As far as I know, I'm the first person in my family to be called by my name. I've looked a reasonably long way back, and found no others - though I still may! My daughter also does not have a family name, though she does share a middle name with some of her ancestors.
The same can't be said for a lot of my ancestors. Some names are very popular indeed!
In the tree that I have constructed for my husband's family and my family together, there are 1463 individuals who have first names recorded. There are 255 unique names, though I have grouped names where they are known abbreviations or nicknames (such as Eliza, Elizabeth, Beth, etc)
14 names make up 50% of the people in my tree, with the top two names accounting for around an eighth of all the people!
The distribution of the names in the top 10 is pretty even between the sexes, with four names each being male and female, and two being "unisex" names.
The two most common names in my tree are Mary / Maria and John / Jonathan (with the usual spelling variations that come with these) - both occurring 93 times across the two families. Sticking with either church figures or royalty, the top ten is as follows:
1. Mary / Maria (93)
- John / Jonathan (93)
3. William (85)
4. Elizabeth / Beth / Betsy (70)
5. George / Georgina (60)
6. Sarah (51)
7. Anne and variations (50)
8. Charles / Charlotte (41)
9. Joe / Joel / Joseph (40)
10. Thomas (39)
There are 123 names which occur only once,
If I look at my pedigree, rather than the wider family, I have 110 names in my direct line at this time. The top 3 names, unsurprisingly, are the same, though William comes top. In fact, the top 10 is the same 10 names, and with the exception of William, Mary, John, is in the same order also.
If there was a popular name in my tree that wasn't also a popular name in general then I would find this helpful in my research, but according to this article in the Express John and Mary are the most common names in the UK over the past 500 years. In fact, those lists look a lot like the list from my tree.
I have found some lovely names along the way, though. I'm fond of Lettice (said Let-tish-ah), though I'm not sure I'd name a child of mine Lettice (or Leticia). Lucetta is another lovely one. Ezra, Fidora, and Gervis only occur one time each but I love them too! It seems that creativity with girls' names was a bit more common than with the boys.
I find family naming patterns quite interesting, and even beyond the naming firstborn sons after the father (which is quite common) I also see quite a lot of naming after aunts and uncles. Perhaps one day I'll find the fabled "aunt Jessie" that my Nanna was meant to be named after.
Wednesday, 5 April 2017
Friday, 10 March 2017
A tale of two criminals
Joel Coldron
Joel Coldron (or possibly Cawthorn), my 3x great grandfather, was born in about 1821 in South Hykeham.
Joel Coldron (or possibly Cawthorn), my 3x great grandfather, was born in about 1821 in South Hykeham.
I don’t know much about Joel’s early life, though I suspect
that it was difficult. In 1827 his mother married Edward Simpson. I do not
think that Edward was Joel’s father. In 1841 Rebecca and Edward are living in
the parish of St Peter at Gowts with their four children. Joel is not living
with them – though he would be around 20 at this time. I haven’t been able to
find Joel in 1841 on the census.
In 1847 Joel Cawthorne married Elizabeth Ann Chambers in
Lincoln. I’m reasonably sure that this is the right marriage because the details
all look right for Elizabeth and it ties in with the birth of their first
child, Thomas George, in 1849.
By 1851 they’re living in the parish of St Martin in
Lincoln, in 1861 Joel's profession is "Higgler" and in 1871 he's living in the pub "The White Horse". Sadly the original building is no longer there, but there is still a pub on the site in Lincoln.
As far as I’ve been able to discover, Joel had the
occasional brush with the law. In 1857
Later on, there is a newspaper report of another brush with the local constabulary. In 1868 it is reported that Joel and his son Charles were convicted of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to two months' hard labour each. I haven't found the court records for that yet. The report in the newspaper suggests that the policeman may have had a drink or two, and some of the witnesses said that the policeman was lying. I have no evidence, but I suspect that Joel was probably well known in the community as a publican, and it sounds like he may have been a fairly sturdy fellow. Perhaps the policeman had a grudge against him, or perhaps there really was a fracas. I'll never know the exact details, so I choose to believe that he was perhaps quick tempered, but was generally trying to make ends meet and stand up for his family.
Later on, there is a newspaper report of another brush with the local constabulary. In 1868 it is reported that Joel and his son Charles were convicted of assaulting a police officer and sentenced to two months' hard labour each. I haven't found the court records for that yet. The report in the newspaper suggests that the policeman may have had a drink or two, and some of the witnesses said that the policeman was lying. I have no evidence, but I suspect that Joel was probably well known in the community as a publican, and it sounds like he may have been a fairly sturdy fellow. Perhaps the policeman had a grudge against him, or perhaps there really was a fracas. I'll never know the exact details, so I choose to believe that he was perhaps quick tempered, but was generally trying to make ends meet and stand up for his family.
George Chambers
Joel’s wife, Elizabeth, was no stranger to criminality. Her father,
George Chambers (my 4x great grandfather) was born in about 1797 in Wragby. He married his wife, Sophia
Espin, in 1822.
George’s first brush with the law came in 1835, when he was
acquitted of larceny.
Things must have been difficult for the family, as in 1841
we do not find them living together. Elizabeth appears to be living with an uncle, or possibly other relative, I haven't tracked down George yet.
Sophia is living in, and gives birth to their second-youngest son Uriah, in the house of correction in Kirton Lindsey. She was found guilty of receiving stolen goods and sentenced to 6 months imprisonment.
On 7th April 1843 George Chambers is found guilty
of larceny and is sentenced to 7 years transportation. On the 9th May he is sent to the Fortitude, a prison hulk which was moored in
Chatham. The books from that ship state that he was guilty of stealing ducks and fowl. It tells me that he can read and write, and that his occupation is brick-maker. It describes him as having bad habits, since he was charged with a felony before! It then says that he was moved to the York Hulk.
The following year, on the 19th April 1844, hi was moved to the York, another hulk moored at Gosport. Once again it describes his "habits and practices" as bad. The notes attached to his case suggest that he was due to be sent "per Thames Bermuda" to serve what remained of his 7 years. I gather that the "Thames" was another ship, this time moored in Bermuda.
I don't know what happened to him there (I need to take a trip to Kew to the Archives there to see the Bermuda Convict books), but I do know that he was back in the UK and having another son in 1850. Since there was no recognised way of bringing people home, I have no idea how he got back from Bermuda - perhaps I will find that out if I go to the Archives.
Notes about the prison hulks.
Fortitude was originally HMS Cumberland, it was renamed in 1833. Before conversion it had 74 guns and two gun decks.
HMS York was similarly a third-rate gunship, and after conversion housed around 500 criminals.
HMS Thames was a smaller ship, housing only 46 guns.
Details from Wikipedia's article on Prison Hulks.
The following year, on the 19th April 1844, hi was moved to the York, another hulk moored at Gosport. Once again it describes his "habits and practices" as bad. The notes attached to his case suggest that he was due to be sent "per Thames Bermuda" to serve what remained of his 7 years. I gather that the "Thames" was another ship, this time moored in Bermuda.
I don't know what happened to him there (I need to take a trip to Kew to the Archives there to see the Bermuda Convict books), but I do know that he was back in the UK and having another son in 1850. Since there was no recognised way of bringing people home, I have no idea how he got back from Bermuda - perhaps I will find that out if I go to the Archives.
 |
| By Illustrated London News - National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Public Domain, Link |
Notes about the prison hulks.
Fortitude was originally HMS Cumberland, it was renamed in 1833. Before conversion it had 74 guns and two gun decks.
HMS York was similarly a third-rate gunship, and after conversion housed around 500 criminals.
HMS Thames was a smaller ship, housing only 46 guns.
Details from Wikipedia's article on Prison Hulks.
Sunday, 19 February 2017
Nottingham Archive and the elusive Mary...
This week I took a trip to the Nottingham Archive. We were actually taking a spa-break for my husband's birthday and there's a spa hotel in Nottingham; it was too good an opportunity to miss!
Gainsborough, the town I am from, is on the connecting point of three counties; Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire. Although my ancestors haven't moved around a lot (except that one lot who went to Wales and back) their records are stored in distinctly different places because of the county borders. A lot of parish records have been put onto microfiche, but have not yet been indexed or digitised, so the only way to really see them is to go to the archives and physically view the records.
My great-great-grandmother, my maternal grandmother's paternal grandmother, was called Elizabeth Ullyatt. She married my great-great-grandfather William Cobb. Before my visit to the archive I thought I knew her siblings and her parents, but when I looked at the Southwell Parish registers (she was baptised there, I knew) there were TWO Elizabeth Ullyatts (Ullyatt being her maiden name) born within three months of one another, both in Westgate, Southwell, both with mothers called Mary. The only distinction between them was that their fathers were called William and John.
This threw my planned research (find the marriage of Elizabeth's mother and father to try to find Mary's maiden name) into disarray, because I now needed to confirm that I had the correct Elizabeth.
I noted down all the other siblings for both Elizabeth b 1839 and Elizabeth b 1840, and then tried to find Elizabeth and William Cobb's marriage. I was pretty sure that this should be in Southwell too, and that it happened in 1862. I couldn't find the marriage in Southwell, nor in any of the Newark churches (which was my second thought). With hindsight, I should have looked for the baptisms of some of their children...
Since then, I've returned home, and Ancestry have had one of their free weekends. I've been able to prove that "my" Elizabeth is the 1839 one, with William being her father.
I know that Elizabeth married William Cobb in 1862. On the 1871 census the other Elizabeth Ullyatt is still living with her father, John, under her maiden name of Ullyatt. Elizabeth Cobb is living with her husband William. So, since the other Elizabeth is John's daughter, "my" Elizabeth's father must be William.
Elizabeth Ullyatt was baptised on 20th December 1839 in Southwell. She was the youngest of six children born to William and Mary. In 1841 Elizabeth is only one year old when the census is taken, and her mother Mary describes her birthplace as "At Sea".
I don't know when William Ullyatt married Mary, though the first child I've been able to find was John, born in 1828. Mary's age in 1841 is listed as 40 (though that census rounded to the nearest 5 years for adults) so she was probably about 27 when he was born.
I haven't so far been able to find a marriage for Mary to William Ullyatt - so I don't know her maiden name. I don't even know whether they got married in Southwell where their children were born!
For now, this is a mystery which will remain unsolved, but at least I've been able to confirm which of the two Ullyatt families I'm looking at! It's possible that John Ullyatt is a sibling of William, so that's something I might look at in future.
Gainsborough, the town I am from, is on the connecting point of three counties; Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, and Nottinghamshire. Although my ancestors haven't moved around a lot (except that one lot who went to Wales and back) their records are stored in distinctly different places because of the county borders. A lot of parish records have been put onto microfiche, but have not yet been indexed or digitised, so the only way to really see them is to go to the archives and physically view the records.
My great-great-grandmother, my maternal grandmother's paternal grandmother, was called Elizabeth Ullyatt. She married my great-great-grandfather William Cobb. Before my visit to the archive I thought I knew her siblings and her parents, but when I looked at the Southwell Parish registers (she was baptised there, I knew) there were TWO Elizabeth Ullyatts (Ullyatt being her maiden name) born within three months of one another, both in Westgate, Southwell, both with mothers called Mary. The only distinction between them was that their fathers were called William and John.
This threw my planned research (find the marriage of Elizabeth's mother and father to try to find Mary's maiden name) into disarray, because I now needed to confirm that I had the correct Elizabeth.
I noted down all the other siblings for both Elizabeth b 1839 and Elizabeth b 1840, and then tried to find Elizabeth and William Cobb's marriage. I was pretty sure that this should be in Southwell too, and that it happened in 1862. I couldn't find the marriage in Southwell, nor in any of the Newark churches (which was my second thought). With hindsight, I should have looked for the baptisms of some of their children...
Since then, I've returned home, and Ancestry have had one of their free weekends. I've been able to prove that "my" Elizabeth is the 1839 one, with William being her father.
I know that Elizabeth married William Cobb in 1862. On the 1871 census the other Elizabeth Ullyatt is still living with her father, John, under her maiden name of Ullyatt. Elizabeth Cobb is living with her husband William. So, since the other Elizabeth is John's daughter, "my" Elizabeth's father must be William.
Elizabeth Ullyatt was baptised on 20th December 1839 in Southwell. She was the youngest of six children born to William and Mary. In 1841 Elizabeth is only one year old when the census is taken, and her mother Mary describes her birthplace as "At Sea".
I don't know when William Ullyatt married Mary, though the first child I've been able to find was John, born in 1828. Mary's age in 1841 is listed as 40 (though that census rounded to the nearest 5 years for adults) so she was probably about 27 when he was born.
I haven't so far been able to find a marriage for Mary to William Ullyatt - so I don't know her maiden name. I don't even know whether they got married in Southwell where their children were born!
For now, this is a mystery which will remain unsolved, but at least I've been able to confirm which of the two Ullyatt families I'm looking at! It's possible that John Ullyatt is a sibling of William, so that's something I might look at in future.
Tuesday, 10 January 2017
Goals for 2017
I often find myself with time to research, but at a loss as to what I should concentrate on.
I've therefore created a short list of what I want to try to find out over the coming year, some of which will no doubt feed into future posts. All of these are on my tree, the Coldron side, not on my husband's family. Perhaps I'll concentrate on them in 2018!
- George William Coldron b. 1882 d. 1937 - he was 54 when he died. How did he die?
- George William Coldron had two children die in 1918-1919 - was there an epidemic, or were they just unlucky? What happened?
- George Coldron b. 1861 d. 1890 - he was only 29 when he died. I believe there is a newspaper article about this in the Stamford Mercury. Find the article and find out what happened.
- Harry Hill b. 1892 d. 1976 - what did he do during the war?
- Isabella Bassham - keep looking for anything about her
- Alfred Cobb - find out more about the Sherwood Foresters and his time in the Regiment.
- Alfred Cobb's son George died in infancy - what happened?
- Elizabeth Ulyatt's mother Mary - who was she, and was she born in Ireland or at sea? Or somewhere else? Who was Elizabeth's father?
- Richard Coldron was a POW in WW1, I'd love to find out more
- All the people in my tree who were of fighting age in WW1 and WW2 - did they fight? If not, what were they doing?
- Lucetta Coldron, Louisa Coldron, and their half brother Stephen Setchell all died within a year of one another as adults. Call me suspicious, but I wonder if they were connected?
- Joel Coldron was illegitimate - is there a bastardy record for him?
Friday, 6 January 2017
New Beginnings
I plan to use this blog to write about what I discover during my family history research.
I do not intend to write about people who are still alive, so my posts will be about my grandparents and beyond.
I aim to write a post every month, following prompts either from the 52 ancestors challenge, or from Brandy Heineman's post about writing family history. I may invent some of my own as well.
I do not intend to write about people who are still alive, so my posts will be about my grandparents and beyond.
I aim to write a post every month, following prompts either from the 52 ancestors challenge, or from Brandy Heineman's post about writing family history. I may invent some of my own as well.
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