My father, GEORGE HARRY LEEDHAM, was born on Sunday 10th January 1897,probably at 147 Curzon Street, Leicester. He was the third child of WILLIAM and LYDIA LEEDHAM.
His mother’s maiden name was LYDIA HARRIET CURTIS
Harry’s parents were married on the 13th of August 1886. The marriage certifcate is below. The wedding took place at the parish church of St.Martins in the City of Leicester (image below) and was conducted by Edward Atkins, assistant curator. In 1927 the church was dedicated as Leicester’s Cathedral.
The marriage certifciate of William Smith Leedham and Lydia Harriet Curtis – 13th August 1886
The parish church of St.Martins – the location of the marrige of William Smith Leedham and Lydia Harriet Curtis in 1886
The information of thge certifcate provides the following information;
Around five years prior to the wedding, in the 1881 Census, recorded on the night of Sunday 3rd April 1881, 17 year old Lydia Harriet Curtis living with her parents, JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS (my great-grandparents) at 15 Thornton Lane, Leicester in the Parish of St Martins.
Lydia Harriet Curtis is recorded as a Shoe Fitter and is living with four sisters and two brothers, all of whom except the youngest two children, like their father, worked in the Shoe trade. Interestingly this record reveals her father, John Samuel Curtis was born in Norwich in Norfolk, and his wife Mary Ann was born in London.
| Road /Street | Name | Relationship | Marriage Status | Age | Occupation | Where Born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Thornton Lane | John Samuel Curtis | Head | Married | 53 | Last & Model Maker | Norwich |
| Mary Ann Curtis | Wife | Married | 48 | London | ||
| Matilda Elizabeth Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 21 | Shoe Machinist | Norwich | |
| Catherine Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 20 | Shoe Machinist | Leicester | |
| Elizabeth M.A. Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 19 | Shoe Fitter | Leicester | |
| Lydia Harriet Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 17 | Shoe Fitter | Leicester | |
| John Samuel Curtis | Son | Unmarried | 14 | Apprentice Last Maker | Leicester | |
| Mary Ann Curtis | Daughter | 13 | Scholar | Leicester | ||
| Joseph D. Curtis | Son | 9 | Scholar | Leicester |
Now back another 10 years to the Census of 1871…..
In 1871 7 year old Lydia Harriet Curtis and her the family are living in Thornton Lane but it appears they are in the house next to the one in which they lived in 1881 as the record states their residence as No 13 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins.
| Road /Street | Name | Relationship | Marriage Status | Age | Occupation | Where Born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 Thornton Lane | John Samuel Curtis | Head | Married | 42 | Last Maker | Norwich |
| Mary Ann Curtis | Wife | Married | 38 | London | ||
| James Curtis | Son | Unmarried | 13 | Scholar | Norwich | |
| Matilda Elizabeth Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 11 | Scholar | Norwich | |
| Catherine Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 10 | Scholar | Leicester | |
| Elizabeth M.A. Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 9 | Scholar | Leicester | |
| Lydia Harriet Curtis | Daughter | Unmarried | 7 | Scholar | Leicester | |
| John Samuel Curtis | Son | Unmarried | 5 | Scholar | Leicester | |
| Mary Ann Curtis | Daughter | 3 | Scholar | Leicester |
Two things to note from this record; a James Curtis, aged 13, is shown on this Census but is not with the family ten years later in 1881, possibly he is married by that time, also Joseph, who is nine years old in 1881 has not yet been born in 1871 and so is obviously not recorded.
THORNTON LANE, LEICESTER
Thornton Lane was part in the heart of Leicester of the ancient borough of St Nicholas. This Medieval Street, along with many others; Redcross Street, Applegate Street, Harvey Steet and St. Nicolas Street, were completely destroyed an underpass cut through the heart of the Roman town and is now mostly covered by the horrendously ugly Holiday Inn complex.
The photographs of the streets above are incredibly contemporary to the time that William Leedham and Lydia Curtis lived in the area, one of which shows the lane in which they lived. Undoubtedly William and Lydia would have seen these sites and walked these streets.
Click to enlarge the map and photographs. The numbers on the map show from where the photographs were taken. Thornton Lane is located between the numbers ‘1’ and ‘3’.
1861 – CENSUS – LYDIA’S PARENTS – JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS
As in 1861, before Lydia was born, the family can again be found as living in Thornton Lane but now they live at No 22 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins.
| Road /Street | Name | Relationship | Marriage Status | Age | Occupation | Where Born |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Thornton Lane | JOHN SAMUEL CURTIS | Head | Married | 32 | Bootmaker | Norfolk Oleswood Norwich |
| MARY ANN CURTIS | Wife | Married | 28 | Bootmaker? | Middlesex London | |
| James Curtis | Son | 3 | Norfolk Norwich | |||
| Matilda Elizabeth Curtis | Daughter | 2 | Norfolk Norwich | |||
| Catherine Curtis | Daughter | 7 months | Leicester |
Lydia’s parents were married on the 9th of August 1857 which is the year prior to the birth of their first child, James, who was born in Norwich in 1858. Their second child, Matilda was born in 1859 also in Norwich. Unfortunately the ages of the couple are not shown which would enable to confirm this is the correct wedding however the occupation of John Samuel Curtis is the same as appears on subsequent Census records. If this is the correct wedding the relevant ages of John Samuel Curtis and Mary Ann Elizabeth Cope at the time of their marriage would be 29 and 24 years old respectively.
The bride’s maiden name is MARY ANN ELIZABETH COPE. The fathers of couple are recorded as JAMES CURTIS (deceased) and WILLIAM COPE. This wedding took place at St. Martin at Palace, a small church situated close to the Norwich Cathedral. This church still stand, however it is now classified as a redundant parish church.
This wedding took place at St. Martin at Palace, a small church situated close to the Norwich Cathedral. This church still stand, however it is now classified as a redundant parish church.
St. Martin at Palace (pictured right) is one of the oldest churches in Norwich, mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086, St Martin at Palace has a fascinating history. The current building has Norman foundations and is largely late 15th century in date.
However, excavation in the late 1980s recovered evidence that at least one, if not two, timber churches were present on this site during the mid to late Saxon period (AD 410 to 1065).
The current appearance of St Martin is essentially that of a substantial Victorian restoration. The church was deconsecrated in the early 1970s.
The story so far – a summary of the family
Click on the image to enlarge…
The Curtis Family Tree c.1872
It should be noted their first two children were both born in Norwich in 1858 and 1859 respectively. However their third child was born in Leicester and was record as 7 months old on the 1861 Census, which was taken on 7th April of that year. Consequently this third child was born around September / October of 1860.
As their second childen was born in Norwich in 1859 and their third in Leicester in 1860 it can established the Curtis family moved from Norwich to Leicester in 1859 or 1860.
On Ancestry.com, a few people have, in my opinion incorrectly, recorded John Samuel Curtis as a Blacksmith living in with his father, also a Blacksmith, in the wonderfully named ‘Lame Dog Road’, in the parish of St Stephen in central Norwich.
BUT on the 1851 Census record this ‘John Samuel Curtis’ is recorded as 28 years old, but in 1851 the John Samuel Curtis we seek would have been 22 years old not 28. Additionally the father is named ‘John‘ in this record, whereas on the wedding details shown above, John Samuel’s father is named ‘James‘.
I will continue to seek the correct record in the 1851 Census but I believe the record in the 1841 Census below is the correct John Samuel Curtis….
The Census of 1841 was described as the “first modern census” as it was the first to record information about every member of the household. It was taken on the night of Sunday 6th June 1841.
The 1841 census recorded people’s names, age, sex, occupation, and if they were born in the county of their residence, and if they were born anywhere other than in England and Wales. Children under 15 were to have their age recorded accurately, while those over 15 were to be rounded down to the nearest 5 years so, for example, someone aged 63 should be recorded as aged 60. However, not all enumerators followed this instruction and exact ages may have been recorded, which appears to be the case in the record below as the ages are clearly not rounded down nearest 5 years.
This Census records JOHN CURTIS as a 12 year old which places his year of birth 1828 or 1829. This matches his details from previous records. He is living with his father JAMES CURTIS, aged 64 and his mother SARAH, who was 53 years old. This places their birth years around 1777 and 1788 respectively. John has four sisters; Martha, Harriette, Elizabeth and Matilda.
I cannot be confident on the name of the road in which they live, it appears to be ‘Brazendon Road’ but I cannot find a record of a road of that name. They are living in the parish of All Saints in the registration district of Conisford in Norwich, the County town of Norfolk.
| Road /Street | Name | Age | Occupation | Born in the County |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazendon Road? | JAMES CURTIS | 64 | Coachman | Yes |
| JOHN CURTIS | 12 | Yes | ||
| SARAH CURTIS | 53 | Yes | ||
| Martha Curtis | 27 | Yes | ||
| Harriette Curtis | 19 | Yes | ||
| Elizabeth Curtis | 17 | Yes | ||
| Matilda Curtis | 14 | Yes |
This I believe is the marriage I seek. The date of the wedding is 9th August 1857 which is the year prior to the birth of their first child, James, who was born in Norwich in 1858. Their second child, Matilda was born in 1859 also in Norwich. Unfortunately the ages of the couple are not shown which would enable to confirm this is the correct wedding however the occupation of John Samuel Curtis is the same as appears on subsequent Census records.
The bride name is MARY ANN ELIZABETH COPE. The father of couple are recorded as JAMES CURTIS (deceased) and WILLIAM COPE. This wedding took place at St. Martin at Palace, a small church situated close to the Norwich Cathedral. This church still stand, however it is now classified as a redundant parish church.The Census records for 1881 and 1871 show Mary Ann as being born in ‘London‘ and in the Census of 1861 the county is confirmed as ‘Middlesex, London‘. A record of her baptism can be found which shows she was born on 19th March 1832 and baptised two years later, on 31st March 1834.
If this is the correct wedding the relevant ages of John Samuel Curtis and Mary Ann Elizabeth Cope at the time of their marriage would be 29 and 24 years old respectively.
I have found a record of John Samuel Curtis’ birth (Harry Leedham’s paternal Grandfather). As can be seen below in the helpfully detailed parish record, he was born on 14th July 1828 and was baptised six days later on 20th July. The baptism took place at St Michael at Thorn parish church (below right) in central Norwich in Norfolk, however the church no longer remains. The record show the family lived in this parish.
The record also provides the names of this parents; His father’s name is JAMES CURTIS, as also shown on his son’s wedding certificate in 1857 and he is a publican. His mother is named as SARAH MCKENZIE
A Gogle search reveals James Curtis as the Licensee of the Plough and Horses from 1822 to 1836. It was later named The Plough until 1973, was then renamed Le Rouen and then ‘No.12’. It is a 400-year-old building at 12 Farmers Avenue on the old Cattle market in the centre of the city, beside Norwich Castle. The building still stands but it appears to be permanently closed.
