It is not unusual to have family lore that you are not able to prove. You wonder is there an element of truth in the story. Why would the story be passed down?
Early in my family research, I was told by my cousin Norman in England that Josiah Dudley, my great-grandfather, had been born in Spain, ca 1842, with the surname Zuniga. My dad's mother also said that her brown eyes were from her Spanish roots. The story is that when the family came to England when Josiah was a toddler, the family changed their name by deed poll taking the name of Dudley for Dudley, Warwickshire where they were living. I was intrigued by this story. So I was on the hunt to see what I could find. Well, I have never found anything to support this.
All the census records that I have found for Josiah and his family have given his place of birth as Alcester, Warwickshire except the 1871 census when it is listed as Arrow. Arrow is a parish within the Alcester District.
Sarah Mucklow married Josiah Dudley 28 July 1867 in Haselor, Warwickshire. The family story that I have been told about her is that she had 22 children: three sets of twins, two sets of triplets, but only four survived to adulthood.
I have found only 5 children.
Bertha Ann, baptized 10 March, 1869 -- she appears on the 1871 census but not in the 1881 census where you would expect to still find her living with her parents. The following death is likely for her.
death March 1875 quarter
| DUDLEY | Bertha Ann | 6 | Derby | 7b | 391 |
Next I have Joseph or Josiah Gilbert.
These could be his birth registration.
| birth March 1875 quarter Dudley | Josiah Gilbert | Derby | 7b | 479 |
| Births Mar 1876 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUDLEY | Joseph | Chesterfield | 7b | 689 | |
| Births Dec 1874 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DUDLEY | Joseph | Belper | 7b | 508 | |
In his petition for naturalization in Rhode Island, he gave his date of birth as 21 November 1875 in Derby, England. On his draft card for World War 1, his date of birth is given as 21 November 1874.
Next I have Charles Henry born about 1877
Could this be his birth registration
birth June quarter 1877
| Dudley | Charles Henry | Bakewell | 7b | 753 |
Both his draft registration card and declaration of his intention to be naturalized give his date of birth as 21 February 1877.
Both Joseph and Charles moved to the United States to live.
My grandmother, Emily Lily was born 31 January 1884 in Birmingham.
Her registration March quarter 1884
| Dudley | Emily Lily | Birmingham | 6d | 74 |
The last known child was Rose who was born 8 May 1889.
This is likely her registration - June quarter 1889.
| Dudley | Rose May | Aston | 6d | 289 |
There are gaps between births so it is possible Sarah had other pregnancies, but whether she gave birth to other children will likely remain unknown.
The family legends always give rise to challenges to family history researchers.
(c) 2018 Janet Iles
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