Eliza ‘Queenie’ Gee was born in Lower Heyford, Oxfordshire in 1824. She married her husband – Thomas ‘Twister’ Massey, and moved to nearby Launton where they had 7 children in 17 years. Eliza passed away in 1902 in Fringford, aged 78 years.
Above: Eliza ‘Queenie’ Gee.
Above: A collage showing my mother (left), and her 3X great grandmother, Eliza Gee. Surely I’m not the only one who can see the resemblance?!
I have an ancestor called John Hoffman who is proving to be quite mysterious! The info I know about him is thus:
Name: John Hoffman
Born: 1602
Died: 1675
Spouse: Agnes Prideux/Doe
Additional details: John studied at Exeter College (Oxford), and later became Rector of Wootton village church (Oxfordshire). He published a document entitled ‘The Principles of Christianity in Twenty Questions and Answers’, which can be found here:
He also wrote a small paragraph about himself whilst at Exeter College, where he described his father as ‘a merchant of Elsentia’. It took a lot of digging, but I was eventually able to discover that ‘Elsentia’ was what is now known as Alsace, which was once part of the German Palatinate. On one birth record (which I’m sure is him) his birthplace is listed as Lviv, Ukraine however others say Germany. According to Oxford University records, John’s native language was German. I have no idea who his mother was, but his father could have also been called John or Johann – I am still trying to trace the parents, but not having much luck so far!
John Hoffman was first married to a lady called Ruth, and later to an Agnes Prideux or Doe (it is likely that the registrar could not spell Prideaux, so instead listed her surname as Doe). Their daughter Ellanor/Eleanor Hoffman (married name: Bayly) is my direct ancestor.
After speaking to others who share the same lineage, I’ve been able to ascertain that Agnes’ uncle was most probably Dr Richard Prideaux, Bishop of Worcester. ‘Dr Prideaux’ is also listed as her father on the marriage certificate, however the Bishop did not have a daughter named Agnes, so it’s plausible that she may have been one of his siblings’ children.
I have not yet been able to confirm whether or not Agnes and Richard Prideaux were related to the famous Prideaux family of Devon/Cornwall, although Agnes was born in Devon, so I’m hopeful!
Both John and Agnes are buried in Wootton churchyard, and there is a memorial there to commemorate them.
I was also able to find John’s Last Will & Testament online:
http://wills.oxfordshirefhs.org.uk/az/wtext/hoffman_001.html
I will add more evidence to this post as and when I can!
Check it out! https://www.facebook.com/groups/1411571262313231/
Ever since I was little, I’ve heard snippets of details and rumours surrounding my mysterious great-grandfather, and I am only just starting to find out more about him. Here’s a bit of what I know so far, although I must point out that some of it could well be hearsay!
Herbert John Collett was born in 1899 to Lucy Ellen Collett. Lucy would have been around 27 years old when Herbert was born, and she gave him her own maiden name as it is not clear who Herbert’s absentee father really was.
According to a Collett Family History website, this passage (http://collettfamilyhistory.net/Part-46-The-Charlton-on-Otmoor-(Oxon)-Area-Line-1870-to-2011-Rev.18.htm) describes Lucy’s father, George Collett, working as a brewer’s labourer at The Rose & Crown Inn – which he and his family lived adjacent to – in the 1881 census. This is a potentially key detail, so keep this in mind for later!
Although Herbert was clearly a ‘base born’ (i.e. illegitimate) child, it is interesting to note that Lucy was allowed to raise him within her family – from what I’ve read, this was quite a rare occurrence in those days due to the shame it brought upon families of children conceived out of wedlock. It is also nice to see that Henry Walduck, who later became Lucy’s husband, seems to have adopted Herbert alongside his own children with Lucy, although Herbert still kept his mother’s maiden name.
Rumours within my family have always stated that a ‘Major Morrell’ could have been Herbert’s biological father. Supposedly, there were letters to and from Lucy and this Morrell character, and money was exchanged in order to keep her quiet about their affair. However, if these letters did indeed exist, they’ve since been lost over the course of time.
A quick Google search for ‘Major Morrell, Oxfordshire’ resulted in me finding a man by the name of Major Philip Edward Morrell (born in 1870), who’s family made their fortune in the brewery business. The Major attended Eton School and Balliol College, Oxford, and later had a career in politics. Within his personal life, it appears that he was a bit of a Casanova… He married a Lady Ottoline Cavendish-Bentinck in 1902, and was cited as having many extramarital affairs. Lady Ottoline even ended up raising some of his bastard children! As they married in 1902, it is plausible to assume that Philip and Ottoline could have already been betrothed around the time that Herbert was conceived. Being involved in his family’s brewery business, it is also possible that Philip and Lucy could have met if the Morrell’s ever frequented The Rose & Crown Inn, Bicester. Obviously, Philip’s highly respected family wouldn’t have wanted any adverse publicity, so it is quite likely that if he and Lucy did conceive a child out of wedlock, they would have wanted it kept quiet; it certainly wasn’t unheard of for rich families to pay off unmarried mothers to keep quiet in those days!
Herbert eventually joined the British army during WW1 (I’ll list the battallion later when I can find it again!). My grandmother, Joyce Margaret Burgess (nee Collett – Herbert’s daughter with his wife Lilian Ayris) was only young when her father died, but she clearly remembered that Herbert was acting out of character for several months prior to his death. We now believe that he was suffering from PTSD from the horrors of WW1, for which he would have lied about his age, and didn’t want to risk being called up for the impending WW2. He was apparently found dead in either the Bicester Cricket or Football Clubhouse, after ‘falling onto’ some sort of weapon, possibly a scythe. Despite his death being ruled as accidental, my grandmother was convinced that it was suicide. I intend to order his death certificate to add to my research.
My aunt is in possession of 3 medals which were awarded to Herbert Collett, one of which was supposedly only awarded a few times during the first world war, for extreme bravery. Sadly, the piece of paper detailing how he earned it has been lost, so I also hope to discover what he did.
If anyone has any information about the Collett family in Bicester, I’d be very grateful if they could email me: Simons.karen1993@gmail.com
Here are the names I am most interested in researching:
Herbert John Collett
Lucy Ellen Collett/Walduck
George or William Collett
Fanny Collett (nee Stone)
Photo: Major Philip Edward Morrell, taken in 1902.
The results are finally in!
Company: MyHeritage
Results: 81.5% English; 16.7% Scandinavian; 1.8% Baltic
Details: According to the ethnicity map of my results, my Baltic ancestors were somewhere within the geographic area Latvia and Lithuania. Other than that, of course due to the closely matching DNA of people living in England and Scandinavia, the results do not specify a smaller geographic area.
DNA Matches by Country:
USA: 2,722
Great Britain: 752
Australia: 237
Canada: 155
New Zealand: 106
Ireland: 40
Norway: 39
Sweden: 34
Netherlands: 31
Germany: 30
Finland: 29
Denmark: 21
France: 18
Austria: 7
South Africa: 6
Switzerland: 6
Belgium: 3
Russia: 3
Italy: 3
Brazil: 2
Japan: 2
Estonia: 1
United Arab Emirates: 1
Cyprus: 1
Guam: 1
South Korea: 1
Hong Kong: 1
Spain: 1
Romania: 1
Argentina: 1
Of all these matches, only one was classed as ‘Extended Family’ (1st cousin twice removed) the rest were distant relatives.
My Thoughts: Ever since I was a small child, I have been fascinated with all things Scandinavian/Germanic, and have felt particularly drawn to the Viking Age. Despite being born and raised in England, I’ve always felt like a foreigner in my own country. I am a Norse pagan, and after finding some Norse ancestors in my family tree, as well as having a huge amount of ancestors from Northern England, I just assumed that the amount of Scandinavian DNA would have been a lot higher. I also remember reading somewhere that it’s rare to get an English DNA test result higher than 60%, as this island has been invaded and conquered by many different cultures over the course of it’s history. Therefore, I was really surprised (and, I have to admit, a little disappointed!) to discover that I am predominantly English. However, I am very pleased to have found a Scandinavian connection, albeit much smaller than I’d originally hoped. As for the Baltic blood… I’ve no idea where that came from! I hope to find common ancestors with my DNA matches, and maybe find out a little more about my Latvian/Lithuanian roots.
I may consider trying the Ancestry test at some point in the future, purely for comparison.
Hello, and welcome to my blog: ‘The Novice Genealogist’!
I have harboured a strong interest in ancestry since childhood, but it is only in the last 18 months or so that I have really been making an effort to trace my family tree. I also recently received my DNA test results (which can be found in my next post!).
I am by no means an expert; I am learning as I go along, and every discovery/addition to my family tree is fascinating me, as well as fuelling my curiosity!
I am trying to verify my family tree piece by piece, so all the ancestors listed in this blog are, as far as I know, correct. If I learn otherwise, I will of course post updates here too.
This blog is mostly for my own benefit, but I hope that you will also enjoy reading! If you have any tips or insights, please let me know!
Thanks for stopping by,
Karen
The Novice Genealogist 