Over Christmas, Jules asked if I would research the Frusher side of her family. It soon became extremely interesting, particularly the life of her 3xGreat Grandmother, Maria Frusher (1825-1887). Maria’s life must have been exceptionally difficult - even for those times. She was a single woman who managed to raise three children in Doddington, a small village in Cambridgeshire.
There is a local story told, that conditions were so hard in Doddington village, the local curate decided to live elsewhere.
Being unmarried, Maria no-doubt raised a few eyebrows in such a close-knit community. But, it was through her that the Frusher name has come down to Jules and her family.
John Frusher, Maria’s father was an agricultural labourer and her grandfather, Peter Frusher (1743-1803), owned a farm in Doddington. But, even though I discovered the family on the census and other legal documents, I couldn’t find any record of Maria’s baptism or parish records for many members of her family.
The pieces of the puzzle eventually fell into place when I discovered that in 1825 the vicar of Whittlesey, in Cambridgeshire, baptised Maria with the surname Thresher! He also continued to register other family members with this surname. Was the vicar hard of hearing? Or was their broad Fenland accent hard for him to understand? Perhaps their Huguenot ancestry might have played a part?
The family were likely illiterate. They were mainly farm labourers and shirt makers. As late as 1850, half the children in Britain did not attend school. So this branch of the Frusher family probably could not correct the miss-spelling of their surname.
Whatever the reason for the mistake in Whittlesey parish records, the family line re-opened up for me and I have been able to continue following the Frusher's in Cambridgeshire. But as a family historian, it has taught me never to give up.
