Family History Hiccough

When I first started family history research in 2000 the line I followed was that of my dad William Cox. It was quite easy using the Free Birth, Marriages and Deaths site (FreeBMD) back as far as it went which is 1837. This brought me to my great great grandfather Asa (Esau) Godber and from his marriage certificate I had the name of his father James Godber. I found James on the 1841 census living in Ilkeston in Derbyshire with his wife Ann and son Asa.

I found James' death on 21^st March 1848 at the age of 69. His occupation was given as Out Pensioner of Chelsea Hospital. His name was James Godber alias Parrott.

I found a record of the discharge of James Godber in the Royal Hospital Chelsea admissions book. It said Sergeant Major James Godber was discharged from the militia aged 55 due to acute rheumatism after 35 years of service. I was so thrilled to have this record.

Trying to find the reason for the alias Parrott on James' death certificate led to me finding out his mother Mary Godber was unmarried but when James was a month old she married Edward Parrott. With James using the name Godber I wasn't sure whether or not Edward was his father. I thought maybe they would have changed his name to Parrott but he still used Godber.

This year I was looking at old newspapers on line and came across the story of the accidental death of Sergeant Major James Godber in Cossall, Derbyshire in 1848. Towards the end of the story it said that he had not been married. Could I have the wrong James Godber?

Back to Royal Chelsea Hospital records and I found a record for James Parrott who was discharged from the army in 1808 after 8 years and 6 months service due to loss of vision caused by ophthalmia.

I do have the right James but should have looked at the records more carefully. The first record I found was for a James Godber who was in the militia while the correct one was in the 35^th Regiment of Foot. James Godber (Parrott's) death certificate did say he was from the 35^th Regiment.

I was surprised that James had used the name Parrott to sign up. I found 2 records of his marriage to Ann Burrey in 1811 one gave his name as James Godber and the other as James Parrott Godber.

The James Godber who died due to an accident was 2 years younger than my James Godber but they both died in 1848.

Just shows you can be confused and make mistakes with unusual names not just common ones like Smith and Jones

Mycock Connections.

I have a few odd pictures to add to my grandmother Sarah Ann Mycock, family.  First I will go back to a place as I do not have a photograph of the person.  Sarah's maternal grandfather was Asa Godber.  Asa was born in about 1825 in Basford in Nottinghamshire, he was the son of James and Ann (Burrey) Godber.  He married Emma Kirk in Ilkeston, Derbyshire on 12th May 1846.  They had 5 children and Ann Selina, my great grandmother, was the eldest.  Emma died of consumption at the age of 41 in May 1867

The picture below is of the house where Asa lived in 1881 with his second wife Ann.  It is called Warren Lodge and is in the village of Compstall in the centre of the Etherow Country Park.  I took this photo about 6 years ago.  It is a tiny house but I suppose it was big enough for two as Asa's children had all left home by then.
Asa was found dead in bed in 1889 at the age of 63. Cause of death heart disease.

The next photo is of my grandmother's sister Hannah's daughter Mary Edith who was born on 17th September 1904.  Her father was Herbert Cubitt.  She had an older brother Fred who sadly drowned in the canal in Romiley in 1918 at the age of 15.  There was also another daughter Millicent who was born in 1908 and I have mentioned her before as she is on the photograph taken at my cousin Valerie's wedding in 1963.

I knew Mary Edith as auntie Edie, although she was my father's first cousin so maybe that made her my second cousin.  Edie was my god mother and when I was a baby my mother used to take me to visit her every week in my pram.  As I grew older I would visit her myself and in my early teens when I no longer wanted to go on holiday with my parents I would go and stay with auntie Edie.  She was married to Arthur Goodwin and they had no children of their own so I think she must have liked having me there.  I remember is the 1950s she had a wind up gramophone and had the record of Ruby Murray singing Softly Softly which she would play over and over again and sing along to it.  The first  photo of Edie must have been taken when she was quite young.  I think the second one may have been taken sometime in the 1950s or early 1960s. Edie died on 27th December 1998 at the age of 94.  Also a mention here that Edie's sister Millie and her husband didn't have any children either.

 

The other photo I have is of one of grandma's sisters, Maud.  Maud was born in 1884 in Marple, Cheshire. Maud  married  William Edward Lambert in 1905.  In this photos top left are William Edward and Maud at their grandson's christening.  Centre back is the baby's father and mum Annie is seated with the baby.  I don't know when it was taken.  The baby's mother Annie bears an uncanny resemblance to my cousin Valerie.

Just one more mention of one of grandma's siblings here.  No photograph but a sad story of her sister 2 year old Matilda who was born in 1887.  My cousin was told the story that Matilda had been struck by lightning and died whilst playing in Bonnie Fields in Romiley at the age of two years six months.  I just had to research this when I started family history but all her death certificate said was that she died of convulsions.  The newspaper report said that that she was apparently healthy but became convulsed and died the next day despite the attention of a medical gentleman.