Three of William and Mary Ann’s children survived until adulthood. Leslie, Edith, and Harold died when they were infants. The dangers of childbirth were very real before modern medicine came into existence.

William Oxborough

Born: 1865 in North Walsham, Norfolk County, England

Father: Samuel Barrington Oxborough (1821 to 1903)
Mother: Hephzibah Riches (1824 to 1883)

Spouse: Mary Ann Carvell (1876 to 1952)

Married: 1902 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England

Children:

William Leonard Oxborough (25 JAN 1903 to 1974)
Doris Hephzibah Oxborough (25 JAN 1906 to 1985)
Leslie Oxborough (1908 to 1908)
Harold Oxborough (24 APR 1910 to 1910)
Edith Elizabeth P Oxborough (24 APR 1910 to 1911)
Leonard Oxborough (24 APR 1910 to 1955)

Died: 1932 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England

Timeline:

1871 Ely Holy Trinity, Cambridgeshire County, England
1881 Holbeach, Lincolnshire County, England
1883 Death of mother, Hephzibah
1891 Holbeach, Lincolnshire County, England
1901 Leicester, Leicestershire County, England
1902 Marriage to Mary Ann
1903 Birth of son, William
1903 Death of father, Samuel
1906 Birth of daughter, Doris
1908 Birth of son, Leslie
1908 Death of son, Leslie
1908 Death of brother, Frederick
1910 Birth of triplets, Edith, Harold, and Leonard
1910 Death of son, Harold
1911 Leicester, Leicestershire County, England
1911 Death of daughter, Edith
1932 Death and Burial

Occupation: laborer (1881 and 1891), railway porter (1901), railway laborer (1911)

Records:

1871 and 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: None

Spouse:

Mary Ann Carvell:

Mary Ann was born in 1876 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England. She died in 1952 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England.

Mary Ann’s father was Henry Carvell. He was born in Walcote, Leicestershire County, England. He died in 1924 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England.

Mary Ann’s mother was Mary Ann Williamson. She was born in 1851 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England. She died in 1907 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England.

Mary Ann had seven brothers and sisters:

Florence J Carvell (1875)
Lily Carvell (1879)
Harry Carvell (1880)
John Edward Carvell (1883)
Samuel Carvell (1888)
Thomas Williamson Carvell (1890)
Edith Annie Carvell (1892)

The Carvell Connection:

As I was building this part of my Oxborough family tree, I discovered a connection. In 1902, William married Mary Ann Carvell. In 1892, his older brother, Frederick, had married Ann Elizabeth Carvell.

Mary Ann was born in the city of Leicester. Ann Elizabeth was born in the village of Walcote in Misterton parish. As Walcote is 15 miles south of Leicester, I thought these two women were related.

I used my Family Tree Maker to figure this out. It has a relationship chart calculator. I just typed in both names and the program did the rest.

The relationship chart shows that Mary Ann and Ann Elizabeth were second cousins. Their common ancestor was Samuel Carvell.

Daughter:

Doris Hephzibah Oxborough:

Doris was born on 25 JAN 1906 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England. She died in 1985 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England.

Doris married Frederick Charles Robinson in 1927 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England. Three known children were born to this marriage:

Jean S Robinson (1928)
Keith F Robinson (1930)
Roy Robinson (1932)

Frederick Charles Robinson was born on 9 AUG 1903 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England. He died in 1969 in Leicester, Leicestershire County, England.

Did You Notice?

In 1910, Mary Ann gave birth to triplets. The three infants were named Edith, Harold, and Leonard.

Harold died shortly after birth. Edith lived for about a year. Leonard lived to be 45 years old but was never able to work. He may have had a birth defect.

Giving birth to triplets was dangerous for both the babies and the mother. Triplets were usually born premature, of low birth weight, or were not fully developed. The mother was at risk of hemorrhaging or infections.

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!