I made an interesting discovery today regarding the parents of Rebecca Brooks. We always suspected that her parents were a James and Rebecca that we found in the census for Mendham in 1841. By 1851 the elder Rebecca had died and James was a widower lodging with his grandson George Brooks (who had married Frances Snowling). James was born around 1770 in Starston, Norfolk.

I looked for the baptism of the younger Rebecca Brooks and her sister Eliza. The best I could find was a baptism on 10 Feb 1808 of Eliza Brooks daughter of James and Rebecca Brooks, late Pritty. The record comes from Bishops Transcripts for the parish of Redenhall with Harleston and the Hamlet of Wortwell in Norfolk. She was born the previous day.

The problem is that Eliza had a son, John Booty Brooks, in 1822 which would make her just 14. But in that record she is noted as a singlewoman and the following year on 19 Jun 1823 she married John Booty in Weybread, Suffolk. Presumably this was the father of her child. He appears to have been aged 30 at the time of marriage.

John Booty senior died in 1828 and the following year Eliza married William Squire in Weybread. The younger John Booty appears in the 1841 census aged 19 living with James and Rebecca, so the link is quite strong. Unfortunately he died in 1844.

Something else happened to the family around that time because I found a newspaper report from 1845 announcing the sale of James Brooks’ farming stock at Mendham¹. In the 1851 census he is listed as a “pauper late farmer” aged 81.

I looked for his death and found a good candidate: a burial in Weybread, Suffolk of James Brighton Brooks, aged 92, of Withersdale.

I was curious about the Brighton name since it was the first time I had seen it. I searched Ancestry and found a a family tree that showed a James Brighton Brooks born 1766 in Starston. The tree also included a son James Brightwen Brooks (1800-1844) whose son Frederick Charles Brooks (1823) married into the user’s Freeman family².

I looked for more parish records for James Brighton Brooks and came across a marriage of a James Brighten and Rebecca Pritty in Brockdish, Norfolk! Pritty was the maiden name of the Eliza Brooks that I found at the start of today’s search.

Marriage by banns at Brockdish, Norfolk on 17th Sep 1794 of James Brighten and Rebecca Pritty, single woman. He could not sign his name but she could. The witnesses were John King and Thomas Pritty, both of whom could sign their names.³

This could explain why we could never find a baptism for James Brooks. Perhaps he was illegitimate and Brighten or Brooks was his father’s name. He went by the name of James Brooks for all of his life and his surviving family recorded his full name on his death certificate.

I looked on familysearch.org for Rebecca Brooks but couldn’t find anyone matching. However I did find a Rebecca Brighton in Brockdish:

Baptism at Brockdish, Norfolk on 14th Mar 1795 of Rebecca Brighton, dau. of James Brighton and Rebecca Brighton, late Pritty. Private baptism.⁴

This clearly links to the James and Rebecca marriage the year before but I’m still not certain how Rebecca Brighton becomes Rebecca Brooks.

I then found 4 more baptisms of James and Rebecca’s children under the name Brighton in Mendham:

James Brooks, 1796 Phebe, 1797 Thomas, 1799 John, 1801⁵

I’m not sure what to make of it yet. Somehow these people appear to be connected to Rebecca Brooks. I need to find out more about her to try and draw a connection. When looking at her record it’s surprising how little I know. No baptism, burial or marriage after her son George was born. All we know is that a woman named Rebecca Brooks was recorded as the mother of George Brooks.

Mendham, Brockdish, Weybread, Redenhall and Starston parishes are all within 2-3 miles of one another. Mendham and Weybread are in Hoxne deanery, Brockdish, Redenhall and Starston are in the Redenhall deanery. They all surround the parish of Needham which hasn’t featured in any records so far but should be checked.

Most of the parish records for Norfolk have been transcribed and are available online at https://www.norfolkonlinerecordsearch.co.uk/ but there are gaps in coverage.

These are the ranges of records available for each parish:

I’m going through parts of the tree trying to fill in gaps. I noticed that we didn’t have birth or death dates for Elizabeth Hinksman, mother of Dinah Peak. There are a couple of other trees on Ancestry that include her and I want to corroborate their information. I ordered her birth certificate (Elizabeth Inksman, 1862, Dec, Tynemouth, 10b, 123) which should arrive soon.

I can’t find her death in the GRO index though. Another tree has her death recorded as 13 Feb 1937, Thomas Knight Memorial Hospital, Blyth NBL but I don’t seem to be able to find it. I checked the newspapers to look for a death notice and found this in the Blyth News of Monday 15 February 1937:

BELIEVED TO HAVE FALLEN DOWNSTAIRS

Septuagenarian’s Death at Blyth

Stated to have been injured through falling down the stairs at her home last Monday.,Mrs Elizabeth Peak, a widow of 124 Hanbledon Street, died in the Thomas Knight Memorial Hospital on Saturday. She was 74.

The circumstances have been reported to the Coroner. ⁶

While I was looking around the British Newspaper Archive I searched for Dinah Peak and found this memoriam written in 1901 on the anniversary of her death by her daughter Rebecca. Dinah Peak nee Smith was Thomas Turner Peak’s mother and Rebecca was his sister.

In Memoriam.

In loving memory of my dear mother, Dinah Peak, who died Jan. 30th, 1900.

We oft times think we hear her footsteps,
We look around, but she is not there;
Ah! no, she has gone and left us,
Here stands her empty chair.

Sleep on. dear mother, thy toil is o’er,
Thy willing hands shall toil no more;
Life was desired. bat God thought best
To take thee to eternal rest.

Ever remembered by her loving daughter and son-in-law. Rebecca and Alex. Mills.⁷

I continued reviewing the search results and found a notice of the death of Dinah’s husband John on the 17th June 1900:

DEATHS

PEAK.—At 21 Beacon Street, North Shields, on the 17th inst., aged 60 years, John Peak, relict of the late Dinah Peak. Interment on Wednesday at Preston Cemetery at 3 o’clock. Friends please accept this (the only) intimation. ⁸

I have ordered his death certificate (John Peak, 1900, Jun. Tynemouth, 10b, 151)

Luckily Dinah is a distinctive name and is easy to find in the newspaper search. I found a notice of John and Dinah’s marriage in the Shields Daily Gazette, Thursday 22 July 1858

Marriage at St. Hilda’s Church on 19th instant of Mr John Peak, forgeman, to Miss Dinah Smith.⁹

After some searching at gro.gov.uk I think I have found Elizabeth Hinksman’s death registration. The district is new to me: Elizabeth Peak, 1937, Mar, NORTHUMBERLAND CENTRAL, 10B, 568