A Shore Thing

The inspiration for this story is the #52Ancestors prompt “Unexpected”. I have come across many unexpected and surprising stories while researching my family history, so there is plenty of choice.

I discovered my ancestor Elizabeth Shore many years ago, but I only recently discovered her birth and the story of her childhood family because it did not take place where I expected.

A Somerset Family

Elizabeth Shore married Jesse Flower on 14 June 1770 at the parish church of Farmborough, Somerset, by licence.  One of the witnesses was James Tidcombe; when I first found this record, the name did not seem significant.  Elizabeth put a mark in the marriage register, whereas Jesse signed his name.

James Tidcombe's significant signature

Family Connections

The prompt for this post is “A Breakthrough Moment”.

A few weeks ago, I decided to investigate my somewhat mysterious ancestor, Susannah Hobson.  Susannah Hobson married Eden Davies* in 1781, in Passenham, Northamptonshire, England.  It was the second marriage for both.  I am descended from their daughter Elizabeth. 

One method for investigating family history is to look at their family, associates and neighbours (known as the FAN club), so I had a closer look at Susannah’s son from her first marriage (to Francis Cull), Richard Cull.  I discovered that Richard Cull moved from Passenham to Hertingfordbury, Hertfordshire, which distracted me away from Susannah Hobson.

Vintage Map Collage, Copilot generated 27 Jan 2026