#52 Ancestors 52 Weeks 2026 Week 1 - An Ancestor I Admire

Elizabeth Duff Butchers (1833–1896): A Remarkable Matriarch

The ancestor I find myself most admiring is Elizabeth Duff BUTCHERS. She raised 15 children to adulthood at a time when child mortality hovered around 26%—an extraordinary achievement in itself. Her descendants went on to spread across the world, with two of her children and two grandchildren emigrating to the USA and Australia. By the end of her life, Elizabeth had an astonishing 65 grandchildren.

I’ve written about Elizabeth before (elizabeth-duff-butchers-1833-1896.html), so I’ll avoid repeating too much here. Instead, this is a closer look at her life through the stories of her children.

Early Life

Elizabeth was born in Rye in 1833, the daughter of Alexander Duff Butchers and Maria Crowhurst. She married Thomas WOOD in 1852 at the age of 18, and their first child, William, arrived just two months later.

The Fifteen Children of Thomas and Elizabeth Wood

1. William WOOD (1852–1869)

Born in Midley. Died of typhus at just 16.

2. Thomas WOOD (1854–1904)

Born in Midley; moved to Lydd at age 4. At 22, after what may have been a disagreement with his father, he emigrated to South Australia aboard the Lochee, a government-assisted emigrant ship that sailed from Portsmouth on 22 November 1876. He did not contact his family until 1884. Married Luisse Matilde KUHN in 1882 and had 7 children. Died aged 49.

3. Henry WOOD (1855–1936)

Born in Midley; remained in Lydd. Married Susan Rose Hannah FORD in 1886 and had 2 daughters. Died aged 80.

4. Edmund WOOD (1857–1931)

Born in Midley. Recorded as an agricultural labourer at 14. Missing from the 1881 and 1891 censuses—likely due to service in the merchant navy, whose crews were not recorded. By 1891 he was Master of the ship Colonel Evans, registered in Rye. Later became a fisherman in Rye. Married Louisa AXELL in 1884 and had 11 children. Named one daughter Grace Darling Wood, after the famous Victorian heroine (i). Served as a merchant seaman during WWI. Died aged 74.

5. Joseph WOOD (1859–1932)

The first child born in Lydd. Married Caroline BRIGNALL in 1885 and had 11 children. Lived his entire life in Lydd. Died aged 73.

6. Elizabeth WOOD (1861–1925)

Married Frederick JORDAN in 1881 and had 3 children. Emigrated to Los Angeles in 1912 at age 50, following her husband who had gone ahead the previous year along with their eldest son Frederick Alexander and son in-law Herbert Jerram. Elizabeth travelled with her daughters Elizabeth Cesarine (Jerram) and Ada, grandchildren Ivy and Violet, and “daughter‑in‑law” Katherine (ii) to reunite the families. Died aged 64.

7. Sarah Ann WOOD (1863–1916)

Married Francis George JORDAN (brother of Frederick) in 1882. Had 15 children, 6 of whom died young. Died aged 53.

8. Alexander “Alick” WOOD (1865–1939)

Married Florence Emily SHERRARD in 1891 and had 6 children. Family letters from around 1886 show he considered emigrating to Australia like his brother Thomas, but his mother hoped he would stay. "Your poor o dog fly is still living your old sheepdog. Alick wants to know wether he should want to bring much with him. I must now end with love from your dear old brother and sisters and all your dear o friends. Mother hopes Alick wont come"  Looks like his mother got her wish as he married  Florence in 1891  Cannot find any record of him after 1901 until his death in Apr 1939 at the age of 74

9. Julia WOOD (1867–1899)

Married George WEDGE in 1894. No children. Died aged 32.

10. Caroline WOOD (1869–?)

Married Alexander SMITH in 1891 and had 2 children. Death date unknown.

11. Eliza WOOD (1870–?)

Married William Edgar OLIVER in 1898. Had 2 sons, one of whom died in infancy.

12. Kate WOOD (1872–1926)

Married Albert Robert MORRIS (also known as FORD). Had one son, William. Died aged 54.

13. Maria WOOD (1873–1939)

My great‑grandmother. Married Charles MITTEN in 1895 and had 8 children, including  my grandmother Dorothy (born 1900). Died aged 66 on 7 September 1939—just four days after Churchill declared war on Germany.

14. Louisa WOOD (1875–1965)

Worked in service in Hampstead as a housemaid. Married John Wilfred RADCLIFFE in 1908 and had 2 children. The marriage appears a little dubious, in 1911 John's previous wife Emma Emelia is on the census along with his other 4 children and showing as a widow, which she would appear not to be correct, further records appear to show that Emma along with her children moved back to Bedfordshire and lived with her parents and later her brother.  It would seem that the marriage to Louisa was bigamous.  Louisa died in 1965 at the grand old age of 90

15. Charlotte WOOD (1877–1918)

Married Edward CHAMPION in 1902 and had one son, Leonard. Died aged 41.

 

The Family Home in Lydd

Except for the first four children, all were born in the same house at the west end of Lydd High Street—the house on the far left of the old postcard. It must have been a lively, crowded, noisy place, full of the everyday chaos of a large Victorian family.

Notes

(i) Grace Darling (1815–1842) became a national heroine after rescuing survivors from the wreck of the Forfarshire in 1838, a story that captivated Victorian Britain.

(ii) No marriage record has been found for Frederick Alexander and Katherine, though immigration records list her as married. Their daughters’ US Social Security forms list their mother as Catherine King.