The further back you research the more likely your ancestors are to have remained in one place, but not always. You never know where they might be found, as I learned when searching for the family of my 4x great-grandparents, Peter Hodge and Fanny Horn.

Peter and Fanny were married in Bedminster, now part of Bristol, on 28 December 1800. At the time, Peter was a member of the 2nd Somerset Militia in which he’d enlisted in 1797. Peter, who was born in Taunton, was stationed at various locations in England and in Dublin, Ireland. Fanny, who was born in Minehead on the Somerset coast, and was 21 when she married, appears to have “followed the drum” with her husband on his militia postings.

Peter was a private on enlistment, before being promoted to corporal in 1802 and sergeant in 1803. When the militia was stood down following the defeat of Napoleon, the Hodge family settled in Bath where the Somerset militia made its headquarters in about 1814. On formal discharge at the age of 60 in 1835, Peter was described as a whitesmith intending to reside at Bath.

Bath baptisms, census and death

Peter and Fanny were living in Bath when their son Thomas Hodge, my 3x great-grandfather, was born and baptised there in 1815. It was the baptism record which made me curious because although I knew Peter and Fanny married in 1800, I’d not found any other children born in the fifteen years before before Thomas’ birth.

In 1841 Fanny was 60 and living south of the River Avon in Bath’s Lyncombe and Widcombe. Her husband Peter age 70 was recorded a whitesmith. In the same household was John Hodge age 15, their son who was baptised in Walcot, Bath in 1822. There was also a three-year-old named Peter Hodge whose place of birth was listed as foreign parts. This being an 1841 census, there was no other information, including nothing to confirm relationships.

When I eventually found a record of Fanny’s death in 1859, it was in Shadwell, in London’s East End. I wondered what had led her to London, and looked for her in the 1851 census.

Hampshire baptism, London censuses and death

By 1851, Fanny’s husband Peter had died, and I found her living in Shadwell with a son I’d not heard of named Abraham. Abraham is recorded as aged 50 and his place of birth as Hampshire. Looking at Hampshire records I quickly found Abraham’s baptism at St Mary’s Portsea on 20 October 1801. Abraham worked as a butcher for many years and died in East Ham in 1873. He doesn’t appear to have any children who survived him.

Also in the household for the 1851 census were Abraham’s wife Martha, and his nephew Peter, aged 12. Peter’s birthplace was listed as East Indies British Subject, and he would have been born about 1838. This was the same Peter who was the toddler living with Peter and Fanny in Bath in 1841. He was their grandson. And being recorded as Abraham’s nephew meant there must be another Hodge for me to find, one of Peter’s parents.

Going back to double check Fanny’s death registration, I confirmed she was the widow of Peter Hodges, listed there as a spring maker. At first glance spring maker might not seem to right, but it actually makes a lot of sense that as a whitesmith and blacksmith Peter Hodge could have made intricate coiled metal objects like springs. Also of interest was the informant. Her name was Elizabeth Bunce, and her residence was the same as Fanny’s place of death.

Kent baptism and Berkshire marriage

I found a record in Rochester, Kent for Elizabeth Hodge, the daughter of Peter Hodge of the Somerset Militia and his wife Fanny. Elizabeth was born 12 April and baptised 30 April 1812. Elizabeth was 25 and living in Hungerford, Berkshire when she married George Bunce, a labourer. That confirmed the relationship between Fanny and Elizabeth. At the time of her death Fanny was living with her daughter, and it turns out also her son, because electoral records give Abraham’s address as the same place. Records about Elizabeth show no sign of her having any children, and it’s unlikely she was the mother of Peter the grandson.

Sussex baptism and London marriage

Knowing that Peter Hodge senior’s militia career meant he and Fanny were not always in the same place for very long, and having found Abraham and Elizabeth as born in Kent and Sussex, I was confident in widening my search and found another child born to Peter and Fanny. This was another son, one named Peter who was recorded under the heading “Baptisms from the Barracks” in East Blatchington, Sussex on 4 January 1807.

I’ve not been able to confirm what happened to Peter Hodge junior, but I’m confident he was the father of Peter the grandson. Peter the grandson is recorded at age 20 in 1861 still living with his uncle, and working as a butcher. At 24 Peter Hugh Hodge, a butcher, is recorded as marrying Elizabeth Marskell. His father is listed as Peter Hodge, a deceased engineer. I have several DNA matches to descendants of Peter the grandson.

A grandson born overseas

My theory is Peter the son of Peter and Fanny may have joined the military or civil services, travelled, and had a son born overseas. That son being Peter the grandson who was sent back to England and living with his grandparents in 1841, with his uncle in 1851 and 1861, and who married in 1862.

The 1861 and 1881 censuses say Peter the grandson was born in Somerset, but the 1901 and 1911 censuses record his place of birth as West Indies Trinidad. Although Somerset is possible, it is more likely that either of the previously mentioned East Indies or West Indies is his correct birthplace. It would be highly irregular to have recorded somewhere like that as his birthplace otherwise.

Brick walls and other children

As for other children born to Peter and Fanny, I have a theory there may have been at least one other son. One named Joshua who ended up in Australia. I have many DNA matches to the descendants of Joshua Hodge, who was born about 1820. However, I’ve yet to find a record to confirm Joshua’s birth, and wondered if perhaps he and John Hodge whose baptism is recorded in 1822 are the same person, because I’ve not been able to confirm what happened to John.

So I’ve reached a bit of a brick wall. There are three twigs of this family branch I’ve not been able to progress any further. The first is Joshua Hodge’s connection with Peter and Fanny Hodge. Is he their son? The second involves learning what happened to Peter Hodge junior. And finally, I’d love to find a record of Peter the grandson’s birth in what is probably the East or West Indies. There are also gaps of several years between the births of those of Peter and Fanny’s children I’ve already found, so there’s a possibility there could be more children to found.

Selected references

Service record of Peter Hodge, 2nd Somerset Regiment of Militia, attestation 7 January 1797, British Army Service Records 1760-1913, The National Archives, England, WO97, 1100/22.

Census record for Peter Hodge, aged 70, Regent Terrace, Lyncombe and Widcombe, Somerset, 1841 England and Wales Census, The National
Archives, HO107/931/15, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com,
accessed 1 March 2025.

Census record for Fanny Hodges [Hodge], aged 70, 3 King David Lane, Shadwell, Middlesex, 1851 England and Wales Census, The National
Archives, HO107/1550/162, UK Census Collection, Ancestry.com,
accessed 1 March 2025.

Death registration of Fanny Hodges [Hodge], died 3 March 1859, Stepney, General Record Office, volume 01C, page 345.

Baptism of Thomas Hodge, baptised 2 July 1815, Walcot St Swithin Parish Register, Walcot, Somerset, England, page 105, number 831, digitised Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914, Ancestry.com, accessed 1 March 2025.

Baptism of John Hodge, baptised 6 October 1822, Walcot St Swithin Parish Register, Walcot, Somerset, England, page 147, number 1174, digitised Somerset, England, Church of England Baptisms, 1813-1914, Ancestry.com, accessed 1 March 2025.

Baptism of Abraham Hodge, baptised 20 October 1801, St Mary Parish Bishop’s Transcripts, Portsea, Hampshire, England, unpaginated, unnumbered, digitised Hampshire, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1536-1812, Ancestry.com, accessed 1 March 2025.

Baptism of Elizabeth Hodge, baptised 30 April 1812, Bethel Chapel (Wesleyan) Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, Rochester, Kent, England, page 18, unnumbered, digitised England & Wales, Non-Conformist and Non-Parochial Registers, 1567-1936, Ancestry.com, accessed 1 March 2025.

Baptism of Peter Hodge, baptised 4 January 1807, St Peter Parish Register, East Blatchington, Sussex, England, unpaginated, unnumbered, digitised East Sussex, England, Church of England Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 1538-1812, Ancestry.com, accessed 1 March 2025.