Thomas and Elizabeth SYKES

[maddys52]

Thanks anneb, I might try to follow these up ... see where they lead, although as you say, doesn't look too promising.

thanks again for your efforts. 

[tdsykes]

This is a question for Maddy52.

My ancestor, in the U.S., is James Sykes b. 1825, who has a brother, George Sykes, b. 1828.  I believe, based on online research, that they were born near Witcham, in Cambridgeshire.  Certainly George was married in Oct. 10, 1852 in Ely, Cambridgeshire, to Jane, presumably Gadsby.

I read your email of June 4, 2015 with interest.  I am trying to identify the parents of James and George, and my own online research has suggested Thomas Sykes and Ann.  Then I came across your email.

The baptismal years for James and George coincide with those mentioned in your email.

A further coincidence is that James, who married Elizabeth Poole before coming to the U.S., had sons named William, Henry, and John.   There was a marriage with those names in Ely in 1849. 

Question:  Is anything you know about James b. 1825 and George b. 1828 inconsistent with the known fact that they came to the U.S. in the 1850s? 

If not, it appears that the Thomas and the Ann you have identified might be their parents.

Thanks.

[maddys52]

Hello tdsykes and welcome to rootschat!

It sounds very much like the James and George you're talking about are the same as I have born in Witcham. Just looking through my files on this family (it's a while since I've been looking at this branch) I notice that I have a copy of the 1880 American census with a question mark about whether the George SYKES (with Jane and daughter Emma) are "mine". It looks as though I haven't followed it up yet, or maybe I couldn't find any shipping/migration records (I can't quite remember), but it certainly sounds likely.

As you can see from this thread, I'm still a bit unclear about the parents: Thomas and Ann/Elizabeth.

You inspire me to revisit the SYKES line. (The older brother Anthony is my direct ancestor).

Let me know if there is any information I can help you with. 

[tdsykes]

Maddy52:

Thanks for the prompt response. 

Here's what I knew before doing my recent online research: 

George Sykes b. 1828 and Jane came to Janesville, Wisconsin, USA in 1854, on the Emerald Isle.  They brought little Emma with them.

Brother James Sykes b. 1825 and Elizabeth (Poole) came to the same place perhaps a year or two later.  They brought little Rebecca with them.  James named sons Henry William b. 1859 and John b. 1856. 

Armed with the Cambridgeshire clue (I had thought the Sykeses were probably from Yorkshire), I learned that George and Jane were married at Ely on October 20, 1852.  A James Sykes and Elizabeth Poole were married at Ely in 1849. 

Intriguing fact:  One son of James, Harvey, b. 1874, has the middle name Moore.  Might that be a clue to a surname of Ann/Elizabeth, married to Thomas?  Or to the surname of the mother of Elizabeth Poole, whose parents appear to be Issac and Mary (?) Poole of Witcham.

Lots of Sykeses and Pooles around Witcham, even today.       

I hope this helps.  Thanks for getting back to me. 

 

[maddys52]

That all makes sense and fills in some gaps for me about what happened to the brothers.

Yes I agree, George married Jane GADSBY in 1852 and they had Emma in 1853. (George was with his sister Lucy and her 2nd husband Adam BARKER and family in 1851 census.)

And James married Elizabeth POOLE in 1849 and had Rebekah (spelling according to the GRO) in 1852 (Elizabeth's maiden name recorded as POOL). James and Elizabeth are in Witcham in the 1851, although it has Elizabeth's place of birth as Coveney.

Interesting about the name MOORE - will do some looking around.

Now that I know to look in USA records I can see quite a few for James and George and their families. 

[maddys52]

Btw, I suspect Isaac POOLE married Mary HAWES in Witcham 26 November 1821, so don't think the MOORE connection is from Elizabeth's parents.

[tdsykes]

Maddys52:

This is very helpful.  There has been much disarray in the Public Trees on Ancestry.com about the parentage of James and George.  I am so pleased to have found the Witcham, Ely, Cambridgeshire connection, helpfully confirmed by you.  A five-year mystery is solved. 

Funny co-incidence:  James' grandson, my GG, married a BARKER in the early 1900s.  But these Barkers (James Barker, grandson of a Lord Mayor of London) came over in 1636, so any connection to the Barker you mention is very, very distant.  But your comment made me wonder about a pre-existing connection -- for just a moment.   

As you probably know, many Sykeses in the U.S. trace back to 17th century crossings that landed either in Massachusetts or Virginia.  Many Sykeses, especially in the south, have ancestors who were slaves and are black.  George was drafted to fight in the Civil War for the Union.   

George and James died in Janesville, Wisconsin, each living long lives.  George and Jane had four children, and James and Elizabeth had five or six.  They seemingly did quite well here.  (Janesville is where the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Paul Ryan, is from.  He says his family goes back five generations there; so does mine, so the families probably knew each other.)  My GG, James's grandson, was a Wisconsin state legislator for 20 years.  George had a son, Herbert, who became a MD or pharmacist, and did very well in corporate America.  One died of malaria while building the Panama Canal.  Dora Sykes graduated from the University of Wisconsin in the early 1900s -- very unusual for a woman. 

Quite fascinating. 

My branch moved away from Janesville in 1910, so we have lost touch with that family.  Some moved to the American west in the latter part of the 1800s.     

Again, thanks. 

tdsykes 

[tdsykes]

Maddys52:

By the way, are you related to the Rt. Rev. Stephen Whitefield Sykes?  He was at Ely, and died in 2014. 

tdsykes

[maddys52]

That is all so interesting, thank you td, so great to know what happened to the brothers and their families.

I'm not related to the  Rt. Rev. Stephen Whitefield Sykes as far as I know ... Wikipedia tells me he was born in Bristol, but you never know!

I'm a descendant of Anthony Sykes (ag lab) whose only claim to fame that I've seen was sadly in the papers for ill treating his wife Martha and throwing a stick at her in 1861.  Their daughter Mary Ann (who married Richard Luke SUTTON of Blackmore, Essex) was my gg grandmother, who came to Australia in 1913. There's a photo of her here, probably from the 1890s. http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=728386.msg5729218#msg5729218
Their grandaughter Gladys (my grandmother) is my avatar (aged about 19 at Bondi Beach).