Client:
Date:May 13, 2011

My Leedham Antecedents

Harry’s Maternal Grandparents – John Samuel Curtis and his wife Mary Ann

I will commence by repeating Census records previously shown but now the focus will be on John Curtis and Emma, Harry’s maternal Grandparents.

1881 – CENSUS – JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS

In the 1881 Census, recorded on the night of Sunday 3rd April 1881, JOHN SAMUEL CURTIS and MARY ANN CURTIS (my great-grandparents) at 15 Thornton Lane, Leicester in the Parish of St Martins.

1881 - Curtis - Thorton Lane

This record reveals John Samuel Curtis was born in Norwich in Norfolk, 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…..

1871 – CENSUS – JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS

As in 1881 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.

1871 - Curtis - Thornton Lane

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

1861 – CENSUS – JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS

As in 1861 the family are living in Thornton Lane but now they live at No 22 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins.

 

1861 - Curtis - Thornton Lane

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

 

1857 – THE MARRIAGE OF JOHN SAMUEL and MARY ANN CURTIS 

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.

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.

 

1851 – CENSUS – JOHN SAMUEL CURTIS

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….

1841 – CENSUS – 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 . 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

 

1828 – JOHN SAMUEL CURTIS’ BIRTH

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 names is James, as also shown on his son’s wedding certificate in 1857 and he is a publican. His mother is named as Sarah McKenzie.

A Google 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.

 

The story so far – a summary of the family 

Click on the image to enlarge…

 


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