Isabella Cock’s parents

Now that I have explained my reasons for believing the parents of George Amos to be Abraham Amos and Isabella Cock, and have explored the paternal side, it is time to look to the maternal side. Against all odds, the maternal side has proved the easier to research in many respects.

Isabella Cock’s parents were Simon Cock and Mary Gurney. Their marriage was a bit tricky to prove without access to original records, but I am pretty satisfied with the conclusion. They were married on 24 Dec 1812 in Sturry, Kent, England. Mary’s birth location in later census records is given as Sturry, so the location, being the bride’s parish makes sense. The Tyler Index to Parish Records, one of my sources for the marriage, records that Simon is “of Tilmanstone.” Since Tilmanstone was where their family was raised, the groom also makes sense. 

Church of St. Nicholas, the parish church of Sturry, where Simon Cock and Mary Gurney were married.
pam fray [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Their first child, a son, William, was baptized on 13 Feb 1814 in Tilmanstone, Kent. My 3great-grandmother Isabella herself was next, baptized on 24 Apr 1815. Then came John on 17 June 1816, who must have died quite young, as another John was baptized the following year on 20 June 1817. (I have not, however, located a death or burial record for the first John.) Next came Simon on 27 Jan 1819, but he also passed away very young, and was buried on 3 June 1819.

There is a strange duplication of records for a baptism which took place on 26 Jan 1820; FamilySearch has records for both a Simon Edward and an Edward Simon on that date. It is possible that two sons were born twins and given identical names in reverse order, but I think it far more likely that it is an error introduced during transcription. Since I have not yet been able to examine the original records, I can state nothing with certainty. However, I am proceeding on the assumption that it is one child. 

The interior of St. Andrew’s, the parish church of Tilmanstone, where the children of Simon Cock and Mary Gurney were baptized.
John Salmon [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The next baptism for a child of Simon and Mary Cock appearing in the Tilmanstone records is for Frederic, on 26 Oct 1827. Last is Elizabeth Dorothy on 30 June 1829. There is, of course, a gap of nearly eight years between Simon Edward and Frederic. That is enough time for a few more children to have been born, but no records have been found. Perhaps there were miscarriages; Mary was by this time nearing the age of forty, and perhaps childbearing was becoming increasingly difficult for her. Perhaps Simon and Mary were separated from one another for some reason—Simon traveling elsewhere for work, maybe—and they quite simply had no opportunity to conceive any children during this time. Perhaps they moved to another parish during that period and I simply haven’t discovered the records.

In 1841, census records begin. The family is still living in Tilmanstone, and the census finds Simon and Mary with their children Edward (Edward Simon or Simon Edward of 1820), Frederick, Eliza (Elizabeth Dorothy). Also in the household are two younger children: Mary, age 6, and William, age 1. William is the illegitimate son of Isabella, and thus Simon and Mary’s grandson. Mary is likely also a grandchild, but her exact relationship has yet to be determined.

They are still residing in Tilmanstone at the time of the 1851 census. This is one of the censuses which helped in deciding that the marriage record in Sturry was the correct one, as Mary’s birthplace is recorded as Sturry. Simon’s is Ringwould, Kent. This census also brings the somewhat startling news that Simon is a pauper. That is, he is probably receiving “outdoor relief,” or money, from the local poor law union. He is in his late 60s at this point, so quite possibly he was unable to work. Simon and Mary’s children Edward and Elizabeth are still living with them, as is a granddaughter named Mary Ann (who is ineligible to be the mystery Mary of the 1841 census, as she is only four months old). Edward is working as an agricultural laborer, so perhaps he helped supplement the family’s small income. 

The former Eastry Union Workhouse and its attendant chapel.
Nick Smith [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

By 1861, times seem to have gotten even harder. Simon and Mary have relocated to the Eastry Union Workhouse. Their birth places are again recorded, and Simon’s occupation is listed as an agricultural laborer. Only two months after the census enumeration, on 15 June 1861, Simon passed away in the workhouse. His death certificate pdf arrived just yesterday. His cause of death was old age and bronchitis. Mary seems to have lived a while longer.

Death certificate of Simon Cock, who died in 1861.

Sources:

“England Marriages, 1538–1973,” database, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 3 Dec 2017), entry for Simon Cook and Mary Gurney’s 1812 marriage; citing Sturry, Kent, England, reference item 4 p 180, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,737,093.

St. Nicholas’ church (Sturry, Kent, England), Kent, England, Tyler Index to Parish Registers, 1538-1874, entry for Simon Cook and Mary Gurney’s 1812 marriage; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 3 Dec 2017).

“England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 8 Oct 2017), entries for William Cock’s 1814 baptism, Isabella Cock’s 1815 baptism, John Cock’s 1816 baptism, John Cock’s 1817 baptism, Simon Cock’s 1819 baptism, Edward Simon Cock’s 1820 baptism, Simon Edward Cock’s 1820 baptism, Frederic Cock’s 1827 baptism, and Elizabeth Dorothy Cock’s 1829 baptism; citing Tilmanstone, Kent, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,835,794.

“England Deaths and Burials, 1538-1991,” database, FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 9 Oct 2017), entry for Simon Cock’s 1819 burial; citing Tilmanstone, Kent, England, index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City; FHL microfilm 1,835,794.

1841 census of England, Kent, Tilmanstone parish, District 5, Eythorn, Thanington civil parish, folio 10, page 16-17, household of Simon Cock; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 9 Oct 2017); citing PRO HO 107/470/14.

1851 census of England, Kent, village and parish of Tilmanstone, folio 474, page 16, household of Simon Cock (No. 60 of householder's schedule); digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Oct 2017); citing PRO HO 107/1631.

1861 census of England, Kent, Eastry Union Workhouse, Eastry civil parish, folio 113, page 8, Simon Cock; digital images, Ancestry.com Operations Inc, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 11 Oct 2017); citing PRO RG 9/539.

England and Wales, death certificate for Simon Cock, died 15 June 1861; citing 2a/416/451, Apr/May/Jun quarter 1861, Eastry registration district, Sandwich sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

Abraham Amos’ death certificate

Not long ago, I was listening to one of the many genealogy podcasts to which I subscribe (so many that I don’t recall which one brought me this welcome news!) when I learned that the General Register Office of the U.K. was running a pilot where one could order certificates to be delivered digitally in pdf form at a reduced price. That is, instead of the regular price of £9.25, a pdf costs only £6. Taking into account exchange rates, that is a difference of more than $4. So naturally I rushed to take advantage of this potentially limited time offer.

Having once before ordered a certificate through the GRO, which came through the mail, the time in which this pdf arrived seemed exceedingly short. I had ordered the death certificate of my 3great-grandfather Abraham Amos.



I must admit that at first glance I was a bit disappointed at the appearance of the certificate, which was missing the attractive pastel background and official seals of the paper certificate I had received in the past. But soon I remembered that I had ordered the certificate for information, not aesthetics. And information it did provide.

I learned that Abraham Amos had died on 2 April 1881 in Martin, East Langdon, Dover, Kent, of hemiplegia (from which he had suffered 14 years) and exhaustion. Not being much of a medical aficionado, I had to look up the word hemiplegia, which it turns out means paralysis of one side of the body, often as a result of a stroke. The certificate also records that he was a farm labourer, which must have been rather difficult without the use of one side of his body. No wonder he died of exhaustion!

His son Thomas was the informant.

Source:

England and Wales, death certificate for Abraham Amos, died 2 Apr 1881; citing 2a/515/434, Apr/May/Jun quarter 1881, Dover registration district, St. James sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.