The Dewey Family

Connected families My Dewey Ancestors

My Dewey connection is via my mother's family. The family comes from a village called Witchford just West of Ely, Cambridgeshire. The earliest Dewey ancestor that I have traced there is my Gt Gt Gt Gt Gt Grandparents - William Dewey and Ellen Markerham from the Main Street. They were both born in 1791. It is noted on the 1851 census that William was receiving parish relief because he was too ill to work - I do not know what illness he was suffering from.

Ellen and William had a least four children as follows:

1. Rebecca Dewey

2. William Dewey b. 1818 - married Mary Tabraham. Their eldest daughter - Sarah Dewey had my Gt Gt Grandfather, John Freeman Dewey (pictured opposite) out of marriage. She later went on to marry a John Gooby of Witchford.

3. Henry Dewey b. 1822 - married Esther Moden. They lived at Wentworth, Cambridgeshire.

4. Joseph Dewey b. 1826,d. 1904, married Elizabeth Gray b. 1835, d.1916. They married at Witchford Parish Church in 1856.

Sarah Dewey's illegitimate son was my Gt Gt Grandfather - John Freeman Dewey (pictured left) and he was born on 17th November 1856 in Witchford. He had a son called John C. Dewey, born in 1874, with Elizabeth Boulter - a seamstress, before marrying her in 1878 at Wentworth. They then went on to have nine further children - the youngest of which was my Gt Grandfather - Ernest Edward Thomas Dewey who was born in April 1896 at Witchford.

John Freeman Dewey and Elizabeth's (ne้ Boulter) children were as follows:

  • John C. Dewey b. 1874, Witchford.
  • Sarah Jane Dewey b. 1879, Witchford. Married George William Anderson.
  • Lizzie Dewey b. 1880, Witchford. Had an illegitimate son called Herbert Percival Dewey b. 1901, later married to Allen Punfret Taylor of Witchford.
  • Arthur Robert Dewey b. 1881, Witchford. It is believed that he emigrated to America or Canada but I have no confirmation of this.
  • Walter Dewey b. 1883, Witchford. He was killed in France during the 1st World War in 1915. Married a woman called Annie.
  • Albina Dewey b. 1884, Witchford. She never married but lived with her parents.
  • Francis Henry Dewey b. 1886, Witchford. Married Mabel Money.
  • William George Dewey b. 1887, Witchford.
  • Edith Dewey b. 1889, Witchford. She died in infancy.
  • Ernest Edward Thomas Dewey b. 1896, Witchford. He was my Gt Grandfather and he married Susan Jane Moden of Ely. He died in 1991, outliving three of his four children (all sons).
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    Connected families include:

    My Dewey Ancestors

    Grandparents: John Edward Dewey (1931-1991) & Pamela Maude Barber (1931-present day)

    Gt Grandparents: Ernest Edward Thomas Dewey (1896-1991) & Susan Jane Moden (1896-1981)

    Gt Gt Grandparents: John Freeman Dewey (1856-1943) & Elizabeth Boulter (1854-1927)

    Gt Gt Gt Grandmother: Sarah Dewey (1838-?) - my Gt Gt Grandfather was illegitamate.

    Gt Gt Gt Gt Grandparents: William Dewey (1815-1887) & Mary Tabraham (1816-1886)

    Gt Gt Gt Gt Gt Grandparents: William Dewey (1791-1865) & Ellen Markerham (1791-1856)

    Dewey Place Names...

    It is believed by some that the surname is of Welsh origin - due to the River Dewi.

    Thank you for visiting the Dewey family website.

     

     

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