ENOCK FAMILY HISTORY

Thursday, 26th October, 2017.

Today I finished scanning in/editing a package full of Enock related items that were kindly sent to me by John Enock. The package included:

The most interesting item was a 6x5 inch Victorian photo album containing photographs dated between the 1850s-1880s. The album features:

Most of the photographs are now available on the site, and documents will appear in due course.

Thanks again to John for his assistance.

Monday, 27th March, 2017.

Today I made a 400+ mile round trip to meet my 3rd cousin 1x removed, Wendy Thomas, daughter of Arthur Graham Enock.

I decided to take the M40 down to the south coast, as I knew I would pass close to Jordans, a small village a few miles east of Beaconsfield, that is a notable centre for Quakerism.

I located the old Meeting House (built 1688), walked around the perimeter to reach the burial ground, and set about reading each individual headstone until I saw the names Arthur Guy and Jane Whittingham Enock. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to locate, so had plenty of time to take photographs and think about all I have uncovered about them (but didn’t leave enough time to seek the grave of William Penn – founder of the American province of Pennsylvania). I was pleased to see that despite being exposed to the elements for nearly 70 years, the headstone was in a relatively good condition.

I arrived at Wendy’s around 1pm, and gave her a quick call so she could meet me outside. I was astonished with how quick she made it to the front door to greet me. She may be 92, but she certainly doesn’t seem it. She is still incredibly agile, and probably fitter than me!

We introduced ourselves properly over a coffee, and she asked me what had inspired me to undertake my research. She was fascinated to hear that the Enock name was alive and well, as she hadn’t heard that ‘special name’ in quite a number of years. We then proceeded to devour a cottage pie that she had made especially for the visit (and an apple pie too!).

I found her to possess the exact personality and traits that I have come to expect of the elder Enock generations: intelligent, charming, modest, and ever so slightly zany.

We had so much to talk about, but photographs dominated our meeting. She has an amazing collection of Enock related images, a number of which I took home with me to scan in high-resolution so I could share with the rest of the Enock family (the most compelling images are shown below, however, I will upload the rest when possible).

We talked about her relationship with Graham, Guy, and Joseph, it’s always a pleasure to hear first-hand accounts (a perfect example of why it’s so important to record this kind of information), and I filled in pieces of the tree that were not known to her (she had no idea that Guy was one of eight siblings).

We ended the visit with a walk along the sea front, to the spot where she sat and created a fabulous chalk drawing of the coast – she’s certainly inherited her great-grandfather Enock’s arty gene.

Ernest Dell and Amy Dell - early 1900s

Henry Dell

The Dell Family? Back row, 3rd from right - Amy Dell, 4th from right - Henry Dell. Front row, 2nd from right - Jane Whittingham Enock - early 1900s

Prof. Fred Enock's garden party - 13 Tuffnell Park Road, Islington, London - c1905

c1897 - left to right - (back row) Fred Enock, Henry Dell, Robinson Enock, Emily Enock (Edwin's wife), Edwin Enock. (Middle row) Jennie Enock (Fred's wife), Eleanor Enock (Robinson's wife), Roy Enock (Edwin and Emily's son). (Front row) Amy Dell, Jane Whittingham Enock

Wednesday, 15th March, 2017.

Joseph Enock Archives.

Way back in February 2014, I was sent a number of items that once belonged to Joseph Guy Enock. Today I was kindly sent the remaining items.

The package contained:

1) Photographs – Guy & Janie Enock, Joe & Winifred, Winifred’s family, army photographs etc. There is a lovely album dedicated to Joe’s return to France in June 1951 to thank those who had helped him during his escape from France during WW2.

A photograph of Maud Muriel Enock

2) P.O.W correspondence – newspaper clippings of the capture of British soldiers at St. Valery - army forms declaring Joe as missing - letters and cables between Guy, Jane, Graham and Joe between 1940-1941.

3) Army documents – soldier’s service and pay books, soldier’s release book.

4) Other documents – passport, driving certificates.

5) ‘Monsieur Joseph’- Joe’s manuscript detailing the events before and after his capture by the Germans in St. Valery, 1940. Joe sent the manuscript to various publishers, but unfortunately, it still remains unpublished. All publishing correspondence is included.

I will be updating Joe’s page as soon as possible.

Thanks to Catriona Wesselhoft for sending me these items.

Sunday, 9th October, 2016.

Thanks to Peter Warren for supplying me information on his grandfather, Robert Enock (1883-1916). Robert was a Magician/Entertainer who went by the stage name of Roy Enoc, and invented a number conjuring tricks. 

Find more information here: http://enockfamilyhistory.co.uk/Robert_Enock_-_1883-1916.htm

Thursday, 30th June, 2016.

Today I read the last pages of Charles Reginald Enock's diaries (1914-1945) that are held by the Imperial War Museum in London. 

The diaries mainly concern the Great War, but the reader is given a deep insight into author's life during and around this period. 

It appears that Charles abandoned his career in civil engineering sometime in the early 1910s to concentrate on writing books about his travels in the west that he undertook in the late 1890s/early 1900s. With no regular income and a bleak financial outlook, Charles entered service with the War Office in the postal censorship department. 

Charles continued writing, but was now interested in world affairs rather than his experiences of travel. In 1916, he completed his book Can We Set the World in Order, which he described as his magnum opus. This appears to be the beginning of his Truth Campaign To Set The World In Order, a movement that occupied vast amounts of time and money well into later life. 

Entries also detail:

I have updated Charles' page with all relevant information, and will update other pages as and when I can.

Friday, 24th June, 2016.

Today I finally met Joan Enock, the oldest living Enock at 98 years. I'd heard quite a lot about her during my research, and found her to be everything I expected; witty, lively (which is amazing considering her age), with a wacky sense of humour. 

The visit lasted for just under three-hours, during which Joan talked openly about her life, from childhood to adulthood, to being "very ancient". It was very interesting to hear her thoughts about the changes that she has seen over the course of her long life in this "barmy world".

The main reason for the visit was to talk about the family tree. I know that Joan has had a deep interest in family history for many years, so I took along with me photo albums, letters, and other paraphernalia that could possibly spark a memory.

She was fascinated with my photograph collection. Unfortunately, a stroke has impaired her ability to put names to faces, so unknown faces remain unknown, but her knowledge of the family is detailed. She spoke at length about her immediate and wider family with great enthusiasm.

I am currently in the process of transcribing our conversations, and will be posting her comments on various Enocks as and when possible. It wasn't possible to ask all of the questions I had planned in one sitting, so will have to arrange another visit in the not to distant future.

Second cousins once removed meeting for the first time - Friday, 24th June, 2016.