COURTMAN FAMILY HISTORY
 
 

Christopher A Courtman

Christopher was born in Witham butts, and his father was publican in `the George and dragon` in bridge street. The name butts is believed to be named after an archery range that would have been sited close to the pub and the bridge that crossed the river brain. The term stands for the mound of earth that was used to stop arrows not on target, hence the term `the butt of the joke`

Rachel Eve (chalk) Courtman (Spurgeon)

Rachel was born a chalk to her mother Mary Ann, and father Simon Eve. He never married Mary Ann and moved away from the area. it is now known that she was addopted by her mothers husband, someone Spurgeon around 1875, in the parish of Great Waltham, Essex.

Edith Courtman

Frederick Courtman

Harry courtman

Allice Mary Courtman

Daisy Maude Courtman

Rosella Courtman

Leonard Courtman

Len married violet in 1930 and they had one daughter Dawn Courtman, violet was known to be Adulteress and this forced Len to leave his wife and young daughter and set up home with Emily, they decided to move to Australia after the war to Hobart, Tasmania. Len was a carpenter and continued his trade there. They never had any children and it is not known why.
They moved back to England in the 1980s ass Len said he wished to be buried here, but they never settled and moved back to Australia.

He later decided to return to England and stayed with family in Chelmsford, he stayed to long and made family members angry as it seemed he had no intention of finding somewhere to live, just sponging of the family. They did finally move down to Dorset, but following a severe winter and heavy snowfall they once again packed there bags and moved back to Australia.

He once more decided to return to England to rest in peace when his time came and again tried to load himself on family in Chelmsford, they were having none of it and told him to find somewhere else to live. He chose to live in a hostel for some time, but not sure where Emily was, it was known she had an old school friend down Bournemouth way and could have stayed with her.

Len finally bought a house in tamworth warickshire, probably because the house prices were a lot cheaper then, money was probably becoming a problem with all this coming and going.
Here they stayed until his death.
Emily is believed to still living there and visits her friend in Bournemouth from time to time.
 
 
 
 
 

Doris Amy Courtman

Doris was the youngest of the courtman tribe being born 20 December 1912 in the family home of bridge street, Chelmsford.
She married Walter wade and had one child by him, a girl by the name of Jean. she is said to have lived a few years and died.
During the Second World War Doris worked in the naafi canteen at the Colchester barracks where she met Charles James Fraser who was a soldier in the Royal Engineers stationed for a time there. It is not known if she had separated from Walter when she and Charles fell in love.
After the war she and Charles lived together as man and wife in a small flat in Chelmsford where their daughter jean was born in 1946.

Doris tried to gain a divorce from Walter but it is assumed he would not concede, she obviously felt bad about not being married and decided to change her name by deed poll to fraser, this gave her some respectability but it still would have troubled her.

Between 1946 and 1948 they had moved to stoke Newington, London where it is presumed they went to seek work. They stayed in a small flat in Boleyn grove, stoke Newington where they had a second daughter Janice born 1948.
They continued to live and work there and had a third child James born 28 December 1950.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Charles Walter Courtman

Charlie was born 26 June 1904 and was the seventh in a family of ten children.
He married Doris Gowers 20 July 1929 at ST Mary parish church Chelmsford.

They only had one child John Courtman born 03 October 1935.

Charles joined the weekly newspaper in January 1925 when it operated out of 26 high street, under the Taylor ownership. He started of as a machine minder and then as a reader until his retirement in December 1969, he served 45 years with the newspaper and became one of there longest served employees.
 
 

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