Find Living Relatives

I am researching a Hancox family who lived in Dudley - mother was Elizabeth nee Moore from Ashby de la Zouche and father was Matthew Hancox. Matthew is proving very elusive - he was named as Matthew Hancox, occ plate layer on his second child Matthew's birth certificate in 1887 whilst they were living at 9 Dunne Street, Dudley. Father Matthew died probably late 1890 as his widow was living in Union Workhouse with their two sons James and Matthew when she gave birth to a daughter Selina in January 1891. Matthew snr was named on her birth certificate as Matthew Hancox (deceased) occ plate layer. Selina died in infancy and Elizabeth remarried in 1898 in Dudley. If anyone has this family in their tree I would be interested.

James Hancox
England and Wales Census, 1891
Name: James Hancox
Event Type: Census
Event Date: 1891
County: Staffordshire
Parish: Sedgley
Ecclesiastical Parish: ST PETERS UPPER GORNAL
Registration District: Dudley
Gender: Male
Age: 6
Birth Year (Estimated): 1885
Birthplace: Hednesford, England
Page Number: 5
Registration Number: RG12
Piece/Folio: 2292/ 124
Household Role Sex Age Birthplace
Elizabeth Hancox Female 46 Dudley, England
James Hancox Male 6 Hednesford, England
Matthew Hancox Male 3 Dudley, England
Selina Hancox Female 0 Sedgley, England

Matthew Hancox
mentioned in the record of Matthew Hancox
Name: Matthew Hancox
Sex: Male
Wife: Elizabeth Hancox
Son: Matthew Hancox
Other information in the record of Matthew Hancox
from England Births and Christenings

Name: Matthew Hancox
Residence Place: Dudley, Worcester, England
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 13 Jun 1887
Christening Date (Original): 13 Jun 1887
Christening Place: St. Thomas, Dudley, Worcester, England
Birth Date: 02 Jun 1887
Father's Name: Matthew Hancox
Mother's Name: Elizabeth Hancox

Matthew Hancock
mentioned in the record of Selina Hancock
Name: Matthew Hancock
Sex: Male
Wife: Elizabeth Hancock
Child: Selina Hancock
Other information in the record of Selina Hancock
from England, Staffordshire, Church Records

Name: Selina Hancock
Event Type: Baptism
Event Date: 04 Mar 1891
Event Place: Tipton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
Event Place (Original): Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Parish: St John
Father's Name: Matthew Hancock
Mother's Name: Elizabeth Hancock

not seeing a marriage for matthew and elizabeth and not finding a death for matthew

this is the only birth for a matthew hancox i can find

Births Mar 1857 (>99%)
Hancox Matthew Coventry 6d 397

spelt hancock in familysearch

Matthew Hancock
England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975
Name: Matthew Hancock
Residence Place: Coventry, Warwick, England
Gender: Male
Christening Date: 22 Feb 1857
Christening Date (Original): 22 Feb 1857
Christening Place: St. Peter's, Coventry, Warwick, England
Father's Name: Henry Hancock
Mother's Name: Lydia

That is not the correct Matthew Malyon

That Matthew died the year he was born...

Matthew Hancox in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837-1915
Name: Matthew Hancox
Registration Year: 1857
Registration Quarter: Jan-Feb-Mar
Registration district: Coventry
Inferred County: Warwickshire
Volume: 6d
Page: 397


Matthew Hancox in the England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1837-1915
Name: Matthew Hancox
Registration Year: 1857
Registration Quarter: Jul-Aug-Sep
Registration district: Coventry
Inferred County: Warwickshire
Volume: 6d
Page: 270


Name: Matthew Hancox
Gender: Male
Burial Date: 28 Aug 1857
Burial Place: Coventry, Warwick, England
FHL Film Number: 1067462
Reference ID: 194

To find connections on here, look for the names in search all member trees

HANCOX, SELINA MOORE Order
GRO Reference: 1891 M Quarter in DUDLEY Volume 06C Page 81

HANCOX, MATTHEW MOORE Order
GRO Reference: 1887 S Quarter in DUDLEY Volume 06C Page 89

Can't see a birth for James, nor a marriage for the parents

For info - with a more realistic birth year for Elizabeth

1901 England, Wales & Scotland Census Transcription
Court House, 1, Tower Street, Dudley, Dudley (Worcs), Worcestershire & Staffordshire, England

Edward Green Head Married Male 36 1865 Worcestershire, England General Labourer Transcription
Elizabeth Green Wife Married Female 46 1855 Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, England - Transcription
James Hancox Wife Son Single Male 16 1885 Hednesford, Staffordshire, England Glass Cutter

Deaths Dec 1979 (>99%)
HANCOX MATTHEW 7JE1887 CHILTERN/B 19 1084

First name(s) Matthew
Last name Hancox
Relationship Inmate
Marital status -
Sex Male
Age 14
Birth year 1887
Birth town Dudley
Birth town as transcribed DUDLEY
Birth place England
Birth county as transcribed WORCESTERSHIRE
Occupation School Boy -
Parish Birmingham
Country England
County Warwickshire
Municipal ward St Mary
Registration district Birmingham

James Henry Hancox
England and Wales Birth Registration Index, 1837-2008
Name: James Henry Hancox
Event Type: Birth Registration
Registration Quarter: Oct-Nov-Dec
Registration Year: 1886
Registration District: Dudley
County: Staffordshire
Event Place: Dudley, Staffordshire, England
Volume: 6C
Page: 124
Line Number: 123

Name Matthew Hancox
Residence Place Dudley, Worcester, England
Gender Male
Christening Date 13 Jun 1887
Christening Date (Original) 13 Jun 1887
Christening Place St. Thomas, Dudley, Worcester, England
Birth Date 02 Jun 1887
Father's Name Matthew Hancox
Mother's Name Elizabeth Hancox


Name Selina Hancock
Event Type Baptism
Event Date 04 Mar 1891
Event Place Tipton, Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom
Event Place (Original) Tipton, Staffordshire, England
Parish St John
Father's Name Matthew Hancock
Mother's Name Elizabeth Hancock

James Henry Hancox
United Kingdom, World War I Service Records, 1914-1920
Name: James Henry Hancox
Event Type: Military Service
Event Year: 1914
Residence Place: Dudley, ,
Age: 28
Military Company/Regiment: Worcestershire Regiment
Military Regiment: 200943
Military Battalion: 1/7th Battalion
Birth Year (Estimated): 1885

That one is too late, malyon, and wrong MMN

HANCOX, JAMES HENRY GWYNN Order
GRO Reference: 1886 D Quarter in DUDLEY Volume 06C Page 124

https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp

Many thanks for all your contributions - I have copies of Matthew (1887) and Selina's (1891) birth certificates and yes Matthew snr is given as father on both - (deceased) on Selina's which is borne out by the 1891 census return where their mother Elizabeth is listed as widow. Matthew's occupation is given as plate layer on both certificates. I hadn't found Selina's baptism on 04/03/1891 at St John Tipton - so thank you EricaH for finding that. She died 3rd Q 1892 aged 1 Stourbridge - I don't have this certificate but will get it from GRO. This registration district seems to indicate that the family had moved out of the workhouse when she died.

Matthew jnr (1887) was my husband's maternal grandfather and yes he died in Bucks in 1979. His history is interesting - family lore has it that Matthew and his brother James fought regularly and one day during one of their fights a knife was involved and Matthew lost the sight in one eye. Boys will be boys. Family lore also has it that Matthew didn't get on with his step father Edward Green and he was admitted to Gem Street Industrial School where he can be found on the 1901 census whilst his mother, step father and brother James were living in Tower Street, Dudley.

For those of you who may not have come across Industrial Schools before - they were not places of punishment but an opportunity for 'troubled' youngsters to learn a trade - the school even found employment and arranged transport to that employment but it seems young Matthew jumped the gun and ran away! Family lore has it that he walked the railway lines and found himself in Llandeilo, Wales.

He met his wife Ellen (known as Nellie) who was in service in the area and they married in 1922 in Llandeilo. To cut a very long story short, he worked for many years as groundsman at Glanbrydan Park and they had 5 children - my late mother-in-law was their middle child. Matthew was well into his 70's when he eventually retired - meanwhile 3 of their daughters had migrated to the bright lights of Bucks and Matthew and Nellie retired to Bucks to be close to their family.

I can't find any record of Matthew snr's death - neither can I find a marriage for him and Elizabeth - Elizabeth was born in Ashby-de-la-Zouche, Leics and I live fairly close to Leicester Record Office so will take a drive up there soon - maybe the parish registers will yield some results.

Meanwhile if anyone has any more leads on my brick wall I'd love to hear from you!

Is this your Matthew on the 1939 Register...

???

Mathew Hancox on the 1939 Register

Hancox Household (8 People)
Glanbrydan Lodge , Llandeilo R.D., Carmarthenshire, Wales

Mathew Hancox 01 May 1892 Male General Labourer Heavy W Married 53 1
Helen Hancox 18 Jan 1900 Female Unpaid Domestic Dutie Married 53 2
Sorry, this record is officially closed.
Phyllis B Price (Hancox,Wall) 11 Oct 1924 Female Domestic Duties Single 53 4
Sorry, this record is officially closed.
Sorry, this record is officially closed.
Eric A R Hancox 12 Apr 1936 Male Under School Age Single 53 7
Arthur S Wall 29 Jan 1910 Male Pawn Brokers Assist Single 53 8

If it is, it's rather odd that it has his YOB as 1892!

Marriages Jun 1922 (>99%)
Bryant Nellie Hancox Llandilofawr 11a 2434
HANCOX Matthew Bryant Llandilofawr 11a 2434


MMN for Phyllis and Eric is Bryant.

Surname of the first child mis-transcribed

Births Sep 1922 (>99%)
Hanncox Eleanor M V Bryant Llandilofawr 11a 2301

Matthew Hancox
BIRTH 1887
DEATH 26 Nov 1979 (aged 91–92)
BURIAL
Chilterns Crematorium
Amersham, Chiltern District, Buckinghamshire, England
MEMORIAL ID 155405686 ·

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155405686


Wife Ellen

??

Name: Ellen Hancox
Death Age: 94
Birth Date: 18 Jan 1900
Registration Date: Jan 1994
Registration district: Llanelli
Inferred County: Dyfed
Register Number: A12E
District and Subdistrict: 8201A

PricklyHolly - thank you - yes this is the family. They were living in Tower House on the Glanbrydan estate and Matthew (born 7 June 1887) was the groundsman. That's very valuable information. I know that Phyllis (known as Beryl) migrated to Bucks during the war and she wrote home to her sisters telling them about the wonderful social life in the bright lights of Bucks. Her two younger sisters also migrated and all three worked in an armaments factory (Rotax) where all three sisters met their husbands. It's the information about Phyllis which interests me and the presence of Arthur Wall. Phyllis is listed as single nee Hancox was Wall. Yes she married Arthur B Wall (her mother's half brother) but in 1941, the marriage failed and she remarried 'James' Price but in 1948! I don't subscribe to FindMyPast so don't have access to the 1939 register - can it be altered online? Beryl was 15 in 1939 but married in Carmarthen in 1941 to this Arthur Wall who was living with the family in 1939. Why is she listed as Price when she didn't remarry (in Bucks) until 1848 and she met James Price at Rotax.