Hiscock Notes

Hiscock

Phillis (also found as Philadelphia or Philey) Hiscock married George Harwood in 1844, becoming an SCM maternal Great Great Grandmother on the birth of Emily in 1857. The marriage was at Northfleet near Gravesend in Kent. It seems probable that she met her future husband while they were both working as servants to Joseph Nash, a Publisher in Market Place, Reigate (1841 census). They were married in 1844 at Northfleet Parish Church in Kent, but I have no idea what they were doing there.

Phillis had been born in Etchingham, Sussex in 1814. (The IGI index for her christening has transcribed her name as Philey Hitchcock). Her father was Robert Hiscock, a Labourer, and her mother Sarah, formerly Marchant. Phillis had eight older siblings and one younger. The eldest, John, was born at Salehurst in 1794, 2 years after his parents' wedding in Etchingham, and the second, Mary, at Burwash. All the other children were born in Etchingham, with a gap after John until 1803 and then fairly regular births every two years or so until 1816. The surname is sometimes spelt HITCHCOCK; (in IGI both Jane and Philey are Hitchcock in the same batch as all the other Hiscocks) but by the time of the 1841 census HISCOCK had become standard. In 1841 son James, age 35, was the only one living with his elderly parents at Linsford Farm in Etchingham where Robert was still described as an agricultural labourer.

Also in the 1841 census are John and Harriot. John was christened in 1794 in nearby Salehurst. There is no mention of a child in the census, but they are credited with the birth of Harriet on 31/10/1831 by IGI.

In 1841 John and Sarah were living at Church Farm, and John was described as a grocer. By 1851 their address was Station Farm and John was an Innkeeper, with apparently 7 guests staying there. Also with them was a niece, Charlotte Stone, whose identity I have not been able to trace. In 1861, still in Station Farm, John was described as a Master Grocer. They had a nephew Robert living with them now, almost certainly the son of James and Sarah Hiscock, also of Etchingham.

James, christened in 1805, and Sarah, formerly Fairway, whom he married on 19/3/1844 at Burwash Parish Church, had two other children, Sarah and Hannah, christened in 1849 and 1851 respectively. The 1871 census attributes the name Henry as father of the grandchildren of Henry and Esther Fairways. This could well be an error. It seems probable that Sarah died in 1851, aged only about 35 and James died soon afterwards in 1855 aged about 50. Their son Robert is found with his uncle and aunt, John and Harriet in 1861; but both Robert and Sarah were with their maternal grandparents, Henry and Esther Fairway at Burwash in 1871. Hannah had probably gone to live with an uncle, William Saunders in Brighton, though I can trace no confirmation of their relationship.

Largely because of the preponderance of daughters in this part of the Hiscock family, I have come across few more recent relatives, with Nina born in 1919 as the only one of my own generation. There had been quite a number of Hiscocks and Hitchcocks in the Sussex area around Etchingham in the 18th century, and it is tempting to think there was a relationship between them all. According to "swebby1" in the Ancestry Public Trees, Robert Hiscock who married Ann Noakes (a surname that crops up again) at Salehurst in 1769 was a Great x 4 Grandparent, the source being "England and Wales Christening Records 1530-1906," database in Ancestry.com. I have been unable to contact "swebby1", but I have incorporated the extra information into the accompanying charts.

An extra piece of information about these Great x 4 Grandparents shows up in
Quarter Sessions order PAR477/35/1/6 16 Jan 1777 Contents: Confirms order removing Robert Hiscock, wife Ann and children Robert (7), John (5), Joshua (4) and Sarah (1) to Whatlington Quarter Sessions order PAR477/35/1/7 16 Jan 1777 Contents: Confirms order removing Jane Hiscock to Whatlington

An earlier version of the accompanying Hiscock chart showed Harriet, Ann and Eliza in the 1820s and 1830s. IGI attributes parentage of all three girls to William and Elizabeth; and this is supported by the birth certificate of the youngest, Eliza, where Elizabeth is described as `late BACK`. No alternative William appears in either IGI or an early census in the Sussex area; yet our William would have been only 13 by the birth of the eldest girl, Harriet. Furthermore the marriage certificate of 1841 shows William, son of Robert, as a bachelor when he marries Sarah Harrison. I have not yet found an answer to these discrepancies, and have omitted the three children completely. Fortunately they do not affect any other part of this ancestry.

Another mystery concerns Ann Noakes, the Great x 4 Grandmother. In my early searches, I came across a reference to Evenden Hiscock, baptised on 7 September 1782 in Salehurst, Sussex, the son of Joshua Hiscock (1735-?) and Ann Noakes (1744-?). There were indeed several Noakes in Sussex; but the coincidence of two with a similar date of birth marrying into the same surname has to raise an eyebrow.
I have not yet solved that mystery.

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