Person:Martha Cox (24)

Martha Cox was born on 13th July 1878 at Barnack in Northamptonshire, daughter of Elizabeth Cox, formerly Ward, and her husband Thomas Cox, a wheelwright. Martha was their youngest child. The 1881 census finds Martha living with her parents and siblings in Barnack. Martha's father died in 1884, just a couple of weeks after Martha's sixth birthday.

The 1891 and 1901 censuses each find Martha living with her mother and her brothers William and John in Barnack. Martha's mother died in 1906.

The following year, Martha married Arthur Potter at South Kyme in Lincolnshire, some thirty miles north of Barnack. Martha's sister Elizabeth had settled there a few years earlier; perhaps Martha had gone to stay with her sister after her mother's death.

Martha and Arthur went on to have two children together: a son in 1908 and a daughter in 1910. The 1911 census finds the family living at South Kyme, with Arthur described as a "farmer's son working on farm" - his father owned Fenmore Farm at South Kyme.

In 1920, Martha's brother William was ill and came to live with Martha and Arthur at South Kyme until his death in July of that year. Martha and Arthur were described as living at Poplar Farm at the time. In 1925 Arthur held an auction of all the stock at Poplar Farm, which he appears to have owned. After that time they let Poplar Farm to tenants and went to live with Arthur's father at Fenmore Farm.

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Arthur and Martha were living on Low Road in South Kyme with their son and with Martha's sister Catherine. Arthur described himself as a farm labourer.

After the Second World War, in 1946, Arthur put an 80 acre farm up for auction. Whether this was Poplar Farm or Fenmore Farm is not specified.

Arthur died in 1953, aged 73. Martha outlived him by nearly twelve years. She died aged 86 in 1965, in the Sleaford district, which included South Kyme.

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

   b. Martha COX, September Quarter 1878, Stamford Registration District, Volume 7a, page 358, mother's maiden name Ward

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

   BAPTISMS solemnized in the Parish of Barnack in the County of Northampton in the Year 1878
   No.	When Baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents' Name		Abode	Quality, Trade, or Profession	By whom the Ceremony was performed
   			Christian	Surname
   1072	1878 August 25th	Martha	Thomas & Elizabeth	Cox	Barnack	Wheelwright	Geo[rge] Steer, Curate

3. ↑ England. 1881 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 RG11; Piece 3194; Folio 38; Page 5, 3 Apr 1881.

   Address: Back Lane, Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Thomas Cox, head, married, male, 48 [1832/3], Wheel-wright Mast[er] Emp[loying] 1 man, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Elizabeth Cox, wife, married, female, 46 [1834/5], Wheel-w[righ]t's wife, b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Cox, son, unmarried, male, 18 [1862/3], Wheel-w[righ]t's son, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Thomas Cox, son, male, 14 [1866/7], Butcher's boy, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   John H. Cox, son, male, 10 [1870/1], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Catherine Cox, daughter, female, 6 [1874/5], Scholar, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Martha Cox, daughter, female, 2 [1878/9], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

4. ↑ England. 1891 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 RG12; Piece 2554; Folio 34; Page 6, 5 Apr 1891.

   Address: Main Street, Barnack, Northamptonshire
   5 or more rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Cox, head, widow, female, 57 [1833/4], Supported by sons, b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Cox, son, single, male, 29 [1861/2], Agric[ultural] Lab[ourer], employed, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   John H. Cox, son, single, male, 20 [1870/1], Agric[ultural] Lab[ourer], employed, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Martha Cox, daughter, female, 12 [1878/9], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

5. ↑ England. England. 1901 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 RG13; Piece 3022; Folio 36; Page 8, 31 Mar 1901.

   Address: Main Street, Barnack, Northamptonshire
   5 or more rooms occupied
   Elizabeth Cox, head, widow, female, 67 [1833/4], Supported by sons, b. Great Hale, Lincolnshire
   William Cox, son, single, male, 38 [1862/3], Labourer (Carpenter's), b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   John H. Cox, son, single, male, 30 [1870/1], Labourer (Gardener's), b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Martha Cox, daughter, single, female, 22 [1878/9], b. Barnack, Northamptonshire

6. ↑ England. 1911 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 RG14; Piece 19604; Schedule 65, 2 Apr 1911.

   Address: South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   5 rooms occupied
   Arthur Potter, head, male, 31 [1879/80], married, Farmers Son working on Farm, worker, b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Martha Potter, wife, female, 32 [1878/9], married 4 years, 2 children born, 2 still living, b. Barnack, Northamptonshire
   Neville Arthur Potter, son, male, 3 [1907/8], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Kathleen Emma Potter, daughter, female, 1 [1909/10], b. South Kyme, Lincolnshire

7. ↑ ^7.0 7.1 General Register Office. 1939 Register
   East Kesteven Rural District, 29 Sep 1939.

   Address: Low Road, South Kyme, Lincolnshire
   Potter, Arthur / male / 3 Aug 1879 / married / Farm Labourer
   Potter, Martha / female / 13 Jul 1878 / married / Unpaid domestic duties
   Potter, Neville A. / male / 24 Jan 1908 / single / Haulage Contractor - ARP Warden
   Cox, Catherine / female / 25 Feb 1875 / single / Domestic Parlourmaid

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

   d. Martha POTTER, March Quarter 1965, Sleaford Registration District, Volume 3b, page 150, aged 86 [1878/9]