Personal Enthusiasms - the truth about Victorian England

Every student of history develops particular enthusiasms and passions. One of mine is the experience of the ordinary people of Victorian England.

My interest in Glemsford's past was, if not sparked, then hugely boosted when the late Trevor Collinson gave me access to the remaining early Log Books of Glemsford School.

My attempt to do justice to them is published elsewhere in the Glemsford pages of this site - in several pieces!

The arrival of all the information about the Brown family only fuelled my enthusiasm further.

And I have said before how jealous I am of the wonderful Foxearth web site, with its vast array of brilliant photos and massive index of newspaper stories (just for a start).

However, it has excelled itself with the recent addition of an extract from a late 19th Century newspaper detailing the conditions in which the ordinary people of Suffolk had to exist at that time.

You can read this account by following this link.

It makes salutary reading, and it certainly puts into perspective the realities we perhaps rush past in our attempt to construct a bigger and broader Family Tree.

Boreham and Windred

Chris Mansfield added this note to the "A - Z", but it deserves repeating here.

I am researching my family tree and have found an Elizabeth Boreham, born in Glemsford in 1829, married to John Windred in 1848 and lived in Hartest.

John died in 1863 leaving Elizabeth with 7 children.

The family all dispersed to SE London and South Yorkshire where a number of the sons became miners.

Elizabeth's parents seem to have been called Isaac (died 1859) and Hannah (died 1842).

Any further information about them or their forebears would be useful. I have quite a lot of info about the Windred family and their descendants if anyone is interested.

c dot mansfield at hargreavesrs dot co dot uk

Deeks and Hartley families

Dawn Good added a note to this section on 13 July 2006, and Sue Bignell added her notes about the same families on 30 October.

Dawn has now added these notes about her branch of the family.

Jepthah was the son of James Deeks (1780) and Mary Goody (1779), who married 22 Feb 1808, Glemsford .

Their children were an Emily and Eliza (baptised 1809), Mary Ann (1810) and Jepthah )27 Nov 1814 Glemsford).

In the 1841 census Jepthah is living with Mary aged 60 at Egremont St (H107/1011/34/21) .

The William (who I believe you thought was her husband) is living with Eliza and a William aged 20 (ref H 107/1011/14/29).

Anyway: I am descended from Eliza Deeks 1809( sister to Jepthah) who married a Henry Farrow Hartley.