Yesterday, I wrote about Tragic Adeline Boddy who, according to the GRO indexes, was born in Lambeth in June quarter 1840. I had a funny feeling that she was not actually Tragic and, as per usual, curiosity got the better of me…. curiosity killed the cat! The sign of a good researcher, so I am told….
Tragic Adeline you say…. well, no! Tracie Adeline but the ‘y’ of Mary interrupts because Tracie Adeline was squeezed in as presumably she was missed out of the alphabetical handwritten list. Oops!
John Marlett and Mary Boddy – he, a clerk in the Admiralty – were living at Lambeth Terrace and baptised their daughter on 17 July 1840 at St Mary Lambeth. The 1841 census records the family at the same address though unfortunately, Tracie died in 1842 aged 2 years and 6 months, being buried at Norwood Cemetery, Norwood Road, Lambeth.
Despite her short years on earth, she manages to feature in five public member trees on Ancestry – quite an achievement!
A lovely lady, Joanne Pagendam, who I met in Ontario recently (did I mention that I was the keynote speaker at the Ontario Genealogical Society Conference in Barrie?!) also told me about Tragedy Lowe who was born and died in Chester in 1800 (see comments on yesterday’s post)….
Do you have any interesting names in your family history? Or some wonderful transcription errors? One of my favourites is Richard Sillifant in 1841 who is transcribed by Ancestry as Richard Mifsud! Cracking!!! And then, there are the random names which you wonder where on earth they came from…. Maria Jaycock Steer? Why ‘Jaycock‘? I only wish I knew (and for those of you who were at the OGS Conference, that’s ‘Naughty Maria’!). Arscott Sillifant is a pretty uncommon name too…. sadly, he lived only long enough to see his first birthday (born 1841, died 1842).
Look forward to hearing yours …. the good, the bad and the ugly!
