William and Grace (nee Chapple) Maddren are the parents of William Thomas Maddren born in 1842, William Thomas Maddren had emigrated to Christchurch New Zealand in the 1870’s and had a large family. William his father had been born in April 1813 in Madron Cornwall, he was christened on the 11th April 1813 at the church in Madron. The names in the census can be spelt Maddern, Madron and Maddren but the place name Madron is constant and it is still called Madron today.
William (born 1813) parents were William Maddren 5th Mar 1786 in Penzance and died 5 Mar 1851 in Penzance and Ann Pengally born 26 Jun 1785 at Madron and they had been married on the 8th Oct 1808 at Madron. William was their eldest son and they had 5 children, 3 boys and 2 girls. William grandparents were Thomas Maddren born on the 3rd Oct 1746 in Penzance and her died 31 Jul 1825 at Penzance. His Wife was Catherine Thomas, born 1746 at Penzance and she dies 12 oct 1797 also at Penzance. The family had been based at Madron or the nearby Penzance for generations
Grace Chapple had been born in October 1806 at the nearby town of St Just, Penwith and she was baptised in St Just on the 2nd November. Her parents were Thomas born in 1780 in St Just and Grace Chapple (nee Victor) who had been born in Madron.
William and Grace were married on the 24th December 1832 at Madron, their first daughter Elizabeth Jane Maddren was born the following year in 1833 at Madron, their second daughter Grace was born and died in 1836 and the third daughter also called Grace was born in 1838 at Madron. William Thomas born 1842 was their eldest son, James was born in 1844, then Catherine in 1845. John Maddren was born in 1848 and died in Madron in 1889 and finally Ellen Maddren born in 1851 and she unfortunately died young in July 1872 at Madron.
We can trace the family easily in the 1851 census and the 1871 census, in 1861 I can only find Grace as head of the house living with Ellen in Madron. I have struggled to find all of the rest of the family in 1861? There are many Maddrens listed but we are unable to find the right ones, it does not help that William is not listed with Grace and Ellen. In 1871 William Thomas is listed in Madron married to Jane his first wife with their surviving second daughter Elizabeth (Ginny) aged 1.
In the 1881 census William had died in Jan 1881 so he is not listed, Grace Maddren is listed as a widow working as midwife living in Madron aged 75 and living with her daughter Catherine who is married to Thomas Mathews. I believe that I have also found John Maddren, he had married Sophia Guy born in 1841 at Penzance, she was a widow who had married John Mathews who died in 1869, she them married John Maddren in 1870 in Madron and they went on to have 7 children to go with the 3 children she already had.