In this post, I hit the proverbial brick wall! Elsie’s father-in-law had been married twice but I could find no marriage records. For that reason, I ordered Charles’ birth record from the GRO.

William Robert Oxborough

Born: 30 DEC 1881 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England

Father: James Samuel John Oxborough (1843 to 1927)
Mother: Hannah Clamp (1846 to 1888)

Spouse: Alice Keetley (1884 to 1961)

Married: 1906 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England

Children: None

Died: 17 APR 1945 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England

Probate:

Timeline:

1888 Death of mother, Hannah
1891 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1901 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1911 Newark upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England
1912 Death of sister, Louisa
1916 Death of sister, Alice
1927 Death of father, James
1935 Death of sister, Amelia
1938 Death of brother, James
1939 Death of sister, Edith
1939 Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England
1945 Death and Burial

Occupation: blacksmith (1911)

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
England & Wales, Death Index: 1916-2005
England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations),1861-1941

Variations of Surname: none

Spouse:

Alice Keetley:

Alice was born in 1884 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England. She died in 1961 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England.

Alice’s father was Thomas Keetley. He was born in 1848 in Flamborough, East Yorkshire, England. He died in 1902 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England.

Alice’s mother was Ann Hollis. She was born in 1861 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England. She died in 1933 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England.

Alice had eight brothers and sisters:

Samuel Keetley (1879)
William Keetley (1881)
Ann Keetley (1883)
Henry Keetley (1887)
Charles Keetley (1888)
Eliza Keetley (1890)
Frank Keetley (1893)
George Keetley (1895)

Alice had one child out of wedlock:

Elsie Keetley:

Elsie was born on 30 APR 1902 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England. She died in 1975 in Newark Upon Trent, Nottinghamshire County, England.

Elsie married Charles Edgar Stimpson Cobb in 1924 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk County, England. Seven known children were born to this marriage:

Robert W Cobb (1924)
Ralph E Cobb (1927)
Peter J Cobb (1930)
Allen S Cobb (1933)
Brenda E Cobb (1935)
Betty M Cobb (1937)
Norman D Cobb (1940)

Charles Edgar Stimpson Cobb was born on 28 JUL 1899 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. He died in 1958 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

A Little History:

The 1911 England census shows that Charles was living with his father in Long Stratton, Norfolk County, England. His mother was a sick nurse and was working away from the home.

The 1901 England census shows that Charles was living with his parents in the parish of St Mary Magdalene, Colchester, Essex County, England.

The first item to catch my attention on this page was the eight-year gap in ages between John and Charles. You will also notice that Louisa was 26 years old and the oldest child was 15 years old. This indicates that Robert had previously been married to another woman.

The 1891 England census shows that Robert was living in Wymondham, Norfolk County, England. His wife was named Annie.

Robert Henry Cobb:

Robert was born on 12 JUN 1865 in Shelfanger, Norfolk County, England. He died in 1943 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England.

Robert’s first wife was named Annie Maria. I do not know her maiden name. She was born in 1863 in Thorndon, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1896 in Shelfanger, Norfolk County, England. Annie was 33 years old when she died.

There were five known children born to this marriage:

Alice Harriet Leah Cobb (1885 Ipswich, Norfolk)
Robert Henry Cobb (1887 Shelfanger, Norfolk)
Lillie Elizabeth Cobb (1889 Shelfanger, Norfolk)
John Henry Cobb (1892 Farnsfield, Norfolk)
Mary Cobb (1896 Roydon, Norfolk)

The burial record for Annie shows that she and her daughter, Mary, died on the same day. Mary was seven weeks old. I do not know the causes of death.

Robert’s second wife was Charles’ mother, Louisa Martha. I do not know her maiden name. She was born on 23 OCT 1874 in Ipswich, Suffolk County, England. She died in 1966 in Sproughton, Suffolk County, England.

There were four known children born to this marriage:

Charles Edgar Stimpson Cobb (1899 Ipswich, Suffolk)
Raymond Herbert Baden Powell Cobb (1900 Colchester, Essex)
Dorothy Annie Hilda Louisa Cobb (1902 Enfield, Middlesex)
Jessie Rosemond Mary Cobb (1910 Ipswich, Suffolk)

The Brick Wall!

I normally have no problem finding marriage records on Ancestry.com. Robert Henry Cobb was the exception.

I searched the England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837-1915, and came up empty-handed. I knew that Robert’s surname may have been misspelled in the index. I found nothing even close. That meant it could have been transcribed as any four-letter name.

For this reason, I decided to order Charles’ birth record from the GRO. This document should list his mother’s maiden name. I will update this post as soon as I receive this record.

Update 18 MAY 2022:

I received Charles’ birth record from the GRO. This document listed his mother’s maiden name as Stewart. I discovered that her surname was Steward.

When I searched for a marriage record for Louisa Martha Steward, I got a surprise. There were four people listed under Volume 4a, Page 1829:

Robert Barclay S Irving
Ada Elizabeth Pizey
James Pocock
Louisa Martha Steward

To figure out who married who, I searched the 1901 England census. I discovered that Robert Barclay S Irving had married Ada Elizabeth Pizey.

That would mean Louisa married James Pocock. I again searched the 1901 England census.

I found James Pocock living at 9 Little Whip Street in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. He was a boarder of Edwin and Anna Talbot. His marital status was listed as married.

Louisa also appears on the 1901 England census. She was listed as the wife of Robert Henry Cobb. They were living at 37 Barracks Street in Ipswich.

When I did a search on Google Maps, it shows that Louisa was living about one mile from where James lived.

James Pocock:

James was born in 1846 in Hailsham, Essex, England. He died in 1912 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England.

James had previously married Caroline Mann in 1875 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. No known children were born to this marriage.

I found not find Caroline on any England census after 1891 under the surname Pocock. She may have left James, remarried, and moved out of Suffolk County, England.

The 1911 England census shows that James was boarding at 21 Little Whip Street. His marital status was listed as unmarried.

I could find no marriage record for Louisa and Robert in England. They may have traveled to Scotland or Europe in order to get married. It might also mean that they were never officially married. I do not know.

There was one more document that caught my attention. It was a 1912 probate record for James Pocock. He named William Ernest Steward and his wife, Ellen Eliza, as executors of his estate.

William Ernest Steward was born in 1885 in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. His parents were Samuel Nash Steward and Caroline Snell.

I am not sure why James named William Ernest Steward as his executor. William was most likely Louisa’s cousin, once or twice removed.

This would indicate that James was still on friendly terms with Louisa and her family after their 1897 marriage.

PS: I have still not found the marriage record for Robert and his first wife, Annie Marie.

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!