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Chapter Two

John Lea 1782
Elizabeth (Betty) Cuss 1783


John Lea was baptised at Stratton St. Margaret parish church on the 1st April 1782.   He was the third child born in a family of nine.   Times were hard whilst John was growing up.   His parents Thomas and Martha were at times registered as “paupers” as was so many poor people of that day.   Unable to support themselves they had to rely upon the vicar of the parish for food, clothes and shelter until work came along.

The village, much different from the one we know today, was one of the largest in the country and it is possible to trace the family back to the sixteenth century from the parish records.   Nonetheless John, at the age of twenty four, moved to Ashton Keynes - a village some fourteen miles away - probably for work, and it was there he met his future wife Betty.

Betty (Elizabeth) Cuss was also from a large family and was as much a part of Ashton Keynes as John was of Stratton St. Margaret, the name Cuss going back, in that parish until records were first kept.   They married at Holy Cross Church Ashton Keynes on the 12th October 1805.   Holy Cross is a beautiful church whose grounds is a sight to behold when covered with a mass of daffodils in the springtime.   John and Betty lived in Ashton Keynes most if not all of their lives after marriage and brought up their entire family at “Kent End”.


Holy Cross, Ashton Keynes

They had eight children, two girls and six boys.   The eldest being Martha, probably named after John’s mother, followed by William, John, Richard, Eliza, Henry Edward and Isaac.   Sadly Isaac died aged only one year and Henry died, aged 7 years, six months after in October 1828.   The other children grew up and each had their own families.   It is possible to trace all their movements but not relevant in this particular work except of course for William, who is next in the family line.

In 1805 the only documentation for marriages, births and deaths was a mere written line on a piece of parchment paper.   This is the way it had been since King Henry VIII had ordered all such occasions to be recorded in the sixteenth century, and so it was for John and Betty.   Fortunately a friend, who is a photographer, was kind enough to photograph this particular marriage recording for our benefit.


Wedding Certificate of Betty and John

I have also obtained a copy of the Nimrod index to show proof of John’s birth at Stratton St. Margaret.

These facts were extracts from the 1851 census which John was obliged to give when he was sixty nine years old.   Also on this page we are able to see his grandson, also named John, who was seven years old.   Study this list and it is possible to find other members of John’s family as well.

On the second page of the Nimrod index we see John’s wife Betty was still alive at sixty seven years of age.   The list is the work of Dr Barbara Carter and daughter Betty of Swindon, and is the result of five years intensive work and study.

One point of interest is that John Lea of Stratton St. Margaret, was born one year before the first mail coach made its run from London to Bath.   It took seventeen hours to complete the journey, the horses having to be changed every ten to fifteen miles.

Dear Donald,

Thank you for your letter, received 9th May, requesting help with your LEA research.

Please find enclosed extracts from the 1851 Census for Wiltshire, for all John, Elizabeth, Charles and William LEA entries.   I hope this will be of help!

I also enclose our information sheet on the searches we can do, as we have a new varied index too.

Yours sincerely
Jenny Carter

At this point in Don's folder is his copy of the Nimrod Index of 1851.   However it cannot be reproduced here because there is a statement of copyright (held by Barbara J. Carter).

The index gives the names of every person with the surname Lea who was living in Wiltshire in 1851.


Kent End, Ashton Keynes, where John and Elizabeth lived most if not all of their lives.

~~oo0oo~~

Additional material in the folder, not showing on this page due to copyright regulations:
Nimrod Index.
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This page was last updated on 10th April 2007.