Toogoods of Rode
Hello Joan,
Thank you for contacting me. Its nice to know that someone is making use of the Rode History website.
I think I might need to apologise to you if you tried to phone me a few days ago and got a very short unfriendly response. A few minutes previously I had received an unsolicited call from some company or other and I thought I was getting another one.
I have had a look through my records for the Toogood family but I haven’t found very much and nothing about Beatrice.
Kelly’s Directories for Road, Somerset from 1894 to 1919 have ‘Toogood Joseph baker’ in the Commercial List
The parish baptism registers for St. Lawrence, Rode from 1714 to 1906 only have 3 entries for Toogood; William Ernest, bapt 29/1/1888; Ethel May, bapt 28/12/1889; and Mildred Rosina, born 24/10/1899, bapt 22/4/1900; all the children of Joseph Ernest, baker of Road and Mary Jane his wife. For the 1900 entry the place of residence was given as Lower Street, Road. These dates seem to fit well with the date of Beatrice’s birth. As Beatrice would have been 16 years old in 1901, it is quite possible that she had left the family home to work or for further education. Do you have the names of her parents?
The parish baptism register for Christchurch, Rode Hill and the parish marriage and burial records for St. Lawrence and Christchurch have no entries for Toogood.
I have a record of some shops in the village, written in the 1960s, which has ’11 Lower St. Toogood’s bake house and shop’
Finally, the St. Lawrence graveyard records list a gravestone for Mildred Rosina Toogood died 21 Feb 1918 aged 18 and William Ernest Toogood died 14 Sept 1918 aged 30, children of Joseph and Mary Toogood.
It may help you to know that the village name changed from ‘Road’ to ‘Rode’ in 1919 and until 1937 part of the village was in Wiltshire and was called Road Hill (Rodehill) and was part of the parish of N Bradley and later Southwick. The county boundary went along one side of Lower Street and it would seem from the above that No. 11 was just in Road, Somerset. When doing searches it is advisable to use the appropriate village names in the Somerset and Wiltshire records.
Regards
Peter
From: JOAN LOVELL joanlovell@btinternet.com
To: pandaharris@dsl.pipex.com
Sent: Thursday, 26 August, 2010 14:53:42
Subject: Toogoods in Rode, Somerset
Dear Peter,
I just thought I would up date you on my research. Your e-mail of 21 August giving details of Toogoods in Rode, Somerset was of great help. I obtained a copy of my grandmother’s marriage certificate, which confirmed that her father was Joseph Toogood of Road, Somerset, who was a baker. So, this information tied in with all your details of Toogoods in Road, and I have started to be able to build up a family tree history on this side. According to the 1891 census Beatrice was actually named ‘Emma Beatrice’, but obviously somewhere along the line she dropped the name Emma. The census records sometimes do not appear to be totally complete, as people are listed in one and then in the next census they are missing, and then they turn up again in the next at the same address.
Anyway, I will continue my research which I am finding very interesting.
Many thanks once again for all your help.
Regards
Joan
Dear Peter,
Thank you very much for your e-mail and very quick response – it is much appreciated, together with all the research you have done for me. It is very kind of you.
Unfortunately, due to family circumstances, we know very little about Beatrice prior to her marriage in 1910 to Harold J. Grist of Melksham/Trowbridge. I am given to understand that her maiden name was Toogood and that she came from Rode. We have found the marriage records, and I have ordered a copy of her marriage certificate, which I am hoping will give us some more information. We have searched the census records for 1891 onwards and cannot find Beatrice Toogood in the Somerset/Wiltshire area. Perhaps the family hearsay evidence is incorrect? I asked my Mother again today if she knew anything else about her, and the only other thing (which again
we do not know if it is correct) was that she had a sister called Sarah.
Many thanks for your help so far. I may contact you again if the marriage certificate brings anything else to light – I hope you do not mind.
Thank you for your note concerning Road and Rodehill – this may prove very helpful.
Many thanks once again.
Kind regards
Joan (Lovell)