Notes on Tree 1001

Bottisham & Poplar

Origins

The current top of the tree is Henry Pluck together with his wife Elizabeth. The National Burial Index (NBI) records the burial of Henry in Bottisham in 1834 aged 73, which indicates a birth around 1761.

There is a baptism record that might be Henry in Burrough Green, a village about six miles SE of Bottisham. The parish registers record the following baptisms of the children of John and Susannah Pluck:

15 January 1754 John
15 February 1756 William
17 December 1758 Mary
22 February 1761 Jane
7 July 1765 Henry
31 July 1768 Richard

This discrepancy in the date is not unreasonable: firstly, ages at death are often unreliable, particularly at that time, chiefly because the person best placed to provide the answer is dead (many, also, were neither literate or numerate); secondly, the baptism could have taken place several years after the birth.

The Bottisham parish registers record the marriage of Richard Pluck to Alice CORNWELL in 1790. It is very likely that this is the Richard Pluck who was baptised in Burrough Green in 1768. Perhaps the whole family moved from Burrough Green to Bottisham? Nothing more is known about Richard and Alice.

The marriage of Henry and Elizabeth has not been found yet, nor has that of his parents John and Susannah.

John might be the son of John Pluck and Sarah HAMMOND. He was born in Horseheath in 1723: PL93 in Tree 1. Horseheath is about nine miles from Bottisham and six miles from Burrough Green.

Other records from the Burrough Green registers include:

Sarah Pluck (PL1101)

Sarah, the 19 year old and youngest daughter of Henry and Elizabeth, had a daughter, Susan Pluck, who was baptised in Bottisham on 21 April 1816. The father was not named in the register. She married Edward BRADWELL in Bottisham on 25 September 1818. Susan Pluck married John WILLIS in Bottisham on 5 November 1835.

John Pluck (PL1099)

Henry and Elizabeth's only son John married Martha FLACK and they had three sons. The eldest, James, and the youngest, Henry, did not marry. They can be found living together in the 1871 census of Bottisham. The middle son, John (PL1104), married Sarah HYNER and they had nine children.

Embrey Agabus Pluck (PL1124)

John and Sarah's eldest daughter, Susan (PL1118), was born in Bottisham 1837 and had a son, Embrey in 1856. He was christened in Bottisham a year later on 22 November 1857, only the mother's name is recorded so presumably she was not married. Embrey A Pluck (PL1124) can be found in the 1871 census when he is living in Bottisham with his grandparents, John and Sarah. He is 13 years old and an agricultural labourer. His mother has not been found in this census. Perhaps she had married. Embrey has not been found in the 1881 census. The birth of Embery Agabuss Pluck was registered in Q3 1888 in the Poplar RD. He died a few months later. His death is registered in Q1 1890 in the Poplar RD, where his full name is recorded as Embry Hagabus Pluck. Hagabus probably should be Agabus - the name of a prophet and saint.Further searches will no doubt find his father - presumably Embrey Agabus Senior (PL1124).

John William King/Pluck (PL1126)

There is a John William KING present in the 1881 census in the Charles/Jane household, described as 'son in law' aged 5, born in Bromley. There is also a John William PLUCK, aged 15 and described as 'son', born in Poplar, in the 1891 census. I think that this is the same person. Poplar and Bromley are almost synonymous.

More work needs to be done to determine who this John William KING/PLUCK is. At that time the term 'son-in law' had a different meaning to the one that know now. Today we would use the description 'step-son'. Clearly he was the son of Jane by a previous (or no) marriage. He could be the son of Charles and Jane who was born before their marriage. His surname could have been changed at some time between 1881 and 1891. There are several loose ends here that need to be tied up. His birth certificate might provide the answer.

He appears in the 1901 census, still recorded as born and living in Bromley, aged 23, a labourer in a tankworks. He has a wife, Melinda, aged 23, and a son John, aged one, both born in Bromley. The name Melinda is probably a mistranscription because the marriage of John Pluck on 16 October 1898 at St Mary Bromley records the bride's name as Minnie HASLETT. A birth record for young John has not been found yet.

Three further children of this marriage have been identified: Alice born in 1912, Percy born in 1916 and Joseph born in 1919. These three have been identified because the GRO birth indexes supply the mother's maiden name from 1911 onwards. No doubt there were more children born between 1900 and 1911.

Unconnected Poplar Records

The following records have all been taken from the GRO indexes for the Poplar Registration district. None has yet been linked to the main tree so I would welcome any information that might help to make a connection. In some instances, for example, children who were born and who died between two successive censuses, the only way of making the connection is either through the parish records or by buying a birth or death certificate.

©2007 Derrick Porter