Notes on Twig 10

Durham Plucks

 

 

Origins

The head of this tree, Joseph Pluck, was born in Melbourn (1861 census). His date of birth is difficult to calculate: the 1861 census (the only one in which I have found him) indicates a birth year of 1822, whereas his death certificate in 1867 indicated a birth in 1813. I haven't been able to find a possible birth in that period but his marriage certificate gives his father's name as Benjamin. Unfortunately there are three potential sets of parents (all Benjamin and Mary) in Melbourn at the critical time:

  1. Benjamin Pluck who married Mary January on 14 October 1801
  2. Benjamin Pluck who married Mary Chapman on 21 January 1818 and
  3. Benjamin Pluck who married Mary Fordham on 18 September 1819.

We can probably rule out the first Benjamin because he had a son, Joseph (PL1291), who married Mary Ann Clement and remained in Melbourn (see Tree 1004). More information is needed before the correct parents can be identified. Why (and when) Joseph went north to Durham is a mystery. According to the 1861 census he worked as an Ag Lab, so it doesn't look as though he went after a job in the mines (as his descendants did).

 

Notes on some individuals


PL No
Surname
Forenames
Notes
2208ARMSTRONGMary JaneIn 1891 census.
197HUTCHINSONJane1861C, 1871C widow.
2206PLUCKDavidAssigned to this family on the basis that there were no other Plucks living in the area at the time. Born almost 2 years after Joseph's death.
2213PLUCKElizabethIn 1891 census
2215PLUCKEthel Cummings1891C, 1901C
2221PLUCKIsabelAssignment to these parents based on a balance of probabilities. A birth certificate would be needed to confirm.
2211PLUCKJaneShe is in the 1891 and 1901 censuses.
Jane's marriage is a mystery. She marries in Q3 1908 (Houghton 10a, 880) to either Thomas Powell or Michael Foley. Another marriage occurs in Q1 1911 of a Jane Pluck (Houghton 10a, 634) to either John Dolan or Frederick W Thom. The 1901 census confirms that there were no other Jane Plucks in the area (and not much choice in the rest of the country). Certificate copies will be needed to sort this one out.
2202PLUCKJohn In 1871C; in 1881 census at Hurluck farm, Lanchester. 1891C with family.
In 1901C he is a widower. The household also includes Alice Lawrence and her three young daughters, the youngest (Ethel Lawrence) only 10 months. They are all recorded as the daughters of the head of the household and all were born in Coxhoe. Alice is described as 'housekeeper'.
2210PLUCKJohnIn 1891 and 1901 censuses.
2225PLUCKJohnBorn just before mother's maiden name given in GRO index, but Elsie is born in the next quarter and mmn=GILDING, which makes assignment to these parents easy.
2196PLUCKJoseph1861C; 1871 census Jane is a widow
2207PLUCKJosephC1881: age 2, living with ?mother (unmarried) and grandfather.
2209PLUCKJosephIn 1891 and 1901 censuses.
He died on 15 August 1940 during a bombing raid on Cassop. He was returning from work at Thornley Colliery (http://www.durham-miner.org.uk/miner/projects.nsf/581cd74a9c6aa8b080256d48003758cb/7362a8617d6e605780256ddd0042973c?OpenDocument). See also CWGC website.
2201PLUCKMargaret1861C; 1881C living at Hallgarth Vicarage, Pittington, with her maternal grandfather, John Hutchinson, a miner (wid), and two year old Joseph, described as great grandson (presumably a child of Margaret).
I can't find Margaret or Joseph in subsequent censuses (or any deaths). There are possible marriages for Margaret in 1887 in Liverpool, or, more likely, in 1889 in Newcastle.
2200PLUCKMary Ann1861C
2212PLUCKMary AnnIn 1891 and 1901 censuses.
2203PLUCKMatthew1891C, 1901C
2205PLUCKNaomiAssigned to this family on the basis that there were no other Plucks living in the area at the time.
2214[CUMMINGS]Jane MJane's first child, born before her marriage to Matthew, was christened Ethel Cummings Pluck, which often indicates that her mother's surname was Cummings. I have not, however, been able to find a record in the GRO marriage index for a Jane Cummings. I have found a possible birth entry: Q2 1866, Jane M Cummings, Durham 10a, 371, which ties in with the information in the 1891 census.
1891C, 1901C

 

©2007 Derrick Porter