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Great-great-great-great-grandfather: James Mayne MA

Finding a clergyman practising in the heart of the East End of London presented an unexpected irony. Suddenly we were presented with a man of the cloth, who by the very nature of his title and job commanded respect and authority. Yet generations later the same family lost its footing and turned to the criminal underworld. We were interested to find out more about James Mayne.

Step 1

The online Clergy of the Church of England Database keeps a record of the ordination and appointments of many clergymen between 1540 and 1830 in England and Wales. This gave us a timeline for James Mayne's clerical appointments until 1830.

Step 2

Step 3

Newspapers help to provide information about a period. The British Library in London holds an impressive collection of newspapers, the majority of which can be viewed at their Newspaper Reading Rooms in Colindale. The Times has an online digital archive documenting 200 years of history dating from 1785. This resource helped to profile James Mayne further, identifying him as the president of the 'Bethnal Green Association of Destitute Poor'. It also revealed the letters MA (Master of Arts) after his name. This set up a further and exciting mystery as to where and how this academic qualification was obtained.

Step 4

The first place to look for details of a degree from this period is through the Alumni records of degrees awarded by Oxford and Cambridge. These records are available online. If this is not successful, ecclesiastical degrees were awarded by Lambeth Palace, by the Archbishop of Canterbury no less! In this case our research confirmed that James Mayne was awarded his MA by the Archbishop at Lambeth Palace.

Step 5