Christiana’s brother was named Goat Skippon Barrett. He was named after his maternal grandfather, Goat Skippon.  I do not know the origins of this unique given name.  It could have been passed down through the generations.

Henry Oxborough

Born: 19 MAR 1839 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England

Father: James Oxborough (1814 to 1843)
Mother: Lucretia Woolnough (1817 to 1858)

Spouse: Christiana Skippon Barrett (1835 to 1889)

Married: 1866 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Children: None

Died: 1872 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England

Timeline:

1841 St John Timberhill, Norwich, Norfolk County, England
1843 Death of father, James
1851 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1858 Death of mother, Lucretia
1861 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1866 Marriage to Christiana
1871 Beccles, Suffolk County, England
1872 Death and Burial

Occupation: shoemaker

Records:

1841 to 1871 England Census Records
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
Norfolk, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915

Variations of Surname: Oxborrow

Spouse:

Christiana Skippon Barrett:

Christiana was born in 1835 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1889 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Christiana’s father was Robert Barrett. He was born in 1796. I do not know his place of birth. He died in 1848 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Christiana’s mother was Elizabeth Skippon. She was born in 1798 in Bungay St Mary, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1882 in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Christiana had six known brothers and sisters:

Charlotte Skippon Barrett (1832)
Robert Skippon Barrett (1837)
Jonathan Skippon Barrett (1838)
Goat Skippon Barrett (1839)
William Barrett (1841)
Sarah Ann Skippon Barrett (1843)

Christiana gave birth to two children out of wedlock. They were born in Beccles, Suffolk County, England.

Mary Skippon W Barrett (1854)
Elizabeth Skippon Barrett (1859)

Did You Notice?

One of Christiana’s siblings has a very, unusual given name. When I first saw the name on the 1841 England census, I thought it was misspelled.

Christiana was born in the parish of Bungay St Mary, Suffolk County, England. I was unable to find a baptism record, but another record appeared in the search results. It was in Ancestry.com’s database, UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893. This entry was for the year 1832:

I then searched the 1841 England census to see if there were any Skippon’s living in Bungay St Mary. I found one family:

A man named Goat Skippon was living in Bungay St Mary. He was a shoemaker.

The 1851 England census shows Goat Skippon and his two sons were living in Bungay All Saints, Suffolk County, England. This record also shows Goat Skippon’s birthplace.

Elizabeth Skippon’s Parents:

Goat Skippon was born in 1770 in Wetheringsett, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1858 in Bungay Holy Trinity, Suffolk County, England. His parents were Daniel and Elizabeth Skippon.

Susan Moyes died in 1841 in Bungay St Mary, Suffolk County, England. I do not know Susan’s birth year or birthplace.

Elizabeth Skippon’s Son:

Goat Skippon Barrett:

It was standard practice to name a child after a parent, grandparent, aunt, or uncle. In the case of Elizabeth and Robert’s son, he was named after his maternal grandfather.

Goat Skippon Barrett appears in the 1841 England census. I also found his birth record index. Yet, I could find no other information on Christiana’s brother.

He may have changed his name due to being teased or ridiculed by friends or townspeople. He could have used the name George, Charles, or Thomas.

If any Skippon or Barrett descendants know what happened to Elizabeth’s son, please contact me.

Variations of the Surname:

As I was searching for more information on this family, I found several variations of the surname. Some of these variations were caused by the transcriptionist not being able to decipher the handwriting on the document. In some instances, the surname was spelled with an “Sh” instead of an “Sk”.

Shippen
Shippon
Skinnen
Skipping

Variations of the Given Name:

I received a double-whammy in my search. The transcriptionists of the various documents probably thought his given name could not possibly be spelled Goat. They typed it as:

Geat
Grat
Guat

I also discovered that the given name of Goat was not unique to the Skippon family. I found several entries in West Yorkshire, London, Gloucestershire, and Norfolk counties in England.

I do not know where the name of Goat originated. It may be a hereditary surname passed down through the generations. If you 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.

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!