Monday 2 July 2007

Elizabeth Cruwys and William Mogridge

I have received from fellow Guild member Des Gander the marriage certificate of Elizabeth Cruwys and William Mogridge from the latest Guild Marriage Challenge for the St Thomas Registration District in Devon. Marriage Challenges are an exciting new Guild initiative whereby members offer to search the registers of all churches in a given district at their local record office to find marriages requested by fellow Guild members for the period from 1837 to 1911. The success rate can vary from one district to another because not all registers have been deposited, and also because record offices do not have copies of Register Office marriages. I only had one Cruwys marriage in the St Thomas District and fortunately Des was able to find it. I was not previously able to fit Elizabeth Cruwys into any of my existing trees but now, with the information from the faux certificate, I know that she is the daughter of Courtney Cruwys and Sarah Weslake. Elizabeth was baptised on 28th February 1829 in Treborough, Somerset. Within a year or so of her birth the family moved to Thorverton in Devon where her younger brother John was baptised on 18th December 1831. Elizabeth married William Mogridge, a farm labourer, on 6th September 1847 at the parish church in Broad Clyst, Devon. William was the son of Abraham Mogridge. Interestingly both fathers were described as soldiers. Elizabeth's father, Courtney Cruwys, was born in 1768 in Thorverton, Devon. He almost certainly served with the British Army in the Napoleonic Wars. I have now managed to locate William and Elizabeth Mogridge in all the censuses. They lived in Broad Clyst throughout their lives and they do not appear to have had any children of their own. They seem to have brought up their niece, Hephsibah Weslake. By the time of the 1881 census they were looking after baby Alice M Gale who was described as a "nurse-child". Alice was still living with them for the 1891 census, by which time she was described as a boarder. William Mogridge died in 1895. By 1901 Elizabeth was one of a number of widows living in the almshouses in Broad Clyst. She died in 1910 at the age of 81.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for supplying all that information. I am the niece of Pilot Officer Thomas William Challenor, now residing in Sydney, Australia. My mother was Joan Lee, sister-in-law to Eve,of whom I am sure you are aware. All of my life I have grown up with the knowledge of Uncle Tom, and indeed have continued the family name with one of my sons. Thank you all for keeping his name alive, so that he and others like him did not die in vain.

With the greatest of respect to you all. Jayne Zimbler

Anonymous said...

I know nothing of Pilot Officer Challenor's family (his name appears to have been mis-spelt on the photo I have!). I'd love to know more. Do get in touch. I can send you a higher-resolution copy of the photo. Have you been in touch with Bob Body? I'm sure he'll be able to provide you with lots of information.