Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree M)

Frederick John HOOKINS was born at the end of 1875 as far as I can ascertain because no trace has been found of his birth in the birth index. Even a search of the registers of the Registration District in which he was allegedly born have brought no clues, nor has there been any indication in those records that he may have been born to a child of the family with whom he as brought up.
The first record of Frederick I can find is when he was less than 4 years old and being admitted to the local school on 5 May 1879 in the name of HOOKINGS. He joined the school on the same day as his brother Henry, their address was given as Smallmoor near Brompton Regis in north west Somerset and their father was quoted as being William. Consequently the brothers can be linked as children to William and Charlotte (nee FARMER) as evidenced from Henry's birth certificate. The school admission register itself however causes confusion. Fred's date of birth is entered as 19 December 1875 having been altered from 20 December. Henry's birth date has also been changed from the correct date of 31 October 1873 to 29 Oct 1875 which is just 2 months before his brother Fred was born!!!!
In their first appearance in a Census in 1881 the brothers are with their parents and 2 other siblings at Higher Smallmoor where Fred's age of 6 would suggest a birth at the end of 1874! Further controversary arises in the 1891 Census when Fred is living with his parents and 1 sibling at Somerset Terrace in Treborough which is up towards Minehead and Fred is there described as William's grandson!! Fred's father William died in 1900 in South Wales and in the 1901 Census his widowed mother was living there with her daughter Lucy and her husband. Fred however was in Ibstock in Leicestershire, recorded as HOSKINS, living with the family of Joseph GRECOCK who is possibly a work colleague as Fred is recorded as a Railway Plate Layer.

St Peter & St Paul Church Bleadon

Just 5 months later Fred had married Emma
HART in the Parish Church at Bleadon and in 1904 their first son, Charlie, was born at The Globe Inn at Higbridge where Fred was now the publican and where he remained until at least 1922.

The Globe Inn  Highbridge

A second son , John William, was born in 1908 and Lucy Emma, again born at The Globe, followed in 1910. The whole family were still there in the 1911 Census, although Lucy Emma seems to have been recorded as Emily. There is also an indication that another child had been born and had died during their marriage. There are no HOOKINS births although several HART births occurred in that Registration District prior to the marriage and a James HART who was born and died in the December quarter of 1900 could be a possibility.

Emma was to die in 1922 in a Nursing Home in Highbridge aged just 44. Fred went on to be a publican at The Blue Boar (possibly the one now known as The Old Market in Bridgwater) and then The Podymore Inn in Ilchester which was formerly known as The Butchers Arms.

The Old Market Bridgwater

The Podymore Inn

The pub was renamed Pody (which is the Saxon name for frog as there used to be a Moor of frogs next to the pub). So whilst the village name was Podimore, the pub took the name Podymore.

Fred was at the Podymore in 1936 but, by 1939 he was living with Lucy at Church Street in Yeovil. He died in 1951 at Higher Odcombe near Yeovil and he is buried in the village churchyard.