Earp Family Tree, Forton, Staffs.

[Nevis]

The Earp Family Tree
Henry Earp.
Henry was born in Cheswardine, Shropshire in 1782. In 1841 he is living in Forton, Staffordshire, with his wife Sarah and son Joseph, son John and daughter Jane. He is a Sawyer (Saws Wood).
Henry and Sarah had 5 children, Thomas 1816, George 1819 (he’s your direct ancestor) Joseph 1823, John 1830 and Jane 1832.
In 1851 in Sutton, Forton, Henry is living next door to his son Thomas Earp who was born in 1816 in Forton.
Living with Thomas are Thomas’s wife Sarah and their children William, Jane, Thomas, James, Fanny and servant Elizabeth Taylor and a lodger called Frances Meriden who is 83 and a mole-catcher. Thomas’s occupation is an Innkeeper and Sawyer.
In Henry’s house are Sarah, his wife, son John and Thomas Reynolds, a lodger who is 81 and a Sawyer.

In 1861 in Sutton, Forton, Staffordshire, Henry and Sarah are now around 79 and 69 and are receiving ‘Outdoors Relief’.
Henry died in 1866 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and Sarah in 1868 in Shrewsbury, Shropshire.

George Earp.
George Earp was born in 1819 in Forton, Staffordshire. He was baptized on the 11th April 1819.
He married Eliza, who was born in Forton in 1817. They had 8 children.
Henry, John, Lydia, Louisa, George, Mary Ann, Francis (your direct ancestor) and Edwin.
(Once again, ages vary in the census reports, this time the census recorder has lumped them all down as 20).

1841 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffordshire.

George Earp, 20, 1821, Sawyer, born in Staffordshire.
Eliza Earp, 20, 1821 Staffs.
Henry Earp, 10 months, 1840 Staffs.
Thomas Earp 20, 1821, Sawyer, Staffs
Sarah Earp 20, 1821, Shropshire.
William Earp, 1, 1840 Staffs.

Henry and Sarah are just along the way.

1851 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs.

George Earp, Head, 32, 1819, Sawyer, Forton.
Eliza Earp, Wife, 32, 1819, Forton.
Henry Earp, Son, 10, 1841, Scholar, Forton.
Lydia Earp, Daughter, 6, 1845, Scholar, Forton.
Louisa Earp, Daughter, 4, 1847, Forton.
George Earp, Son, 1, 1850, Forton.

Next door to George is the Gamekeepers Cottage and next door to the Gamekeeper is:

Ann Tildesley, Head, 58, 1793 Forton.
John Bradshaw, Son, 28, 1823, Sawyer, born in Newport, Shropshire.
William Bradshaw, Son, 20, 1831, Sawyer, Forton.
Thomas Pike, Grandson, 3, Forton.
John Earp, Grandson, 8, Scholar, Forton.

This is a puzzle as I can find no marriage between a George Earp and an Eliza ‘Tildesley’ or ‘Bradshaw’ but I am sure that John Earp ‘Grandson’ is George and Eliza’s son and Ann Tildesley Eliza’s mother.
1861 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs. (still next to the Gamekeepers cottage).

Eliza Earp, Head, Married, 43, 1818 Forton.
John Earp, Son, 18, 1843, Sawyer, Forton.
Louisa Earp, Daughter, 14, 1847, Forton.
George Earp, Son, 11, 1850, Scholar, Forton.
Mary Ann Earp, Daughter, 8, 1853, Scholar, Forton.
Francis Earp, Son, 6, 1855, Scholar, Forton. (Your direct ancestor).
Edwin Earp, Son, 4, 1857, Forton.

No sign of George anywhere. I searched all of the census but no trace. George died in 1869 so he could have been in Hospital or away abroad.

1871 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs. (still next to the Gamekeeper)

Eliza Earp, Head, Widow, 53, 1818, Forton, Staffs.
John Earp, Son, Single, 28, 1843, Sawyer, Forton.
George Earp, Son, Single, 21, 1850, Sawyer, Forton.
Francis Earp, Son, Single, 17, 1854, Labourer, Forton.
Edwin Earp, Son, 14, 1857, Scholar, Forton.

1881 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs. (still next to Gamekeeper).

Eliza Earp, Head, Widow, 63, 1818, Forton.
Edwin Earp, Son, Single, 24, 1857, Agricultural Labourer, Forton.

1891 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs (Still next to the Gamekeeper).

Eliza Earp, Head, Widow, 74, 1817 Forton.
Edwin Earp, Son, Single, 34, 1857, Agricultural Labourer, Forton.

1901 census, Sutton, Forton, Staffs. (still next to the Gamekeeper).

Eliza Earp, Head, Widow, 83, 1818, Forton.
Edwin Earp, Son, Single, 44, 1857, Timber Cutter and Woodsman, Forton.
Edith Mary Marks, Grandaughter, Single, 24, 1877, Dressmaker, Own Account, born Islington.

Mary Ann, Eliza’s daughter, married John Benjamin Marks in Islington in 1875, His Father is listed as a ‘Gentleman’. Mary Ann listed her deceased Father George as a Lumber Merchant.
Eliza Earp died in Newport, Shropshire age 87 in July 1905.

Now for your next ancestor, Francis Earp.

Francis was baptized on the 24th September 1854 in Forton. (census reports him being born in Newport Shropshire which Forton is a part of).
He married Elizabeth Warren in 1877 in Stoke Upon Trent. She was born in 1857 in Hanley, Staffs. Her father was Peter Warren who was a Blacksmith.

1881 census, 121 Botteslow Street, Hanley, Stoke Upon Trent, Staffordshire.
Francis Earp, Head, 29, 1852, General Labourer, Newport, Shropshire.
Elizabeth Earp, Wife, 26, 1855, Hanley, Staffs.
Florence Gertrude Earp, Daughter, 3, 1878 Fenton, Staffs.
Peter Earp, Son, 1, 1880, Hanley, Staffs. (Your direct ancestor).
William Tomkinson, Boarder, Married, 47, 1834 Iron Stone Miner. Bilston, Staffs.
Elizabeth Tomkinson, Boarder, Married, 46, 1835 Silverdale, Staffs.

1891 census, 10 Pear Trees, Fenton, Stoke Upon Trent, Staffs.

Francis Earp, Head, Widow, 39, 1852, Plate Maker, Sutton, Shropshire.
Florence Gertrude Earp, Daughter, 14, 1877, Fenton, Staffs.
Peter Earp, Son, 12, 1879, Scholar, Hanley, Staffs.
Agnes Earp, Daughter, 10, 1881, Scholar, Fenton, Staffs.

1901 census, 10 Pear Trees, Fenton, Staffs.

Francis Earp, Head, Widow, 49, 1852 Potters Slip Maker, Sutton Staffs.

Francis died in March 1904 in Stoke Upon Trent. Elizabeth, his wife, died in 1888 in Stoke Upon Trent.

A doctors report to the 1840 commission into child labour in pottery works stated:
" 'Slip making', or preparing the clay, is another unwholesome occupation. "The clay" is prepared by boiling the composition to a proper consistence on kilns, and during the process of evaporation, the room is filled with dense aqueous vapour. The men engaged in this branch suffer severely from winter cough and chronic bronchitis; and but few of them, if they survive, are able to perform much labour after the age of 60".
Peter Earp.
Peter Earp was born in Hanley, Staffs in October 1879.
In 1901 he is lodging with Elizabeth and George (her son) Scott in Endensor Road., Stoke Upon Trent. She is a Widow of 68. Peter is now a Pottery Slip Maker.
He married Alice Flaherty the same year (1901) in Stoke Upon Trent. I suspect it was Alice who got him into the Pottery trade.

……………………………………………………………
Whilst researching your family tree I made a few new friends, one being Valerie, whose husband is Chairman of the Combe Mill Society. http://www.combemill.org
And here’s why.
………………………………………………………………
The first born of Henry and Sarah, your very first ancestor’s (as far as I’ve found) is Thomas Earp, brother to your George.

Thomas was born in 1816 in Forton Staffordshire. He married Sarah (unknown) and had 9 children, William, Sarah Jane, Thomas, Fanny, James, Elizabeth, Margaret, Agnes, and Alice.
Their first born, William, married Elizabeth (unknown).and they had a son called William Harry Earp.
He was born in October 1863 in Newport, son of William and Elizabeth.
In 1871 William Harry Earp is living at Combe Mill in Combe Oxfordshire. William fell in love with the girl next door, Nellie Gertrude Nash.

!891 census, Combe Mill, Combe in Oxfordshire.

Edward Nash, Head, 51, 1840, Clerk of the Works, born in Stourbridge, Worcestershire.
Ellen Nash, Wife, 53, 1838, Bromsgrove.
Nellie Gertrude Nash, Daughter, Single, 26, School Governess, Stourbridge.
Edward W Nash, Son, Single, 19, 1872, Carpenter, Bromsgrove.
Charlotte Taylor, Servant, 14, 1877, Sidcup, Kent.




1891 Combe Mill, 4 rooms.

William Harry Earp, Head, Single, 27, 1864, Clerk, Newport, Shropshire.
George Smith, Servant, Married, 53, 1838, Groom, Cricklade, Wiltshire.
Ann Smith, Wife, 54, 1837, Ramsbury, Wiltshire.

William Harry Earp married Nellie Gertrude Nash in Dec 1893 at Woodstock in Oxfordshire.

1901 census, Sandford Road, (next to the Post Office) Littlemore, Oxfordshire.

William Harry Earp, Head, 38, 1863, Timber Merchant, Employer, Newport, Shropshire.
Nellie Gertrude Earp, Wife, 35, 1866 Stourbridge.
Mary V? Wassell, Adopted Daughter, 13, 1888, Shifnall, Shropshire.

Nellie died in 1906 in Headington, Oxfordshire age 40. William married again in 1907 to Agnes Mclalland Highet in Headington, Oxfordshire. She was born in Scotland.

William died a year after his second marriage on the 9th of March 1908 in Headington, Oxfordshire.

England and Wales National Probate Calendar of Wills and Administrations.
Record for William Harry Earp.

William Harry Earp of the Manor House, Littlemore, Oxfordshire, Timber Merchant, died 9th March 1908 at the Acland Nursing Home in Oxford. Probate Oxford 30th April to Agnes McLelland Earp, Widow.
Effects. £2,693 6s. 2d
Agnes re-married in 1911 to Edwin W Tinegate. She was only 28 and 24 when she married William.
She died in Birmingham in 1951 aged 68.
…………………………………….
The Earp Family Roots
The gateway ancestor of the renowned Earp family is said to be a Scotch-Irishman named Thomas Earp Jr., who was born 1656 in Ireland and came to America before 1680. According to Jean Whitten Edwards, compiler of the Earp Family Genealogy,20 Thomas Earp Jr. probably came to this country – like many of our ancestors – as an indentured servant.
Earp is not an Irish surname. A British surname expert lists only one reference for it – spelled Erpe in 1561 – and claims its origins are unknown. However, American sources note that references to Earp can be found under the spelling of Harp. Being aware of the British propensity to drop their "H's," genealogists must consider this possibility when researching a surname beginning with a vowel. Wyatt Earp's great-great-grandfather appears on a 1776 Maryland enumeration as William Harp.21

[normagp]

William Earp was the Uncle of my grandfather, Tom Nash b. 1894, by William Earp's marriage to Nellie Gertrude Nash. Her father, Edward Nash, was Clerk of the Works for the Duke of Marlborough who owned Combe Mill where William Earp lived prior to his marriage to Nellie. Edward Nash had his office there and William lived in a room in the Mill. Edward Nash's stone cottage was across from the Mill. The Blenheim Trust renovated Edward's Office to look like it did when Edward worked in it and a man portrayed him for tours for a few years in the summer. William Earp allowed my grandfather to live with them when he was somewhere between 6 and 10 years old so he could attend Oxford Preparatory School as a Day Strudent. It is also known as The Dragon School. When Nellie died, he went to school in Heidelberg Germany for a year. He did not like it. Most likely, William died about that time. Grandfather said William delivered saw dust to stores who used it on their floors at the time. I wondered if the bought the sawdust as a by product from Combe Mill? Edward retired from Combe Mill about 1904 and died in 1910. He had retired near to Nellie.

[Nevis]

Thank you so much for all the wonderful information you have contributed to the Earp Family Tree normagp. I found it fascinating. Only the recollections of people like yourself can give us a true idea of how people lived back then. I would love to hear more if you have the time. xxxxx

[normagp]

It was a different time, so much like Downton Abbey. Edward Nash had a prestigious position as Clerk of the Works for the 8th Duke of Marlborough, George Charles Spencer-Churchill starting about 1883 when the Duke succeeded. It did not pay much. In fact, if I look closely at his picture, I can see Edward's shoe has a hole in the sole that looks as if it is stuffed with cardboard. As part of his compensation, he received the right to live in two story cottage by the Mill where his office was located. What was more important to Edward was his duties: To lovingly oversee the Gardens, Blenheim Palace, quarry, Mill, and properties to keep them in good repair and represent the Duke to the town in any business that occurred, such as a gamekeeper being hit by a train at night. He loved being "the Duke's man".

Edward had a young man, William Earp, working and living in the Mill next door. Edward's daughter Nellie was a governess and they fell in love. Edward was a gregarious man who loved life, people of all classes, and was filled with energy and caring. On Saturday, Dec. 1, 1888, page 8 of Jackson's Oxford Journal, has an article about Edward and William Earp forming a Cricket Club for Blenheim Estate and the town which was very popular. The Jackson O. J. has other articles too., such as Nov. 9, 1895 on page 6. Edward's sons also played.

There is an article on June 25, 1887, page 7, about Edward heading a "Meat & Tea" Tea for the Village for Queen Victoria's Jubilee. On Nov. 19, 1992, Page 8, Edward Nash helped carry the 8th Duke's casket into the chapel/church for the service and presumably to the vault for interment [although official Pall Bearers carried it from the Palace to outside the chapel]. It seems the other 7 men were also representatives of groups of the Duke's staff. Edward also gave a welcoming speech upon the return of the new Duke from the Boer War in the article Aug. 4, 1900, Page 8.

I am sure that William Earp participated in many of the family, town and Blenheim Palace activities. An article Nov 11, 1893 p. 7 tells of his being presented with a chime clock for his 9 years of service at Combe Mill as a clerk and foreman.

[Nevis]

Thank you so much xxxxx