Finding the Forsburys
From my grandfather Richard Samuel Ing, I had the full name,
date of birth, and birthplace of his mother Martha Jane
Forsbury. I also had the names of Martha's brother
George and her sister Mary, as well as her half-brother James
Waller. I was told that Mary had married a Shipgood (and the
names of her children), George was single and died of drowning,
and that James Waller had emigrated to Australia.
Martha Jane married Thomas George Ing on 19 Dec
1865 at Bethnal Green, Middlesex, and I was able to get a
marriage certificate that gave his father as Robert Ing (deceased)
and hers as James Forsbury (carman). I wasn't
able to get a birth certificate for Martha Jane.
My next break-though was finding James Forsbury
in the 1881 census, but I couldn't be sure it was him because of
the spelling. They were living in London and had a son George
Fosberry living with them who was about the right age to be
Martha's brother, George Forsbury. Martha's sister Mary was born
in Battersea, Surrey. So Surrey seemed probable. This gave James'
wife a name "Annie".
1881 British Census
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation
James FOSBERRY Head M Male 67 Reigate, Surrey,
England General Lab
Annie FOSBERRY Wife M Female 70 Reigate, Surrey, England
George FOSBERRY Son U Male 40 Hendon, Surrey,
England General Lab
Will DURNBLE Boarder U Male 32 Dartford, Kent, England Hose
Keeper
Emerton HUGH Boarder U Male 39 Denham, Buckingham, England
General Lab
Frederick PHIPPS Boarder U Male 30 Harefield, Middlesex, England
General Lab
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Source Information: Dwelling 5 Wharf Amberley Rd Census Place
London, Middlesex, England
Family History Library Film 1341003 Public Records Office
Reference RG11 Piece / Folio 0011 / 132 Page Number 52
At his time I had found the family of Mary Ann Forsbury, which
said she was born in Battersea, Surrey. The name of the wife and
all children is correct if the E. in Martha E. stands for Ellen.
1881 British Census
Name Relation Marital Status Gender Age Birthplace Occupation
William SHIPGOOD Head M Male 40 Essex, England
Builders Carman
Mary A. SHIPGOOD Wife M Female 35 Battersea,
Surrey, England
Elizabeth SHIPGOOD Daur Female 14 St Lukes,
Middlesex, England Scholar
Martha E. SHIPGOOD Daur Female 9 St Lukes,
Middlesex, England Scholar
Mary A.R. SHIPGOOD Daur Female 6 St Lukes,
Middlesex, England Scholar
John T. SHIPGOOD Son Male 2 Southwark, Surrey,
England
Alice J. SHIPGOOD Daur Female 2 m Southwark,
Surrey, England
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Source Information: Dwelling 5 Gray St Census Place Southwark St
George Martyr, Surrey, England
Family History Library Film 1341120 Public Records Office
Reference RG11
Piece / Folio 0531 / 33 Page Number 45
1891 census (Ancestry.com)
Name Age in 1891 Birthplace Relationship to head-of-house Civil
parish County
Shipgood, William 30 Battersea, London Head St
George the Martyr London [50?][trainman]
Shipgood, Mary A 44 Essex Wife St George the
Martyr London
Shipgood, John 17 Southwark, London Son St
George the Martyr London [12 on page]
Shipgood, Alice 10 Southwark, London Daughter St
George the Martyr London
Shipgood, Ellen 17 St Luke, London Daughter St
George the Martyr London [looks like 19 to me]
Shipgood, Alfred 10.12 Southwark, London Son St
George the Martyr London [I can't read the age]
[Ellen and Martha E. seem to be the same age.]
Then in the 1871 census I found what I thought might be my
Forsbury couple, but again spelling was a problem. And this time
they were said to be born in Sussex, casting serious doubt
whether they were the same family. But there is not a lot of
choice when it comes to the name like Forsbury/Fosberry in
London. And Martha was born in Paddington. So I put them in my
list of possibilities.
1871 Census of England [I read the original as perhaps Forsebury]
Name Age in 1871 Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish
County/Island
James Fersebury 56 Sussex, England Head
Paddington London
Anne Fersebury 59 Sussex, England Wife
Paddington London
The years were dragging on and I felt I was still getting
nowhere. Grandpa Ing had been dead for nearly 40 years!
Then I found Mary Ann Forsbury's birth listed in
FreeBMD and ordered the certificate. It gave her father as James
Forsbury and her mother as Ann Walter.
So now I could be sure that James' wife's name REALLY was Ann.
And Walter was very similar to Waller. Maybe Waller
was her maiden name.
Recently found them in the 1851 census after yet another
first-name search.
[I read the original as "Foursbury" not
"Fausbury".]
1851 England Census
Name Estimated Birth Year Birthplace Relationship Civil Parish
County/Island
James Fausbury abt 1818 Rowgate, Sussex, England
Head Westminster St Margaret Middlesex [Carman to Builder]
Anne Fausbury abt 1812 Rowgate, Sussex, England
Wife Westminster St Margaret Middlesex
James Fausbury abt 1834 Rowgate, Sussex, England
Son Westminster St Margaret Middlesex [Price's Candle
Manufactory]
George Fausbury abt 1841 Hendon, Middlesex,
England Son Westminster St Margaret Middlesex
Mary A Fausbury abt 1845 Batessca[Battersea],
Surrey, England Daughter Westminster St Margaret Middlesex
Jane Fausbury abt 1849 Bodington [Paddington],
Middlesex, England Daughter Westminster St Margaret Middlesex [Martha
Jane, my great grandmother.]
The transcriber seemed to be having a bad day, but this was the
piece that made the difference.
1. It included James [Waller] Forsbury and
the other children, so I knew it was the right family.
2. It changed the parents' birthplace from Reigate, Surrey to Rowgate,
Sussex - supporting the 1871 census.
3. It also gave James Waller's birthplace as Rowgate,
Sussex.
4. It gave an approximate date of birth for
James as well
I found there was no such place as Rowgate, but there was a
Rogate.
When I searched this area, Bingo! Much of the parish register
data for the Rogate area was in the IGI.
I found the christenings of James Waller, James Fosberry,
Ann Walter, and a Martha Fosberry who
appears to be a sister to James and also the marriage of Martha.
Then, while searching online for any clues of what became of
James Waller, I found this posting:
http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/WALLER/2000-06/0960961273
WALLER-L Archives
Archiver > WALLER > 2000-06 > 0960961273
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From: Daniel Kerr [email address removed]
Subject: WALLER FAMILY
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 15:41:13 +1000
I am searching for information and kin of my g.g.grandfather
JAMES WALLER christened in Rogate Sussex in 1834, mother ANN
WALLER [James was illegitimate]. If anyone can help me with Ann's
birth/parents/siblings it would be wonderful.
Cheers from
Irene Kerr in Ulladulla Australia
Wow! Exactly what I was hoping for, but never really expected
to find.
OK - What become of 2g-uncle James Waller? When
and where did he arrive in Australia? Who did he marry, who are
his children? Where did he live in Australia? What kind of work
did he do? And so forth.
I will post my findings so you can share the adventure ...
Bill