Another Year Gone!
Can it really be over 12 months since I last updated ‘Brighton & Beyond’? Well, actually, no! I have made various changes and updated information on the web site during the course of 2012 but many of the alterations have been minor additions or corrections, or have resulted from changes in the software that I use to design the web site.
But that was 2012! Read on for details of the 2013 updates.
My Brighton Visit
When I started this web site I had to confess that I had never been to Brighton! That was rectified in 2012 when my brother and I and our wives visited the area and explored some of the areas in which our ancestors lived and worked.
It was fascinating to see the building that housed the Cowley bakery in Pool Valley, Brighton. ‘Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe’, a grade II* listed building, was in course of being restored and has now been re-let for commercial use. You can see the 2012 photograph of the building, a lovely 1940 watercolour painting of the shop that I found in the V&A Museum collection, and an article that was published in the Brighton newspaper, The Argus, by following the link – ‘Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe‘.
Other highlights of our trip included visits to the picturesque villages of Rottingdean and Ovingdean. St Margaret’s Church in Rottingdean (photo at left) and St Wulfran’s Church in Ovingdean were hosts to the baptisms and marriages of many of my Cowley ancestors and several of them are buried in the churchyards. And, of course, many of the Cowleys farmed in the Black Rock and Ovingdean areas.
More Farmers!
A lady has recently contacted me who descends from the ‘farming side’ of the Cowley family. She has sent me a huge amount of information which has enabled me to expand the family tree quite significantly. She has also kindly sent many photographs which have now been incorporated in to the web site. Follow the links from the web page ‘From William Cowley (1824)‘.
Between us we are currently trying to find out what happened to Charles Cowley (b abt 1828). We know that he went out to Australia; he certainly had 3 or 4 children who were born in Victoria and we know that he returned to the UK in about 1860 with 3 children. He then married again in 1861 in London, had two more children, his wife died, he married for a third time and had another two children. The bit we don’t know is the name of his first wife and where they were married (if indeed they were). The search continues!
The Bakers and the Farmers Unite
My research of the Cowley family history inevitably focused initially on my own line which is from the ‘baking’ side of the family- from Francis Cooly in the early 1700s via Thomas Coaley and Francis Cowley (1806-1881), the founder of the Cowley baking ‘dynasty’. This was followed by tracing a further line again starting with Francis Cooly but following another of his sons, Stephen Coley (b 1776). These people were farmers in the Black Rock and Ovingdean areas and also developed highly successful dairy businesses in London around Chelsea and Knightsbridge. (Thanks again to my new ‘farming contact’ I am slowly piecing together the full story of the development of the dairy activities which, I believe, were eventually sold to United Dairies.)
I had assumed that both lines developed and expanded quite separately so it was fascinating to discover very recently that Ellen Emma Cowley (b abt 1861), daughter of Brighton dairyman, Stephen Cowley, married Thomas Cowley (b abt 1863), son of Thomas Cowley (1830-1890), one of the Brighton bakers and confectioners.
You can see how the two lines unite by following the links on the page ‘From Thomas (1863) & Ellen Emma Cowley (1861)‘.
The Canadian Connections
I was contacted in 2012 by a gentleman who lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada who had come across my web site while doing some family history research. He descends from the ‘baking’ side of the Cowley family – his great, great, grandfather, Albert Cowley (1841-1876), and my great grandfather, Francis Cowley (1837-1903), were brothers, and both sons of Francis Cowley (1806-1881) the ‘founder’ of the Cowley bakery business in Brighton.
The contact was tinged with a great deal of sadness when I learned that this gentleman’s brother, Troy Justin Cowley, was cruelly shot and killed in Winnipeg, Canada on 6 April 2003. Our deepest sympathy goes out to all Troy’s family.
You can see the new family tree page by clicking on this link – ‘From Albert George Cowley (1865)‘.
Thanks to one of my contacts in New Zealand we now know that Arthur William Cowley (b abt 1862 in London) emigrated to Canada with his wife and three children in 1905. It would seem that they settled in the Vancouver area, British Columbia. There may well be living descendants – hopefully, one day we may track them down.
Is There a Wiltshire Connection?
I have been asked several times if there is a connection between the Brighton Cowleys and the Cowleys who originate from Mere in Wiltshire.
One story which I have been sent, handed down over several generations, relates to an Elizabeth Cowley, born in Mere in about 1861, who was sent to work in the Cowley bakery (‘Ye Olde Bunn Shoppe’) in Pool Valley, Brighton at the age of about 12. Elizabeth is certainly working in Brighton at the 1881 census but we have no way of finding out where she was in the years between the 1871 and 1881 censuses. The coincidence of surnames may be just that – then again it may suggest a family connection. Intriguing!
If anyone can shed any light on this please let me know.
E-mail Notification of Updates
If you have asked to be notified of updates to the web site you will receive occasional e-mails from me. For the time being these e-mails will be in plain text with no images; they will also be addressed to you by name. These changes are to ensure that my e-mails reach your Inbox and are not removed by spam filters before you see them. Future e-mails will also contain an ‘Unsubscribe’ link if you wish to be removed from my mailing list.
Seeing the Updates
IMPORTANT: Please read the ‘Technical Notes’ section to ensure that you know how to see the most recent updates to the web site. (Click on the menu at the right hand side of this page.)
Tell me if something is wrong!
Please tell me if you see anything that is incorrect on the web site or if you encounter any technical problems. Those of you that have my e-mail address can contact me direct, or you can use the contact form on the web site.
And Finally
Please keep your memories coming. It is only through your continued support that I am able to develop and extend the Cowley Family History web site.