Fresh eyes for a Cooley family in Kent early 1900's?

[scintilla]

I have transcriptions for Hunton parish register baptisms, but can't find a baptism for Bertha under any combination of names. I thought a baptism for her might give some additional information.
Her birth in June in a hop house seems strange, Hunton is definitely hop country but the hop picking would have been August & September, so perhaps they were there for some other agricultural work?

[IgorStrav]

Just to say that we have evidence for the Cork/Cooley family being itinerant farm workers through the 19th century.

Mary Ann Cork/Cooley was with her father and a young baby in the 1881, and her father, Richard Cork, travelled about for work into his 80's.

So quite probably Mary Ann was with him at this farm, and some googling may find out what sort of work was being done on the farm ahead of the hop harvest in September.

[IgorStrav]

Meant to add, am at work, but will look at the other detail re Nathan that Goldcrest has posted later.

[IgorStrav]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/kent/voices/hartlake/hop_picking.shtml

See this interesting BBC link re gypsy itinerant agricultural workers in the 19th century.  Although this refers to Romany gypsies, I think the Corks/Cooleys weren't true Romanies, but merely travellers.

In the history I've found, within the family were hawkers, general dealers, marine store dealers, chair bottomers etc., and Richard Corke (1812, Stone, Kent) seemed to carry out agricultural work, following the requirements of the farming year.

He carried on until he was nearly 80, finally dying of burns when he set fire to himself whilst sleeping (with the farmer's agreement) in a barn, probably during the hop harvest.  I've seen where he died, in Otford, Kent, a small town where what struck me most was the number of pubs.  I hope that he had a convivial evening, after a hard day's work, and didn't know much about what happened.

In terms of Nathan Evenden and the reference to previously living in Barking, Essex, I wonder if he had travelled in work - after all, the family in 1891 is in Woolwich (on the South side of the Thames, but otherwise not very far away from Barking on the Essex side of the river).

And I expect the family were living in the Hop Barn whilst Nathan was working on the farm.  Thomas Duddy apparently was a landowner in Hunton, and although I can't see the farm now, it's not a very large place and therefore you can see country very like where your grandmother was born from google earth.

[goldcoast]

Oh my goodness, poor Richard - I wonder if this is why my mother and grandmother had an obsession with potential fires when going to bed.  Have been looking at Hunton history, very interesting.  I am attaching a photo of Bertha and her family taken shortly before coming to Australia in 1921, perhaps there is some resemblance to some Cooleys/Corks.

[IgorStrav]

Oh my goodness, poor Richard - I wonder if this is why my mother and grandmother had an obsession with potential fires when going to bed. 

Well, given that your grandmother was Richard's granddaughter (we think), and would have been 7 or so when the incident happened to her grandfather in 1893 in Otford, Kent, I should think it would certainly leave her with an abiding caution of fires occurring in the bedroom.

I am very keen to try and post the various potential family members on the Photo Recognition Board, to see if the opinion there is that they are of the same family.

I will have to switch to another computer (get me!  ) to do this, as I don't have a programme on this laptop to cut and paste the ladies' pictures next to each other.

But I think Bertha's eyes are like to Royd's grandmother and great aunt and also to my great grandmother.  I don't know if Royd can spot any other family likenesses within the picture you've posted with her own family.

[royd]

Yes I do think there is a likeness.  I was also wondering about posting them altogether.  I am fortunate in that I have quite a few of my grandmother's siblings photos - I will get them out to scan over the weekend.  Maybe we could all post closeups on Monday or Tuesday?  It's finding the time that's difficult isn't it?


I had a look on trees on GR to see if anyone on there had the Evendens in their tree.  Have been in touch with one who is distantly related by marriage but, he hasn't done any research on them!  Will try a couple of others later.


Goldcoast - the traits in my maternal side are music, singing and the Salvation Army.   Any hints there?


R.

[IgorStrav]

I have music and singing on both sides of the family, I believe, so not much clue there.
And no connection with the Salvation Army at all!

However, can I also just add that we have not satisfactorily concluded the connection with my original post to this thread, in which I was trying to track down my Arthur Frend (or Friend) Cork/Cooley and his family in the 1911.   You may recall that the reason that Goldcrest came to this thread is the connection between the name and the address on her grandmother's wedding certificate -

I have Arthur F Cooley and his family in the 1901 at 30 Caroline Street, Chatham, and that is where Bertha was married from.  Bertha would have been a cousin of Arthur F Cooley, as she was the daughter of Mary Ann Cooley, his father's sister.

Since the whole family seems to have come to Chatham in the first decade of the new century, from Wrotham (about 16 miles away), where they were in the 1911, perhaps they stayed with their cousins at Caroline Street?

But what happened to Arthur F, his wife Mary A and his son Arthur David?

Whilst we're having so much success with the Cooleys, perhaps I can resolve this issue, too? 

I might have to send away for the marriage in (I think) 1904 which Casalguidi found?

Did they emigrate to Australia and could this have been the inspiration for the Reads, later? 

[royd]

Sorry about that Igor - we do get so easily sidetracked with this family don't we? 

Back to Arthur we go.     R.