In Ada’s family tree, the surnames of Smith and Galer were interchangeable. In the England census records, the surname appeared as Galer. On vital records, it appeared as Smith.

Henry Charles Oxborough

Born: 22 DEC 1887 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Father: Walter Stephen Oxborough (1848 to 1894)
Mother: Eliza Copeman (1847 to 1915)

Spouse: Ada Anna Archer (1892 to 1978)

Married: 10 Jul 1915 at Holy Trinity Church, South Kensington, in St George Hanover Square, Middlesex, England

Children:

Henry Oxborough (6 JUL 1916 to 11 AUG 1993)
Edward George Oxborough (20 APR 1918 to 10 OCT 1976)
Arthur Reginald Oxborough (12 JUL 1920 to 6 OCT 1978)

Died: 16 FEB 1966 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Probate:

Timeline:

1891 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1894 Death of father, Walter
1901 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1911 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1915 Death of mother, Eliza
1915 Marriage to Ada
1916 Birth of son, Henry
1917 Death of sister, Selina
1918 Birth of son, Edward
1920 Birth of son, Arthur
1927 Death of sister, Eliza
1939 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1940 Death of brother, Frederick
1945 Death of brother, Walter
1957 Death of brother, Charles
1958 Death of brother, George
1961 Death of sister, Lorina
1963 Death of sister, Lily
1966 Death and Burial

Occupation: a carpenter and a joiner

Records:

1891 to 1911 England Census Records
1939 England and Wales Register
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
Westminster, London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1935
The UK, Royal Navy Registers of Seamen’s Services, 1853-1928
British Army WWI Pension Records 1914-1920
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

Variations of Surname: none

Spouse:

Ada Anna Archer:

Ada was born on 9 OCT 1892 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire County, England. She died on 30 NOV 1978 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Probate:

Ada’s father was Joseph Wallden Archer. He was born in 1841 in Rayleigh, Essex County, England. He died in 1900 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Ada’s mother was Anna Elizabeth Galer Smith. She was born on 1 DEC 1862 in Ditchingham, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1947 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Anna had two children out of wedlock:

Albert Edward Galer Smith (1878 to 1885)
Alice Marion Galer Smith (1881)

Ada’s Father:

Joseph Wallden Archer married Anna Elizabeth Galer Smith in 1885 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. Four known children were born to this marriage.

Herbert Archer (1884 Shoeburyness, Essex)
Charles Ernest Archer (1886 Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk)
Albert Edward Archer (1897 Mistley, Essex)
Agnes Archer (1900 Beccles, Suffolk)

Joseph Wallden Archer had previously married Charlotte Galer Smith in 1872 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

Charlotte Galer Smith was born in 1836 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1877 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Charlotte had two children out of wedlock:

Anna Elizabeth Galer (1862)
Albert James Galer (1869)

Did You Notice?

In 1872, Joseph married Charlotte. In 1885, he married Charlotte’s daughter, Anna.

The 1871 England census shows Charlotte and her two children living with her sister, Rebecca Galer Smith in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. The second page lists Joseph as a visitor.

The 1881 England census shows that Joseph was widowed and living in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk County, England. Anna was working as his housekeeper. Her two children are also listed on this document.

Anna’s given name was written as Emma on the census record.
This was probably caused by the local dialect accent.

The Smith Galer Surname:

As I was building Anna’s family tree, I noticed that the surnames of Smith and Galer were interchangeable. In most of the England census records, the surname appeared as Galer. On vital records such as birth, marriage, and death records, the surname appeared as Smith.

Ada’s Great-Grandfather:

James Galer Smith was born in 1809 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1894 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England.

James married Mary Ann Cable on 21 NOV 1831 in Thurlton, Norfolk County, England. Nine known children were born to this marriage:

James Galer (1833)
Samuel Galer (1834)
Charlotte Galer Smith (1836 to 1877)
Robert Galer Smith (1837)
Rebecca Galer Smith (1839)
William Galer Smith (1841)
George Galer Smith (1843)
Mary Ann Galer Smith (1845)
Eleanor Galer Smith (1848)

The two oldest children did not carry the Smith surname. The addition of this surname may have occurred when England’s Civil Registration Law was enacted in 1837.

Mary Ann Cable was born in 1806 in Thurlton, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1885 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England.

Ada’s Great-Great-Grandmother:

Ann Smith was born in 1776 in Norfolk County, England. She died in 1854 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England.

Ann Smith married Charles Galer on 11 APR 1814 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

Charles Galer was born in 1771 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1837 in Loddon, Norfolk County, England.

The marriage record indicates that Ann and Charles were both unmarried. If this was accurate, Ann would have been 38 years old and Charles would have been 43 years old.

Ann gave birth to three children before she married Charles. In 1812, the children were baptized under the surname of Galer.

James Galer Smith (1809 to 1894)
Susannah Galer Smith (1810)
Samuel Galer Smith (1812)

I do not know why the children were baptized two years before Ann married Charles. Could Charles have been married to another woman but having an affair with Ann? If so, maybe his first wife died in 1813, and Charles and Ann married the next year.

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!