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My mother-in-law Kathleen Eva Packham was born at 63 Queensbury Mews, Brighton , on 13 April 1904 and her birth certificate shows that her father was William Packham, a cab proprietor, and her mother Catherine Emma Packham formerly Packham. Kathleen was taken to Streatham to be baptised at the church of St John & Emmanuel on 28 August 1904 but we have been unable to find any connection the family might have had with Streatham. For some reason she was baptised as Kathleen Eva King, not Packham, as we have seen in an old copy of the parish magazine.
Kathleen's sister, Ivy Vera, was born 6 December 1911 and her birth was registered as Ivy Vera Packham. Another sister, Winifred May, was born 16 September 1918, but her birth was registered with the surname King, her father being Joseph King, a taxi driver, and her mother Catherine Emma King, formerly Packham.
William/Joseph left Catherine shortly after Win's birth and has apparently not been heard of since.
When Kathleen married in 1932 she gave her name as King and the marriage certificate shows her father as Joseph King, a taxi proprietor.
Unfortunately the 1901 census indicates that Queensbury Mews did not extend to number 63 at that time, so I have been unable to see if William and Catherine were there that year and I have been unable to find them elsewhere in Brighton.
Neither I have been able to trace that Catherine Emma Packham married either William Packham or Joseph King - and William Packham was a very common name in Sussex at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. (It doesn't help that Catherine's father and grandfather were also William Packham and she had a brother William Henry Packham and probably William Packham cousins!) Whether William Packham and Joseph King are one and the same person, I have absolutely no idea.
I'm completely stumped about where to go from here and any thoughts will be welcome!
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Hi Brian
Well, I'm going to have a really wild guess at one theory:
What if Catherine Emma Packham was living with/married to William Packham (was that a cousin?) but her child Kathleen Eva b1904 was not his child but that of Joseph King with whom Catherine had a fling.
This may be why they travelled out of their parish to have her baptised with her birth father's name as the parish clerk in another area would not know if the parents were married, whereas their local clerk would have known and it may have caused a lot of problems for them locally.
Then Catherine went back home and continued living with William and later they had Ivy Vera in 1911. This isn't so far-fetched as I have one grt grandfather who did exactly the same, forgiving his wife her little affair and love child and taking on the child as his own, even giving him his own surname to protect his wife from wagging tongues of the neighbours!
Back to the theory - by 1918 Joseph King was back on the scene and another child was born - Winifred in 1918. By that time William may have been deceased or given up on Catherine.
The strange thing is that there is a marriage showing for a Catherine E Packham to an Albert Bishop in 1912 Ticehurst, Kent. Is that just a coincidence with the female name, I wonder? Or did your Catherine marry a Mr Bishop between 1911 and 1918 who may have died during the war?
I found a Joseph King on the 1901 Census in Brighton - this is the family:
Joseph King, 38, omnibus driver b Brighton
Kate King, 37, b Worthing
Joseph King, 16, son
Herbert King 14, son
Ethel King, 12, dau
Now that's a bit of a coincidence there - a Joseph King who was a cab driver. But what we don't know is whether Catherine had a child with Joseph senior or junior. By 1904 Joseph jnr would have been approx 19yrs old.
Do you have any idea when Catherine was born and where? Just realised that Catherine would have possibly been shortened to "Kate" - that's not her living with Joseph Snr is it?
Sorry - lots of theories, guesswork and imagination (well, fiction writing is another of my hobbies!) - if I had more time on my hands I would try to do a bit more investigating for you. But maybe you might be able to try to look into some of this - even if it's to discount my ideas.
Good luck - Athena
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It may be a possibility or a stretch.....
William J Pakham
Age: 19
Estimated birth year: abt 1882
Relation: Son
Mother's name: Charlotte
Gender: Male
Where born: Vauschall, London, England
Civil parish: Fulham
Ecclesiastical parish: St Matthew
County/Island: London
Country: England
Street address:
Occupation:
Condition as to marriage:
Education:
Employment status: View image
Registration district: Fulham
Sub-registration district: South Fulham
ED, institution, or vessel: 28
Neighbors: View others on page
Household schedule number: 103
Household Members: Name Age
Kate Muggeridge 22
Charlotte Pakham 39
Henry W Pakham 16
William J Pakham 19
WILLIAM IS LISTED AS A CARMAN AND KATE COULD BE CATHERINE.??
Gail
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There is this from FREEBMD
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Marriages Dec 1904 (>99%)
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Adams Edward Brighton 2b 512
Hicks Elizabeth Brighton 2b 512
Miller Rose Mary Brighton 2b 512
Packham William Joseph Brighton 2b 512
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And this for Catherine?
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Marriages Dec 1912 (97%)
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Bishop Albert C H Packham Ticehurst 2b 259
Packham Catherine E Bishop Ticehurst 2b 259
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Many thanks. I have ordered the Bishop/Packham marriage cert but I think the others are red herrings. Trouble is that William Packham is a more common name than John Smith!
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