Person:James Brookman (15)

James Brookman was born late in 1811 or early 1812 in Middlesex, the county of England which covered much of London and the area to the north and west of London. It is highly likely that James's parents (or possibly uncle and aunt) are Daniel Brookman and Miriam Godin. This assumption is based on 3 things;

• Family names - His only son is named Daniel, most likely after his father and his daughter Elizabeth has the middle name, Miriam.
• His son Daniel married Miriam Matilda Brookman, a known granddaughter of Daniel and Miriam. (He is not the only child of James and Anne to marry a cousin).
• Daniel Brookman and Miriam Godin were married in 1811, yet their first recorded child was born in May 1813, certainly allowing space for James to be the first born but by the time of the 1841 census he was married and had a young family of his own.

His first confirmed sighting is on 14th December 1834 when he married an Ann Caley at Holy Trinity Church on Brompton Road in the parish of Kensington, on what was then the western edge of London. This church was right on the border with the neighbouring parish of Chelsea, and it served the area along the Kensington / Chelsea border known as Knightsbridge.

James's wife Ann Caley was from Harmondsworth, also in Middlesex, but in what was then the rural west of the county, over 15 miles from London. After their marriage they appear to have lived initially close to where they married, with their daughter Maria later claiming (in the 1861 census) to have been born in Chelsea. Their daughter Sarah is also thought to have been born in the Knightsbridge area, although she was baptised at her mother's native Harmondsworth.

James worked in a brew house and then as a draysman. Draysmen often carted barrels of beer from a brew house to the establishments that sold the beer. Afterwards he worked as a brewer's assistant, most likely with his father-in-law who was a brewer. This certainly gives an idea of how James may have met his wife, Ann.

By the time of the 1841 census the family was living at Butlers Place in the parish of St John Horsleydown in the Southwark area of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the county of Surrey. They were still at Butlers Place, specifically at number 9, ten years later for the 1851 census, when James was described as a carman - a man who drives a cart.

James died in 1861. He was buried at Harmondsworth, suggesting a strong tie with that parish. His burial record gives his abode as St John Horsleydown. He was said to be 48 years old when he died, implying that he was born in either 1812 or 1813.

Ann outlived him by about five years. She was still living at 9 Butlers Place for the 1861 census, a couple of months after James's death. Between the three censuses of 1841, 1851 and 1861 the couple seem to have had eight children: Sarah, Maria, Mary Ann, Daniel, Elizabeth, Jane, Jemima and Emily.

1. ↑ Marriage of his daughter Sarah Brookman, in Victoria, Australia. Birth, Death and Marriage Certificates. (Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages)
   1856.

   Father's occupation: Brewers assistant

2. ↑ Baptism of his daughter Sarah Brookman, in England. Births and Christenings, 1538-1975. (FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, Findmypast)
   27 Dec 1835.
3. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. St. Mary's Church (Harmondsworth). Parish registers, 1670-1875. (Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1969)
   3 Feb 1861.

   BURIALS solemnized in the Parish of Harmondsworth in the County of Middlesex in the Year 1861
   No. 379
   Name: James Brookman
   Abode: St Johns Horsleydown, Surrey
   When buried: Feb 3
   Age: 48 [1812/3]
   By whom the Ceremony was performed: J.J. Manley, Off[iciating] Min[ister]

   
4. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1087; Book 5; Folio 22; Page 36, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Butlers Place, Southwark (St John Horsleydown), Surrey
   James Brookman, male, 25 [1811-16], Drayman, born in county
   Ann Brookman, female, 30 [1806-11], born in county
   Sarah Brookman, female, 5 [1835/6], born in county
   Maria Brookman, female, 3 [1837/8], born in county
   Mary Ann Brookman, female, 1 [1839/40], born in county

   
5. ↑ ^5.0 5.1 England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 1559; Folio 452; Page 18, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: 9 Butlers Place, Southwark (St John), Surrey
   James Brockman, head, married, male, 38 [1812/3], Carman, b. Middlesex
   Ann Brockman, wife, married, female, 40 [1810/11], b. Middlesex
   Mary Ann Brockman, daughter, female, 11 [1839/40], Scholar, b. Southwark, Surrey
   Daniel Brockman, son, male, 8 [1842/3], Scholar, b. Southwark, Surrey
   Elizabeth Brockman, daughter, female, 6 [1844/5], Scholar, b. Southwark, Surrey
   Jane Brockman, daughter, female, 3 [1847/8], Scholar, b. Southwark, Surrey
   Jemmima Brockman, daughter, female, 1 [1849/50], b. Southwark, Surrey

   The handwriting does appear to say "Brockman" not "Brookman" here, but given the address and the first names we can be reasonably confident it is the right family.