I found a photo of Daisy May Oxborough Greenwell on another family tree. She was standing with four other women. Could this be a family photograph? Could these other women be Hilda, Elizabeth, Ethel, and Florence?

Henry Oxborough

Born: 1854 in Gorleston, Suffolk County, England

Father: John Oxborough (1816 to 1892)
Mother: Phoebe Barth (1821 to 1890)

Spouse: Rebecca Elizabeth Baley (1850 to 1900)

Married: 26 SEP 1880 in Stranton, Durham County, England

Children:

Clarissa Elizabeth Fisk (2 OCT 1874 to 1930)
Elizabeth Ann Oxborough (23 APR 1876 to 1961)
Grace Mary Ann Oxborough (1878 to 1969)
Florence Eliza Oxborough (2 JUL 1881 to 1965)
Henry Oxborough (1884 to 1884)
Henry Oxborough (22 JUN 1885 to 29 JUN 1963)
Daisy May Oxborough (24 MAY 1887 to 8 NOV 1957)
Ethel Oxborough (5 AUG 1889 to 1974)
Hilda Oxborough (27 DEC 1892 to 1979)

Died: 1925 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England

Timeline:

1861 Gorleston, Suffolk County, England
1864 Death of first sister, Harriet
1871 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1874 Birth of daughter, Clarissa
1876 Birth of daughter, Elizabeth
1878 Birth of daughter, Grace
1880 Marriage to Rebecca
1880 Death of brother, Charles
1881 Stranton, Durham County, England
1881 Birth of daughter, Florence
1884 Birth and death of infant son, Henry
1885 Birth of their second son, Henry
1887 Birth of daughter, Daisy
1889 Birth of daughter, Ethel
1890 Death of brother, George
1890 Death of mother, Phoebe
1891 Death of sister, Eliza
1891 Stranton, Durham County, England
1892 Death of father, John
1892 Birth of daughter, Hilda
1893 Death of second sister, Harriet
1900 Death of wife, Rebecca
1901 West Hartlepool, Durham County, England
1911 West Hartlepool, Durham County, England
1914 Death of brother, John
1918 Death of sister, Mary Ann
1925 Death and Burial

Occupation: fisherman (1871), laborer (1881 to 1901), dock laborer (1911)

Records:

1861 to 1911 England Census Records
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005

Variations of Surname: Oxburgh

Spouse:

Rebecca Elizabeth Baley:

Rebecca was born in 1850 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1900 in Stranton, Durham County, England.

Rebecca’s father was Thomas Baley. He was born on 6 NOV 1811 in Bedingham, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1894 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. Thomas died at the Union Workhouse in Great Yarmouth.

Rebecca’s mother was Rebecca Barton. She was born in 1812 in Hilgay, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1862 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England.

Rebecca had five brothers and sisters. The three youngest children were born in Norwich.

Theophilus Baley (1839 High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire)
Rebecca Elizabeth Baley (1841 to 1843)
Hannah M Baley (1844)
James T Baley (1846)
Clarissa Baley (1853)

Rebecca had previously married David Fisk on 24 DEC 1868 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

Arthur Fisk (1872)

David Fisk was born on 20 JUL 1850 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1942 in Sale, Victoria, Australia.

David and Rebecca must have divorced. David then married Sarah Ann Powell in 1880 in Victoria, Australia. Two known children were born to this marriage:

George William Fisk (1881)
James Stanley Fisk (1889)

Sarah Ann Powell was born in 1862 in Sandhurst, Sandridge, Victoria, Australia. She died in 1926 in Terragon, Victoria, Australia.

Divorce:

In 1874, Rebecca and Henry had moved to Durham County, England. This date is estimated and based on the fact that Clarissa was born in Durham County, England. This was also the year that David Fisk immigrated to Australia.

In 1880, both Rebecca and David married their new spouses.

These two dates lead me to believe that either Rebecca or David were granted a divorce based on the desertion clause in English law. Family Search has an article entitled Divorce in England and Wales that explains:

“If one party to a marriage disappeared for seven years it was, by the eighteenth century, generally assumed that the deserted one could marry again . . .”

Did You Notice?

Rebecca and Henry’s three oldest children were born before they were married in 1880.

In 1874, Clarissa’s birth was registered under the surname of Fisk. This was because Rebecca was still legally married to David Fisk.

Elizabeth and Grace were registered under the surname, Oxborough. I believe this is where the seven-year rule for desertion took effect. Rebecca married David in 1868. If you add seven years to this date, you get 1875. As Elizabeth was born in 1876, Rebecca may have felt entitled to use the surname of her daughter’s biological father.

Daughters:

Clarissa Elizabeth Fisk:

Clarissa was born on 2 OCT 1874 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1930 in Lanchester, Durham County, England.

Clarissa’s birth certificate lists her father as Henry Fisk, a laborer. The name should have been Henry Oxborough, a laborer. As Rebecca was a married woman, the registrar may have assumed Henry was her husband and recorded his surname as Fisk.

Clarissa went by the nickname Clara.

Clarissa Elizabeth Oxborough Kirkup
George William Kirkup

Clarissa married George William Kirkup in 1894 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. Four known children were born to this marriage. The children were born in Durham County, England.

Robert Kirkup (1893 West Hartlepool)
Henry Marshman Kirkup (1897 West Hartlepool)
George Oxborough Kirkup (1899 to 1901)
Ralph Humble Kirkup (1903 Sunderland)

George William Kirkup was born in 1867 in Sunderland, Durham County, England. He died in 1921 in Lanchester, Durham County, England.

Elizabeth Ann Oxborough:

Elizabeth was born on 23 APR 1876 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1961 in West Hartlepool, Durham, England.

Elizabeth married John Richard Cooper on 21 MAY 1901 in Stranton, Durham County, England. Five known children were born to this marriage:

Doris Cooper (1902)
Florence Rebecca Cooper (1905)
Elizabeth Cooper (1908)
Annie Louisa Cooper (1910)
Thomas Cooper (1913 to 1915)

John Richard Cooper 1914 military record showing marriage date and children’s names.

 

John Richard Cooper was born on 23 JAN 1879 in Cawton, North Yorkshire, England. He died in 1948 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Grace Mary Ann Oxborough:

Grace was born in 1878 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1969 in Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Grace married William Henry Hinton in 1898 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. Eight known children were born to this marriage:

William Henry Hinton (1899)
Ralph Hinton (1902)
Harry Hinton (1904)
Rebecca Hinton (1906)
Grace Hinton (1909)
Daisy May Hinton (1913)
Alexander Hinton (1919)
Joan Victoria Hinton (1922)

William Henry Hinton was born in 1878 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He died in 1963 in Port Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

William Henry Hinton 1927 passenger list showing immigration to Australia.

 

Florence Eliza Oxborough:

Florence was born on 2 JUL 1881 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1965 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Florence married John Joseph Hanson in 1906 in Hartlepool, Durham County, England. I do not know if or how many children were born to this marriage.

John Joseph Hanson was born on 2 DEC 1875 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He died in 1945 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Daisy May Oxborough:

Daisy was born on 24 MAY 1887 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died on 8 NOV 1957 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Probate:

Daisy married Edward Appleton Greenwell in 1914 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. Seven known children were born to this marriage:

Edward Appleton Greenwell (1915)
Vera Greenwell (1917 to 1917)
Thomas F Greenwell (1918)
Daisy May Greenwell (1920 to 1921)
Christopher Greenwell (1921)
Muriel Greenwell (1923)
Raymond Greenwell (1927 to 1930)

Edward Appleton Greenwell was born on 30 JUL 1887 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He died on 26 SEP 1943 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Probate:

Ethel Oxborough:

Ethel was born on 5 AUG 1889 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1974 in Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Ethel married William Maughan in 1908 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

William Maughan (1909)

William Maughan was born in 1886 in Sunderland, Durham County, England. He died in 1919 in Sunderland, Durham County, England.

William was 33 years old when he died. He may have served in the British military in World War I. He may also have been a casualty of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic.

John Archibald Alexander Lake

After William died, Ethel married John Archibald Alexander Lake in 1929 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

John Archibald Alexander Lake was born on 11 AUG 1874 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He died on 20 MAR 1949 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Probate:

John had previously married Adelaide Ann Picken in 1895 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. Four known children were born to this marriage:

Hilda Picken Lake (1896)
John Alexander Lake (1899)
Lawrence Lake (1903)
Francis Lake (1905)

Adelaide Ann Picken

Adelaide Ann Picken was born in 1875 in North Ormesby, North Yorkshire, England. She died in 1928 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Hilda Oxborough:

Hilda was born on 27 DEC 1892 in Stranton, Durham County, England. She died in 1979 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Hilda married Henry Beach in 1925 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. Three known children were born to this marriage:

Dorothy Beach (1926)
Sylvia Beach (1928)
Derek Beach (1931)

Henry Beach was born on 4 MAY 1895 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England. He died on 31 MAR 1961 in West Hartlepool, Durham County, England.

Probate:

Family Photo?

Another Ancestry.com member shared this photo on their family tree. There was a notation that Daisy was the person second from the left.

Is this a family photo of the Oxboroughs? Could it be Hilda, Daisy, Elizabeth, Ethel, and Florence?

 

If any descendants know the answer to this question, please contact me. My email is dlwakenight@yahoo.com. You can also leave a message in the Comments Section of this post.

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!