Person:Catherine Mason (12)

Catherine Mason was baptised on 15th May 1803 at Barnack in Northamptonshire, daughter of Elizabeth Mason, formerly Gamble, and her husband William Mason, a cottager.

Catherine was married at Barnack on 19th April 1826 to a blacksmith named William Cox. William and Catherine stayed in Barnack after their marriage, having eleven children there between 1827 and 1844, although two died young. The 1841 census finds them living in Barnack with their children and William's mother. Catherine's parents were living elsewhere in the village.

Catherine's mother died in 1842. Catherine's father died in 1850, and Catherine was the informant for his death, having been present when he died.

By 1851 Catherine and William were living at a house which, judging by the order properties are listed, appears to be the house now called Ragstone Cottage, 2 Station Road, although at the time the road was not called Station Road; Barnack Station was not built until 1867. Station Road in the 1850s was considered to be an eastern continuation of Main Street. The Cox family appears to have lived at Ragstone Cottage in each census from 1851 to 1901. The 1851 census also describes William as a farmer of 95 acres rather than a blacksmith.

Catherine's children started marrying in the early 1850s, and her first known grandchild was born in 1853, being her daughter Elizabeth's daughter.

William died in 1856, aged 54. He and Catherine had been married for thirty years. Catherine continued living in the same house after his death, appearing there in the 1861 census with three of her sons. On this occasion her occupation was given as 'formerly dressmaker'. By 1871 Catherine's son Thomas had married and he and his wife and children (Catherine's grandchildren) were living in the same house with Catherine.

Catherine died on 11th November 1876, when she was said to be 73 years old. She had lived to see at least 42 grandchildren born in her lifetime.

1. ↑ Church of England. Parish Church of Barnack (Northamptonshire). Parish registers, 1695–1974. (Northampton, England: Northamptonshire Record Office).

   Baptisms / 1803 / Catherine D[aughte]r of William & Elizabeth Mason - May 15th

   This baptism has been linked to the Catherine Mason who married William Cox on the basis that it is at around the time implied by the ages she quoted in the censuses and in the parish which she gave as her place of birth. Moreover, a Catherine Cox was the informant for (and present at) the death of William Mason in 1850. Whilst his death certificate does not explicitly confirm that this Catherine Cox was his daughter, it is reasonable to assume that they were probably related. When Catherine Mason married William Cox in 1826, one of the witnesses to the marriage was a Maria Mason, who was quite likely her cousin (or to be more precise, her double cousin) - Maria was baptised at Exton in Rutland in 1806, and was the daughter of Catherine's father's brother, Thomas Mason, and Catherine's mother's sister, Sarah Gamble.

2. ↑ England. 1841 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 815; Book 2; Folio 10; Page 15, 6 Jun 1841.

   Address: Barnack, Northamptonshire
   William Cox, male, 39 [1801/2], Blacksmith, born in county
   Catherine Cox, female, 38 [1802/3], born in county
   John Cox, male, 14 [1826/7], born in county
   Elizabeth Cox, female, 12 [1828/9], born in county
   Thomas Cox, male, 9 [1831/2], born in county
   Mary Cox, female, 6 [1834/5], born in county
   Catherine Cox, female, 4 [1836/7], born in county
   William Cox, male, 2 [1838/9], born in county
   Matthew Cox, male, 1 [1839/40], born in county
   Luke Broom, male, 18 [1822/3], J. Blacksmith, born in county
   Catherine Cox, female, 68 [1772/3], Ind, born in county

3. ↑ England. 1851 Census Returns for England and Wales. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class HO107; Piece 2094; Folio 484; Page 3, 30 Mar 1851.

   Address: Barnack, Northamptonshire
   William Cox, head, married, male, 49 [1801/2], Farmer of 95 Acres, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catherine Cox, wife, married, female, 47 [1803/4], Farmers Wife, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   John Cox, son, unmarried, male, 23 [1827/8], Farmers Son, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Elizabeth Cox, daughter, unmarried, female, 22 [1828/9], Dressmaker, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Mary Cox, daughter, unmarried, female, 16 [1834/5], Farmers Daughter, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catherine Cox, daughter, female, 14 [1836/7], Farmers Daughter, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   William Cox, son, male, 12 [1838/9], Farmers Son, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Matthew Cox, son, male, 11 [1839/40], Farmers Son, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Josiah Cox, son, male, 8 [1842/3], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Sophia Cox, daughter, female, 6 [1844/5], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catherine Cox, mother, widow, female, 77 [1773/4], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

4. ↑ England. 1861 Census Schedules for England and Wales, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG9; Piece 2314; Folio 53; Page 25, 7 Apr 1861.

   Address: Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catherine Cox, head, widow, female, 57 [1803/4], Formerly dressmaker, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Thomas Cox, son, unmarried, male, 29 [1831/2], Wheelwright, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Matthew Cox, son, unmarried, male, 21 [1839/40], Wheelwright, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Josiah Cox, son, unmarried, male, 18 [1842/3], Farm Laborer, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

5. ↑ England. England and Wales. 1871 Census Schedules. (
   Kew, Richmond, Greater London TW9 4DU, United Kingdom:
   The National Archives (abbreviated TNA), formerly the UK General Register Office.)
   Class RG10; Piece 3310; Folio 58, 2 Apr 1871.

   Address: Cottage, Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Thomas Cox, head, married, male, 39 [1831/2], Wheelwright & Cottager, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Elizabeth Cox, wife, married, female, 37 [1833/4], b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Cox, son, male, 8 [1862/3], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Elizabeth A. Cox, daughter, female, 6 [1864/5], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Thomas Cox, son, male, 4 [1866/7], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   John H. Cox, son, male, 9m [1870], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catharine Cox, mother, widow, female, 67 [1803/4], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

6. ↑ Deaths index, in General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration. (London: General Register Office).

   d. Catherine COX, December Quarter 1876, Stamford Registration District, Volume 7a, page 209, aged 73 [1802/3]

7. ↑ Burials register, in Church of England. Parish Church of Barnack (Northamptonshire). Parish registers, 1695–1974. (Northampton, England: Northamptonshire Record Office).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Barnack in the County of Northampton in the Year 1876
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   312	Catherine Cox	Barnack	November 16th	73 [1802/3]	Geo[rge] Steer, Curate

8. ↑ Stamford Mercury, in United Kingdom. The British Newspaper Archive
   5 Jan 1877.

   DIED
   At Barnack, on the 11th Nov., Catherine Cox, aged 73