Above the parapet

Hello . . . . just wanted to say that I'm still here but I've been a bit busy.

More soon!

For Ernest read Henry

Oooops.

The sharp-eyed amongst you may have noticed a slight error in Friday's entry:- when I said Ernest Culpin was born in 1895 and went on to lose his life in the Great War, I did, of course, mean Henry Culpin.

So when I went on to say that Ernest married in 1909, it doesn't mean he was 14 years old. Ernest was one of Henry's older brothers and was born in 1885 - so he was ten years older and, therefore, it was legal for him to marry!!

Memo to self - Concentrate!

More soon.

Missing from Benwick

Today we celebrate Freeman Andrew, my second cousin three times removed, on the 174th anniversary of his christening in Benwick, Cambs. He was the oldest of the three children of William & Jane, and spent his formative years in the village of his birth. But then he disappears for 30 years.

On his re-appearance, he turns up in Whittlesey, living with his sister & her husband; then he marries Alice Ransome in 1883. Together, in 1891, Freeman and Alice seem to be running The Wheatsheaf PH in Doddington with Freeman doing a bit of farm labouring on the side. This seems to have been a pattern with the publicans in my family - presumably the wife ran the Inn during the day whilst the old man was out in the fields . . . . . ?? Anyway, Freeman died the following year (1892).

But I'm puzzled by his disappearance from the record-keepers. Two possibilities, I suppose - he was either in the Army or toiling for Her Majesty in an entirely different capacity.

So, while I'm thinking about that and googling any thoughts that come to me, let me point you at a website about the village of Benwick, for a little light reading . . . . .

http://www.robtaylorbenwick.plus.com/benwick/introduction.html

More soon.

Last night I looked to see who I could ramble about and then got stuck into searching the 1911 census . . . . and forgot to actually ramble.

So, come back with me to yesterday in 1901 - Deacon's Lane in Ely saw the birth of Hannah Culpin, my sixth cousin twice removed. She was the daughter of Hannah (nee Stevens) and . . . . er, someone else. Ordinarily I would have said her father was Henry Culpin but he died in 1895 (twice, according to my database - glad I was able to correct that one!) so a bit of a mystery there. Sadly little Hannah only lived for three weeks and was buried, unbaptised, at the end of March in Ely City cemetery.

This then led me to investigate the whole family, as you do, and I found that the widow Hannah married again in 1911; two possible husbands showed up on FreeBMD but, for some reason, I latched onto the name of George Hobbs. No idea why but it seemed to ring a bell. And, finally, this morning I found out why . . . .

Ernest, son of Hannah and Henry, was born in 1895 in Little Downham and was living with his mother in 1911 in Deacon's Lane, Ely, working as a farm labourer. When the Great War came, Ernest joined the Suffolk regiment and was a Lance Corporal by 1917 when he lost his life on the Somme. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (http://www.cwgc.org/) entry for him finally told me why I thought his mother married George Hobbs:

"Son of Mrs. Hannah Hobbs, of Third Drove, Little Downham, Ely, Cambs."

You find the clues in the strangest of places!

Another find was the marriage of Ernest to Alice Watson in 1909. Given that his older brother Charles married Susan Watson in 1905, what are the chances that they married sisters?

Anyway, more hunting to do as their sister Ethel is hiding from me . . . .

More soon.

Cecilia & Phoebe get married

Another "mind the gap" . . . . . so let's get straight back into things with the marriage of Cecilia Annie Staden & Alfred William White Mackie. Outside my usual time frame, I'll admit, but I really just want to boast that at least one person from my database has made it into Who was Who!

Cecilia was my second cousin twice removed, the daughter of John Thomas & Annie Marie (nee Erswell) and was born in Bury St Edmunds in 1892. By 1911 she was in Henley on Thames as a nursemaid and then I lose her until 1941. I happened upon this marriage in The Times online (via the local library) - it took place today at St John's Cross, Dundee - and, barring information to the contrary I assume that the couple lived together happily until Alfred's death in Marylebone in 1951. The Times, again, provides us with the information: "Mr Alfred William White Mackie, CIE, formerly Divisional Revenue Commissioner, Bombay, died in London on Wednesday, a few days before his seventy-fourth birthday. The son of Alexander Mackie, he was born on October 20 1877 and was educated at Harris Academy Dundee, Dundee High School, St Andrews University and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. He entered the Indian Civil Service in 1900 and after much district service, was appointed Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records, Bombay, in 1924. He retired in 1936, having been a revenue commissioner for the previous five years. He married in 1941 Cecilia Annie, daughter of Mr J T Staden."

Cecilia lived to the grand age of 92, and died in deepest Berkshire (well, the Windsor & Maidenhead district) in 1984.

The second anniversary for today is the christening, in 1803, of my great-great-great-great-aunt Phoebe Freeman. The daughter of Edward & Sarah (nee Church), she was born in Tuddenham St Mary in Suffolk and went on to marry Thomas Stanton in Barton Mills in 1824. And, until a short while ago, that was where the story ended.

Now, I can add a few more facts; Phoebe & Thomas lived in his home village of Isleham (Cambs) and had four children, most notably Frances Freeman Stanton (in 1830) and Francis Freeman Stanton (in 1831). Phoebe died in 1838 and Thomas married again, having three more children with his second wife.

So far, I can find only Francis (that's "i for 'im" not "e for 'er) who married Sarah Keats in Waterbeach in 1855 and, by 1861, had three children, along with Sarah's son James. I haven't taken the family any further (I only discovered the above this evening) but I do know that Francis died in 1890.

More soon.

A Smith-athon . . .

Once upon a time (well, this time last year) I briefly mentioned John Smith, my first cousin four times removed, and made the point that there are so many John Smiths that I hadn't been able to make much . . . . . any progress.

It's taken twelve months to get round to it, but I am pleased to report a bit of progress. The aforementioned John Smith was born in Chatteris today in 1813, son of Joseph & Elizabeth (nee Curtis), the fourth of fourteen children.

He married Elizabeth Dunn in Chatteris in 1842 and they begat three children (2 sons & a daughter), whilst at the same time maintaining a farm reported to be 445 acres (in 1861) - on which they employed 13 men, 4 women and 5 boys. Their children were all sent away to school - Hellen (sic) to Ramsgate & the boys to Huntingdon - and all three had returned by 1871.

I haven't worked out what happened to Hellen yet but elder son Hugh took over the farm, increasing it to 700 acres by 1881 when he is living in Yorke House, Chatteris, with his wife and first three children (they went on to have eight, in all).

Younger son Roland was an 18 year old medical student in 1871 and qualified as a doctor in 1879, becoming a General Practitioner in Clapton by 1881. He married Gertrude McMorran in 1877 in London and they appear to have spent the next thirty years in Clapton, with three daughters.

Hugh junior (he who took over the farm) was last seen, as it were, at Denver Hall, Downham Market, in 1911, with his wife Maria and four of their children; their son Ferdinand had ventured across to deepest Liverpool, and his brother Eustace braved the wilds of Mildenhall! Next brother down, Wilfred, was to be found in Leeds. That's accounted for all their surviving children - I just need to find one more!

Hopefully it won't take another year . . . . .

More soon.

Just the two . . . .

We're starting today with a wedding, so come along with me to the parish church in Somersham in the old county of Huntingdonshire. Today in 1831 this church saw the marriage of Charles Mallison and Martha Bullard; my second cousin four times removed, Martha was the oldest of the seven children of James Bullard & Sarah (nee Fear) who was born in the village in 1813. Charles, a Norfolk boy, transmogrified into a farmer/publican and the couple were to be found at the Three Horse Shoes PH between 1841 and 1861, moving to the Queens Head by 1871. What is it about farmers of the time - they often seemed to have a pub too; maybe the wife ran the pub whilst the husband was out in the fields?? Anyway, Martha died in 1879 and Charles lived on until 1887, still in Somersham. As far as I can see there were no children.

Moving on, but staying on the same side of the family tree, let me introduce you to Thomas Kington. My great-great-great-great-grandfather was the younger of two children of Frederick & Mary and was christened today in 1768 at St Michael's church, Blaston, Leics. He married Sarah Shortland by licence in St Ives in 1792 and they went on to have six children. Sarah died in 1825 in St Ives, and I found Thomas, a butcher, in 1841 living in Bridge Street, head of the household which included his daughter Sophia and her husband Charles Culpin with their family. By 1851 he was in Peeks Yard, St Ives, a retired butcher, sharing his house this time with a housekeeper. He died in March 1853 in St Ives.

Nothing terribly thrilling (no disrespect, ancestors dear!) but I shall rootle around for an exciting detail for later in the week . . . . .

More soon.