De Bootje Gazette

Introduction. Immigrants have been arriving and settling in eastern England for millenia. The history of Saxon, Roman, Viking, and Norman invaders, for example, is well known to every English school child. Not so well known perhaps is the history of the steady stream of highly-skilled, hard-working and invited new citizens from just across the North Sea and the English Channel. These folks came over as weavers, farmers and craftsmen from adjacent regions of Holland, Flanders and northwestern France. They came usually in small batches, and mostly during the 14th to 18th C. Collectively, they were commonly known as "Strangers." Wilson (1959) says: "Until the great Huguenot inrush in the 1680s our refugees came mainly from the Low Countries and the majority of them were Flemings."

In previous Issues of the Gazette, and in an article published in the Journal of the Cambridgeshire Family History Society (DeBoo 2002), I attempted to identify, sort and highlight the Flemish (Dutch-speaking) component of such Strangers in the Fens near Thorney. My purpose was simply to segregate and confirm this group commonly (and erroneously) identified only as French-speaking "Huguenots and Walloons" in the literature. I am proud to say my own Debo/Deboo/Dubois/etc. ancestors belonged to this Flemish segment.

During summer 2003, I returned to Cambridge to continue my research into the early days of their history on English soil. I used the tremendous University facilities, met with experts, traveled around the Fens. I learned a little bit more. I'd like to share this knowledge with fellow-members of the Society.

The Arrival at the Isle of Axholm. According to Overend (1889), Smiles (1889), and others citing the 1752 Stovin Manuscript, Strangers began arriving by ship via the Humber River around 1626: "…upwards of two hundred Flemish families settled on the land reclaimed by them in the Isle of Axholm." The area settled, north of Doncaster in Lincolnshire, was part of a drainage scheme under the patronage of the cash-strapped James I. They were experienced land drainers, having worked in other regions of Europe (eg, Russia). Prior to their immigration, some purportedly had been working for English interests in the marshy areas behind Calais to Dunkirk. After the English surrender of Calais, the Inquisition was invited to this once Dutch-speaking, but now French area. While most of the Protestants fled north, our group of interest departed for England (please see the website www.rootsweb.com/~engcam/huguenotsandwalloons.htm for details). Should this situation be true, I think it will help explain the confusing lack of mention of Flemings by many English authors.

Their reputations as hard workers and knowledgeable farmers qualified them as excellent immigrants to England. Accordingly, they were granted special rights and privileges. Smiles tells us "…wherever they went, they formed themselves into congregations, erected churches, and appointed ministers to conduct their worship."

While their agreement to come to England was primarily for reasons of economic stability, they also sought protection to worship in their own fashion. Religion was a large part of their dilemma in Flanders; their Calvinist beliefs would also keep them somewhat segregated in England.

Hard Times at Sandtoft. These Fleming drainage people were the first of a stream of Protestant immigrants from the Southern (Spanish) Netherlands, Wallonia (French-speaking area of Belgium today), and regions of France such as Picardy, Artois and French Flanders. Sandtoft, at the Isle of Axholm, became a mixed Dutch- and French-speaking immigration centre. However, because of their isolationist tendencies, and because of violent local resistance to the drainage scheme, resentment set in, and the Strangers no sooner settled here than they began to move away. Some went north to farm cutover, non-controversial land in Yorkshire, some went back to the Netherlands, and other began to drift south to farm other fenlands. Lindley (1982) has provided an excellent picture of these terrible times, know as the "Fenland Riots," which extended to the 1650s. Physical abuse, burning of their homes and church, damage to crops, flooding of their land, and other aspects of mob violence, hatred and displeasure with their involvement in the scheme were inflicted upon the Strangers.

Adding to the discomfort of these early days was the English Revolution (1640s), where the Strangers were caught in the middle of this Parliamentarian-Royalist tussle. Further, the arrival of the French-speaking refugees had created internal disharmony, a not unexpected carry-over situation from the continent. Moen (1887-88) has likened the relationship of the Flemish and French/Walloon sectors to the 'mixing of oil and water' - except when their common interests or benefits were threatened.

I suspect the exodus migration southward began by 1630. Up to fifty families from this Dutch- and French-speaking settlement at the Isle of Axholm moved to Thorney, a village east of Peterborough, according to a report in Fenland Notes and Queries (Vol. III: 323). Some moved to nearby Whittlesey before settlement at Thorney. They would become successful tenant farmers under the auspices of Francis, 4th Earl of Bedford. Here, the land would be drained and farmsteads established as at the Isle of Axholm.

Life and Times at Thorney. Communication within the Stranger community was mostly in French. They were given access to the Thorney Abbey for their church services (in both languages) circa 1639. At first, they lived in small one- or two-room cottages out on their land allocations. There is an excellent example of one of these basic dwellings at Wicken Fen, although I suspect the Stranger homes at Morris Fen (please Figure 1 in the Bullwinkle piece below), north of Thorney, were even more 'basic:' Air-dried mud brick walls, thatch roof, hard-packed dirt floor, strategic fireplace, primitive furnishings, scooped-out water pond, privy of some sort, small vegetable garden, a few animals…

The dwellings in many areas of the Fens at this time have been described as hovels. Even two hundred years later, Teulon (2000) states: "At this time (ca. 1850) most all rural tenants lived in small, damp, dark, insanitary cottages which were too hot in summer and too cold in winter."

The tenure was, on average, about one hundred acres. One of the specialty crops they brought to the Fens was oil-rich colza. These early farms were a critical part of the Bedfords' great agricultural initiative all around Thorney, the estate village (Russell 1897). The Right of Market was granted to the landlord in 1638 (Bullwinkle 1991). Thus, by 1650 or so, the village and district became a busy agricultural community, with the Stranger component comprising about half the population.

The registries of baptisms and other documentation for the congregations at Sandtoft (Stovin 1772) and Thorney (Peet 1903) suggest that the first English-born generation began appearing soon after the arrival of those Flemish pioneers in 1626. The famous Thorney Registers for the period 1654-1727 show a steady increase in family size as well as marriages outside the Stranger community.

What was it like for a Stranger at Thorney circa 1640s? Contemplate this hypothetical scene: It is a wet and windy early spring day at Morris Fen. You are the 22-year-old wife of one of His Lordship's tenant farmers. Your husband left at daybreak to work in the fields. You are of Flemish origin and your primary language is Dutch; you speak French better than English. You moved here only a year ago to escape from the turmoil and disappointments at the Isle of Axholm. You have three small children, the last being born during winter. After attending to the needs of the children, you have animals to feed, household chores, and a big garden to prepare. You will be busy until your husband returns at dusk. Your nearest neighbor, a Walloon, is half a mile down the muddy road. There is no opportunity for a gossip break. Your week's highlight will be Sunday church service, and perhaps an hour or so socializing with your husband's Flemish relatives at the village, some two miles away. Every day is much the same, week after week, in this country of the big sky. Was there time for this lady of the Fens to be lonely or homesick?

Local Migration. As the Stranger families grew and matured after the 1650s, some offspring moved away from Thorney, often to Peterborough and to nearby Fens villages. Baptisms at their church tapered off after 1710 (Rothrock 1979). However, many of the men remained agricultural laborers in the Fens. The girls were often employed as household servants. In this manner, the farming Strangers spread out over the fenlands of eastern England.

Although spelling of many names were changed over time (including mine: eg, Debo to Dubois to Wood and Boys), it is still easy to spot descendants of the Flemish Strangers in records to the present time. And not all left Thorney by the 18th C. For example, I have a copy of the 1906 marriage certificate for George Deboo and Sarah Eliza Briggs. Their residence is given as Thorney.

In my own case, I have confirmed my ancestry to 18th C individuals living in the villages of Holme and Yaxley to the south of Peterborough. With the help of friends, we have found record of a land sale at Thorney dated March 1682- back to the Duke of Bedford - by Peter Deboe. I wonder if he is my ancestor Peter who went to Holme to cut turf for a living, and died there in 1710? The next step is to find/confirm the link to Thorney, and then perhaps find the path all the way back to those first families at the Isle of Axholm. I'm learning a lot of exciting English history along the way.

Recommendations. My strongest advice when looking up Stranger history in the Fens is to keep an open mind and to be very careful. Things might not be as they first appear. Sorting cultural lines (for example, separating Flemings from Walloons) can be difficult. Remember that it is a complicated history, that it has been at the mercy of historical 'lumpers' (often under the misapplied Huguenot banner), and that it is a story spanning more than 375 years. Get help whenever possible; don't be too shy to ask. Good places to start are at the local library and record office information desks. Membership in local interest groups such as the Cambs. FHS can be especially rewarding for North Americans and other non-residents. Read John Peters' (1985) terrific book for an idea of what is involved and to set the path for your own investigations.

Acknowledgements. I am particularly grateful to my friends and mentors in England for their invaluable help and support during my studies in 2003 - Alan Bullwinkle of Stapleford, Margaret Long at Yaxley, Mike Petty of Stretham, and Evelyn Lord, University of Cambridge. The manuscript was reviewed by my colleagues - Tony Kluge (Victoria), Boudien de Vriers (Amsterdam), and Gerry Lewis (Spalding, Lincs.). Thanks everyone.

Bullwinkle, A. 1991. The Lordship of Thorney and its records. J. Cambs. Fam. Hist. Soc. 8 (3): 74-78.

DeBoo, R.F. 2002. Origins of Strangers in the Fens near Thorney. J. Cambs. Fam. Hist. Soc. 13 (5): 189-198.

Lindley, K. 1982. Fenland riots and the English Revolution. Heineman Ed. Books, London, ISBN 0-435-32535-3, 276 pp.

Moen, W.J. 1887-88. The Walloons and their church at Norwich: Their history and registers 1565-1832, Vol. I, Huguenot Soc. of London, Lymington, 386 pp.

Overend, G.H. 1889. The first thirty years of the foreign settlement in Axeholme, 1626-1656. Proc. Huguenot Soc. London, Vol. II, pp. 281-331.

Peet, H. (Ed.) 1903. Register of baptisms of the French Protestant refugees settled at Thorney, Cambridgeshire, 1654-1727 (transcription). Aberdeen Univ. Press, 138 pp.

Peters, J. 1985. A family from Flanders. Collins, London, ISBN 0-00-217346-8, 201 pp.

Rothrock, G.A. 1979. The Huguenots: A biography of a minority. Nelson-Hall, 201 pp.

Russell, H.A. 1897. A great agricultural estate: Being the story of the origin and administration of Woburn and Thorney. Murray, London, 254 pp.

Smiles, S. 1887 (1868). The Huguenots, their settlements, churches, and industries in England and Ireland. 6th Ed., John Murray, London, 458 pp.

Stovin, G. 1752. A brief account of the drainage of the levells of Hatfield Chase and parts adjacent in the countys of York, Lincoln and Nottingham. In Yorks. Archaeological Soc. J. Vol. 37, pp. 385-391.

[Note: A version of this article has been submitted to the Editor for publication in a future issue of the Journal of the Cambs. FHS]

For the past decade or so, we have known that the spelling of our honorable old name has been at the mercy of the recording scribe. Variation was common throughout northwestern Europe, and especially in England. Some legal documents, for instance, show as many as three versions for the named person! It was also subject to the 'style conventions of the time' as discovered by our Redditch, Worcestershire, contributor to past Issues, Rob Deboo-Jones. It seems, during the period when French was in vogue in England, the recording clerk or minister favored a truly French spelling for this French-sounding Flemish name. Dubois for Deboo is the classic example.

The fact that our immigrant DEBOO ancestors were mostly illiterate didn't help. The spelling mistakes were compounded further by the cultural mixing and settling together of the 17th C immigration streams from Flanders, Wallonia, and northwestern France. And many English authors, even today, are notorious 'lumpers' when dealing with foreigners. In this case, our bilingual (Dutch- and French-speaking) DEBOO ancestors soon became lost in the assumed French-speaking-only immigration settings at places like Sandtoft and Thorney. This fact is shown clearly in the common -and erroneous - reference to only "Huguenots & Walloons" for these folks in the English literature.

During recent correspondence, my friend and "Strangers" authority, Alan Bullwinkle, has written to confirm this irritating and confusing situation: "…more evidence of variations in the family of Anthony and his wife Susana Morillon (see piece which follows)…at marriage in Belton in 1637, Anthony was described as of Crowle and his name spelt Debo. The first two children were baptised at Belton as Debo, as was the third child. But the third child was again baptised at Sandtoft, but this time as Dubois! The fourth child was also baptised at Belton, but as Dubois. Lastly, in Anthony's nuncupative (ie, verbal) Will proved in the PCC 3/5/1661, the recorder of his words spelt his name Dubow throughout the Will. Not to be outdone, other early DEBOO immigrants at the Isle of Axeholm were identified with more different spellings - eg, Roland Debois, Robert Deboe, and Lawrence Debee in the Wroot rolls, but in his Will of 1655, he became Desbien. His son Isaac married in Sandtoft in 1671 as a Desbien; however, in the Prostation Rolls for Wroot, Lawrence is recorded as Deboe. It all boils down to what the writer thought he heard!

I have been actively researching DEBOO ancestry in the Fens for the past decade or so. Every once in a while I find new reference to the name. For example, in the 1841 Census Index for Lincolnshire, I found a Deboo listing (2/9) for Spalding/Holbeach, and another at Boston (11/32).

In Gedney Parish, I found reference to Debough, obviously a variant of Deboo. This was the christening of Jacob, son of Isaac and Margaret, in 1699. Another Isaac Deboo (?), husband of Ann Moody, was buried here in 1718.

Joseph Deboo married Lydia Graswell at Spalding in 1782, and Mary Deboo married ? Wade at Stamford in 1813. Yes, the Deboo families were scattered around the Lincolnshire towns and villages as in Cambridgeshire.

Introduction. After reviewing and transcribing the will of Abraham Deboo who died in 1720, I tried my hand at construction of a Deboo family tree. That is, a family tree that jumps from Deboo to Dubois, and then back to Deboo. I believe most readers of the Gazette are aware of this wavering of confidence in the Dutch name Deboo during this period in English history (and we discussed this genealogical impediment at our 1997 DEBOO Workshop at Thorney).

Also, because of this confusion, I believe I might have found a clue to the connection of the Flemish immigrants to Sandtoft (in 1626) with folks listed in the famous Thorney Registers (see Peet 1903 in the DEBOO References Section) in the mid-17th C. Following, then, are (1) my transcription of Abraham's Will, and (2) my construction of a Deboo/Dubois family tree from Anthony (Antoine) Deboo/Dubois (d. 1661) and Susanna Morillon (d. 1669). Their grandson is this Abraham Deboo (1672-1720).

Although Abraham described himself in his will as a resident of Thorney, I think he may have died at Gedney in Lincolnshire. I think this is also the period when many offspring of the first- and second-generation "Strangers" were leaving Thorney for better opportunities at Peterborough and some of the Fens villages (such as Eye, Holme, Yaxley).

1. Will of Abraham Deboo. [Proved in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury 27 July 1720; Probate granted to Ann, Abraham and Isaac Deboo, PCC Ref. 11/575]

In the name of God Amen. I, Abraham Deboo of Thorney in the Isle of Ely and County of Cambridge, Yeoman, being weak in body but of sound and perfect mind, memory and understanding, thanks be to God for the same calling to mind the uncertainty of death and uncertainty of this transitory life, do make and ordaine these presents my last Will and Testament in manner and forme following and first and principally I commend my Soul into the hands of Almighty God hoping that in, by and through the Meritorious Death and passion of my blessed Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to have free pardon and remission of all my sins and my my body I commit to the Earth to be decently interred at the discretion of my Executrix hereafter named and as touching such worldly possessions as God of his infinite mercy hath been pleased to bless me with, I give and bequeth as followeth:

Imprimis I will that all my Debts, Legacies and Financial Charges shall be paid and discharged by my Executrix and Executors hereinafter named.

Item - I give and devise unto my dear and loving wife, Ann Deboo, during her natural life, or until such time as she shall keep herself my widow and not Marry again, all that pasture Grounds and Lands that I purchased of Mr Thos. Crawley, Citizen of London, which will more appear by deeds and Conveyances (that is to say) Eight acres and three Roods, Nine acres and one Rood, twenty-seven acres three Roods and four perches (by the same, more or less) with all and every the appurtenances thereunto belonging, lying and being in the Twenty-Ninth Bounds of Fleet in the County of Lincoln, and I further give and bequeth unto my said wife all that Farm or Farms I now rent of his Grace Wriothesly, Lord Duke of Bedford, and also all that Farm or Farms I now rent of the Earl of Bristol, and also that Farm or Farms I now rent of Joseph Banks, Esq. To her as before mentioned, But and if in case she should alter her condition and be married again, I give and devise all the before mentioned Lands and premises containing by estimation Forty-five acres, three roods, and four perches, and also the said Farms unto my dear and loving sons Abraham and Isaac Debooes (sic), their heirs and Assignes for ever to be equally divided between them. But if it should happen that any one of my said two sons should die having no Issue, then the survivor to have all the before mentioned premises. But if both should die without Issue, my will is that the said forty-five acres, three roods and four Perches shall fall and descend to my Son James Deboo, his heirs and assigns for ever.

Item - I give unto my said son James Deboo the summe of one hundred pounds of good and lawful money of Great Britain to be paid him when he shall attain the age of Thirty years. But if he dye without Issue, or before he attaine the said age of Thirty years, then to my two sons Abraham and Isaac Deboo, their heirs and assigns.

Item - I give unto my dear and loving Daughter Mary, now the wife of Thomas Noble Junr., the sum of Twenty pounds to be paid to her within Twelve months after my decease. But in case she be not then alive, and have but one child, I give the said Twenty pounds to my said sons Abraham and Isaac Deboo.

Item - I give to the French (sic) Poor of Thorney the summe of Two pounds to be paid at the discretion of my Executrix and Executors.

All the rest and residue of my money, Quick Stock of what nature or kind so ever, Crops of Corn Grain Seed and my Implements of household and all other my real and personal Estate whatsoever, to my said wife and sons Abraham and Isaac to be equally divided between them. But if it should happen that either Abraham or Isaac, or both, should dye before they attain their several ages of Twenty-one years, that then my will is that their share or shares shall be equally divided between my said son James and my said daughter, Mary Noble, but my will further is if but one of my said sons should dye before he attains the said age of Twenty-one years, one halfe to the Survivor of them two and the other one halfe to the said James and Mary if the said Mary be then living, if not to the said Survivor, and I do hereby appoint my said wife and my said two sons Abraham and Isaac Debooes (sic) joynt Executrix and Executors of this, my last Will and Testament, and do hereby nominate and desire my Friends James Perine and John Wanty to be Guardians and Trustees for and to my said two sons Abraham and Isaac.

In witness whereof I the said Abraham Deboo have to these presents sett my hand and Seale this first day of April Anno Domini 1720 - Abraham Deboo - signed sealed published and declared in the presence of us who have hereunto sett our hands in the presence of the Testator as witnesses after the interlineation of/and also all the said farms/them/ - Jno LaPla, John Delarue, Jas Rix [punctuation added]

References.

Bullwinkle, A. 1998. A gathering of Deboos at Thorney. J. Cam. Fam. Hist. Soc., Feb. Issue, pp. 164-165.

Peet, H. (Ed.). 1903. Register of baptisms of the French (sic) Protestant refugees settled at Thorney, Cambridgeshire. Aberdeen Univ. Press, 138 pp.

- Allan Bullwinkle, Stapleford, Cambridgeshire

The Lordship of Thorney

Thorney, an historic village just a few miles east of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, has been mentioned in most of the past issues of this De Bootje Gazette. It is situated within the great Fens drainage area, and it is the location of the Earl/Dukes of Bedford's unique agricultural initiatives. It was also the destination for many 17th C immigrants from the continent, including some important Deboo ancestors (DeBoo 2002). I admit that I am a Thorney enthusiast, and I am particularly interested in the immigrant inhabitants, commonly referred to as "Strangers" ( Bevis 1983). The following information is mostly taken from my paper published by the Cambridgeshire Family History Society in 1991.

According to the records (eg, Peet 1903), foreigners began arriving at Thorney in the 1630s. By the 1660s, they accounted for about fifty percent of the resident population. As elsewhere in East Anglia, they had an important influence on agricultural development around Thorney where they introduced new crops and novel (to England) methods of husbandry. The right of a market was granted to the landlord, the 4th Earl of Bedford, in 1638. Fairs for horses and cattle were held there for nearly 300 years. Beasts were driven 'on the hoof' to London. Russell (1897) has written about the administration of this 'great agricultural estate.'

A few years ago, I had direct involvement, and great pleasure, in working on the Thorney Estate records now housed at the Bedford Record Office. These documents cover the period from the 16th C to 1910. Some of the records on early land tenures of the Strangers are here. A most interesting map (based on these records), showing land tenures for 1652, is proudly displayed at the Thorney Museum. A portion of the map is shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Partial Land Tenure at Thorney in 1652

Of particular interest to readers of this newsletter are the farms of Robert Duboo and Anthony Deboo at Morris Fen. Also, note the random distribution and integration of these and other 'Strangers' with their native-English farming neighbors.

The foreign community was identifiable up to the mid-18th C when individuals and families began drifting away to other Fens villages such as Holme. According to Halsey's 1731/32 Survey, there were at least 50 farming Stranger families remaining at Thorney, including those of Abraham Duboe and Abraham Duboe, Snr.

By the 1850s, land was being amalgamated and agricultural labourers moved off the land, some to the Bedfords' model village at Thorney (Teulon 2000). Only a few homesteads remained at Morris Fen according to an 1829 map of the Thorney Lordship (Figure 2).

The Lordship of Thorney in 1829

The Parish and Lordship (at its peak), covered some 17,500 acres. Before drainage, some of the land was 10-12 feet below sea level. There is rich AngloSaxon-Roman-Viking history here. The Anglo-Norman chronicler, William of Malmsbury, recorded that around 1130 Thorney was "…a little paradise… delightsome…a heaven itself…rich in the loftiest trees, where water meadows delight the eye with green…here are orchards, there vineyards…" It was a religious place, and site of a Benedictine abbey. Henry VIII changed things via the Dissolution of 1558.

The Russell family then came on the scene. The 1st Earl of Bedford, John, was granted title, and by 1627, Francis, the 4th Earl, joined in a company of "Adventurers" (=land developers) to drain and exploit the wetlands. Thus, the invitation to the skilled Strangers, including the Deboo folks from the Spanish Netherlands, to participate in this great scheme.

The Strangers have long been integrated into English society, many had their surnames changed, and they have migrated all over England and beyond. However, there is a rich accumulation of records that survive for the Thorney Estate. Unfortunately, they are not located at one place. The Cambridgeshire Record Office at Cambridge holds the voluminous records of the Bedford Level Corporation. Church Registers, wills, inventories, Hearth Tax returns, other tax lists, Census returns, Manorial Records, and other documents of the Lordship of Thorney have been deposited in the Bedfordshire Record Office at Bedford. Other records can be found at the Huntingdon Record Office. There are also maps and other references at the Wisbeach Museum and the records offices at Northamton and Lincoln.

References Cited.

Bevis, T. 1983. Strangers in the Fens. Self-published, ISBN 0-901680-20-6, 24 pp.

Bullwinkle, A. 1991. The Lordship of Thorney and its records. J. Cambs. Fam. Hist. Soc. 8 (3): 74-78.

DeBoo, R.F. 2002. Origins of the Strangers in the Fens near Thorney. J. Cambs. Fam. Hist. Soc. 13 (5): 189-198.

Halsey, _ . 1731/32. Survey of Thorney. Bedford Record Office box 277.

Peet, H. (Ed.) 1903. Register of baptisms of the French (sic) Protestant refugees settled at Thorney, Cambridgeshire 1654-1727. Aberdeen Univ. Press, 138 pp.

Russell, H.A. 1897. A great agricultural estate. Murray, London, 254 pp.

Teulon, A.E. 2000. Victorian Thorney. Jemma Publ., Moulton, Northampton, ISBN 1-871468-09-4, 75 pp.

- Alan Bullwinkle, Stapleford, Cambridgeshire

Isaac Deboo and his Will

[Foreword - The biblical name Isaac was a popular selection for many 17th and 18th C Deboo children. This fellow in the story below was accidentally discovered during a routine visit to a local family history office. Other Isaacs will be found in many sources, including church records and civil registers. In my opinion, it's one of the truly great Deboo Christian names - and many of these fellows were great men in their own fashion. We need to know more about our Isaacs; every family should have at least one! -RFD]

What have the names Patrick Baird and Zolpha Crocket to do with the Deboo family? A chance finding of a will in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury during a visit to the Family History Centre at London led me to a small research project to determine this connection.

Lets consider the will, made by Isaac Deboo on 7 September 1755: That date has some significance as you will see later. Isaac made his will for two reasons: First, because he was a mariner. In those days, life aboard ship was uncertain. It meant that there was no guarantee of a safe passage, or that one's ship would not be involved in war or attacked by pirates. Secondly, Isaac wished to ensure that a particular person received his inheritance in the event of his untimely death.

Not only was Isaac a sailor, he served in the Royal Navy during a tumultuous period in history. At the time he made his will he was serving on His Majesty's Ship Portland, captained by Patrick Baird. George II was on the throne at this time. We know these facts from two sources. Isaac made mention of the ship and the captain in his will. A check on the details of this particular vessel revealed that between October 1744 and July 1748, a Charles Stevens was its captain. But the Royal Navy, then as now, was unable to maintain its fleet at full strength, and the crew of the Portland was paid off whilst it was laid up. But on 5 June 1755, it was brought back into service, with Patrick Baird appointed captain. Isaac must have been one of the sailors who signed on. He made his will at this time.

We do not know when Isaac died, but his will was proved in London on 6 December 1757. By this time, the ship had again been taken out of service (in June 1756). So the questions loom - did Isaac die at sea, or had he returned to port and subsequently succumbed to some illness either contracted at sea, or later, on land? Perhaps we shall never know. But let us now turn to the more significant parts of the will - specifically, what Isaac's intentions were with his estate.

After the usual preamble of being sound of mind, and that on his death his body should be committed to the earth, or failing that, to the sea, he left his entire goods, chattels and any money owing him to Zolpha Crocket, a spinster living at Thorney. Who Zolpha was, and what part she played in Isaac's life, is unknown. But what an unusual name; one wonders at its origin!

Isaac's will was proved by Sir George Dee, a Doctor of Law. At this time, Zolpha was a spinster. However, nowhere does it state the value of Isaac's estate. It probably was not much, as for most sailors with the Royal Navy. Who knows, perhaps they might have married had Isaac returned safely to Thorney. And what made him leave the area in the first place? Although we do not know for certain that Thorney was where he came from, this can fairly confidently be surmised from the fact that many Deboo families lived there and in the surrounding villages.

Afterword: Because Isaac had named a specific person to inherit his estate, and that person had a most unusual first name, it was relatively easy to locate Zolpha in the Thorney Parish Registers. She is recorded as Zilpha, the daughter of James and Elizabeth Crockett, baptised on 25 July 1735. Therefore, sho would have been only twenty years old at the time Isaac made his will. About two years later, she would have received the sad news of his death, leading to the inheritance.

James and Elizabeth had a number of other children: Ebenezer baptized 19 February 1738/39, Eupheme b. 12 April 1751, James b. 11 April 1740, and Jane on 26 April 1759. However, there is no record of a marriage between James and Elizabeth in the Thorney Registers. Neither is there any further mention of Zolpha/Zilpha. One can only speculate that having come into her ' fortune' she may have headed for London, or at least away from Thorney. And, alas, the records will never show that all-time great name Zolpha Deboo!

- David Horwill, Sunbury-on-Thames, Middlesex

The Long Search For a DeBoo Wedding

I thought that finding a wedding in my wife’s family would be easy. We knew the name of both bride and groom, the approximate date and probable location. Well, this is a tale of how it still took six years to find, and only then by a chance remark.

It all started in 1990 when my wife’s Great Aunt Mary (Crane nee Johnson - no relation to me) gave my parents-in-law the photo reproduced here. She told them it was Jack Long’s wedding to Pat Deboo and that my father-in-law’s parents and grandmother were also in the photo “so you better have it”. Intrigued, I decided to find out just when and where the wedding had taken place and identify as many of the people as possible - Great Aunt Mary helped here as did comparison with other photos my in-laws had.

The wedding of John (Jack) Long and Martha (Pat) Deboo, Paston Parrish Church, Peterborough - August 13, 1910

Top Row: [?], [?], Alice Johnson, Alfred Venters, [?]

Middle Row: [?], Young Jo Deboo, Mrs. Deboo, Jo Deboo, Mrs. Long

Bottom Row: Bridegroom's sister?, Annie Deboo Johnson, Jack Long, Pat Deboo, Sophie/Mary Deboo

Starting on the left of the front row the first bridesmaid we thought was the bridegroom’s sister but her name was not known then. Next to her is Annie Deboo Johnson, baptised 16 September 1888 at Eye - my father-in -law’s mother and first cousin to the bride. The bridegroom was Jack Long and the bride Pat Deboo. Next to the bride is Mary Deboo the bride’s sister (and also possibly known as Sophie). The lady standing on the extreme right is Mrs Long, Jack’s mother and we understood a widow at the time of the wedding there being no Mr Long senior in evidence.

Immediately behind Pat and Mary is their father Jo (Joseph) Deboo, son of Edward and Mary Deboo (nee Phillips) born in Eye in 1853. Next to him is his wife, believed to be his second and stepmother to Pat, Mary and Young Jo who is standing the other side of her.

The young man at the very back (in the doorway) is believed to be a Mr Robinson who worked at Brotherhoods. Immediately to the right of him, wearing the black feathered hat is Alice Johnson, nee Deboo, baptised at Eye 21 April 1862. She was Jo’s sister, Alice Deboo Johnson’s mother and on 3rd June 1915 became the mother-in-law of the man standing immediately to her left - Alfred Venters. He was baptised at Eye on 19 July 1891, the son of Matthew Venters and his second wife, Susan Baxter.

Those were all the people we could then (and now) identify. From the style of clothes and the apparent ages of the people we thought the wedding took place between about 1905 and 1919 but most probably in the period just prior to World War I. So off to St Catherine’s House in Kingsway and a long search from 1900 to 1920 for the marriage of a Pat Deboo. I thought there would be fewer Pat Deboos than Jack (assumed John) Longs. I was right - there were none at all.

As this was not Jan’s direct line there the matter rested until the DEBOO Workshop at Thorney in October 1997 (see Bullwinkle 1998, References Section). As it happened I sat next to David and Betty Deboo from Repton, Notts. It turned out that his father was the Young Jo in the picture and the bride was indeed “Aunt Pat”. So why couldn’t I find the marriage? “Because she was christened Martha - all Martha’s are called Pat.”

Now to the Family Research Centre in Islington and the acquisition of the marriage certificate which shows:

Date:
3 August 1910 at Paston Parish Church
Martha Elizabeth Deboo, 25, Spinster, Walton; Father Joseph Deboo, Platelayer.
John Long, 27, Bachelor, Clerk, Walton; Father Daniel Long, Tradesman.
Witnesses:
Joseph Robert Edward Deboo (Young Jo = Best Man?); Mary Deboo (Pat’s sister = Bridesmaid) and Eliza Long.

This last could be Jack’s mother, but given that the assumed best man signed, not the bride’s father plus a bridesmaid, it is more likely to be Jack’s sister whom we think is the bridesmaid sitting on the extreme left. Further confirmation that she is a bridesmaid, not just a guest, shown on another photo taken at the same time with just Annie, Mary and Eliza - the usual “bridesmaids” photo at a wedding.

There is a post-script to this story connected with my own wedding. Jan and I had met in June 1971, at a party in a barn belonging to Philip Ash at Dyke, Lincs. It was his niece, a nursing colleague of Jan’s who had invited her. Jan’s Grandma Venters was by 1972 a widow living either with Jan’s parents in New England or her aunt and uncle in Walton.

In November 1972, Jan was at home when there was a knock at the door and there stood Philip Ash’s niece, totally surprised at seeing Jan. She had brought her Grandmother Ash to visit Mrs Ash’s cousin - Jan’s Grandmother Venters. Mrs Ash is the Mary (Sophie) Deboo sitting next to bride. Her first cousin Mrs Venters is the Annie Deboo Johnson sitting next the bridegroom and thus the woman who introduced me to my wife is my wife’s third cousin.

Note:
This information was published in the Peterborough & District Family History Society Jourrnal in March 2000. Since then, I have been in contact with Philip Ash of Dyke, Bourne, Lincs. His mother was not the Mary Deboo in the photo. She was Bertha Deboo, the daughter of William and Mary Ann (nee Spriggs) born in 1886 at Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire where William was a “Telegraph Man”. William was the brother of Jo Deboo and Alice Johnson.

The search for Mary goes on.

-Alan Johnson, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire

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