in Great Canfield on 7 Mar 1756. This doesn't mention the age of the deceased and there is no corresponding baptism, but this could have been a further child of this family. The burial, at St Mary's, Great Canfield, on 14 Nov 1761, is clearly stated to be for that of a John Doe 'Infant'. One must, sadly, assume therefore that the subsequent child was named John, immediately after his brother had died.

There was a burial of a Jane Doe in Great Canfield on 18 May 1768 and another in 1803. Either could relate, but there are no ages listed on the transcriptions to give any clues. There was another burial of a John Doe in Great Canfield on 10 Mar 1805. Again it does not mention an age at death, so we cannot be certain, but this could relate to John Doe Snr of this family.

Back in 1731, at this same church, there was a burial of a 4 year old John Doe, listed as 'son of John Doe'. These could simply be just very common names - all the more spectacular to be able to trace them back so far - or, I suppose one must entertain the idea that, once upon a time, there was a parish foundling, who the overseers named John Doe, whose descendants thereafter followed the common tradition of naming son after father ...