Person:Elizabeth Cook (117)

Elizabeth Cook's origins have yet to be established. If the age quoted when she died is accurate she was born around 1748. Her first confirmed sighting is on Christmas Eve 1767 when she married John Hobbs at Eaton Bray in Bedfordshire. Their marriage record notes that he lived at Great Gaddesden, about eight miles to the south. After their marriage they settled in the Great Gaddesden area.

Their first two children died before they were able to be baptised. They went on to have another nine children between 1771 and 1795, all baptised at Great Gaddesden. From at least 1771 to 1799 they lived at Ballingdon, where John rented a house. Ballingdon at the time was a detached part of the parish of Whipsnade in Bedfordshire, but on the borders of the neighbouring parishes of Great Gaddesden and Flamstead.

Elizabeth and John's youngest child was baptised in 1795. The following year, 1796, their eldest surviving son married, and Elizabeth's first known grandchild was born in 1797. She would go on to have at least 23 grandchildren born in her lifetime, although some died young.

John died in 1810, aged 70. He and Elizabeth had been married for just under 43 years. Elizabeth survived him by nearly five years. She was buried at Great Gaddesden on 6th December 1815. She was said to be 67 years old, and her abode was given as Gaddesden Row, to the east of the parish, adjoining Ballingdon.

1.   Bedfordshire Family History Society. Eaton Bray Parish Register Transcript. (Bedford: Bedfordshire Family History Society).

   ch. 4 Mar 1747/8: Elizabeth daughter of Hugh & Mary Cook, shepherd

   This appears to be the most likely baptism, based on the age quoted at Elizabeth's death, the ages she married and stopped having children and the parish she was living in at the time of her marriage. However, direct named connection linking the adult Elizabeth to the child baptised in 1748 daughter of Hugh Cook and Mary Cobb has yet been found. Elizabeth did not name any of her children Hugh or Mary. Also, there are other Elizabeth Cook baptisms at a similar time nearby, including at Studham on 18th October 1747 daughter of John and Sarah.

2. ↑ ^2.0 2.1 Burials register, in Church of England. Great Gaddesden Parish Registers. (Hertford: Hertfordshire Archives and Local Studies).

   BURIALS in the Parish of Great Gaddesden in the County of Hertford in the Year 1815
   No.	Name	Abode	When buried	Age	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   57	Elisabeth Hobbs widow	G[reat] Gaddesden Row	December 6th	67	J.B. Bingham