Harbour-Cooper in Sussex

[avm228]

The child "William" who was 2 in the 1871 census at reply #18 may correspond with this death:

Death, Sep qtr 1871

Frederick William H COOPER aged 3

St Olave, Southwark 1d 144

...and with exactly the same reference (same quarter, same page no - they must have been registered very close together if not simultaneously) this may well be the baby "Jane" from the 1871 census:

Death, Sep qtr 1871

Dorothy Jane H COOPER aged 1

St Olave, Southwark 1d 144

[avm228]

Interesting that on the marriage certificate for William & Mary, William started to sign it one way and then scratched it out and changed his mind as to his name:

Francis William Harbo... Willliam F. Harbour Cooper

[avm228]

Possibly Richard Harbour had children by an Amelia Cooper but never married her, thus Amelia Harbour Cooper and William F. Harbour Cooper came about?

Is there evidence of Amelia using the COOPER name?

What happened to her - is she the Amelia PEEKE who (with Richard PEEKE) witnessed the marriage of William and Mary in 1867?

If Amelia didn't use the COOPER name there's still the possibility that William simply adopted it (as he apparently did with the name Frederick) for reasons unknown.


Ah - I see that she was Amelia Harbour COOPER when she married Richard PEEKE in 1858 (and, interestingly, gave her father's name as Richard Harbour COOPER)

[avm228]

...and with exactly the same reference (same quarter, same page no - they must have been registered very close together if not simultaneously) this may well be the baby "Jane" from the 1871 census:

Death, Sep qtr 1871

Dorothy Jane H COOPER aged 1

St Olave, Southwark 1d 144

Her baptism:

30 Oct 1870, Christ Church, Bermondsey

Dorothy Jane COOPER born 30 July 1870

daughter of William Harbour COOPER, tanner, and Mary, of 8 Brook St, Star Corner

[avm228]

The child "William" who was 2 in the 1871 census at reply #18 may correspond with this death:

Death, Sep qtr 1871

Frederick William H COOPER aged 3

St Olave, Southwark 1d 144

His baptism:

28 June 1868 St Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey

William Frederick Harbour COOPER, born 7 June 1868

son of William Frederick Harbour COOPER, a tanner, and Mary, of 28 Weston Pl., Long Lane

[lilith28]

I will try to answer some questions, or perhaps present new ones. Here are my thoughts:

#12 Re: Mary Smith's name. She was born a Smith. When she married Richard Harbour she lists herself as a widow, still using name Smith. Logically she 1) Married a man with same name 2) married a man with different surname but reverted to maiden name after his death or 3) lived with a man she never married at all then passed herself off as a widow to be more socially acceptable (ie had a child, or didn't want to be labeled as a fallen woman)

#28 Scratching through William Frederick H. Cooper's name on the marriage certificate. This isn't on the certificate I have. No name changes at all. The one I have is also witnesses by his sister Amelia HC Peeke and her husband Richard Peeke.

#29 Richard Harbour listed as Richard Harbour Cooper on Amelia Harbour Cooper's certificate, This is the first time I have heard of that being done. I know of no reason he would be listed that way UNLESS the person filling out the information did it because it was Amelia's last name and he thought it must be Richard's as well? Is this online for me to see?

I do know that William Frederick Harbour Cooper's daughter told my mum that he told her he chose to add the name Harbour to his Cooper surname because he liked the name.

I think the Cooper was his Mum's name and though Richard may have been his bio father he may not have been the legal husband of the mother Amelia.  Richard is after all listed as a bachelor on his marriage to Mary Smith. Would he have been required to put divorced if he and Amelia had been? Wouldn't he have put widower if she had died his legal wife?

See? More questions! Thanks to everyone for helping with this.

[avm228]

#28 Scratching through William Frederick H. Cooper's name on the marriage certificate. This isn't on the certificate I have. No name changes at all. The one I have is also witnesses by his sister Amelia HC Peeke and her husband Richard Peeke.

I expect you're looking at a GRO certified copy, rather than the original or an image of it - am I right?

[lilith28]

It says Certified copy of an entry of marriage given at the General Register Office May 2003.

How does this differ from the one you have seen? Where can I see that one? Online?

It's tricky being 3,000 miles from the source! 

[avm228]

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