Certificates

There is an abundance of information on birth, marriage and death certificates to aid research. I had a previous post which talked about Poppy who was married to Ted Hempkins for only 3 days before a bomb hit the shelter where they had taken cover although other family members had taken refuge in another shelter. Grateful thanks to William who has kindly sent me a copy of their marriage certificate which as well as the actual date of death has confirmed the correct spelling of Poppy's third forename and the occupation of her father at that time. It also tells me that Ted hailed form Liverpool.
After I noticed an entry on a burials index that I dind't have in my records I sent for the death certificate of Ida Hookins who died in South Wales. It turns out that she was only 4 months old when she died so wouldn't have found her way on to any census of the family. I was however able to place her in a family as it gives the parents' names and importantly the maiden name of the mother and as the family travelled between North West Somerset and South Wales it was good to be able to pinpoint her connection. One more person added to the database making the total number of individuals 1520.
I have been going through the 1911 Census and I am now just establishing if all the people that should be there are present and then trying to establish where they might be. They could be indexed as a slightly different name - a number of those claiming to be Hookins turn out to be more likely to be Hoskins or similar when the zoom is used on the monitor and it can work the other way around too.
Have had the chance to use Facebook on a few occasions to help clarify where people fit into the picture. Usually I am able to give quite a lot of information about whom I think the person is so that hopefully it will provide me with a response and that has helped me several times so it's good to use any tools we can to help with the research.

James and William HOOKINS (Tree T)

James and William HOOKINS were 2 of the 10 children of Henry and Maria HOOKINS who come from the same village in North West Somerset as my own family but I do not yet have evidence of their link to that family. In the 1861 Census James and William disappeared from the family unit which is not unusual because they were both Agricultural Labourers so it is quite likely that they could be at the place of their employment. However they did not seem to appear anywhere else. At that time they would have been 24 and 22 years old respectively. I have now located them on the passenger list of the Barque "Caucasian" (seemingly as emigrants) leaving Southampton on 10th Sep 1857 and arriving in Adelaide South Australia on 26th Dec 1857. About 200 people made the journey and unlike other journeys it is good to know that no deaths occurred on the voyage. I wonder what happened to them?

Frank Bryan HOOKINS (Misc Tree)

One of the miscellaneous names I have linked to no-one else is Frank Bryan HOOKINS whom I had found listed as an acting Sub Lieut with Royal Navy/ Royal Navy Voluntary Reserve based at HMS Peregrine (formerly Royal Navy Airstation at Ford in Sussex - now an open prison recently in the news concerning rioting by prisoners). Frank was in 826 Squadron of the Fleet Air Arm which was formed in March 1940 as torpedo spotter reconnaissance using the Fairey Albacore aircraft (as above). Aircraft was lost on 21 Jun 1940 when operating from De Kooy airbase Den Helder NL. Frank was acting sub Lieut and died in that operation aged just 20 along with acting Lieut James L M Bell and Naval AIrman 1st class Robert G Poole - all buried at Texel (Den Burg) cemetery - Frank Plot k Row 1 Grave 9. Not sure yet if Frank was British but no record can be found in the UK of his birth in 1919/20. So although I know something about his service life he still remains linked to no-one else.

Charles Frederick HOOKINS (Tree C)

This is one of the few pictures I have of anyone on Tree C. This one is of Charles Frederick HOOKINS known as Charlie. He was born in 1904 at the Globe Inn in Highbridge in Somerset where his father was licensee. Other siblings were also born there in 1908 and 1910. His father's records have become a little elusive because although he appears on different Censuses his birth record has never been located even to the extent of inspecting the birth register for the stated birth place unless his name was changed after birth but none of the births registered seem to be linked to other nown names. I even have a record of his entry into school but the information there does raise suspicions about his father's name. Charlie ran the Ship Inn in Frome when first married but later a farm called Sedgehill and on his death in 1980 was survived by his two sons and the widow of his second marriage but she has also now passed away. I am pleased to have been able to meet both of his sons and his second wife but none of them have so far been able to cast any light on grandfather Frederick John HOOKINS. I hope I can some day because I think there is a link between this Tree and Tree M which centres around Plymouth.

Jesse & Alice Mary HOOKINS (Tree A)

I am extremely grateful to Audrey who recently sent me some more photographs of her ancestors.
On the left is another picture of Jesse HOOKINS who left North Somerset for South Wales and has been featured before in this blog. Jesse married Alice Mary LANE who had been born in Fiddington in Somerset some 10 years after Jesse's birth. They are believed to have married in Bridgwater in 1900. Both are
buried in the churchyard at Llantwit Major a short distance from
their long-time home at Dimlands Lodge.

Also pictured is Henry James HOOKINS one of their sons and also the father of Audrey. He married Violet Mary JEREMIAH ON 11th April 1925 in Neath. Henry was a Railway Engine Driver - every boy's dream! - and died in 1956 at the age of just 54. His wife Violet outlived him by 41 years and died at the age of 92. Henry is pictured her outside the actual Dimlands House in the grounds of which Jesse and his family lived at Dimlands Lodge (previously featured).




Scanned or photocopies of photographs of Hookins ancestors are always welcome and can be added to the blog together with any other photos relevant to Hookins lives in the past although

those of people still alive would not be added without express permission from those involved. So if you come across any please send them through or send a message at the foot of the blog.

Susan HOOKINS (Tree A)

There have been previous posts concerning Susan and her husband William HOOKINS who lived at Pawlett in Somerset. Here we see Susan standing outside the family home. Whether the neighbours were intended to be included in the photograph is debatable but they were obviously interested in what was going on! Photograph possibly taken in the early 1900s.

Walter was one of Susan's sons born in 1887. He married Emma Gertrude HOLMES in 1922 and they lived in Yorkshire where together they ran The Daisy Hill Home.

Another of Susan's sons was Samuel born in 1881 in Huntspill in Somerset. He married Alice Lily PHELPS in Pawlett Village Church in 1909 when Walter (above) was one of the witnesses. Samuel was recorded as being a Gardener but he is pictured here on the right in what seems to be the uniform of the omnibus company of the day possibly as the driver. Is he posing with his ticket collector or is that another passenger to add to the ladies and child already on board. Are there any omnibus officianados out there?

Deceased On-Line

Have just finished working my way through a few pages of Hookins burials from www.deceasedonline.com which has enabled me to add some information to the records of some individuals where I can clearly identify the people. Where there is some doubt it has prompted me to place the death record on to my list of certificates to order just so that I can make sure of those involved and perhaps get some more information from the certificate as well. Interesting exercise though and just another example of the increasing availability of information on the web. It is important however not to rely solely on information gathered in this way because it is only as good as the person who gathered it together and should be substantiated from other original sources for every transcription done provides another opportunity for errors to be made. Original source material can't be beaten in this respect.

Henry James HOOKINS (Tree A)

Henry James HOOKINS was the son of William and Susan born in Pawlett Somerset in 1893. He served in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars but his occupation in 1943 is shown to be a Brickyard Labourer. Both his father and his uncle Walter worked at the brickworks thought to be in Puriton close to Bridgwater. The picture above shows some of the brickyard workers and Henry can be seen seated on the front row on the right.

Jesse HOOKINS (Tree A)

I have provided photographs of Jesse before but this is a lovely picture of the whole family possibly taken in the grounds of the house where Jesse was employed probably in the early 1920s. Jesse's wife Alice had died in 1915 at which stage Jesse was left with these 7 children aged then between 2 and 14 years. He seems to have done a good job in caring for them and bringing them up alone as well as fulfilling his duties to his employers.

William & Susan HOOKINS (Tree A)

William HOOKINS was born in Pawlett in 1857 and married Susan MASON at the Parish Church in that village on Christmas Day 1880. All of their children were born and baptised there and William and Susan were both eventually buried in the village churchyard as were some of their children. This picture of the village was taken in 1908 and was on the reverse side of a postcard sent by William's son Samuel to his cousin Beatrice who was born in 1887 in Cardiff where her father had migrated to from Somerset before 1881 and her married there in 1884. Unfortunately his wfe Alice died in 1891 it is thought during the birth of Beatrice's twin siblings' birth in 1891.

Jesse HOOKINS (Tree A)

Several previous posts have related to Jesse HOOKINS and his family and Jesse's move to South Wales to work as a coachman for the Crawshay family based in Llantwit Major at Dimlands House. The picture below shows the road entrance to the Lodge where Jesse lived as well as the entrance to the estate. The top picture shows an advertisement which appeared in

recent years when the Lodge came up for sale. This highlights the prime location of their home with views over the Bristol Channel and the accommodation even boasted an en-suite bathroom at the time of sale - surely not a luxury which Jesse would have enjoyed. It is good to know though that the dwelling where Jesse made his home with his family still remains standing even if, as I understand it, the rest of the estate has been turned into housing.

Samuel HOOKINS (Tree A)

This I know is a picture of a Samuel HOOKINS and I believe him tp be the Samuel who was a son of William who has been referred to on a number of other posts. Samuel was born in Huntspill on Boxing Day of 1881 and at the time of his marriage to Alice Lily PHELPS in 1909 he was a gardener and Alice was a dressmaker. They had one daughter Violet Lilian who had been a teacher and who lived in Weston super Mare. She was the lady who porvided me with the one page newspaper cutting about the Hookins family in uniform on which Samuel was featured. Unfortunately Alice and Samuel separated and Alice died in 1954 before Samuel in 1974. Violet died in a Care Home in Weston-super-Mare in 2004.

Walter, Jesse, William HOOKINS (Tree A)

Walter (born 1860), Jesse (born 1867), and William (born 1857) were 3 of the sons of Samuel and Eliza HOOKINS who had a total of 10 children although 4 of them didn't make it to adulthood. I guess this picture was taken perhaps around 1890 although the occasion is not known - it could possibly be the 21st coming of age birthday of Jesse judging by his youthful looks. By this time although William was still living locally in Pawlett near Bridgwater Walter had already moved to South Wales where Jesse was later to follow as seen from the previous post about him in his coachman's uniform.

Where the Hookins' were in 1881

So where were all of our Hookins ancestors at the time of the 1881 Census. Well - the attached map seems to do the work for us as we can see the various Counties where a Hookins name/family existed and the volume of people of that name. The list on the right gives the actual numbers in each County. So that solves it right? Oh that Family History was that simple!!! It's a great start but not the whole picture as it only gives us 78 people and I know there were more than that. Unfortunately discrepancies can occur firstly because of the transcription of the original handwritten Census documents. I have found a number of entries for other Census returns which have been logged as Hookins which when magnified are found to be more like Hoskins. A second complication is that these returns were complied by asking questions and writing the result and with varieties of accents and the fact that the illiterate would not be able to spot an error the enumerator could only write down what he/she heard which results in numerous mis-spellings. I know of several instances where what was heard and written down was Hookings and not our family name. So although this map is extremely useful it is not conclusive.

Jesse HOOKINS (Tree A)

Jesse HOOKINS was born in 1867 at Pawlett near Bridgwater in Somerset. He was one of 9 children of Samuel & Eliza HOOKINS. In 1881 he is recorded as being a General Labourer living at home with his mother and her second husband as Jesse's father had died 11 years earlier at a time when he and all of his siblings were all under the age of 15. By 1901 Jesse had married and was living in Kilve in Somerset west of Bridgwater and is recorded as being a Domestic Coachman. His first child was born in Kilve in 1901 but by 1902 and the birth of their second child they were in Llantwit Major where Jesse had gone to work as Coachman to the Cranshay family who were Ironmasters fro Merthyr Tydfil. Jesse and his growing family lived in Dimlands Lodge in the grounds of Dimlands House where the remainder of his 7 children were thought to have been born. Unfortunately Jesse's wife died in 1915 when all of his 7 children were under 14 years of age in the same way that his own mother had been left but he seems to have done a marvellous job in bringing up those children. Later Jesse moved on to be a gardener for the Cranshays and subsequently went to live in Barons Close in Llantwit Major. He is said to have been a quiet man with a sense of humour. He died in 1950 and is buried in Llantwit Major churchyard.

HOOKINS Family at War

Some years ago I paid a visit to Violet HOOKINS who lived in Weston super Mare. She had some items belonging to her father which she was considering disposing of and I was delighted when she offered me this page from the Bath Herald printed during the First World War. It principally concerns members of the family of Frederick John HOOKINS (my grandfather) who were serving in the war. His father, 5 brothers and a brother in law are pictures in their regimental uniforms. Why Fred wasn't in the war I don't know yet. His father William and brothers Samuel and Willie are picures on the top row. William was apparently in charge of a Government mule depot, Samuel was a transport driver in the Army Service Corps and Willie was in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars. The second row shows brothers Henry, Walter and Charlie. Henry and Walter were in the same regiment as Willie whilst Charlie was a Bombardier in the Field Artillery. Fred's brother in law, brother of his wife Emma, is the first of the bottom row and was in the 1st Somerset Light Infantry. He took part in the battle of Mons, was injured and taken prisoner of war and came from the well-known Cobb family in Bath who were renowned for their bread and cake shops in the city.

HOOKINS/HOOKINGS dilemma

I've found reference on the FreeReg website of Parish records to some HOOKINS/HOOKINGS baptisms in Somerset during the period 1822 and 1840 which seemed to fall into nice bunches in different areas in Taunton, Wellington, Brompton Ralph, Brockley and Crocombe all of which are familiar places in my research. Assumptions however are dangerous as I found out when checking each of the records as a couple of those places obviously had more than one HOOKINS/HOOKINGS family. Have just looked at the Taunton baptisms which were all children of the John & Lucy HOOKINS I already had in my records. Two of these had the same name William and were born just over a year apart but a little more digging has located that the first one died after just a few months. Each one was recorded as HOOKINGS and the baptisms took place between 1822 and 1826. Lucy unfortunately seems to have died in 1829 but one of her sons has been found in the 1841 Census aged 15 as a Labourer living with the family of Mary Townsend who was a Coal Dealer in East Reach Taunton. Took a little while but 3 more people added to the database which now totals 1518 people.

Frederick John & Emma Selina HOOKINS (Tree A)

Apicture of Fred and Emma with their first 4 children - Grace, Daisy, Bill and babe in arms Fred. This will therefore have been taken around the end of 1914 or the beginning of 1915 at a time when Britain was at war with Germany. Obviously arranged in a photographer's studion and the lady standing at the rear of the picture is unknown at present.

Willie HOOKINS (Tree A)

William (Willie) HOOKINS was born on 3rd August 1898 at Pawlett in Somerset and was baptised 25 days later. He was a horseman in the Army but his regiment is not yet known. He is believed to be pictured here in Army uniform with a lady believed to be his mother Susan so this will have been taken somewhere around the 1920 period. Willie was best man at his brother Henry's wedding in 1920 quoted as Billie but he died of consumption in 1924.

Frederick John HOOKINS (Tree A)

Although Fred lived in Peasedown St John for a large part of his life he aactually began his business in the village of Mark in Somerset. At that stage he boasted the trade of wheelwright as well as the building, decorating and undertaking business which his sons Bill and Fred would eventuallt take over as Hookins Brothers. Here is a picture of Fred outside his workshop in Mark in the early 1900s. His sons would later benefit from motor vehicles but Fred had only a cart to transport his ladders and materials around the Somerset hills.

Frederick John & Emma Selina HOOKINS (Tree A)

I love this image of my grandparents family unit. Frederick John is seated with his wife Emma Selina flanked by their children Grace, William (Bill) and Daisy (back row), Albert (Bert), Jesse and Fred in the front. This will have been taken in the mid 1920s.

William John & Gladys Mabel Amy HOOKINS (Tree A)

William John HOOKINS was the eldest son of Frederick John & Emma Selina HOOKINS and was born in 1908. He married Gladys Mabel Amy CLIFFORD in 1934 and they had 4 children. Bill took over his father's Building and Decorating business along with his brother Frederick Charles and Fred dealt with the Undertaking part of the business. Bill died in 1969.

Emma Selina HOOKINS (Tree A)

Emma Selina HOOKINS (nee COBB) came from the Bath firm of COBBS renowned locally for their bread and cakes. She married Frederick John HOOKINS at Hay Hill Baptist Chapel in Bath in 1906 having originally been born in Swindon in 1879. They lived at Bloomfield Terrace in Wellow but at the end of their lives lived at Dilkusha, 1 Eckweek Road, Peasedown St John from where Fred ran his Building Decorating and Undertaking business. Emma outlived Fred by almost 18 years and died at the age of 95.

James HOOKINS (Misc Tree)

Another Hookins has been added to the Miscellaneous database in the absence of conclusive enough proof to place him with a family. I located James on the Parish Records Collection for Burials on the Findmypast website. He was buried at Brompton Ralph in Somerset on 22nd Oct 1870 and was just 8 months old when he died. Brompton Ralph are where my relatives came from and he seems to fit into a family which was in Brompton Ralph at the time. His birth fits in with the births of siblings and the father in that family was also a James. That family however is not yet linked to my Family Tree. The father of the father in this family - little James' grandfather - was a John and John's details so nearly match that of a John in Brompton Ralph who is on my Family Tree. But each John is married to someone with a different christian name and the birth dates in the two families overlap - even though annoyingly some have the same names but different birth dates! - so in the absence of John leading a double life inside his own village with two Hookins wives (unlikely isn't it?) I have nothing to link them yet. Don't you think like me that they must be connected somewhere along the line?

Albert Edward HOOKINS (Tree A)

In 1946 Albert Edward (Bert) HOOKINS started a lubricant firm in Bampton Devon. At that stage apparently a gallon of tractor oil cost just 3 shillings 6 pence. He gradually grew the business supplying many agricultural clients over a wide area until such time as he became the largest distributor of Elf Oil lubricants in the country.
By 1946 he had completed 50 years in the business and was presented with a special 50th anniversary decanter set by the local MP Angela Browning.
Eventually the firm was sold to a major company obviously keen to remove such a formidable competitor as Bert's firm

Frederick Charles HOOKINS (Tree A)

A final series of pictures from the war-time service of Frederick Charles HOOKINS. Fred was in the Faroe Islands for part of the war although all of the pictures do not seem to be from there. If the limited scenery gives anyone any clues it would be helpful and appreciated.

Another HOOKINS and another Family

It isn't just the research done personally that brings results. Over the years I have had contact the a large number of people who bear or who have borne the HOOKINS name in the past or have connections to it. Because of the numbers involved many of these are reduced to the annual Christmas card with our newsletter updating them all on our news. Many reciprocate with their own newsletters or snippets they have discovered about HOOKINS people. One such note came last Christmas and notified me of a marriage which had taken place last year. I had suspected that it had but had received no confirmation until then. So it gave me one more person (the bride) for that Tree and for the database as well as them being a new family unit. That brings the total individuals on the database to 1514 and the number of families to 395. Quite often these snippets of information can start further investigations, suddenly link individuals or families together so if you find any HOOKINS people or events surrounding them I will be glad to hear of them.
Bob

John & Henrietta Jemima HOOKINS (Tree 2D)

John and Henrietta Jemima HOOKINS have been languishing as a married couple in the Miscellaneous database as I haven't been able to confirm the link between John and his father. That has now been rectified thanks to John's entry in the 1851 Census where he is living with Henrietta at Brow Cottage, Devizes as a 50 year old solicitor with 3 servants - 1 man and 2 women and both the latter were born in France. More importantly his birthplace is shown as Yeovil which links him with the son of another John HOOKINS who was christened in Yeovil. John (Junior) was also married in the church which covers the same Parish in which his mother died in 1840 in Southampton. The couple eventually moved to Bath - coincidentally where my immediate family came from although I can't see a connection as I am not currently aware of any children from this marriage. After John had died Henrietta seems to have continued to live comfortably because in 1871 she had a Lady's maid, Parlour Maid, a Cook and a Helper in Housework living at her property at Invermay, Bathampton where she died in 1889.

James & Mabel JEFFERIES (Tree A)

James and Mabel JEFFERIES were the maternal grandparents of Bob HOOKINS. Mabel is pictured above left with two of her daughters, Eunice (on the right) and Hilda Lucy Florence later to be HOOKINS the mother of Bob, Patsy and Joan. On the right James and Mabel are pictured with Hilda probably in 1916. Hilda was born in Weymouth during the first World War but the family home was in Bitton, between Bristol and Bath.

Frederick Charles & Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS (Tree A)

Final image of Fred and Hilda on their wedding day in St Mary's Church Bitton in 1937 with a black kitten for good luck

1911 Census

I've managed to print off a list of the people purported to have the HOOKINS name in the 1911 Census. They total 208 although looking through the listing I don't think some of them "belong to us" probably because the name has been transcribed incorrectly. I have just finished printing off the actual pages for the 1861 Census and some of the entries which are allegedly HOOKINS are names like HOSKINS as the "s" and "o" is sometimes difficult to decipher. Little excuse however for the entry which I found which was fairly clearly JENKINS!! Clearly there will be other HOOKINS people whose names have been transcribed as HOOKINGS/HUCKINS etc and further investigations will need to be done to ascertain the fate of those people who have seemingly disappeared since the 1901 Census.
Interestingly enough I've just had a quick look through the various Trees and I estimate that the name of HOOKINS people currently living according to my records is still about the same as in 1911. Obviously there have been births of new children and wives taking on the name which have been countered by deaths and those daughters who have married and taken another name so at least our numbers are holding steady to keep the name going.
Bob

Frederick Charles & Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS (Tree A)

Frederick Charles HOOKINS with Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS, son Bob and future daughter in law Jackie POWELL pictured at a family wedding in 1969 just 3 months after Bob and Jackie's own marriage

Frederick Charles HOOKINS (Tree A)

Frederick Charles HOOKINS was a Builder, Decorator and Undertaker by trade and so was working by day primarily at building and decorating but was often called upon during the evening and night in relation to his undertaking responsibilities. He therefore had little time for leisure activities. He enjoyed watching boxing on the television when he could be was also th captain of a skittles team at the Prince of Wales pub between his home village of Peasedown St John and the village of Dunkerton. This is a picture of Fred (back row 4 from left) at an awards ceremony where he is holding the trophies he and his team had won that year. His son in law Mick Harding was also in the team and is pictured back row 2nd from right.

National Burial Index

I've been checking a few entries on the National Burial Index tonight. Two of the records I couldn't relate to any other details I already hold so they are down as two new people which have been put on the Miscellaneous Tree database. One was a Henry HOOKINS who was buried in Cardiff in 1907 aged 61 having lived in the Union Workhouse, another was Elizabeth HOOKINS who was buried 12 Jan 1701 at Taunton but no details of age appear there. A James HOOKINS was buried 27 Jan 1815 aged 4 in Mitcham which I am pretty sure relates to a James on a very small Tree (2R). Another James buried 13 Aug 1828 in Brompton Ralph Somerset I already know about as he is on my own Tree and another Elizabeth was buried 16 May 1817 aged 8 months at Mitcham which I can reasonably tie into an individual record I already hold. The last one was an Ida HOOKINS the information for whom enabled me to locate her birth so I will order that certificate to find out parents' details and so hopefully position her into a Tree.
So a bit of a mixed bag but at least some new information was found.

Frederick Charles & Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS (Tree A)

Two more pictures of Frederick Charles & Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS. Above left during the 1960s and on the right on their wedding day in 1937. Hilda's bridesmaids were her sisters left to right Eunice, Marjorie and Gladys. Behind Gladys is Eunice's husband Raymond.

Frederick Charles HOOKINS (Tree A)

Frederick Charles HOOKINS 1914-1982 father of Bob Hookins pictured in the 1930s (?)

Bob HOOKINS (Tree A)

Family outing in Weymouth approx 1949/50. I am in the pushchair being pushed by my mother Hilda Lucy Florence HOOKINS. My father Frederick Charles HOOKINS is on my mother's right walking in front of my mother's parents, Jim and Mabel JEFFERIES. Walking alongside my mother is also her brother Mervyn JEFFERIES.

I am pictured here again around 1949/50 in the back lane of my mother's parents' home in Bitton nr Bristol with my father on a motor cycle which probably belonged to my mother's brother Dennis