James Percy Cupit

James Percy Cupit’s parents - Thomas Cupit married Sarah McLeod probably in Newark on 30th October 1871. James’s mother Sarah was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. James’s father Thomas Cupit was born in East Stoke in about 1830 and it is likely that Thomas’s parents were William and Jane Cupit. William Cupit’s profession is described as a Tailor. James Percy Cupit was born in about 1880 in Newark. 1881 census gives James living in Newark with his parents Thomas Cupit 53 years Sarah 32 years, and siblings Robert William 7 years, Annie Ellen 3 years and Margaret Sarah 2 years. James’s father is an East Stoke man and is described as a Tailor, James’s mother from is from Scotland. Interestingly father of JPC - Thomas Cupit – is roughly 21 years older than his wife Sarah. 1891 census gives James living in East Stoke he is 10 years old and a scholar, JPC dad is the sub postmaster at Farndon and Tailor. All the family are still together Robert William now works as a groom all the other children (including a younger brother Alfred who is 7 years old) are scholars. 24 Dec 1900 at St Oswald’s James marries Eliza Weedy. From the record we find that at this time James is serving as a Private in the Grenadier Guards. Eliza is living in East Stoke. James’s dad is described as a postman. Eliza’s father is described as a policeman. Eliza Weedy was born in Cayton near Scarborough Yorkshire, the census shows her father as “First Class Police Constable’. Eliza Weedy was born about 1878. 1901 census shows James in the Grenadier Guards registered (but not necessarily located) at Kensington Barracks, London. 1st Dec 1902 he is still serving in 3rd Bn Grenadier Guards and possibly stationed in Aldershot, interestingly his Regimental Number 8915 is the same Regimental Number when he re-enlists for WW1 We do not know when James came out of the army but his first child James Percy Cupit (jnr)was born in about 1901 (it might seem that Eliza was pregnant at the time of her Marriage in December 1900) Alice was born in Newcastle upon Tyne in 1902. It may be that James was still serving in the army at that time? 1911 census shows JPC with his wife and family at Mount Pleasant in Blidworth, his 5 children, James(Jnr) born 1901 in Nottingham, Alice born 1902 in Newcastle upon Tyne, Edith Lilian 1904 in Gonersby Lincolnshire, Harry about 1907 in Balderton and finally Walter born about 1909 in Mansfield Woodhouse. James is described as a miner “filler” (from a Google search – filler is the man down the mine who literally fills the baskets / barrows with coal once the diggers have extracted the coal from the coal face…)