John MORTIMER born 12 Jul 1850 in Appleby Magna, married Alice YEOMANS (1858) on 26 Sep 1876 in Netherseal and in 1881 they are living in Overseal and in 1891 at Sealwood Farm, Netherseal.  They had three children:
- George, born 20 June 1877 in Overseal, married Florence Hannah GEORGE on 25 Jun 1902 in Overseal
- Mary Alice, born 19 Jun 1889 in Netherseal, married Walter JONES => 5 children
- Rosa, born 2 Mar 1893 in Netherseal, married Jim WEST => 2 children

George MORTIMER (1877-) was choirmaster of St Matthew's Church choir for 15 yrs and chorister for 50 yrs. He was also a church warden & church councillor.  He was a miner at Netherseal Colliery (1913) and then a deputy at Rawdon Colliery in Moira for 9 years.  He was a Special Constable during WW1 gaining a long service medal & ribbon.  George and Florence had 6 children all born in Overseal:  Sidney Asaph, Elsie, Amy, John Alwyn, Arthur Leslie and Hazel Alice.  Amy MORTIMER was my mother-in-law.
Contact Geraldine Bancroft for further details.

William and his sons were farmers.  They lived in the farmhouse near the Nags Head Inn on Long Street (now the A444) and were tenants of Thomas Mowbray, a local landowner. The farm had fields in both Overseal and Netherseal and is mentioned in the Seals Tithe Award of 1842.  William died in 1841 and Elizabeth in 1869.

William ADAMS (1807-1865) junior married Maria KEY on 4 Feb 1841 in Sheepy Magna, Leics, where he was a farmer at Harp Farm.  By the Census of 1851, he had returned to Overseal, where he is described as a “farmer of 300 acres employing 6 labourers”.  After 1861 he must have returned to Sheepy Magna as he died there in 1865.  Their first child was born in Sheepy while the rest were born in Overseal:
- William Key (1842) a shepherd in Exhall, Warks.
- Joseph Key (1843) druggist in Birmingham
- George (1845) farm servant in Alrewas
- Mary (1847)
- Samuel (1849) draper in Atherstone, Warks
- Charles (1850) assistant chemist in Woodford, Essex
- Egerton (1853) grocer & draper in Mancetter, Warks
- Henry (1855-1857)
- Richard (1857) assistant draper in Newcastle under Lyme
- Herbert (1860) assistant draper in Chesterfield, Derbys
After her husband’s death Maria stayed in Sheepy Magna with her younger children and died there in 1887.

Ann ADAMS (1810-1882) never married and lived with her mother or other members of the family.  She was especially provided for in her mother’s will.  She was living with her widowed sister-in-law Maria in 1881.

Thomas ADAMS (1817-1878) was the farmer of Rectory Farm, Appleby in 1841 with his wife Mary and sister Sarah.     Their first three children were born in Appleby:
- William (1841 – died in infancy)
- Thomas (1843) farm bailiff in Overseal
- William John (1845 – 1846)
About 1846 they returned to farm in Overseal and increased their family:
- Mary Elizabeth (1846 -1873)
- Jane Ann (1848 – 1859)
- George James (1849) draper in Burton-on-Trent
- Walter John (1851 – 1859)
- Kezia Charlotte (1853 – 1884)
- Clara (1855 – 1856)
- Lucy (1857)
- Arthur Charles (1859 – 1874)
Thomas died in Overseal in 1878 and Mary in 1885.  Gravestones of Thomas and his family are to be found in Overseal churchyard.

Jane ADAMS (1822-) married Daniel GARDINER about 1852.  Daniel (1816 Nailstone) was a farmer of 180 acres at Shackerstone, Leics in 1881.  They had a son and five daughters all born in Botcheston, Leics.

John ADAMS (1824-1910) was farming at Harp Farm in Sheepy Magna in 1851 with his mother and sister Ann.  He married Mary Anne HODGKINSON (1832 Bilstone) on 6 Jun 1853 in Congerstone, Leics.  They travelled around with their young and growing family, returning to Overseal before 1861.
- George William (1855 in Shackerstone) married Susannah FOWKES and settled in Snarestone, working as a railway signalman.
- Mary Ann (1857 in Fenny Drayton, Warks) married Samuel Joseph HUNT and remained in Overseal
- John Thomas (1858 in Exhall, Warks) was my great grandfather
- Elizabeth (1867 in Overseal) housemaid  to Rector of Seals, Netherseal
- Sarah Ann (1870 in Overseal)
- William (1873 in Overseal) married and remained in Overseal
- Arthur (1875 in Overseal) married Emma HOSKINS and remained in Overseal
John and Mary lived on Main Street, Overseal until their deaths in 1910 and 1907.  John Thomas ADAMS married Lucy MEASURES (1864 in Ashby), daughter of George  and Sarah, on 25 May 1885 in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leics and they had four children and lived in Ashby briefly before moving to Moira:
- Walter John (1886 - 1954) married Evelyn WRIGHT (1881 – 1969) in 1912.  They had two daughters Blanche & Lucy
- Ethel Beatrice (1887 – 1950) married George Thomas GOWTRIDGE (1886 – 1965) in 1913.  Their children were Alfred  and Lilian (my mother)
- Alfred (1889 – 1912) died in hospital after appendicitis
- Wilfred George (189?) married Cora Claire BAXTER and emigrated to New Zealand about 1926 with children Alfred & Joyce
Lucy died in 1921 and John Thomas was remarried sometime later to Millie COTTON.  They had one daughter Doris.  John Thomas died in 1932.
Contact Geraldine Bancroft for further details.

Three of their children, Robert, Jane and John moved with them to Netherseal.  Another son, William, was born in Netherseal and was baptised in Belton in April 1855 but died in July 1857 and was buried in Netherseal.  Their last child, Elizabeth, was born in 1857.  Robert was a gardener and labourer and died in January 1861 and is buried in Netherseal churchyard where his gravestone can still be seen.
His two remaining sons found employment in Netherseal and are recorded on the Census of 1861 as living with their employers.  Robert was a carter to a local farmer, Joseph POULTNEY, while John was an apprentice to local shoemaker and parish clerk, Thomas COOKE.
By 1871, John was a shoemaker and supporting his mother and sister Elizabeth.  No further record has been found of Jane after 1861.  On 28 Nov 1871, John married Charlotte CARTWRIGHT, born in 1843 in Chillington, Staffs, daughter of Edward and Mary (SMITH) CARTWRIGHT.  They had two children Frederick and Jane.  John is listed as a shoemaker in various trade directories of the time.
In 1881, John’s widowed mother Jane was still living with him but his sister Elizabeth had left home.  His brother Robert was recorded as married but with no wife at home and in 1891 was recorded as a widower.   In 1891, their mother Jane was living in one of the Almshouses in Netherseal.
Frederick, born 4 Sep 1872, was married on 8 Jun 1897 in Overseal to Adele NEALE, born 28 Mar 1871 in Markfield, Leics.  He became a grocer in nearby Linton and died on 17 Feb 1946 in Linton.  His wife Adele died on 14 Nov 1957 in Woodthorpe, Nottingham.  They were my husband’s grandparents.
Jane, born 10 May 1874, married  Alfred COOPER.
Contact Geraldine Bancroft for further details.

Benjamin and his family lived in that part of Overseal known as Gorsey Leys on the Ashby Road towards Moira. Benjamin was a miner and was eventually killed in the pit at Moira, owned by the Moira Coal Company, on 27 March 1854. The Burial Register gives “collier killed at his work – inquest held” and his age as “65 last Oct”.  The Mines Inspectors Reports for the time record that he was killed in a roof fall.  Frances died on 17 July 1860 and was buried by her husband in Overseal churchyard where their gravestone can still be seen.
Mary had a son, Joseph, in 1837, father unknown, who remained behind in Overseal with her parents when Mary was working for Bateman SADDINGTON, a farmer in Appleby Magna.  While in Appleby, Mary met George MORTIMER and they married on 4 April 1850 in Appleby Magna.
Joseph lived with Mary and her family after her marriage and is recorded on some Census records as a cripple or an imbecile. After his mother’s death, in the 1880s, Joseph spent some time in Ashby Union Workhouse until his death in 1908.  His death is the first recorded in the Mortimer family bible.
Contact Geraldine Bancroft for further details.