Ted was the second of my 2xgreat grandparents' 13 children, one of nine to survive. Unlike some of his siblings, he stayed close to his family and life seems to have followed a traditional pattern. A reported teenage misdemeanour, the impact of war and a description of his dilapidated rural home give a glimpse of … Continue reading Edward Thomas Ephgrave (1873-1932): A minor brush with the law
Child death
Benjamin Looker (1831-1906): An intriguing side-shoot
I am often distracted from my research by people tangential to my family history. One such is Benjamin Looker, father-in-law of my great grand uncle William Ephgrave. He was a much-married London coffee house keeper, Hertfordshire publican and son of a London 'ruby hole maker' (watch jeweller). I became rather obsessed with trying to fill … Continue reading Benjamin Looker (1831-1906): An intriguing side-shoot
Jesse Ephgrave (1852-1926): Losses and legacies
My 2xgreat grandfather was born in Redbourn, a small historic town in Hertfordshire. His father, a baker, died when he was six and he was brought up by his mother and stepfather - also a baker. He followed the same often financially precarious trade for at least 50 years; but what was his childhood like? … Continue reading Jesse Ephgrave (1852-1926): Losses and legacies
Jesse & Harriet Ephgrave: A baker’s dozen
My 2xgreat grandfather Jesse Ephgrave was a master baker. He had 13 children - a baker's dozen - with Harriet Scrivener. Their first son, my great grandfather, was illegitimate and their second was born only a few months after their marriage. Times were hard for them, with the loss of four children in infancy, and … Continue reading Jesse & Harriet Ephgrave: A baker’s dozen
Charley Brown: A Herts childhood
My great grandfather Charles (Charley/Charlie) Brown served 12 years as a soldier with the British Army in India before marrying cook, Lavinia Seaby, in Cambridgeshire in 1893. His residence at the time was Girtford in Sandy, Bedfordshire, where they spent their short married life. It took a while to trace his birth, and the home … Continue reading Charley Brown: A Herts childhood
Stocking homes: Bowles Road & Herman Road, Camberwell
My Stocking, Wales and Hill family lines converged in these two London streets on and off for more than two decades from the 1880s onwards. The street names seemed interchangeable and their history was apparently steeped in scandal. But what were the houses, the neighbours and the area like? Do family and other photos show … Continue reading Stocking homes: Bowles Road & Herman Road, Camberwell
My great grandmother’s four surviving siblings
My great grandmother Susan Caroline Hill had seven siblings, but only four survived beyond their third birthdays. Research into the surviving four reveals stories of further loss and survival, changing circumstances, military and civilian war casualties and emigration. Some of them are told here. Loss and survival My 2xgreat grandparents, Elsted-born Labourer John Hill and … Continue reading My great grandmother’s four surviving siblings
The short lives of John David (1870-1872), Emily Elizabeth (1877-1879) and Mary Ann Hill (1879-1882)
My 2xgreat grandparents John Hill and his second wife, Elizabeth Sarah Windebank brought up their family in some of the poorer parts of south and east London. My great grandmother was their second child, but the first, third and fourth each died in their early years, a result perhaps of poor sanitary and housing conditions. … Continue reading The short lives of John David (1870-1872), Emily Elizabeth (1877-1879) and Mary Ann Hill (1879-1882)
Susan Caroline Stocking (1896-1971): A move to Tingewick and family tragedies [Updated]
Susan was 15th of 19 children. She was left with three youngsters of her own when her ex-serviceman husband Fred Smith died after ten years of marriage. In the early 1940s, she moved with her second husband Harry Catlow to Tingewick, Bucks, where they ran The White Hart. Tragedy struck when both her daughter and … Continue reading Susan Caroline Stocking (1896-1971): A move to Tingewick and family tragedies [Updated]
Violet Rose May Ivy Stocking (1900-1963): A life of loss
The youngest daughter of my 2xgreat grandparents, Violet suffered the loss of two brothers and both her parents by the time she was 20, and her only child died in infancy. She worked for a stationer before marrying a Stockbroker. He may have been a WW2 prisoner of war, and worked in the same street … Continue reading Violet Rose May Ivy Stocking (1900-1963): A life of loss
My Stocking Roots 