My Great Grandfather John William GRUBB (b 1855 Blackwall London; d 1831 Flemington Vic Australia) migrated, with his parents and siblings, to Australia in 1870.
In 1914 he travelled back to London with his wife and daughter and spent about a month catching up with Cousins. He kept a comprehensive diary of this visit.
I know that “Cousin†is a broad term but these particular cousins he spent a good deal of time with including:
• Making contact with all of them within days of arriving in London;
• Travelling across London to catch up with them frequently including meals and day trips;
• They often met up together. i.e. JW GRUBB with a number of the cousins, with and without their husbands; and
• All of the cousins came to wave them off when they departed London.
The Cousins were:
1. Alice GIFFORD (nee BLOOMFIELD b 1857 Bethnal Greeen). Living near Hackney in 1914. Husband Henry Edward GIFFORD. (m 1883 Hackney)
2. Kate GARDNER (nee BLOOMFIELD b1860 Hackney). Living in West Mersea, Essex in 1914. Husband John Henry GARDNER. (m 1879 Brighton)
3. Rosina RIPPIN (nee BLOOMFIELD b1863 Hackney). Living in Clapton in 1914. Husband Joseph James RIPPIN. (m 1885 Hackney)
4. Kate BUXTON (nee STAPLES b1857 Lewisham). Living in Catford in 1914. Husband Charles Harding BUXTON. (m 1894 Lewisham)
My dilemma is that I have no known links between the GRUBB family and these Cousins.
It is John William GRUBB who is working hard to keep in contact with these Cousins – not his wife. When catching up with her cousins he makes a point of referring to Lizzie’s cousins.
What I do know is:
1. The parents of John William GRUBB were Richard GRUBB (b 1827 Bow, d 1905 Traralgon, Vic, Australia) and Sarah (nee LIDINGTON) (b 1833 Clerkenwell, d 1901 Traralgon).
2. The LIDINGTON family is reasonably well researched and family members are unaware of any links to the cousins above.
3. Alice, Kate and Rosina are all sisters. Their parents were Robert BLOOMFIELD (b1823 Springfield, Essex) and Ann (nee WARNER) (b1825 Broomfield, Essex) who were married in St Pancras in 1854.
4. Kate BUXTON (nee STAPLES b1857 Lewisham) is daughter of Aaron STAPLES (b1828 Lewisham) and Mary Ann (nee WARNER) (b1815 Broomfield, Essex) who were married in Poplar in 1855.
5. Ann BLOOMFIELD (nee WARNER) and Mary Ann STAPLES (nee WARNER) are sisters.
6. Ann and Mary Anne’s parents were Charles WARNER (b1788 Coggeshall, Essex) and Mary Ann (nee WOODHOUSE) (b1790 Broomfield, Essex) who were married in Broomfield c1815.
7. The common family link between the 4 female cousins appears to be the WARNER family from Broomfield , Essex.
8. JW GRUBB travelled to London in 1907 but we have only limited record of whom he met during this trip.
9. We do know that in 1907, JWG caught up with cousin Sarah MAY (nee MILLETT b 1817 Poplar) who was living in Farnham, Kent. Sarah’s parents were John MILLETT (b 1816 Poplar) and Sarah (nee GRUBB) (b 1817 Poplar) who were married in Camden 1839.
10. We also know that in 1914, JWG caught up with cousin Minnie TEMPLER (nee MAY b 1856 Borough) who was living in Walthamstow. Minnie (nee May) was daughter to Sarah (nee GRUBB).
11. Sarah MILLETT (nee GRUBB) was sister of John William GRUBB’s father, Richard GRUBB.
12. J W GRUBB named his retirement home in Melbourne, Victoria, "Chelmsford", despite living his early years in Blackwall, Orchard Hill/Greenwich.
Would greatly appreciate any assistance in linking John William GRUBB with his “Cousinsâ€.
Happy to freely share information I have re any of the families mentioned above.