Attempting to find family of John Cockram and Mary Oxenham in Molland, Devon, England

Question

I have been researching a Cockram family in Molland, Devon, England.

My 4th great grandfather is John Cockram (b. 1800 / baptized 14 Dec 1800 / d. 1892 / buried 12 Jan 1892).

His father's name was John Cockram and his mother's name was Mary Oxenham.

John and Mary were married on 19 Jun 1790 in Molland, Devon, England.

I am trying to find information about John and Mary's family. Unfortunately, in Devon, there were 9 couples with the husband's name of John Cockram, and the wife's name of Mary who were married in a +/- 20 year time span of 1790.

Additionally, in Molland, Devon, England parish alone, there are 13 Cockram children who were born +/- 20 years of the son John's birth year of 1800.

I am having tremendous difficulty narrowing down family relationships. Any assistance would be most incredibly appreciated.

The WikiTree ID that I've connected with this question is for John Cockram, the son (b.1800)

Comments

When I have this sort of problem, as I did with various families in Banham, Norfolk, I set up a spreadsheet entering data from the parish registers. I'm fortunate that there are images for the parish on FamilySearch.

I find that I can filter and group people together pretty well using this technique.

---

I've done the spreadsheet thing before! Thank you for reminding me about it.

Answer 1

It seems possible that John Cockram, ( father of John b1800) was christened 16 July 1758, Molland, Devon, the son of Richard Cockram (England Births & Christenings 1538-1975). His death is recorded as 16 July 1840, Molland.

My view these are most likely there children, all christening dates unfortunately, rather than births, all Molland:

 

Edward 21 Feb. 1791

John 5 March 1793

Mary 22 December 1793

Elizabeth 15 August 1795

Joan 15 May 1796

Sally 12 May 1799

John 14 December 1800

Richard 20 March 1804

Frances 7 January 1807

One further Betty, christened 24 July 1791, is the only that gives me any concern, as it is close to there first born, Edward. Perhaps though, Edward's christening was sometime after his birth!

Comments

Thank you!

Do you know, is there any other way of verifying this? This is my first family line that I've traced back this far (pre-1850) and the fact that I don't have census records or other records I can use to verify this information is worrying me.  Suggestions or advice?

---

Unfortunately no way to verify, so you must review the evidence & the likelihood.

First you have John born 1800, Molland and his parents John & Mary  married 1790, also Molland.

So the parents haven't strayed from Molland in 10 years, so that is evidence that the family are routed to Molland.

Try http//www.familysearch.org with the surname, Cockram, Birthplace, Molland from marriage year 1790 to 1810, with listed parents, then you will find the children. They are the only ones born in Molland to a John Cockram & Mary. Comforting evidence.

Only problem is Edward & Betty, christened 1791.  My guess is one was conceived and possibly born out of "wedlock", and the christening eventually followed.

Searching a birth of John Cockram in Molland reveals a birth in 1758, son of Richard. Very encouraging as a Richard appears with the subsequent children. Seems we havethe same family unit.

---

I did go through family search and found the same family in Molland. I thank you for that.

 

I did however, find 4 John Cockrams who could possibly be the father on Find My Past in their Devon Baptismal records:

John Cockram chr 21 Sep 1746 son of Richard Cockram

John Cockram chr 29 June 1749 son of Phillip Cockram

John Cockram chr 18 Jul 1751 son of Edward Cockram

John Cockram chr 16 Jul 1758 son of Richard Cockram

 

And two deaths that could possibly rule out two of the above on Find My Past in the Devon Burial registers.

John Cockram buried 21 Aug 1847

John Richard Cockram buried 25 Nov 1753

What is confusing is that some of the entries in the registers themselves (images available) say "So and so, son of Such and such" and others are straight names. There is no consistency.

I'm not sure where else to look to help rule out some of these individuals.  Especially as there aren't ages included in the burial records.

Answer 2

There is a 1851 Census Record ,John Cockram and wife Elizabeth,his

occupation Cord Winder,Plus 4 children, Molland,Devon

Comments

John Cockram with wife Elizabeth is the son of John and Mary. :)  It seems that he was either a cord-winder or a shoemaker at various times in his life.

---

Joanne, Is it "cordwainer" or "cord-winder"? I've seen cordwainer a lot but not the other.

---

It looks like Cordwinder to me, what that job was, I don't know.