From Islington to New York and the Saginaw Valley
Reconstructing the lives of early nineteenth-century immigrants often requires correlating records created in different countries and under varying record-keeping practices. In the case of Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts, parish registers, marriage records, passenger lists, Michigan documents, and contemporary newspapers together form a consistent and well-supported narrative. These records identify Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts as my third great-grandparents and trace their journey from London to New York and ultimately to the Saginaw Valley of Michigan.
Charles Thomas Wickham: Origins in London
Charles Thomas Wickham was born about 1800 in London, England, the son of George Wickham and Fanny Bonner Farrand.¹ Parish records place the Wickham family in the Islington and Clerkenwell area of Middlesex during the early nineteenth century.
By the 1820s, Charles Thomas Wickham appears in parish records as a husband and father and is identified as a cheese monger and egg dealer, occupations consistent with small-scale food trade in urban London.² This occupational identification helps distinguish him from other men of the same name and provides useful context for his life prior to emigration.
First Marriage: Ann Philippa Evans
On 16 June 1822, Charles Thomas Wickham married Ann Philippa Evans at St Mary, Newington, Surrey.³ Two children were born to this marriage:
- Charles Henry Wickham, born 6 December 1823
- Ann Philippa Wickham, baptized 11 August 1825 in Islington³
Ann Philippa Evans Wickham died shortly after the birth of her daughter and was buried on 24 August 1825, leaving Charles a widower with two young children.⁴
Second Marriage: Christianna Stouts
On 1 April 1827, Charles Thomas Wickham married Christianna Stouts at St James, Clerkenwell, Middlesex.⁵ Christianna was born in 1807 and baptized at St Mary’s, Islington, placing her within the same parish network as the Wickham family.⁶
This second marriage produced a growing family during the late 1820s and early 1830s.
Children Born in England
The following children of Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts were born in England:
- John George Wickham, baptized 21 June 1828
- Reuben Thomas Wickham, baptized 12 April 1831
- Joseph Wickham, baptized 22 November 1832¹
These dates are later corroborated by American records and obituaries, demonstrating continuity of identity across the family’s migration.
Emigration to the United States
In 1833, Charles Thomas Wickham emigrated to the United States, arriving at New York.⁷ The following year, his wife Christianna, recorded on passenger lists as Hannah Wickham, followed with several children.⁸
Among those listed on the 1834 passenger list was Charles, age ten, whose age corresponds precisely with Charles Henry Wickham, born in December 1823, the son of Charles Thomas Wickham by his first wife, Ann Philippa Evans. None of the younger children of the second marriage would have been of that age, making this identification the only plausible interpretation.
The absence of Charles Henry Wickham’s sister, Ann Philippa Wickham, from American passenger lists suggests that she either died in childhood or remained in England, a common outcome for orphaned children placed with relatives.
“They Lived in the East”
Christianna’s obituary later states that after arriving in America, the family *“lived in the east.”*⁹ This phrase does not identify a specific state. When evaluated against dated and independent records, New York State is the only interpretation supported by evidence:
- Both Charles and Christianna arrived through New York
- Their American-born children were born in New York
- No Massachusetts records have been identified
- The family’s migration path proceeds logically from New York to Michigan
Move to Michigan and Charles’s Death
In 1840, the Wickham family relocated from New York to Saginaw County, Michigan, then a developing frontier region. According to Christianna’s obituary, Charles Thomas Wickham died only one month after arriving, bringing his American life to an abrupt end.⁹
He was buried in what is now Tittabawassee Township, Saginaw County, Michigan.¹⁰
Christianna Wickham Green: Pioneer Widow
In 1841, Christianna married Edward C. Green in Saginaw County.¹¹ She spent the remainder of her life in Michigan.
Her obituary, published in 1891, provides a detailed narrative of her life, confirming her English birth, marriage to Charles Wickham, emigration to New York, residence in the eastern United States, relocation to Saginaw, Charles’s death shortly after arrival, and her second marriage.⁹
Confirmation from the Next Generation
The obituary of Reuben Thomas Wickham, published in 1903, independently confirms the family narrative. It states that he was born in London, England, came to New York as a small child, and moved to Saginaw in 1840 with his parents, Charles T. and Christina Wickham.¹²
The Unresolved Question of Charles Henry Wickham
While the passenger list establishes that Charles Henry Wickham immigrated to the United States in 1834, his later life has not yet been documented. He does not appear in Michigan records or family obituaries. His absence may reflect an early death, separate residence, or use of a name variation, but no definitive conclusion can be drawn.
Importantly, his presence on the passenger list strengthens the identification of Charles Thomas Wickham by confirming the structure of two marriages and the blending of children from both unions.
Conclusion
Through parish registers, marriage records, passenger lists, Michigan documents, and contemporary newspapers, the lives of Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts can be traced with clarity and consistency. The evidence demonstrates a single family moving from London to New York and then to the Saginaw Valley, without contradiction or competing identities.
Together, these records establish Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts as my third great-grandparents, preserving their story as part of the broader nineteenth-century immigrant experience.
Footnotes
- Parish baptism records for Wickham children, Islington and Clerkenwell, Middlesex, England, 1828–1832.
- Parish baptism records noting occupation of Charles Thomas Wickham as cheese monger and egg dealer, Islington and Clerkenwell, Middlesex.
- Marriage record of Charles Thomas Wickham and Ann Philippa Evans, St Mary, Newington, Surrey, 16 June 1822; baptism of Ann Philippa Wickham, Islington, 11 August 1825.
- Burial record of Ann Philippa Wickham, England, 24 August 1825.
- Marriage record of Charles Thomas Wickham and Christianna Stouts, St James, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, 1 April 1827.
- Baptism record of Christianna Stouts, St Mary’s, Islington, 1807.
- Passenger list, Sovereign, arrival New York, 1833, Charles Wickham.
- Passenger list, Canada, arrival New York, February 1834, Hannah Wickham and children.
- Obituary of Christianna (Stouts) Green, Saginaw Courier-Herald, 12 March 1891.
- Burial record of Charles Thomas Wickham, Freeland area, Saginaw County, Michigan, 1840.
- Marriage record of Christianna Wickham and Edward C. Green, Saginaw County, Michigan, 1841.
- Obituary of Reuben Thomas Wickham, Saginaw Herald, 27 January 1903.
The Tumbleweed 