LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

  

CONTRIBUTORS:
Janice Morris, UK
Julie Moulds, London, UK

If you would like to comment on any of the articles we have published in the magazine or would like to add your own thoughts and reminiscences of any of the subjects please send them to me with a note to say that you are happy for your letter to appear on this page.Please contact us at AlanCrax@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Newfloridian - Site Administrator
(Alan D. Craxford)

February 23rd 2008.
Last update: September 5th 2011

RE: FROM FAXTON TO ADELAIDE

The question of why Faxton failed as a village is also something which I would like to resolve. I have a theory that it is linked to the fortunes of the the Langham estates and I wonder if Cottesbrooke, where the family had their home, prospered at the expense of Faxton. Some of the Faxton men went to work in the iron quarries at Loddington. I noted, specifically, that Charles Cox went to Draughton to work and someone recently mentioned a connection between that village and the Hales family, so that needs looking at as well. Perhaps Draughton was also in the hands of the Langham family.

There was the decline in agriculture after WWI as well. I know that the 11th baronet, James Langham, was of unsound mind and was committed to an asylum. His brother Herbert ran the estate on his behalf and then when James died in 1893 took over. Apparently Herbert had been living beyond his means and finacial difficulties led to the sale of the estate in 1911. Cottesbrooke village was more than twice the size of Faxton in 1848 and some of the other villages surrounding Faxton that were owned by the estate were also larger and better served with roads. So I am inclined to think there was no money to improve Faxton, but I may be using certain facts to prove a theory rather than looking at matters objectively.

I am still pursuing whether there is a connection with your part of the Cox family and the Cox Stonemasons at Kettering. The firm was founded in the 1890s. I only found a reference to Mary Cox born 1812 a widow and her son Thomas born 1834 in the Raunds book. It says Mary's husband James was deported to Australia in 1836 for theft of of a lamb. There was one other child of the marriage. There was no reference to a stonemason named Cox in the book, but it is one of these histories more based on photographs than wider research. Now I am mobile again I am going to Kettering soon to see the stonemasons and maybe get some further information from the director who told me they had stored the Faxton font.

Janice Morris, UK
- May 1st 2011

RE: 'SAM AND SALLIE' and the Borrows

I am just writing to say thank you very much for the information on your family site.

We are Borrows (my mum's maiden name) decended from William Borrow, Sarah Lane and Charlotte Borrow's father, and your site has helped us immensly in piecing together that part of our history. William Borrow (b 1831), the brother of Charlotte and Sarah, would be my Great Great Ganddad! He married Celest Stephan (born in Paris) who was a dancer at the Brittania Theatre.

There was a copy of the "Sam and Sallie" book in our family a while ago but we have lost track of it, I have never seen it and would love to find a copy.

I don't think there is any information that I can give you at the moment that you don't already have as William is where our tree stops at the moment but should we obtain further details of that line involving Charlotte we will of course pass it on. Thank you once again for allowing us to 'tap into' your work - isn't family history fascinating!

Julie Moulds, London
- February 23rd 2008

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