Richard LeBert and the Contested Election

Richard LeBert is connected to the Paradice family as the father-in-law of one of Frank Paradice's daughters. Richard kept a scrapbook of newspaper clippings on which this account is based. 

Richard LeBert

In November 1893, running on the Republican ticket, Richard LeBert was elected Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder.  In 1895, he ran for re-election. The result was controversial. The root of the controversy that in his position as County Clerk and Recorder he was custodian of the ballots for all county offices, including his own.

On November 6, 1985, the day after the election, the Times listed Richard’s re-election as “doubtful,” while a headline in read, “Kindel Is Elected. Le Bert, the Crestfallen, Concedes Victory of His Adversary.” The concession had been informal. Some time before noon Richard reportedly told two attorneys that George J. Kindel of the People’s Taxpayers party led by 103 votes. Not all the precincts had reported, however, and ballot boxes were still arriving at the courthouse.

At noon Richard left the courthouse for a lunch break, locking the room in which the ballot boxes had been placed. He instructed the person whom he had left in charge not to give out any information. He returned briefly at 2 o’clock but disappeared again. No further returns were made public in his absence. Around 8 o’clock that evening Richard appeared at the Brown Palace Hotel and announced that he had been elected. Suspicion immediately spread among Kindel’s supporters that someone had tampered with the ballots. When an incensed Kindel appeared at the courthouse wielding a shotgun, the incident made headlines from San Francisco, California to Buffalo, New York.

From the San Francisco Chronicle, November 7, 1895:

CHARGES OF CROOKEDNESS

A CANDIDATE AND HIS TRUSTY SHOTGUN

…Crowds soon gathered in the vicinity of the Courthouse, and George J. Kindel, the candidate whose election was the chief object of attack, came running to the Courthouse with a shotgun hung over his shoulder. He is a strong admirer of the Rev. Myron W. Reed, and was anxious to put into practice the doctrines of that gentleman as delivered from the pulpit last Sunday. Reed: advocated shotgun law, if any crooked work was attempted, and Kindel announced himself as the man who would carry the law into effect. He ran all the way from his store in the lower part of the city and stopped only long enough to hear the approving remarks of several merchants who were eager to offer financial assistance.

From the Buffalo, New York Express, November 1895

TROUBLE IN DENVER

…At once Kindel… concluded that the ballots had been tampered with and that he was being defrauded. Thereupon he seized his shotgun and marched off to the County Clerk's office to put in execution the Reed maxim of shooting somebody on the spot. Instead of shooting, he threatened. Then he went off and made a speech to a meeting of women, whereupon 150 women accompanied him back to the County Clerk's office and informed the offending [LeBert] that if the returns were altered he would be lynched. It will be remembered that women are allowed the suffrage in Colorado. Evidently they are taking hold of politics with an energy which must put men to shame. [LeBert] seems to have been really frightened for he disappeared, as did most of his clerks. A force of deputy sheriffs was sent to take possession of the County Clerk's office. They, too, were armed with shot guns, so it was shot against shot. Happily, however, no powder was used. The excitement seems to be a little less than that which prevailed at the time of the labor riots.

All of this excitement preceded the official vote count, which took place several days later. When completed, the count showed that Richard had prevailed by 108 votes.

Kindel, of course, challenged the result. He claimed to have presented evidence of fraud to the District Attorney, but the District Attorney ignored his evidence. He requested the appointment of a special prosecutor. The District Attorney countered that he had considered the evidence, but some of the witnesses could not be found, and Kindel himself had admitted that one of the witnesses had sworn a fraudulent affidavit.

No special prosecutor was appointed, but a judge granted Kindel the right to review the poll books, provided that a deputy be present to ensure that Kindel and his helper did not abuse the trust. Kindel was ordered to pay the cost of the deputy, which was $4 per day. Apparently incensed at this charge, Kindel arrived to conduct the review wearing a large sign that read, “Don’t bother us. Our time is worth one cent a minute according to the rule of the county court.” Richard’s friends suggested that the sign amounted to contempt of court and that Richard’s reporting it to the judge would cause the case to be closed. There was no need for a formal report, as the Denver newspapers soundly ridiculed Kindel and his sign. The judge apparently did not take the incident as contempt of court.

Kindel continued to pursue his challenge of the election result through the courts, alleging that fraudulent votes had been cast and that Richard was aware of the fraud. The case came before the county court in February 1896 but was quickly moved to district court. There it languished with the plaintiff filing petitions to amend the suit with new evidence and to have the supreme court intervene because the case had not been assigned properly to an impartial judge. These petitions were repeatedly denied.

At the same time, a Grand Jury convened to investigate the accusations of fraudulent voter registrations and other election frauds. The jury spent two weeks examining the registration books of Arapahoe County. It concluded that “Le Bert, as far as it knew, did not mutilate the election returns,” as he had called in judges of the opposite party and opened the ballots in their presence. They also determined that under the circumstances of the last election wholesale registration fraud was impossible.

Meanwhile, an outside judge took over the court case of Kindel versus LeBert. In March, he ruled, “The court cannot go into the ballot boxes for the purpose of ascertaining that illegal votes have been cast until there is evidence to show to the court that some party or parties who voted were not legally entitled to vote.” Upon being refused a continuance, Kindel’s attorney stated that their complaint was “in an incomplete condition” and he did not want to go into the ballot boxes under the circumstances. Shortly thereafter, he rested his case. In the absence of any evidence of voting irregularities, the judge ruled that Richard LeBert had been duly elected.

Undeterred, Kindel took his case to the supreme court in September 1896, arguing that the case had been improperly assigned to a district court judge who was not next in the rotation. He added an argument that Richard was ineligible to succeed himself as county clerk. The suit did not immediately go onto the docket and was expected to take several months to decide.

On October 8, 1896, the News reported, “George Kindel’s Suit Against County Clerk Le Bert Comes to an Abrupt Termination.” The reason was that the contested ballots had been destroyed by the election judges in order that they might use the ballot boxes in the upcoming election. According to the article, Richard followed legal advice and followed the law in sending out the boxes. Kindel, however, said that the case would proceed without the ballot boxes and that he had “abundant proofs of crookedness in the election.”

The case did proceed, but in January 1897 the supreme court upheld the lower court’s ruling in Richard’s favor. They found that there was no law governing how cases were assigned to judges and that Richard had destroyed the contested ballots in compliance with the law. Kindel requested a rehearing of the case, but the rehearing was denied.

Although the court case had been settled, the controversy was resurrected briefly with an article in the Denver Post on September 4, 1897:

BALLOT BOX

Just to show the rottenness of Denver politics, a ballot box is on exhibition in the window of the business office of the Post.

The ballot box was found in the basement of a vacant store room in the down town district, where it had evidently been placed after it was robbed of its ballots.

A strange feature of this box is that according to the records it is now on file in the county clerk’s office and is safely locked in a room set apart especially for that purpose, yet at the same time it is in the window at The Post. The box is of a kind that is used only at county elections and is labeled “District F, Precinct 1…”

This article did not mention the contested election.

Two days later the Post published a formal letter from Richard to the effect that if the Post actually was in possession of a ballot box, they should return it to the Deputy County Clerk. The letter gave the Post a second opportunity for accusations. After noting that the box had been returned as requested, the September 6, 1897 article stated:

The forces in the clerk’s office assert that this box is one of the “extras” which were sent to District F during the county election of 1895 and that it was never used… The officials seem to believe that the box being estray was merely a clerical error.

It will be remembered, however, that it was the 1895 election about which so much trouble arose. It was in this contest that the Populists voted for George Kindel for clerk... The election was supposed to have been fraudulently conducted and Kindel attempted to secure an order from the court for a recount of the ballots but was overturned at every point.

There was no apparent fallout from the mysteriously surfacing ballot box and nothing to support the accusation of stolen ballots. Richard’s scrapbooks contained no further news of the box or the contested election.

Afterword: When cleaning out the home of Richard's granddaughter after her death - the same home where Richard LeBert spent his final years - his descendants found  - a ballot box.

The Sinnetts (Sinnott/Sennett/Synnott)

Jane Sinnett was the wife of John Evers Cuff(e) and mother of Kate (Cuffe) Paradice.  According to a family story, she was born in Ireland, where her father was a school teacher.  While Jane was still a child the family immigrated to Canada.  On the journey her father died and was buried at sea.  Jane’s widowed mother was unable to care for all her children, and Jane was adopted by another family.

This story was a poor starting point for researching Jane’s family history, and the Canadian records initially yielded little.  Her death certificate listed her parents as Mathew Sinnett (possibly Sennett) and Margaret Pepper.  Given the story that Jane had been adopted, it was unclear whether these people were her birth parents or adoptive parents.  However, at a time when people were more likely to “adopt” a child hoping for a servant than to adopt out of childlessness and longing for an heir, birth parents were more likely.  Regardless, the only Sinnetts or Sennetts living in St. Catharines or Lincoln County were Roman Catholics, which made them unlikely relatives for the matriarch of a family of Methodists and Baptists.

A breakthrough in the research came as a message from Gert Howell, the great-granddaughter of Pat Sennett, whom she believed to be Jane’s brother.  Gert’s mother had left notes on what she remembered about Pat’s background.  The notes showed that Pat was the eldest child of a large family, including three sets of twins,[1] whose father was Catholic and whose mother was Presbyterian.  The family had come to Canada on a sailing vessel, and the father had died at sea.  “His body was wrapped in canvas and thrown overboard.  If a body was kept on the boat, sharks followed it and tried to upset it.”  Gert went on to say that she had found a record of Pat Sennett’s marriage to Mary Doyle in the Catholic Church in St. Catharines.  The marriage record listed Pat’s parents as Michael Sennett (not Mathew) and Margaret Pepper.

The “Noonan Family History” on Ancestry.com provided similar information[2].  It stated that Michael Sinnett was born to John and Elizabeth Sinnett in County Wexford, Ireland in 1792.  He was a school teacher until he married Margaret Pepper in 1831.  Shortly thereafter, Michael rented a farm in County Wexford near his father’s residence, which was about one mile from the village of Klennygall,[3] where they lived for 17 years.  In 1848, at the height of the potato famine, Michael’s family, including 11 children, left their farm and sailed for Canada along with Michael’s brothers John and Garrett Sinnett.  During the trip, Michael died and was buried at sea.  A few days later, baby Ellen also died.  Margaret, her remaining 10 children, and her brothers-in-law continued on to Canada, sailing up the St. Lawrence River to Lake Ontario and eventually landing in Port Dalhousie near St. Catharines.

This information was enough to find census records of a Mathew Sinnet living in Port Dalhousie and a Margaret Sinnett living in St. Catharines with a family of Sullivans.  Additional records include a 1920 death registration for Matthew Sinnett that shows his parents as Michael Sinnett and Margaret Peper.  From the death record it appears likely that Mathew Sinnett is Jane’s brother, as is the Patrick Sennett, son of Michael Sennett and Margaret Pepper, who died in Illinois in 1920.[4]  

Records from the Parish of Clonegal, County Carlow, round out the information on the Sinnett family.  The Clonegal parish records show Michael, Garrett, and John Sinnott residing in “Garryhastin.” Garryhasten (the current spelling) is located in County Wexford but borders on Counties Carlow and Wicklow.  It is 2.4 km by (current) road from Clonegall, County Carlow, and 1.8 km from Clonegal Watch House Village, County Wexford.  

Location of Garryhasten

The Griffith’s Valuation of 1853 records an Elizabeth Sinnott (possibly Michael’s mother?) living in Garryhasten.[5]  She was the tenant of a house and lands owned by Geroge W. Maunsell, who owned several other properties in the area, some of them vacant.  Vacancy was common at the end of the potato famine, as many tenants had been evicted due to their inability to pay rent or had left voluntarily to find opportunities in North America.

The Clonegal parish registers record the following children of Michael or Mick Sinnott (sometimes spelled Synnott) and Margaret or Peg Pepper (sometimes shown as Peppard):

Mary Sinnett presumably was born in Garryhasten, County Wexford, the residence shown on the parish register. She was christened on August 12, 1838, in Clonegal, Carlow, Ireland.[6]

Margaret Sinnett presumably was born in Garryhasten and was christened on August 15, 1840, in Clonegal.[7] 

Mathew Sinnett presumably was born in Garryhasten and was christened on June 27, 1842 in Clonegal.[8]

Bridget Sinnett presumably was born in Garryhasten and was christened on May 6, 1845 in Clonegal.

Apparently two daughters named Ellen were baptized in Clonegal.  Ellen Sinnett #1 presumably was born in Garryhasten and was christened on August 6, 1843.[9]  Her parents were listed as Mick Sinnott and Marg. Peppard.  This Ellen appears too old to have been the “baby Ellen” who died at sea in 1848 according to the “Noonan Family Story.”  Presumably she died sometime before 1847 when the second Ellen was baptized.

Ellen Sinnett #2 was christened in Clonegal on August 8, 1847.[10]  Her parents were listed as Mick Synnott and Margaret 121.  Their residence similarly was shown as 121, which appears to be a code, perhaps for “illegible,” used in a hand transcription of the original parish register.  This incomplete information leaves some question as to whether the second Ellen actually was a daughter of Michael Sinnott and Margaret Pepper.  However, her christening date is consistent with a baby named Ellen who died at sea in about 1848.

The Clonegal Parish baptismal register lists only these five children of Michael and Margaret Sinnott and gives no hint of any twins.  It omits Patrick, probably because the earliest available register begins in January 1833.  According to his death certificate, Patrick was born on March 17, 1832.[11]  The register also omits Elizabeth, the sister (Mrs. Bradt) to whom the “Noonan Family History” attributes the stories of Michael’s and Margaret’s marriage and their immigration to Canada.  She, too, may have been born before January 1833.  Census records show her birth year to be the same as Patrick’s (1832),[12][13] but according to her obituary, she was born on February 2, 1833.[14] Most notably the baptismal register omits Jane, leaving open the possibility that she was not the biological daughter of Michael and Margaret Sinnott.

However, the register shows no children of Michael’s and Margaret’s family baptized in 1833 through 1837, although it is almost certain that children were born to them during those years.  One possible explanation is that all their children born during those years were stillborn or died so soon after birth that they were not baptized.  Alternative explanations are that the family attended a different church, or that the register is incomplete (e.g., lines missed in transcription).  Attendance at another church seems most likely; it is possible that the family did not move to Garryhasten until 1837 or 1838.

Let’s assume that Michael Sinnott and Margaret Pepper were Jane’s birth parents and consider what their lives must have been.  Their marriage itself was unusual in that, according to the “Noonan Family History,” Michael was a Catholic and Margaret was a Protestant.  The “Noonan Family History” says, “[The marriage] was against the laws of King William of Orange, which were still in force.  The feeling between the Protestant and Catholic creeds was very bitter.  A priest who performed a marriage ceremony between a Protestant and a Catholic was subject to the most extreme form of capital punishment, usually death by hanging.  Margaret voluntarily left the church of her father and joined the Catholic Church.  They were married by a veiled priest, a high official of the church in the monastery at Carlow.”

This story sounds rather fanciful, like a tale that has grown in the telling, but it has some basis in fact.  The Penal Laws of Ireland, among other restrictions, prohibited a Roman Catholic Priest from marrying a Protestant to a Catholic or marrying two Protestants.  The penalties varied over time.  Burke (1914)[15] describes the applicable laws.  The first of these, proclaimed under William III (William of Orange) in the late 1600s, prohibited a Protestant woman “possessed of or heir to real estate or personalty [personal property] of the value of £500” from marrying a man unless he had obtained a certificate stating that he was a known Protestant.  It also stated that a “popish priest or other person” convicted of conducting a forbidden marriage would “suffer one year’s imprisonment and forfeit £20.”  Further laws proclaimed under Queen Ann in the early 1700s pronounced that any popish priest convicted of celebrating matrimony knowing that either party was a Protestant would be declared a “popish regular.”  Under other laws anyone designated a “popish regular” was to be transported out of the kingdom.  A subsequent law proclaimed under George I in 1725 stated that a popish priest who performed the marriage of a Catholic and a Protestant or two Protestants would be guilty of a felony.  Felonies were punishable by death. However, judges could mitigate the sentence, and by the mid-eighteenth century not all felons were executed.[16]  According to Dunn (2012), the last hanging of a priest for performing an illegal marriage occurred in 1726, and from 1793 to 1833 the penalty was reduced to a fine of £5,000.[17]

While the priest who married Michael and Margaret would not have been subject to the death penalty, he would have risked a large fine.  In addition, his life might have been at risk from angry Protestants wanting to mete out their own form of justice.¹⁵  For those reasons perhaps he did wear a veil, but it apparently didn’t effectively hide his identity, if Michael and Margaret knew that he was “a high official of the church.”

Margaret would have faced real risks by marrying a Catholic.  She would have forfeited any property or inheritance, likely been estranged from her family, and lived a life of the deprivations that Catholics suffered.  Nevertheless, she embraced the Catholic faith, retaining it even when living with her daughter Margaret Sullivan and family, who gave their religion Baptist.[18]

Before and after his marriage Michael’s life must also have been affected by the repressive laws against Roman Catholics.  His ability to practice his profession as schoolteacher was limited.  Earlier the Penal Laws included schoolteachers among the “popish regulars” who could be transported.  By the time Michael was old enough to teach, Catholic children were being taught in charter charity schools, whose main purpose was to convert the children to Protestantism.  However, there were unofficial “hedge schools” run by Catholic teachers who were paid a meager salary by the students’ parents.[19]

Could the pay have been so poor that Michael turned to farming in the hope of better supporting a wife a family?  Agriculture offered little more than subsistence for the tenant farmer.  Did the opportunities for him to teach fade when a national school system with education for both Catholics and Protestants emerged in the 1830?  It seems unlikely, unless he lacked qualifications, because the majority of teachers in the Province of Leinster were Catholics^19,[20]  Genealogy research can tell us what happened, but the motivation for actions may be lost to history.

Whatever his reasoning, Michael appears to have made a poor choice when he decided to farm in the early 1830s.  Tenant farmers in Ireland were never well off.  In order to pay the rent they needed to use most of their small plots to grow produce for sale.  They relied on a potato, the “Irish lumper,” as their staple food because it used up relatively little arable land and resources.  According to Holderby (2016),¹⁹ “potatoes were eaten four times a day, roasted, boiled, made into potato cakes and boxty bread, or flavoured with salt or herrings if these were available.”

The potato crops began to fail in 1845, attacked by a fungus.  As the lumper was the only type of potato grown in Ireland, the blight was devastating.  Half the potato crop was lost in the first year, and three-quarters of the crop failed over the next seven years.[21]  As a result, many farmers were unable to feed their families, and hundreds of thousands died from starvation or diseases caused by malnutrition.  To make matters worse absentee British landlords evicted tenants who were unable to pay their rent.  As many as 500,000 people were evicted between 1846 and 1854.[22]

It was under these circumstances that the Sinnotts immigrated to Canada.  According to the “Noonan Family History,” their landlord gave them financial assistance to undertake the move.  If so, he appears to have been more charitable than most landlords.

Assuming that the timeline in the “Noonan Family History” is correct, the Sinnott family would have arrived in Port Dalhousie before the 1851 census.  None of the known family members appear in that census, but the sheets for St. Catharines and nearby Grantham from 1851 census did not survive.  The 1851 census does list a Dorah Sinet, age 14, living in sub-district of Clinton, Lincoln County, with the McLaughlin family.[23]  Could this be a daughter of Michael and Margaret who, like Jane, was “adopted” because her widowed mother could not care for so many children?

By 1861, some of the family members appear in the census.  A “P. Sinet, ” age 25, was recorded in District 3 of Grantham Township.  His household included “M. Sinet” (male, age 16) and “M. Sinet” (female, age 50), a widow.[24]  At the same time, George and Elizabeth Bradt and their children were living in the Township of Thorold,[25] which is 7.5 km from St. Catharines by (current) road.  Other census and vital records provide glimpses into the lives of the Sinnett family in Canada:

Patrick Sennett married Mary Doyle in St. Catharines.  Patrick and Mary had six children: Mayme, Margaret, Michael, Lawrence, Matthew, and John.[26]  In about 1867 the family moved to the United States.  Patrick died in Wenona, Marshall Co., Illinois, on April 21, 1920.  Mary died in 1929.[27]  Both are buried in St. Mary’s Cemetery, Wenona.

Elizabeth Sinnett married George Bradt in about 1852.  George was born in Brantford, Brant County, Upper Canada on May 14, 1828. ^[28]  They had five children, all born in Canada: Henrietta, Charlotte, Jane, Mary, and Catherine.  Initially, they lived in Thorold, but in 1865 they moved to the United States, settling in Furnessville, Porter County, Indiana.  Around 1880 the family moved to Nebraska, where they were enumerated in Lower Loup, Deer Creek, and Oak Creek, Sherman County.[29]  Their stay in Nebraska was short, as they returned to Porter County in about 1883.²⁸  George Bradt died there on March 3, 1901, and Elizabeth followed him on April 24, 1906.[30]  They are buried in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana.

Margaret Sinnett married Timothy Sullivan, who was born about 1841 in Upper Canada.[31]  They had four children: Carrie,[32] William, Fred, and Frank.  They lived in St. Catharines until at least 1881.¹⁸  By 1892 they were living in Buffalo, New York.[33] Margaret died at the age of 90 on July, 14, 1931 in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Ontario.[34]  She was buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Buffalo, on July 16 of that year.

Mathew Sinnett married Margaret Cunningham, who was born on about May 2, 1845 in Niagara On-The-Lake, Ontario.[35]  Mathew and Margaret had seven children: Margaret, Ellen Dora, John Robert, George, Frederick, Jane, and William.  They lived much of their lives in Port Dalhousie, where Mathew worked as a miller.[36]  Mathew died in St. Catharines on May 2, 1920,[37] and Margaret died there on February 13, 1929, aged about 83.³⁵

Jane Sinnett married John Evers Cuff(e), a newspaper publisher and Mayor of St. Catharines from 1887 to 1888.  They had nine children, the oldest of whom, Kate, married Frank Paradice.  Jane lived somewhat over two years after the death of her husband, dying in St. Catharines on September 10, 1914.[38]  She was buried in the Cuffe family plot in Victoria Lawn Cemetery.

Margaret (Pepper) Sinnett, Michael’s widow, lived with her daughter Margaret Sullivan, likely from the time of the daughter’s marriage until her own death.  The records do not show what contact she had with her other children, but she lived close enough to Mathew and Jane that some interaction should have been possible.  Margaret died in St. Catharines of “old age” on July 15, 1889, having survived famine, what must have been a horrendous sea voyage, and as a widow attempting to raise her family in a new country.  According to her death certificate, she was 86 years old.[39]

---

[1] According to this account there were 15 children; none of the twins survived.  The “Noonan Family History” says that the family left Ireland with their 11 children.

[2] “This information comes from Mrs. Elizabeth Bradt of Porter, IN, while visiting her sister Margaret Sinnett Sullivan in Buffalo, NY, Oct. 10, 1901.”

[3] Klennygall appears to be a misspelling of Clonegall/Clonegal.

[4] "Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3YZ-8Q6 : accessed 15 Aug 2012), Patrick Sennett, 21 Apr 1920; citing reference cn 15, FHL microfilm 1562484.

[5] Griffith's Valuation Record Information [Online] http://www.askaboutireland.ie/griffith-valuation/index.xml?action=doPlaceSearch&Submit.x=31&Submit.y=10&Submit&freetext=Garryhasten.  Link to image available.  Accessed May 3, 2020.

[6] Clonegal Parish (Counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Ireland), Clonegal (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin), "07 Jan. 1833 to 27 Nov. 1842 04197 / 01 image 88,"  Mary Sinnott Baptism; digital images, National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Records at the NLI (https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700: accessed 24 Jun 2017).  Birth place assumed based on residence shown on baptismal record.

[7] Clonegal Parish (Counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Ireland), Clonegal (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin), "07 Jan. 1833 to 27 Nov. 1842 04197 / 01 image 136,"  Margaret Sinnott Baptism; digital images, National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Records at the NLI (https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700: accessed 24 Jun 2017).  Birth place assumed based on residence shown on baptismal record.

[8] Clonegal Parish (Counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Ireland), Clonegal (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin), 07 Jan. 1833 to 27 Nov. 1842 04197 / 01 image 178, Mathew Sinnott Baptism; digital images, National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Records at the NLI (https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700: accessed 24 Jun 2017).  Birth place assumed based on residence shown on baptismal record.

[9] Clonegal Parish (Counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Ireland), Clonegal (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin), “27 Nov. 1842 to 05 Dec. 1852,” Ellen Sinnott Baptism Film 04197-02 image 15; digital images, National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Records at the NLI (https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700: accessed 24 Jun 2017).  Birth place assumed based on residence shown on baptismal record.

[10] Clonegal Parish (Counties of Wicklow, Carlow, Wexford, Ireland), Clonegal (Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin), “27 Nov. 1842 to 05 Dec. 1852,” Ellen Synnott Baptism Film 04197-02, image 111; digital images, National Library of Ireland, Catholic Parish Records at the NLI (https://registers.nli.ie/parishes/0700: accessed 24 Jun 2017).

[11] FamilySearch, “Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths, 1916-1947,” database, Discover Your Family History (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/N3YZ-8Q6: accessed 15 Aug 2012), Patrick Sennett, 21 Apr 1920; citing reference cn 15, FHL microfilm 1562484.

[12] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Ontario, Welland. Thorold. Image No.: 4391954_00204; digital images, Library and Archives, Search: Census of 1861 (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/1861.aspx). Rec. Date: 4 May 2020.

[13] “United States Census, 1870”, database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MX6R-7K1: 19 March 2020).

[14] Death notice for Mrs. George H. Bradt published April 26, 1906, in The Chesterton Tribune, Volume 23, No. 4, Page 4.

[15] Burke, W.P.  1914.  “The Irish priests in the penal times (1660-1760) [microform]: from the state papers in H. M. Record Offices, Dublin and London, the Bodleian Library, and the British Museum” pp. 187-189. [Full text online] Internet Archive https://archive.org/stream/MN42003ucmf_6/MN42003ucmf_6_djvu.txt.  Accessed May 4, 2020.

[16] Universities of Hertfordshire and Sheffield and the Open University. 2018. “Punishment Sentences at the Old Bailey Late 17th Century to the early 20th Century” The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, London’s Central Criminal Court 1674 to 1913. [online] https://www.oldbaileyonline.org/static/Punishment.jsp.  Accessed May 4, 2020.

[17] Dunn, K.  2012.  A short history of mixed marriage in Ireland, Chapter 11 in Mixed Emotions: Real Stories of Mixed Marriage. Northern Ireland Mixed Marriage Association [Online] https://sharedfuture.news/2019/01/26/mixed-emotions-a-short-history-of-mixed-marriage-in-ireland/ Accessed May 9, 2020.

[18] Census of Canada, 1871, Database & Images, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa.  Image No.: 4396294 [online] https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1871/Pages/1871.aspx, and Census of Canada, 1881, Database & Images, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa.  Image No.: e008188346 [online] https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1881/Pages/1881.aspx.  Accessed May 4, 2020.

[19] Holderby, C.B.  2016.  “Protestants in Ireland their impact on society and the family,”  Family Search Research Wiki [online] https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Protestants_in_Ireland_their_impact_on_society_and_the_ family. Accessed May 4, 2020.

[20] County Wexford is in the Province of Leinster.

[21] History.com Editors. 2017. History (the History Channel) https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/irish-potato-famine (updated June 7, 2019).

[22] Donnelly, J. 2011. The Irish Famine. BC British History. [Online] http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/victorians/famine_01.shtml

[23] 1851 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Ontario, Lincoln, Clinton.  Image No.: e002357771; digital images, Library and Archives, Search: Census of 1851 (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1851/Pages/1851.aspx). Rec. Date: 16 May 2020.

[24] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Ontario, Lincoln, Grantham, Image No.: 4391944_00274; digital images, Library and Archives, Search: Census of 1861 (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/1861.aspx). Rec. Date: 16 May 2020.  Note:  Assuming that “P” was Patrick and the male “M” was Matthew, all three were several years younger than expected based on other evidence.  However, otherwise this family fits the profile of Michael’s widow and two of their children.

[25] 1861 census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, Ontario, Welland, Thorold. Image No.: 4391954_00204; digital images, Library and Archives, Search: Census of 1861 (https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1861/Pages/1861.aspx). Rec. Date: 4 May 2020.  Cit. Date: 4 May 2020. 

[26] Death notice for Patrick Sennett (unreferenced), image on Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 17 May 2020), memorial page for Patrick Sennett (1832–1920), Find a Grave Memorial no. 95563685, citing Saint Mary’s Cemetery, Wenona, LaSalle County, Illinois, USA.

[27] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com: accessed 17 May 2020), memorial page for Mary A. Sennett (1837–1929), Find a Grave Memorial no. 95563749, citing Saint Marys Cemetery, Wenona, LaSalle County, Illinois, USA.

[28] Death notice for George H. Bradt published March 15, 1901, in The Chesterton Tribune, Volume 17, No. 49, Page 5.

[29] “United States Census, 1880,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8YL-BJJ : 14 August 2017), Elizabeth Bradt in household of George Bradt, Lower Loup, Deer Creek, and Oak Creek, Sherman, Nebraska, United States; citing enumeration district ED 160, sheet 12A, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,756.

[30] Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 17 May 2020), memorial page for Elizabeth Sennett Bradt (2 Feb 1833–24 Apr 1906), Find a Grave Memorial no. 44729818, citing Saint Patrick’s Cemetery, Chesterton, Porter County, Indiana, USA.

[31] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints database, Discover Your Family History (www.familysearch.org: accessed 6 Nov 2011), .Canada Census, 1871 for Timothy Sullivan Census Place: 03, St Catharine b, Lincoln 21, Ontario.

[32] Louisa, age 8 in the 1871 census, appears to correspond with Carrie, age 18 in the 1881 census.  Carrie also appears in the 1892 New York State census (age 27).

[33] Citing this Record
“New York State Census, 1892,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQSJ-KD7: 18 August 2019), Timothy Sullivan, 1892; citing Buffalo, Ward 23, E.D. 02, county offices, New York; FHL microfilm 825,695.  Accessed May 18, 2020.

[34] Ontario, Canada Archives of Ontario, County Death Registers, 022223, Margaret Sinnett; digital image,  Ancestry.com Operations Inc., "County of Lincoln, Division of St. Catherine's," ancestry.ca (www.ancestry.ca: 16 Feb 2012).

[35] “Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKCG-8B3: 26 March 2020), Margaret Sinnett, 13 Feb 1929; citing Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, 22223, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 2,210,920.

[36] “Canada Census, 1871,” database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M43G-M4B : 24 October 2018), Mathew Sinnet, Port Dalhousie, Louth, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada; citing 1871; citing National Archives of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Census of Canada, 1881.  Database & Images, National Archives of Canada, Ottawa.  Port Dalhousie, Lincoln, Ontario, Image No.: e008188764 [online] https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1881/Pages/1881.aspx.  Accessed May 4, 2020.

[37] “Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JKWQ-FBX : 26 March 2020), Mathew Sirrett, 02 May 1920; citing St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, rn 23176, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,863,499.

[38] “Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JXLR-BBX: 2 April 2020), Jane Sennett Cuffe, 10 Sep 1914; citing Saint Catharines, Grantham, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, , Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm.

[39] “Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JDK5-JPL: 26 March 2020), Margaret Sinnett, 15 Jul 1889; citing St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, yr 1889 cn 9942, Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,853,492.

The Maggs Family

The Maggs family is linked to the Paradice family through the marriage of Sarah Maggs (1828-1894) to George Paradice.

The earliest records of the Maggs family date from the 1700s in the ecclesiastical parish of Potterne, Wiltshire.  Until 1852 this parish included the villages of Marston and Worton.  The Maggs family lived in Marston and attended the Church of St. Mary the Virgin in Potterne until Christ Church opened in Worton in 1843.  The genealogy of the Maggs family of Marston is based entirely on the parish registers of St. Mary the Virgin and Christ Church and therefore is subject to more potential errors than genealogies based on multiple sources.

Potterne lies between the chalk escarpments of the Marlborough Downs and Salisbury Plain, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from the ancient market town of Devizes.  Worton is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Devizes.  A History of the County of Wiltshire[1] describes the setting of Marston and Worton thus:

The land in the parishes of Worton and Marston is uniformly about 200 ft. above sea-level.  Bulkington Brook rises in West Lavington, flows north-west through Worton and Marston, and is the boundary between them for part of its length.  The village of Worton lies on the road from Melksham to West Lavington.  That of Marston is a few hundred yards to the south.

Teresa Lewis quoted B.M.H. Crane, who wrote about the parish of Worton, saying, “There are no, nor were there, any famous families, no large estate, no earth shattering events have happened here.  Worton is a village of the ordinary:  Ordinary people doing ordinary things, leaving only slight marks of their passing.”[2]  The same statement likely applies to Marston.

In the 18^th and 19^th centuries the land around Marston, Worton and Potterne was largely agricultural, although the textile industry was also present.  An agricultural census conducted in 1801 showed that the crops grown in the area were 45% “barley and oats”, 31% wheat, and 24% “peas and beans”.[3]  Sheep were also important.  As early as 1660 there was a mill in Worton.  In the mid-1700s it was a thriving flour mill, which also had facilities for wool-making.[4]

There is little information about the occupations of the Maggs family.  The 1842 marriage certificate of James Maggs lists his father’s occupation as “labourer.”[5]  It seems likely that most members of the Maggs family were poor and uneducated.  Both the father and grandfather of James Maggs signed their marriage registers with “X”.  Their lives would not have been easy.

Thomas Maggs (About 1745? – 1829)

The earliest record that can be linked somewhat reliably to Sarah Maggs, wife of George Paradice, is the marriage by banns of Thomas Maggs and Mary Beard on November 4, 1777 at St. Mary the Virgin, Potterne.[6]  Although the parish registers begin in 1575, the earliest record of “Maggs” in the parish is the marriage of William Maggs, a blacksmith, to Jane Howell on July 5, 1756.  It is possible but unlikely that this couple were the parents of Thomas Maggs as baptismal records include two children of William Maggs (mother not listed): Ann christened on February 4, 1857 and William christened on May 15, 1758.  Had Thomas been born in 1859 he would have been only 18 when he married.  His burial record suggests that he was much older.  Thomas Maggs was buried on April 7, 1829 at the age of 84.[7]  If his age at death is correct, Thomas would have been born in about 1745.

Mary Beard, the wife of Thomas Maggs, appears to have been the daughter of Thomas Beard and Jane (or Joan) Shergold.[8]  Mary was born in Worton in about 1756 and was christened on April 30, 1756.[9]  She died, presumably in Marston, at the age of about 62[10] and was buried in Potterne on May 8, 1818.[11]  Thomas Maggs and Mary Beard had eight children whose baptisms were recorded in the Potterne parish register: They were:

William Maggs, who was christened on March 29, 1778[12] and was buried in Worton on March 20, 1863;[13] William married Ann White in Potterne on July 5, 1802.[14]  They had the following four children: Rebecca, Margaret, John and Elizabeth;

Thomas Maggs,[15] who was christened on December 12, 1779.¹²  He was the grandfather of Sarah Maggs Paradice, and his life is described below;

Ann Maggs, who was christened on August 18, 1782,¹² died in infancy, and was buried in Potterne on October 13, 1783;¹²

Mary Maggs,¹² who was christened on December 7, 1783, apparently died unmarried in 1856 at the age of about 73, and was buried in Worton;[16]

Sarah Maggs, who was christened on October 29, 1786;¹²

James Maggs, who was christened on April 1, 1790¹² died in infancy, and was buried in Potterne on August 13, 1790;¹² 

Betty Maggs, who was christened on September 23, 1792;¹² and

John Maggs, who was christened on May 1, 1796,¹² died at the age of 37, and was buried in Potterne on October 27m 1833.[17]  John married Jane Burt[18], the daughter of James Burt.  They had five children: Caroline, Charles, Sarah, Frederick and Selma Jane.

Thomas Maggs (1779 – 1869)

Thomas Maggs, the second son of Thomas Maggs and Mary Beard, was christened on December 12, 1779 in Potterne, Wiltshire, and lived his long life in the nearby village of Marston.  Little is known of his life.  According to his son James’s marriage certificate, Thomas was a labourer⁵.  This might mean that, like James, he was an agricultural labourer, who worked in the fields for daily or weekly wages and perhaps the use of a small cottage in which to house his family.  He might have worked in one of the local industries, but in that case his occupation would more likely have been listed as something more specific like cloth worker, tucker, or miller.  Another possibility is that he was supported by the parish in return for physical labour such as roadwork, as was done in other Wiltshire parishes.[19] 

On May 19, 1802, Thomas married Mary Bolter (or Boulter) in Little Cheverell, Wiltshire,[20] which is about 4 miles (6.4 km) from Marston.  The banns for the marriage were published in the parish churches of both Potterne and Little Cheverell on March 21, March 28, and April 4, 1802.  Publication of banns was a typical practice in the Anglican Church.  On three successive Sundays the priest would announce, “I publish the banns of marriage between N and N.  If anyone knows cause or just impediment why these two should not be joined in matrimony, ye are to declare it.”

Mary Bolter’s origins are unclear.  Presumably she was a member of the parish church of Little Cheverell, as the marriage took place in that church.  The Little Cheverell parish register lists numerous Bolters or Boulters.  However, there is no baptism of a Mary who would have been of an age to have married Thomas Maggs, nor is there a record of a Bolter/Boulter death that would have left a widow Mary at the right time for her to have married Thomas Maggs.  A Mary, daughter of Henry and Anne Bolter, was baptized in Potterne on October 13, 1771, but she seems rather old to have married Thomas Maggs.  Thus, Mary’s parentage is unknown.

Mary might have had a family connection to Robert Bolter, who was a witness to her marriage.  Based on a later burial record, Robert Bolter appears to have been the parish clerk.  Thus, rather than being a family member, he might have acted as witness in his capacity as parish clerk.  On the other hand, Robert might have been a relative as well as parish clerk.  A clerk would need to be literate.  Mary’s family may have been able to provide some education for her, as it appears that she signed her name in the marriage register rather than marking “X” as Thomas did.

Thomas Maggs and Mary Bolter had seven children, all of whom probably were born in Marston and were baptized in the parish church of Potterne (St. Mary the Virgin).  G. Edmondstone, Vicar, performed the baptisms of the last four children.  The children were:

James Maggs,[21] who was christened on December 16, 1804;¹² James was the father of Sarah, and his biography is presented separately;

Elizabeth Maggs, who was christened on June 21, 1807;¹²

Jane Maggs, who was christened on July 15, 1810;¹²

Rebecca Maggs, who was christened on January 9; 1814;[22]

William Maggs, who was christened on April 20, 1817;²²

George Maggs, who was christened on February 11, 1821;²² and

John Maggs, who was christened on February 13, 1824.²²  John was a labourer.[23]  He married Anne Ragbourne, daughter of James Ragbourne, on August 14, 1845²³ in Potterne with Charles Maggs and Grace Ragbourne as witnesses.[24]

Mary (Bolton) Maggs died in 1856 or 1857 and was buried in Worton.[25]  The exact date of her burial is uncertain because the Chapelry of Worton has burial records for two women named Mary Maggs who were of similar ages and were buried within less than a year of each other.  The second Mary probably was Thomas’s sister.  One Mary, aged 74, was buried on August 9, 1856, and the other, aged 76, was buried on January 27, 1857.  Given the uncertainties associated ages in the parish registers, positive identification of the two women is not possible.

Thomas Maggs lived to the age of 89, according to the burial record, or at least 90 based on the date of his baptism.  He was buried in Worton on February 18, 1869, in a service conducted by A.E. Aldridge.

---

[1] H F Chettle, W R Powell, P A Spalding and P M Tillott, “Parishes: Potterne”, in A History of the County of Wiltshire: Volume 7, ed. R B Pugh and Elizabeth Crittall (London, 1953), pp. 207-217. Digitized [online]: British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/wilts/vol7/pp207-217.  Accessed January 2, 2020.

[2]Lewis, T. 2012. Worton & Marston. [Online] Wiltshire Online Parish Clerks.  https://www.wiltshire-opc.org.uk/genealogy/index.php/parish-directory/item/33-worton-marston. Accessed January 2, 2020.

[3] GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth, History of Marston, in Kennet and Wiltshire | Map and description, A Vision of Britain through Time.  [Online] http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/11968.  Accessed January 2, 2020.

[4]“The History of Worton Mill”, Wiltshire OPC Project/2014.  [Online] Wiltshire Online Parish Clerks.  https://www.wiltshire-opc.org.uk/Items/Worton/Worton%20&%20Marston%20-%20History%20of%20Worton%20Mill.pdf.  Accessed January 2, 2020.

[5] England, General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage - James Maggs and Emma Maria Withers, Originally recorded in the Registration District of Keynsham, County of Somerset, 1842.  Copy issued 2 Oct 2003, Application No. PAS 935447/1, Certificate MXB 47937.

[6] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne, General Register (baptisms, marriages, burials) 1653-1771; baptisms and burials 1771-1812; baptisms 1813-1864; banns 1754-1793; marriages 1754-1796, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279344, Item 32 (Vol. 1172/6), page 9, no. 25.

[7] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 3, page 57, # 453.

[8] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne, General Register (baptisms, marriages, burials) 1653-1771; baptisms and burials 1771-1812; baptisms 1813-1864; banns 1754-1793; marriages 1754-1796, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279344, Item 28 (1172/2).

[9] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne, General Register (baptisms, marriages, burials) 1653-1771; baptisms and burials 1771-1812; baptisms 1813-1864; banns 1754-1793; marriages 1754-1796, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279344, Item 29 (Vol.1172/3).

[10] The burial register gives Mary’s age at death as 67, which would make her date of birth 1851.  This record appears to be the only Mary Maggs who could have been in her 60s.

[11] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 4 (1172/14), page 17, #135.

[12] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne, General Register (baptisms, marriages, burials) 1653-1771; baptisms and burials 1771-1812; baptisms 1813-1864; banns 1754-1793; marriages 1754-1796, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279344, Item 29 (Vol. 1172/3).

[13] Church of England, Chapelry of Worton-Marston, Baptisms 1841-1908 and burials 1841-1954, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279345.  Items 6-7, Page 22, #173.

[14] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 1 (1172/7), marriages page 9, #36.

[15] England, General Register Office, Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage - James Maggs and Emma Maria Withers, Originally recorded in the Registration District of Keynsham, County of Somerset, 1842.  Copy issued 2 Oct 2003, Application No. PAS 935447/1, Certificate MXB 47937.

[16] Church of England, Chapelry of Worton-Marston, Baptisms 1841-1908 and burials 1841-1954, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279345.  Items 6-7, Page 15, #116 & #120. 

[17] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 4 (1172/14), page 73, # 581.

[18] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 3 (1172/9), page 20, #40.

[19] Wiltshire Historical Note from Downton Mass Exodus. [Online] http://thedowntonstory.com/ Accessed January 2, 2020.

[20] .  Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 1 (1172/7), banns page 11, #52. .... Church of England, Parish Church of Little Cheverell, General Register of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials 1647-1760: Baptisms and burials 1760-1812, Marriages 1755-1837, Banns 1754-1811, Microfilm copy of original registers from Wiltshire Record Office (2371/1). Family History Library, FHL Film No. 950255.

[21] Certified Copy of a Marriage  Certificate - George Paradice and Sarah Maggs (1854, 2nd quarter.  District of Bristol.  Number 107.  Certificate issued 23 August 2001.  MXA 886293.).

[22] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne, General Register (baptisms, marriages, burials) 1653-1771; baptisms and burials 1771-1812; baptisms 1813-1864; banns 1754-1793; marriages 1754-1796, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279344, Item 30 (Vo. 1172/4).

[23] Church of England, Parish Church of Potterne Marriage and Burial Records, 1793-1907, Microfilm copy of original registers from Family History Library, FHL Film No. 1279345, items 1-5, Item No. 3 (1172/9), page 46, #91.

[24] John was shown on the marriage record as a minor, although he would have been 21 based on his date of baptism.  This entry might be an error, but it suggests the possibility that it was a different John Maggs.  Anne was shown as “of age.”

[25] Church of England, Chapelry of Worton-Marston, Baptisms 1841-1908 and burials 1841-1954, Microfilm of original records in the Wiltshire County Record Office, Trowbridge.  FHL Film No. 1279345.  Items 6-7, Page 15, #116 & #120.