Sargant family (various spellings) in Surrey/Sussex, England

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Permalink Reply by Jim Sargant on November 13, 2009 at 1:43pm

Thank you for interest in my research into Benjamin Serjant. So far it is coincidental evidence only, but not conclusive :
1. it was common practice in this period for eldest boys to be named after their grandfather. Benjamin's eldest son was named Philip.
2. At the marriage of Benjamin to Amelia Vigar - 13 April 1834, Nutfield - one of the witnesses was Thomas Serjant, son of Philip. At the same Church on the same day, Thomas had an adult christening, probably a prerequisite to being a witness & to his own marriage a few weeks later to the other witness, Catherine Brown.
3. There is a Benjamin among the several Sargants (various spellings) who had adult christenings at St Bartholomew's Church, Horley on 15 January 1832. There is no evidence that this was our Benjamin, but the christening would have been a prerequisite for the marriage on 13 April 1834.

Latter Day Saints clouds the issue slightly in that some of Philip's children are attributed to Mary Cook, others to a Sarah, surname unknown. As Philip & Mary's marriage was before the Sarah children, the Mary children coming later, it seems logical to suppose that Mary was also known as Sarah. There is also the problem that the family were previously members of the Baptist Church & no records from that time in the Surrey/Sussex area have been found.

The foregoing information has been gleaned from various sources, including LDS, parish records at Nutfield & Horley, plus input from a number of descendants of Philip & Mary's children.

Permalink Reply by Jim Sargant on November 13, 2009 at 8:41pm

Hi Gene.
Verification of Benjamin's birth year & birthplace come from the 1841, 1851 & 1861 British censuses. His age is confirmed by his Death Certificate.

The christenings at Horley on Jan 15 1832 were :
OFFSPRING OF David & Elizabeth (Ridley) Sargeant - David b 1805, Dinah (parents not verified) b 1811
OFFSPRING OF Benjamin & Elizabeth (Strudwicke) Sargeant - Mary, Benjamin b 1823, Eliza b c1815, George, Ambrose b c1815
OFFSPRING OF Philip & Mary (Cook) Serjant - Robert b 1824, Abraham b 1826
OFFSPRING OF Isaac & Mary Sargent - William
OFFSPRING unstated - Benjamin Serjant assumed b 1810

Descendants of the above parents have been identified and, apart from the mass christening, there are various links such as witnesses at marriages. But Isaac & Mary remain unidentified. It seems probable that these Sargants were brothers or cousins, all having been born in or near Horley. Most of the family appear to have been members of the Baptist movement. At that time, there was no central Church building in the Horley area, and no records of members' BMDs have been found. There are several other instances of adult christenings in the family but no reason for the conversion from Baptist to Church of England have come to light.
Jim Sargant