'In the 1841 census William and Harriet's family was recorded as CUSHWAY (although ancestry deciphered it as CURBOW).There son Charles and his family were also recorded as CUSHWAY in 1841 and the 1851 census,1851 he was living next door to his brother Joseph who had the Courcha name.Another son William is recorded in 1851 as CUSHWAY he married Hannah HAJAN which seems to have been HOGAN'

Some information I found when I visited the London Metropolitan Archives and looked at the parish records for St Leonards, Shoreditch has confused me. All information I have so far show Charles and William as children of William COURCHA and Harriet (SIMS). In the parish register there were two entries next to each other for William COURCHEE b.25 May 1817; chr.11 June and John COURCHEE b.3 Nov 1815; chr.11 June 1817 both born to William and Harriet. The dates for John are the same as those I have seen for Charles but I did not see an entry for Charles. Admittedly the register started on that day so it is possible that it was on the previous reel but William and John were not the first on the page either. I will have to go back to check. Is it possible that John and Charles are the same person or were they twins?

'In the 1841 census William and Harriet's family was recorded as CUSHWAY (although ancestry deciphered it as CURBOW).There son Charles and his family were also recorded as CUSHWAY in 1841 and the 1851 census,1851 he was living next door to his brother Joseph who had the Courcha name.Another son William is recorded in 1851 as CUSHWAY he married Hannah HAJAN which seems to have been HOGAN.'

In my searches of the parish registers for St Leonards, Shoreditch at LMA I found a couple of entries that confused me, regarding William and Charles.

I found two entries next to each other for christenings with parents William COURCHEE and Harriet.
William COURCHEE b.25 May 1817; chr.11 Jun 1817
John COURCHEE b.3 Nov 1815; chr.11 Jun 1817
The dates for John are the same as those I have seen for Charles but I did not see an entry for Charles there. Admittedly this reel started on that date so it is possible that it could have been on the previous reel, however William and John were not the first on that page either. I will have to go back to check. Is is possible that John and Charles are the same person or are they twins?

I can add a tiny bit of general information. Huguenot refers to a religious sect originating in France who were nearly exterminated. It is a gross misconception that Huguenot is synonymous with French.

Silk weaving originated in France. The first silk weavers in England were French. English imported much of their silk cloth from France. I think it is just as likely that Daniel COURCHA descended from the French silk weavers as from Huguenots. Silk weaving was passed down from father to son. I did some checking before my post. Many French silk weavers in England WERE Huguenot! In the late 17th century England wanted French silk weavers and would give them sanctuary if they could escape to England. Hopefully, this post might give you some new ideas.

My ancestor was Elizabeth Cushway, born c.1762 ... she married James Tubb and funnily enough, I've always believed her granddaughter, Louisa Tubb, married a David Comte, who I suspect was of Huguenot descent. "My" Elizabeth seems to be earlier than what you are discussing here, although she may very well be a sister of James, Samuel, William and Charles. And yes, it was all in the Shoreditch, Bethnal Green area and yes there were weavers in the family. All very fascinating.
Cheers,
Keryn.

"The only other possible reference to a Michael COURCHER (and variants) I have found in any searches is
Michel COURCHE b.5 Jun 1752; chr.28 June 1752 La Patente French Huguenot, Spitalfields to Jean COURCHE and Marianne AUDRY.
Possibly Anne COURCHE b.1 May 1754; chr.19 May 1754 La Patente French Huguenot, Spitalfields to Jean COURCHE and Marie Ann GAUDRI is his sister."

This clearly goes back to the IGI: John Courchee and Mary Anne Odree married 16 APR 1748 at St. Matthews, Bethnal Green (extracted). Besides the obvious spelling variation, there are also changes in location. The LDS library shows the parish registers for Bethnal Green begin in 1745, so you're there already. The Spitalfields listings certainly have to be considered as another fairly good indicator of Huguenot ancestry.

The John versus Charles question is more likely resolved by the actual name being John Charles. It is quite common to find that various Johns, Jeans and Johanns are sometimes recorded by their middle names. And as you say, it appears that any twin was not recorded with his birth sibling.

Your investigation is definitely in a phase where the database is expanding and you should contunue on this path as far as you are able. You might also see what you can find for some of the death listings of the more significant individuals. The possible inclusion of 'incidental information' can be very important for an investigation and you really can't predict where it might occur. As people moved about, sometimes it was recorded where they were from. Such indicators may provide some significant information.

I am researching the Richards family originally Ricard who changed their name by deed pole. The ricard family owned a silk family in lille and came to England after selling it to escape there was a huguenot connection.
I have a george Richards 1774 middlesex d 23 jul 1842 bethnal green married to a Elizabeth Cushway b 1790 Bethnal Green.
there was a rumour that there was some kind of Spanish Royalty involved somewhere along the line any info gratfully received. grezlee@hotmail.com

I am mainly researching Courcha but occasionally they are recorded as Cushway. I am not sure how connected or separate these variants might be. I don't think I am connected to your Elizabeth Cushway (at least, not yet) but a search on the IGI listings does reveal a marriage of Elizth Cushway to George RICHARDS 23 Apr 1810 St Giles, Cripplegate, London. I hope this helps. I've not heard of any Spanish royalty. Was that in the Cushway line?

"This clearly goes back to the IGI: John Courchee and Mary Anne Odree married 16 APR 1748 at St. Matthews, Bethnal Green (extracted). Besides the obvious spelling variation, there are also changes in location. The LDS library shows the parish registers for Bethnal Green begin in 1745, so you're there already. The Spitalfields listings certainly have to be considered as another fairly good indicator of Huguenot ancestry."

It does appear that this is Jean COURCHE and Marie Ann AUDRI. However the christenings of Michel and Anne at La Patente French Huguenot, Spitalfields occur after their parents marriage in Bethnal Green. I'm guessing that they have moved to St Matthews, Bethnal Green from La Patente French Huguenot but wanted their children christened at their old church. So now I need to look in the records for La Patente to go further back.

I came across your questions purely by chance as I have not had time to do any family history for ages. My husband's maternal line come from the Courcha's. I have a huge Courcha tree at home (I am at work at present) so I will dig it out and see if your family are on there and I can find the link.
We have always been told that the family were French silk weavers and believed them to be Huguenots but hvae not had the time to delve too deeply into this. To confuse matters our Courcha married a Metzger (German) and for one census disappear only to return on the next one!
I will be back in touch once I have found the tree.
Regards, Ruth.

Thank you for your message. I am very interested to see whether our trees connect. My Courcha's are predominantly silk weavers with a few cabinet makers.