Last of the Wortley Kisby's

My father's cousin Gladys passed away in August, ending over 110 years of my family's connection to the Leeds suburb of Wortley. Charles Kisby, my great grandfather, married in New Wortley in 1899 after moving to the area from Cambridgeshire. Much of the sea of Victorian terraced houses have now been swept away and Gladys lived in a more modern block of flats in Lower Wortley. Gladys' mother 'big' Doris - differentiating her from Gladys' sister 'little' Doris - lived into her 90's and Gladys was fortunate to enjoy a long life herself. No doubt her family will miss her. As should Wortley, which is now Kisby-less!

Beer and Sheep

From 'The Kisblogger' 8 June 2009:

The weekend before last I paid a visit to Preston, Lancashire, a haunt of my mother's family during the nineteenth century. My great-great grandfather (and his father too) ran a small hotel on the outskirts of the town. To my amazement and delight it is still open today and trading under the same name, the "Grand Junction", a name it has now retained for almost 150 years!

Of course, the most famous Kisby watering hole is "Kisby's Hut" near Papworth Everard, opened by Samuel Kisby circa 1770. It closed recently, after 230+ years trading (though it only held the name "Kisby's Hut" sporadically during that time).

My greatx3 uncle James Kisby was landlord of the "Boat & Anchor" just outside Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire. Interestingly, in the 1901 Census he is described as 'Innkeeper & Shepherd', which is certainly a nice trick if you can tend your flock and pour a pint at the same time!! I expect he needed to employ baaaaa staff ;o)

End of the Kisblogger

The Kizz Blog's predecessor, The Kisblogger, is deceased. Vox.com has closed down today and the many blogs hosted by them are disappearing too. Thank goodness I moved to Blogger in plenty of time!

Hunting in Huntingdon

At last I indulged myself yesterday in a trip to the Huntingdonshire Archives to continue my Kisby/ee quest. The town is pleasant (the birthplace of Oliver Cromwell) and the Library is airy and modern with a great little cafe.

Huntingdonshire borders onto the Kisby/ee stomping grounds of the English Fens but, unfortunately, not many of its records seem to have been digitised. Therefore the only way to delve further is to examine the original records. It was fascinating (and quite a privelege) to be handling parish registers which were over 350 years old!

Though I didn't manage to further my own family tree, I did come across a family group of Kisbee's in the parish of Farcet, in the far north of the county. Thomas Kisbee married for a second time in 1767, shortly after his young wife Laetitia had died. He was literate and spelled his surname with the two e's. His son, Martin Kisbee, also brought up his family in the parish. Interestingly, Martin and his wife Mary later appeared in South London, where they ended their days in apparent poverty. My next investigation will be to find out why they came to from Huntingdonshire to Surrey and fell on hard times....

Charles Kisby the wife seller

The story is almost complete. The death certificate of Charles Kisby (1812-1872) arrived today in the post. Charles was a railway labourer. He died of brochitis in Sedgefield Workhouse, hundreds of miles from where he was born.

Charles Kisby is actually one of my own ancestors, born near Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, on 16 February 1812. He married Maria Bass when he was still a teenager and Maria gave birth to at least two daughters. The marriage didn't appear to have gone well at all. Probably the daughters, Sarah Ann and Jane, died when they were young. Then in May 1840 it was widely reported in the English and Irish press that a certain Charles Kisby had sold his wife in Wisbech market! Charles had arrived with his wife wearing a rope halter around her neck. Fortunately the local police sergeant intervened to stop the auction but, all the same, Charles later sold his wife to a Thomas Foster for one guinea.

In 1851 'my' Charles Kisby appears in a village near The Wash on the other side of Wisbech. He is described as 'unmarried'. In 1871 he appears as a railway labourer living in County Durham.

So Charles ended up coughing and spluttering his guts up in the workshouse. As for Maria, I've never found out whether she met a miserable end or spent her days in a happy new relationship. It would be fascinating to know!

Marrying in Manchester

Another example which may have raised a few eyebrows, considering there was a law against marrying the sister of your wife...

The impressively named Henry Gilbert Cheek Dunn married Dinah Kisby in Manchester in 1872. I believe Dinah died prematurely in 1882, well for her sake I hope so because, in early 1883, a certain man named Henry Gilbert Cheek Dunn married Dinah's younger sister, Sophia.

Getting on in Gedney Hill

Another very overt case of Kisby inter-marrying occurred in the southern border area of Lincolnshire. Joseph Kisby died in September 1848 aged 51, in Gedney Hill. A little over 2 years later his widow, Sarah, married Joseph's brother, James Kisby. This revelation has taken me by surprise because, until now, I have presumed the three children that appear in the 1851 census were James's. No doubt things were a bit confusing for them too!!

King Henry VIII also married the widow of his brother, so James Kisby was in good company in this respect!