Peasants to Puddles
My Family History - By Nicky Rowberry
The Corp Family of Nottinghamshire
Roseannah Corp was was one of my 4xgreat grandmothers. She was born in 1805 in Nottingham, the second known child of Robert Corp & Mary Jackson. The Corp family has proved a bit difficult to research because the surname is recorded in so many ways. I've found the same family as Corp, Corpe, Carp, Corps, Cope, Coupe, Coop and probably more. This makes searching the records a bit tricky, so I may well have missed lots of records. So this page covers what I have managed to find out about the Corp family.
Robert Corp married Mary Jackson in 1802 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. Robert was a bachelor, but Mary was actually a young widow. She had previously married William Trentham in 1796 in nearby Mansfield Woodhouse. They had two children, Mary & William before her husband died in 1801. I think the daughter Mary may have died young, but the son William seems to have joined the army and moved to Canada. A year after being widowed Mary Trentham (nee Jackson) married Robert Corp and together they had at least 9 children.
Robert Corp was a framework knitter, probably making stockings - a common occupation in Nottingham at this time. He would probably have had to rent a frame and the whole family may have been involved in the production of the stockings - the children as soon as they were old enough. Although the family were primarily based around Nottingham, it seems they must have spent at least some time in London as the youngest child at least (Henrietta) was born there in 1822. Even when in London he was working as a framework knitter as this is recorded on Henrietta's baptism certificate.
Robert & Mary Corp were very fortunate in that all 9 of their children survived to adulthood, although two (Harriet & Henrietta) did die as young women. The table below shows Robert & Mary living in Bellar Gate with two of their grown up children. Samuel is with his new wife Elizabeth (Needham) and Elizabeth Lee is also present with her two children. Even on the census the family surname is spelt Carp not Corp.
| City or Borough of Nottingham | ||||
| Parish or Township of St Mary (part) | ||||
| Place | Names of each Person who abode therein the preceding Night | Age | Profession, Trade, Employment or of Independent Means | Where Born in Same County |
| Lomas's Yard Bellar Gate | Robert Carp | 65 | Stocking m(aker) | Yes |
| Mary Carp | 60 | Yes | ||
| Samuel Carp | 30 | Smith | Yes | |
| Elizabeth Carp | 20 | Yes | ||
| Elizabeth Lees | 20 | Lace Trimmer | Yes | |
| Frances Lees | 5 | Yes | ||
| Henry Lees | 1 | Yes | ||
In 1845 Mary Corp died aged 70 at Crosland Street; her daughter Rachel James had been present and registered the death. I've not found Robert in the 1851 census, but when he died in 1852 he was living in the union workhouse. Robert Corp had been born in 1776 in Nottingham, the second known child of Thomas & Rose Corp. I've not managed to find out anything about this generation of the Corp family yet. Seven out of nine of Robert & Mary Corp's children married and had children of their own, so there must be a lot of descendants out there. Their eldest daughter Roseannah married Henry Brooksbank and became my 4x great grandmother. You can read more about the Brooksbanks here: 
Her sister Rachel married Richard James who was the older brother of my 3xgreat grandfather Charles James. You can read more about the James family here: 
The family tree below summarises what I know about the above generations of the Corp family. It is hopefully reasonably accurate, but if you spot any errors, or any relatives, please feel free to E-mail me
Please click on one of the red links on the tree to move to a different page.
If any of the above is of further interest, please feel free to contact me at: n.rowberry@btinternet.com
© Nicky Rowberry 2020
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Peasants to Puddles - My Family History. By Nicky Rowberry