Courtenay (Courtney) Noble

Re: Courtenay/Noble

According to the marriage cert Edward was a soldier with the 27th Regiment of Foot, maybe English military records can tell you more about Edward. There were no children born to this couple in Ireland.

My GG grandmother was Mary Jane Courtenay, daughter of Edward and Elizabeth. A record i found indicated that mary jane was born in 1919 in Armagh or Tyrone. I have found the record for Edwards army service, and his marriage to Elizabeth (1807). the army record indicates his birth at ~1781. Do you have any information re his birth, his parents, etc...would be grateful for any assistance

My Great-grandfather and Great-great-grandfather were both named Edward Noble Courtney. My Great-great-grandfather (b1811 in Armagh) moved to Liverpool and then to Stratford-upon-Avon where he married Catherine Coles.  Their marriage certificate (from UK Registry Office) of 1839 states that his father's name was also Edward and was a soldier.  I am in possession of a letter which my third Great-Grandfather, Edward Courtney (1766-1861), wrote to his new daughter-in-law, Catherine Coles, in January 1840. It was this Edward Courtney who became a Methodist itinerant preacher, I believe,

Edward Noble Courtney(b.Armagh1811-DiedStratfordUponAvon1890) and his son Edward Noble Courtney (b.Liverpool844- Died Peterborough,ON,Canada1928) both appear in this extract from the 1851 Census. Armagh is also recorded as his birthplace in the 1861Census,1871Census and 1881 Census).

Hi, everyone.  Edward Noble Courtney (1811-1890) was also MY great-great-great-grandfather, and his son Edward (1844-1928) was my great-great-grandfather, as well! 

Edward (1844-1928) and Harriet Cooke Courtney (1840-1917) married in St. Thomas Church in the Parish of Bethnal Green, County of Middlesex (England), emigrated to Canada and had a daughter (among many other children) named Grace Catherine (1871-1959), my great-grandmother, who married Peter Moffat in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.  Their daughter, Janet May Moffat (Jones) (1904-1986), was my maternal grandmother.  She was born in Peterborough but became a naturalized US citizen, and passed away in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, a few years after her brother Ray, who died in Carriere, Mississippi.  Janet's daughter (and only child) Catherine Elizabeth Jones (Eames) (1941-1992) was my mother.

I visited St. Mark's Church at Armagh in 1996 and found the marriage record of Edward Courtney and Elizabeth Noble.  They were married at the Royal Church of Ireland Cathedral on November 25, 1807.  This Edward died in 1861 at the age of 76, record at St. Mark's.  His occupation is listed on some documents I have as "soldier."  Hope this fills in some of the gaps!

Hellooooo  DouglasE!  It's amazing to see your post! Honestly! 

I do not know you but certainly knew your mother and grandmother, Catherine and Janet Jones, and your grandfather Earl Jones.  Your grandmother, Janet, and my mother were first cousins; your mother and I were second cousins.  The Jones family visited our home every year, even after Earl died. I have many, many stories I'd love to share with you and some historical records related your grandmother and great-grandparents.  

And thank you for gathering the information you have provided from Armagh, and for sharing it in your post.  It sure fills in some of the blanks. I would love to see copies/scans of some of the documents you have if that were possible. 

Please feel free to contact me by email at doogles.b@gmail.com.

I have attached scans of the birth certificate of Grace Catherine Courtney and the marriage certificate of Grace Courtney and Peter Moffat

It's great to connect with you, dooglesb! Since I grew up in Louisiana, I know very little of that side of the family! I've been in touch with George Carpenter in Palo Alto, CA, but few of the others.  I was born in Louisiana, in 1964, well after Earl's death in 1951, and currently reside in Los Angeles, so I've never really gotten to know this side of the family well.  I did visit Ontario on two occasions, once in 1976 at the age of 11, and the other in 1996, when I also stopped off just outside Buffalo, New York to visit my grandfather Earl's grave.  The first time (1976), I rode up with some second cousins, Bev and Jim MacGregor, and stayed in Rondeau Shores with an Aunt Bernice, but am not sure exactly how they tie in, as those were my pre-genealogy days!  I was able to visit Peterborough on the second trip, and found a lot of information about Edward Courtney on microfilm at Ashburnham Park.  I have copies of some marriage certificates I got while in England in 1996 (both Edward Courtneys), as well as a very thorough article on Edward Noble Courtney (1811-1890), which I will send you via email.  I also have photos of that Edward and his wife, which I purchased from a Stratford-Upon-Avon genealogy center.  Unfortunately, the marriage information about Edward Courtney was from an old registry at St. Mark's that I was unable to photocopy, and those were the days before photo cell phones!

But...going through my notes, I did find some information that I gathered from the Edward Courtney Collection at Ashburnham Park in Peterborough, which includes the names of the parents of the Edward Courtney who died in 1861!  It says:

"From a paper in the Edward Courtney file on Armour Hill, Peterborough:

"Edward Courtney, Grace Noble Courtney (born about 1753)

"Their son, (Sergeant) Edward Courtney, born 1776-1861, married, see opp. page -- not shown

"Their son, Edward Noble Courtney, born 1811-1890, married Catherine Coles, 1822-1872

"Their son, Edward Courtney, born 1844-1928, married Harriet Cooke, 1840-1917

"Their son, Edward H. Courtney, born August 1, 1868, died April 27, 1917.

"I certify that Sergeant Edward Courtney, pensioned from Her Majesty's 27th Reg. of Foot, died at Armagh on the 15th day of May and was interred in St. Mark's Church, Armagh, 16th May 1861."

"In loving memory of Catherine Courtney, the dearly beloved wife of Edward Noble Courtney, of Henley St., Stratford-on-Avon, who was called suddenly away on Wednesday, the 29 May 1872, aged 50 years.  She was interred in the Holy Trinity Churchyard at Stratford..." (From a printed notice)

I also have a microfilm copy of an obituary of Edward Courtney from "The Evening Examiner," dated Monday, November 5, 1928 (p.1) "Edward Courtney Dies at Home -- Had lived in City 59 Years.  Advocate of Ashburnham Park is Dead -- He was Also Interested in Welfare of City, Especially Ashburnham.  Cabinet Maker.  Born in Liverpool in 1844, he came to Peterborough in 1870..."

I'll scan what I have and send you the rest by email!

DouglasE

Very interesting info you have posted. My GG grandmother was Mary jane Courtenay, b 1819 in Armagh? to Edward henry Courtenay and Elizabeth Noble. Mary Jane married Edward Bunting and migrated to Oz in 1853. Her immigration records in Oz clearly indicate their parents as Edward Courtenay and Eliza Noble. I discovered Edwards army discharge record which gave me Henry, and an estimated birth date of 1781...it seems that 1776 may be more accurate. I have been trying to find data which could lead to the identity of Edward's parents...some data seems to indicate his name was also Edward, but nothing definitive. Do you happen to have any data which could help me here. I can send you data re her. I seems that her brother was Edward Noble Courtenay....with the marriage of Edward henry and Elizabeth in 1807, the dates seem to tally, but once again nothing definitive. I have visited the burial site for Mary Jane in Gayndah, Queensland.

You can find my tree on Geni.

Look forward to hearing from you.

KerryA from Queensland

Hi Kerry, good to hear from you.  From what you're saying it sounds like Sgt. Edward Courtney (1776-1861) and Elizabeth Noble were also your ancestors, making Edward Noble Courtney (1811-1890) the brother of your GG grandmother, Mary Jane.  

The clippings I found in Peterborough, Ontario state that Sgt. Edward Courtney's father was also named Edward Courtney, and that he married a woman named Grace Noble, who was born about 1753.  The fact that both Edward Courtneys married women named Noble may suggest that the younger one married a cousin.  Either that, or whoever compiled that information put the second surname in by mistake.  But everything else seems to check out, so perhaps it was a cousin.

Unfortunately, I don't have any more information than what I've listed.  If you should ever make it to St. Mark's Church in Armagh, though, I might suggest looking at the marriage registry from about 1770-1776 to see if the Edward Courtney-Grace Noble marriage is listed.

There is also a military museum in Armagh that I went to while I was there, but I wasn't able to find very much on Sgt. Courtney.  If you should find anything more, please post it here! 

DouglasE,

Thanks for your response. I may be over there in February, all being well (I am 74). St Marks is on my list of to do's. The marriage of Courtenay men to cousins, aunt and niece or what ever is not all that strange. Edward Bunting married Mary jane, and his father married Mary Courtenay...a little in breeding going on here. I am now armed with a little more data which I can research, hopefully with nowhere near as much frustration as I have experienced so far....duuuhhh...years of running into dead ends, and the churches will not respond to emails in my experience to date.

I will keep you informed if I have any break throughs.

Thanks again

Kerry

Good luck! I would love to hear how things go!

DouglasE

Attached is a copy of Edward Henry army records. Not a great copy but best I have.

Whoops...tried to upload but it is an Excel file (verboten). Do you have an email address for me to send it.

Kerry

Hi Kerry and Doug -

A few months ago I found information about our ancestor, Edward Courtney the soldier, and then created a couple of photoshop documents that displayed it.  I'll attach the records I found online and also the pages I created.   It seems he fought in the Battle of Waterloo and also in an earlier fight in the Napoleonic Wars in Portugal, the Battle of Busaca.  I'm not clear about the dates, however, since one of the records indicate he enlisted in the army in 1799 and that would make him a very very young soldier. 

Anyway, I hope the attached files are helpful.

dooglesb

This is a list of recipients of a service medal awarded to soldiers who fought at the Battle of Waterloo.  The battle took place in 1815; the medals were awarded the following year and bear the likeness of George, the Prince Regent, who was given the responsibilities of monarch after George III, his father, relapsed into mental illness in 1810.  The medal for veterans of wars the British Army was engaged in from 1793-1814, including the Battle of Busaco, was called the Military General Service Medal, and wasn't created until 1847. It carries the likeness of Queen Victoria who was the monarch in 1847. 

Dooglesb,

You have some really good data there...many thanks...my wife will be over in London shortly and will now have some good data to help her find records of our Sergeant. Will forward on anything we find.

I see you have given your email address in previous posts.....will send you copy of Edwards records which we have.

I would appreciate copies of the data you have posted by email......geriatric101@live.co.uk.

Kerry from Queensland