This is written from my own perspective. Others would of course tell the story differently.
I'm one of Anthony Jacques Cheeper/Clarke's great-grandsons, in the name-line. (His 23rd child and 6th by Kate Davidge, Willie Tony, had 5 children, and his 2nd son, Edward Anthony (Tony) had 2 children, including me).
In my late 20s, visiting the U.K., I began wondering about my ancestors. I soon realised that all I knew about the name-line at great-grandfather level was that:
In conversations (verging on cross-examinations) in 1977-78 and again in the late 1980s, I extracted from various members of the family the following information:
In June 1994, I accessed the 1891 Census record for the Lewisham address. (The relevant collector's area was Superintendent Registrar's District 28, Sub-District 4D, Enumeration District 18, and the document was Film Ref 522 Dist 19 Page 14). This showed a considerable amount of information about the family which was not previously known to my father's generation. For example, it showed the head as Robert, commission agent, with his wife Kate, 5 elder siblings to Willie Tony (3 known, 2 previously unknown), and a servant.
Particularly important clues were:
Also in June 1994, I went to the Lewisham address. I had in mind to ask the occupants whether they knew any of the history. There was no house. Looking at the vicinity, it was apparent that the adjacent corner had had a visitation by a land-mine in the early 1940s. Across an area of a couple of acres, there were (ugly, mostly 'temporary') 1950s buildings. The adjacent house to where 282 Ivydale Road would have been was still there, but number 282 was a vacant space, still containing heavy timber props for the last house in the row that survived the explosion. (50 years on, and still interim! As they say, Britain lost the War).
The estate was built in about 1890, and was fairly well-to-do, and the Clarkes were presumably its first occupants. So the preceding 1881 census would presumably not even show the address, let alone a family living in it.
In June 2001, I did a name-search in the 1881 census, for Robert and/or Anthony Clarke, aged 43, in North London. Only one close match was found. This showed Anthony Clarke, Head, age 43, born Middlesex London, profession publisher, at Grosvenor House, Ealing, married to Mary, age 34, with 3 children (Harold 7, Ethel M. 3, Stanley 1), all born Middlesex, and two servants, including Emma F. Terry of Gravesend Kent, age 26.
The two census entries provided a strong indication that Anthony's birth fell between 5 April 1837 and 4 April 1838. Unfortunately, the consolidated Births Register for England and Wales commenced on 1 July 1837. So, when I found no entry, I assumed that his birth was between 5 April and 30 June 1837, and was in a parish register in North London who-knows-where, and possibly destroyed in the Blitz anyway. (In fact, Anthony was born after the consolidation of birth registers, on 27 Sep 1837, and his birth was registered 5 months later on 23 Feb 1838. But of course it was in a different name from what I was looking for).
Despite the gaps, I'd gathered enough information to suggest that Anthony may well have run off with a maid, but that Kate Davidge, Willie Tony's mother and my great-grandmother, was that maid. (Only later did it become apparent that he was rather in the habit of running off with the maid ...).
My first cousin, Anne Kratzmann (nee Clarke) picked up where I left off. (Her father, Fred, was the eldest son of Willie Tony, i.e. my father's elder brother).
Anne acquired the 1881 census data about the same time that I did. She's proven to be a far better family researcher, and far more dedicated to the task, than I ever was. Apart from what's outlined above, most of the details on this web-site derive from her work.
She focussed initially on Anthony's children. But by mid-2001, while searching for a marriage registry entry for Anthony and his previous wife, Mary Wanless, she discovered another marriage in 1882, to Emma Terry, Mary's governess in 1881. From there, she pursued Mary's death certificate, and more children.
On 30 April 2002, Anne's investigation of the Wanless children identified the father of the first child, Harold, as being Anthony Jacques Cheeper, whereas the father of the second and third was Anthony Clarke.
It seemed likely that a man who sired many children from the age of 40 onwards, with three women overlapped, probably had a prior marriage. Anne then spent several years researching the Cheeper line, and seeking evidence to support the proposition that the two Anthony's were the same person.
As Anne put it, she has "trawled the total [U.K.] Births, Deaths and Marriages Registries from 1837 to 1940 and [has] extracted all references to Cheeper surname. I also checked all LDS sources and other UK available resources for Pre-1837 entries. There are only 3 Anthony Cheepers found". Anne holds vast numbers of birth, marriage and death certificates (many relevant, some not). She's sent copies of some of them to me. (They're expensive, and you wouldn't want to lose them all and have to start again). Anne also has a copy of Anthony Jacques Cheeper Snr’s will, and copies of various census entries.
Meanwhile, Pat Tuffin in Dorset (a 4th cousin) provided information on the Davidge line.
Anne's emails on family lists, and Anne's genealogy site for Anthony, have resulted in a lot of assistance being offered, and connections achieved. As at the beginning of 2006, we are in contact with several recently-discovered second-cousins and a half-second-cousin, all in the U.K.
At the end of 2004, Patrick Hanson-Lowe in London (a 4th cousin on the Bokenham line, Anthony's mother) provided information on the Bokenham line, and facilitated contact with Geoff Clarke in London (of the Harold Wanless line). Geoff had discovered a considerable amount of information, in parallel and a few years ahead of us. I've drawn on this in extending these documents, but the integration of the information is far from complete, and some details may be in conflict.
During early 2005, Anne establshed contact with Dorothy Docwra in Norwich. In mid-2005, I visited Dorothy's son (who is Anne and my second cousin) John Docwra near Bradford. They have provided information about the Lawrence line.
Also in early 2005, Anne achieved contact with the last of the Cheepers, Ruth Phillips in Cornwall. I visited Ruth in mid-2005, and she has provided information about the Albert Jacques line.
In late 2005, Vivian Watson discovered Anne's genealogy site, made contact, and has added information about the Kate Antoinette line, and about Kate Davidge.
We're missing a lot of information; and we'd love to know more!
This a page within Roger Clarke's Family Web-Site
Contact: Roger Clarke and/or Anne Kratzmann
Created: 21 October 2005; Last Amended: 10 January 2006