Inherited Craziness
A place to share all the nuts found on my family tree

Showing posts with label Coastguard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Coastguard. Show all posts

Friday 23 February 2024

John Leese and Caroline Bussey

Looking down from Telscombe Cliffs
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © Marathon - geograph.org.uk/p/6864973

John Leese (b. 1826), from Portsea, son of John Leese (although I've been unable to identify his birth or baptism), married Caroline Bussey, daughter of Benjamin Bussey and Elizabeth Bowen at St Mary's Church, Portsea, Portsmouth, on 23 Feb 1852. In 1851, Caroline (24) was a housemaid at Greenwich Hospital, home for retired sailors of the Royal Navy. 

John and Caroline Leese had seven children:
  1. Susan Caroline Leese b. 1852 D Quarter in ROMNEY MARSH Volume 02A Page 646, baptised at All Saints ChurchLyddRomney Marsh.
  2. Margaret Hannah Leese b. 1857 J Quarter in ROMNEY MARSH Volume 02A Page 677, baptised at All Saints ChurchLyddRomney Marsh.
  3. Henrietta Leese b. 1860 M Quarter in LEWES Volume 02B Page 169, bap. 12 Feb 1860 in Telscombe, presumably St Laurence.
  4. Henry John Leese b. 5 Jan 1862 M Quarter in LEWES Volume 02B Page 164, bap. 7 Feb 1862, also in Telscombe.
  5. Mary Jane Leese b. 1864 S Quarter in LEWES Volume 02B Page 161
  6. Elizabeth Leese b. 1867 M Quarter in LEWES Volume 02B Page 178
  7. William James Leese b. 1869 D Qtr in LEWES Vol 02B Page 182
In 1861, at Lower Bannings, Lewes Sussex (in the area of Saltdean) were John Leese (35) Coast Guard R N; wife Caroline (35), Susan C (8), Margaret H (4) and Henrietta (1). Being a coastguard explains why they were in Lydd earlier, of which is said, "As with much of the marsh, the town was a base for smuggling in the 18th and 19th centuries."

In 1871, listed at the Coast Guard Station, Newhaven, Lewes, Sussex, were John Leese (44) Chief Boatman Coast Guard, Caroline Leese (44), Susan Leese (18), Henrietta Leese (11), Henry Leese (9), Mary J Leese (9), Elizabeth Leese (4) and William Leese (1). Margaret Leese (14) was a Servant in the household of John Sykes, Assistant Secretary Civil Service (father of Sir John Charles Gabriel Sykes (1869-1952) at 38 Kensington Square, Kensington.

In 1881, living at 41, Ivory Place, Brighton, Sussex were John Leese (54) Naval Pensioner from Portsmouth, Hampshire; Caroline Leese (54); Margaret Leese (23) Dressmaker; Hetty Leese (Henrietta) (21) Confectioner's Assistant; Jane Leese (Mary Jane) (16) Pupil teacher and Elizabeth Leese (14). Susan Caroline Leese had married in 1877; Henry John Leese, who had joined the Royal Navy in 1879, was an "Ordinary seaman pupil teacher" at HMS President (shore establishment) in Poplar (Wapping), while William James Leese (11) was a pupil at Greenwich Hospital, School, Greenwich, Kent.

John Leese died, aged 55, in 1882 M Quarter in BRIGHTON Vol 02B Pg 195.

Caroline Leese died, aged 62, in 1889 S Qtr in BRIGHTON Vol 02B Pg 125.

Sunday 7 January 2024

Thomas Jones and Mary Harty

St John the Baptist Church, Cobh (Queenstown) Via: Cobh Heritage Centre

Cobh Parish Office, were able to tell me that my 2x great-grandparents, Thomas Jones and Mary Harty had married, on 7 Jan 1844, at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Cobh (Queenstown). St John the Baptist was the Catholic Church for Cobh from 1810 to 1868, when it was demolished to make way for the bigger St Colman's Cathedral. Nobody in the family had even considered the possibility of an Irish Catholic ancestor. 

Thomas Jones, according to his merchant seaman's register ticket, issued on 5 Mar 1847, while on board HMS America, states he was born on 9 Apr 1817, in Swansea, Glamorganshire. (On the 1851 census in England, he is listed as having been born in Swansea, Glamorganshire too.) The merchant ticket goes on to tell us that Thomas Jones, then a Ship's Corporal, was 5 ft 9½ in, with dark brown hair and, it looks like hazel eyes and had a ship [tattoo] on his left arm and a man & woman on his right; that he went to sea as a boy (of 10) in 1827 and, 'when unemployed', resides at Cove of Cork.

Born in the reign of George III, during the The Regency, Thomas Jones lived through the reigns of George IV, William IV and much of Queen Victoria. He served in the First Opium War and the Crimean War; emigrated TO Ireland during the Great Famine and lived through four Cholera pandemics.

Mary Harty, according to what records there are, must have been born around 1821. Although she married in Cobh, I see no reason to assume that she was from there originally. My late cousin in Ireland had said that Mary later went "up country" to where her people were from, so perhaps she may have come to Cobh for work and met Thomas there. What we do know from that 1851 English census is that Mary was born in Ireland and, later from the 1901 Irish census, that she spoke both Irish and English. But I've found no records that tell me where her exact place of birth nor original parish was though. 

The 1844 parish marriage record is very scant in detail and does not include the names of the bride and groom's parents and there wasn't civil registration in Ireland at that date, so there aren't any of the usual hints to follow.

The only other clue is that Mary had a younger sister, Ellen Harty (b. 1825), who was visiting them in Sutton Bridge, England in 1851, but who was also one of the sponsors at Nicholas Jones' baptism, in Rath, Ireland in 1853.

Thomas and Mary Jones had six children in all: 

  1. Mary Ann Jones, b. in Ireland in 1844
  2. Rees Jones, b. 25 May 1849 in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
  3. David Jones, b. 10 Jul 1850 in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire
  4. Anna Jones, bap. 4 Oct 1851 at Sacred Heart Church, Rath
  5. Nicholas Jones, b. 10 May, bap 17 May 1853 at Sacred Heart, Rath
  6. Thomas Jones, bap. 17 Sep 1854 at Sacred Heart, Rath
Rath and The Islands Parish is the Catholic Community of Baltimore, Sherkin Island and Cape Clear Island and surrounding areas. This explains why my late cousin drew a complete blank when she'd gone down to Baltimore to try to find records of the family: she'd only looked in the Church of Ireland.

Nobody ever spoke of Mary Ann, Rees, nor Thomas Jr. The only mention of Mary Ann is on the English 1851 census. David was the one who did things one would associate with the role of eldest son, so I'm sure Rees perished as an infant. One month before they moved back to Ireland, both Rees and David were baptised, on 1 May 1851at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kings Lynn, Norfolk. That's the last record for Rees. David was my great-grandfather. Anna still lived with her mother in 1901 and later became David's housekeeper. She never married and died on 8 Mar 1934. Nicholas was my cousin's grandfather. The baptism is the first I heard of son Thomas. 

The only other record I've found [so far] for Thomas Jones Jnr is when he was enlisted in the Royal Navy as a Boy 2nd Class on 14 Apr 1871. On it, there's a reference provided by a John Lombard, which states, "Thomas Jones is a Protestant Parishioner of Queenstown, and son of a Naval Pensioner. He is a steady, well conducted lad." Emphasising Protestant for what purpose? 

Also attached to the record is a Declaration Before a Magistrate in Thomas Jones (the father's) own handwriting - I recognise his signature - stating that, "I hereby certify that my son Thomas Jones was born in Baltimore, Cork on May 25th, 1855." Not when he was baptised in 1854, he wasn't! Clearly the date wasn't a mistake and can only have been a deliberate falsification, because later on the form, it states that, "Boys for the Navy must be over 15 and not above 16½ years of age ..."  He was 17. Thomas Snr had retired in ill health, so one can perhaps understand him doing this in an attempt to ensure that his son was taken care of. The most curious part of this record, however, is that the service record is blank. Thomas Jnr was not even assigned to a training ship: it's like he didn't even turn up. He then just disappears. 

Thomas Jones Sr had a 40+ year career: 
Thomas Jones died, aged 56, on 8 Jan 1873, at Castle Oliver, from Morbus Cordis (unspecified heart disease) 4 years certified (which ties in with his date of retirement) - presumably in the surrounding village, rather than Kim and Kanye's honeymoon castle itself. Could that be the "up country" area Mary had originally come from? Can't think of another reason for them to be in Limerick.

Thomas Jones was buried, on 10 Jan 1873, in the Clonmel Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), Cork in section S, row 9, position 76

The inscription on his grave reads, 
Erected by David Jones In memory of his beloved father Thos. Jones Who died Jan. 8th 1873 aged 56 years”.
In 1901, Mary Jones, widow, was living with her daughter, Annie (who claimed to be 30, but was 50) at The Glen, Passage West (Monkstown, Cork). Mary Jones (81), Widow of Thomas Jones a Coastguard Pensioner, died of senile decay on 14 Aug 1903 at The Rock, Queenstown, Cork. 

Section S of the Clonmel Old Church Cemetery (Cobh), Cork

Friday 12 May 2023

William Trick, Elizabeth Blake & Caroline Townshend

Mount Pleasant Redoubt
cc-by-sa/2.0 - © N Chadwick - geograph.org.uk/p/5400394

William Eastman Trick (22), Labourer, son of Elizabeth Trick, married Elizabeth Blake, daughter of John Blake and Elizabeth Leigh, at the Church of St James the Great, Devonport on 12 May 1856. Both gave their address as 27 John Street, which was in Morice Town. Eastman was the surname of William's step-father. The space for his father had been left blank.

William and Elizabeth had two children:
  1. Elizabeth Trick b. 1857 M Qtr in STOKE DAMEREL Vol 05B Pg 320
  2. William Trick b. 1858 S Qtr in STOKE DAMEREL Vol 05B Pg 286
In 1861, wrongly transcribed as William Frick (sic) (27) Labourer In H.M.D.Yard, from Bideford, Devon; Elizabeth (27) Laundress, from Launceston, Cornwall; Elizabeth (4) born in Morice Town and William (2), born in Devonport, were living at 15 Marlborough St, Devonport.

Elizabeth Trick died, aged 35, in 1869 J Quarter in LAUNCESTON Vol 05C Page 21. She was buried in the parish of Lawhitton, on 22 Apr 1869.

William Trick, Widower (on this marriage certificate he specifies that his father is Not Known), remarried on 29 May 1871 to Caroline Rickard Osborn, Widow, at St George's church, East Stonehouse. One of the witnesses at this wedding was Pamela Wonnacott (née Eastman), William's half-sister.

Baptised Catherine Rickard Townshend in Stoke Damerel on 28 Jul 1833, his second wife was the daughter of John Townshend and Betsey Coram. Her father was listed on her baptism and again on the marriage certificate as a Mariner. In 1861, he was a Boatman Coast Guard. Caroline had previously married Richard James Osborn, Seaman RN, in Stoke Damerel in 1853 and the couple had one son, William John Osborn [1], b. 6 Oct 1857 D Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 303, bap. 20 Dec 1857 at St James, Devonport. In 1861, Caroline Osborn (27) Ship Stewards Wife, had lived in Navy Row, Stoke Damerel with her son, William (3). Richard James Osborn died on 2 Jul 1867 and was buried on 6 Jul 1867, in Stoke Damerel.

In 1871, William Trick (37) Widower, Labourer from Bideford, Devon, was living in Morice Town with daughter, Elizabeth Trick (14) [2] and son William Trick (12). Caroline Osborn (38) Widow, Milliner, meanwhile, was living with her brother, John Avery Townshend (27) Shipwright, also in Morice Town.

In 1881, William Trick (46) Labourer H M Dockyard, Caroline Trick (46) and William J Osborn (23) Assistant Ship's Steward RN, Stepson, were living at 12, Charlotte Row, Devonport Stoke-Damerel.

In 1891, William Trick (56) Retired Skilled Labourer from Monkleigh, Devon and Caroline R Trick were living at 23 Herbert Place, Devonport.

In 1901, William Trick (67) Caretaker at Mount Pleasant Redoubt was still living in Herbert Place, Devonport with wife Caroline R Trick (66).

Caroline Rickard Trick died, aged 71, in 1904 D Quarter in DEVONPORT.

In 1911, William Trick (77) Retired Park Caretaker, Widower, was living in the household of his grandson, William Henry Trick (26) Dairyman in Chilton Trinity, Wembdon, Bridgwater, Somerset.

William Trick died at the age of 80 in 1914 M Quarter in BRIDGWATER.


  1. William John Osborn (b. 1857), Caroline's son from her first marriage, William Trick's stepson, married Fanny Kelland, daughter of John Kelland and Betsy Maria Palfrey, in Stoke Damerel, in 1882. They had one daughter, Lilian Osborn b. 1884 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 359, who died, aged 4, in 1889 S Quarter in STOKE DAMEREL Volume 05B Page 231. In 1901, William John Osborn was a Retired Ship's Steward, and in 1911, his occupation was Writer Naval Pensioner, seemingly employed at the Royal Naval Hospital, Stonehouse, Plymouth. Fanny Osborn died at 81, in 1936 J Quarter in DEVONPORT Volume 05B Page 428. William John Osborn died, at 82, in 1939  M Quarter in PLYMOUTH Volume 05B Page 539. What is absolutely certain is that William John Osborn is NOT the same person as William's son, William Trick (b. 1858), which I saw claimed on one website! 
  2. So far, I've been unable to identify any further records relating to Elizabeth Trick (b. 1857), after 1871.

Sunday 2 January 2022

Thomas Jones' posting to Baltimore, Cork 1851-1868

Coastguard station and coastguard cottages: Mariner’s Row, the terrace of
coastguard houses on the edge of the Cove in Baltimore, Cork

Thomas Jones' Pension Record, lists that he'd joined the Coast Guard service as a Boatman on 28 Dec 1847. That may have been when he was posted to Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, where he was at the time of the Census in 1851.

Thomas Jones' posting to Baltimore, Cork on 2 Jun 1851

The Coastguard Establishment Books for Ireland (ADM 175/19) at The National Archives show that Thomas Jones was posted to Baltimore, West Cork on 2 Jun 1851Baltimore is the main village in Rath and The Islands Parish and, confirming this, three of Thomas and Mary's children were baptised in the Catholic Sacred Heart Church, Rath.

Griffith's Valuation of 1853 shows that Thomas rented a house and office in Tullagh civil parish from John Goodchild. On the map it's in Baltimore.

After Thomas returned from his last voyage to the Baltic during the Crimean War, o6 May 1856, Thomas went back the Coast Guard Service as Boatman, at Baltimore (this is where my late cousin in Ireland knew that her grandfather - Thomas' son Nicholas - was brought up), until Fri 31 Jan 1868, when he retired from the service, early, aged just 51, due to heart disease.

NextIrish Roots: Thomas Jones and Mary Harty

Thursday 12 November 2020

Lime Street, Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire

Houses at the junction of Lime Street and Custom House Street, Sutton Bridge

My late cousin in Ireland had told me that her great-grandfather (my 2nd great-grandfather), Thomas Jones, had been a coastguard - this was confirmed on his sons, David and Nicholas' marriage certificates - and that she had been down to Baltimore, West Cork in an attempt to find any trace of the family. She'd had no luck at the Church of Ireland churches there - never occurred to try the Catholic ones. But from that information, eventually, I traced Thomas' posting - on 2 Jun 1851 - via the Coastguard Establishment Books for Ireland (ADM 175/19) at The National Archives at Kew

That record also told me that his previous posting had been at Sutton Bridge, Lincolnshire, where on Sunday 30 March 1851 on the England and Wales Census, 1851, we find the family resident in Lime Street, with Thomas Jones (33), Boatman Coastguard, wife Mary Jones (30), daughter Mary Ann (7), son Reece (1), son David (0) and sister-in-law Ellen Harty (26) visiting.

Sutton Bridge 1886 to 1887 National Library of Scotland

Before our trip to Lincolnshire back in September 2020, I'd attempted to see if I could determine which house the family lived in. The terraced houses arranged along the north side of Lime Street still remain today, exactly as they were in 1886/7 with 27 dwellings, but unfortunately, it's not that simple.

In 1841, there were only eight households in Lime Street, among them two Customs Boatmen, but it's not possible to be certain which eight houses stood that they will have occupied. By 1851, there appear to be 36 households, so these may include situations where more than one household occupies a dwelling (although I don't think that's the case, as lodgers and boarders are mentioned in the households), other dwellings that have since disappeared, or just badly listed and were actually in other streets. It's also not possible to ascertain which end of the street that the enumerator started from. 

All I can say is that the family may have lived in one of these houses pictured: 

Looking west along Lime Street

Looking east along Lime Street

Old Custom House on West Bank, Sutton Bridge

At the end of Lime Street, on West Bank, there is an Old Custom House, but I don't yet know if this was contemporary in 1851, or was perhaps built later.

A month before leaving England in the June, on Thu 1 May 1851, Thomas and Mary (and Ellen, I think) went on a trip to undertake the baptisms of both sons Rees and David at St Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, Kings Lynn, Norfolk.