In 2016, I had added Eileen Lush as Geoffrey’s wife. In 2021, when I revisited their profiles on my family tree, I realized I had made a mistake. I discovered that he married Eileen Una Cooper Lush, a divorced woman.

Geoffrey Eric Oxborough

Born: 1 AUG 1927 in Lowestoft, Suffolk County, England

Father: George Clifford Oxborough (1901 to 1976)
Mother: Elsie Winifred Harrison (1900 to 1983)

Spouse: Eileen Una Cooper (1919 to 2006)

Married: 1950 in the Yeovil Registration District of Somerset County, England

The Yeovil Registration District had 41 civil parishes between 1837 and 1974. I do not know which parish they were living in at the time of marriage.

Children: Unknown

Died: 19 APR 1995 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England

Timeline:

1939 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1950 Marriage to Eileen
1976 Death of father, George
1983 Death of mother, Elsie
1995 Death and Burial

Occupation: commercial traveler (1939)

Records:

1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2014

Variations of Surname: None

Spouse:

Eileen Una Cooper:

Eileen was born on 14 MAR 1919 on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire County, England. She died on 7 DEC 2006 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England.

Eileen’s father was Percy John Cooper. He was born on 16 SEP 1888 in Wareham, Dorset County, England. He died in 1966 in Mere, Wiltshire County, England.

Eileen’s mother was Gladys Maud Churchill. She was born on 6 APR 1896 in either Yarbridge or Wroxall on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire County, England. She died in 1988 in Shaftesbury, Dorset County, England.

Eileen had one known sister:

Joan Cooper (1920 Wareham, Dorset)

Eileen had previously married Robert John Lush in 1937 in Mere, Wiltshire County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

Garethy J Lush (1938)

Robert John Lush was born on 10 JUN 1913 in Shaftesbury, Dorset County, England. He died on 24 APR 1988 in Brighton, Sussex County, England.

Robert and Eileen got divorced before 1950. Robert then married Doris Marie Jepson in 1958 in Brighton, Sussex County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

Doris Marie Jepson was born on 20 SEP 1923 in Brighton, Sussex County, England. I do not know when Doris died.

Correcting My Mistake:

In 2016, I had added Eileen Lush as Geoffrey’s wife. In 2021, when I revisited their profiles on my family tree, I realized I had made a mistake.

The 1950 marriage record index for Geoffrey listed Eileen under two different surnames.

The first entry was for Eileen Una Lush.

The second entry was for Eileen Una Cooper.

For some reason, now forgotten, I had added Eileen Lush, who was born in 1919 in Alverstoke, Hampshire County, England. At that time, I had commented that I could not find a marriage record for Eileen Lush and a man with the surname Cooper.

In 2021, it occurred to me that Geoffrey’s wife used the middle name of Una on the marriage records and her death record. Eileen Lush did not have, or use, a middle name on any documents.

That is when I decided to search for a woman named Eileen Una Cooper who married a man named Lush.

When the 1939 England and Wales Register was compiled, the census taker asked for the person’s full birth date. I used Eileen’s birth date of 14 MAR 1919 to help find her in this register.

I discovered that Eileen living in Shaftesbury, Dorset County, England. There were two separate entries that I would like to share:

The first entry was for Eileen U Lush, a married woman. Her address was listed as the Post Office. The schedule number was listed as 84; sub schedule #2. As you can see, her birth date coincides with Eileen’s death record index.

I performed a second search in Shaftesbury and found another entry for the post office under schedule number 84; sub schedule #1 and #3. This record shows Robert J Lush, a married man, and a son, Garethy J Lush. Sub schedule #2 was blocked out on this document.

The given name Garethy is very unique. I am sure it is a variation or nickname for a male named Gareth. I searched for Garethy’s birth record and found that he was born in 1938 in Mere, Wiltshire County, England.

That narrowed down my search for Eileen and Robert’s marriage record. They were married in 1937 in Mere, Wiltshire County, England.

As Eileen was 18 years old when she married Robert, I searched the 1939 England and Wales Register for her parents. They were living in Zeals, a tithing in the parish of Mere, Wiltshire County, England.

I discovered that Percy John Cooper married Gladys Maud Churchill in 1917 on the Isle of Wight, Hampshire County, England.

I then used the maiden name of Churchill to find Eileen’s birth record. That is how I found out that Eileen was born on the Isle of Wight.

To let other family tree members know that Eileen’s maiden name was Cooper and not Lush, I posted a comment on her profile.

Notes:

The surname, Oxborough, originated in Norfolk County, England. It appears in church registers as early as the mid-16th century. As the world population grew, these Oxborough ancestors moved to other counties in England. By the late 19th century, some had immigrated to Canada and Australia.

Creating Your Family Tree

Interested in building a great family tree? Remember these important steps:

Look in your photo albums. You may have old pictures that your parents or grandparents gave you. Or, ask them for copies of photos that they have in their possession. Many people will write names and dates on the backs of photographs. Letters, diaries, and family bibles are also excellent sources for births, marriages, and deaths.

Talk to your older relatives to find out about your ancestry. They may relate stories about an ancestor that you can add to your family tree. Family history is usually not found in newspapers. It is more of a verbal memory that is passed down from generation to generation.

Find the right family tree builder that suits your needs. You can choose one that has a paid subscription like Ancestry.com. There are also free sites like FamilySearch.org.

When you start building your family tree, add documentation to your ancestor’s profile. The records can include birth, marriage, death, census, military, city, and county directory listings. Any information that you can find will help create a life story about your ancestor.

If you have a unique surname, like Wakenight, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are many others on the internet for other countries like Ireland, Italy, and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would typically start with one individual and go “back into time.” You would add their parents, grandparents, and so on.  There are also family trees that go “forward into time.”  Many of these family trees start with a famous person, such as a president or royalty, and move forward into the present time.  The purpose of this type of pedigree is to establish a person’s bloodline with that famous person.

There is no limit on how big your family tree can grow. The blank canvas is there for you to use. Cherish your family history, and it will be there for generations to come!