Instant Cousins

Instant Cousins : archiving my ancestry

  • When Fred and George Came to Wales

    When I was an adolescent taking an interest in family history I discussed the idea of searching family members at Somerset House with my Grandmother, Grace Wilcox. She warned me off from doing this saying that I might discover skeletons that I would not wish to know about. Such a wasted opportunity ! In recent…

  • Henry Comes to Oxted

    In last week’s post I described Henry Spillett’s arrival in Bognor after leaving home in Canterbury. Henry, my Great Grandfather, became the Licensee of The White Horse in South Bersted while also operating a Coachbuilding business at the back of the pub. In this post I explain his arrival and first decade of life in…

  • Henry Leaves Home

    In previous posts I have established the origins of my Great Grandfather, Henry George Spillett, in Canterbury, Kent. He was born in 1858 in Ivy Lane. He and his mother were living in her mother’s house with his older brother John and his Uncle Stephen. This is recorded in the 1861 Census return. Because his…

  • Cheesemonger

    The Wilcox family of which I am a direct descendant would be nothing without the Walker family. My Grandmother, Adelaide Wilcox was the daughter of an interesting London family who made their money out of provisions, importing and wholesale. The Walkers originated from Bermondsey in the parish of St. Mary’s, Rotherhithe, the almost peninsula shape…

  • John Cook 1952 -2023

    My close friend and former colleague at the Caldecott Community has died. He was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease early last year. He was advised immediately that there was no cure. He spent the remainder of his life preparing for death and receiving love and attention from all those who knew him, his daughters and…

  • London calling…..

    I’m continuing the progress of my Great Grandfather from his home town of Towcester in Northamptonshire, to London. John Thomas Wilcox arrived in London by 1871. I have previously traced him in the 1861 Census return. He was 9 years old and living in a house in Lake Lane, Towcester. Like many streets and lanes…

  • How did she get there?

    Previously I have written about my wife’s paternal Great Grandfather who died at a very young age leaving his widow, Agnes, to raise six children with the help of the Parish. This week, I am looking at the story of my wife’s Great Aunt Louisa. She was the eldest daughter of John McKie. His widow,…

  • From Canterbury to London

    Previously, I outlined the story of my paternal Great Great Grandparent. A strong maternal upbringing of two generations of the  Spillett family in the cathedral town of Canterbury in Kent. I had discovered my Great Grandfather, Henry George Spillett, living in Ivy Lane. This week I am looking at how Henry and in particular, his…

  • My house……continued

    There was a haste in starting this post last week due to my absence in Madeira and I was using a tablet to write the start of this post which is a challenge when I normally use a keyboard to write my posts. In last week’s post I got as far as the old entrance…

  • My house…not quite in the middle of the street.

    This week’s post is a short photographic essay about the street where I live to give some context for the history that I shall unfold in future months. Earlspark Avenue is on the south side of Glasgow close to a well heeled area known as Newlands. Recent electoral boundary changes means that we are now…


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