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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Lincolnshire => Topic started by: macrote on Monday 17 April 17 17:59 BST (UK)
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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
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Marriage 14 April 1842, St Peter in Eastgate
James USHER (son of Richard) to Jane DUCKET (dau of Thomas)
19 Sept 1850, at St Mary le WIGFORD
William MILLER (son of William) to Eliza USHER (dau of Richard)
GRO index gives JW USHER's mother as nee DUCKETT
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Hello Geoff-E, and many thanks for this extra information. Clearly I should have posted before I sent off for the marriage certificate, for you would have saved me about $46 (!).
I am intrigued as to how you found the James/Jane marriage record that included the name of the groom's father. All I could find on Ancestry was the more usual: "here are all the people who got married at that location at that time, now sort them into pairs . . ."
With the information that you supplied, I was able to find the William Miller/Eliza Usher marriage record that gave Richard as the father of the bride. So that was why Eliza Usher did not appear in the 1851 census. In the 1861 census I think she and Jane are "Visitors" at a household in Jersey, Channel Islands.
I guess this means that the LTTP version need correcting.
Again, many thanks, macrote
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Many Lincs marriages have partial transcriptions (i.e. fathers' names but no occupations) which are to be found in spreadsheets here http://mi.lincolnshiremarriages.org.uk/ The appropriate one in this case was Lincoln (City).
Forty six dollars seems an awful lot for a certificate. Obviously, Ancestry is a company and like to make a profit but the price for a certificate from the official source - the General Register Office - is Ł9.25. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/
The GRO has a new(ish) facility which shows the mother's maiden name after performing a search.
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findmypast.co.uk has images of the register for the marriages of James and Eliza, and baptisms of James Ward Usher in 1845 and Alfred Henry Usher in 1848.
David
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Geoff-E and dcbnwh, thanks for the replies, and for pointing out the existence of the Lincs spreadsheet. That could save a lot of time.
Right now I am trying to chase down the George Usher, who was allegedly one of the two brothers of James Usher, JWU's father, but I did not see his marriage (to Elizabeth) in the spreadsheet for Lincoln city. Work is ongoing!
- macrote
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Right now I am trying to chase down the George Usher, who was allegedly one of the two brothers of James Usher, JWU's father, but I did not see his marriage (to Elizabeth) in the spreadsheet for Lincoln city. Work is ongoing!
The spreadsheet only starts mid 1837.
There is a possible marriage in 1832 on FreeREG. I'll let you find it for yourself ;)
https://www.freereg.org.uk/
Prior to 1837, you didn't get father's names in the marriage register.
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Thank you for encouraging me to do it myself. I did not know of this site, but now it is bookmarked!
I expect you were alluding to the marriage of George Robinson Usher and Elizabeth Taylor, 18 Nov 1832. Do you know of any on-line method for checking if George's father was Richard Usher?
The Lincs spreadsheet gave me the marriage of Henry Radford to Alvira Fields on 27 Sept 1842 at Holbeach, and confirmed that Henry's father was Richard Usher. That just leaves George.
- macrote
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George Robinson Usher
This may be related to a marriage in 1773 (Lincoln, St Martin)
John USHER to Elizabeth ROBINSON
The marriage register is here (bottom left)
http://www.lincstothepast.com/Records/RecordDisplayTranscript.aspx?oid=630445&iid=422323
This couple seem to have had a son, Richard, in 1778. http://tinyurl.com/k2ww988
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George Robinson Usher -
Baptism: 03 Oct 1810 at Lincoln St Martin
Father: James
Mother: Anne
James Usher of Saint Swithin
Marriage: 10 Dec 1809 at Lincoln St Swithin
Spouse: Anne Otter
David
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James USHER baptism http://tinyurl.com/mb5e4rs
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Geoff-E, that's two more bookmarks!
Actually, you are starting to give me some hope that I might be able to find the relationship that I mentioned at the start of my first posting on this subject.
Very many thanks.
- macrote
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Doing a quick bit of research, a Michael George USHER with whom I went to school, seems to have been a descendant of George Robinson USHER 1810, Cabinet Maker. :)
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I started this thread by mentioning emmband's interest in discovering the relationship, if any, between James Ward Usher, and Fred Usher. Well, thanks very largely to the help of Geoff-E and dcbnwh, I can now report that there IS a connection, in more than just the name.
I have put together a fairly detailed family tree that shows the link, but for the moment I will just summarize it in words, rather than in pictures.
The link between the two lines is the husband and wife: John Usher and Elizabeth Robinson, who married in 1773.
One of their six children was Richard Usher(1778), who married Milicent Radford in 1800. They had seven children, one of whom was James Usher(1807). He married Jane Duckett(1811) in June 1842, and one of their childen was James Ward Usher, the subject of this enquiry.
So according to this tree the grandparents of JWU were Richard and Milicent Usher, not James. This is consistent with Mark Usher's tree of "Ushers in the censuses".
Now the line that leads to Fred Usher. If we go back to John Usher and Elizabeth Robinson (m. 1773), another one of their six children was James Usher(1788). He married Anne Otter(1790) in December 1809, and together they had seven children, one of whom was John Usher(1816). This John Usher married Margaret Kent(1823), and they had seven children. One of these offspring was James Usher(1840), and he married Sarah Buttery(1841) in December 1862.
And now we are there, for one of their children was Fred Usher(1870), who married Amy Taylor, and the rest is more recent history . . . .
I think this is about right, but would be very happy to hear of any corrections.
I'm no expert on this, but I think that makes James and Fred second cousins, once removed.
- macrote
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Some baptisms for the children of John and Margaret Usher
James - 6th October 1839 at Edlington
John - 26th September 1841 at Lincoln St Martin
The following were all baptised on 30th October 1859 at St Mary Le Wigford and, because they were so long after the births, the birth dates were recorded:-
Margaret Ann - born 8th February 1846
Harriet - born 24th May 1849
Mary Ann - born 17th March 1851
Edith Ann - born 4th December 1854
Harry - born 23th August 1859 (acually registered in 1857)
Minnie - born 4th October 1859
David
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The following were all baptised on 30th October 1859 at St Mary Le Wigford and, because they were so long after the births, the birth dates were recorded:-
A very neat register :)
http://www.lincstothepast.com/Records/RecordDisplayTranscript.aspx?oid=607390&iid=425105
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Baptisms Bulwell
Parents Richard & Milicent Usher
30 Jun 1803 James
23 Jun 1805 John
30 Jul 1807 James
28 Jan 1810 Henry
31 Mar 1811 Ann
Burial Bulwell
29 Jan 1832 Millicent Usher aged 51
29 Apr 1804 James Usher Inf.
20 Apr 1810 Henry Usher Inf.
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Many thanks for the additional references. It would have taken me quite a while to discover them for myself.
I was particularly interested in the list of Bulwell christenings and burials. I see that James(1803) died less than a year after he was born, but the parents, Richard and Milicent Usher, recycled the name in 1807, and that James became the father of James Ward Usher (JWU).
A similar sequence involved their son Henry(1810). He died less than three months after his birth, but the parents reused that name for a later child (b. 28 Dec, 1816). It seems that Richard and Milicent were not particularly superstitious! Henry(1816) did not appear in the list of Bulwell births, because (unlike most of the children of Richard and Milicent) he was born in Lincoln. This Henry, uncle of JWU, was the one who became the vicar of Snitterby. He married Alvira Fields, and they had two children: Alexander Fields Usher(1850), who died the following year, and Selina Louisa Usher(1851), who married another churchman, John Edwin Swithinbank. I do not have a death notice for Alvira, but in Henry’s will, he leaves his possessions in part to his daughter Selina Louisa, and his wife, whom he names as Mary Ann Usher. I do not know the background to this switch.
If all the above is true, then the article about JWU in LINCS-to-the-past will need correcting. I could not find a George Usher among the children of Richard and Milicent (although there were other siblings), and JWU’s grandfather was Richard, not James.
- macrote
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Hi there, I'm producing a documentary for the BBC about the life of James Ward Usher, the Lincoln jeweller. His vast collection is on display at the Usher Gallery in the city. I'd very much like to interview a relative - however distant, who can tell me a bit about the family. Can you help?
Kind regards.