Website Update 19 September 2007

The website was updated today Wednesday 19 September. This update includes information as detailed in the previous blogs:

• Arthur William & Phoebe Giles née Pask
• Descendants of Philip & Mary Pask née Morgan
• Isaac & Mary Paske née Little
• Paskeville, Australia
• Kenneth Richard Pask of Ohio
• Descendants of John & Caroline Pask née Darby
• PASKEs of India
• Helen Paske aged 104
• James Morton Pask - Ashantee Medal for Sale
• Ellen Levy (alias Villiers)
• Stephen & Millie Cocksedge née Pask

Many thanks to everyone who has contributed. A full list of these recent changes to the narratives is available in the New or Changed Narratives section. This was a significant increase - an additional 186 narratives , making a total of 6656 people.

Stephen & Millie Cocksedge née Pask

This information relates to Chart 7, the descendants of Henry Paske, (1765 - 1845), who lived in Kedington, Suffolk.

Jane King of Peterborough contacted us by letter. She is the great-granddaughter of Millie Pask who married Stephen Cocksedge on 28 March 1886 in All Saints, West Ham, Essex.

Millie was born on 14 March 1867 in Kedington, and was the great-granddaughter of Henry & Frances Pask née Wallaker.

In the 1881 census Millie was the servant of Stephen Cocksedge. After the death of his first wife Mary Ann, Millie became his wife.

Jane plans to research the Kedington branch. Hopefully she will be able to find the missing link that shows a connection between Chart 7 and Chart 6 (Khaki-Icon) - the main progenitor Peter & Catherine Pask née Frost, who also lived in Kedington in the 1700s.

Jane is planning to attend the Pask Family Gathering on July 26 2008.

The information kindly provided by Jane has been included in the database, and will be available in the next website update.

Ellen Levy (alias Villiers)

This information relates to Chart 39, the descendants of Thomas Pask, (1766 - b1851), who lived in St. Pancras.

This morning we received a very interesting e-mail from William de Villiers, who lives in South Africa, about Ellen Levy (alias) Villiers. Coincidental, she was the mother of James Morton Pask - See the previous blog John Morton Pask - Ashantee Medal for Sale.

William saw a reference to Ellen Levy (alias Villiers) on our website, and it fired his imagination and plunged him into hours of work at his computer keyboard researching Ellen's father. He found:

Isaac LEVY (alias Isaac VILLIERS or John VILLIERS) was born in about 1788. He was married [date unknown] to Mary COLLIER (who was born in Hornsey, Middlesex in about 1789).

Isaac ran into financial difficulties in the 1820’s and was sued and committed for debt – being described in the legal documents as Isaac Levy “(commonly called Isaac Villiers, sued and committed as Isaac Villiers), late of Golden-Square, Middlesex, afterwards of Sackville-Place, Lambeth, Surrey (carrying on business in Partnership with William Court, as Tailors, under the firm of Villiers and Court), then of Glbson-Street, Waterloo-Road, Surrey, then of Isabella-Street, Waterloo-Road aforesaid, then of New-Street, Waterloo-Road aforesaid, Comedian, and carrying on business, on his separate account, as a Tailor”.

When the national census was taken in June 1841 he was described as “Isaac Villiers”, a tailor, living in Arlington Street in London with his wife, five children and two sempstresses.

When the census was taken again in April 1861 he was described as “John Villiers”, a 73 year old tailor, living at No. 25, Clarence Street, Islington St Mary in London with his wife and eldest daughter.

He died in 1863.

In addition, William has provided very detailed information - with sources. This information will be included in the next website update, that is imminent.

We were also very intrigued by the change of name. Now thanks to William, the mystery is solved.

James Morton Pask - Ashantee Medal for Sale

This information relates to Chart 39, the descendants of Thomas Pask, (1766 - b1851), who lived in St. Pancras.

Martin Brady contacted us yesterday. He is not related, however very interested in military history.

Earlier this year, we researched James Morton Pask, after receiving information from David Noden from the Department of Africa, Oceania and Americas in the British Museum - see blog titled James Morton Pask (1848 - 1930) - British Museum. You can imagine our delight when Martin Brady provided us with some very interesting information on a medal that belonged to James.

Martin advised that JM Pask’s Ashantee medal was currently for sale on the website J Collins Medals Limited. A picture, and description reads:

Ashantee 1873-4 (J M Pask, BA, Navl Instr, RN, HMS Druid, 73-74) James Morton Pask was appointed Naval Instructor, Royal Navy 28 March 1872 he joined HMS Druid the same day. Mr Pask retired from the Royal Navy 30 March 1900 after 28 years service, this is his only medal.

Unfortuntely the cost of £450 prohibits us purchasing it. However if anyone is interested they should contact J Collins Medals Limited.

James Morton Pask was born on 24 February 1848. He was the son of James & Ellen Pask née Villiers or Levy.

Sincere thanks to Martin for providing this information. In 2005, he kindly provided photographs of John & Agnes Pask's Grave in Southend-on-Sea Cemetery. John Pask was born in 1838 in Thundersley, Essex. He was the son of James Horton & Julia Pask née Asplin, and was an Able Seaman (AB) on HMS Agamemnon in the Crimea war.

Helen Paske aged 104

This information relates to the yellow-icon tree - descendants of John Paske c1600, who lived in Cambridgeshire - his son John married Mary Goldsborow.

I received some very timely information from Jo Pask today, she found a snippet of information in the East Anglian Times edition 1944:

Miss Helen Paske of Wanstead on November 14th 1944 celebrated her 104th Birthday. She was born at Creeting St Peter Rectory, daughter of the Rev. Edward Paske.

I am currently researching this family. Helen's brothers served in India.

Thank you Jo, this information will be included in the next website update.

PASKEs of India

This information relates to the yellow-icon tree - descendants of John Paske c1600, who lived in Cambridgeshire - his son John married Mary GOLDSBOROW.

As a follow on from the previous blog on this branch of the PASKEs, Colleen Willis has again come up with some very interesting information. She pointed me to a source not previously searched - the British Library website, in the India Office Records.

It took me several minutes to find what Colleen was referring to. Even knowing it was there, the website was not intuitive. However it was worth persevering. The trick is to search the home page of the British Library for the India Office Records, then look for the sentence

The India Office Family History Search database contains around 300,000 records for British and European people in India between 1600 and 1949.

If you use the search option at the top of the webpage, it just takes you back to the British Library search that has 33 records relating to books written by Paskes, or about Paskes. However using the hyperlink India Office Family History Search, it provides 20 detailed records, providing some births, marriages, and deaths and some biographies. For example for

Thomas Theophilus PASKE
Madras Army; bap 9 Oct 1789, Barking, Suffolk, s
of George & Ann L/MIL/9/112 f.351; retired 15 Oct 1838 d 20 Feb 1860 -
Memorial inscription, Lansdown Cemetery, Bath; m Susan Amelia 1821 (b 1801);
Anne b 4 Sep 1822; Ellen b 1824, d 1847; Theophilus b 1826; John b 1827; William
b 1828; Edward b 1829; Charles b 1830; Fanny b 21 Mar 1832, d 11 Oct

Sincere thanks to Colleen - this was a great find.