It is speculated that Ernest Bownas was the father of Alice’s two children. I have ordered a copy of the birth record for Alice’s daughter, Yvonne, from the GRO. The birth record should list the father’s name.

Harry Oxborough

Born: 1860 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Father: John Oxborough (1814 to 1889)
Mother: Maria Piper (1815 to 1892)

Spouse: Mary Ann Eliza Davey (1863 to 1932)

Married: 1885 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Children:

Harry Lewis Oxborough (20 JAN 1886 to 27 JAN 1959)
Frank Stanley Oxborough (1890 to 14 SEP 1917)
Alice Edith Oxborough (30 MAR 1896 to 19 DEC 1951)
Ethel May Oxborough (27 JUL 1899 to 1980)

Died: 22 NOV 1936 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Probate:

Timeline:

1861 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1871 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1881 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1885 Marriage to Mary Ann
1886 Birth of son, Harry
1889 Death of father, John
1890 Birth of son, Frank
1890 Death of sister, Harriet
1891 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1892 Death of mother, Maria
1895 Death of sister, Mary Ann
1896 Birth of daughter, Alice
1899 Birth of daughter, Ethel
1901 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1906 Death of brother, Stephen
1908 Death of sister, Eliza
1911 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1917 Death of son, Frank
1929 Death of sister, Elizabeth
1931 Death of sister, Jemima
1932 Death of wife, Mary Ann
1934 Death of brother, John
1936 Death and Burial

Occupation: cordwainer

Records:

1861 to 1911 England Census Records
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

Variations of Surname: none

Spouse:

Mary Ann Eliza Davey:

Mary Ann was born in 1863 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1932 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Mary Ann’s father was Rufus Lewis Davey. He was born in 1840 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1904 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Mary Ann’s mother was Eliza Wade. She was born in 1841 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died on 19 APR 1915 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Probate:

Mary Ann had nine brothers and sisters:

Rufus Lewis Davey (1861)
Samuel Edward Davey (1866)
Ellen Jane Davey (1868)
Emily Martha Davey (1870)
Amelia Frances Davey (1871)
Walter Arthur Davey (1873)
Benjamin Joseph Davey (1876)
Alice May Davey (1878)
Sidney Ernest Davey (1882)

Daughters:

Alice Edith Oxborough:

Alice was born on 30 MAR 1896 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died on 19 DEC 1951 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Probate:

Alice gave birth to one child out of wedlock:

Rose Sparkes Oxborough (1917)

The surname of Sparkes may be her biological father’s surname.

It is speculated that Alice married Edward Bownas. I could not find a marriage record. Two known children were born to this marriage:

Yvonne Betty Bownas (1924)
Audrey M Bownas (1928)

I have ordered a copy of Yvonne’s birth record from the GRO. It should include her father’s name. I will update this post when I receive the document.

The 1939 England and Wales Register shows that Alice was widowed and living in Beccles.

Ernest Bownas was born in 1896 in London, England. He died in 1932 in Kirkley, Suffolk County, England.

The 1911 England census describes Ernest as a boarded-out child. He was living William and Martha Savage in Kirkley, Suffolk County, England.

The 1901 England census shows that Ernest, then five years old, was living with his foster parents.

Ethel May Oxborough:

Ethel was born on 27 JUL 1899 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1980 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Ethel married William E Howard in 1920 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. Two known children were born to this marriage:

Joyce Mary Howard (1921)
William F Howard (1923)

William E Howard was born on 31 JAN 1894. I do not know his place of birth. He died in 1965 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

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.

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