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Maria Spinks was born in 1873 in Wherstead, Suffolk, a daughter of Charles & Mary Spinks.

On the 27th June 1895 Maria Spinks married Charles McCartney in Colchester, Essex.

The 1901 census shows Maria McCartney living alone in Magdalen Street,Colchester, with 'gone away' written above her name.
 
I assume this to be a reference to her absent husband,who incidentally was a soldier based in Colchester at the time of their marriage

I have been unable to find out what became of Maria after 1901.

Any help would be very much appreciated.
Thank you.
Rob

Any observations regarding the two photographs below would be truly appreciated,thank you.

The photo below is of my gt gt uncle Reuben Theobald (1888-1917).
I'm intrigued by the 'flower' in his lapel and have been wondering if he was attending a special occasion. A wedding? a funeral? .....or was the flower a simple studio prop?

I have another photo,of Reubens brother, where he is wearing a similar suit with a similar flower and apparently taken at the same session.

Any guesses of Reuben's age would be very useful too. Thank you.



The group photo below is of (left) my great grandmother Florence South (1883-1964) and (supposedly) her parents-in-law, William (1848-1926) & Gertrude (1848-1915) South.

However, William & Gertrude don't appear to be old enough. Do they really look 35 years older than Florence?

Any observations on their ages or when the photo may have been taken would again be very much appreciated.



(Sorry for quality of photos.....they are digital camera shots and not scans)

Can anyone help me please in finding my great grandmother in the 1901 census? I keep looking using various permutations but so far without success.

Frances Ellen Baker was born in Assington, Suffolk in April 1884. Her parents were George and Naomi Baker.

In the 1891 census she was lodging with Walter and Sophia Smith in Assington.

In November 1901 Frances married my great grandfather, Joseph Brown in Colchester, Essex and six weeks later in early 1902 my grandfather was born.

I have found Joseph Brown in the 1901 census, living with his parents in Shrub End, Colchester.

If Frances's pregnancy was normal it would mean that my grandfather was conceived around the time of the 1901 census so its probable that Frances was in Colchester at the time.

Unfortunately, I can't find Frances in Colchester or anywhere else for that matter.

Any help/advice would be appreciated.
thank you
Rob

William Spinks (b.Duddington,Northants 1863 )
married Emily Jane Barnard in Ipswich in 1887, which was where they were to remain.

Anyone out there researching their family?   

In October 1934 my gt gt grandfather, John William Theobald, was the subject of an article which appeared in Lincoln's 'Chronicle and Leader' newspaper.

The headlines to the article were:

A KING IN A CRATE

Lincoln Veteran of the Zulu War.

Thrilling Memories

Cetywayo Bretrayed By His Cooks.

Here are some extracts from the article:

'When he was 20 ( 1874) Mr. Theobald gave up woring on the land to join the Royal Artillery. As a groom , he sailed to South Africa  with horses of the regiment in 1879,.....

Mr.Theobald was one of the gallant band of 60 men who defended the small mission station of Rorke's Drift, on the border of Zulu-land, against repeated attacks of 3,000 Zulu warriors, and he was present at the capture of King Cetywayo, which resulted in the appointment of an English resident and the division of the country in 13 districts, each governed by an independant chief. Ulandi was the chief military kraal wheer the king resided.

According to Mr. Theobald, Cetywayo was not found when the troops visited Ulandi, but the soldiers surprised two Zulu men and a woman, cooking a hearty meal over a glowing fire.

The officer in charge had the men arrested with a view of questioning them as to the whereabouts of the king and the remainder of the tribe, but for  along time the natives would not speak. At last however, combines were produced  and the blacks gave in. King Cetywayo and his wives and his tribesmen were arrested . The royal family were hustled into a large box, the tribesmen and their women werer packed into other boxes. and the prisoners were taken to Cape Town much to the joy of the soldiers.

In 1882 Mr. Theobald was discharged from the Army on account of ill-health.'

My main interest is in if my gt gt grandfather was at Rorke's Drift or if he was just spinning a yarn 55 years after the event?

Various lists have been produced as to who was at Rorke's Drift but there seems to be additions all the time so i'm not sure just how reliable these lists really are.

Any comments / info would be appreciated.
Cheers
Rob