The parents of Henry Choyce are not known. His granddaughter, Edna (Choyce) Kent says he was born at Ashby-de-la-Zouch. According to his age on his death record, he would have been born in 1849.

The Index of Births at St. Catherine's House, London, lists a birth for a Henry Choyce at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, for the June Quarter of 1849. Henry is known to have had two sisters but they have not yet been identified.

Henry Choyce married Jane Hull, probably in 1876. St. Catherine's House has a marriage for a Henry Choyce within the Shardlow, Derbyshire, Registration District, in the December Index for that year. Shardlow is about 12 miles north of Ashby-de-la-Zouch. The names of the brides were not entered in the indexes until 1912. Edna (Choyce) Kent says that Jane "was from Cudworth, near Barnsley, in South Yorkshire".

Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce had seven children: John Ernest, who was always called Ernest, born 1877; Thomas Edwin, known as "Henry", 1879; Harry Samuel, 1881; Aked Claire, 1884; Edith Gertrude, 1886; Anne Evelyne, 1889; and Harold Huskison Choyce, born 1891. The first four children were born within the Barnsley Registration District. Edith Gertrude is known to have been born at Cudworth, within the Barnsley district. The two youngest children were born at Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

John Ernest Choyce, son of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born in 1877, at Barnsley. John married a woman whose surname was Copley. They married at Sheffield in 1900. According to the indexes at St. Catherine's House, John and his wife had nine children. The following limited information presented here concerning their children has been built from those same indexes and must therefore be considered as speculative.

Beatrice M. Choyce was born in 1901, at Sheffield. She married Ernest H. Dolling in 1921, at Ecclesall B., Yorkshire. Edith May Choyce, was born in 1903. She married Edgar Britland in 1935, at Sheffield. Ida Choyce was born in 1905. She married Erik N. Bardwell, in 1934, at Ecclesall B. John Ernest Choyce, born in 1908, died in 1909, at Ecclesall B. Ada Choyce, born in 1911, married George T. Summers in 1936, at Sheffield. Annie Choyce was born in 1913, but no information is available concerning her. Gladys Choyce was born in 1915, and married Frederick W. Morton in 1939, at Sheffield. Douglas Choyce was born in 1918, and died as an infant. Edna Choyce was born in 1920, and married Leslie Eccles in 1957, at Sheffield. Edna (Choyce) Kent said that Edna (Choyce) and Leslie Eccles later emigrated to Australia, but no further details are available.

Thomas Edwin Choyce, son of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born in 1879, at Barnsley. Thomas Edwin was always called "Henry". He never married. Henry died in 1952, at Sheffield, where he is buried.

HARRY SAMUEL CHOYCE, OF BARNSLEY AND SHEFFIELD

Harry Samuel Choyce, son of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born in 1881, at Barnsley. Harry never married. He died in 1970, at Sheffield, where he is buried.

HARRIET (COCKAYNE) AND AKED CLAIRE CHOYCE, OF BARNSLEY AND SHEFFIELD

Aked Claire Choyce, son of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born in 1884, at Barnsley. Aked married Harriet Cockayne in 1910, at Sheffield. Aked and Harriet had two children, Winifred Choyce, born in 1912, at Sheffield; and Dorothy Choyce who was born in 1915 and died in 1916, at Sheffield.

Aked and Harriet both died at Sheffield, Aked died in 1962. Harriet died in 1972, at the age of 84 years, which would put her date of birth around 1888.

Winifred Choyce married Stanley Twigg in 1951, at Sheffield. She died 17 Feb 1982, according to her cousin, Edna (Choyce) Kent.

EDITH GERTRUDE (CHOYCE), HAROLD KAY, AND MR. CARNEY, OF CUDWORTH AND SHEFFIELD

Edith Gertrude Choyce, daughter of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born 18 Oct 1886, at Cudworth. Edith married Harold Kay in 1906, at Sheffield. They had three children; Nellie Kay, born 3 Jan 1907, and married George Carrott; Harold Kay, born 19 Nov 1908, and married Hilda Thomas; and Thomas Kay, born 13 Jan 1913, and died in 1927.

Edith Gertrude apparently was widowed. She married a second time to a Mr. Carney and they had one child, John Clifford Carney, who was born 22 Apr 1921. John married Sylvia Castleton. Sylvia was born 17 Apr 1918.

Edith Gertrude (Choyce) Kay Carney died in October of 1978.

ANNIE EVELYNE (CHOYCE) AND THOMAS BARDEN, OF SHEFFIELD

Annie Evelyne Choyce, daughter of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce, was born in 1889, at Sheffield. Annie married Thomas Barden in 1914, at Sheffield. Annie and Thomas had four children; Vera, Arnold, Thomas and Ethel Barden. No particulars are available.

LAURA LILLIAN (WHOMERSLEY) AND HAROLD HUSKISON CHOYCE, AUGER HARDENER, OF SHEFFIELD

HAROLD HUSKISON CHOYCE, Born 11 Oct 1891, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, Married Laura Lillian Whomersley, 20 May 1918, at Sheffield

Harold Huskison Choyce was the son of Jane (Hull) and Henry Choyce. His daughter Edna, says he "was born 11 Oct 1891, at a publick house named the `Fox and Duck' on South Broad Lane, Sheffield, and he was married at St. Phillip's Church." Harold married Laura Lillian Whomersley, 20 May 1918. Laura was the daughter of Lucy Blanche (Kent) and William Whomersley. She was born 4 Feb 1896. Laura and Harold had three children,all born at Sheffield: Edna Choyce, born in 1918; Doris Choyce, born in 1924; and Terence Claire Choyce, born in 1935. Laura and Harold lived and died at Sheffield where they are buried. Harold died 13 Jan 1968. Laura died 6 Dec 1970.

EDNA (CHOYCE) AND JACK KENT, OF SHEFFIELD

Edna Choyce, daughter of Laura (Whomersley) and Harold Choyce, was born in 1918, at Sheffield. Edna married Jack Kent, 6 Jan 1940, at Sheffield. (Jack is not a nickname for John.) Jack Kent is the son of Emma (Garfitt) and Charles William Kent. I do not know if Jack's father is related to Edna's mother. Edna and Jack had one child, Alan Kent, born 1946.

GERALDINE ALEXANDRIA (MacCULLAGH) AND ALAN KENT, OF SHEFFIELD

Alan Kent, son of Edna (Choyce) and Jack Kent, was born 6 Jul 1946. Alan married Geraldine Alexandria MacCullagh, 21 Feb 1970. Geraldine, daughter of Blanche (Stanley) and Alexander MacCullagh, was born 8 Sep 1948.

Geraldine (MacCullagh) and Alan Kent had two children: Simon Paul Kent, born 23 Jun 1972; and Matthew James Kent, born 13 May 1975.

Edna supplied the photographs for this chapter, and all of the statistics not attributed to St.Catherine's House. Edna also spoke to an elderly aunt, and reported in her letter written in early 1979:

Annie Evelyne is now in very poor health at 92. All we can manage to get out of her is that her father, Henry, did have two sisters and that she thought they used to live down in the south of England, but she said she hadn't heard anything about them since she was a little girl and she couldn't remember their names at all.

I have one cousin, Edna Choyce, who emigrated to Australia. She was one of Ernest's daughters. She married and her new name is Eccles. Another cousin, also Ernest's daughter, moved to Scotland. Since the war, we seem to have lost touch with one another.

In some of Edna's letters, she digressed from her family's genealogy to comment on current economic conditions as they affected her family. Her comments offer a brief social commentary on the life of the average Englishman, which is reflected through-out this book in the lives of her American and Australian counterparts.