Lost Parish Register, Bourn, Cambridgeshire

Flicking through old newspapers, my eye was caught by an old advertisement in the Cambridge Chronicle & Journal, dated 24 October 1823.  It caught my eye as a lot of my research has been in the village of Bourn, Cambridgeshire, so I read on.

What the short advert said was:

PARISH REGISTER LOST.  

THE REGISTER of the BAPTISM of CATHARINE HAWKES, daughter of Christopher Hawkes, supposed to be born between the years 1690 and 1700, BOURN, in Cambridgeshire, or in some adjoining Village. Whoever will produce the Register of the Baptism of the said Catharine shall receive a handsome Reward for their trouble, by applying  to Samuel Marriott, painter and glazier, Royston, Herts.

I had a quick look and he's obviously referring not to a whole lost parish register, but a single entry in a parish register.  I then wondered if he'd ever found it and what he had wanted it for!

So I had a quick look .... and I can't find Catherine Hawkes either. But I built up a small story of finds during my searches.  I wasn't working from the original parish registers, but transcriptions.  All transcriptions are at the mercy of the transcriber and what they see.  You can only write down what you see when you transcribe, which is why it becomes vital, for some quests, to obtain the originals (or at least a copy of the originals) so you can scan through yourself, seeking an individual entry that might've escaped the notice of a transcriber who was intent on transcribing 1000 records.

Christopher Hawkes was baptised in Bourn in 1600, on 3 May.  He was the son of Christopher & Susan Hawkes.  I also found, in 1655, a sister, Rachel Hawkes, baptised at Bourn on 3 June, daughter of Christopher & Susan Hawkes.

I could see Rachel's (probable) wedding, at nearby Elsworth, to James Rook on 27 October 1679.

I couldn't find the marriage of Christopher, but did find some children from that marriage.  Online research shows that Christopher Hawkes married Flower Barton.  Flower Barton was probably the wife, baptised at Orwell on 10 March 1663/64.

I found seven children so far, with various spellings of their last names.  The family appear to have started out in Orwell, then moved to Bourn - the two are only a couple of miles apart.

1. 1686 at Orwell:, Richard Hawkes, baptised 26 August, son of Christopher Hawkes and Flower
2. 1687 at Orwell, Christopher Hawkes, baptised 20 October, son of Christopher Hawkes and Flower
3. 1691 at Bourn, Sarah Hawkes, baptised 30 March, daughter of Christopher Hawkes but no mother's name given.
4. 1695 at Bourn, Thomas Haukes, baptised 4 May, son of Chrisofer Haukes with no mother's name
5. 1699 at Bourn, Susana, baptised 14 November, daughter of Christifer Haukes & Honor
6. 1701 at Bourn, Honor Hawks, baptised 3 July, daughter of Christopher Hawks and Flora. 
7. 1706 at Bourn,  John Hawkes, baptised 3 December, son of Christopher Hawkes and Flora

When it comes to transcription, where it says Honor above that'll most likely be a transcriptionist not recognising it as Flora for the name.  Or, there was an Honour Barton, sister of Flower/Flora, so it could actually be Honour. Flora's sister Honour died aged 6 when Flower was 12!  As for Flower or Flora, that could be what the vicars wrote, or what the transcriptionist thought they could see - only inspection of the originals would give that answer.

The original scans of the parish registers are not available online, so I couldn't "see what I made of it".

Burials

• 1709:  There is a burial of a Christopher Hawkes at Bourn on 2 February 1708/09.  The parish register of burials doesn't say which Christopher Hawkes this is - on this date the father and the son were both alive (aged 48 and 21 respectively). I would assume it's the father by default, making a note that the other exists; if this isn't your tree then you don't have to research fine detail to the nth degree!
• 1712: There is a burial of Flower Hawkes at Bourn on 17 November.  

So, I doubt the original advertiser, seeking the entry in 1823, ever found any such Catherine.  Of course, I could be wrong - these days it's easy to locate every parish register, or identify its loss, then to access originals, or photos/scans of the originals, depending on the importance of the information to you.  I wonder if the original advertiser were just a genealogist trying to nail a small detail some aged aunt had mentioned....

Born in ~1700, it's entirely possible that somebody born in ~1760 would have known/met any such Catherine and when Samuel Marriott started his research in ~1820 he interviewed elderly family members and somebody aged ~60 would've said "there was a Catherine, I remember her" - and that's how many of us start, trying to tie in all those half stories, those snippets, we've overhead for years.

STOP IT!
I have to stop right there... I've already found what might be a further child and might be a clue to discovering the marriage... so I'm being sucked into a tree that's not my own!  Easily done.  I'd need the Barton, Cambridgeshire, parish registers for that and I don't have those, they are available from Cambridgeshire Family History Society, on their CD number 65, or FamilySearch has access to the same information held on two microfiches in Utah.  The original parish registers for Barton Cambridgeshire are held at Cambridge Archives, they cover: MARRIAGES 13 May 1754 - 22 October 1812 and BANNS: 21 April 1754 - 16 June 1807.

It's easy to get sucked into searching for elusive records, coming up with your own ideas about what to do/where to look next and what happened.... you have to learn to say "STOP".

We're spoilt these days, being able to sit on the sofa and get 80% of the "hard work" done in a few hours - accessing records our predecessors never dreamed of!

Sources: FreeREG and Familysearch

Residents of Thrift's Walk, Chesterton, Cambridge in the ~1900s

A number of years were spent by my ancestors living as residents of Thrift's Walk, Chesterton. The actual house has since been demolished, a date for which I'll discover one day.

However, I thought I'd start a random list of past owners, landlords, residents and lodgers of Thrift's Walk where I discover them. This material will come from a variety of resources, as I gain access to them. The Census is the most obvious source, but also local newspapers, local archives and old books.

Knowing everything that's going on in a street gives you a greater picture of the living conditions, the neighbourhood and lifestyles than just concentrating on your own ancestors.

There is no real coherence to this list, it's just a random collection of dates, addresses, people and events, in address, then year, order. All information is provided simply as a starting point for your own full and proper research.

Unknown house number and cottages by name:

• 1899 William Masters. In court for using obscene language. [Source: CIP]
• 1903 disturbance in  Thrift’s Walk.  Defendant, surrounded by a crowd, wanting to fight. [Source: CDN]
• 1908 Percy Masters died, aged 2 days. [Source: StAB]
• 1910 Money Cottage, Thrifts Walk. Approval for additions to cottage by Mrs Craven, Hills Road. [Source: CALM]
• 1912 Building approval for 10 houses to be built. [Source: CALM]
• 1913 10 properties in Thrifts Walk were connected to drainage [Source: CALM]
• 1918 A cottage advertised to rent at 3/7, landlord/agent Stanley 168 Chesterton Road, Cambridge. [Source: CDN]
• 1921 Sarah Doggett died, aged 77. [Source: StAB]
• 1931 Eliza Goode, The Poplars, died aged 82. [Source: StAB]
• 1935 The Poplars, Thrifts Walk. Miss Kathleen M Goode. Plan and approval for detached house at Barton Road. [Source: CALM]
• 1938 Plan to build four houses with three bedrooms. [Source: CALM]
• 1953 Planning for 3 detached houses, The Poplars, Thrifts Walk, by Miss KM Goode, 97 Barton Road. [Source: CALM]

1 Thrift's Walk

• 1935 Mercy Elizabeth Hulyer died, aged 55. [Source: StAB]
• 1939 Approval for 1 WC, Frederick Wilson, Ivy Cottage, Milton - I presume he was the owner/landlord. [Source: CALM]
• 1949 1-5 Thrifts Walk were sold through Bidwells (agents). [Source: CALM]

2 Thrift's Walk

• 1933 Frederick Brett died, aged 76. [Source: StAB]
• 1939 Approval for 1 WC, Frederick Wilson, Ivy Cottage, Milton - I presume he was the owner/landlord. [Source: CALM]
• 1941 Emma Caroline Brett died, aged 83. [Source: StAB]
• 1949 1-5 Thrifts Walk were sold through Bidwells (agents). [Source: CALM]

3 Thrift's Walk: 

• 1901 Mrs Walker. Had triplets. [Source: CDN]
• 1901 Victoria Walker and Alexandra Walker died, both aged 4 days [Source: StAB]
• 1902 Mr & Mrs Walker. Son Albert Edward Walker died, aged 9 months. [Source: CIP, StAB]
• 1907 William Walker died, aged 77. [Source: StAB]
• 1908 James Cook, painter. Witness to a work colleague's sudden death while they were walking to work. [Source: CIP]
• 1913 William Arthur Gray, blacksmith. Inquest into death of unnamed male child, aged 1 hour. [Source: CIP, StAB]
• 1932 Frederick Litchfield. Planning for a tool and cycle shed. [Source: CALM]
• 1942 Frederick George Litchfield died, aged 78. [Source: StAB]
• 1949 1-5 Thrifts Walk were sold through Bidwells (agents). [Source: CALM]

4 Thrift's Walk:

• 1905 Arthur Jolley. In court for theft of poultry. [Source: CIP]
• 1905 Arthur Jolley, 25, labourer. In court. [Source: CIP]
• 1905 Minnie Masters died, aged 6 months. [Source: StAB]
• 1905 Henry Jolly, aged 25, labourer, in court [Source: CIP]
• 1907 Matilda Jolley of No 4 and Martha Masters (aged 27) of No 14 - charges of assault between themselves. [Source: CIP]
• 1915 James Edward Jolley died, aged 6. [Source: StAB, Camdex]
• 1932 Planning for a tool and cycle shed. [Source: CALM]
• 1939 4 Thrifts Walk. Frederick Jolley, aged 19, newspaper roundsman. In court for aiding and abetting. [Source: CIP]
• 1949 1-5 Thrifts Walk were sold through Bidwells (agents). [Source: CALM]

5 Thrift's Walk:

• 1903 Ann Oakman died, aged 80. [Source: CIP, StAB]
• 1925 Cornelius Doggett died, aged 83. [Source: StAB]
• 1949 1-5 Thrifts Walk were sold through Bidwells (agents). [Source: CALM]

6 Thrift's Walk:

• 1918 Had a WC installed [Source: CALM Ref]

7 Thrift's Walk:

• 1900 Frank Speed died, aged 19 days. [Source: StAB]
• 1900 Jack Speed died, aged 10 weeks. [Source: StAB] 
• 1904 Rose Berridge died, aged 8 months. [Source: StAB]
• 1908 Winifred Martha Day died, aged 2. [Source: StAB]
• 1918 Mr G Speed was mentioned [Source: CALM]
• 1920 George Speed advertising items for sale. [Source: CDN]
• 1923 John Gent died, aged 80. [Source: StAB]
• 1932 Minnie Speed died, aged 63. [Source: StAB]

8 Thrift's Walk

• 1915 Margaret Alice Wilkins died, aged 25 days. [Source: StAB]
• 1928 Alice Wilkins died, aged 59. [Source: StAB]

10 Thrift's Walk

• 1907 Elizabeth Fordham died, aged 58. [Source: StAB]
• 1934 John William Buckingham died, aged 2 years. [Source StAB]

11 Thrift's Walk: 

• 1909 Violet Lily Masters died, aged 11 months. [Source: StAB]
• 1911 Lily Margaret Masters died, aged 7 months. [Source: StAB]
• 1915 Arthur Masters joined Kitcheners Army. [Source: CIP]
• 1916 George Edward Masters. In court for stealing a bicycle. [Source: CIP]

12 Thrift's Walk:

• 1901 John Rayner died, aged 90. [Source: StAB]
• 1902 James Frohock died, aged 73. [Source: CIP, StAB]
• 1903 Mr C Rayner. Selling items. [Source: CDN]
• 1925 Jessie Ellen Brown died, aged 4. [Source: StAB]

13 Thrift's Walk: 

• 1915 Ernest Stanley. In court, not sending children to school. [Source: CIP]
• 1916 Alfred Stanley. In court for stealing. [Source: CIP]

14 Thrift's Walk:

• 1901 Sarah Frohock died, aged 74. [Source: StAB]
• 1907 Martha Masters (aged 27) of  No 14 and Matilda Jolley of No 4 - charges of assault between themselves. [Source: CIP]
• 1907 Charles Mansfield, aged 30, labourer, in court for using abusive language. [Source: CIP]
• 1913 Florrie Mansfield died, aged 14 days. [Source: StAB]
• 1915 Mrs Emma Mansfield (wife of Charles Mansfield, general dealer). Witness to the death fall of her mother, Mrs Hutton. [Source: CIP]

15 Thrift's Walk:

• 1894 George Guest, aged 23, gardener and sailor, requested help to find work from a Cambridge Charity. [Source: CALM]
• 1915 Mr & Mrs L Howard; son Private WF Howard. Received war letter from son.  [Source: CIP]
• 1920 Eleanor Howard died, aged 73. [Source: StAB]
• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc). [Source: CALM]

16 Thrift's Walk: 

• 1918 Frederick William Rayner, WW1 killed in action in France on 11 October. Private 57272. Husband of Mrs M Rayner. [Source: ROH, CDN]
• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc) . [Source: CALM]

17 Thrift's Walk

• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc). [Source: CALM]

18 Thrift's Walk

• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc). [Source: CALM]
• 1927 Albert Edward Payne died, aged 4. [Source: StAB]
• 1929 Percy James Payne died, aged 42. [Source: StAB]
• 1932 Alice Evelyn Payne died, aged 25. [Source: StAB]

19 Thrift's Walk

• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc). [Source: CALM]
• 1925 Bettie Chapman died, aged 10 days.  [Source: StAB]
• 1939 Charles Chapman, a buttery porter aged 19, in court for aiding and abetting when he accepted a lift in an uninsured car. [Source: CIP]
• 1944 John Chapman died, aged 80. [Source: StAB]
• 1945 John Chapman died, aged 46. [Source: StAB]

20 Thrift's Walk

• 1922 Sold through Bidwells (agents) (numbers 15-20 inc).  [Source: CALM]
• 1925 Beatrice Harriet Mansfield died, aged 34. [Source: StAB]
• 1940 May Bentley died, aged 61. [Source: StAB]

...
Sources:

• CALM: Cambridgeshire Archives, searchable online.
• Camdex: Local authority register of BMDs, online.
• CDN: Cambridge Daily News, available through FindMyPast Newspaper archives.
• CIP: Cambridge Independent Press, available through FindMyPast Newspaper archives.
• ROH: Roll of Honour listings for WW1 soldiers who died in the Great War. http://www.roll-of-honour.com/
• StAB: St Andrews Church Burials, Chesterton