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BERKELEY

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(Pages 2-3)

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(in South GLOS.)

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Family Trees.

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Issue Rev. 6 (dated 27/7/2012) For enquiries contact Mike Cope

BOXALLS

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HARNDENS

My COPE Family

(Pages 4-12) plus ..

WORLD WAR 1 link

The EARLY GENERATIONS.
        My Grandfather was born in Berkeley, Glos. and I was first taken there in 1948, after I’d been “demobbed” from the Navy, by my parents who showed me around the area and visited Berkeley Castle. My Grandad, Egbert Cope, born in 1866, was the youngest of 11 children and was the 3rd generation of Copes born in Pump Cottage in Berkeley, incidentally now known as White Cottage. It is a small cottage and the family had to stand round the “gate-legged” table for meals. The table (pictured) was made by my Great Great Grandfather, William Cope (a Pargeter) from old pews ex-Berkeley Parish Church.   I had thought earlier generations had also lived there, but after much trouble we found the previous five generations came from the Parishes of Westerleigh and Pucklechurch. I was interested to find out that my Great Grandfather was a twin and that he and his sister were the 2nd pair of twins in that generation (the first pair died aged 3 days). It was even stranger to discover that my Great Great Grandfather was the older brother to a pair of twins who died aged 1 month. The earliest set of twins were born in 1795 and the other two sets were born in 1824 and 1825. No other twins have yet been discovered in any of the earlier generations going back to the 1650‘s. Believe it or not, the next sets of twins born were to our daughter and to our 2nd son’s wife in the 21st century!
         The earliest (fairly!) definite ancestor I’ve got back to is my 7 times Great Grandfather, John Cope, Yeoman Farmer of Westerleigh, who died in 1702 leaving a Will that gives the names of eight of his children plus 18 grandchildren. This is a wonderful document, though its strange that his surname is spelt COPE and COAP indiscriminately throughout. John left a total of £375.00 in cash alone to various members of the family etc. and by current values (2007) it is estimated this must represent around 100 times that amount - a tidy sum!
            There was also an Inventory in support of that Will. (Under the “Family Trees, Wills & Inventory” pages.)    (GO TO THEM - then Pages 6-9 and 18/19).

Gloucestershire COPE Family Site.

My COPE FAMILY. (Page 1 of 9)

(Right) Pump Cottage, Berkeley circa 1900. The Pump can be made out where the arrow is pointing to. The Cottage is still there.

The oak gate-legged table made by my Great Great Grandfather William Cope, reputed to be the first baby vaccinated by Jenner

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