John grew up in the farmlands of Ashby and Huntingfield. When he was in his 20s, he became a police constable and worked in the parishes of Hulver Street and Earl Soham in Suffolk County, England.

John Aldous

Born: 1863 in Ashby, Suffolk County, England

Father: James Aldous (1832 to 1885)
Mother: Jane Chilvers (1831 to 1870)

Spouse: Emily Tracey (1864 to 1947)

Married: 1886 in Hulver Street, Suffolk County, England

Children:

Reginald Tracy Aldous (24 JUN 1887 to 6 SEP 1979)
Ellen Tracy Aldous (4 MAY 1890 to 21 MAR 1960)
Thomas Tracy Aldous (1891 to 6 OCT 1918)

Died: 15 AUG 1934 in Lowestoft, Suffolk County, England

Probate:

Timeline:

1870 Death of mother, Jane
1871 Ashby, Suffolk County, England
1881 Huntingfield, Suffolk County, England
1885 Death of father, James
1886 Marriage to Emily
1887 Birth of son, Reginald
1890 Birth of daughter, Ellen
1891 Henstead, Suffolk County, England
1891 Birth of son, Thomas
1901 Earl Soham, Suffolk County, England
1911 Framlingham, Suffolk County, England
1918 Death of son, Thomas
1931 Death of half-brother, Henry Jeffery Aldis
1934 Death and Burial

Occupation: agricultural laborer, police constable (1891), acting sergeant of police (1901)

Records:

1871 to 1911 England Census Records
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index: 1837-1915
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
Norfolk, England, Church of England Deaths and Burials, 1813-1990
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

Variations of Surname: Aldis

Spouse:

Emily Tracey:

Emily was born on 26 JUL 1863 in Cookley, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1947 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

Emily’s father was James Tracey. He was born in 1825 in Little Horkesley, Essex County, England. He died in 1886 in Cookley, Suffolk County, England.

Emily’s mother was Mary Ann Meadows. She was born in 1830 in Elmsett, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1902 in Trimley St Martin, Suffolk County, England.

Emily had seven brothers and sisters, all born in Cookley:

Catherine Tracey (1864)
John Tracey (1867)
Ellen Tracey (1869)
Edward Tracey (1870)
Alice Tracey (1871)
Agnes Tracey (1873)
Robert Tracey (1874)

Emily also had four half-siblings from her father’s prior marriage to Mary Rush Smith. All the children were born in Cookley:

Elizabeth M Tracey (1853)
Anna Tracey (1854)
James William Tracey (1856)
Lydia Tracey (1857)

Mary Rush Smith was born in 1826 in Polstead, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1860 in Cookley, Suffolk County, England.

Daughter:

Ellen Tracy Aldous:

Ellen was born on 4 MAY 1890 in Hulver Street, Suffolk County, England. She died on 21 MAR 1960 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

Ellen married Francis Grickson Adcock in 1938 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

Francis Grickson Adcock was born on 21 FEB 1867 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. He died on 10 APR 1954 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

Francis had previously married Alice Gertrude Durrant in 1889 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. Three known children were born to this marriage, all were born in Ipswich:

Frank Adcock (1892)
Gertrude Adcock (1901)
Alwin Adcock (1905)

Alice Gertrude Durrant was born in 1864 in Bucklesham, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1905 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

After Alice died, Francis married Agnes Amelia Mary Rice in 1906 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

Agnes Amelia Mary Rice was born in 1871 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1933 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

Parishes of Interest:

Many people outside of the United Kingdom have heard of the large cities of Lowestoft and Ipswich of Suffolk County, England. Yet, as I put this post together, there are many smaller parishes that do not get the same attention.

You can find many websites that contain past histories and current events for these smaller towns. Here are eight parishes that appear in this post:

Ashby on the ASH Villages website:

“Neolithic finds show that this area has been populated for at least 3,500 years. By the Bronze Age, there are signs of settled communities.”

Bucklesham on the Bucklesham Village website:

“It had a recorded population of 36 households in 1086, putting it in the largest 20% of settlements recorded in Domesday (Book) . . .”

Cookley on Wikipedia:

“In 1801 there were 131 males and 133 females whereas in 1901 there were 96 males and 89 females portraying a significant population decrease for both genders.”

Elmsett on the Elmsett Village website:

“At one time there were about 16 farms in the village, which, together with the Elmsett Mill, owned by the Ladbrook family since 1848, employed most of the village . . .”

Hulver Street on the Suffolk Pubs website::

“The name originally comes from the Suffolk dialect word for holly trees. These were cultivated here from 1267 for winter browsing.”

Little Horkesley, Essex, on British History Online:

“The most important and probably earliest settlement site in the parish is the roughly rectangular enclosure containing the medieval manor house, church, and priory.”

Polstead on Britain Express:

“Polstead is a quintessential Suffolk village, a place of timeless peace, of fascinating history, of beautiful thatched cottages and a historic manor house, and a 7th-century saint.”

Trimley St Martin on the Village Recorder’s Blog:

“In the Middle Ages, this area was often invaded, overrun, settled, and populated by a variety of Scandinavian plunderers.”

Notes:

Here are some links to websites that helped with my Aldous family research:

Aldous.net (Aldous family history and family tree)
Ancestors of Tim Farr, Descendants of Stephen Farr (family tree)
Reid-Schroeder Genealogies (family tree)
The Tree of Us (family tree)
Family Search (family tree website)
The Internet Surname Database (surname meaning and origins)
House of Names (coat of arms)

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 to 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!