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Hello, I would like to request, if possible, a marriage records look-up for my great-grandparents :-

Harry Riches  d.o.b  c.1866, place of birth Brockford (Street), Suffolk,  an Agricultural Labourer (per the 1901 census).


In the late 1880's or very early 1890's ( prior to 1893) Harry married Florence from a neighbouring village -  Mickfield.

I am trying to determine Florence's maiden name and the name and occupation of her father, if that is on the marriage record.

I understand that the parish church of Mickfield may have been called St.Andrews and is now redundant.


Many Thanks 

Reginald's date of birth was 5th November 1896. He died on 17th November 1986.

I'm speechless.

Karen

Thanks EBN

Hello Sheryl,

So we now have four notorious relatives, Ruth Hackford the mother of an illegitimate son, George and Elizabeth Hackford the "divorcees" and Richard Hackford the criminal. When I realised that Richard had pulled a knife in the police officer he was lowered in my estimation.

One interesting point George snr was born in 1835 to Anne per one of EBN earlier posts. Richard is said to have been born in 1813. That  makes for a 22 year age gap between brothers! That's by no means impossible but could it be that they were nephew and uncle?

If Richard Hackford was in gaol at the time of the 1901 census he would still have to be listed.

The juicy bit about Ruth's son was common knowledge amongst his children (my mum and her siblings), that he was illegitimate. Reginald died aged 90 in 1986 when I was 23. On his 90th birthday, despite being shown a birth cert showing Arthur Walker to be his dad, he was still insistent  that he was illegitimate - no small matter for someone of his era!!!!

Ruth went on to have at least 2 more sons with Arthur Walker. We never knew about these until I found them on the 1901 census.
Ruth was living with Arthur and her two little boys Dudley and Rumply aged under 3 in Kidderminster running a boarding house. In the meantime Reginald Hackford Walker, her illegitimate son, was living in Lower Mitton under the name of his foster parents. He appears on the 1901 census as Reginald Hackford Passey aged 4.
 The family story was that Reginald was the illegitimate son of an earl and until 1959 there was supporting vellum documents with red seals supporting this as "fact". Reginald destroyed the items upon his wife's death. My late mother had seen the the documents when she was a girl. They were handwritten in copperplate style. She did manage to decipher one bit which said that Reginald was to be educated in the manner of a gentleman as would have befitted his father. This never happened because his foster father William Passey was said to have been a drinker, who both violently abused Reginald as he grew up and embezzled his trust fund - somehow. Reginald did love his foster mother but when she died Reginald ran away. Reginald lived a difficult life and was a difficult person for anyone to deal with - all due to his early life, his WWI experiences and his financial struggles in the 1930s. He was very well read and extremely articulate he had risen to be an army officer after the war but struggled with authority something which blighted him all his life.

All the best

Karen

Hello Sheryl,

Thanks to EBN who posted on this chat earlier I realised there was an Elizabeth Hackford in the picture. Anne, your great-grandmother was the the daughter of Elizabeth and the granddaughter of George and Harriet Hackford. Have I understood correctly?.

I am the great-granddaughter of Ruth Hackford ( gr. gr. granddaughter of George Hackford. Have you read my first posting and if so have you ever heard a story of an illegitimate birth in the family.

I think that Hackfords are uncommon in Herefordshire. They seem to be more common in East Anglia. There is a Hackford village in Norfolk. Perhaps the Herefordshire Hackfords are ultimately East Anglian.