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23 July 2002

FORDHAM FAMILY HISTORY 1881 CASTOR

I apologize for the length of time I have taken to reply. Your letter kept slipping to the bottom of the tray, but I always knew it was there, waiting and pricking my conscience. The records that you wanted are not normally kept in the church but at Wooton Hall, the Northants County Record Office. However, last month I brought some of them back for a display here.

At the same time some-one had a copy of the 1881 Census for the village of Castor and Ailsworth – really the same village and both in the parish of St Kyneburgha of Castor Parish Church. The entry relating to your family is as follows:

1881 Census Place :Castor, Northampton, England PRO ref RG11, folio 112, page 6

No actual address given in the village (you probably have all this)

George Fordham; head, occ Police Constable, married, male, age 38; Birthplace: Creesy Weston Suffolk England

Alice Fordham; wife, married, female, age 39, Birthplace Whittlesea, Cambridge

Madeleine Fordham; dau, scholar, unmar. Age 8 female Birthplace: Ailsworth, , Northampton

James R Fordham; son,: scholar, unmar. Age 7 male, Birthplace: Ailsworth, , Northampton

George E Fordham; son, scholar, unmar. Age 5 male, Birthplace:Castor, , Northampton

Arthur A Fordham; son, scholar, unmar. Age 3 male, Birthplace:Castor, , Northampton

Zephaniah Fordham son, scholar, unmar. Age 1 male, Birthplace:Castor, , Northampton

Comment : they must have moved within the village from Ailsworth to Castor before son George was born (5 in 1881)

I do not have the burial book for the period, that is at Wooton Hall

However I did check the baptisms and marriage for the period. There were no marriages that I could see between 1870 and 1900 for the Fordhams; maybe they moved before Madeleine became of marriageable age. I did check the Baptisms and found the following:

Baptisms:

13 Aug 1871: Polly dau of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Ailsworth

comment; no Polly in 1881 census; did she die young or was she away with another family that night?

18 May 1873: Madeleine, dau of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Ailsworth

27 Aug 1876: George Edward, son of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Castor

1 Sep 1878: Arthur Alfred, son of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Castor

28 Dec 1879; Zephaniah, son of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Castor

15 Jul 1883, Alice Ellen, dau of George & Alice Fordham, occ of father Police Constable address: Castor

Comment: no other entries between then and 1891, presumably they either moved or Alice Ellen was their last living child. Further Comment: No sign of the baptism of James R Fordham, who is included in the census for 1881. Maybe I missed it but I did double check. As I said, I did not check burials because I do not have the book here.

I hope that this is of some use, and I apologize for being so very tardy in replying.