Back in April 2009, contributor “emmband” started a thread “Fred and James” stating an interest in the possible relationship between Fred Usher (1871-1936) and James Ward Usher (1845-1921). Fred was born in Lincolnshire, but at the time of the 1901 census was living in Oldham, Lancs. JWU was born in Lincoln, and at the time of that census, was still living there. In his will JWU left his considerable fortune to the city of Lincoln, and the Usher Gallery (now part of “The Collection”) was built as a result.
My ancestors were clearly in the “Fred” line, but some years ago my father told me that there was some distant relationship between the two lines, Fred’s and JWU’s. Just like emmband before me, I became interested in what that relationship was.
I have traced my “Fred” line back to 1791, but I am rather new to this whole field, and am having some trouble with the JWU side.
According to the website “LINCS-to-the-past” (LTTP), JWU’s father was a jeweller and watchmaker, James Usher (d.1882). He had two brothers, the Reverend Henry Usher, and George Usher, a clock-case maker in Lincoln. There is no mention of any daughters. This website states that JWU’s grandfather was also called James Usher - a cabinet maker in St Swithin’s Parish, Lincoln.
I looked at the census for 1861 (FreeCEN) and found the family: James Usher (53) jeweller, head, b. Bulwell, Notts; Jane Usher(49) wife, b. Tetford, Lincs; James W Usher(16) jeweller, b. Lincoln; and Alfred H Usher (13) scholar, b. Lincoln. Also in the household was Mary Duckett, one of Jane’s sisters. In the 1871 census, Alfred is no longer in the household, but son JWU is still there, having gone into partnership with his father.
Round about here, I joined Ancestry, and soon came across Mark Usher’s comprehensive family tree of “Ushers in the censuses”. However, his tree showed JWU’s grandparents as Richard and Milicent Usher (m. 1800), and their children as James(1803), John(1805), James(1807), Henry(1810), and Ann(1811). All of these children were listed as born in Bulwell, Notts. There is no mention of any “George Usher”, clock-case maker, among their children.
My first thought was that this family must have been different from the one that, in the next generation, gave rise to JWU and his brother Alfred Henry Usher. However, the tree did show this James(1807) as the father of JWU, and as mentioned above, the census form for 1861 listed the head, James Usher(53, b. 1808), jeweller as having been born in Bulwell, as were all of the children of Richard and Milicent.
So if the Tree is correct, JWU’s grandparents were Richard and Milicent, but if LTTP is right, his grandfather was a James Usher.
I have searched Ancestry, to the best of my limited ability, and can find no record of another James, born in Bulwell in 1808 or 1807, other than the one who had Richard and Milicent as parents.
It seemed that the best way forward would be to secure birth certificates for James, George, and Henry, which I assume should list their parents. However, I wondered how I could make sure that I was getting the birth certificates for the correct James, George and Henry. So for now I have ordered a marriage certificate for Jane Duckett, which at a minimum, should tell me the name of her spouse’s father.
But this still leaves the problem of George, who does not appear in Mark Usher’s tree. There is one other party missing from the tree: Eliza Usher(b. Lincoln, 1821). In the 1841 (Ancestry) census, James Usher(b. 1808 “outside the census county”), “watchmaker”, 30, is living in Silver Street, Lincoln. The only other member of that household is Eliza Usher, 20, b. Lincoln. That was in 1841, and the very next year James married Jane Duckett, and Eliza disappeared. So who is this Eliza? The only lead I have on this was a bit of a surprise to me. There was an Eliza Usher, baptism 20 April 1821, at St Swithin’s, Lincoln. The parents: Richard and Milicent Usher! I suppose that this makes it more likely that James Usher(1808), who was in the same household as Eliza, really did have parents Richard and Milicent also.
About a week ago, I wrote to LTTP asking about JWU’s grandparents, but have not yet heard back from them.
-macrote
