John never married. I did discover that he lived with the same woman for over 20 years. Her name was Rosannah Turner Lemond. She went by the shortened name of Ann.

John Oxborough

Born: 1849 in Bungay Holy Trinity, Suffolk County, England

Father: John Oxborough (1816 to 1892)
Mother: Phoebe Barth (1821 to 1890)

Spouse: none

Married: none

Children: none

Died: 1914 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England

Timeline:

1851 Bungay Holy Trinity, Suffolk County, England
1861 Gorleston-on-Sea, Suffolk County, England
1864 Death of sister, Harriet
1871 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1880 Death of brother, Charles
1881 Stranton, Durham County, England
1890 Death of brother, George
1890 Death of mother, Phoebe
1891 Death of sister, Eliza
1891 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1892 Death of father, John
1893 Death of sister, Harriet Phoebe
1901 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1911 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1914 Death and Burial

Occupation: general laborer

Records:

1851 to 1911 England Census Records
England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915
England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index: 1837-1915
England & Scotland, Select Cemetery Registers, 1800-2014

Variations of Surname: Oxborrow

John never married. The England census records from 1871 to 1911 listed his marital status as unmarried.

I did discover that John lived with the same woman for over 20 years. Her name was Rosannah but she went by the shortened name of Ann. She was a widow.

John was a lodger of Ann Parsons on the 1891 England census:

Ann Parsons was John’s housekeeper on the 1901 England census:

John was a boarder of William and Alice Barber on the 1911 England census. Rosannah was Alice’s grandmother.

Rosannah Turner Lemond:

Rosannah was born on 13 APR 1841 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. She died in 1912 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England.

Rosannah was baptized on 28 APR 1841 in Great Yarmouth. Her mother’s name was listed as Rosina Lemond on the document. No father’s name was included in this entry. This could be an indication that her mother and father never married.

Rosannah’s mother was Rosannah Turner. She was born in 1820 in Lowestoft, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1842 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. Rosannah was 22 years old when she died.

Rosannah’s father was John Lemond. His name appears on Rosannah’s 1861 marriage record. He was a cooper.

Rosannah married James Parsons on 2 FEB 1861 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. I do not know if any children were born to this marriage.

James Parsons was born on 26 APR 1836 in Norwich, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1864 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. James was 28 years old when he died.

The marriage record listed James as a soldier. In 1861, he was stationed at the military hospital in Great Yarmouth.

After James died, Rosannah lived with a man without the benefit of marriage. Three children were born to this union:

Thomas Samuel Purdy Parsons (1868)
Susannah Maria Purdy Parsons (1873)
John Henry Parsons (1876 to 1890)

Thomas Purdy was born in 1840 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1880 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. Thomas was 40 years old when he died.

Thomas and Rosannah appear on the 1871 England census:

I do not know why Rosannah and Thomas never wed. It could be assumed that Thomas was already married to another woman.

The 1881 England census shows that Rosannah and her two sons are living with her grandfather, John Porter:

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!