Oakleys of Glemsford, Suffolk

[Potterer]

Hello Gobbit,

Yes you're right. I was flying a kite with the (irrelevant) Huguenot thing I must admit.  I will investigate properly, of course!   I had just wondered whether it might have something to do with him seeking the Freedom of the City, by way of trade or heritage connections.

Many thanks for the link to the LMA note on Freedoms - very interesting indeed, I (obviously) knew none of that, and it makes clear why he might want to apply.  I will look up his Declaration.

I also see what you mean about him possibly preferring Hezekiah to Zedekiah, having looked it up! (His son wasn't even too fond of Hezekiah either - he seems to have dropped it in favour of William on its own pretty quickly).

 I now need to have a look at that 1861 Census, and why he might have changed back to Zedekiah then - he appears as Hezekiah in 1841 and 1851 .... might he have decided to change name when applying for his Freedom in 1856 for some reason - eg  did he need documentary proof of name? ie his parish Register or other record entries?

I may get the Suffolk FHS CD of Births to trace these Oakleys in Glemsford around the end of the 18th century, unless I find another source - IGI/Familysearch seems to have very little online for that.

Many thanks indeed for the very helpful leads and information. I have some very interesting  stuff to chew on. If anything else occurs to you, please fire away!

Potterer.

[Potterer]

Just an update for anyone interested in this saga (and there seem to be quite a few), especially those who have provided such useful information following my query:-

I now have Zedekiah Oakley's Will of 1865, which is mercifully brief.  But vitally it names his son Thomas and four daughters as beneficiaries, all of whose names tally, and one of whom is Elizabeth Rebecca Lebon, nee Oakley.   I also have her marriage record to John Lebon in 1843, in which her father is named as HEZEKIAH Oakley - so this handily confirms that Hezekiah and Zedekiah are the same person - unless I'm missing something!

It doesn't explain why he decided to change back to his birth name late in life, but at least we can be fairly confident its the same family, back to the Zedekiah b. in Glemsford in 1794, and his probable parents Samuel and Mary.  It also doesn't explain how a Brewer's Servant/Labourer managed to leave an estate of  "value under £450" in 1865 according to Probate, ie maybe about £30,000 in today's money I believe...

For those interested, the Sewell / Arnall tree on Ancestry gives a lot of information on this family, which tallies well with my own findings so far, so I'm inclined to give it a good deal of cautious credence.

I anyone has anything to add, I'd be very interested to hear from them !

Potterer.

[Potterer]

Another question - there is also a death of a Zedekiah Oakley  1858 Sep St Luke 1b 339 - I wonder who this was? Does anyone have access to those Parish registers or other source who could find out for me, please?
Thanks!
Potterer.

[emeltom]

I don't know who the Zedehiah oakley was who died 1858 but according to the GRO site age was 0, therefore a baby.

His birth ref
Sep 1858 St Luke 1b 521 mmn Ayres

Emeltom

[Potterer]

Ah, thank you again, Emeltom.
There was a marriage in 1855 Dec 25th (!!) - Marriage of Thomas Oakley, shown on the register as son of Zedekiah Oakley, and Eliza Ayres (minor) - a shotgun marriage followed by a sad infant death - so presumably he was their son named after Thomas's father, whom he knew until then as Hezekiah. Mystery death solved.
Name change still a puzzle.

Potterer