Osborne - Rode Parish Council

Osborne, Tucker and Fussell

Correspondence between Peter Harris and Liz Rivers NZ

—– Original Message —–

From: IAN RIVERS

To: Peter Harris

Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2009 9:33 AM

Subject: Re: Osbornes of Rode, England

Dear Peter, Special thanks for contacting me. I am so grateful. My gt. gt. grandmother was Sarah Osborne b.1832, and from the 1841 census was living with her parents George b.1806, and Mary b.1804, in Church Row, the 2nd dwelling [? direction] from Bell Inn. 1851 she has left home and the family are living in the 4th house from Parsonage Farm. On with Sarah. She married Charles Smith from Bitton and they had 3 children in Bristol. In 1861 they were living in london, Charles a railway labourer. 1871 Sarah is a widow, and Charles William b.1865 is the youngest child. In 1874 Sarah and her 5 children emmigrated to New Zealand, sponsored by her brother Job, who had settled earlier and was successful water divining and sinking wells. Later he brought his 83 yr old mother ,Mary, to N Z , and perhaps siblings James and Emily.

So,what would I like to know? Anything would be wonderful and enormously appreciated. I hope to find their marriage cert. which would hopefully help with the Smiths, and I wonder if there are any remaining relatives who would be keen to catcch up. I’m so frustrated I didnt know more when we visited your beautiful village, but gosh——- it took me a very long time to find out this much. best wishes and thankyou, Liz Rivers.

Liz,

I have some transcripts of St.Lawrence, Rode parish registers of baptisms marriages and deaths which have the following info about Sarah’s family.

The baptism dates of Sarah and her siblings are Mary Ann 27.01.1828, James 17.04.1829, Sarah Maria 08.05.1831, George 14.10.1832, George 01.06.1834, Harriet Fanny 05.02.1837, Emily Elizabeth 10.05.1840 and Job 15.05.1842.

I can find no record of Sarah’s marriage to Charles Smith or their offspring

Sarah’s parents George and Mary (nee TUCKER) were married on 17.06.1827. George is described as a labourer.

I can find no record of George’s baptism

There is a baptism record of a Mary TUCKER 25.12.1804 and her parents were James and Ann TUCKER but this may not be the Mary that married George.

There are records of baptisms of this Mary’s siblings, the earliest being 20.04.1800.

I can find no record of James and Ann’s marriage

There is a baptism record of a James TUCKER 25.07.1780 with parents Job and Ann TUCKER but this may not be the James that married Ann.

�

There are records of baptisms of this James’ siblings, the earliest being 23.11.1763.

A Job and Ann (nee TOVEY) were married on 10.02.1763

Found www.bittonfamilies.com and put William Smith into the site’s search box. It came up with a ref. in the will of Sumption THOMPSON dated 26 Feb. 1825. The transcriber has listed Sumption’s children at the end of the will, one being Hannah b1805, married William Smith in 1826 at Bitton. Does this match with Charles’ birth date?

Tried to find Charles bapt. between 1825 and 1830 on Bitton registers on the site but found nothing useful. Also looked at Freereg for Gloucestershire and found nothing. Freereg baptism register for Somerset, gave Charles SMITH bapt. 6 April 1828 f William, m Hester at St. Swithin, Bath and Charles SMITH bapt. 17 Nov. 1822 f William, m Sarah at St. Michael, Bath – neither a perfect match!� As the marr. cert. says Charles was born in Bitton maybe one of the researchers on the Bitton Families website could assist you.

Mary OSBORNE (nee TUCKER).� I think she was bapt. 25.12.1804, f James TUCKER, m Ann. If so, her siblings were: (dates are of baptism in Road)

Fanny 20.4.1800; Maria 28.3.1802; Sarah 19.4.1807; Ann 7.1.1810; Edward 11.4.1813; William 25.6.1815; Walter 20.6.1819

Mary�s father, James TUCKER.�� I think he was bapt. 25.7.1780, f Job TUCKER, m Ann (nee TOVEY). If so, his siblings were: (dates are of baptism in Road)

Edward 20.11.1763; Job 8.9.1765; William 26.4.1767; Sarah 18.6.1769; Betty 21.7.1771; Mary 20.3.1774; Walter 20.5.1776; William 24.5.1778; Fanny 16.11.1782; Walter 31.10.1785.

James� father, Job TUCKER.� I think he was born 16.1.1735, f Walter TUCKER, m Mary. If so, his siblings were: (dates are of birth in Road)

Sarah 4.9.1731; Joannah 25.1.1733; Mary 18.8.1737.

Found a Walter TUCKER born 1710 in Road but he died 1711.

I haven’t proved that the mother/father in one generation is the same person as the child in the previous generation (probably need marriage certificate for that) but the dates match pretty well.

1841 Census extract

Place�� Names�� Age�� Trade��

Bell Inn

Church Row�� James Tucker�� 63�� Farmer

�� Sarah�� do�� 50

�� Louisa Short�� 14�� F(emale) S(ervant)

�� Henry�� do�� 10

Church Row�� George Osborne�� 35�� Ag. Lab.

�� Mary�� do�� 37

�� James�� do�� 12

�� George�� do�� 8

�� Sarah�� do�� 10

�� Harriet ��do�� 4

�� Emily�� do�� 1

Church Farm

The above extract lists George and Mary OSBORNE�s family entry as 2 households after that for the Bell Inn and immediately before that for Church Farm.� This suggests that George and Mary lived in a house between the Inn and the Farm.� (This is not definite as a glance through the whole of the census for Road shows entries for a particular place are not all listed together – so they may not be listed in order either.)� Interestingly the head of the household between George�s and the Bell Inn is a James TUCKER, aged 63.� Could this James TUCKER be Mary OSBORNE�s father baptised 25th July 1780?� A wife (Ann) of a James TUCKER died at Road in 1838.�

I cannot identify the Sarah TUCKER living with James.� James had a sister Sarah baptised in 1769 but this doesn�t match the age, 50.� She may be the widow of James� brother, Job TUCKER. (see below) but I have not found any record of a marriage between Job and Sarah TUCKER.� She may be the common law wife of James

1839 Tithe Apportionment

The Tithe map has plots of land in this area numbered as 358(Bell Inn), 359(Home Paddock), 360(House Garden and Shop) and 361(Church Farm).�

Landowner�� Occupier�� Plot No.�� Name/Description

Job Tucker�� ┐�� Thomas Prosser�� 222�� Garden

James Pike and�� │�� Bourn�� 485�� Common Allotment

Jacob Blake�� │�� Widow Tucker�� 359�� Home Paddock

(Executors of the late)│�� 360�� House Garden and Shop

�� 366�� Nutts Paddock

�� 488�� Common Allotment

�� James Tucker�� 378�� Garden late Toveys

The Tithe Apportionment lists the owners of plots 359 and 360 as the executors of a Job TUCKER and the occupier as widow Tucker.�

The Tithe Apportionment also shows the plot of land 378, opposite the Bell Inn, as being owned by the same Job TUCKER and occupied by a James TUCKER.� The plot is described as �Garden late Toveys�, the surname of Job and James mother, Mary, before marriage.

Parish Registers

Parish Registers show a Job TUCKER was buried at Road on 17th February 1839 aged 75.� They also show a Job TUCKER was baptised 8th September 1765, son of Job and Ann TUCKER and older brother to James baptised 25th July 1780.

St. Lawrence Graveyard Register

The graveyard has a memorial to a George Osborne of Rode who died 12th December 1882 aged 75, a few years before Mary emigrated to New Zealand.

Theory

All this would seem to indicate that James� older brother Job Tucker (and his wife, Ann) owned a house, shop and land at Church Row (including plot no. 378 inherited from their mother�s family (TOVEY).� In 1839 Job died leaving his widow as the legal occupier of the house at Church Row and his brother James occupying some of the land.� By 1841, James is living in the house with a Sarah Tucker and servants.� James� daughter Mary, son-in-law George Osborne and family are living next door.�

The 1841 census does not mention James� wife Ann, but the parish register has a record of an Ann Tucker aged 59 being buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 29th March 1838.� I cannot find out anything about the Sarah Tucker living with James.� She doesn�t appear to be his sister.� She may be Job�s widow but I can find no record of his marriage.� She may be James� second wife but I can find no record of such a marriage.

First some more about the Tuckers

Extracts from �History of Some Old Houses In Rode� by Dawna Pine – 2001

(This is a useful book but Dawna did not live in the village long and we occasionally find that some details are not correct.)

�9 Frome Road (Cobble Cottage ) and 11 Frome Road were made from three cottages.� What was then the middle cottage was built first; then the one on the left was built and in 1802, the right-hand cottage was built.� The present owners believe that the cottages used to be thatched.� In 1919, 11 Frome Road was lived in by Tom Goulter, Builder.�

Looking at the date stone on no.11 (see photo) the date looks more like 1805 or 1803.

Photos

The weather has improved enough for me to take some photos.� The photo of the Bell Inn provides an overall view of the area.� Your ancestors� cottages are on the same side of the road as the Inn in the direction of the church (behind the trees).� On the extreme left of the photo is Church Row Farm, with the church beyond.� Church Farm is beyond your ancestors� cottages and opposite Church Row Farm.��

There are 2 photos of the cottages.� You can see there were 3 originally, which have been converted into 2, no.9 on the left and no.11 centre and right.� Buildings belonging to Church Farm can just be seen on the left of the pictures.

The detail of no. 11 shows the date stone for this end of the building.� It looks like �JT 1805� to me.� Job Tucker senior would have been 70 if he was alive in 1805, so I would guess that part was built for Job Tucker junior, aged 40 at that time.

Charles SMITH

1841 Census

Place�� Names�� Age�� Trade�� Born in County

George Inn�� William Smith�� 30�� Publican�� Y

�� Charlotte�� 30�� Y

�� Charles�� 4�� Y

�� Charlotte�� 2�� Y

�� William�� 9m�� Y

�� Mary Andrews�� 20�� F S�� Y

1839 Tithe Apportionment

Landowner�� Occupier�� Plot No.�� Name/Description

Helen Noad�� William Smith�� 51a�� George Inn Garden Etc.

Parish Registers

A Charles SMITH was baptised on 26th February 1837 at St. Lawrence, Rode by William and Charlotte SMITH.� William (Sidney) and Charlotte had 9 children the eldest being baptised on 9th August 1835.� William�s occupation from 1835 to 1842 is described as victualler, and from 1845 to 1855 as innkeeper.

A William Sidney SMITH was born on 10th June 1809 and baptised on 6th August 1809 at St. Lawrence, Rode by William and Elizabeth SMITH.� William and Elizabeth had 1 other child born on 23rd July 1807.

I have not found any record of the marriage of either set of parents.

A William SMITH was buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 17th December 1820 aged 50

An Elizabeth SMITH was buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 20th July 1832 aged 63

A William Sidney SMITH was buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 24th March 1871 aged 61

A Charlotte SMITH was buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 13th December 1894 aged 83

Inscription on gravestone at St. Lawrence, Rode

In memory (of)�

Jane MALONE �(of)

the county of Cla(re) � (in)

Kingdom of Ireland

who died June 11th 1815

aged 66 years

Also of William SMITH

who died December 12th 1820, aged 50

Also of Elizabeth Smith

who died July 15th 1832, aged 62

Also of

William Sidney Smith

son of the above named

William &� Elizabeth Smith

who died March 19th 1871

aged 61

Also of Charlotte

wife of the above-named

William Sidney Smith

who died December 8th 1894

aged 83

The Parish Register confirms first person�s name is �Jane Malone�.

Extract from �History of Some Old Houses In Rode� by Dawna Pine – 2001

�15 High Street (The Old George) was formerly an inn and is now two attached houses�17th century and late 18th century.16� The inn was owned by Jonathan Noad until he died in 1814.� William Sidney Smith occupied the property from at least 1856 to 1877 when he died.� (In fact, by 1877 The Old George had been in occupation by the Smith’s family for 70 years.)� The Directory for 1861 described Smith as the maltster & dealer in hops. Mrs. Charlotte Smith was listed in the Morris’s Directory for the George Inn from 1872-1875.� When it was sold in 1877, the property included the dwelling-house, as well as the Public House, Beer and Spirit Cellars, Brewery, Malt-room, two stables, Coach house, Yard and productive walled-in garden.� By 1883, William Hood was listed for the George Inn.� From 1894 to 1931, the directory lists a Thomas Henry Jackson there.�

More correspondence between Peter Harris and Liz Rivers NZ

1839 Tithe Map

This shows the plots of land from the Bell Inn westwards along the north side of the road are numbered 358 (Bell Inn), 359, 360, 361 (Church Farm).� It also shows plot 378 is on the south side of the road, opposite the Bell Inn.

1839 Tithe Apportionment

Landowner�� Occupier�� Plot No.�� Name/Description

Job Tucker�� ┐� Thomas Prosser�� 222�� Garden

James Pike and�� │� Bourn�� 485�� Common Allotment

Jacob Blake�� │� Widow Tucker�� 359�� Home Paddock

(Executors of the late)│�� 360�� House Garden and

�� ┘�� Shop

�� 366�� Nutts Paddock

�� 488�� Common Allotment

�� James Tucker�� 378�� Garden late Toveys

This shows that the late Job TUCKER owned plot nos. 359 (Home Paddock) and 360 (described as house, garden and shop) and they were occupied by his widow.� It also shows that he owned plot no. 378, which was occupied by a James TUCKER and was described as �garden late TOVEYs�, the birth name of Mary TUCKER�s paternal grandmother.

1841 Census

Place�� Names�� Age�� Trade�� Born in

�� County

Bell Inn

Church Row�� James Tucker�� 63�� Farmer�� Y

�� Sarah�� do�� 50�� Y

�� Louisa Short�� 14�� F S�� N

�� Henry�� do�� 10�� Y

Church Row�� George Osborne�� 35�� Ag Lab�� Y

�� Mary�� do�� 37�� Y

�� James�� do�� 12�� Y

�� George�� do�� 8�� Y

�� Sarah�� do�� 10�� Y

�� Harriet�� do�� 4�� Y

�� Emily�� do�� 1�� Y

Church Farm

Parish Registers

A further look at the parish registers shows that James TUCKER (bp 25th July 1780) had an older brother Job (bp 8th July 1765).� Also that a Job TUCKER aged 75 was buried at St. Lawrence, Rode on 17th February 1839.�

St. Lawrence Graveyard Register

The graveyard has a memorial to a George Osborne of Rode who died 12th December 1882 aged 75, a few years before Mary emigrated to New Zealand.

Theory

All this would seem to indicate that James� older brother Job Tucker (and his wife) owned a house, shop and land at Church Row (including plot no. 378 inherited from their mother�s family TOVEY).� In 1839 Job died leaving his widow as the legal occupier of the house at Church Row and his brother James occupying some of the land.� By 1841, James is living in the house with a Sarah Tucker and servants.� James� daughter Mary, son-in-law George Osborne and family are living next door.�

Article written for the Link

A Remarkable Rodent

The following is just the first part of an article of 3 full-column lengths in the Ellesmere Guardian, Tuesday, February 3, 1931:

A PIONEER PASSES

LONG AND USEFUL LIFE.

THE LATE MR JOB OSBORNE.

OVER 70 YEARS IN NEW ZEALAND.

A gentleman who will long be remembered as one of the Ellesmere County�s finest citizens passed away on Saturday in a private hospital at Christchurch, in the person of Mr Job Osborne, of 12 Idris Road, Fendalton, and formerly of �Winfield,� Doyleston, at the age of 88 years.

Born in Somersetshire, England, in 1842, the late Mr Osborne removed to London when 14 years of age, and in 1859 he came out to New Zealand in the ship �Cresswell.�� A few years later he visited the goldfields in Otago, where he met with a fair measure of success for about a year.� Having set his mind upon a farming career, he returned to Canterbury and later bought land at Prebbleton.� He was also engaged for several years in road and railway contracting work.� Selling out his Prebbleton holding, he moved to the Ellesmere district, where he bought from the Crown, in 1864, the first part of what subsequently became a large farm.� The land was then undrained swamp, covered with raupo, flax and toi-toi.� Mr Osborne�s attention was given chiefly to the growing of grain crops, and even in those early days he was regarded as one of the most progressive farmers in the district, manifesting rare judgment in all his activities.� Courage, determination and the stamina necessary to stand up to long hours of hard work were qualities called for in an exceptional degree in those early years, and the possession of them enabled Mr Osborne to succeed in his calling and to develop the �Winfield� estate into one of the best in the district.� An early settler remarked quite recently that forty years ago Mr Osborne adopted methods in his farming operations, which have only in recent years come into general use.� He was the first man to introduce threshing machinery into the Doyleston district, and also brought the first reaper and binder into Ellesmere.

Possessing a liking for machinery and a capacity for inventing labour-saving appliances, Mr Osborne became known throughout the Dominion as a sinker of artesian wells in the early eighties, when he patented a method of his own.� As far back as 1888 he sank a two-inch well for the Christchurch Drainage Board on the Windmill road, doing the work at about a quarter of the cost of sinking by hand.� At one time he had seven plants at work in various parts of the Dominion.� The same method has been used many times by prospectors for, minerals.� For a long period Mr Osborne was chairman of directors of the Ellesmere Engineering Works.

Job Osborne, the son of George Osborne, a labourer, and Mary, nee Tucker was baptised at St. Lawrence, Rode.� The Osborne family lived at Church Row in one of the cottages between the Bell Inn and Church Farm.� Mary�s family (Tuckers) and a family of Fussells also lived at Church Row and there were several inter-family marriages between them.� At least five couples and their children and eight other adults from these three families emigrated to New Zealand between� 1859 and 1885.� Recently, I had the pleasure of introducing two of their descendants, an Osborne and a Fussell, both living in Christchurch, NZ, who were not aware that they were related.

Peter Harris

Newspaper articles on James and Job Osborne

Contacts researching Fussell, Osborne and Tucker Families from Rode England

More correspondence between Peter Harris and Liz Rivers NZ, Alison Crawford OZ and Kathleen Grant NZ

From: Alison Crawford

Peter,

I stumbled upon your website while looking for information about Road/Rode. My ggg grandfather was William Tucker (1815-1907). He was born in the village. William died here in Sydney in 1907. His parents were James and Ann, though I have no further information about them.

William’s second wife was Elizabeth Fussell, also of Road and his older sister Mary married George Osborne – also of Road! The mix of Tucker’s, Fussell’s and Osborne’s all have a fascinating and important history after their emigration to New Zealand and Australia – but it all began in Road! And census information (also on your site) has shown that they all lived very close to each other in numbers 25, 26 and 31 Church Row. Is there a map showing house location from the 1841 Census?

I was surprised to discover from your site that one of the bells from Christchurch (where some of the relatives were baptised) is now ringing in Menangle. Menangle is not far from where my parents live! It’s an amazing coincidence and I can’t wait to see it when I next pass through that way.

Regards,

Alison Crawford (nee Tucker)

From: Alison Crawford

Subject: Job Osborne – born in Road 1842

Peter,

Many thanks for sending on the information that you had about the Tucker family. I was amused to see the names Walter and William running so prominently through those generations too!

I will send further information about my William Tucker (1815-1907) in a later email, but wanted to send you on this information about Job Osborne. Job was born in Road in 1842 and was the son of George Osborne and Mary Tucker.

Job (and many others of his family) sailed for New Zealand and went on to prosper in that land. I imagine that his beginnings in Church Row Road, were very humble indeed, but he was an amazing person and a noted pioneer of the Canterbury district of New Zealand and I am very proud to have discovered him among my family members.

Attached is a PDF copy of Page 5 of the Ellesmere Guardian from Feb 3, 1931 detailing the passing of Job. The article is headed – A Pioneer Passes – and finishes with – An Appreciation – which sums up who the man was.

Maybe you have already heard of Job, but if not, I hope you enjoy reading the attached.

Regards,

Alison

19/12/13

Alison

Many thanks for the article about Job Osborne, very interesting. I will suggest that some of it goes into our monthly village magazine. I thought the article about the arrest of an emu was good too.

I think I had heard of Job as I met Peter and Sharon Fussell, of Christchurch NZ, here earlier this year. Peter is a descendant of Aaron Fussell, b1835, who married Harriet Osborne, both from Church Row in Rode. They emigrated to NZ on the British Empire in 1864 with their children and Aaron�s brothers Thomas and William and William�s wife, Emily, and children. I think Peter may have mentioned that Aaron went out to NZ at Job Osborne�s suggestion and worked for him for a while. I get the impression from your earlier email that you are aware of some of these links between the Tuckers, Osbornes and Fussells. I find the emigration of people from Rode fascinating and am keen to discover more emigrants and the ships they went out on. I understand that around 1835 things were so bad in Rode that charity land was sold to raise money to pay for some poor people to go to Oz, but I have yet to find out who.

Regards

Peter

Peter,

William Tucker born in Road 23.5.1815 died in Sydney 4.3.1907. His death certificate suggests that he had 22 children, though 16 of them predeceased him. He had been in NSW for 17 years, but I have not been able to find any travel information, though I am still on the hunt!

His first marriage was to Eliza Hamilton and took place in Paddington on 26.12.1840. I have no confirmed death date for Eliza, but his second wedding certificate states that he was a widower. Both William and Eliza signed their wedding certificate. His second marriage was to Elizabeth Fussell of Road, and took place in Battersea 23.5.1859. Elizabeth was unable to sign her name and drew her mark on the certificate. The witness of the marriage was William’s nephew James Osborne. William Tucker had earlier acted as witness for the marriage of his other nephew George Osborne to Emma Arber in 1857.

At the time of his second marriage William Tucker would have been aged 45 while Elizabeth Fussell only 21. William also had at least 5 children to care for. William’s trade was Blacksmith and the family lived in Battersea.

My heritage descends from William’s first marriage to Eliza Hamilton but the Fussell and Osborne families continued to appear in the family line through marriages between all the families and the future international movement of the three families indicates that they were all very close.

Osborne Family

William Tucker’s older sister Mary (1804-1891) was married to George Osborne of Road. Many of Mary’s children made the journey to New Zealand. Three sons are often mentioned as pioneers of the Canterbury district of the South Island of NZ. They are James (1829-1908), George (1834-1889) and Job (1842-1931). All three brothers and their families sailed per ‘Cresswell� and arrived in NZ in 1859. (document attached)

Osborne and Fussell Families

Osborne daughters who made the trip at other times were; Harriet Funny (1837-1913) and her husband Aaron Fussell (1832-1875) and Emily b. 1840 and her husband William Fussell. William and Aaron Fussell were the brothers of Elizabeth who had married my William Tucker.

Tucker Family

Four children of William Tucker made the journey to NZ as well. They were; James (1848-1910) – arriving per Merope in 1873; William (1854-1925) arriving per Hereford in 1874; Emma or Emily (1857-1929) and also perhaps another sister Lizzie (b.1862). My line continues through this William Tucker who is my gg grandfather. He married in Sydney yet chose to take his wife back to Christchurch for the birth of their first child in 1879. They named him Walter James Osborne Tucker. The Osborne was obviously in honour of the cousins Job, James and George who assisted him, and I suspect urged him to come in the first place. William and his wife Lizzie and new son Walter returned to Sydney and settled here. William was a successful butcher and his son Walter followed him into the trade. My line continues with Walter�s son Wallace b. 1914 d.1987 (he had a brother Walter and a brother William) and than Wallace’s son Graham. Graham is my father.

Deaths of Mary Osborne and William Tucker

Mary Osborne (nee Tucker) made the journey to NZ in approx. 1885 and died in Tai Tapu in 1891. I suspect that William Tucker might have made the journey from England with his sister Mary and so went to NZ to visit children there before coming to Sydney. I further suspect that Job Osborne might have paid for the passage. This is the missing piece of the puzzle that I am desperate to find!

None the less, William Tucker died 4.3.1907 aged 91. He died in the home of his son William at Leichhardt in Sydney’s inner west. He is buried at Waverley Cemetery and his son and grandson were witnesses at the burial.

My interest in all this

I live in Waverley and on a day when we were lost for something to do, I took my 5 year old son to see if we could find the grave. The undertaker at the cemetery told me that we’d be very lucky to find a headstone as so many of them are not looked after. But, we found a headstone and lots of other family information! When we pass by the cemetery on our way to the beach, my son talks of it as �the place where my grandfathers are buried!� I have attached a photo of the headstone together with a photo of William Tucker (1815-1907).

I’ve enjoyed finding out who the Tucker’s were as I had very little information to go on. When my grandmother died, we found a box of papers and photos among which was the baptism certificate of William from 1815 and also his second wedding certificate to Elizabeth Fussell. I’m not sure why she ended up storing all the Tucker information, but I’m glad she did!

But I you have any further information about William’s life in Road, or of his ancestors, then I would be grateful to receive it. And if any of the above information conflicts with any that you have, then please let me know.

I also have certificates and further bits and pieces which I would be happy to share with you.

Regards,

Alison

From: Peter and Ann Harris

To: Rivers Ian & Liz

Subject: Fw: Tucker, Fussell and Osborne Families

Hi Liz,

I have been listing the people that emigrated from Rode to NZ in the 1800s, this is the result so far:

Year

Ship

Passengers from Rode

1859

Cresswell

James Osborne b1829, wife Emma b1838 (nee ?) and children James b1857 and Sarah Ann (b on ship?)

1859

Cresswell

George Osborne b1835 (brother of James) and wife Emma b1840 (nee Arber)

1859

Cresswell

Job Osborne b1842 (brother of James)

1864

British Empire

Aaron Fussell b1835, wife Harriett (nee Osborne, sister of James) and children Angus b?, Joseph b1857 and Sarah b?

1864

British Empire

William Fussell b 1837 (brother of Aaron), wife Emily Elizabeth b 1841 (nee Osborne, sister of James) and children Edward b1859, George b1861 and Elizabeth b1864

1864

British Empire

Thomas Fussell b1842 (brother of Aaron)

1873

Merope

James Tucker b1848

1874

Hereford

William Tucker b1854 (brother of James Tucker)

1874

Carisbrooke

Sarah Smith b1832 (nee Osborne) (sister of James Osborne)

Emma or Emily Tucker b1857 (sister of James Tucker)

Lizzie Tucker b.1862 (sister of James Tucker)

William Tucker b1815 (father of James, William, Emma and Lizzie) and 2nd wife Elizabeth b1839 (nee Fussell, sister of Aaron)

1885?

Mary Osborne b1804 (nee Tucker) (mother of James and sister of William)

Have a very merry Xmas

Hello Peter,

27.2.2014

I have recently been contacted by a rather distant relation in Australia, who is descended, like myself, from William Tucker (b. 1815) of Rode, Somerset.

William�s parents were James b. 25/7/1780 and Ann; his grandparents Job b. 16/1/1735 and Ann (nee Tovey); and great-grandparents Walter and Mary Tucker (dates unknown).

William Tucker was my great-grandfather, his son James b. Southwark, London 1850, was my grandfather and is buried not far from me here in Canterbury, New Zealand. James was the son of William and his first wife, Eliza Hamilton.

My Australian contact, Alison Crawford, has emailed me a photo of the Tucker/Osborne house at 9 & 11 Frome Road, Somerset and I was wondering if there would be any possibility of my ordering a hardcopy photo of this home?

I would have no hesitation in paying any costs (including postage) if this would be possible – I have already ordered a copy of the book �A Pictorial History of Rode� and paid via Visa through the Camden Miniature Steam Services website.

If my request cannot be fulfilled, I will understand, but do look forward to hearing back from you at some stage.

Kindest regards,

Kathleen Grant

47 St John Street

Southbridge

Canterbury 7602

New Zealand.

From: Peter and Ann Harris
Sent: ‎Tuesday‎, ‎27‎ ‎May‎ ‎2014 ‎11‎:‎15‎ ‎PM
To: Alison Crawford

Alison

Its good to hear that you are getting on so well with your research. I have good news on Elizabeth Fussell. I can confirm that EF and MF were baptised at Christchurch, Rode Hill. Copy of the transcription below.

SOM

Rode Hill

Christ Church

205

29 Apr 1855

Elizabeth

James

Ann

FUSSELL

Road

Labourer

aged [blank]

SOM

Rode Hill

Christ Church

206

29 Apr 1855

Martha

James

Ann

FUSSELL

Road

Labourer

aged [blank]

I am surprised it is not on FreeReg as they normally receive copies of every transcription made for the Frome Hundred family history group. Did I tell you about that � you can join the group for free and then you can get free access to the transcribed parish registers of all the villages around Frome including Rode.

Regards

Peter

Dear Kathleen

19 June 2014

memorial stone of George Osborne at St. Lawrence. I have attached the 2 best ones but they are difficult to read.

The headstone would have originally been set upright in the ground but at some time in the past has been laid flat on the surface, probably because it started to lean dangerously.

The inscription (in lead letters) says:

IN MEMORY OF

GEORGE OSBORNE

WHO DIED NOV 12 1882

AGED 75 YEARS

IF FOUND MY LIFELESS CLAY

ASSEMBLE THOSE I LOVE

THEN SING OF HEAVEN DELIGHTFUL HEAVEN

MY GLORIOUS HOME ABOVE

ALSO IN LOVING MEMORY OF

JOHN HENRY MIDDLETON

WHO DIED FEB 10 1890 AGED 45 YEARS

NOT GONE FROM MEMORY NOT GONE FROM LOVE

BUT GONE TO OUR FATHER�S HOME ABOVE

In addition the grave register records that Thomas and Mary Ann MIDDLETON were also buried in this grave in 1884. I believe that John Henry was the son of Thomas and Mary Ann. The only connection that I can find between George and the Middletons is that Mary Ann was a witness at the wedding of George�s daughter, Maria, in 1864, so I guess the families were just good friends.

Regards

Peter

June 20, 2014

Years ago I was in contact with a Sydney Fussell who lived in Rode, and he sent me photocopies of what he knew of the family. I believe

he would be in his 80s now and possibly still living in the area. Do you know him? I would love to get back in touch if possible.

I possibly have mentioned it before, but although I am of Tucker descent, my great-grandfather (William Tucker b. 1815) married his second wife Elizabeth Fussell – hence our Fussell connection. However, it is slightly more definite than just Elizabeth being my step-greatgrandmother. as two of the Osborne girls (Harriet and Emily – daughters of Mary Osborne nee Tucker and nieces of the above William Tucker) married two Fussell brothers (brothers of ‘our’ Elizabeth) – Aaron and William. The three families are very closely linked and members of all families still live in our district.

Many thanks once again, Peter.

Kathleen