NOW THIS IS A CONUNDRUM

THE MIND OF JESUS

"The Mind Of Jesus"

The death of a relative, particularly a parent, is a sorrowful affair made doubly so by the need to sort, investigate and ultimately dispose of their personal and potentially valued possessions. It is perhaps not surprising therefore that some items of potential interest or curiosity may be overlooked or put to one side. My mother died in July 2003. Among her effects were four small hard bound books - obviously having religious content - all of which were at least one hundred years old. They appeared to be of little value but their feel and provenance stopped me from merely discarding them.

I knew something of my mother's early history and the tragic death of her own mother. I am aware that she did not come to know her own father until she was in her twenties. Her uncle and aunt (very old by this time) are distant memories from my own early childhood. Prior to her death I was not aware of the existence of these tracts and they were never discussed. As two of the volumes had belonged to her father I believe that she treasured them. It is the other two tomes that interest me here

The book and its inscription

“The Mind Of Jesus” is one of these biblical tracts that we found amongst my mother’s possessions. There is no named author of the work although tantalisingly previous volumes (“Morning and Night Watches”, ”The Faithful Promise”, “Words Of Jesus”) are listed. The book was published in 1855 by James Nisbet & Company, Berners Street, London.

The Inscription "Mary Naylor 1857"

The handwritten inscription on the flyleaf reads:
“Mary Naylor
1857

No room for mirth or trifling here
For worldly hope or worldly fear
If life is soon gone
If now the judge us at the door
And all mankind must stand before
The inexorable throne”

Pinned to the next page (the pin itself is encrusted with rust) is a poem by Anna Cleaves entitled “At Rest”. Curiously one page has a corner folded down (a sign maybe). The paragraph underneath this starts with the words: ”The sick child will take the bitterest draught from a father’s hand”. A clue perhaps? There is no other annotation or marking in the book.

Who was Mary?

It has taken me some time to realise the conundrum lying dormant within the covers of this little book. My grandmother, Miriam, died within days of giving birth and my mother was brought up by Miriam’s sister, Mary. Until I started my research into the family tree, I had always assumed that this book belonged to my great aunt. However, she was born in 1863 and the dedication was addressed to a Mary Naylor in 1857. Then there is the tone of the dedication – and of the poem pinned to the flyleaf. These are very morose and dwell on death and loss, surely not portents of a happy occasion. I have found no evidence of a Mary who died around that year. Was she, as so often happened at that time, a daughter who died in infancy and after who the Mary Naylor I know was named? This I can only surmise. I fear that the answer to this puzzle probably died with my mother.

The Frontispiece and "At Rest" by Anna Cleaves

THE DERBYSHIRE COTTERILLS

"Precious Promises"

Even stranger is the puzzle presented by the second little book - "Precious Promises - God's Voice Of Comfort To His People" a volume of religious tracts and interpretations by Joseph Alleine. The inside cover is inscribed with the following hand written dedication:

"Presented to Eliza Cotterill for Reciting a Piece at the Wesleyan Free Church, South Normanton. May 4th 1862"

Clearly South Normanton is in the area of Derbyshire where my branch of the Naylor family originated. My presumption is that the book was a prize (perhaps from Sunday school) and Eliza at the time was a young girl of ten or younger. I have looked at various sources but have not found anyone that fits the bill. Was she a visitor to the Naylor family? A lodger? Child of a domestic servant? There is a Cotterill line in the family tree but this is on my father's side and was based in Rutland and Northamptomshire. Admittedly the two areas are not that far apart geographically (50 miles) but this was 150 years ago. Also I have no evidence that these two branches of the family were aware of each other prior to the 1920s - and not in the time of my great great grandparents.

Higher resolution images of these pictures can be found on the John Naylor family page.

Any help with these mysteries would be gratefully received

Alan D. Craxford.

POSTSCRIPT 1- January 30th 2006

The enigma has become a little clearer with the addition of a number of birth and wedding certificates to our collection. We have discovered that Miriam Naylor's mother's maiden name (her photograph can be found under Ann Naylor) was Cotterill. This family also came from the South Normanton district of Derbyshire. She had a sister, Eliza.

As yet we have not found a link from this branch to the Cotterills of Rutland and Lincolnshire.

POSTSCRIPT 2- May 22nd 2007

After a visit to the John King Museum in Pinxton, we discovered that John Naylor had a sister, Mary, who was born in Golden Valley on the outskirts of Pinxton in 1831.

As noted above, Eliza Cotterill was one of Ann Naylor's four sisters. The parish records showed that she was born in 1852 and died at the age of 13 years in 1865

Added: March 17th 2005
Updated: May 22nd 2007