Sarah Ann (Sally) Mycock

Sarah Ann Mycock was my paternal grandmother.  She was born in Marple, Cheshire on 24th July 1880.  She was one of 14 children of Edward and Ann Selina (Godber) Mycock.  Sadly only 8 of them survived beyond infancy.  I have only been able to trace 10 of them.  All the ones who died in infancy were between censuses and the family moved around a lot so not sure where to look for their births.
Of the eight who survived to adulthood there were five girls and three boys.  Sarah Ann had five older siblings.

According to my cousin who sent me this photograph, it was taken in 1898 when Sarah was 18 years old.

On the 1901 census she was working as a live in domestic servant for a family in Romiley, which is the village where I was born.

The house where she was living is just two streets from where she lived when I was a child.

Below is a photograph of the house I took a few years ago.  Not a very grand house and certainly not a house where the owners would have servants now.  The head of the household was a 24 year old married woman with two young children who was from London.  He husband must have been away. Her sister was living with her and Sarah was the only servant.

In 1903 Sarah Ann married Bertis Cheetham at All Saint's Church in Marple.  Bertis was 10 years her senior.  They had one son Norman Joseph who was born in 1904.  Bertis died in 1911 at the age of 40.  After the death of her husband Sarah Ann would help women in labour and also used to lay out the dead.  I don't think she had any formal training.  She delivered my cousin Valerie in 1944 and I believe she was present when I was born but did not actually deliver me.

The photo on the left was taken in the mid 1940s I think, maybe around the time I was born.  The one on the right is of Sarah with son Norman (top right) and his wife Joyce (bottom right) and two daughters Karen and Pauline (front).  I think they were born in 1947 and 1948 so this must have been around 1950 - 51.

In 1919 Sarah married my grandfather, Samuel Henry Cox, at the Register Office in Stockport and the following year my father William Cox was born.  Two years later they had a daughter Nora.

I was born at my grandparents house as my mother was living there because my father was still in the army as he had not yet been demobbed after the war.  They lived at 38 Birch Avenue in Romiley.  Even though we moved out when I was less than two I have fond memories of the house as my brother Brian and I and also my cousin Valerie (Nora's daughter) used to spend a lot of time there as our parents all worked.  We used to go there for our lunch from school, which was not very far away, and also spent the school holidays there.  Such a lot of happy memories and excellent home cooked meals (although I did not like the parsley sauce).  She did make great soups and egg custard.  I even remember in my teens when I was off on hikes with the guides, that she would ask me to call round before leaving to have a bowl of warming pea and ham soup or a meat and vegetable broth with lots of barley in it.  She had a big old cooking range and there was always a pot of something very wholesome on the hob.

This is Valerie on the gate of 38 Birch Avenue during the 1950s

Below is a recent photo of the house taken a few years ago.  A new front door, wall and garden gate.

The only other photograph I have of Sarah was taken at Valerie's wedding on 15th June 1963 in Harrogate, Yorkshire. Sarah is looking very fashionable fifth from the left.  She was dressed a lovely pale grey suit with a pink blouse and had her first pair of nylon stockings and slip on shoes at the age of 83.  The young lady standing next to her is me and second from the right of me with the wedding cake on her head is my mum and dad is standing behind and to her left.  To the right of mum is one of Sarah's nieces, Millie who was the daughter of her sister Hannah. 

Sarah died on 19th May 1973,at the age of 92,  in London where her son Norman had taken her to live with him when she was unable to look after herself.  He was the only one left as my father and his sister Nora has emigrated to Australia on 1967, where sadly my father died in 1969 at the age of 49.