The Redhead Family

The story of the Redhead family in Ashtabula has its beginning in the village of Chatteris, located in the County of Cambridgeshire in England. It was there that Hugh Redhead, the son of Baizley and Ann (Cox) Redhead, was born. The Redhead family had long been residents of that area of England in which Hugh first saw the light of day. Most were farmers although Hugh Redhead was a carpenter and his son Henry was to become a shoemaker.

Hugh Redhead was born about 1776 in the village of Chatteris and was christened there on August 3, 1777. He was to meet and be married at Chatteris on November 1, 1798 to Mary Bolland, daughter of Francis and Mary (Wadmore) Bolland. Hugh and Mary (Bolland) Redhead were the parents of several children and at least four immigrated to America. The following listed names are the children of Hugh and Mary (Bolland) Redhead as near as can be determined. As the given names in the Redhead family are used so repetitively by all the differing branches, it has proved to be a challenging task to sort them all out. By using various sources available at this writing the following list would seem to be the most likely accurate. Hugh Redhead's death date is unknown at this writing but he was living with his son Baizley in Cambridgeshire when the 1851 census was conducted.

1) Mary Redhead born about 1800 at Doddington in Cambridgeshire. She probably died young and is possibly the same girl of that name who is found in the Cambridgeshire burial index. The entry reports that she died December 18, 1810, was from Wimblington and was the daughter of Hugh Redhead.

2) Rebecca Redhead was christened October 10, 1802. She married Joseph Brammer Whaley

3) Henry Redhead was born March 1, 1804 in Chatteris. He married Sarah Jones.

4) John Redhead was born August 9, 1805 in Chatteris. He may be the same man who married Ann Fisher in Doddington on April 1, 1830.

5) Hugh Redhead was born October 25, 1806 in Chatteris. He married Mary Richards

6) Mary Ann Redhead was born January 13, 1808 in Wimblington. She married John Christmas

7) William Redhead was born about 1810. He married Harriet Wing

8) Baizley Redhead was born about 1812 in Wimblington. He was christened along with his elder brother William and sister Mary on August 9, 1812 in Doddington. He was married to Elizabeth Garner on January 9, 1835 in Doddington. He was a carpenter by trade and was residing in Wimblington when the 1881 census was conducted. He supposedly died in late 1881 presumably in Wimblington.

9) Elizabeth Redhead was born December 12, 1813 in Wimblington. She married Joseph Garner.

10) Ann Redhead was born March 28, 1815 in Wimblington. She was christened in Doddington on March 30, 1820. She is apparently the same woman of that name who married William Christmas on November 3, 1837 in Doddington. They are living in Doddington when the 1841 census was taken. They have not been found in the 1851 census although their son William Jr. was living with his paternal grandparents in that year.

11) Matthew Redhead was born March 30, 1817 in Wimblington. He married Sarah Setchell on April 23, 1843 in Cambridgeshire. He was a blacksmith by trade and appears to have remained in England. He was still alive and residing in the village of Chatteris when the 1881 census was taken. He supposedly died in 1891 in or near Chatteris.

12) Sarah Redhead was born/christened March 21, 1820 in Doddington. This is possibly the same woman of that name who married Geoffrey Youngs in Doddington on October 30, 1849. They were residents of Doddington when their daughter Sarah Elizabeth Youngs was born in 1861 and were still there 20 years later when the 1891 census was conducted.

2. Rebecca Redhead, oldest daughter of Hugh and Mary (Boland) Redhead, was born October 10, 1802 in Cambridgeshire. She was married to Joseph Brammer Whaley on October 25, 1821 in Doddington in Cambridgeshire. They arrived in New York on July 28, 1847 on board the ship CHARLESTON and shortly thereafter settled in Saybrook in Ashtabula County. Copies from an old family diary in the possession of the writer reports that Rebecca died on November 3, 1857. This is probably accurate as Joseph Whaley remarried the following year in Ashtabula County to Elizabeth Hutchinson. Joseph Whaley and most of his children had removed to the then western states of Iowa and Minnesota by the time of the Civil War. Joseph Whaley is said to have died on March 23, 1866 in Hamilton County, Iowa. Rebecca (Redhead) Whaley is probably buried in the Saybrook township cemetery although no tombstone for her can be found there. Joseph and Rebecca's known children and their birthdates as found in the aforementioned diary are as follows:

3. Henry Redhead, oldest son of Hugh and Mary (Boland) Redhead, was born March 1, 1804 in the town of Chatteris in Cambridgeshire. He married Sarah Jones on March 3, 1825 in Wimblington, a small village not far from Chatteris. Henry was a shoemaker by trade and it is there in Wimblington that all of their children are born. He and his wife Sarah were the parents of 11 children all of whom, excepting one who died in infancy, came to America. Henry and Sarah and six of their seven youngest children arrived in New York on June 1, 1853 on board the ship RAPPAHANOCK. Henry's three eldest children Bolland, John, and Harriett had earlier arrived in America on November 12, 1849. They had also crossed the Atlantic on board the RAPPAHANNOCK and this had undoubtedly influenced their parent's later decision to sail on that vessel.

Upon reaching America the family initially settled in Saybrook in Ashtabula County but also lived for a short time in Madison in Lake County. Their next stop was in New Lyme Twp. back in Ashtabula County and they made their final move into the city of Ashtabula in 1861. It was in Ashtabula on Christmas day in 1873 that Sarah Redhead died. Henry kept at his shoemaker job for a short while, but eventually took on the less physically strenuous if not stressful job of keeping a tavern. He also took time to marry again and was wed to the widow Tamar (Cox) Clifton who was, like Henry, also English. Henry died in Ashtabula on April 19, 1885. He, his wives, and a majority of his children are buried at Chestnut Grove cemetery in Ashtabula. Most of the family is buried in adjoining plots being located quite near to the Ashtabula bridge disaster memorial.

The children of Henry and Sarah (Jones) Redhead are as follows:

5. The first member of the Redhead family to arrive in America was apparently Hugh Redhead Jr. and his family. Hugh had been born at Chatteris on October 25, 1806 and was married to Mary Richards at Doddington in Cambridgeshire on May 5, 1828. Hugh and his wife Mary and eldest son Richard landed in New York on June 8, 1837 having made the Atlantic crossing on the ship PHILADELPHIA. Upon coming to America Hugh first settled his family in Saybrook in Ashtabula County being enumerated there when the 1840 census was taken. They then left Ohio for Green Lake County, Wisconsin in 1863 and then relocated to Martin County, Minnesota in about 1870. It was there in Martin County that Hugh Redhead died on January 14, 1881. Mary (Richards) Redhead had died previously in Winnebago City in Faribault County, Minnesota on January 8, 1877. The burial place for them is unknown. Their three known children were:

6. Mary Ann Redhead was born January 13, 1808 in Wimblington. Her date of birth and parentage are clearly noted in the parish register of births. She was christened in Doddington on August 9, 1812 in an apparent triple ceremony along with her brothers William and Baizley. Something is clearly amiss here as her elder sister born about 1800 - also named Mary - would still have been alive in 1808 and having two children in the same family with the same name is unlikely. I am at a loss as to how to explain this. A possibility might be that the Mary Redhead who later married John Christmas was born about 1811 (as the census repeatedly shows) and that she was the third girl named Mary born to Hugh and Mary (Bolland) Redhead her birth going unrecorded. This would make it possible for the daughter born in 1808 to be the same one who died in 1810. Mary was married to John Christmas on August 14, 1834 in Doddington. They were living in the town of March in Cambridgeshire where John was a wheelwright when the 1851 through 1881 census returns were taken. Additional research still needs to be done on this family. Children from census:

7. William Redhead was born about 1810 and was christened August 9, 1812 in Doddington along with his brother Baizley and his sister Mary. He was married to Harriet Wing on August 26, 1830 in Doddington. They were living in Wimblington when the 1841 census was compiled. At that time William was employed as an agricultural laborer. Other than one daughter no members of this family have been located in subsequent census returns. Known children:

9. Elizabeth Redhead, daughter of Hugh and Mary (Boland) Redhead, was born December 12, 1813 in Chatteris, and was married to Joseph Garner on April 10, 1834 in Doddington in Cambridgeshire, England. They came to America on board the ship DEWITT CLINTON landing in New York on December 24, 1855. They were lifelong residents of Saybrook in Ashtabula County, Ohio Joseph being a farmer and day laborer until he became a near invalid because of ill health. Never wealthy, Joseph and Elizabeth were granted a pension in their final years for the service of their son Fred, who had been killed in the Civil War at the battle of Perryville in Kentucky On October 8, 1862. Joseph died on July 21, 1887 probably in Saybrook. Elizabeth died 10 years later on June 8, 1897 at the home of her son Jabez in Collinwood in Cuyahoga County, Ohio. Both are buried in the Saybrook township cemetery.

Their children were: