Maternal Lines - Betsy Dernie

Betsy has given me some trouble in finding the right records. There is also an Eliza Dernie born around the same time, also from Gainsborough, and it was only when we added a DNA test to my tree that I was able to see that I'd crossed some wires. Having revisited some earlier censuses, I now have what I believe is the right information for Betsy.

I wrote about Mabel Florence Courts recently, and Betsy was her mother. Betsy is, therefore, my great-great grandmother. 

Betsy was born on the 8th January 1866 to Thomas Dernie Jr and Sarah Ann. She was a middle child, with two older siblings born before her, and three younger siblings including Eliza born after. 

In 1871 Betsy is living in Moorgate, Clarborough, with her parents and three siblings. Her father is a boot and shoe maker, and all the children are listed as scholars. 

In 1881 Betsy is living away from home, she's 16 years old and is working as a servant in Ordsall. The census return has her listed as Betty rather than Betsy, but I can easily imagine the head of a household getting that sort of thing confused, or maybe she went by Betty at this time. 

Two years later in the first quarter of1883 Betsy marries John David Courts in "East Retford" district. I do not know exactly when or where they got married, I have not been able to find a record. 

By 1891 when the next census return was due, they had moved to Swash's Yard off Silver Street, with her husband and children including Mabel Florence. Likewise in 1901 she can be found living in Chapel Yard with her husband and 8 children. 

in 1911 Betsy is 45 years old. She's still living at 9 Chapel Yard, and in this census return we can find out a little more about both the abode and the family. We learn that there are actually four rooms in this house, thus it is what is known as a "Two-up-two-down" and would be relatively spacious. They may have had a small back yard, though more likely there was a shared privvy at the end of the row, and a shared washing area. With seven of her children still living at home, four of whom were old enough to be working, this was probably a bustling house and quite cramped. The two eldest sons were working in related occupations to their father in boiler making. I do not know whether they were at one of the two big employers in the town at this time, Marshalls and Roses, but I can assume that they were indeed working for one of the two. The girls are working for a cycle dealership and as a general servant.

The next official record for Betsy is on the 1939 register. This was like a census when it was initially recorded, but it was also a living document which was updated for various uses including rationing and the NHS when it came into being. It's a wonderfully rich document. Here we find Betsy living at 9 Chapel Yard still, aged 73. It appears that she is living alone, though it may be the case that she has visiting grandchildren around some of the time - my mum tells me that she was known as Granny Courts. It doesn't surprise me that she has no occupation listed, and as there was no pension at the time she probably had to rely on her children and siblings for anything she needed. 

Betsy lived another ten years, until June 1949. It is incredible to think of the amount of change that she saw in her lifetime from the telephone to manned flight. She saw her children and grandchildren fight in world wars, she would have heard the explosion when the town was bombed during the second world war. 

Maternal Lines - Mabel Florence Courts

Tracking down any family members can be tricky, and even more so when you're travelling up the maternal line in a family, as identifying the maiden name of the women in question can be difficult. 

My maternal Grandmother was Jessie Cobb. She was the youngest of 9 surviving children to Alfred Cobb and Mabel Florence Courts. My great grandparents. 

Mabel Florence went by Florence I think. My theory is that the eldest girl, named Florence Winnifred, went by Winn, so her mother probably was Florence or Florrie. She was born in 1884 in Gainsborough. At that time it was a bustling port and market town. The first census where we can find Mabel Florence is in 1891 (Census returns in the UK occur every 10 years starting in 1841). In 1891 she can be found living on Swash's Yard off Silver Street with her parents and three of her siblings. Her father, John David, is an engine fitter's labourer, her mother does not have an occupation listed, but with four children under 6 she was probably kept busy! 

Silver street still exists in Gainsborough, it's one of the main shopping streets in the town populated with banks and shops. Back in the late 1800's it was close to the port, with many yards leading off the back of Silver Street in the warren of little streets that led down to the river. Sadly the yard in question no longer exists. 

We can find Mabel Florence on the 1901 census for Gainsborough also. There are now 8 children, Mabel Florence is the eldest and is 16 at the time of the census. She's working as a washerwoman. Her father is still working as an engine fitter's labourer, and two of her siblings are working also. The residence is now 9 Chapel Yard, which was near Bridge Street. Again the original buildings in this area are gone. I believe that the buildings in this area would have been what are known as "back to backs" where houses from one street quite literally backed onto the houses in the next street. There would probably have been one main downstairs room where activities such as cooking and eating would take place, and one upstairs room for sleeping. With two adults and 8 children this would have been cramped at best. 

On January 10th 1903 Mabel Florence married Alfred Cobb in the Parish Church in Southwell. The witnesses were Mabel Florence's sister in law, Annie Cobb (nee Shepherd) and John Charles Something - the writing is difficult to read and I don't have any John Charles in my tree! Perhaps they will appear in due course. At the time of the marriage, both Mabel Florence and Alfred are living in Southwell, a small village 30 miles south of Gainsborough. Mabel Florence's father John is described as a mechanic on the wedding register. Alfred's father is deceased but was previously a sweep. 

From 1903 Mabel and Alfred began having children, and by the next census in 1911 they had four children. The family is living at 45 Waterworks Street in Gainsborough now. They are boarders in the house with another family whom were perhaps the homeowners. Alfred works drilling iron boilers. Interestingly two of the children were born in Derbyshire which suggests that the family were moving between cities, possibly for work, between their marriage and the date of the census. 

Mabel Florence and Alfred had six more children, five of whom would survive. The sixth, George, was born and died in 1913.