John LESTER m. Judith LUCAS , 1759 London

[Margie A.]

My family's theory has been that Ann Breach b. 1703, bap. St. Martin in the Fields, was John Lester's mother. (John, 1738-1777). He was a merchant tailor, of St. Giles in the Fields but not baptized there. I suspect his father may also have been a tailor because I found no apprenticeship record for him. (May have been apprenticed by a close relative (father or uncle) and had an informal apprenticeship.) My brickwall: to establish who John's parents were? (His brother Thomas was born c. 1742.)

 

[gibbo]

Are you aware there is a will online in National Archives UK for John? IF not sometimes they are worth having a look at as they can mention family which might give up some leads at times. [Free to download tho you have to register first]

Will of John Lester, Salesman of Saint Giles in the Fields , Middlesex
Reference: PROB 11/1035/114
Description: Will of John Lester, Salesman of Saint Giles in the Fields , Middlesex
Date: 30 September 1777
Held by: The National Archives, Kew
Legal status: Public Record(s)
Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

 

[ptjw7]

I have down loaded the said will (free at the moment) but it will take some reading?
left money to 2 sons eldest William Loader Lester and David Loader Lester
and daughter Ann.

 

[Margie A.]

I just joined the forum yesterday and to have replies already is truly very exciting. I already had John's will which confirmed the names of his children. William's unusual middle name confirmed that John was a tailor, when I found the apprenticeship records, him as Master, for his son with full name, 'of St. Giles in the Fields' and one other student. I have been to the church where he and Judith were married (1759) and have seen the register there. They lived on nearby Monmouth Street which I have walked!

 

[Margie A.]

Thank you for information about John's will and how to acquire a copy. Luckily I had had a copy (which at that time I paid for) when I visited London in 2005 which made my visit all the more meaningful. John and Judith had another child, Mary, who died very young, hence not mentioned in the will. I am descended from Daniel and his will is very interesting and has generated at least one more brick wall that I'll get to eventually. I know a great deal already about John's wife Judith, her parents, her father's recognition as a master silk weaver. They were Huguenots. I have found so much but not who John's parents were.

 

[ptjw7]

The further you go back the less information is on documents unlike a modern marriage where the fathers names are included.
I suppose you have no definite information as to where John was born!

 

[ptjw7]

On Ancestry there is a tree for John Lister but it does have some 'errors' in that children's ages are the wrong way around with William being the youngest instead of the oldest as per the will

 

[Margie A.]

In London (2005) I went to the LMA and found the record of baptisms of John & Judith's 4 children in St. Giles in the Fields but scrolling back, didn't find John's own. At the time of his marriage the document said he was 'of this parish'. He is connected in some way to the Breach family who were of St. Martin in the Fields around the same time. However I can't find the link. A Bible that was originally owned by John Fisher, willed to his granddaughter Sarah Breach, has recordings of Lesters after Daniel. (Sarah & G. Thompson's children died young, leaving her without descendants. Ann was her younger sister.) I have found John Fisher's will that shows the link to Sarah. But who were John's parents?

 

[ptjw7]

The tree on Ancestry.co.uk has John's father as Thomas Lester but no dates.

 

[Margie A.]

Thanks for this lead, much appreciated. At the moment my favourite possibility is John Lester (Listor) who married Anne Smith, spinster, 13 June 1734, at Katherine by the Tower, City of London, London, England because in the Banns document he is listed as a 'taylor' in the City of London. (My theory is that John was apprenticed by his father because I couldn't find his apprenticeship record, just his as a Master.) In 1742 there is a death registration for Anne Lester, coincidentally the same year as John's brother Thomas's birth. Possibly Ann Breach (b. 1703) had been married and widowed by then and figured into the family later but was not John's mother but perhaps a significant person. Once on a message board I contacted someone with Breach family records and she told me the research was her husband's but he was too ill to be helpful. What she did know was that the Breach family 'was complicated' which I have thought useful in a way. I certainly appreciate all the suggestions I'm receiving!

 

[Margie A.]

The further you go back the less information is on documents unlike a modern marriage where the fathers names are included.
I suppose you have no definite information as to where John was born!

Sorry, I missed the part about no idea of birth location. That is correct. I am sure of the date of birth, thanks to an original solicitor's document, (London, 1868) that did a pedigree of 2 generations of ancestors of the deceased and 2 generations of descendants. It started with John Lester and Judith Lucas and John's brother Thomas (b. 1742). It ended with my g g g grandfather's generation, Richard Lester (1821-1923). Luckily I've been able to authenticate almost all of the information on it.

 

[ptjw7]

Thats great going - most of us never get that lucky
My relations just appeared as it were and most were illiterate to boot

 

[Margie A.]

Lucky for sure. It's like pure gold to a genealogist!