Just the one . . .

So, here we are, it's next week. And I've only got the one anniversary: my great-great-great-aunt, Sarah Ann Whatford Culpin, daughter of Charles Culpin and his second wife Sarah Whatford, she was born today in 1850 in St Ives.

At the time the family was living in Cromwell Place in the small market town but by 1871, after the death of her father, Sarah and her mother had moved to Priory Road. Both were listed as annuitants.

And then she goes to London. Why? No idea, but she plainly found something to interest her as she married Christopher Stuart Toll in Islington on 24th June 1875. Mr Toll was a Stevenage boy and they seemed to return to the Hertfordshire town as Sarah sadly died there, at the age of just 26, in 1877. There were no children of the marriage.

Persistent as I am, I have found Chris Toll in 1901; still in Stevenage, he was listed as a Relieving Officer. Any clues??

More soon.

Festive Anniversaries

Sorry for the gap; you know what it's like . . . . . .

So, all festive'd up and almost ready to go, let's say happy birthday (155 today) to my second cousin, four times removed, Ellen Street. Born in Old Warden, near Biggleswade, she was the daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (nee Pates) and grew up in the village. By the age of sixteen she was, in common with many of her ilk, a straw plaiter (presumably this was something to do with the hat industry around Luton etc . . . . ?) and, in 1877, she married William Levitt.

Ellen & William had just the one daughter (Maud), born soon after the wedding (no, not that soon . . . ) and the family had moved to Kempston by 1891. I last "saw" them there in the 1901 census, when William was a brickie's labourer and no-one else in the household was gainfully employed.

The only other notable event today was the marriage, in 1856, of Martha Bullard (third cousin, three times removed) to John Foster, in Godmanchester. In 1891 John was working at Jesus College, Cambridge, as a "Gipp" (college servant) and they went on to have seven children.

John died at the age of 50, in 1878, and Martha became a Lodging House Keeper in Malcolm Street (off Jesus Lane) in Cambridge. Te only person I've managed to follow past 1891 is oldest daughter Agnes (born 1857) who went on to marry Alfred Broom and produce four sons - all before 1901, when the Brooms were living in Chesterton.

And that's it for this week, so I'll wish you a Merry Christmas and I'll be back after the weekend.

Mind the gap

Morning!

Just to say that I haven't forgotten you, my faithful follower . . . I've been away. But now I'm back and I'll try to put something up later today.

More soon.

Rotten Writing

Had to share this one . . . . . .

Earlier in the day I was searching for Freemans in the 1911 census, as you do. And I opened up one image, glanced over it and then saved it.

And then zoomed in . . . and in . . . until I could clearly see the entry "Freak Freeman". Honest! And it was written by his father. Charming, I thought!

Even knowing that the boy's name was Frederick, it took me ages to work out, with the aid of the built-in magnifier, that it actually said "Fredk".

Once I'd stopped giggling, I submitted the correction!

More soon.

Young Tom

A brief entry today . . . . who said "hooray"?

Tom Culpin, my great-great-uncle was born in 1879 in St Ives, the fifth son (& eighth child) of Millice Campbell & Naomi (nee Fordham) and lived with the family in The Quadrant in the town until his premature, and so far unexplained (to me) death at the age of 17 years.

He's buried, together with his brother Arthur, in Broadleas Cemetery, with the following headstone: "In loving memory of Tom, the son of Millice & Naomi Culpin, who entered into rest December 13 1896 aged 17 years. Also Arthur Culpin who entered into rest January 20 1903 aged 39 years".

So, what have we learned from this? Well, not much, obviously, except that I really ought to get hold of Tom's death certificate to work out why he died so young. I think I've looked in the Hunts Post to see if there was anything in there but I'm not sure; so may be worth my while having a look there first, in case I can save some money!

More soon.

Fiery Furnace Alert

Today's notable anniversary is the marriage of my gt-gt-gt-gt-gt-uncle William Bullard to Sarah Boden, at St Mary, Hitchin in 1769. The only other info I had about the pair was a note referenced to my Canadian cousin Jan which said "basketmaker who lived in Hitchin and had eleven children".

So, never one to be daunted by a challenge, I started to investigate the Bullards of Hitchin and, sure enough, William and Sarah had eleven children, born between 1770 and 1793. So far I have also found twelve grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

However the greatest of my finds is, as you might guess, related to today's title.

William & Sarah's oldest son, William, married Elizabeth Leonard, also at St Mary, Hitchin, on 1st July 1792 and they had ten children (must be something in the water). It was their daughter Maria who made my day . . . . . when she married Abednego Day. Cracking name, I thought, and carried on regardless, searching the IGI for Days (searching, that is, for children with the surname Day, not . . . . !).

And then it occurred to me that I'd seen another pair of cracking names . . . . and I investigated further. William Day and his wife Judith had ten children between 1782 and 1805 including, in 1792, Shadrach, in 1794 - Meshach and, in 1801, Abednego.

Lucky they had another boy really or they could have ended up with Shadrach, Meshach and Ann. Doesn't trip off the tongue quite so well, does it.

Made me smile on a soggy day!

More soon.

What is it about London???

Just the one anniversary today, the marriage of George Pates and Mary Ann Huckle in Biggleswade in 1875. George, my first cousin three times removed, was the son of Samuel & Eliza (nee Bland) and was brought up in the small market town.

George & Mary Ann produced nine children between 1876 and 1897 and were living in Potton Road in 1911. This census has more information that its predecessors, giving the number of rooms in the residence - the instruction being to "Count the kitchen as a room but do not count scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom . . . .". We also get the number of years the head of the household and his wife have been married and the number of children: born to the marriage, still living and died.

In this case, G&A lived in a dwelling of five rooms, had been married for 35 years and the children count was 9:7:2. This rather suggests that I haven't yet discovered that two of their children died before 1911 . . . . . work to do there, methinks.

The reason for the title of today's entry? Well, three of the children went to the great metropolis. Frederick (born 1880) was a tram conductor in Islington in 1901; in the same year Minnie was in service in Tottenham and Albert moved to Holloway to become a newspaper vendor (aged 16) in 1911. He was living with his brother Frederick, who had progressed to the lofty heights of Ticket Inspector by this time. Oh, and EIGHT rooms. Not bad, eh?

More soon.