It's a Family Affair

Changing names twice does not help family historians!  Part 1 The First Name Change. When my father retired in 1984, my parents moved to East Runton near Cromer in Norfolk. His mother Annie Bertha Cubitt had died aged 37 of influenza pneumonia in 1927 when my father was just 8 years old.  He knew very little about her background except she had been born in Norfolk, her marriage certificate had shown no father's name and that she had a brother William whom he had met only once as a small child.  To find out more he visited the Norfolk Record Office in Norwich and came away with a birth certificate for Annie which both surprised and upset him.  Annie was indeed illegitimate and born in Norwich.  The mother's name was Laura Cubitt, a bar maid of Bull Close Road, Norwich but other than that he was unable to find anything more about her or his uncle William.  My own interest in family history began in about 1995 and when visiting my mum and da...

The families of John Adams and Martha Pizzey - Early 1800s The desperate situation that many agricultural workers found themselves in during the late 1700s and early 1800s was, in part, the result of a combination of several events namely The Enclosure Acts, the Napoleonic Wars and the Corn Laws.  It was a time of great upheaval and uncertainty and, I believe, almost brought about the demise of my paternal Adams line. The families of John Adams and Martha Pizzey my 4th Great Grandparents had been agricultural labourers in the Suffolk village of Baylham (7 Miles NW of Ipswich) for at least 80 years by the time they married in 1791. St Peter's Church, Baylham, Suffolk. By permission of Simon Knott.  suffolkchurches.co.uk 

The theme 'Same Name' reminds me of the time when, years ago, I had been exploring my Wilkinson line and hit that proverbial brickwall; unable to find anything at all about my 2nd gt grandfather Robert Wilkinson's wife Emma Anna Killik apart from what I had seen on their marriage certificate.   Emma married at the very young age of 16, to Robert Wilkinson, age 20. They married at St Mary's Church Tollesbury on 22nd September 1855. In the Father's Name and Surname column on the marriage certificate the vicar wrote - ' illegitimate daughter of Rosa Killick ' [sic]. A particularly cruel thing to have written for all to see. None of the witnesses is from Emma's side of the family. [1]

It is difficult to choose a favourite photo as those of us who are fortunate enough to have any of their ancestors will agree.   They are all pretty special but this one of family aboard my great grandfather’s barge ‘Sea Gypsy’ has to be up there.   Perhaps a Sunday afternoon picnic on the river? I just love that my Great Grandmother is actually pouring tea into a cup and saucer – who would do that these days? ……and she has on her ubiquitous floral pinny!