I am stuck with
"our" Battens and would love to hear from anyone who may have
a connection or may be able to advise on further research.
On 16 February
1785 at Saint George, East Bristol, Gloucester, England, Sarah
Brown, spinster of Brislington, married James Batten/s. I
am fairly sure that this is "my Sarah Brown". She
was the daughter of William Brown (1705-1783) and Deborah
Worgan (1711-1777) and would have been born about 1745.
Sarah died on
11 November 1824 (aged 79) and was buried on 20 November 1824
at the Parish Church of St Luke, Brislington, England. Monumental
Inscriptions indicate that a Sarah Brown, wife of James Batten
and daughter of William and Deborah of the Parish Church of
St Luke, Brislington, England died on 11 Nov 1821, aged 79.
The dates fit so this is assumed to be our Sarah. However
the MI, or transcription of it, must be incorrect as Sarah
was buried on 20 November 1824. I don't know whether Sarah
and James had any children. I'd love to discover some more
about them, or about James's family and would be delighted
to find that they had descendants. Do you think there may
be a connection? Or could you suggest any way that I might
be able to research this family further?
The Batten/Brown graves in St Luke's Churchyard,
Brislington, Somerset, near Bristol
In the Batten/Brown
section of the Churchyard at St Luke's are the following graves:
BATTEN
Sarah wife of James Batten and dau. of William & Deborah Brown
of this parish d. 11.11.1821 a.79 also Julia Clarissa dau.
of John Brown d. 20.2. 1831 a.13 also Edwin John son of John
Brown d. 8.11.1832 a.25 Francis son of John Brown d. 2.3.1845
a.19 Amelia Elizabeth Brown wife of Walter Brown M.D. d. 12.12.1852
a.24, Henry s.of William & Deborah Brown d. 23.12.1834 a.85,
William s.of Henry Brown d. 11.44.1839 a.56, John s.of Henry
Brown d. 16.7.1851 a.67 also Mary Ann Brown 2nd dau.of abv.
Henry Brown b. 3.4.1788 d. 9.6.1875
I am not sure
why this is called the Batten section as there is just one
Batten buried there, Sarah Batten nee Brown. However I will
continue searching to see what connection the Batten family
had with St Luke's.
Brislington was
at this time part of Someset but is now in Gloucestershire
and has become a "suburb" of Bristol city.
Many of the Brown
graves are shaded by a huge yew tree. On another website,
not related to our family, I discovered that these trees are
planted in graveyards because they symbolise longevity and
reincarnation. It is thought that the oldest yew tree in the
United Kingdom, at Fortingall, Scotland, is 1500 years old.
The yew is hollow, the centre decays and new growth comes
away from this part of the tree. The wood is very elastic,
was excellent for the long bow and this gave the English superiority
over the French at the Battle of Agincourt. The Latin name
of the tree is taxus baccata.