How Family History gets lost - The example of the Horn Family of Handside, Hatfield

Why am I starting with a post card of Ramsgate Harbour - when Ramsgate is clearly not in Hertfordshire?

In trying to identify Karaktus (the St Albans comic card artist) I have been researching the history of The London View Company which started publishing view cards of seaside resort along the South coast of England. I purchased this card because of the early date and the format of the back - which suggests that the London View Company was using a different printer. At the time I made the purchase I totally ignored the handwriting

That is until the card (and a similar one being sold at the same time) arrived in the post and I realized that both cards were addressed to Mrs S. Horn, of Handside, Hatfield, Herts.  But Mrs Sarah Horn, of Handside Farm is already featured on this web site:

William James & Sarah Horn of Handeside Farm
See HORN, Handside Welwyn/Hatfield, 19th century

Sarah was born Sarah Cox and is a cousin of mine, the common ancestor being Thomas Cox (1794-1874). I have no reference to her being connected to 22 Ridgemont Road, St Albans, but note that Ridgemont road is already  briefly mentioned on this web site in a different context. The message on the card starts "Dear C S" - presumably for "Dear Cousin Sarah" and is signed "J H", the other card addressed to Handside being signed "Jack". But who was cousin Jack?

Farming Family Marriages - The Horn Family example

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About 30 years ago I spent a lot of time researching the complex network of marriages between well to do farming families, because so many of the marriages turned out to be between cousins. When I started this site I summarized a small part of it  as Who is related to Who? which demonstrates how complex such networks can be - and also what a wide area they can cover.

In 2001 Pat contacted me about one of the families on the edge of my research - the Horn Family of Handside Farm, Hatfield and some years later James provided more information. Now Barry has written with a summary of the Horn family background.

I decided that the original list of William James Horn's children needed updating an in doing so found the following marriage relationships between his children I had not spotted before:

Thomas Cox Horn farmed Chambers Farm, Shottesbrook, Berkshire. His first wife was Elizabeth Gertrude Low, daughter of William Low and Sarah Wells (Beadlow, Clophill, Bedfordshire), and granddaughter of Robert and Elizabeth Low (Beadlow, Clophill, Bedfordshire). His sister, Susan Horn, married Frank William Low (of Brides Hall Farm, Sandridge / Wheathampstead) who was the son of James Low andEllen Chapman (Farm House, Willian, Herts & The Hall, Great Chishall, Essex), and grandson of the same Robert and Elizabeth Low.

Thomas Cox Horn's second wife was Constance Harvey, sister of Mary Harvey, who married Thomas's brother, William Cooper Horn of Brickwall Farm House, Lemsford, Hatfield. Their parents were John and Frances Jane Harvey of Great Appleford Farm, Godshill, Isle of Wight.

These examples, plus the information supplied by Barry, suggest that the Horn family was part of a similar network to the one I was studying (which was based of Sandridge) but centred on Bedfordshire and North Hertfordshire. There may well be other connections.