I placed a photo of Charles and Eliza’s daughter, Millicent, next to a photo of my half-sister, Sonya. They seem to have similar facial features. Could an Oxborough gene have traveled through time 97 years?

Charles Oxborough

Born: 1819 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Father: John Oxborough (1787 to 1868)
Mother: Elizabeth Browne (1789 to 1865)

First Spouse: Sarah Barmby (1824 to 1853)

Married: 4 NOV 1851 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Child:

Charles Oxborough (4 AUG 1852 to Unknown)

Second Spouse: Eliza Fox (1835 to 1900)

Married: 13 JUN 1854 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Children:

Rosanna Oxborough (7 JUL 1855 to 1914)
George Edward Fox Oxborough (1857 to Unknown)
Georgiana Fox Oxborough (1859 to 1895)
Millicent Edith Oxborough (22 JAN 1863 to 6 APR 1925)
Albert William Fox Oxborough (28 MAR 1865 to 30 JUL 1948)

Died: 19 JUL 1901 in Diss, Norfolk County, England

Timeline:

1828 Death of twin brothers, Henry and Obadiah
1841 Norwich, Norfolk County, England
1843 Death of brother, James
1848 Death of brother, Robert
1851 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1851 Marriage to Sarah
1852 Birth of son, Charles
1853 Death of wife, Sarah
1854 Marriage to Eliza
1855 Birth of daughter, Rosanna
1857 Birth of son, George
1859 Birth of daughter, Georgiana
1861 St James Parish, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk County, England
1863 Birth of daughter, Millicent
1865 Death of mother, Elizabeth
1865 Birth of son, Albert
1868 Death of father, John
1871 Diss, Norfolk County, England
1881 Diss, Norfolk County, England
1883 Death of sister, Susanna
1891 Diss, Norfolk County, England
1892 Death of brother, John
1895 Death of daughter, Georgiana
1900 Death of wife, Eliza
1901 Diss, Norfolk County, England
1901 Death and Burial

Occupation: ropemaker

Records:

1841 to 1901 England Census Records
England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915

Variations of Surname: Oxbrough

First Spouse:

Sarah Barmby:

Sarah was born on 30 APR 1824 in Bedingham, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1853 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. Sarah was 29 years old when she died.

Sarah’s father was William Barmby. He was born in 1796 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1861 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Sarah’s mother was Sarah Legood. She was born in 1794 in Bedingham, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1873 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Sarah had one sister and one brother. They were both born in Bedingham.

Maria Barmby (1827)
Robert Barmby (1830)

Second Spouse:

Eliza Fox was born on 10 JUL 1835 in Barford, Norfolk County, England. She died on 9 JUN 1900 in Diss, Norfolk County, England.

Eliza’s father was John Fox. He was born in 1800 in Barford, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1874 in Barford, Norfolk County, England.

Eliza’s mother was Elizabeth Laskey. She was born in 1812 in Barnham Broom, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1900 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England.

Eliza had ten known brothers and sisters. The children were all born in Barford.

Priscilla Fox (1829)
Robert Fox (1831)
John Fox (1835 to 1837)
Cullum Fox (1837 to 1837)
John Fox (1838)
Georgiana Fox (1840)
Thomas Fox (1842)
Henry Fox (1844)
Charles Fox (1848)
Alfred Fox (1850)

Daughters:

Rosanna Oxborough:

Rosanna was born on 7 JUN 1855 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1914 in Diss, Norfolk County, England.

Rosanna married Benjamin Lewis on 20 NOV 1878 in Diss, Norfolk County, England. Ten known children were born to this marriage:

Alice Esther Lewis (1879)
Georgiana Elizabeth Lewis (1881)
Ada Millicent Lewis (1882)
Kate Rose Lewis (1884)
Charles George Lewis (1885)
Arthur Oxborough Lewis (1888)
Edith Florence Eliza Lewis (1890)
Florence Eliza Lewis (1892)
Daisy Maud Lewis (1895)
Olive Eveline Lewis (1898)

Benjamin Lewis was born in 1853 in Long Melford, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1912 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England.

Georgiana Fox Oxborough:

Georgiana was born in 1859 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1895 in Rochdale, Lancashire County, England.

Georgiana married Edmund Augustine Pancras Townsend in 1884 in Marple, Cheshire County, England. Four known children were born into this marriage. The oldest child was born in Cheshire. The other children were born in Lancashire.

Albert Augustine Townsend (1884 Marple, Cheshire)
Alfred Townsend (1886 Rochdale, Lancashire)
Edith Townsend (1888 Rochdale, Lancashire)
Florence Townsend (1890 to 1895)

Edmund Augustine Pancras Townsend was born in 1857 in Holne, Devon County, England. He died on 29 OCT 1897 in Rochdale, Lancashire County, England.

The Influenza Epidemic of Rochdale:

Georgiana and Edmund’s daughter, Florence, died in the early part of 1895. She was five years old. Georgiana died later that year. She was 36 years old.

The family lived in Rochdale, Lancashire, England. When more than one family member dies in the same year, my immediate thought is that an epidemic occurred. I was correct.

I was lucky enough to find a report for the year 1895 for the Rochdale area. Page 4 shows that an influenza epidemic occurred at the beginning of 1895. Later that same year, the zymotic disease took many more lives. These zymotic diseases included scarlet fever, measles, and whooping cough.

When Edmund died, another report for 1897 shows that Zymotic disease was still very prevalent. He was 40 years old.

Probate:

Millicent Edith Oxborough:

Millicent was born on 22 JAN 1863 in Diss, Norfolk County, England. She died on 6 APR 1925 in Islington, London, England.

George Cuss or Cross

Millicent married George Cuss Cross on 17 NOV 1886 in St George Hanover Square, London, England. Seven known children were born to this marriage. The four oldest children were born in Clerkenwell, London. The three youngest children were born in St Luke, London.

Winifred Millicent Oxborough Cross (1887)
Gladys Eliza Oxborough Cross (1889 to 1894)
Charles George Oxborough Cross (1894)
Estella Mary Cross (1896)
Eliza Georgina Cross (1898)
George Albert Oxborough Cross (1900)
Arthur Daniel Oxborough Cross (1903)

George Cuss Cross was born on 13 MAR 1852 in Keynsham, Somerset County, England. He died on 5 FEB 1912 in Islington, London, England.

George had previously married Eliza Alice Dorey on 14 APR 1873 in Bristol, Gloucestershire County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

Clara Ann Cuss (1874)

Eliza Alice Dorey was born on 21 SEP 1857 in Keynsham, Somerset County, England. She died in 1889 in Kensington, London, England. Eliza was 32 years old when she died.

Eliza was only 15 years old when she married George. The marriage record listed her age as 18 years old. She likely did this to avoid obtaining her parents’ consent.

George and Eliza must have separated shortly after the birth of their child. It could be that her parents did not approve of their union and sought to annul the marriage.

Eliza then married George Samuel Pither on 29 MAR 1878 in Bathwick, Somerset County, England. One known child was born to this marriage:

Lucy Pither (1879 Calne, Wiltshire)

George Samuel Pither was born on 26 DEC 1858 in Paddington, Middlesex County, England. He died on 23 NOV 1916 in Southall, Middlesex County, England.

Probate:

After Eliza died, George Samuel Pither married Isabella Frances Stephensen in 1896 in Paddington, London, England. Two known children were born to this marriage. Both of the children were born in Chelsea, London.

Robert George Pither (1900)
Agnes Kathleen Pither (1905)

Isabella Frances Stephensen was born in 1863 in Barnsley, West Yorkshire, England. She died on 29 NOV 1936 in Pancras, London, England.

Probate:

The Cuss-Cross Connection:

George was born in 1852 to Daniel Cuss and Martha Hall.

George’s surname appears as Cuss on the 1861 and 1871 England censuses and the 1873 marriage record to Eliza.

I did not find George in the 1881 England census. When he married Millicent in 1886, his surname had changed to Cross. He used this name until he died in 1912.

I wonder if George changed his surname to avoid some type of litigation. Could it be that Eliza was suing him for child support?

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

The Family Resemblance:

Another Ancestry.com member had scanned a photo of Millicent onto her family tree. Although the photo was undated, it appears that Millicent was in her thirties.

As soon as I saw the photo, I thought Millicent looked like my half-sister, Sonya. Our maternal grandmother was Gladys May Oxborough (1913 to 1977)

I decided to place a photo of Sonya next to that of Millicent. Do you see the resemblance?

 

There is a 97-year gap of time between when Millicent was born and when Sonya was born. I used the Canon Relationship Chart and discovered they are second cousins, four times removed. Matthew Oxborough (1748 to 1795) was their common ancestor.

UPDATE 15 FEB 2024:  I removed the death year of 1863 from Charles Oxborough (1852).  This was because the BMD document was already attached to another individual named Charles Oxborough (1813 to 1863).  Charles’ wife, Elizabeth, was widowed on the 1871 England Census.  There was only one BMD entry between 1861 and 1871 for a Charles Oxborough in the Wangford Registration District.

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 vital records.

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 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. Records should 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 ancestors.

If you have a unique surname, you may find databases on the internet that are useful in your search. I use SurnameDB.com for my English surnames. There are other websites on the internet for countries like Italy and Germany.

Genealogy is the study of a person’s “line of descent.” As you create your family tree, you would 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. They would then 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!