Melbourn & Cambridge Plucks
Origins
The current top of the tree is Thomas Pluck and his wife Mary Pearce who were married in the parish church at Fowlmere on 1 May 1798. This is the first Pluck (or Pluckrose) event recorded in Fowlmere so Thomas must have come from elsewhere. I now believe that Thomas came from Arkesden. He can be found in Tree 4 (Arkesden Branch).
This tree is a continuation from Tree 4.
The head of this tree, Benjamin Pluck (PL0410) was born in Arkesden in 1776, the son of William Pluck (PL5) and his second wife Eizabeth Wootten. Benjamin next appears in the records on 14 October 1801 when he marries Mary January in Melbourn Parish Church (Boyd's index). Melbourn is about 12 miles from Arkesden. His older brother, Thomas, also moved from Arkesden, but in his case to Fowlmere, just a couple of miles from Melbourn.
This Tree was formerly Tree 1003 - one of the "Orphan" trees. When I was last working on Tree 1003, several years ago, I did not feel able to connect Thomas and Mary to any of the set of Linked trees. I did not have enough data to allow me to make a link with any confidence.
Other Thomases born within the 1760-1780 timeframe: 1 bap 18 Sep 1768 [PL12 in Tree2] - son of John and Ann of Saffron Walden 2 bap 2 Jul 1772 [PL409 in Tree4] - son of William and Elizabeth of Arkesden 3 bap 13 Jun 1773 in Portsmouth son of Peter and Ann - probably a sailor and a member of the Irish Pluck branch
PL No |
Surname |
Forenames |
Notes |
| 1255 | BECKETT | Elizabeth | C1901 |
| 2802 | BOTTRILL | Glenys | mmn Saunders |
| 1212 | BRADSHAW | William | a widower when married to Mary (Evelyn Tate) |
| 1209 | BROOKS | Mary Ann | C1881; C1891; C1901 |
| 3385 | EAGLE | William James | First husband of Florence Selina PL1284. |
| 3404 | FLACK | Cecilia Eliza | A GRO birth record not found. |
| 2832 | FLEMING | George J | There is a possible death in Q2 1919 in the West Ham RD, aged 36. |
| 3389 | FORDHAM | Mary | Parents were William & Elizabeth Fordham. C1841: NF; C1851: b.1793 in Melbourn. Possible deaths in Royston RD in Q4 1838 or Q1 1841. |
| 2804 | GODBER | Emma | Father: George Godber; mother: Sophia Milthorp |
| 3388 | GRIMWOOD | Jack R | Mother's maiden name: REEVE |
| 3403 | HARD | Sarah | C1871: lodging in Luton with Rebecca Pluck (PL1186) |
| 1185 | HAYDEN | Mary | C1841; C1851; C1871 |
| 3425 | HEDGCOCK | Frederick George | Also found as Hidgcock. C1901: 31, grocer, b. Billington (BDF). |
| 1284 | HOPKINS | Florence Selina | To the best of my knowledge she was born Florence Selina HOPKINS, but I have not been able to find a birth record in the GRO index. She married William James EAGLE under this name in Q2 1897; he died less than a year later. She married James Yelling PLUCK in 1900, using the name EAGLE, however her father was recorded as Henry Johnson. The most likely explanation is that he was her step-father. The birth certificates for her sons gave her maiden name as Hopkins. |
| 1226 | KIRBY | Caroline Wright | C1901 |
| 3421 | MACROFF | Lilian A | Surname recorded as MAYCROFF in daughter's birth registration |
| 3402 | MARRIOTT | Timothy Bletsoe | His wife died Q3 1899 (St Ives 3b, 181, age 61) and he married Rebecca about a year later. Presumably she was still living in his house. He died 28 February 1922 and Rebecca was granted probate on 18 May [£128 14s 8d - about £5000 in 2011]. |
| 1240 | MONEY | Harriet Emily | C1901 |
| 2614 | NEEN | Esther | b. on 31 March 1924 (GRO death index) |
| 1258 | OSBORN | Mary Ann | C1901 |
| 1207 | PATMAN | Mary Ann | Her father, Yelling Patman, was killed by lightning in 1867. |
| 3383 | PETERS OR HOLMES | Hilda F | I do not yet understand the significance of the alternative names given in the GRO index. Possibly one is from a previous marriage? |
| 1200 | PETTIT | Sarah | Widow of John Pettitt. C1841: born in Cambs ca 1772. |
| 1183 | PLUCK | Abraham | C1841; C1851: 12, ag lab living in Fowlmere; C1861: 23, railway servant, living in Saxmundham; C1871: 32, railway porter, now married, living in Beccles; C1881: 43, no change; C1891: 52, railway guard; C1901: 62, no change, still in Beccles. |
| 1229 | PLUCK | Agnes | C1881; C1891: a servant in Albury (Albury is near Bishop's Stortford); C1901: a parlour maid in Hitchin. There is a marriage in the index which looks very likely: Q4 1901 Agnes Pluck, Hitchin 3a, 1019; Free BMD gives two possible husbands: William John SPICER or Philip Frederick SCHOLL. |
| 1249 | PLUCK | Albert Victor | C1901 |
| 1228 | PLUCK | Alice Maud | C1901 |
| 2615 | PLUCK | Ann-Marie Maud | Two children: Neil Adrian and Anne-Marie. |
| 1196 | PLUCK | Benjamin | C1841: NF; C1851: in Melbourn, ag lab, age 55, b. Foulmire. Benjamin & Mary have a nephew, Fordham Loates, aged 9, with them. Next door are John (31) and Mary (34) Loates with three sons aged 11,8 and 5. This is almost certainly Fordham's family. This information was useful in identifying Benjamin's bride. |
| 1269 | PLUCK | Bertha | Bertha and Arthur had two children, Jean and John. |
| 2831 | PLUCK | Brian | There is a possible marriage in Q4 1963 in the Surrey Northern RD: spouse=SMITH |
| 1275 | PLUCK | Brian | Buried 10 Nov 1997; a lorry driver, living at 41 Tower Hill, Beccles. |
| 1257 | PLUCK | Dorothy Irene | C1901 |
| 1217 | PLUCK | Edgar Arthur | C1901: living in West Ham, a railway guard, no children. |
| 1243 | PLUCK | Edith Maud | C1901 |
| 2819 | PLUCK | Ernest A F | Debt of Honour Register Ernest Arthur Frederick Pluck M.M. Lance Serjeant, 1st Bn Durham Light Infantry. |
| 1213 | PLUCK | Ernest William | C1901 |
| 1210 | PLUCK | Ernest William | Ernest emigrated to Australia at age 18, departing from Plymouth on 10 Mar 1888 aboard the Scottish Lassie ( a three masted Barque ) and arriving in Bundaberg on 10 Jun 1888. Ernest then sailed from Rockhampton on the steamship Glanworth arriving in Sydney on 4 Feb 1889. |
| 1238 | PLUCK | Ethel May | C1901. There is a possible marriage in Q4 1905 Mutford 4a 2249 to either Arthur CURL or Edward Charles ALBROW. |
| 1241 | PLUCK | Ethel May | C1901 |
| 1190 | PLUCK | Etheldreda | C1841; There is a marriage in the GRO index: Q2 1852 Etheldreda Pluck, Hitchin 3a 272, Free BMD gives husband as either John CANNON or John STANFORD. I can not find her in subsequent censuses. |
| 1187 | PLUCK | Fanny | C1841; C1851: 18, unm, housemaid in Hitchin. Not found subsequently. |
| 1239 | PLUCK | Frank William | C1901: He worked on the railways (his father was an engine driver) and he suffered an accident in 1912 when a train ran over and cut off his foot. |
| 1222 | PLUCK | Frederick | C1901 in Chelmsford, a brass moulder, unm, boarder in Bartlett household. There is a possible death in Maidstone in 1941. |
| 1227 | PLUCK | Frederick James | C1901 |
| 2616 | PLUCK | Gladys Janette May | Two children: Michael and Scott. Michael is married and has a daughter names Mille. |
| 2602 | PLUCK | Gloria Alma | Gloria married Jean-Michel Guimbart (30.10.1955) on 31 May 1975. They have three sons Loïc Reginald Michel( |
| 1205 | PLUCK | Hannah | C1851; James and Hannah married in Fowlmere on 23 December 1865; they had five children. |
| 1191 | PLUCK | Harriet | C1841 |
| 1256 | PLUCK | Harry Ernest | C1901 |
| 1189 | PLUCK | Hephzibah | C1841; There is a marriage in the GRO index: Q4 1854 Hephzibah Pluck, Hitchin 3a 335, Free BMD gives husband as either George MATTHEW or Jabez WORBOYS. I can not find her in subsequent censuses. |
| 1221 | PLUCK | Hephzibah | In 1901 census working as a cook at Gloucester Gardens, London, age 30, single. |
| 1219 | PLUCK | Herbert | C1901: farmer's labourer. |
| 1233 | PLUCK | Herbert John | C1891; C1901: not found; C1911: living in Shepreth. |
| 2818 | PLUCK | Ivy A I | I am slightly uncertain about connecting Ivy Pluck to Rodney Waterfield, chiefly because she would have been 26 when they married and Rodney would have been 55. Unusual, but definitely not out of the question. A search for Rodney in the 1901 census finds him in a group of 15 people living in three caravans. They are the final family listed in the census of Aylsham in Norfolk [RG13/1830, f.32, p.26]. Today we would usually call them travellers, in 1901 they would probably have been called gipsies. The head of the family was Henry Gray, 59, Horse Dealer (travelling). His wife, Lavina, 40, born in Bedford, would have been Rodney's mother. Rodney is recorded as Roddy Waterfield, 18, stepson, no occupation, born in Cley Next the Sea in Norfolk. Rodney and Ivy had four children: Rosalind P A [1941], Harry J R P [1942], Brian P [1944] and Carole E V [1946]; all births were registered in the Wisbech R.D. |
| 3431 | PLUCK | Jack Adrian | The birth was registered again in Apr 2000 (Stockport C66A, 0131C, 066). |
| 1206 | PLUCK | James | C1851; C1881; C1891; C1901 |
| 1211 | PLUCK | James | C1881 |
| 1246 | PLUCK | James Ernest | C1901 |
| 1285 | PLUCK | James Stanley | Recorded as Stanley James in the GRO death index. Date of birth in index confirms identity. |
| 1214 | PLUCK | James Yelling | C1871: 7, scholar; C1881: 17, engine driver (maltster); C1891: 28, railway stoker RGD; C1901: now married, rail goods driver. |
| 1184 | PLUCK | John | C1841: ag lab; C1851; ag lab; C1861: ag lab; C1871: farm labourer. |
| 1193 | PLUCK | John | John and Thomas were probably twins. John was baptised on 30 Apr 1833 and Thomas on 2 May. John probably died soon after baptism. Another John came along in 1842. |
| 1203 | PLUCK | John | C1851; C1861: 19, ag lab, living with parents; C1871: 29, no change; C1881: 39, ag lab, a lodger at the Green Man (public house) in Thriplow - his parents are now dead. Not found subsequently. |
| 2620 | PLUCK | Jonathan E L | Lives in Calgary. |
| 2806 | PLUCK | Lillian Sophia | Two children: William Norman and Isabel (Source: Tony Pluck). |
| 1230 | PLUCK | Lily | C1881; C1891: a domestic servant in Cambridge; C1901: married, one son and 2 daughters. |
| 2604 | PLUCK | Linzy Gail | two children: Camille Victoria (5 Nov 1999: Dunkirk) and Gabriel David Joseph (7 Mar 2004). |
| 1247 | PLUCK | Mabel Violet | C1901. She had a son by Henry W Smith: GRO birth index gives: Dennis R Smith, Q2 1923, Wangford 4a, 1940). The GRO record of her marriage to John Moody is unusual in that her name appears twice in the index: as MONEY, Violet M P and as PLUCK MONEY, Violet M. The entry is also unusual in that her surname ought to have appeared as SMITH. A possible death in Newton Abbott in March 1970. |
| 1204 | PLUCK | Mary | C1851 |
| 1251 | PLUCK | Olive Maud | C1901 |
| 1186 | PLUCK | Rebecca | unmarried, aged 45, born in Foulmire. C1891: 53, unm, straw bonnet maker, still with the Marriots but now recorded as "lodger; C1901: now marrried to Timothy Marriott. Lived until she was 90. |
| 1250 | PLUCK | Reginald Harold | C1901 |
| 2795 | PLUCK | Reginald Walter | He is buried in the Brussels Town Cemetery. |
| 2808 | PLUCK | Robert | Never married. |
| 1231 | PLUCK | Rosa | C1881; C1891: In Toxteth Park, Lancashire in the household of Isaac and Mary Mathews, a general servant. Isaac was an assurance agent born in Whittlesford a few miles from Fowlmere, which explains why Rosa has moved so far from her home. C1901: in Salford, a domestic servant in the household of Thomas and Martha Lord. |
| 1236 | PLUCK | Rosa | This is John Tate's grandmother. |
| 0409 | PLUCK | Thomas | C1841: ag lab. There are two similar entries in the GRO death index in Q3 of 1847, both Royston and both in Volume 6, one on p379 and one on p381. The other could have been his grandson, also Thomas (PL1192). |
| 1192 | PLUCK | Thomas | C1841. Not found in subsequent censuses. There is a probable death in Q3 1847, possibly within days of his grandfather (Thomas PL409). There was a lot of cholera around in 1847. Even in country areas the water was often contaminated. |
| 1218 | PLUCK | Thomas | C1891: married, living in Beccles, a journeyman tailor; C1901: a tailor. |
| 1232 | PLUCK | Thomas | I can't find a GRO birth index record for Thomas, however, he is clearly recorded in both the 1881 and 1891 censuses. Not found in the 1901census. |
| 1244 | PLUCK | Walter Abram | C1901 |
| 1266 | PLUCK | Walter Ernest | Birth record not found in GRO index |
| 2624 | SMITH | Nigel | mmn Smalley |
| 1274 | SONES | Eva May | marriage record not in GRO index |
| 1248 | VINCENT | Jane | C1901 |
"Orphans"
There are people that I have come across in the GRO birth indexes for the general areas covered by this tree, but have been unable to assign to any parents.
Thomas Pluck: his birth was registered in Q1 1889 (Wangford 4a, 1107) and his death in Q4 1888 (Wangford 4a, 483). I expect his parents overlooked the need to register the birth. He could fit into several families but I am inclined to favour Thomas Pluck and Jane Vincent who married in Q2 1888 and had three children in 1892, 1894 and 1896.
Agnes Rose Pluck: was born in Q4 1904 (Wangford 4a, 1115) and married in Wangford RD in Q1 1928 (spouse =DREWETT).
Thomas Leslie Pluck: was born in Q3 1907 (Wangford 4a, 1107).
Acknowledgements:
I am grateful to Carole Pluck, Mark Pluck, Jeanette Wallace, Alicia Moyles and Tony Pluck for their help in compiling this tree.
... and finally
I have never been to Fowlmere. The name, Fowlmere, conjures up a vision of a shimmering lake covered in ducks, swans and other wildfowl. This image, however, is spoilt when one finds that the old parish registers called the place Foulmire. An example of modern sanitisation of old-time reality, I suppose? There is a village in Bedfordshire, a few miles from my birthplace of Stotfold, which is now called Shillington. It was Shitlington until about 1860.
