Client:
Date:May 13, 2011

My Leedham Antecedents

HARRY’S MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS – JOHN SAMUEL CURTIS and his wife MARY ANN

Now to research the family of John Samuel Curtis’s wife, Mary Ann Curtis (née Cope), and as I will commence by repeating Census records previously shown in which she appears.

 

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 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.

MARY ANN ELIZABETH COPE’S BIRTH

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. See the fourth record below left.

Normally baptisms would take place on the first Sunday after the child’s birth however it was not uncommon for the local parish priest to knock on the doors of all the house in his parish to establish if the children had been baptised. If they hadn’t he would persuade, cajole, urge, force the parents to get it done! This appears to be the case, as only one child who were baptised on that Sunday at the end of March 1834 were born in the close to their baptism date. The other were born in April 1833, February 1825 and March 1832!

This record show Mary Ann’s birthdate and also the name of her parents; father is William, as already discovered on the record of her marriage 24 years later and, as in that 1857 record his profession is that of a ‘Last Maker’, her mother is named Catherine. At the time of the baptism Mary Ann’s parents live in Moor Street, a Street in Soho which measures approximately 51 metres in length and is now pedestrianised.

The church in which Mary Ann Cope was baptised, St Anne Soho, which still stand as in use, is situated on the south of Dean Street, Soho, near the lower end towards Gerard Street; and the church yard reaches from Dean Street on the east to Princes Street on the west. An image of the church is shown above right.

Historically Westminster was a part of the ceremonial county of Middlesex so this substantiates the information recorded in the relevant Census records.

1841 / 1851 – CENSUS RECORDS

I cannot locate a record of Mary Ann Elizabeth Cope in either the Census records for 1841 or 1851. She would have been 9 years old in 1841 and 19 years old in 1851.

Summary of her life based on records found to date:

  • 1832 – Born 19th March 1832
  • 1832 – Baptised 31st March 1834 in St Anne Church Soho. Living Moor Street, Soho, Middlesex, London with parents William and Catherine
  • 1841 – Census. Age around 9 years. No record found
  • 1851 – Census. Age around 19 years – No record found
  • 1857 – Married to John Samuel Curtis at St. Martin at Palace, Norwich. Age around 25 years, Her husband was around 29 years old.
  • 1860 – Likely year of the family moved from Norwich to Leicester
  • 1861 – Census. Age recorded as 28 years. Living at No 22 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins, Leicester with husband John Samuel Curtis 32, a bootmaker and son James, age 3, daughter Matilda Elizabeth age 2 years, both of whom were born in Norwich in the county of Norfolk.
  • 1865 – 13th August. Her daughter Lydia Harriet marries William Leedham at St. Martins church in Leicester
  • 1871 – Census. Age recorded as 38 years. Living at No 13 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins, Leicester with husband John Samuel Curtis 42, a Last Maker and their seven children James age 13, Matilda 11, Catherine 10, Elizabeth 9, Lydia Harriet 7, John Samuel 5 and Mary Ann age 3 years.
  • 1881 – Census. Age recorded as 48 years. Living at No 15 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins, Leicester with husband John Samuel Curtis 53, a Last and Model Maker and seven of their eight children, Matilda 21, Catherine 20, Elizabeth 19, Lydia Harriet 17, John Samuel 14, Mary Ann 13, and Joseph aged 9 years.
  • 1891 – Census. Age recorded as 59 years. Living at No 15 Thornton Lane in the Parish of St Martins, Leicester with husband John Samuel Curtis 63,  a Last Maker, one of their children, Mary Ann Elizabeth age 24 and a ‘Cigar Maker. Also a lodger Sarah Chadwick.
  • 1901 – Census. Age recorded as 68 years. Living at 14 Stanley Street in the Parish of St Margaret, Leicester with husband John Samuel Curtis 72,  a Last Maker, and one of their children, Mary Ann Elizabeth, Cigar Maker, age 32.
  • 1910 – Mary Ann Elizabeth Curtis (nee Cope) died in in Leicester in March 1910, age 77 years.
  • 1914 –  Her husband John Samuel Curtis died four years later in March 1914 in Billesdon, Leicestershire at the age of 85 years

The story so far – a summary of the family 

Click on the image to enlarge…

 

 

Seven of George Harry Leedham’s great grandparents have been identified at this point, only Mary Leedham’s husbands name is not shown on the family tree above.

  • LEEDHAM – Mary. Husband name to be confirmed

 

  • COLEMAN –  John and Charlotte (née WRIGHT)

 

  • CURTIS – James and Sarah (née McKENZIE)

 

  • COPE – William and Catherine

 

 

I will now research each of these families as far back as records allow, starting with the Leedham branch.

 

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