This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors prompt “Challenge”.
Early life
Martha Guntrip and her family have been a challenge to
research because of an uncommon difficult to spell surname. I have come across quite a few variations
including Gunthrip, Gunttripp, Gunthorpe, Gantrip and others. Also complicating matters, the family lived
near the border of two English counties, Oxford and Buckinghamshire, so record
in both locations need to be searched.
Martha Guntrip was born around the end of 1772 or early 1773
in Bicester, Oxford, England. She was
baptised on 27 January 1773 in Bicester Parish Church. Her baptismal record was indexed under the
name “Cundiff”, although I think it is fairly clear that it is indeed “Guntrip”
in the original record.
Martha was the daughter of Thomas Guntrip and Elizabeth Rhodes (or Roads), one of four known children. The other three were Thomas, Elizabeth and Richard. I have not yet found Elizabeth’s baptismal record and I wonder if the spelling or indexing is problematic.
Bicester was and is a busy market town and it was developed
extensively during Martha’s lifetime, including the building of the New
Buildings where she lived. The town was also important for horse racing and
hunting, so would likely have had the rich and famous of the time passing
through.
Marriage and Family
On 1 May 1797, Martha Guntrip married Joseph Elston in
Bicester. Martha signed the marriage
register with a confident signature, so she must have had some education and
was used to writing. I have previously
written about the evolution of the Elston surname.
Joseph Elston was either a sawyer (according to the 1851
Census and his newspaper death notice) or a surveyor (Martha’s newspaper death
notice). I can see that the two
occupations would look similar in cursive writing, I am not sure which is
correct – another challenge.
Martha and Joseph had at least 4 children, Joseph, Elizabeth
(my ancestor), Ann and Harriet. All four
survived infancy, married and had children.
In the 1841 Census, Martha and her husband Joseph appear to
be living apart. Whether that was
because they were separated, or for family, health or financial reasons, I
don’t know. It is challenging and
frustrating to find records that give a hint of an intriguing story but no more
than that.
Martha was living with her 4-year-old granddaughter Theresa
East, daughter of Harriet, in New Buildings, Bicester Market End. They were part of a larger household that
included her daughter Elizabeth and her husband glazier John Smith, along with
their children Charles, John (my ancestor), Thomas, Elizabeth, and baby
Emma. So, Martha may not have been
living with her husband, but she was surrounded by family.
Joseph Elston was also living with a granddaughter, Harriet
Smith, aged 13, and was surrounded by family in 1841. They lived in Launton, a village near
Bicester, next door to his and Martha’s daughter Harriet, her husband butcher
Henry East, son Caleb and baby daughter Rhoda.
Marth Elston nee Guntrip died on 22 Dec 1844, age 71 and was
buried a Bicester.
Joseph Elston outlived his wife by nearly 10 years, dying 22
June 1852, age 80.
In spite of the challenges, I have been able to piece
together some highlights from Martha’s life.
Notes on linage: Me > Mum > Daphne Madge Smith
> John Henry Smith > Harry Smith > John Smith > Elizabeth Elston
> Marth Guntrip
