Jack and Dorothy were married in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. At first, I thought she was Dorothy M Cailes who was born in 1937 in Bournemouth. A message from her son told me that I was wrong.

Jack Leonard Oxborough

Born: 23 APR 1932 in Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England

Father: Leonard Oxborough (1912 to 1961)
Mother: Constance Talbot (1914 to 1991)

First Spouse: Eileen Brenda S Farndell (1935 to 2005)

Married: 1954 in Portsmouth, Hampshire County, England

Children:

Linda M Oxborough (1955 to Unknown/Still Living)
Susan M Oxborough (1957 to Unknown/Still Living)

Second Spouse: Dorothy May McVey (1928 to 2006)

Married: 1964 in Bournemouth, Hampshire County, England

Child:

Julian J Oxborough (1964 to Unknown/Still Living)

Died: 2006 Southampton, Hampshire County, England

Timeline:

1939 Northampton, Northamptonshire County, England
1954 Marriage to Eileen
1955 Birth of daughter, Linda
1957 Birth of daughter, Susan
1963 Divorce from Eileen
1964 Marriage to Dorothy
1964 Birth of son, Julian
2006 Death and Burial

Occupation: unknown

Records:

1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, Birth Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, Marriage Index: 1916-2005
UK, Electoral Registers, 2003-2010
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England and Wales, Death Index, 2007-2013

Variations of Surname: none

First Spouse:

Eileen Brenda S Farndell:

Eileen was born in 1935 in Chichester, Sussex County, England. She died in 2005 in Menora, Western Australia, Australia. Eileen was cremated and her ashes spread at the Karrakatta Cemetery.

Eileen’s father was Arthur Noah Farndell. He was born on 14 AUG 1905 in Chichester, Sussex County, England. He died in 1976 in Portsmouth, Hampshire County, England.

Eileen’s mother was Ena May Baker. She was born on 22 MAY 1906 in Chichester, Sussex County, England. She died on 28 FEB 1990 in Southsea, Hampshire County, England.

Probate:

Eileen had eight brothers and sisters:

Kathleen R Farndell (1927 to 1936)
Arthur A Farndell (1928)
Harold D Farndell (1929)
Ena M Farndell (1931)
Betty J Farndell (1932)
Derek J Farndell (1933)
Kenneth H Farndell (1934)
June Farndell (1937 to 1937)

Eileen and Jack must have divorced.

In 1964, Eileen married Brian G Pilcher in 1964 in Bournemouth, Hampshire County, England. Two known children were born to this marriage:

Carol A Pilcher (1965)
Adrian B Pilcher (1968)

Brian G Pilcher was born in 1936 in Portsmouth, Hampshire County, England. Brian may still be living.

Second Spouse:

Dorothy May McVey:

Dorothy was born on 3 JUN 1928 in Newton Abbot, Devon County, England. She died on 14 JUN 2006 in Bournemouth, Hampshire County, England.

Dorothy’s birth record index listed her mother’s maiden name as Fellenore. As she was born in Newton Abbott, I looked for a marriage record around the year 1928 in that parish. My search produced one result:

I believe Dorothy’s father was Cornelius McVey. He was born on 7 FEB 1897 in Ormskirk, Lancashire County, England. He died in 1952 in Christchurch, Hampshire County, England.

I believe Dorothy’s mother was Beatrice Louise Fellenor. She was born on 1 JAN 1906 in Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales. She died in 1991 in Bournemouth, Dorset County, England.

My Hypothesis:

I obtained the following information from Ancestry.com:

The 1939 England and Wales Registers show that Beatrice was living in Bournemouth, Hampshire County, England. Her marital status was listed as married. Her occupation was listed as a hotel waitress.

In that same year, Cornelius was living in Southport, Lancashire County, England. His marital status was listed as married. His occupation was listed as a hotel waiter.

This may have been a coincidence. I could find no other person with the name of Cornelius McVey in this database.

The 1901 and 1911 England census records show that Cornelius was living with his mother in Southport, Lancashire County, England.

Cornelius had served in the British Army during World War I. He enlisted in 1915 and was discharged from service at the end of the war.

One page of his military record shows that in 1919 his battalion was stationed in France. Calais, France is 30 miles southeast of Dover, England. Cornelius’ battalion may have returned to England across the Strait of Dover.

I could also speculate that Cornelius may have lived in Bournemouth after his discharge from the British Army. He may have worked his way west to Newton Abbott, where he met Beatrice.

This is only speculation. If any descendants of this family have information to share or want to correct my scenario, please contact me. My email is dlwakenight@yahoo.com. You can also leave a message in the Comments Section of this post.

My First Assumption Was Wrong:

Because Jack and Dorothy were married in Bournemouth, I naturally assumed that she came from that area. The marriage record index listed her name as Dorothy M Cailes.

My initial search found a woman named Dorothy M Cailes who was born in 1937 in Branksome, Dorset County, England. The parish of Branksome is three miles northwest of Bournemouth.

With this in mind, I started building Dorothy’s profile as the second wife of Jack Leonard Oxborough. Dorothy M Cailes’ parents were Reginald Ernest Cailes and Winifred Beatrice Maud Hansford.

In 2016, I added my Oxborough ancestors to WikiTree.com. I had not viewed Jack’s profile since that time. Before I publish my posts on the Family Tree Insider, I create links to individuals that tie them to their WikiTree counterparts.

As I returned to Jack’s profile on WikiTree, I found a comment that told me that I had the wrong Dorothy M Cailes. This message was from Jack and Dorothy’s son, Julian:

“This was my dad, he had three children from his first marriage, Linda, Michelle, and Sue. I was born on October 29, 1964, at home, and my birth was registered in November 1964. My mum is Dorothy May Oxborough. She had 3 children, all deceased.”

I then returned to Ancestry.com and found Julian’s Fellenor Family Tree. Julian had added his mother’s name as Dorothy McVey. That name confirmed that I had added the wrong woman as Jack’s second wife.

Dorothy’s son steered me in the right direction. Thank you, Julian!

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!