My 2xgreat grandmother was born and grew up in Luton, in Bedfordshire, joining many thousands of others working in the booming straw hat industry, probably from a young age. She would have earned good money, which may be why she didn't immediately marry the father of her first child. What would Hattie's formative years in … Continue reading Harriet Scrivener (1851-1931): Hattie in hat town
Luton
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
Tracing Great Grandad Frederick Ephgrave: A puzzle
My paternal great-grandfather was Frederick Ephgrave - or was he? Tracing his birth posed a big puzzle. I thought I knew his name from my grandmother Jessie Ephgrave's vital records, his marriage certificate and censuses. Apparently born in Luton 1872-3, son of 'Jessie' Ephgrave, he had various jobs in the dairy industry, but in earlier … Continue reading Tracing Great Grandad Frederick Ephgrave: A puzzle
My Stocking Roots 