Quandary about the "ownership" of Thomas Sanders

I have spent the last few days in a genealogical quandary, madly researching every aspect of the individual named Thomas Sanders, born Enfield in 1795, who married Sarah Simmons in Enfield in 1819. I had assumed, for various reasons, that he was "mine"...the son of William Sanders and his wife Mary, and brother of my great-great-great-great grandfather Edward Sanders.

Then I came across several family trees on Ancestry.com which attributed this Thomas to another family completely. The baptismal register extract above shows the reason for the confusion....at the top of the page is the baptism of my Thomas, son of William and Mary, farmers of Enfield. At the bottom is another Thomas Sanders, this one the son of Richard Francis Sanders and his wife Susanna Nenny.

The families of Richard Francis Sanders and my William Sanders were miles apart in regards to wealth and social standing. My Sanders family were common folk..farmers, ag labourers, cordwainers. Richard Francis Sanders was the son of a well-respected surgeon, Thomas Sanders, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire. He had a brother, John Harry Sanders, who was a commander in the Royal Navy, and another brother Thomas Sanders who was a Doctor.

These facts alone should have made it easy to separate the two Thomas Sanders men, but things were complicated by the fact that Richard Francis Sanders lost a good deal of his wealth through bankruptcy in the 1800s. He appeared in the London Gazette several times regarding his bankruptcy, from 1806 until 1813 when final dividends were paid on his estate. He was described initially as "Richard Francis Sanders of Theobald's Park, Enfield, Grazier, Dealer and Chapman", then "Richard Francis Sanders of Enfield-Chace, Middlesex, grazier".

In 1822 he appeared in the Gazette again: "Petitions of Insolvent Debtors to be heard: At the Shire Hall, Hertford, Co. Hertford, 18 January 1823 at 11 o'clock, Richard Francis Sanders, late of Cheshunt, Co. Hertford, Sheriff's Officer."

Richard Sander's father Thomas had died in 1815 ( Gentleman's Magazine 1816: HERTS: At Cheshunt, in consequence of a fall from his horse, in his 70th year, Thomas Sanders, M.D."), leaving a will that seemed to benefit his sons Thomas and John more than Richard..."Unto my son Thomas Sanders all my freehold property, lying and being in the parish of Enfield, also my copyhold land being in a field called Aldbury in Cheshunt. Also all of my household property.... To my son John Harry Sanders the residue of my estates in Cheshunt, Herts;...one hundred pounds to my son Richard Francis Sanders." Thomas Sanders was also the sole executor of his father's will.

He remained in Cheshunt after his father's death, and it seems as though his brother Richard had been in charge of the estate at Enfield and continued to do so for several years after Thomas Senior's death, despite his bankruptcy dramas. Richard had married Susanna Nenny in February of 1794 at St Andrews, Enfield. His son Thomas was born in January the following year, and son Richard was baptised at St Andrews on February 15, 1796. This baby was buried three days later on February 18th.

Richard Francis Sanders' next child was a daughter, Anne Sanders, born in 1802, seven years after his previous child. The baptismal entry from the registers of St. Andrews, Enfield, named Anne Sanders as the wife of Richard Francis. Other children followed- Richard Francis in 1803; Susanna Harriett in 1804 and John Harry in 1806- and in each case, the mother was stated as being 'Anne Sanders'. I can't find a marriage for Richard Francis Sanders and Anne Unknown between 1796 and 1802, so perhaps 'Anne' was a shortening of the name 'Susanna'.
Richard Francis Sanders was definitely widowed by 1818, as in that year he married 27 year old Mary Reddish. With Mary he had another family of children- Edward Samuel Reddish Sanders born 1821; John lea Sanders b 1823; Alfred Francis Sanders b 1825; Augustus Sanders b 1825; Adolphus Sanders b 1827; Rhoda Amelia Sanders b 1829; Felix born 1831 and Frederick Francis born 1833.





There is no hint in the church register entry as to the parentage of the Thomas Sanders who married Sarah Simmons in 1819... not even the witnesses give a clue as they were named as Thomas Simmons and Alexander Young.

All I know of our Thomas Sanders is that he was definitely alive in 1819 when his father William's will was written and proved, as he was a beneficiary and named as one of two executors. There is only one marriage for a Thomas Sanders or Saunders in Enfield between 1819 and 1820, remembering that the first child of Thomas Sanders and Sarah Simmons was born October 30, 1819 (the couple was married in February, 1819). Similarly, there are no burials for a Thomas Sanders or Saunders of the correct age in Enfield post-1820. Of course, our Thomas may have moved to another parish or county, or indeed emigrated to another country all together. There are no Thomas Sanders, born Enfield c. 1796, in any of the census returns except for the one who married Sarah Simmons.

The parish records of St Andrew, Enfield, have the following baptismal entries for children born to Thomas and Sarah:

Thomas Sanders; born October 30, 1819. Baptised November 28, 1819. Son of Thomas Sanders, a farmer, Chaceside, Enfield, and Sarah. Buried St. Andrew, Enfield, January 20, 1820, aged 3 months. Son of Thomas and Sarah Sanders of Chaceside, Enfield, a farmer.

Mary Anne Sanders: born May 27, 1821.Baptised June 24, 1821. Daughter of Thomas Sanders, a farmer, Chaceside, Enfield, and Sarah. Died aged 16 months. Buried St Andrew, Enfield, on September 20, 1822. daughter of Thomas Sanders, a farmer, Chaceside, Enfield, and Sarah.

Mary Ann Sanders: born January 11, 1824. Daughter of Thomas Sanders, Chaceside, a farmer, and Sarah.

Sarah Sanders: born November 17, 1825. Baptised December 18, 1825. Daughter of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, a farmer, and Sarah.

Rebecca Sanders. No baptism found for this child, but there was a burial entry: St. Andrews, Enfield: March 10, 1828. Buried Rebecca Sanders, aged 4 weeks, daughter of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, Milkman.

John Sanders: born March 9, 1829, baptised April 5, 1829. Son of Thomas Sanders, Chaseside, a farmer, and Sarah.

Anne Elizabeth Sanders: baptised October 30, 1831. Daughter of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, a farmer, and Sarah.

Alfred Job Sanders: baptised June 15, 1834. Son of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, Enfield, a farmer, and Sarah.

Thomas Sanders: baptised June 25, 1837. Son of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, a farmer, and Sarah.


Rebecca Sanders: baptised March 15, 1840. Daughter of Thomas Sanders, Brigadier Hill, a farmer, and Sarah. Buried St Andrews, Enfield, on May 22,1842, aged 2 years. Abode: Holly Bush.


The 1841 census finds Thomas and Sarah Simmons Sanders living with their children at Brigadier Hill, Enfield:
Thomas Sanders/ 45/ farmer/ born in county
Sarah Sanders/ 40/ b in c
Sarah sanders/ 15/ b in c
John Sanders/ 12/ b in c
Ann Sanders/ 9/ b in c
Alfred Sanders/ 7/ b in c
Thomas Sanders/4/ b in c
Rebecca Sanders/1/ b in c

Eldest daughter Mary Ann is missing from the household, but she was old enough to be living away from home and working. She appears again in 1849 when she married George Newman, a labourer, at St Andrew, Enfield, on April 16. Her father was noted as being Thomas Sanders, Publican, and her abode Brigadier Hill. Witnesses to the marriage were her father, Thomas Sanders, and sister Ann Elizabeth.
No children were born of this marriage, and Mary Ann and George remained all of their lives in Enfield where George worked as a gardener.

Second eldest daughter Sarah Sanders married in 1843- on December 28, 1843, at St Andrew, Enfield, Sarah Sanders, full age; spinster; of Brigadier Hill; daughter of Thomas Sanders, labourer, MARRIED William Rainbird, bachelor; of full age; gardener of East Lodge; son of Samuel Rainbird, labourer.
Sarah was not in fact of 'full age'...she was only 18 years old, and was 19 when she died the following year. On October 13, 1844, Sarah Sanders Rainbird, of Holly Bush, was buried at St Andrews, Enfield. Her husband William remarried in 1846, to Caroline Croucher, and when she passed away in November 1854 he went on to marry Martha Thompson in 1855.

Living next door to the family of Thomas and Sarah Sanders in the 1841 and 1851 census returns was William and Sarah Sanders: 1841:

Brigadier Hill, Enfield: William Saunders/ 50/ ag lab/ 68 years/ born in county
Sarah Saunders/45/ born in county

1851 census:
William Sanders/head/ married/ 68/ ag labourer/ born Enfield
Sarah Sanders/ wife/ 64/ born Enfield
//
Thomas Sanders/ head/55/ beer retailer/ born Enfield
Sarah Sanders/wife/ 53/ born St. George Hanover Square
Alfred Job Sanders/ son/ 16/gardener/ born Enfield
Thomas Sanders/ son/ 13/ ag labourer/ born Enfield.

Both William and Thomas Sanders had died before the next census was taken in 1861, leaving the two Sarah Sanders as widows.

The fact that these two Sanders families lived next to eachother, with William the elder of the two men who headed the households, was what led me to believe initially that they were the brothers of my Edward Sanders. Then there was the use of the middle name 'Job' in one of the sons of Thomas and Sarah, in honour, I believe, of Job Sanders, brother of my Edward, who died in 1817.
When looking at naming patterns in the children of Thomas and Sarah Sanders, there was no child named Richard as perhaps could have been expected if Thomas had been the son of Richard Francis Sanders. Then again, neither was the name 'William' used. 'Mary' was used twice-initially for the first-born daughter who died aged 16 months, and then for her sister who was born soon after. My Thomas Sanders' mother was Mary....but again, it proves or disproves nothing.
Perhaps what is more binding evidence is the fact that Ann Elizabeth Sanders, one of Thomas and Sarah's daughters, married William Warby. This young widower was in fact the son of Benjamin Warby and his wife Susan Sanders, the sister of my Edward Sanders. This means that if Thomas Sanders is indeed "mine", his daughter Ann was marrying her first cousin, something that was by no means uncommon in that time period.



Information supplied on the marriage certificate of Ann Sanders and William Warby was as follows:
St. Leonards, Shoreditch, on November 30, 1856.
William Warby, 26, widower, labourer, of 6 New Inn Yard, son of Benjamin Warby, labourer, MARRIED Ann Elizabeth Sanders, 25, spinster, servant, 6 New Inn Yard, daughter of Thomas Sanders, beer seller.
Witnesses: George Warby and Mary Warby, both signing their names with a cross.


William Sanders died first....William Sanders, aged 70 years. Abode: Holly Bush. Buried January 23, 1853, St. Andrews, Enfield.

Thomas Sanders, aged 62 years. Abode: Brigadier Hill. Buried November 3, 1857, St. Andrews, Enfield.