Following on from my last post for the Reclaim Jane Challenge, writing about my 2 x Gt-grandmother, Jane; I found myself drawn to learning more about her first-born, Markham Ladley/Marshall (1847-1932). Until joining the Curious Descendants Club, I had mostly been interested in following my direct line back as far as I was able, without giving much consideration to the real lives and relationships of my ancestors, but that is no longer the case.
I have found that I am actually connected to Markham and Charlotte’s family twice over; Markham, my great-uncle (via my 2x great-grandmother) married Charlotte Brader at Hemingby in 18701, below is a transcript from the Banns being read2. Charlotte’s elder brother Thomas Brader (1842-1932) was my 2x great-grandfather, already married to Naomi Winter (1838-1867)3, and father to my great-grandmother Naomi Wells Brader (1865-1921)4 who later married Markham’s younger brother, my great-grandfather John Marshall (1867-1954)5.
Banns for the Marriage of Markham Marshall & Charlotte Bradervia Hemingby.net - transcribed by John Marwood
Realising how interconnected the families were, and that the cousins would have grown up within 20 miles of each other, I found myself wanting to learn more about Markham, Charlotte, their children, and the lives they will have led.
Whilst researching Jane's story I had found some intriguing newspaper articles from July 1923 relating to prizes Markham won at the Lincolnshire County Show, one for length of service (54 years)6 and one for the number of children he had raised (12)7.
Had I decided to leave my research there, I would have moved on from Markham and his wife Charlotte believing that they had simply been remarkable parents for the time, succeeding in raising a large family and somehow managing to avoid the sorrows and losses of other families around them. However, as my attention has now shifted to wanting to understand more about my ancestors’ personal history, I continued my research.
Whilst looking through the British Newspaper Archives I also found a Death Notice for Charlotte, in August of 19238, the month following the County show; it must have been a bittersweet time for him, initially pride in the life he and Charlotte had created together and then such sorrow when she passed away.
"MARSHALL - At Revesby, July 20th, 1923.
Charlotte, the dearly beloved wife of Markham Marshall, aged 72 years.
The Husband and Family wish to thank all friends and neighbours for kindness and sympathy shown to them in their sad bereavement and for flowers sent."
Transcription from Skegness Standard, 1st August 1923
Turning to the 1911 Census9, I noted that despite the award for having raised 12 children, and placed out 11, in the section regarding children born to their marriage, it recorded that 4 out of their 12 children had died; additionally, I discovered that one of Markham and Charlotte’s sons, John, had died during WW110; their lives had obviously not been sorrow-free after all. I felt a little deflated at that discovery, my remarkable Markham, whilst undoubtfully having exceeded the potential that his illegitimate birth might have given him, had not lived a life untouched by sadness, and alongside Charlotte, had experienced the loss of children after all.
Finding out details of John’s death in 1917 was relatively straightforward; the initial report I had seen had been via a short memorial by the Imperial War Museum and a report on A Street Near You, that listed John Marshall (1887-1917)11 and 12 as the son of Markham Marshall, had he been married, I may not have made the connection. The report also listed which regiment he had served with, The Lincolnshire Regiment, and I then turned to Forces War Records to search for more details. I discovered that he had been injured in 191413, and then following his return to duty was first reported missing before being confirmed as Killed in Action on 28th April 191714.
Whilst being both sad and fascinating, this discovery has again highlighted how easily our less remarkable ancestors can slip into the voids of history, and the reason that Natalie’s ‘Reclaim Jane’ challenge is so important in terms of gaining a true understanding of the lives of the ‘ordinary’ members of our family trees.
Surely the other Marshall children who had died in early adulthood were no less important to their family and yet it was nowhere near as easy to discover what had happened to them; I had to trawl through the various census records to see when they disappeared, cross-checking that against parish burials, FreeBMD.org and GRO.gov records. Even then, limited financial resources with which to purchase certificates mean we sometimes need to take a leap of faith to decide whether those death records are truly those of our ancestors, especially when they have common names.
I have so far unable to find any records for two of the children Harry Marshall (b1882) and Naomi Marshall (b1884) so cannot ascertain anything about their lives once they had left the family home. Of their siblings though I have found three young deaths:
Charlotte’s first born, Eliza (b1868) married a William Goodwin (1853-1898) in 188615, giving birth to a son, Ernest Edward Goodwin in 188716; sadly she passed away aged 20 the following year 188817, and Ernest died as an infant a year later18. I would like to know more of her short life, how she met her husband some 15 years older than her, whether her death was related to post-natal health or another illness, and how and why her young son Ernest died so shortly afterwards.
Another daughter, Mary Jane Marshall (b1873) was in service as a General Domestic Servant at Revesby Manor House in 189119, but sadly died in 189320 shortly before her 20th birthday.
Edith Marshall (b1880) sadly passed away aged 1121, and must be the one child whom Markham is shown not to have ‘placed’ into service.
Each of the sisters, Eliza, Mary Jane and Edith will have had an impact, not only on their families, but on the lives of those around them, and yet this is something the records do not usually show us. Obviously we should recognise those who have given their lives on the stage of war, such as their brother John (this feeling especially poignant today as I write this on the day that Russia have invaded the Ukraine) but surely this should not be at the cost of the memory of the many ordinary people who have lived and loved alongside them?
References
1. Markham Marshall and Charlotte Brader (1870) Enlgand Select Marriages 1538-1973 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021
2. Hemingby.net (2022) Register of the Banns of Marriage, Published in the Parish of Hemingby in the County of Lincoln 1825/1910, Transcribed by John Marwood for Hemingby PCC. Entry 141 Page 29 of 49 Available at https://hemingby.net/hemingby-banns-of-marriage-1825-to-1910/ accessed 15/02/2022
3. Thomas Brader and Naomi Winters (1864) Enlgand Select Marriages 1538-1973 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021
4. Naomi Wells Brader (1865) England and Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915, Horncastle Registration District Vol 7a Page 496 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 15/06/2021
5. Naomi Wells Brader (1890) England and Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 1837-1915, Horncastle Registration District Vol 7a Page 639 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 15/06/2021
6. Boston Guardian (1923) Long Service Records Saturday 28th July 1923 Available at British Newspaper Archives https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001888/19230728/022/0002 accessed 14/02/2022
7. Cornish Post and Mining News (1923) Farm and Garden, Prizes for Big Families, Saturday 28th July 1923, Available at British Newspaper Archives https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0004039/19230728/032/0002 accessed 14/02/2022
8. Skegness Standard (1923) Deaths, Wednesday 1st August 1923 Available at British Newspaper Archives https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0001935/19230801/148/0008 accessed 14/02/2022
9. Markham Marshall (1911) Census return for Wilksby and Revesby, Revesby Boston, Registration District 419, Sub-registration District Tattershall, Class RG14, Piece 19813, Via Ancestry.com accessed 14/02/2022
10. John Marshall (1917) UK Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914-1919, via Ancestry.com accessed 14/02/2022
11. Imperial War Museum (2021) Lives of the First World War, We Remember John Marshall, available at https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/2933044#remember accessed 16/02/2022
12. A Street Near You (2021) Lance Corporal John Marshall, available at https://astreetnearyou.org/person/780469/Lance-Corporal-John-Marshall 11.15 accessed 16/027/2022
13. War Office (1914) British Army daily reports (report dated 18/11/1917) Available at https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/13535305/private-j-marshall-british-army-lincolnshire-regiment/ accessed 16/02/2022
14. War Office (1917) British Army daily reports (report dated 28/04/1917) Available at https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/records/1725774/lance-corporal-john-marshall-british-army-lincolnshire-regiment/ accessed 16/02/2022
15. Eliza Brader (1886) England and Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 1837-1915, Horncastle Registration District Vol 7a Page 1143 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
16. Ernest Edward Goodwin (1887) England and Wales Civil Registration Birth Index 1837-1915, Spilsby Registration District Vol 7a Page 559 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
17. Eliza Goodwin (1888) England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915, Spilsby Registration District Vol 7a Page 325 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
18. Ernest Edward Goodwin (1889) England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915, Spilsby Registration District Vol 7a Page 365 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
19. Mary Jane Marshall (1891) Census return for Revesby, Revesby Boston, Registration District Horncastle, Sub-registration District Tattershall, Class RG14, Piece 2600, Folio 69, Via Ancestry.com accessed 14/02/2022
20. Mary Jane Marshall (1893) England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915, Horncastle Registration District Vol 7a Page 371 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
21. Edith Marshall (1891) England and Wales Civil Registration Death Index 1837-1915, Horncastle Registration District Vol 7a Page 321 Via Ancestry.com accessed on 16/02/2022
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