The Coudrey History

Hi Sharon

I have just spent a fascinating evening going through all the information you have put on the internet about the history of the Coudrey family
I am amazed at all the detail you have unearthed and very impressed

As you may have realised by now, I am the Eileen Gould mentioned in relation to the diary

The diary was passed on to me after the death of my grandmother, Olive Mason (nee Mole), who was the daughter of Ellen Coudrey

In 1972 I decided to try to trace descendants of Joseph Coudrey
I wrote to the Mayor of Adelaide, enclosing a cutting from our local newspaper regarding the voyage to Australia and asking if my request could be printed in the local Adelaide paper
I was delighted to receive a letter from Charles Coudrey (grandson of Joseph) and corresponded with him until his death
Another letter I received was from the State Library of South Australia asking if they could have the diary
After much heart searching I agreed, since it was very fragile even then and I knew it would be well looked after
I asked them to make a copy for me, which they did

Charles' son Bob and his wife Norma visited us in the early 1980's
Mollie's daughter Sue also visited around that time and Mollie and Pete in the late 1980's
I am still in touch with Mollie, although it is only a short letter and card at Christmas

I moved from Walsall to Richmond, North Yorkshire in 1973, when my husband, Alan, was offered a promotion in the North of England
Alan died suddenly in 1986 from a heart attack and he was fourty nine years old

I have three children

..........Amanda (Mandy) was born in 1966
..........She is married to Simon and has two children, Thomas (17 years) and Anna (14 years)
..........They live in Richmond too
..........Mandy is a school secretary and Simon is a Manager in the Citizens Advice Bureau

..........Lisa was born in 1968 and is married to Jim
..........They have no children unfortunately but lots of pets, including a horse
..........Jim is a Vet and Lisa a Veterinary Nurse
..........They live in Sedbergh, Cumbria

..........David is Lisa's twin and is married to Maud, who is Dutch
..........They have three children, Madelijn (7 years), Minouk (5 years) and Matthijs (almost 2 years)
..........They live in St. Albans (near London)
..........David is an Eye Specialist Vet and his wife is a Vet as well

I am a Secretary at our local Town Council and although I did retire for 2 years, I was asked to return to help out when they were short staffed and I am still there 5 years later !!
I only work three mornings for three hours, which is rather nice as it keeps my mind active and the job is interesting

I would be interested to hear whether there are any twins in the Australian branch of the family as there are loads over here
My grandmother had twins, so did my aunt and there are three sets in my generation
Our family is very large as my grandmother had thirteen children (my father was #13)
I have lost touch with most of my cousins and second cousins, most of whom are still in the Midlands, so don't know whether there are any sets of twins in the later generations

Hoping to hear from you
Very best wishes to you and your family

Eileen

#1 - LINKS RELATING TO THE 'COUDREY' FAMILY
Family History Index Page ...... HERE
Joseph William Coudrey's Diary ...... HERE
Information from Eileen Gould ...... HERE

#2 - EILEEN GOULD'S ORIGINAL EMAIL IS ABOVE
and it will be better to read that first before reading my reply

Hello Eileen ... and to all the other Coudrey decendants living in England

This email is being sent to lots of people !!
My wife Sharon, her sisters Lesley and Fiona and brothers Knowlton and Laurence and these are the children of Ronald and Laurel Coudrey (nee Knowles) and refer to Section #03 of The Coudrey Family History
Deane, Rex and Erina are the children of Laurel's sister, Audrey, and the details are shown in Section #06 of The Knowles Family History which is on ... THIS ... page
I have also sent it to Jenny Hawkins, Judith McCarthy, Wally Knowles and Lynn Parker who are related on the Knowles side of the family tree and details can be seen in Section #07 of the above page

Thank you for the comments about the web site
It was put together with the help of all the above people ... plus lots of others ... plus naturally, the internet search engine, Google !!
Boy, there would not be anywhere near as much detail if it wasn't for this fantastic research tool !!

I will always remember the moment I discovered that Joseph's Diary still existed ... fantastic !!
Unfortunately it was 'misplaced' for a while and it took me months of correspondence with the South Australian Library to obtain a copy but it was well worth it !!

Twins ?? ... I think you must have them all over there !! ... I can't remember being told of any but I will leave this for one of the Coudrey's to confirm..........( there is one set on my side of the family )

As I noted at the top of The Coudrey Family History Page, and due to lack of space-and-time, I have concentrated on the "direct line" to my wife Sharon
However, when I am contacted by someone like yourself, I like to include all the information on a linked web page so it is recorded forever
It would be linked next to the name "Ellen" in Section #11 of the Family History Index Page
Do you mind if I do this with your email along with the attached letter and history ??
I would be happy to send you a copy for approval before uploading it should you want

I've got a million names going around in my head !! ... but I'm not sure who the "Mollie" you refer to is
Would you clarify her for me ... thanks

Finally, if you have anything at all that would add to this History, could I please have a copy ??
Old photographs are fantastic, along with things like birth, marriage and death certificates !!
Letters, note and recollections also add a lot of 'personal touches' as well

That's about it for now, and let's try to keep regular contact going
I will definately put you on my mailing list ... you never know when a "new discovery" will be made !!

All the best to you and yours

Geoff and Sharon

You state that you don't know who Mollie was
She is the daughter of Stan and Irene Coudrey
She is married to Peter Gore who at this stage is sadly in a nursing home with dementia
I seem to remember telling you about this last year

Stan Coudrey (4.7.1904 to 31.1.1997) was the second son of Charles and Mary Coudrey
They had two children, Roy and Mollie

I also contacted Eileen Gould back in the 1990's and had all the info you got from her including a copy of the famous diary

Sorry I haven't been in contact of late but I have been very ill and am shortly going into hospital

Regards ... Wally

Hi Wally

THANKS for this note
Yes, you probably did send me the info ... this time I am going to record it properly !!

Look after yourself now ... do what the doctors say !!
And please let Sharon and I know how things go

Regards ... Geoff

You mention twins in your e-mail
Don't forget the Cornish ancestors
John Rowe fathered nineteen children but only seven lived to adulthood
In his family there were three sets of twins, all of whom died shortly after birth

Hi again, Eileen

In your note you mentioned 'TWINS' in the Coudrey Family, etc
Just for your interest, there have been a few
But not over here ... they were born in Cornwall
And there were three sets ... way back in the mid 1800's
Unfortunately none of them survived, all being still born

I received this note from Wally Knowles
.........................You mention twins in your e-mail
.........................Don't forget the Cornish ancestors
.........................John Rowe fathered nineteen children but only seven lived to adulthood
.........................In his family there were three sets of twins, all of whom died shortly after birth

John and Elizabeth Rowe are detailed in Section #09 on ... THIS ... page
Plus, the full list of their children, along with the twins, can be seen by clicking ... HERE ... and then scrolling down the page until you see the heading ... "The following information links to Section #09 on the Coudrey Family History Index Page"

I think it is exciting to have the extra link and information about Joseph William Coudrey's Diary !!

I remember reading about all the babies that died when Geoff first put them on the web site
Not only the twins ... lots of others as well ... tough times back then

Hi Geoff

This is fascinating stuff and I am delighted to be in the group receiving such new knowledge
Please keep me in the loop for future things as it is great entertainment
Obviously for you it is much more with the other side of the family, but for me it is always fascinating seeing the connections

I hope you are all well up in the wonderful warm world of yours

Kind regards ... Jenny

Hi Geoff

Thank you so much for all the additional information

I would be very pleased if you could do a link with 'Ellen Coudrey' for me

I was interested to hear of the stillborn twins born to the Rowe family

Could you explain to me please how the Rowes and Pemburys are linked to the Coudreys
I'm sure it's there somewhere in the family history you have prepared but there is so much to go through and I'm a little shell shocked !!

I don't think I have any more information or photos which you don't already have

Somewhere I have a photo of my grandmother, Olive Maria, daughter of Ellen Coudrey, but it may take me a while to find it and when I do I will send you a copy

###

Hi again

Sorry, I must have pressed the "send button" before I finished the last email

I am amazed you have been able to trace the family back so far
I had no idea of our connection with the south of England, although I had heard of the Huguenot origin

Incidentally, on one of your daughter Tanya's photos, there is a resemblance to my sister's eldest son Brian, though she is much better looking than him !!
They seem to have similar smiles
Brian, when younger, resembled my father
My daughter Lisa looks like I did when younger and also resembles my dad's youngest sister, Edna
I think we must take after the Coudrey side of the family

I am attaching some photos of my family and town

Very best wishes ... Eileen

Hi once more, Eileen

Thanks for the 'okay' to build the web page
I am at the moment getting all these notes together along with the 1973 letter concerning the Diary, etc
It will take a few days to get the page built and as soon as it's ready, I'll send you the link

Now that you've read about the "Cornwall Connection" ... HERE ... I guess you have answered your own question about the 'Penberthys + Rowes + Coudreys' and how they all came together ... if you still have any queries, just let me know

Yes, I would like a copy of the photo of your grandmother ... it will turn up one day !!

"I am amazed you have been able to trace the family back so far"
I am not able to take too much credit for this !!
I am at the moment working on four Family Histories ... this one, plus Sharon's Mother ... HERE ... and my Father ... HERE ... and my Mother ... HERE
I have had lots of information sent to me by dozens of people and it has taken thousands of hours to put it all together ... AND IT IS REALLY WORTH IT ... to have everything available just by clicking a button on a computer is terrific !!

With the Coudrey Family, most of the information and early research came from Wally Knowles ... and he is better than a computer
I have never met him, with all our contact being via email, but he appears to have everything filed in his memory !!

All of it has been very interesting, though
I remember working on the 'Cornwall Connection" and searching for photographs, maps and details which would help explain some of the text ... it was very interesting to see how things were back then
I have thought about how terrific it would be to travel back in time and visit with these relatives in their homes ... with a digital camera of course !! ... and to take a few bottles of medicine to help out with the infant mortality rate !!

I have also seen that there are branches of the Coudrey Family living in the United States as well

Thanks for the photos !! ... and I will include them when I put the web page together

As I mentioned, I will write again as soon as the web page is finished

Regards ... Geoff

Hi Geoff

I think I must be very thick as I still can't work out how the Penberthys connect with the Coudreys
Did one of the Coudrey's marry a Penberthy ?
If so, how far back was it ?
Are they part of my family tree, as for this to be so, it would have to be before Charles (Joseph and Ellen's father)

I have found the photo of my grandmother but need to work out how to scan it ... I have a scanner but don't know how to use it
I am not very computer literate but will ask Simon, my son in law, to show me

Very best wishes ... Eileen

Hi ya

NO, no, no ... you are not "very thick" !!
It's these family historys which are very confusing !!

I reckon the best way to look at them is to have a montrous-size sheet of paper with all the family and branches and links and notes set out so you can see them all at once ... I guess that's possible but not very practical !!
I don't know if you have ever looked at professional sites like ANCESTRY ... HERE
They allow you to set up a family tree but it ends up, in my opinion, very confusing and almost unusable as the details are only readable by scrolling either up/down or left/right and only a small section is visible at any one time on a computer screen

When starting out, I decided on the "long page" style, commencing with the oldest known ancestor and finishing with Sharon and our children ... I used lots of links and numbered each section so it would be as easy as possible to refer to other relatives by simply scrolling up and down the page
But I'm the first to admit that it's not perfect ... and I still get "lost" every now and again !!

COUDREY FAMILY HISTORY ...... HERE

In relation to the 'Penberthy' family, let's start at ...
............Section #13 ... Isaac Penberthy and Christiana Martins ... one of their children was Elizabeth
............Section #09 ... John Rowe and Elizabeth Penberthy ... one of their children was Christiana
............Section #07 ... James Hodge and Christiana Rowe ... one of their children was Mary
............Section #06 ... Charles Coudrey and Mary Hodge ... one of their children was Ronald who was my wife Sharon's father
So that's how a Penberthy hooked up with a Coudrey

The above Charles Coudrey was the son of Joseph Coudrey and Emily Hill ... Section #08
This Joseph Coudrey was the son of Chales Coudrey and Maria Darby ... Section #11 ... and this is where your family branches out from with Joseph's sister Ellen being your great grandmother

So even though there isn't a direct link to the Penberthy's with your branch of the family, they are still 'there' ... but just a little bit !!

I hope I have explained this properly !! ... if not, please contact me again ... I don't mind at all

THE 1890 PHOTO

Just received it ... fantastic and thank you ... will get the web page built as quickly as possible

VISITORS

You wrote in your first email
"Charles' son Bob and his wife Norma visited us in the early 1980's"
They are coming here to Cairns for a visit early next month

Will be back soon ... in the meantime, all the best to you and yours ... Geoff

Hi Geoff

Attached is photo of Olive Maria Mason, daughter of Ellen Coudrey
(Olive Maria Mason ... nee Mole ... married Arthur Newton Mason)
This was taken in 1890 I think
The baby is my eldest aunt, Edith
The two children are by my grandfather's first marriage ... his first wife died in childbirth
My grandmother was only about eighteen when she married him and he was ten years older
She brought up the older children together with her own

Very best wishes ... Eileen

Note from Wally Knowles
The two older children are Arthur and Florence from his first marriage and the baby is Edith from his second marriage

Hello again

You have mentioned that you are not a computer expert

I was getting the photo you sent ready for the web site ... and changed a few of it's attributes
It went from this ...

... to this ... clearer with a more natural black/white look ... thought you might like a 'early' copy

Hello again Geoff

Thank you so much for enhancing the photo of my grandmother ... it is such an improvement
I have no idea how you did it but it is amazing
Wish I was more computer literate ... my grandchildren know far more than I do about computers, even the very young members of the family

Thank you also for explaining about the Penberthy/Rowe families, which I understand now

Very best wishes ... Eileen