Frank Bryan HOOKINS (Tree Misc)

Frank Bryan HOOKINS was an isolated member on my Family Tree records. I had located a record of him as an acting Sub Lieutenant with the Fleet Air Arm in torpedo spotter reconnaissance in the 2nd World War. Thankfully the note I put about him in the blog has come to the attention of one of his few relatives and I am grateful to Jonathan for making contact and giving me more information and photographs.



Frank's aircraft was lost in June 1940 when it was operating from a Dutch airbase. Frank was only 20 and was buried in Holland. His sister and only sibling was due to be married just weeks after his death. I am delighted to have a photo of Frank in his Fleet Air Arm uniform.











His sister's wedding went ahead in the uncertainties surrounding them during wartime and I have also been given a copy of their wedding photograph which appears here.











From the initial record of Frank I have now details of their family unit which has led me to the 1911 Census after his parents had married in 1910. His father Frank Woollatt HOOKINS was born in 1883 in Sheffield and worked for only one employer throughout his life. He was with S & J Watts of Manchester which was a very large haberdasher and linens wholesaler where he eventually rose to their buyer in the Manchester warehouse. Before that he had been a Commercial Traveller with the firm which is presumably how son Frank came to be born in Northern Ireland. I am now proceeding to obtain his birth certificate to ensure that other members can be added to this small Family Tree or maybe can be added to one of my existing Trees. Thank you Jonathan for the copy of the photograph of his grandfather as well as each of the others and it is good to be touch with a descendant.

Poppy HOOKINS (Tree M)

An unbelievable addendum to the story of the discovered air-raid shelter.
George McCleish was the person who took the photographs and he had a son who was born just a months or so ago called Archie. I have just been informed that Archie's Mum is in fact one of the Plymouth HOOKINS'.

Poppy Hookins (Tree M)

 I reported some time ago about the sad occasion during World War II when newlyweds Ted HEMPKINS and Polly (Pauline Madge Louvaine nee HOOKINS) just 2 or 3 days after their wedding in 1941 took cover in an air raid shelter during a raid on Plymouth. They chose or ended up in a shelter apart from the rest of the family but whilst the rest of the family re-emerged from their shelter after the raid Ted and Polly's shelter took a direct hit and both were killed.
I am indebted to William Cuthbert a current relative by marriage of the Plymouth HOOKINS' who has informed me that the public shelters in Plymouth were filled in but that last month one of these was uncovered virtually intact in the grounds of what is now Plymouth University. The location of this shelter is adjacent to the one which took the direct hit (because that is well documented) but a member of the family is pretty certain that the location is that of the shelter he occupied as a young lad in the raid which killed his sister Poppy and her husband.
I am also indebted to George McCleish who was one of the workmen involved with the discovery of the shelter because he captured these images of the shelter so that we can retain this pictorial record to supplement this story.
It is sad that Plymouth City Council and the University have decided to fill this preserved shelter with concrete rather than save it as evidence of the city's past sacrifice and commitment to and involvement in the war effort.
As William has indicated, when you look at the pictures, you can imagine that the direct hit would have given Ted and Poppy no chance at all and would have brought shudders to those in this nearby shelter. However these pictures are significant because without them I would probably be not communicating with any HOOKINS folk in Plymouth or those linked to them by marriage like William.

Where have the Hookins Families lived?

I've recently completed an exercise going through all the records of families I hold to document separately where the Hookins families have lived throughout the years covered. In total they were found to be inevidence in 35 different counties in addition to London. The biggest number of instances were found to be in London where I have 139 different addresses with the most popular areas being Chelsea followed by Islington.
After that the largest gatherings are in Devon (66), dominated by Exeter and Plymouth, followed by Somerset (51), in no fewer than 28 different towns and villages, and Surrey (46), mostly in Mitcham.
If these addresses had been historical I would have posted them separately on the blog but as some are currently still occupied by Hookins folk I cannot make this publicly available. It is however the ideal tool for me to use to perhaps back up the written evidence with photos of buildings occupied by the Hookins' of the past which I could add as time goes on.

Tree 2W - Number of Trees Reduced by One More

Additional people have been located to add to Tree 2W but finding them has confirmed that the suname in the case of this family is actually HOOKINGS. Tree 2W has therefore been deleted from the list of Trees and all the records have been transferred to the Miscellaneous Tree records.

Tree 2I transferred to 2L

Tree 2I has now been deleted from the list of Family Trees as it has been amalgamated into Tree 2L. The new Tree 2L has now been updated on the blog.

Another Tree Amalgamation

The number of Trees being worked on has just been reduced again by the amalgamation of former Tree 2R into Tree D. This takes the current number of Trees down to 27.
Tree 2R will however remain in the Family Tree link until the next update takes place.

Tree Updates

All Trees have been updated as at 1st December to reflect my records at that date. The current number of Trees produced is 28 although 2 more are in the process of being deleted as they are amalgamated with other Trees. Current number of individuals is 1654 and records are currently being updated in connection with various Census returns and the US Census of 1940.

Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree A)

Frederick John HOOKINS was my grandfather. As previously mentioned in the blog posts he was a Wheelwright by trade. At some time however he began a business of building, decorating coupled with undertaking. This picture shows him dressed for a funeral and he obviously took great pride in performing this duty with the required dignity of such a role. I remember stories of him going to his work using a handcart as it was long before his firm was able to make use of any motorised transport. He took 2 of his sons into the business. One of these was Bill (William John) who was a carpenter and the other was my father, Fred (Frederick Charles) who was a decorator but also later became involved with the undertaking side of the business. When their father died Bill and Fred continued with the business. Bill seemed to have an aptitude for the business side of the firm as well as his skills in the work required of the firm. There was often a coffin being made in their workshop and I remember and loved the smell of the wood shavings as the finished article took shape. The firm was well respected in the local area and my father rarely completed an uninterrupted week's holiday in our usual destination of Weymouth before being called back for a funeral which he never refused to do. It was inconvenient but very good to know that the families didn't want to entrust their loved ones with anyone else.

Willie, Henry & Walter HOOKINS (Tree A)

Willie (left), Henry (right) and Walter (front) were all sons of William and Susan HOOKINS and brothers of my Grandfather Frederick John HOOKINS. The three brothers were all enlisted in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars for the 1st World War. Two other brothers served in the Army Service Corps (Samuel) and as a Bombardier in the Royal Field Artillery (Charlie).

Children of Frederick John & Emma Selina HOOKINS (Tree A)

Fred and Emma HOOKINS produced 6 children born between the middle of 1906 and the beginning of 1920. Their youngest was Jesse and his exlusion from this photograph either means he had not yet been born or was considered too young to be included. Consequently the dating of this photograph is either 1920 itself or perhaps more likely a few years later in that decade. A date of 1922 would make young Bert on the front left 4 years old, my father Fred (front right) aged 8, Daisy (middle left) aged 12, Bill (middle right) aged 14 and Grace at the back aged 16. These children eventually married with Fred and Daisy both staying in the village in Somerset where their parents lived. Grace moved to Swindon, Bert to Devon and Bill into Bath although later returning to the same village as Daisy and Fred. Incidentally Fred and Emma lived in a house for a large part of their lives called "Dilkusha" which apparently is a Hindi word meaning "Peace in the Heart" but who named the house I don't know.

1871 Census

I have now completed my check through the 1871 Census noting all the references for HOOKINS of which there were 120 which is the sort of number usually found in the different Census returns. In addition there were another 80 with the HOOKINGS name some of which seem to have been transcribed incorrectly by the enumerator as they refer to people on the HOOKINS Trees. Others indexed under the name of HOOKINS seem to be HOSKINS - there are 11 of these some of which I have been able to check back to previous records to prove as incorrect.
Elizabeth, James, John, Sarah and William feature perhaps more than others.
Now I will start the process of recording each one so that I can show where each was living at Census time and then to establish who wasn't there who perhaps should have been. In doing this in another Census I found one indexed as ROOKINS - only one letter different but a mile away on the index!

Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree A)

My grandfather Frederick John HOOKINS was apprenticed to James WENSLEY as a Wheelwright and Carpenter by the above Indenture.
James lived in the village of Mark on the main road leading through the village called Blackford Road in the 1901 Census with his wife and 5 children although as his eldest son was only 8 years younger than James' wife I guess this was James' 2nd or subsequent marriage. On that Census his property was listed next to the entries for the Parish Church and Post Office. The current Post Office is situated directly opposite the Church so it doesn't seem to have moved far if at all since 1901. James was born in Brompton Ralph which is interestingly where Fred's ancestors had lived with his great-great grandfather Robert having been born there about 100 years prior to this Census.
Fred, as an 18 year old minor, needed his father William's permission to enter into this apprenticeship and William is seen to be a party to this document with various obligations to fulfill. Fred, you will see, was paid the princely sum of ten shillings per week for the first year of his apprenticeship which increased to fifteen shillings for his second and final year. His working day is stipulated as ten and a half hours and he has to work 6 days each week - I wonder how the youth of today would feel about that!!!! He was due to start on 1st June although the Indenture was not signed until 3rd August so possibly he was being tried out during the interim period.
Elsewhere on the blog is a picture of Fred outside a workshop bearing his name as a Wheelwright so he obviously made the grade and enabled him to maintain a family as he was married just 5 years later.

1851 Census

I have now completed the copying of the relevant 69 pages for suggested HOOKINS names mentioned in the 1851 Census. Pages copied included 177 people with the HOOKINS name whilst another 8 look as though they are HOSKINS. 91 others have the HOOKINGS surname although many are already in my records so are likely to be HOOKINS and 2 others appear to be HOOKING. I will find out more as I begin to add the details of the Census pages to the individual records of each person as I can carry out more checks on what the surname should be and establish those who do not seem to have appeared but should be there.

New Slide Shows on Family Photographs Tab

Grateful thanks to my West Africa based IT Consultant (daughter Sharon) who has provided a marvellous addition to the blogsite. A number of photos accompany the various articles written since the website began and these have now been added ...

as slide shows for each Family Tree so all of the photos are together for my own Tree A and all the others. So if you are linked to a particular Tree you can just click on Family Photos and select your Tree to view all the pictures relating to it. Brilliant!

Some Hookins Interlopers Identified

In my Hookins Family History records there are 126 family units and a total of 553 individuals who don't belong to a particular Tree because I haven't located a link. I have completed a check of all of these Miscellaneous families and by reference to Census and birth, marriage and death details I have been able to identify quite a few as other names like HOSKINS where poor writing by the person who completed the transcribing for the Census or other record has been continued into other records. So I've found more than 100 who could not be confirmed as HOOKINS although it is quite possibe that some of the HOOKINGS could be as it's a mistranscription which often occurs. Part of the probem of Family History is that all original records are created by humans whom we thank for their help in transcription but these are always open to that dreaded "human error" which affects us all.

Names the Hookins Family have links with

Hookins Family Trees don't contain people who have always been or who will necessarily always be Hookins. Some people are very fortunate to marry into the family!!! Others have adopted the name and still others get married - like my 2 daughters - and take on another name. But all of those people in my records - more than 1630 - are linked to the name past, present or future and this will contimue to evolve. Needless to say therefore that it isn't just people who currently hold the Hookins name who can provide useful information about the Hookins Family History. My most recent new contact who was very helpful in this respect married a Hookins lady and lives in Canada where there are others still holding the Hookins name or have descended from a Hookins.
So these other names are important to help understand how all the Hookins people fit together and are a very help source of knowledge. I have recently been through my records and have compiled a list of surnames with which we have or are connected and they total 457 although some are duplicated and I am going to upload this to the blog and keep it updated so that people other than the current Hookins may also be aware of this and maybe share information which will be mutually beneficial.

Trees Updated

All the Family Trees according to my records as at 7th August 2012 have now been updated and an up to date list of the "miscellaneous members" not linked to specific Trees has been included.
It should be noted that after communications with Jim in America two Trees are being amalgamated. I am in the process of transferring data from Tree 2S to Tree I after which Tree 2S will be deleted.
The up to date Trees incorporate some of the additional information I have obtained during the year so far from the various Census returns I have been going through. This task is still proceeding and the next update will hopefully include all of these changes.

No Post Since March - What have I been doing?

Well...........I have been busy making the most of an annual subscription I took out with a Family History site where I can access information and indices without having to pay each time. It has given me much more freedom to check things out rather than to use up precious purchased units.
So I have been checking out the Census records for all Hookins and Hookings entries for 1841, 1951, 1871 and 1911. This involves finding them all, taking a print of the page, indexing them, identifying which families they belong to (sometimes checking other records and finding that they are Hoskins thanks to the writing of the Census enumerator!), recording on individual records and then trying to find out why some people are missing (maybe indexed by the Family History site under a completely different name like Kookins thanks to handwriting or mis-transcribing). So I am at various stages with each of those.
I have also recently been able to check all the Hookins/Hookings births from 1837-2006 with their GRO references - I had many of them but it needed completing. Then I'll move on to the marriages and deaths which are not so complete.
Different surnames crop up from time to time which I know I have come across before linked to a family tree member so to help myself locate them I have started to pull together an index of all those names - I'm about halfway through my 400 odd families now as I log maiden/other surnames. Quite a list - it's amazing how many different surnames the Hookins clan have become involved with over the years.
Access to the Family History site records also enables me to check some of the family records I have where they do not appear to be connected to any other family and working through these with the help of that website has identified that some had surnames which were definitely not Hookins so I have been able to note their records to that effect.
So new people are being found all the time - we are up to 1627 now - and I will soon be uploading up to date versions of all of the Trees which will include all the additional information I have discovered.
So although I've been quiet I have still been beavering away with the research.

Frances Louisa HOOKINS (Tree T)

Frances is significant for the fact that she is the 1600th name to be added to my Family Tree database. Her parents were John HOOKIN(G)S and Amelia (nee FINCH). John seems to have been registered in the name of HOOKINGS as was their marriage in Salperton Parish Church in December 1874 when John was a Servant but later he became a Coachman Domestic Servant and later still a Domestic Gardener. Frances Louisa was their firstborn being born at the beginning of 1875 in the name of HOOKINS but has not previously appeared on my records of the family as she was not with the family in the 1891 Census. I do not appear to have found the family yet on the 1881 and 1901 Censuses but she did turn up with the family in 1911 when they lived at Trelawney Road in Brislington, Bristol. Her siblings were Edmund George born in 1877, Ellen Mary born in 1879 both born in the name of HOOKINGS, Desmond born in 1885 recorded it seems as HOOKINGS and HOOKINS but one may have been a correction, and Florence Beatrice born 1890 as HOOKINS. In 1911 Florence was a Parlour Maid to the family of a retired Vinegar Maker in Clifton, Bristol as HOOKINS. Ellen Mary was in Queens Gate in London as Housemaid to the family of a Barrister as HOSKINS. I may have to follow some of the lines on to the next generation to find out which name they actually all ended up with but I am glad that the 1911 Census enabled me to restore Frances to her rightful place in the family.

Transcriptions

Numerous transcriptions abound prepared by devoted people to help others find relatives lurking in past records but be very wary about relying on them without reference to original sources. I am currently benefiting from an annual subscription to Find My Past which enables me to constantly refer to original records to see where transcribers have strayed by giving us HOOKINS people we shouldn't have and depriving us of those who are rightly "ours".
I have just altered all my records for the family of a Caleb HOOKINS who was recorded as such as a widower with his 3 children in the 1891 Census on a transcription. Having now looked at the original Census page image on Find My Past I am inclined to transfer him and his family to the HOSKINS fraternity and a further check on the birth index for all 3 children reveals that they were all recorded as HOSKINS so he has been truly despatched to that clan.
Another plot by people to infiltrate our elite family has been foiled!

Caroline HOOKINS (Tree G)

This is a bit of a Caroline and George HOOKINS run around. Having just almost tied myself in knots with Carolines and Georges I'll attempt not to lose you in the explanation. It all started with Caroline HOOKINS born in 1831/2 judging by the 1881 Census but that varies it seems at each Census or record I found! She had an illegitimate child called George at the Union Workhouse in Mitcham in 1853 - although when George got married he gave his father's name as George (but more of that in a moment). George then proceeded in 1874 to marry someone else called Caroline (nee TRASH and whose father was George TRASH) who had been born in Cove Hampshire and they had at least 11 children one of who was a George but it seems no Caroline. 3 years before her marriage this Caroline (TRASH) had been a Nurse Maid at the Dog & Fox Hotel in Wimbledon. George died in 1903 and his wife in 1925.
George's mother Caroline had married John COLLINS in 1863 at Streatham but as this was 10 years after young George's birth he is unlikely to have been the father. Although I haven't prove it I assume that John COLLINS died because in 1873 (1 year before son George's marriage)Caroline COLLINS married George TRASH the father of her daughter-in-law so as George TRASH therefore became young George's step father I guess may have used his name on his marriage certificate rather than leave it blank - He id call him Hookins though! In the 1881 Census both families are living in Bath Road - a common address for Mitcham Hookins' - next door to each other and George TRASH and his wife had George's 2 children living with them.
There we are - wasn't that fun?!!!!!

Albert Henry HOOKINS (Tree G)

Albert Henry HOOKINS was born in 1885 in Mitcham. He enlisted at Kingston-upon-Thames and joined the first Batallion East Surrey Regiment as Private No. 6353. He was despatched to the Somme in the First World War and it was there that he died on 28th July 1916. Thanks to Steve who tells me that he visited the area in which Albert died and discovered that about 70 of Albert's colleagues died with him that day at Longevalle/Delville Wood. Steve took these 2 photos of the Thieval Memorial and the inscription which is included and which relates directly to Albert. Our grateful thanks to Albert and his mates for the scrifice they made that day. I am hoping that Steve with his Dad's help will be able to prove their link to Albert because that will enable me to join 2 Trees together and will change the Tree Steve is on from a 6-page to a 20-page Tree.

Alfred John & Alice HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

This is post number 100 on the Hookinslinks blog and features Alfred John HOOKINS who appeared in the previous posting as a child. He grew up to be a soldier and is pictured displaying his Corporal stripes with his wife Alice. Alfred served in both the Boer War and the 1st World War. I am again indebted to Eric for this picture.

William & Sarah HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

I put some posts on the blog back in June and July about William HOOKINS who was in the Crimean War, later a Prison Guard and later still a Chelsea Pensioner. I am indebted to Eric who has sent me another picture of William taken with his wife Sarah, son Alfred John and niece Lizzie. Apparently Sarah's brother George married William's sister Mary-Ann so there were 2 weddings between the families. Judging by Alfred this picture will have been taken towards the end of the 1870s so it's great to have it and to make it available to a wider viewing audience. Many thanks Eric.

HOOKINS in the 1911 Census

I have just finished indexing the 1911 Census and of the 262 people transcribed on the Census website as HOOKINS I have found 26 who are HOOKINGS and 44 who appear to be HOSKINS. All of these are found in 81 different family units. Most of the HOSKINS names would not appear to be people connected to the HOOKINS name but some of the HOOKINGS people may well be just spelt incorrectly as I think some of them do fit in. So the total number of HOOKINS accounted for is going to lie somewhere between 192 and 218 which compares well with the number I put as an estimate of those currently holding the name. The good news therefore is that we are between us keeping the name going. Having fathered two daughters I realise that I am not properly pulling my weight so thanks to those of you who have contributed to the male line and therefore the continuance of the name.

How Popular Are We?

Having printed off all th Census pages for 1911 where a HOOKINS (and some labelled as HOOKINS but probably not because of 1911 handwriting and 2011 readers!) appears and I am now indexing those before adding details gleaned to the individual records. I have also started indexing the web page and other prints I have for births, baptisms, banns, marriages, deaths and burials so it is easier for reference purposes and also avoiding duplication.
I have come across some new sites to glean information and I have just established that there are about 280 people in England & Wales who currently hold the HOOKINS name. Eventually I will have indexed some of the Censuses and will be able to see if we are expanding as a name or gradually leaving the human race!
In answer to the question "How Popular Are We" it seems that we hold =17023rd place in England & Wales but there are over 270,000 different surnames so in that case we are pretty popular.
You may also be interested to know that there are 2038 people called CHRISTMAS, 40 SANTAs, 323 RUDOLPHs, 7 NEWYEARs, 678 HOLLYs, 5947 SNOWs, 1556 SNOWBALLs, 38 SNOWMANs (SNOWMEN?) and 18,440 WINTERs in England and Wales.There are also 27 DASHERs, 1104 DANCERs, 307 PRANCEs (no PRANCERs), 89 VICKERSONs (no VIXEN), 9 COMETs, 77 CUPIDs, 380 DONNERs and 82 BLITZ (but no BLITZEN).

Naomi Agnes Constance HOOKINS (Tree A)

A couple of posts ago I featured the discharge of Henry James HOOKINS and mentioned that Henry's wife Naomi died during the 2nd World War. This is the announcement of her death in the local paper and the verse chosen to celebrate her life.

This newspaper cutting indicates that her funeral took place at the Bristol Road Cemetery in Bridgwater and that at that time her only son Bill (William E HOOKINS) was serving in the RAF in the Middle East. It also lists her involvement with the WVS, as a collector for the Red Cross and as a Group Secretary of war savings for her immediate area as well as being a member of a working party for St John's Parish.

The list of mourners included F HOOKINS (Frederick John - my grandfather) who was a brother of Naomi's husband Henry (known as Harry). Fred is also listed with his wife Em (Emma Selina) amongst those providing floral tributes along with Alice (sister of Henry) and her husband Joe.

Long Time No See is Really Not Good

Whilst it's good to keep in touch with everyone having and interested in the Hookins name, because of the numbers involved this gradually changed over the years from regular letters to letters more infrequently and latterly the good old Christmas "round-robin" newsletter. I've used this method with one particular person on my family tree who about 15 years ago provided me with a load of information which virtually doubled my records of our family tree overnight. So we have remained in touch but yesterday he actually knocked on my door as he was in the area and it was so good to seem him and his wife and it made me realise that this sort of contact is so much better than the annual newsletter. The way he found me in this town of 30000 people also shows it was meant to be. He just went into the Tourist Information office and asked if they knew where my road was whereupon someone piped up "I know someone who lives at No 6". My distant relation looked at his notes and replied "Not Bob Hookins?" to which the lady replied "Yes". Unfortunately my wife and I cannot match the description of the lady with anyone we know who might know our exact address and I should point out that you shouldn't bank on this approach when you visit Barnstaple - I really am not that notorious. I hope that I can find out who it is soon so that I can explain this mysterious blonde to my wife!!! But it was really great to see you B & M and hope you don't mind if you get to see us again if we're in your area.

Henry James HOOKINS (Tree A)

No 40220 Private Henry HOOKINS was born at the beginning of October 1893 and was baptised at the end of that month in the Parish Church in Pawlett near Bridgwater. He was the son of William and Susan HOOKINS who have featured previously in the blog postings. Henry was the first volunteer in his Parish at the outbreak of World War I. He was disabled during the war and this is a copy of his honourable discharge dated 1917. He married Naomi Agnes Constance KING in June 1920 at St James Church in Bridgwater and their only child was born the following year. Naomi died during the 2nd World War and Henry married Gwendoline Evelyn GILLINGHAM who had also been fairly recently widowed and another son was born to them. Henry died just after Christmas in 1977.

Milestones Passed

I have just taken the number of individual records I hold for HOOKINS/HOOKINGS members passed the 1550 mark and the number of family units has now reached 400. The 400th family are William and Joane HOOKINS whose daughter Joane was baptised at St Michael's Church in Milverton Somerset on 21st October 1726. She later married a William OWEN at the same church on Boxing Day 1750.
I am gradually working my way through some web page prints for baptisms, marriages and burials of HOOKINS/HOOKINGS folk in Milverton as ther were a few around there in the 1700s.

People Dismissed from My Family Tree (A)

No - there's nothing sinister here, no misdemeanours which have caused their removal! I've just started going through my family sheets and looking at some of the families who are not linked to a particular Tree to find out if there is any way of finding them a proper home in the Tree where they belong. There are more than 500 people included in this category - almost one-third of the records I hold. Hopefully then some at least can be repatriated if I can gather enough clues.
My first challenge relates to James and Ann HOOKIN(G)S both born at the end of the 1700s. I have now located from an on-line site the baptisms record of both James and Ann (nee LYDDON) and a record of their marriage in 1826 in Brompton Ralph which links them to a family in my Tree living there at the time. There is a James in that family - great - but I find that he seems to be married to a Sarah (nee HALE) - not great! But everything seems to fit into place for the new James so where did I get the HALE marriage from? I delve back to 1990 when I was given a huge amount of information which virtually doubled the records for my Tree and the detail was provided then by the father of my contact for all that information. I am not however able to find any record to verify it. What my contact did tell me was that "his" James was an ancestor of someone called HAWKINS! I can find no record of the HOOKINS/HALE marriage several acceptable links for James and Ann not least that the name LYDDON appears several times in my Tree as a second Christian name. So HOOKINS/HALE have been ejected from Tree A and replaced by the HOOKINS/LYDDON partnership. Their wedding witnesses were William HOOKINS (Father of groom?) and Ann LYDDON (Mother of bride). The bride's mother was living with the couple in the 1851 Census as a 90 year old widow but by the time of the 1861 Census James was a widower. So 2 people removed from my records - new number of individual records held 1538 - and one family removed - new number of families 397. Where will the next challenge take me?

Richard Southey HOOKINS (Tree 3Q)

I posted some information about Richard Southey HOOKINS on 15th August concerning his brief service in the Australian Navy Reserve. Another wonderful surprise has happened following that posting and I am greatly indebted to Susan from Sydney Australia who has made a fantastic addition to that posting including a photograph of Richard. The record with the photograph also provides more information to indicate that he was serving on HMAS Australia Leyte Gulf in the Philippines when the ship was hit by a Japanese suicide plane on 22nd October 1943. Six officers and 23 ratings were killed and her Commanding Officer Captain E F V Dechaineaux DSC later died of wounds. Richard was among the wounded and died the following day. He was just 18 years old and he was buried at sea. A tragic end to this young life and we honour his memory and his sacrifice. Thank you so much Susan for locating and providing this information.

John & Sarah HOOKINS (Tree R)

John HOOKINS married Sarah HAYES at Brompton Ralph Parish Church on 1st May 1828. John had been born in Brompton Ralph in 1799/1800 and Sarah at nearby Stogumber in 1802/3. John was a Cordwainer (see previous posting re explanation) and later was classed as a Master Shoemaker. They are known to have had 5 children. Their first two children were born at Burton, Brompton Ralph, the next at Pitsford Hill, Brompton Ralph and the last two were born in Parks Cottage, Brompton Ralph, pictures of which appear above. John and Sarah were buried at Brompton Ralph on the same day in 1860 so their death certificates could give more information about what happened to them. It is very likely that John, and therefore the whole of his Tree, is connected to my own Tree as they were in Brompton Ralph at the same time but I have yet to trace the exact confirmation of his connection to the family of his parents and siblings - unfortunately sometimes suspicion is just not enough!!

Family History Surprises

It really is always surprising when you experience a Family History surprise. I've been going along with my searching and linking of families for over 30 years now but quite regularly I get these surprises which give extra information or documents which provide further insight into members of the Hookins family. The latest surprise was a visit from Debbie who is on the same Family Tree as me and had been given a number of photographs none of which were marked to indicate the subjects involved. I have now accumulated records of over 1500 Hookins people and acquired quite a number of photographs which I have been gradually sharing on this blog so I was quietly confident of being able to identify some of these. That illusion was shattered however when I looked through them and was able to identify 2 people who appeared in one of the photographs!! So - what do I know after all these years?!! Debbie was able to tell me where her father appeared but we are still left with 14 prints involving a number of people unkown to us so I have set about the task of sending them to people in our Family Tree who might just have been around at the same time as these people and/or may have seen pictures of them to identify some. Debbie's father was a William Ewart HOOKINS son of Henry James HOOKINS and it is probably Henry's siblings (there were 10 of them!!) or people of his generation whom we are looking at. Those siblings were Frederick John (my grandfather), Samuel, Ada Jane (married name RODBER), Alice (married name ROBERTS), Jesse (died at age 6), Walter, Charles, William, Nellie and Elizabeth (died at age 12). If anyone has knowledge of the families of any of these or of contact with them I would be delighted to hear from them. In the meantime I will continue to contact those I have come to know over the years to try and help solve this mystery. One thing with these surprises is that it normally involves a bit of work to solve mysteries or to catalogue changes but it's enjoyable all the same and such contact is very welcome. So thanks to Debbie - it was good to meet up again and I hope to get some answers for both of us. And here are the pictures.

Richard Southey HOOKINS (Tree 3Q)

Richard Southey HOOKINS was born in Elsternwick, Victoria, Australia just after Christmas in 1925. He was the only son in a family of 4 children to Spencer Southey HOOKINS and his wife Alma Vera (nee TURNER). Richard's grandfather Sidney Southey HOOKINS was born in Exeter but went out to Australia in 1867 and 13 years later married Fanny BLACKBURN. Richard was an Insurance Clerk but joined the Royal Australian Naval Reserve in 1943 as an Ordinary Seaman serving on a few ships. He was described as being 5ft 7 inches tall with brown hair and hazel eyes on the attached Naval record. Unfortunately he was badly burned and died as a result of the wounds received on 21st October 1944. His mother's details are included on his record and another page indicates that she was awarded a pension of £2.10s per fortnight from the following month.

Alice and Sarah Muriel M HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

This is the final picture I have of the familyof Alfred John & Alice HOOKINS and shows Alice and her daughter Sarah Muriel M. Alice was born in 1876 in Bermondsey and married Alfred in 1898. Alice died around 1972. Sarah Muriel M. was known as Muriel and was born in 1900, the eldest of the surviving children. She married Harry Edward JOHNSON with whom I believe she had 2 children. Muriel died around 1980.

Arthur Timothy HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

Another child of Alfred HOOKINS and his wife Alice (nee LONGWORTH) was Arthur Timothy the youngest apart from his sister Gertrude. He was known as Tim and was born in 1917 in Greenwich like the remainder of his siblings. He married Winifred Rose SMITH in 1945 in Lambeth and they had a son and daughter born to them. Tim died in 1999 and his wife 3 years later.

"Detached" HOOKINS/HOOKINGS

I have now accumulated 1534 different HOOKINS/HOOKINGS names past and present which seems a lot but is I understand quite small fry in Family History terms. I have just added the 500th Miscellaneous member - those individual records I have located for people who might have a spouse or be part of a single family but who are not joined to any particular Tree. Often the information I have about them is so limited that they can't be linked to anyone else with any certainty but it will be a project for me to work on in the future to see if I can find a home for them. They must belong somewhere!

Gertrude HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

There are only 2 ladies in my Hookins records who have had the name Gertrude. This Gertrude is the one missing from the photo of the last posting for the family of Alfred and Alice HOOKINS as she was not born until 1920 the youngest of 9 children. I understand that she was also known as "Fred" as she hated her name. There is a story that when she was to be born her parents put different names into a hat and one of the brothers thought it would be funny to put in Gertrude and that was the name pulled out! I have been informed that she married Arthur OUGHAM thought to have been in 1954 in Ealing. She is pictured here in a photo thought to have been taken in 1983 with her grandson Bradley SCOTT who now lives in Australia and with whom I am in contact. If that year is incorrect he will let us know as I do not wish to make any comment about his potential age from more recent pictures I have seen!! Best wishes Brad!

Alfred John HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

Alfred John HOOKINS married Alice LONGWORTH in October 1898 at St Alfege Church in Greenwich. Alfred was a Flour Miller's Warehouseman and suffered serious accident when a large bag of flour fell on his head. He served as a driver in the Army Service Corps in the Corps of Waggoners in South Africa under Baden Powell having joined the Army at an early age. Between 1898 and 1917 Alice bore 10 children. By the time of the above photograph which is thought to be around 1915 their firstborn, Alice, had died before her first birthday and for some reason Gertrude (5) and William (6) are not included whilst Arthur Timothy had not yet been born. The other children enjoyed much longer lifetimes and the remaining 4 daughters all married. Those in the picture are thought to be from left to right John, Alfred, Alice (mother) Sarah Muriel, Henry George, Alfred John (father), Elizabeth and Mary. Alfred John died at the age of 71 in 1942 whilst Alice was 96 at her death in 1972.

William HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

This is the another picture featuring William HOOKINS much later than on the last blog posting. His wife Sarah is seated beside him and alongside him is Lizzie SMITH (Sarah's maiden name) a niece of William and Sarah. The boy seated playing with his toy boat is said to be Alfred John the youngest of the children of William and Sarah. This suggests that the picture was taken in the late 1870s so William would have been aged just over 50, Sarah being 5 years younger.












This certificate is from the Royal Hospital at Chelsea which indicates that William was no. 9500 in the Chelsea pensioner ranks
as a result of which he was granted a pension of 4d per day. The letter I have a copy of in William's own hand was addressed to the Governor of Portland Prison where William had worked as a guard. In this letter William was asking the Governor to write to the Chelsea Hospital with a character reference and points out that he has a wife and 2 children - the other 2 children had died by this time - and that Sarah has been "for many years afflicted" presumably with some illness. She died in 1891 of apoplexy.

William HOOKINS (Tree 3N)

William HOOKINS was born in 1826. I have a copy of a letter in William's own hand which was sent much later in his life in which he explains a little about his parents. His father William Thomas HOOKINS as a young man had apparently been a valet to Lord Palmerston but William indicates that he never really knew his father. William's mother Mary was brought up in a Foundling Hospital but sadly records of that institution appear to have been destroyed. He indicates however that she was a Lady's Maid to a Lady Wheatley of St James' Palace, Lady Blunt, Mrs Spicer of Esher Park nd Mrs Bosenquet of Broxbourne Park. William attended Westminster National School but it seems that his mother could not maintain him there for too long. In 1840 he obtained employment with a Mr Hinds in Tottenham Court Road who was a maker of Government sealing wax as an errand boy and was therefore able to support himself and also his mother as her health failed until her death in 1844 when William was only 18. The "new" postal system was then introduced which hit his role as an errand boy and so William states that he was "compelled" to join the Army to earn his living.

He became a Bombardier in the Royal Artillery and is pictured during his service in the Crimea. The copy of his discharge shown here indicates that he served for 9 years and 93 days of which 6 years and 8 months were spent abroad. Due to him being no longer fit for service following an injury sustained in the Crimea he was awarded an Army Pension of 7d (7 old pence) per day for 2 years. His character is described as "exemplary". He then joined the Prison Service at Portland where he served for another 23 years.

Adelbert HOOKINS (Tree I)

Adelbert HOOKINS was born in March 1881 and is the father of John Scott HOOKINS in the previous post. Adelbert was born in Oil City Pennsylvania one of 5 children of Isaac Frank HOOKINS and his wife Elizabeth Ann both of whom are said to have been born in England but that has not yet been proven. Neither is the fact that Elizabeth had been married prior to this marriage. Adelbert migrated to Kansas in the early 1900s to work for Prairie Oil & Gas Company which made the town of Independence its Headquarters from 1905. John Scott HOOKINS was born there in 1921 and Adelbert eventually died in the town in February 1950.

John Scott HOOKINS (Tree I)

John Scott HOOKINS (known as Scott) was born in 1921 in Independence Kansas the only son of Adelbert HOOKINS (not to be confused with his nephew Adelbert Mitchell HOOKINS) and Mary Irene (formerly SCOTT). The adjacent picture is said to have been taken in 1934 when Scott was approaching his 14th birthday but he looks quite mature for his age in his smart suit. Scott married and had one daughter and later went to live in Arkansas from where he wrote to me on a few occasions. He died in 2001.

Ardelle HOOKINS (Tree I)

Ardelle HOOKINS was a renowned flautist and in some articles is described as "the legendary Ardelle HOOKINS". She studied with George BARRERE - reputed to be the best flautist in the world at the time - when she was only 12 years old at the Chautauqua Institute. She was one of the youngest flautists in the world in 1931 and was considered too young to travel on her own so required a chaperone. She was a member of The Hookins Entertainers Deluxe with her father and brothers and performed lunch and dinner music at the Athenaeum Hotel in New York. Barrere insisted that she complete high school before entering the Institute of Musical Art so she auditioned for William Curtis at Kincaid at Curtis. She spent 6 years as the only woman in the Curtis wind department, graduating in 1934. Later she played in the Boston Women's Symphony under Ethel Leginska.
Ardelle was born in 1913 in Oil City Pennsylvania, one of 2 sisters and 3 brothers born to Frank and Mable HOOKINS. She married Arthur Donald BOWERS IN 1938 and they had 4 children. She was then known as Ardelle HOOKINS-BOWERS. Ardelle pre-
deceased her husband in 1995 in Mooretown New Jersey at the
age of 82 years.



Ardelle is pictured her with Georges BARRERE at the Athenaeum Hotel in 1925

Shoemakers, Cordwainers or Cobblers

So............. should they be called "shoemakers" or "cordwainers" or is that all "cobblers"?
Between the 16th and 18th Centuries shoemakers and cobblers were two completely separate trades. Cobblers were not permitted to make shoes or boots or even to work on the uppers of any shoes or boots. They were restricted to the repairs of soles and heels. Cordwainers used a special type of leather which I understand originated in Spain. Cordwainer boots were made for special purposes such as for when riding with hounds or with a military uniform or if paying a formal visit to "his lordship". Further on their careers some shoemakers and cordwainers also acquired the additional title of "Master Shoemaker (or Cordwainer)" or "Shoemaker ( or Cordwainer Master)". This denoted that they had served an apprenticeship and were also designated to be an employer. Some shoemakers and cordwainers (later Masters) appear in my Family Tree and lived in the North West Somerset area so the likelihood was that the cordwainer side of their activities was more to do with the area of hunting and less of the landed gentry although this could still have been an aspect of their work. I'm not sure if it paid that well as I see that one of them, having been a shoemaker etc all his life was suddenly living at the Carpenter's Arms in Brompton Ralph as a shoemaker and Innkeeper! - or perhaps he was one of those few males who can multi-task!!

Ruby Ivy Louisa HOOKINS (Tree G)

I am so sad to have to report the death of the oldest living HOOKINS family member. Ruby Ivy Louisa HOOKINS passed away on Tuesday of this last week aged 101 years. A lovely lady who had a good sense of humour and whose hearing, sight, mind and memory enabled her to communicate in engaging conversation. The card below was given to her at her 100 birthday celebration and shows a picture of her parents as well as her own baby picture following her birth in July 1909 in Ealing. She married Charles Francis HOOKINS (photo below) in September 1931 at St Mary's Church Ealing and I understand that the honeymoon was spent in Bournemouth and Hastings. A year later they bought the house which was to be theirs throughout their married life. Charlie spent his war service in Bermuda whilst Ruby provided accommodation for relatives. Thereafter they lived happily in their home until Charlie died at the age of 93 in 1999. My first contact with Ruby was in 2000 when she responded to a letter I had sent but by that time she was housebound. I was pleased to be able to visit her the day

after her 100th birthday which she spent at St Vincent's Nursing Home which was so wonderful in caring for her. They gave her a party which included a number of visitors and her room was bedecked with flowers and cards and presents to celebrate this milestone. Thank you Ruby for what you meant to so many people who came into contact with you. I will miss our contact with you which has latterly been through Mary who is a relative of mine who lived in the area and spent time in visiting with Ruby on a regular basis and who I know will also greatly miss this lovely lady.

Ernest James HOOKINS (Tree G)

Ernest James HOOKINS was born in August 1887 at 3 Bath Road Mitcham and Bath Road was to be the home of various HOOKINS families in the years to come. He was the 6th of 11 children of George and Caroline (nee TRASH) HOOKINS. The family lived in Bath Road at No.3 (1885), No.21 (1890), No.41 (1895) and No.6 (1900). The family was a little elusive in a couple of Census returns being found in 1881 as HOSKINS and in 1901 as HOOKIN with Caroline being recorded as Clara! Ernest married twice, firstly to Mary Ann (nee BULL) with whom he had 3 children. There is a record of an Ernest James as a Private in WW1 with the Army Service Corps. When his wife was only 38 she died leaving Ernest with a 6 year old son and 2 other children in their teens. He then married Sarah May (nee BROOKER) at St Mary's Walton on Thames with whom he had another son the following year. Ernest is recorded as a Packer in a Varnish Works at the time of his second marriage and later as a Factory Hand. His youngest son was however less than 2 when Ernest himself died leaving Sarah to presumably care for the still young family as she survived her husband by another 30 years before her death in 1966 at the age of 70. Ernest was buried in Church Road Cemetery.