Mary Ann’s father was Alfred Rainbird Francis. He was the illegitimate son of Maria Francis, born in 1814 in Hepworth, Suffolk, England. Could Alfred’s father have been Thomas Rainbird?

Stephen Inkerman Oxborough

Born: 24 NOV1855 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Father: William Oxborough (1822 to 1900)
Mother: Emily Blowers (1829 to 1901)

Spouse: Mary Ann Francis (1856 to1920)

Married: 4 AUG 1879 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Children:

Charles Bertie Oxborough (11 JAN 1881 to 1954)
James Frederick Oxborough (12 NOV 1883 to 22 NOV 1950)
Sidney Stephen Oxborough (22 JAN 1886 to 6 JUL 1947)
William Wesley Oxborough (4 FEB 1888 to 1962)
Ethel Eliza Oxborough (22 FEB 1893 to1944)
Leonard George Oxborough (10 JUL 1896 to 1897)
Leonard George Oxborough (30 JAN 1898 to 22 FEB 1960)
John Oxborough (1 DEC 1899 to 1954)

Died: 1946 in Oldham, Lancashire County, England

Timeline:

1861 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1879 Marriage to Mary Ann
1881 Birth of son, Charles
1881 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1883 Birth of son, James
1886 Birth of son, Sidney
1888 Birth of son, William
1891 Nelson, Lancashire County, England
1893 Birth of daughter, Ethel
1896 Birth of first son, Leonard
1897 Death of first son, Leonard
1898 Birth of second son, Leonard
1898 Death of brother, Charles
1899 Birth of son, John
1900 Death of father, William
1901 Nelson, Lancashire County, England
1901 Death of mother, Emily
1911 Nelson, Lancashire County, England
1913 Death of brother, John
1932 Death of brother, William
1936 Death of brother, Frederick
1939 Nelson, Lancashire County, England
1944 Death of daughter, Ethel
1946 Death and Burial

Occupation: waterman (1881), stoker at a cotton mill (1891 and 1901), road repairman for the parish (1911)

Records:

1861, 1881 to 1911 England Census Records
1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
British Army WWI Service Records, 1914-1920
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915

Variations of Surname: none

Daughter:

Ethel Eliza Oxborough:

Ethel was born on 22 FEB 1893 in Nelson, Lancashire County, England. She died in 1944 in Nelson, Lancashire County, England.

Ethel married John Averill in 1919 in Nelson, Lancashire County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

John F Averill (1921)

John Averill was born in 1890. I do not know his birthplace. He died in 1964 in Nelson, Lancashire County, England.

Spouse:

Mary Ann Francis was born in 1856 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1920 in Nelson, Lancashire County, England.

Mary Ann’s father was Alfred Rainbird Francis. He was born on 11 SEP 1831 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1917 in Brierfield, Lancashire County, England.

Mary Ann’s mother was Mary Ann Beales. She was born in 1837 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1861 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. Mary Ann was 24 years old when she died.

Alfred Rainbird Francis:

Alfred was born out of wedlock to Maria Francis. She was born in 1814 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. I do not know when Maria died or if she married.

Alfred was christened with the middle name of Rainbird. I believe Maria added this name to denote Alfred’s biological father. An article on Family Search explains:

“It was a convenient way to indicate the child’s parentage by giving the father’s surname as a middle name . . .”

When I searched the 1841 England census for a man with this surname, I found Thomas Rainbird. The document indicates that he was 30 years old. As no wife was listed, he was probably unmarried.

Tracing the parentage of illegitimate children was hindered by the Church of England. They did not condone women giving birth to children before they were married. For this reason, most baptism records for illegitimate children listed the mother’s name but not the father’s name.

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

Alfred’s First Marriage:

Alfred Rainbird Francis married Mary Ann Beales in 1854 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. Mary Ann Francis was their only known child.

Mary Ann’s father was John Beales. He was born in 1805 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1865 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England.

Mary Ann’s mother was Judith Francis. She was born on 8 SEP 1809 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1867 in Hepworth, Suffolk County, England.

Mary Ann had six known brothers and sisters:

John Beales (1838)
Sarah Beales (1842)
Emma Beales (1843)
William Beales (1845)
James Beales (1847)
Alfred Beales (1852)

Alfred’s Second Marriage:

After Mary Ann died, Alfred married a woman named Eliza in 1869 in Stanton, Suffolk County, England. Two known children were born to this marriage in Suffolk County, England:

Alice Francis (1870 Honington)
Alfred Wesley Francis (1871 Foxhall)

Eliza was born in 1842 in Stanton, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1872 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. Eliza was 30 years old when she died.

I do not know Eliza’s maiden name.

The 1871 England census shows that Eliza had one child named Ann S Grimwood. She was born in 1865 in Stanton, Suffolk County, England.

I could find no birth record for Eliza’s daughter under the name listed on the census. There is a birth record index for a female named Hannah Grimwood who was born in 1864 in the Thingoe Registration District.

I have ordered a copy of this birth record and will update this post when I receive it.

Update on 2 MAR 2022:

I received the birth record back from the GRO. The documents show that Hannah’s parents were Sydney Grimwood and Amelia Pearsons.

I found the 1869 marriage record index for Alfred Francis and Eliza Grimwood. I have ordered this document from the GRO. It should list her father’s name.

Update on 5 APR 2022:

I received the marriage record from the GRO. No father was listed for either Alfred or Eliza on this document.

The fact that Eliza did not list a father would indicate that her maiden name was Grimwood. She was living in the parish of Stanton when they were married.

There are two issues that I have not been able to resolve:

I could find no birth records for Eliza and her daughter in the Thingoe Registration District of Suffolk County, England. The parish of Stanton was in this RD from 1837 to 1908. That might mean they were born outside the Thingoe RD.

I could not find Eliza in the 1851 and 1861 England census records. Her mother may have married before the 1851 England census was enumerated. That would mean Eliza may have been listed under her stepfather’s surname.

All of the possible leads that I had found went nowhere. In other words, the women had married and were still living after 1872 when Eliza died.

I will revisit this part of the Oxborough family in the future. I may find new records that will help answer these questions.

Alfred’s Third Marriage:

After Eliza died, Alfred married Hannah Willingham in 1884 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. Three known children were born to this marriage:

Emma E Francis (1886)
Ellen A Francis (1890)
Rebecca Francis (1892)

Hannah Willingham was born on 13 JUL 1862 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1946 in Colne, Lancashire County, England.

Hannah gave birth to one child out of wedlock:

Laura Willingham (1881)

Hannah’s father was William Willingham. He was born in 1825 in Beyton, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1902 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk County, England.

Hannah’s mother was Elizabeth Pask. She was born in 1829 in Hengrave, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1913 in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk County, England.

Hannah had four known brothers and sisters:

Walter William Willingham (1857)
Susan Willingham (1859 to 1861)
Samuel Willingham (1864)
Alfred Willingham (1873)

Did You Notice?

Mary Ann Beale’s mother was Judith Francis. Alfred’s mother was Maria Francis. Their baptism records list their parents as John Francis and Sarah Watson of Hepburn, Suffolk County, England.

This would mean Mary Ann Beales and Alfred Rainbird Francis were first cousins.

Where did the name Inkerman originate?

As I mentioned above, I believe Maria Francis added the surname, Rainbird, to let others know who fathered her illegitimate child. That made me wonder how Stephen Inkerman Oxborough got his middle name.

I searched Ancestry.com’s England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915, and found only five people with this surname.

There was the famous 1854 Battle of Inkerman that occurred during the Crimean War.

Wikipedia.com has an article about a now-defunct place in Renfrewshire, Scotland:

“Inkerman was a small hamlet set up in 1858 in the Abbey Parish of Paisley to house ironstone miners.”

Could one of our Oxborough ancestors have married a woman with the surname of Inkerman?

If you know the answer to this question, please contact me as noted above.

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.

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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.

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