Sterry Cottage Blakeney (General)

by mrsbruso , Friday, April 01, 2011, 14:07 (4989 days ago) @ peteressex

Thank you, everyone, for all the help. You've given me some great leads, and now I need to follow them up. I have an 1854 map that may be of some use, I have to see where it takes me. The 1911 summary will probably be as much if not more helpful that the 1911 census itself proved to be, so thank you for that also.

I am assuming that Slowhands is correct (as usual!) and that calling it Sterry Cottage simply identified for the children which cottage she intended for which child, and that reviewing the census and the map might help narrow the field somewhat.

Box Tree Cottage was always referred to as "home", but I am less sure at the moment that my great grandmother lived it that cottage continuously when she was in Blakeney. In William Clarke's will he simply identifies the cottage as where he is living at the time, he doesn't name it or identify it any further. Box Tree Cottage itself is at the bottom of Blakeney Hill (formerly New Road, now 2 Blakeney Hill Road); I have always assumed that Mary Ann's address as "Old Furnace" was still Box Tree Cottage, but perhaps not. (Mary Ann refers to it as "the homestead" which may or may not be significant.)

The Lewis brothers in the photograph aren't part of our family that I am aware of, but the Virgos are all related, so I should be able to work that out given a bit of time.

Chris W and I are both descended from the same GGGrandparents (making us sixth cousins) and I think we're both interested in determining if this land started out with the Clarke's or the Stephens'. Since most of the parcels(Harriett's, Ann Morse's, the various Clarke's) are close to one another (some in William's name are a bit further flung) we might assume common ownership in some time past. If we can trace the land itself, perhaps we will be able to make the connection for the generation before William Clarke (married Mary Stephens 1770) and Richard Stephens.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for all the help.

Sandra