Person:James Dean (31)

James Dean was baptised on 9th June 1776 at Great Gaddesden in Hertfordshire. He was the son of Hannah Dean, formerly Welch, and her husband Edward Dean. James was the eighth of the couple's nine children, although one of his older brothers had died as a baby before James was born, whilst his only younger sibling also died as a baby, leaving James effectively the youngest of seven surviving children.

In 1803, aged 27, James married Elizabeth Hobbs, who was 22 and also from Great Gaddesden. The following year they had a son named Thomas baptised at Great Gaddesden. In 1805, James's father Edward died and was buried at Great Gaddesden.

In 1806 James and Elizabeth had a daughter called Susan baptised at Whipsnade. Whilst Whipsnade village is about four miles north of Great Gaddesden, it is possible the family had not moved that far; there was a detached portion of Whipsnade parish known as Ballingdon Bottom which adjoined the parish of Great Gaddesden. Within Ballingdon Bottom there are places called Dean Cottage, Dean Wood and Dean Lane. Perhaps the family had connections at Ballingdon Bottom and so lived in Whipsnade parish for a time. It's also possible that the family actually lived in Ballingdon Bottom but mostly used the church at Great Gaddesden as being the nearest church rather than the more distant parish church at Whipsnade. They only had the one child baptised at Whipsnade; the remainder of their children are recorded in the Great Gaddesden registers. In total they had eleven children between 1804 and 1823, including a pair of twins in 1810, one of whom died before she could be baptised but the other lived. Their youngest daughter also died as a baby, leaving nine children who survived to adulthood. The baptism of their youngest daughter gives the family's abode as Gaddesden Row, which is in the east of the parish, immediately adjoining Ballingdon Bottom. The baptisms of several of their children record that James worked as a labourer.

James's mother Hannah died in 1821 aged 82.

James's eldest son married in 1829, and James's first known grandchild was born the following year. He would have at least twelve grandchildren born in his lifetime, although some of them died young. James's eldest son Thomas also died as a young man in 1837, leaving three small children.

James died in 1840, aged 63. He and Elizabeth had been married for 36 years. Elizabeth outlived him by 26 years. She appears in the censuses living at Gaddesden Row with some of her children and working as a straw plaiter.

1. ↑ Church of England. Great Gaddesden Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   June 9th 1776
   Baptized at Gaddesden James Son of Edward and Hannah Deane

   Whilst no named connection has been found, this baptism has been linked to the James Dean who married Elizabeth Hobbs in 1803 on the basis that:
   1. It is close to the age James's burial record in 1840 suggests he was.
   2. It is in the parish that James was described as living in when he married and where he spent all his adult life.
   3. There is no other burial or marriage for a James Dean at Great Gaddesden, suggesting there was only the one James Dean.
   4. There is some overlap between the names of the James baptised in 1776's childhood family and the James married in 1803's children: Thomas, Joseph, William, Daniel and Hannah were used as names in both families.

2.   Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. James DEAN, March Quarter 1840, Hemel Hempstead Registration District, Volume 6, page 391, aged 65 [1774/5]

3. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Great Gaddesden Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of G[rea]t Gaddesden in the County of Hertford in the Year 1840
   No	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   628	James Dean	Gaddesden Row	Feb[ruar]y 9th	65 [1774/5]	C.E. Gray, Curate