Tracey Foulds was looking for the family
of her great grandfather, Jacob Smith Brown (born 1888),
and his parents, George and Susannah (née Smith).
Tracey believed that Susannah had died before 1900.
Using the 1901 Census for Glemsford, this is what I
was able to say about the family in the first instance: |
In the 1901 Census, George is listed as being 50, and a widower - so her information about
Susannah would seem to be right.
His children are listed as:
Esau and Jacob (both famous names from the Bible!) both 13 - so I presume they were twins -
Ethel (10)
and Olive (8).George was a "Cocoa Mat Weaver"; both boys were "Cocoa fibre winders":
this means they worked in one of Glemsford's
main industries, using the fibres from the outside of coconuts to make mats and suchlike.
They were living on Hunts Hill.
I can't be 100% sure, because the census isn't totally clear,
but I think their house would be just above the Angel Inn, near Flax Lane.
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Despite the fact that "Brown" was such a common name in Glemsford, with Christian names like theirs,
it was not too difficult to track the family back.
This is what I was able to tell Tracey at the time: |
"I warn everybody that there has to be a little uncertainty -
because I can't prove everything 100%, but I'm reasonably happy with all this -
most of it seems to cross check." |
Starting in 1871:
"George, aged 20, was living with his parents, John and Ellen Brown.
John was 40, Ellen 38.
They lived in a cottage at the top of Egremont Street, where it joins onto Hunts Hill
(roughly where George was in 1901).
This is quite close to The Angel, and hasn't changed vastly since then, on the surface.
This is one amazing family. George was the oldest of 10 children.
In order, the rest were:
John (18),
Jane (16),
Eliza (14),
James (12),
Henry (8),
Mahala (6),
Elizabeth (4),
Willie (2)
and Ellen (3 months).
John (the father) was a Cocoa Mat Weaver, Ellen the mother was a Straw Plaiter.
George was, as later, also a Cocoa Mat Weaver.
John (the father) was born in Ovington in Essex, and Ellen in Belchamp St Paul in Essex.
All the children were born in Glemsford.
In the last quarter of 1873, George married Susannah Smith.
I can't be more precise than that because I don't have access to the certificate, only the register entry." |
"Nor can I find anything earlier about Susannah. There are several candidates in the 1871 census, but not enough to be
anything like certain.” |
So, that was the starting point for this search.
While I had other work to do - apart from becoming obsessed with the Savages - Tracey and Sandra concentrated on tracking the Browns.
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