Today I was fortunate enough to get a whole day to spend doing my hobby - Geneaology. As many readers of my blog will know I am passionate about family history. So off to Olympia to see the “who do you think you are” exhibition. However I am also fustrated that the technology is quite slow to provide people with access to data to complete someone’s family research. We can all do dates and places back through our ancestors, but there is so much more than that. How did your family move around as the generations unfolded. Did the circumstances of the time force young families to migrate to the towns and cities or even further afield on one of the cheap migration tickets to Australia or America.

Now I have found a website that is really useful. Lots of sites offer research services, some offer CDs of data and records, others offer sofwtare, books, folders and storage boxes, but Ancestral Atlas offers keen genealogists not only the opportunity to earn a little money back from all their hard work, but also the ability to load up a gedcom file and see the map of all your families locations accross the ages.  A nice site, simple to use and well… the icing on the cake it can earn you money! At the moment a year’s subscription is only £20 - an absolute steel! get in their quick folks and find people who were born at the same time as your ancestros, maybe died in a tragic event or accident or perhaps a shared relative. www.ancestralatlas.com.

In my Genealogical travels I have been fortunate enough to meet loads of new relatives. My mother is an only child, as am I and apart from her Uncle and a cousin she was not aware of any branch of her tree or any living relatives. But over the years we have met Goddens in Kent, Clutterbucks from Gloucestershire and now Bakers from, well all over! I was contacted on Genereunited.co.uk by a lady called Jan Smith. She had a friend called Jean who was researching Lucy Baker, nee Mildenhall, born 1841 in Speen, Berkshire and who married William Henry Baker in 1863. Lucy was the younger daughter of Mary Ann Mildenhall nee Wells, born 1819 in Speen daughter of William Wells and Sarah Fuller. The whole family lived in the Speen, Belmont, Lamborne hamlets of Newbury. William was a papermaker and then as he aged he worked as a vitually then a hay bale merchant.

I have the family bible originally owned by William Wells, given to his daughter Mary Ann in 1819 (at her birth) who then gave it to her grandaughter Lucy Baker Jones (Lucy Baker’s namesake and god daughter) when she was 6 years old (which was also the year of LBJ’ s father’s suicide), the bible weights a tonne and as such seems a weighty tome for a six year old girl.

Inside the back flyleaf there are the names of all the children of Mary Ann’s elder daughter (Lucy Mildenhall’s older sister) Sarah Mildenhall who married Robert Jones a rather hell and firestorm Preacher. The location of their marriage is noted as St Luke’s, Chelsea but the year has only 186 (sic) no final digit. So when my mother and I started our Geneaological studied, naive as we were we turned to 9 months before th birth of the eldest of their Children, Henry John Jones and looked through the registers for the marriage of Sarah and Robert. Nothing! but about 15 minuted before St Catherines was closed we let our a rather too loud shriek, “yes!” only 5 months before the birth of Henry, but needless to say that was not the last close shave I have discovered over time - atleast they made it down the isle before the birth, many didn’t.

So there are the chidren of Sarah and Robert: Henry John, Elizabeth, Sarah, Robert, Evan Mildrenhall, Lucy (deceased at 6 months), Lucy Baker, William Williams, Walter and Lillian. The family had the good grace to stay put for many years at 42 Hasker Street and from 1861 to 1891 the rise and fall of the family can be witnessed with ease through the censuses.

But Sarah’s younger sister was the subject of this latest connection. Lucy I already knew married William Baker and so Lucy’s neice (The second Lucy of Sarah & Robert) was named Lucy Baker Jones.

On the 1851 census Lucy, Sarah and their mother Mary Ann (widdowed after only 3 years of marriage to John Mildenhall a wheelwright from Speen, Berkshire) can be seen living with Mary Ann’s new husband Charles Palmer a coachman. Also in the house are two of Mary Ann’s siblings Lucy Wells (dressmaker) and Thomas Wells (servant).

in 1861 Lucy Mildenhall is found in Beckenham working as a housemaid. Her sister Sarah and their mother are working as seamstress living at No 42 Hasker Street. By this time Charles Palmer, Mary Anns second wife has died.
In 1871 William, Lucy and daughters Ernestine & Florence are living Belgrave, London. There is also a visitor James E B Bruce (E & B probably stood for Ernest Brunedel). When I mentioned this name to Jean, her face broke into a wry smile and ill words for this cad. However Jean’s uncle was named after this man, George Brunedell Bruce Baker.

1881 William, Lucy and a daughter Mable are living at 301-302 Pentonville with a host of staff; barmen and barmaids. I believe this to be The Victoria but I find no mention of a pub at this address now.

In 1891 William Henry is now found with a new lady (not married) Augusta “Baker” which I now know to be Augusta French and their “son”. the problem is the census image said Othel (sic) a daughter aged 0 months, with Annie, the monthly nurse, a visitor Walter Dickson, and two servants Anne Giles and Clara Page. They were living in Gordon Square, St Pancras.

His wife Lucy is living with Mable, now married to James page in Maidenhead, listed as a widdow. I learn from Jean that their relationship was long over by this stage and William had gone on to have more children

We knew that William was born in Barnstable and that William, Lucy and their two daughters Ernestine (b1870) and Florence (b1871) can be seen living in London on the 1871 census.

The internet is a wonderful thing, and over the years I have begun to become a repository for all things Clutterbuck, certainly from a Genealogical point of view.

My mother is Janet Clutterbuck, born an only child. Although her father Alfred Clutterbuck (b1912) had a brother, Edward (b1896 – yes a 16 yr gap) there were no other descendants. My mother always assumed the family was small, she never met her grandfather Albert (b 1867) as he died the year she was born, 1943. Her grandmother, Lucy Clutterbuck (born Lucy Baker Jones) had not made much mention of any other members of the family, and so life went on quietly. Ten years ago I started researching the Family on Lucy Baker Jones’ side and soon after finding 12 children and several generations back I was hooked. Once I had the knack and the sources I started branching out on my paternal grandfathers’ side, the Croppers, my Paternal Grandmothers’ side, the Ashtons, and then about 6 years ago—the Clutterbucks. By this time I would have to admit I had breached the barrier between being hooked and being obsessed!

My own line stems from John Clutterbuck, born in 1785, who married Sarah Bryan in Minchinhampton, Gloucs in 1810 and who went on to have 9 children: William (b1811), Ann (b1812), John (b1814), Sarah Bryan (b1816), Joseph (b1819), Jane (b1822), Henry Bond (b1824), Edward (b1826) and Charles (b1828). William the eldest married Martha Swinsford in 1835 in Cheltenham and they lived for over 60 years at No6 Commercial Street. The men were all carpenters, John the father ran his own business in Minchinhampton, William set up in Cheltenham, Martha was a Nurse. William and Martha had 7 Children all born in Cheltenham, William, Charles, Henry, Edward, John, Mary and Joseph between 1835 and 1856. in 1867 Henry married Esther Sarah Lloyd in London. The story always was that Henry and his younger brother walked from Cheltenham to Chelsea.

Henry and Esther had 14 children between 1869 and 1891. Three of the girls, Esther, Ellen Jane, and Alice, all died within three days of each other in 1880 from diphtheria. Another child Joseph died at 2 days old. Another, Harry, died of sloughing tonsillitis at age 6 months and another, the first born, Henry died at age 2. All-in-all of the 14 born only 6 are known to have survived to adulthood. Albert, my great grandfather, Sidney Horrace who stayed in Fulham area and had 13 children, and George Reginald who sailed to America on the RMS Royal Edward, having only one son, George Joseph, before he died early aged only in his 30s.

I’ve had the pleasure of meeting the youngest son of Sidney Horrace, David William (1932-2004) his sisters Vera Priscilla Agnes (1927-2004) and Margaret Theresa (b1923) Also the grandson of George Reginald, Charles Matthew (1936-2004) and his sister Linda. I also met Mark Ashley Spooner, great grandson of Sidney Horrace , by his first marriage to Jessie Ruth Alsop. What was a bit tense was that David William and his 12 siblings were never aware their father had been previously married and that there were two offspring. Jessie Ruth had abandoned Sydney, eloping with the two children Florence and Edward to Australia on the Gothic in 1921. However the fascination overpowered the feelings of “betrayal”. I also met David Pledger, Charles William Sidney and Jacqueline Fruin, all grandchildren of Sidney Horrace.

In 2001 I organised a Clutterbuck Reunion, or perhaps a Clutterbuck ”union” as we had not met before so nothing could be a “re” anything! A fantastic day that I enjoyed enormously and I am eternally grateful to my mother for spurring me on, as now three of the attendees have died—the moment was there and now it has passed.

At the beginning of 2005 I was approached by a lady whose Aunt had been adopted at a young age. She had discovered her biological mother was Jessie Ruth Airs and that she had married a Mr Allsop. The names in my tree “Jessie Ruth Allsop” who eloped from her husband Sidney Horrace Clutterbuck England and married an Albert Airs flagged up on the net in her search. In fact she had been searching for over 2 years for all the Allsops she could in Australia. The problem was she had the names the wrong way around, she should have been searching for Airs! I phoned Australia, assured her she had found the right family, put her in touch with Mark Spooner and his father Keith in Melbourne and forwarded all the details I had. A day later before the Aunt could hear the good news, her health declined and after a couple of weeks sadly she died, never realising that her family had been found.

I collected so much information over the years, and added more and more lines, that I now have over 3000 Clutterbucks and a total of 4409 people altogether, and the list keeps growing at my familytreeonline.org website.

I have been researching several genealogical lines described in the Clutterbuck Book. As many of you know, one should treat this old book with a critically open mind. There are some entries whch are not correct, as further research may disclose. But, I’ve found the book very useful as a starting point for some lines. Using Family Tree Maker software, I transcribed all the entries in the Clutterbuck Book into the database, then bit by bit I have been confirming the data it holds and adding to it as new information came to my attention.

Over the past several years, I have received email from lots of Clutterbucks interested in finding out where they fit in. With enthusiasm, I have used all the resources at my disposal to fit what they know into the bigger picture and, with an exchange of recent data from several enquirers and the historical data collated from various sources, I have now expanded the database to some 5000 people related to Clutterbuck.

As a bonus, some enquiries have also come my way from people not related. Firstly, a couple had found a picture in a junk shop in the West country whilst they were holidaying. When they turned the frame over they found the couple in the picture were not only named on the reverse but also their family pedigree and descendants were listed in clear writing adhered to the reverse. Edmund Huntley Clutterbuck and Louisa Eliza Molz from a photograph taken on board the Carron Line Steamer S.S.Avon about 1903.
The finders were so curious at this discovery that they purchased the picture and after a little while decided that there must be someone who would be interested in owning it. Our paths crossed in their search and they asked if I would like the picture. I jumped at their offer and, even when I offered some recompense or atleast the postage, they refused with a note that they simply wanted it to go to a good home. So I hung the picture on my wall, and have enjoyed looking at this “single item” collection.

Then, at the end of 2005, I was contacted by two separate parties neither of whom were directly connected with the Clutterbuck family but who had in their possessions items of interest to Clutterbuck historians. Mark had come by a copy of the infamous Clutterbuck Book. I had, of course, already downloaded a digital file copy courtesy of Clutterbuck.org online. But to actually have my own print, well!

Better still, when it arrived it had notes in the margin that indicated it was at some time owned by the descendants of Henrietta Clutterbuck, who married the MP Archie Kirkman Lloyd. The picture opposite page 54 was of Edmund Henry Clutterbuck 1854-1924 and in the margin is written in pencil “my Mother’s Brother” on the preceding page where Edmund is listed with his siblings is a mark against Henrietta and an addition to the date of their mother’s death to include the date “20th”. To confirm my findings, the flyleaf of my newly acquired copy has written MA Loyd from HL Loyd, as Henrietta married Archie Loyd. I was happy the book had been in this family at some stage.

I mentioned I was approached by two parties, the second was from Little Rock in Arkansas, USA. A lady was in possession of a ring that had engraved on the inside beneath the stone “Lewis Clutterbuck died 3rd April 1861 aged 67 yrs”. I was surprised and delighted to learn that its owner was keen to see it returned to a Clutterbuck, who might gain more from possessing it that she had done. By the time the ring arrived it had been in New York, California and Little Rock, but how the lady’s Uncle had it in his possessions was still a mystery.

The Lewis Clutterbuck it referred to was the son of Lewis Clutterbuck and Catherine Partidge from Ozelworth. In the foot notes on page 57 of the Clutterbuck Book, it reads “Entry in Ozelworth Parish Register says:- ‘Lewis, son of Lewis and Catherine Clutterbuck was baptised the 15th day of February 1794, being born the 16th day of January at eight minutes after nine o clock, wh. We who were present do testify as to the time if the Child’s birth..’ Sarah Partridge, David Taylor Saray Bayley.”

The line of Lewis’s were the rectors of the parish and Lewis referred to on the ring was born 16th January 1794 and as we know died 3rd April 1861. He and his wife Sarah Balfour had 7 children.

What was so peculiar was that both the Book and the ring actually arrived on the same day in the post and that Lewis Clutterbuck, whose name is memorialized in the ring, was related to—the second cousin twice removed—Henrietta Clutterbuck, the one time owner of my copy the Clutterbuck Book.

I consider myself very fortunate to have received these gifts, and I’m ever astounded by the generosity of strangers to whom the family of Clutterbuck will be eternally grateful.