Fortescue family. lost on john 1828

Question

Hi Im trying to find the father of John Fortescue born 1828 ish. Basford Nottinghamshire (again we think, may be London). We believe he was a lace maker.  I seem to have hit a dead end and im not sure where im scanning it over wrong.

Can anybody help?

Answer 1

1871 Census    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VBFW-KHX

1881 Census    https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XQ9S-RTZ

Surname Origin:    http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Fortescue

..."This interesting name is of Old French origin, introduced into England at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066 by followers of William 1. The surname derives from a martial nickname for a doughty, valiant warrior, derived from the Old French "fort", strong, brave, from the Latin "fortis", with "escu", shield, from the Latin "scutum". The English family of the name Fortescue are traditionally thought to be descended from a notable strong Norman warrior who carried a massively heavy shield in the service of William of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings...."
Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Fortescue#ixzz3RMThzPIi

 

Answer 2

Census records for 1871 & 1881 suggest he was born in Basford, Nottingham with the 1871 census record listing him as John T.

I believe John T, to be 

County	Nottinghamshire
Place	Nottingham
Church	St Mary
RegisterNumber
DateOfBirth
BaptismDate	22 Feb 1830
Forename	John Thomas
Sex	M
FatherForename	John
MotherForename	Rebecca
FatherSurname	FORTESCUE
MotherSurname
Abode	Hockley
FatherOccupation	Lace Maker

See: http://www.freereg.org.uk

 

Comments

thank you so much for your help!! hopefully i can pick it up from there!! If you do happen to be able to tell me more it would be fantastic :)

Answer 3

This is John T, with parents in 1841 census, living in Lenton, Nottinghamshire. Note the surname spelling:

Name	Age
John Fortesgue	30
Rebecca Fortesgue	30
Elisa Fortesgue	12
John Fortesgue	11
Mary Fortesgue	10
William Fortesgue	8
Alfreda Fortesgue	1
Mary Howe	20

 

Comments

thanks Ron! Im now up to.. Another John Fortescue bn 06 jan 1786 in marleybone... If im on the right track.. Its incredibly confusing this business. :)

Answer 4

Hi, I can help with this as I have extensively researched this family (my Mother was a direct descendant. There is also an interesting story around this.

The parents of John were John Fortescue 1808-1861and Rebecca Howe 1809-1906.  John was born in Papplewick, a small village in Sherwood Forest.  His parents were John Fortescue 1786-1854 and Elizabeth Hopewell 1783-1859. They married in Papplewick in 1805.

This is where it gets interesting as John was born in Marylebone London.  It seemed a bit odd that a young man who was poor should find himself in such a small place so far away from where he was born. I must stress I have no sources for the next bit but what I do have is compelling. If you google Marylebone and Papplewick you will see that the mill owners in the latter had an agreement with the poor house in Marylebone to supply child labour for their mills. I believe that’s how John came to be there and incidentally found the Fortescue name in Nottinghamshire.

I managed to establish his parents names but at that point hit a brick wall. The likely link to the Fortescues with the money and titles etc is I am afraid lost to history!

If you would like any further help around this branch of the Fortescues, please let me know.

Ian