1. Henry E. Hollebone - 1901 Census
CRITICAL
Census Search
🎯 GOAL: Find Henry in the 1901 census
WHY THIS MATTERS: We have Henry in 1891 (age 50, London). Finding him in 1901 (age 60) would show where he was 10 years before the manuscript sale. Was he still in London? Back in Essex? Still a book dealer?
What We Know:
- Born: ~1841-1843, Lambeth, London
- 1891: Age 50, Charles Street, Newington, London
- Occupation: Book Dealer
- Wife: Frances H.
- Children: Elizabeth F., plus 3 others
Search Strategy:
- Search London area first (likely still there)
- Look for "Book Dealer" or "Bookseller" occupation
- Age range: 58-62 (accounting for errors)
- Wife Frances should still be with him
- Check Essex too (may have returned)
📚 Search Here:
• Ancestry.co.uk - 1901 Census
• FindMyPast - 1901 Census
• FamilySearch - England Census 1901
2. Henry E. Hollebone - Death Record
CRITICAL
Death Certificate
🎯 GOAL: Find when Henry died and where
WHY THIS MATTERS: Did Henry die BEFORE 1911 (before manuscript sale)? Or AFTER? This affects whether he could have been the seller or if it was someone else in the family. Death certificate will also show his address and occupation at death.
Search Parameters:
- Name: Henry E. Hollebone or Henry Hollebone
- Born: ~1841-1843
- Search period: 1900-1920 (most likely)
- Location: London or Essex
- Age at death: Would be 60s-70s in 1900s-1910s
What Death Certificate Will Show:
- Exact death date
- Address at death
- Occupation
- Age
- Cause of death
- Informant (usually family member)
📚 Search Here:
• FreeBMD (free index of deaths)
• GRO Index (official government records)
• Ancestry Death Certificates
• FindMyPast Death Records
3. Connection: Henry E. to Henry S. Hollebone
CRITICAL
Genealogy
🎯 GOAL: Prove connection between Henry E. (1881 Essex book dealer) and Henry S. (1911 manuscript seller)
WHY THIS MATTERS: If they're the same person, we have direct documented proof! If they're related (father-son, uncle-nephew, brothers), we have family connection to manuscript trade.
Possible Scenarios:
- Same Person: Henry E. = Henry S. (middle initial difference or error)
- Father-Son: Henry E. (1843) father of Henry S. (1870s-1880s birth?)
- Brothers: Both sons of William Hollebone
- Uncle-Nephew: Henry E. uncle to Henry S.
Evidence Needed:
- Birth certificate for "Henry S. Hollebone" (any with middle name S)
- Marriage records for both
- Wills/probate records
- Trade directories showing both
- Property records
📚 Search Here:
• Birth certificates 1860-1900
• Marriage records
• Probate records
• Kelly's Directories (London & Essex)
4. Alice/Avis/Anne Waldegrave Cooke - Death Record
CRITICAL
Death Certificate
Probate Records
🎯 GOAL: Find when and where Alice/Avis/Anne Waldegrave Cooke died and locate her probate/will
WHY THIS MATTERS: Alice was widow of Anthony Cooke II and lived at Gidea Hall during the EXACT period when the English Secretary Hand annotations were added to the Voynich Manuscript (1620s-1640s). Her death record and probate could be a SMOKING GUN - potentially listing "foreign book," "cipher manuscript," "Italian book with drawings," or other library items from Gidea Hall!
Who Was She?
- Full Name: Alice Waldegrave (maiden name)
- Name Variations: "Avis or Anne" (official records), "Alice" (genealogy), all same person!
- Father: William Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk
- Married: Anthony Cooke II (born 1559/1568, died 1604)
- Husband: Grandson of famous Sir Anthony Cooke I (Edward VI's tutor)
- Position: Widow and estate manager of Gidea Hall (1604-1620s+)
Complete Timeline:
- 1579: Her father-in-law Richard Cooke dies, husband Anthony inherits Gidea Hall
- 1581-1595: Alice has 7 children at Gidea Hall:
- Anne (1581), Hercules Francis, Edward, Elizabeth (1589)
- William (1590), Penelope (1591 - BORN AT GIDEA HALL!)
- Alice (1595-1596)
- Dec 28, 1604: Husband Anthony Cooke II dies intestate
- Jan 1605: Alice granted estate administration (PCC - verified!)
- 1605-1624: Alice managing Gidea Hall estate as widow
- 1620s-1640s: English annotations added to manuscript (paleographic dating) 🔥
- 1624: Alice mentioned in will - confirmed alive
- 1624-1657: Alice dies SOMETIME in this period (UNKNOWN!)
- 1657: Gidea Hall sold - estate leaves Cooke family
Why Her Death Record Is Critical:
- Timing: She was at Gidea Hall during annotation period (1620s-1640s)
- Estate Manager: She controlled the house and library after 1604
- Probate Value: High-status widow = detailed probate inventory likely
- Library Contents: Probate might list books, manuscripts, foreign items
- Manuscript Mention: Could reference "cipher book," "Italian manuscript," "book with drawings"
- Inheritance Chain: Shows who got the library - traces manuscript path
- Timeline Gap: Fills critical 33-year gap (1624-1657) in custody
- Annotation Dating: If she died before 1620, someone else added annotations. If after 1640, she was there when they were added!
What Death Certificate Will Show:
- Exact death date (narrows annotation timeline)
- Death location (Gidea Hall? Suffolk? Elsewhere?)
- Age at death
- Burial location (parish church records)
- Informant (usually family - shows who survived her)
What Probate/Will Might Show:
- Estate Inventory: List of possessions including books
- Potential Manuscript References:
- "One foreign book with drawings"
- "Italian manuscript in cipher"
- "Book written in unknown language"
- "Cipher or secret book"
- "Book with botanical drawings"
- Library Disposition: Who inherited the Gidea Hall books?
- Property Details: What happened to Gidea Hall contents?
- Executor Names: Family members managing estate
- Valuations: Worth of books/manuscripts listed
Name Variations to Search:
- "Alice Cooke" (genealogy spelling)
- "Avis Cooke" (official records)
- "Anne Cooke" (official records variation)
- "Alice Waldegrave" (maiden name)
- "Avis Waldegrave" (maiden name variation)
- "Anne Waldegrave" (maiden name variation)
- "Widow of Anthony Cooke"
- "Relict of Anthony Cooke of Gidea Hall"
Search Parameters:
- Death Date Range: 1624-1657 (after last mention, before estate sale)
- Most Likely Period: 1625-1645 (she'd be 60s-70s)
- Age at Death: Probably 60-80 years old
- Status: Wealthy widow, high-status estate
- Burial Likely: Parish church with memorial/inscription
📚 WHERE TO SEARCH - TWO REGIONS:
🔥 REGION 1: SUFFOLK (Waldegrave Family - HIGH PRIORITY!)
As daughter of William Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk, she may have retired to her family's area after widowhood!
- Suffolk Record Office (Bury St Edmunds & Ipswich)
- Smallbridge parish records (father's estate area)
- Waldegrave family burial records
- Suffolk probate records 1624-1657
- Parish registers: Baptisms, marriages, burials
- William Waldegrave's will (her father) - does it mention her?
- Waldegrave family papers/archives
REGION 2: ESSEX (Gidea Hall - Also Important!)
She lived at Gidea Hall and may have been buried locally:
- Essex Record Office (Chelmsford)
- Romford parish burial registers 1624-1657
- Havering area church records
- Hornchurch parish records (near Gidea Hall)
- Essex probate records
- Gidea Hall estate papers
- Memorial inscriptions in local churches
NATIONAL ARCHIVES (London):
- PCC (Prerogative Court of Canterbury) - High-value estates
- We KNOW she got PCC administration in Jan 1605
- Her own death probate likely also PCC (wealthy widow)
- Search: "Cooke" probate 1624-1657
- Search: "Waldegrave" probate 1624-1657
- Estate inventories
- Administration grants
ONLINE DATABASES:
- Ancestry.co.uk:
- England & Wales deaths 1538-1991
- Essex parish registers
- Suffolk parish registers
- England probate records
- Waldegrave family trees
- FindMyPast:
- PCC wills & administrations
- Essex & Suffolk records
- Parish registers
- FamilySearch:
- England deaths & burials
- Parish records
- Probate records
- FreeBMD: Death indexes (though coverage may be limited for 1600s)
⭐ BREAKTHROUGH POTENTIAL - SMOKING GUN!
Finding Alice's probate with a reference like:
- "One Italian book with cipher and drawings"
- "Foreign manuscript with unknown writing"
- "Book in secret language with botanical figures"
Would be DIRECT DOCUMENTARY PROOF of the manuscript at Gidea Hall during the annotation period!
This could be THE discovery that proves the entire provenance!
✅ WHAT WE ALREADY KNOW (Verified Sources):
- ✓ Alice/Avis/Anne WALDEGRAVE (History of Parliament Online)
- ✓ Daughter of William Waldegrave of Smallbridge, Suffolk (verified)
- ✓ Married Anthony Cooke II of Gidea Hall (verified)
- ✓ 7 children born 1581-1595, including Penelope at Gidea Hall 1591 (genealogy)
- ✓ Widowed Dec 1604, estate admin granted Jan 1605 (PCC records)
- ✓ Alive in 1624 (will mention documented)
- ✓ Living at Gidea Hall during annotation period 1620s-1640s (timeline)
- ✓ Academic source confirms "Avis, wife of Anthony the younger" at Gidea Hall
❓ WHAT WE NEED TO FIND:
- ❌ Death date (between 1624-1657)
- ❌ Death location (Suffolk? Essex? London?)
- ❌ Burial location and church
- ❌ Probate/will (THE BIG ONE!)
- ❌ Estate inventory listing possessions
- ❌ Who inherited her books/manuscripts
- ❌ Any mention of manuscript or foreign books
Search Strategy - Step by Step:
- Start with Suffolk Archives (Waldegrave family connection - HIGH PRIORITY!)
- Smallbridge parish registers 1624-1657
- Waldegrave family records
- Suffolk probate index
- Search Essex Records (Gidea Hall location)
- Romford/Hornchurch parish registers 1624-1657
- Havering area churches
- Essex probate records
- Check National Archives PCC (High-value estate likely)
- Search "Cooke" wills/admin 1624-1657
- Search "Waldegrave" 1624-1657
- Look for estate inventories
- Use ALL Name Variations
- Don't just search "Alice" - try "Avis," "Anne," "Waldegrave"
- Try "widow of Anthony" searches
- Check under maiden name Waldegrave
- Look for Children's Records
- William Cooke (1590-1650) - did his records mention mother?
- Hercules Francis, Edward, Elizabeth - their probates?
- Penelope (born 1591) - marriage/death records?
- Check Memorial Inscriptions
- Church monuments in Essex & Suffolk
- Cooke family tomb in Romford
- Waldegrave family memorials
🎯 BOTTOM LINE: Alice/Avis/Anne Waldegrave Cooke is the KEY figure who connects Gidea Hall to the manuscript during the annotation period. Finding her death record and probate could provide DIRECT DOCUMENTARY EVIDENCE of the manuscript's presence at Gidea Hall in the 1620s-1640s. This is a CRITICAL research priority!
This discovery could prove the entire Gidea Hall provenance theory!