Reclaim Jane - Writing Challenge

I’ve just taken part in the #ReclaimJane writing project devised by the wonderful Natalie Pithers, who is also the brains behind the Curious Descendants Club.  The aim of the project is to encourage people to give voice to their forgotten ancestors, often but not always women, people who may have only shown up fleetingly in the records but who lived very real lives.

I decided to turn my attention to my 2 x Great-grandmother Jane Ladley (1828-1899), which  curiously was also the name of my much loved late mother-in-law, and it felt like she was calling to me across the generations.  I knew there would not be a blood connection to my ex-husband’s, and therefore my children’s family, as this was his mother’s second marriage but nonetheless I was curious to see how the families connected.

What follows is a longer post than my usual ones, if you want to skip past my research process then feel free to jump ahead to Jane's story at the end of the post.

Royalty free signpost image via pxfuel.com

Jane’s parents were George Ladley (1788-1868) and Ann Markham (1785-1873)1. From the records I can find George and Ann married at Horncastle on 2^nd June 1812, and had 7 children: Eliza (1813-?)2 born in Horncastle; Sarah (1815-1829)3 born in Winceby; then Mary Ann (1817)4 who was born Greetham, followed by George (1818)5, Anne (1820)6, Thomas (1823)7, and Jane (1829)8 who were all born in West Ashby.  There may well have been other children, however as this was prior to the implementation of Civil Registrations in 1837, I am reliant on what baptism records I can find.  There is also the additional problem with the various spellings of the surname Ladley.  On first look you may think it is quite a straightforward name, however, as my own children would attest it can so easily be mistranscribed as Laidlow, Hadley, Padley etc and indeed George and Ann’s marriage is under the name Ladlow and their first appearance on the Census records (1841)9 is recorded under the name of Padley although on looking at the image itself I can clearly see it is Ladley.

There is a lot of written history about the turmoils within agriculture during the 19^th Century, and I won’t dwell too deeply on it as part of this blog post, but I do need to bear it in mind when trying to picture the daily lives of my ancestors, the upheavals and uncertainty faced by the introduction of new machinery and new farming practices

In the 1830s there was much disorder amongst the workforce, the following is an extract of a letter dated 1831 and sent to Joseph Stevens of Baumber, Horncastle (less than 5 miles from where my ancestors were based):

Steveson, you may think it a great favour that we write before we fire. If you have a machine in your yard, we will set fire to the stacks the first opportunity, and we can do it if you stand by; and you and all the farmers must give better wages to the labourers, or we will fire; and if fire will not do we will dredge poison on your turnip shells. You may warn all the farmers.

 Penalties were harsh too, for example a young 15-year-old servant, Priscilla Woodford, was found guilty of setting fire to a haystack in another area of Lincolnshire in 1832, and was transported for life.10  

Certainly, times were tough but agriculture remained the principal employment for Lincolnshire up to the 1850s and beyond.  Even now, living in the county, I am surrounded by fields, with both livestock and agricultural uses, although more of them are getting turned over to recreational uses such as for keeping horses.

Returning to the 1841 Census 9, George is recorded as an Agricultural Labourer, living with his wife Ann, daughter Jane and two others: Samuel and Ann Barton, Samuel also being recorded as an Agricultural Labourer.  I have noted that on some other Ancestry.com trees people have recorded Samuel as being the son-in-law to George with Ann Barton being their daughter Anne (born 1820)6; as there is a marriage record for an Ann Ladlow and Samuel Barton recorded in Louth in 184011 this would seem a reasonable suggestion, especially as there are no other shared households on that particular Census entry.

By 185112 the Bartons have moved to Fulletby, around 3 miles away and have 6 children: Sarah aged 19; Francis aged 8; John aged 6; Henry aged 4; Elizabeth listed as 13 but having found a baptism record13, I believe she was 3; and Mary A aged 9 months old.

This leaves Jane living with George and Ann, on the 1851 Census14 still at West Ashby but now with an additional family member Markham Ladley aged 3.  He is listed on the Census as being George and Ann’s grandson and I initially jumped to the conclusion that he was therefore Jane’s son; this is where my rabbit hole and Jane’s story truly begins….

When I was originally researching this side of the family I had tried in vain to find a birth record for Markham Ladley, on both Ancestry.com and FreeBMD.org despite his birth occurring after Civil Registrations began.  Picking my research back up again as part of this challenge I had now learnt of additional places to search; GRO.gov sadly still turned up a blank but on Find My Past I was able to find a Baptism entry for Markham15.  Dated 17 Dec 1847, the entry records Markham as the illegitimate son of Ann Ladley, Single Woman from West Ashby, his actual birth date is not listed.

This obviously gave me some questions!

Within the Ladley family there were 2 Ann(e)s and one Mary Ann; was one of these actually the mother? Well Ann Markham, Jane’s mother was already 62 and surely if she had put her name to the Baptism record for the sake of decency she would have been recorded as a married woman? I have ruled out Jane’s eldest two sisters as although I found it difficult to trace her eldest sister Eliza, I think I have her in Boston as a servant in 184116, and Sarah sadly passed away in 182917.  Turning to her other sisters, Ann would have been aged around 27, but appears to have already been married and with children of her own; one being born in May 184812; so I feel I can rule her out also.  That would leave Jane’s other sister Mary Ann, who would have been aged around 30 when Markham was born; the few records I can find for Mary Ann though suggest that she was married to a William Anderson in 183518, and by the 1841 Census19 was living with him and 2 children, a daughter, Mary aged 3 and a son, William aged 2, still in West Ashby; at the time of the 1851 Census20, I found William recorded as a Widower with one further child, a son, Robert aged 8, and digging a little further I found a burial record for Mary Ann Anderson dated 184321.

I felt I had now ruled out either of the Ann(e)s and Mary Ann from being Markham’s mother, which brought me back full circle to Jane.

West Ashby itself was a relatively small rural community; in 1841 there were 403 residents listed in the Census rising only slightly to 414 in 185122.  Within such a small neighbourhood I don’t believe that Jane could have concealed her pregnancy and son’s subsequent birth so was struggling to understand why she had given a different name when baptising her son.  Then whilst typing all of this up, I had a brain wave, something so obvious I can’t believe I overlooked it.  Jane will only have been aged around 19 when she gave birth to her son, and despite having lived a hard life, she was quite possibly overwhelmed when arranging to things such as the baptism, perhaps her mother actually dealt with a lot of this for her.  Was the name Ann being recorded as mother simply a mis-understanding? Presumably unable to read in 1847, had Jane thought the question ‘Mother’s name’ related to her mother, rather than her name as Markham’s mother?

I believe that in this case, the simplest explanation is indeed the correct one, but I don’t begrudge being side-tracked into checking.  One of the most important things when establishing our family history is to make sure that our records are as accurate as possible.  Without my exploring who Markham’s mother actually was, I most likely would not have discovered Jane’s sisters or persevered with exploring their lives, or at least not for some years to come.

And so I return to Jane, in 1851, a young unmarried mother living with her son and her parents.  What next for them? 

The following is a piece of creative non-fiction I have written using the available facts, including Parish records, Census returns, and General Registration details; it is written from the perspective of Jane in the final years of her life, looking back over how her life developed.

As Jane pulled the shawl tighter around her shoulders, and leant closer into the fire, she let her eyes flit across to the window, seeing all the snow outside her mind drifted back to a bitterly cold December day, over 40 years ago.

It was 1847; Jane had had to pull her shawl especially tight that day too, trying to keep both her and her young son warm, as she shuffled along the edge of the field trying to keep up with her mother who was striding out ahead of her.  She was grateful when the crunch of the crisp snow underfoot gave way to the crunch of the gravel, so that the cold was no longer seeping up through her well-worn boots, and she could feel herself slowing as they neared the church doorway, willing her feet to warm up.

‘Come along Jane,’ her mother urged her, ‘the Reverend will be waiting for us. Try and at least look grateful. ‘

Jane felt the bite in that remark, but knew this was true, Reverend Pierce had agreed with her mother and father at the Advent service a few weeks ago, that he would do the Baptism today, Friday 17^th December.  There would not be many there of course, she doubted if her father and brother Thomas would have been able to get away from the farm, Ann was busy with her own youngsters over in Fulletby, and as for her brother George he was very clear in his disapproval, even though she knew his wife Hannah had taken pity on her.

‘Pity,’ she thought disparagingly, ‘what else is there for me now?’ It was quite clear that many of the village folk thought she had brought this on herself, and it’s not as if she didn’t understand the way of the world, she had grown up around the Lincolnshire Longwools, watching when the tups got brought into the field. The young man in question had moved away, unaware of her condition. He and many other labourers had worked in the area a short time, moving on when the Mop Fair came Horncastle that May.

As she left the Church following the short service, Jane actually felt a little lighter. Markham had been very good, only giving one short squeal when the cold water from the stone font had been splashed on his forehead, but then turning back to silence as Rev Pierce traced out a cross there. Even Mrs Pierce, who was purportedly there to do the church flowers even though Jane knew she was really being nosey, had smiled at Markham and called him a bonny baby. She had been pleased to see Thomas there, with his young lady Mary-Ann, they were to be married next year, and would soon be thinking about children of their own.

She knew was lucky that her parents hadn’t put her out, she could not begin to contemplate what going on the Parish would mean for her and her young son. It worked both ways she realised, her mother wasn’t getting any younger of course, and relied quite heavily on Jane these days to help with the household duties, especially the washing; and they had all felt a terrible loss to the family when Mary Ann had passed away just a few years earlier and her widower William had moved to the next village with the children to be nearer his sister.

A loud crack from the fire brought Jane back to her Baumber sitting room; ‘Thomas will be home soon,’ she realised, rising to put more wood on the fire, and swing the kettle across.  She allowed wry smile crossed her face, ‘Thomas, her second husband.’ What a different life she had had from the one she’d envisioned leaving the church, all those years ago. 

The first two years with Markham had been especially hard, but then she had met Charles, a simple farm worker like her father and brothers, he had moved to West Ashby to work at the farm and they started walking home after church together, Markham now a toddler delighted in picking up twigs to show him and Charles would pick him up and point out birds in the hedgerow; they were wed in the Spring of 185123 and Markham took Charles’ name, Marshall. 

Absent-mindedly Jane started to prepare the evening meal, ready for when Thomas came in from the yard, and as she pottered around getting the plates out and buttering the bread, she allowed her mind to wander again.

1870, another marriage and another 3 year old guest at their mother’s wedding.  ‘Ah yes,’ she smiled inwardly, ‘sweet Liza.’

Markham had grown into a fine young man and started stepping out with a pretty young carpenter’s daughter, Charlotte Brader who lived in Hemingby near his uncle.  She already had a young daughter, Liza, but having been in the same position herself Jane was unconcerned and allowed the relationship to flourish.  They were married in May 187024 by Reverend Thackeray, before moving to Revesby where Markham had already secured a position.  They had had quite the gathering at the Coach and Horses, she recalled, unlike her own nearly 20 years previously; her youngest two sons Edward and John being around the same age, played happily with little Liza making daisy chains on the green.  They had had a good marriage, after Liza there were 10 more children, and Charlotte was heavy with another even now, and Markham retained his job on the estate at Revesby, it paid him well and gave him a much better living than her poor Charles had had.

‘Yes, poor Charles,’ she thought, he had been a good man.  She still missed him now, despite having re-married Thomas25, himself a widower some 5 years earlier. 

Extract from my TreeView family tree

 

Charles had died in 187526, leaving her with 3 young children aged 11 and under, but a strong woman and never one to shirk her duties she had carried on; and their son, George, by then 14 already working had become the man of the house bringing home his wages as his father before him had.  Time moved on and the children grew older, by 188127 George and Edward had both moved to Sotby near Market Rasen for work and their sister Elizabeth28 had followed them, working as Cook at the Rectory there, young John first moved to Horncastle29 where he had some fancy of becoming a confectioner! ‘That didn’t last long!’ she recalled as he moved again soon afterwards to become a groom30, certainly the outside life suited him much better.

Jane stirred the stew, releasing its aroma to the small room, before setting the lid back on the pot and wiping her gnarled hands on her apron.  She had done well she smiled to herself, remembering again the timid 19 year old scuttling into West Ashby church behind her mother all those years ago.  And now she had Thomas and his companionship with frequent visits from children accompanied by various grandchildren to fill her days.  It had been a hard life, but one well lived. 

All Saints Church, West Ashby

via en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Ashby

 

Jane passed away in 189931 the 189132 Census shows her living with Thomas, with his daughter, and her daughter in law recorded as visiting together with 2 young grandchildren. She was right that her son Markham had turned into a fine young man, and her belief that the job at Revesby had been a good choice.  In July1923, at the Lincolnshire County Show, Markham was awarded a prize for his long service, 54 years working for the same family; Markham also came second in the category for agricultural labourers who had brought up and placed out the greatest number of children, with 12 children born, 11 brought up and placed out. (The winner in that class had 17 children born, 14 brought up and 13 placed out). These achievements were shared widely in the press of the time, both national and local papers reaching as far afield as Cornwall shared articles about the County Show and awards33,34.  Sadly Markham's wife Charlotte also passed away in July 192335 and so I am sure his achievements will not have held much meaning for him at that time, save to mark their long and successful relationship.

I have not still fully connected these Ladleys with my own extended family, but from the information I have found so far I believe that George Ladley (1788-1868) is a distant cousin to my ex-Father-in-Law's family.

1.       George Ladlow and Ann Markham, (1812) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, 2^nd Jun 1812, FHL Film Number 504249 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

2.       Eliza Ladly (1813) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 16^th May 1813, Father Geroge Ladly Mother Ann FHL Film Number 507835, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

3.       Sarah Ladlow (1815) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 07 May 1815, Father George Ladlow Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 508073,508092, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

4.       Mary Ann Ladley (1817) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 23^rd Mar 1817, Father George Ladley, Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 432513, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

5.       Geroge Ladley (1818) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 11^th Dec 1818, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 421896, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

6.       Anne Ladley (1820) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 20^th Oct 1820, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref ID p.10, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

7.       Thomas Ladley (1823) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 18^th Sep 1823, Father George Ladley, Mother Anne, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref ID p.14, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

8.       Jane Ladley (1828) England Select Births and Christenings 1538-1975, 25^th Apr 1828, Father George Ladley, Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 421896, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

9.       George Padley (Ladley) (1841) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Enumeration district 12, Folio 8, Page 9 Line 2, GSU Roll 438760, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

10.   Wilcuma (2020) X Agriculture and Society 1750-1850,  available at  https://www.wilcuma.org.uk/the-history-of-lincolnshire-after-1066-2/agriculture-and-society-1750-1850/ accessed 08/02/2022

11.   Ann Ladlow (1840) England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 183-1915, Oct-Nov-Dec 1840, Ann Ladlow and Samuel Barton, Louth, Lincolnshire Volume 14 Page 892

12.   Samuel Barton (1851) Census return for Fulletby, Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2108, Folio 62, GSU roll 87737, via Ancestry.com accessed 08/02/2022

13.   Elizabeth Barton (1848) England & Wales Non-conformist and Non-Parochial Registers 1567-1936, 18^th Jun 1848 Father Samuel Barton Mother Ann Barton, Class Number RG4, Piece Number 1316, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

14.   Jane Ladley (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 415, Page 9, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

15.   Markham Ladley (1847) Parish Baptisms, Lincolnshire Baptisms, West Ashby, 17 Dec 1847, Page 48, Archive held Lincolnshire Archives, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 09/02/2022

16.   Eliza Ladlow (Ladley) (1841) Census return for Boston, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 613, Book 1, Folio 14, Page 21, Line 20, GSU roll 438755, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

17.   Sarah Ladley (1829) England Select Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Burial Date 1 Dec 1829, Father George Ladley Mother Ann, FHL Film Number 1541956, Ref ID P.9, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

18.   Mary Ann Ladley and William Anderson (1835) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, 18^th May 1835, West Ashby, Lincolnshire, FHL Film Number 1541956 Ref P18, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

19.   Mary Ann Anderson (1841) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 626, Book 22, Folio 10, Page 15, Line 2, GSU roll 438760

20.   William Anderson (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 419, Page17, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

21.   Mary Ann Anderson (1843) England Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Parish Burials, Lincolnshire, 31^st May 1843, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

22.   Genuki (2021) West Ashby, available at https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LIN/WestAshby) accessed 10/02/2022

23.   Jane Ladley (1851) Census return for West Ashby, Lincolnshire, Class HO107, Piece 2107, Folio 415, Page 9, GSU roll 87736, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

24.   Markham Marshall and Charlotte Brader (1870) England Select Marriages 1538-1973, Hemingby, Lincolnshire, Father Charles Marshall, FHL Film Number 1541961, Ref ID 2:3V4KM14, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

25.   Jane Marshall (1884) England & Wales Civil Registration Marriage Index 1837-1915, Jul-Aug-Sep Horncastle, Volume 7a, Page 805, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

26.   Charles Marshall (1875) Lincolnshire Burials, Parish Burials, 26^th Jul 1875, via findmypast.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

27.   George Marshall (1881) Census return for Sotby, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3247, Folio 86, Page 1, GSU roll 1347741 via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

28.   Elizabeth Marshall (1881) Census return for Sotby, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3247, Folio 87, Page 4, GSU roll 1341774 via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

29.   John Marshall (1881) Census return for Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Class RG11, Piece 3248, Folio 43, Page 11, GSU roll 1341774 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

30.   John Marshall (1891) Census return for Bourn, Lincolnshire, ClassRG12, Piece 2557, Folio 75, Page 18, GSU roll 6097667 via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

31.   Jane Curtis (1899) England Select Deaths and Burials 1538-1991, Burial date 22 Aug 1899, Baumber, Lincolnshire FHL Film Number 1541957, via Ancestry.com accessed 15/06/2021

32.   Jame (Jane) Curtis (1891) Census return for Baumber, Lincolnshire Class RG12, Piece 2597, Folio 107, Page 4, GSU roll 6097707, via Ancestry.com accessed 10/02/2022

33.   Cornish Post and Mining News (1923) Farm and Garden, Prizes for Big Family, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

34.   Westminster Gazette (1923) Servants Who Stay, Three Divide an 88 Years Record, Two-Figure Families, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

35.   Lincolnshire Standard and Boston Guardian (1923) Deaths, Charlotte Marshall, 20^th July 1923, via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk accessed 10/02/2022

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 5 Branching Out

 Week 5 (Feb. 1-7): Branching Out

One of the things I really like about the 52 Ancestors prompts is the way that each participant is free to interpret them differently. When I first saw the prompt for this week of ‘Branching Out’, I immediately saw it as relating to branch lines on the rail network.  That in turn led me back to my paternal Grandfather, Richard. When I was growing up the only thing I knew for definite about him was that he worked on the railways in some way; and I only knew this because my Grandma, was entitled to free rail travel.

Hetton Station looking east showing the Durham and Sunderland Line and a passing place on the single track.

Courtesy of Hetton Local and Natural History Society

Once I started researching my family tree properly, I was actually surprised that Richard ended up working for the railways, as he had been born in Hetton-le-Hole, Sunderland which was a strong coal mining community in England and indeed his father, my Great-Grandfather, John, some uncles and his own Grandfather, William, were all miners.  Certainly, the generation preceding his would have been expected to follow their fathers into the pits. However, the more research I have done, it becomes apparent that the mining industry was beginning its downturn at around the time he would have been approaching working age; indeed according to Chris Lloyd in his foreword to Women of the Coalfield in the 20^th Century, the coalfields had peaked, in terms of both output and employment in 19131.

I first find Richard entering the world of work on the 10^th of September 1915, when at the age of 17 he is recorded as a railway porter in Sunderland District 2 on the National Union of Railwaymen General Register of Members2. This year was confusing to me though, 1915? I had been led to believe that my Grandfather had been studying theology at Durham University when his father passed away in 1918, and he had to leave and seek work due to being the eldest of his siblings. With the details I have been able to confirm so far that is not the correct version of events.

It seems that Richard did start work in 1915; I have his St John’s Ambulance/North Eastern Railways First Aid training certificate dated February 1917 (some interesting information about St John’s and the Railways here) and I have found him on the 1921 Census3 living in Trimdon Station; his occupation recorded as a Goods Porter for North Eastern Railways.  Were it not for the photograph of my grandfather as part of a football team for St John’s College (the theological department), Durham University dated 1922/23, and a copy of a Greek classics text book with his hand written notes in the margins, I may have doubted he ever attended University.  I am now waiting to hear back from Durham as to whether they have any information about his time studying there, as I would like to know if he completed his course after all.

Richard's St John's Ambulance Certificate 1917

Own Collection

I began to wonder what prompted Richard’s decision to follow that career path.  Hetton-le-Hole and the surrounding districts were very reliant upon the rail network for the transportation of coal so it would have been a visible feature in his life growing up.  I recently came across a wonderful photograph of the first electric tram in Hetton-le-Hole, surrounded by children, dated September 29^th 1905 when he would have been aged around 7; was he swept up in the excitement of such new developments? Although I cannot be sure whether he was actually still living there in 1905; the whole family were in Hetton-le-Hole for the 1901 Census4, but by 19115 their address was Fenwick Street in Bishopwearmouth, (where the family were still living in 1918 when my Great-grandfather died) and I have found school admission records for my Grandfather and his brother William to the Bishopwearmouth Church of England Boys School in 19097.  All that aside, to me there is a palpable energy around this photograph, and I would like to believe that it was the beginning of his lifelong connection to this form of transportation.

 

Shared with the kind permission of Sunderland Antiquarian Society 

I wondered how Richard found himself living in Trimdon Station.  I know that in 1920 his step-mother Clara and her three young children, his half-siblings, moved to Iowa, USA, although I cannot be sure whether this coincided with his own move into lodgings at Trimdon Station or whether he had moved prior to their emigration.  The small town was still part of the colliery district servicing Trimdon Colliery, his fellow lodger was an above ground colliery worker, and the trains obviously formed a vital part of the industry.  I was lucky enough to find a really informative web-site Trimdon Times about the history of the three villages at Trimdon, apparently there was Trimdon Village, Trimdon Grange and then Trimdon Station.  Alongside all the written details are some amazing photographs.  I have spent more than a few half hours scrolling through them, hoping to spot Richard and, with the kind permission of Ken from Trimdon Times, am sharing a few below.

Pictures shared with the kind permission of Trimdon Times

The station photograph is dated after my Grandfather will have left however the staff photographs are contemporary

I half-think I can see some similarities between some of the young men and my Grandfather in the image below

Photograph of Richard Wright 1922/23

Own Collection

The next time I can find any official records for Richard is when he married my Grandma, Naomi in 1937, and whilst I would like to know more about his life in the interim period I have run out of ideas of where to look for the moment.  I do know that for a time he was not working for a railway company, as he is shown on the 1939 Register9 as a Poultry Farmer and Special Constable, but he did return to work in the Goods department at Louth Railway Station, at some point, and I have been lucky enough to connect online with a few people who remember him from that time.  

Richard's Special Constable Anti-Gas Certificate

Own Collection

I know that due to his work being in a reserved occupation he had not served in the Armed Services in either of the World Wars, but I was surprised to learn recently (when researching for this blog post actually) that Louth Station was bombed in 19419, sadly killing an engine fireman who was shunting in the goods yard! I want to know, and yet I don’t at the same time, whether Richard was working that day, was he still a first aider, was he involved in trying to help? How well did he know the poor man, his widow and his 3 sons? Aged 42 the gentleman who died was just a year younger than Richard would have been; I can’t even imagine how that would have affected my grandparents, such a gentle and social couple, who whilst being aware of the difficulties of the conflict may have still felt distanced from it in our sleepy, rural neighbourhood.

Although the station closed for passengers the year I was born, 1970 and for goods/freight in 1980, we were lucky in that the beautiful neo-Jacobean station building (built in 1847 – designed by John Grey Weightman and Matthew Ellison Hadfield of Sheffield) 10, 11 remains, and now forms a focal part of a local housing development, and it still makes me think of my grandfather when I see it. 

Louth Railway Station Circa 1908 

Shared with kind permission of John Alsop

I think he would be especially proud to know that my son, his Great-grandson, Jacob, is now working on the railways himself, East Midlands Railway, and in less than a month is due to qualify as a senior conductor.  Maybe the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree after all!! 

(As I re-read that it brought a smile to my face remembering all the apple trees Richard had planted in our orchard – very apt!)

 

 

 

1.        Hedley, M 2021 Women of the Durham Coalfield in the 20^th Century : Hannah’s Daughter Page 6,The History Press First Edition (Kindle)

2.        Archive: Modern Records Centre, Archive reference: MSS.127/NU/OR/2/44, Folio or page 266, Title General Register, Dates: Jun-Oct 1915, Information contained: Members 643001-658000, via Find My Past, accessed 02/02/2022

3.        John Wright (1918) Certified copy of death certificate for John Wright, 28^th November 1918, No 337 Sunderland Register Office (Copy obtained via GRO.gov)

4.        Richard Wright (1921) Census return for Cooks Buildings, Trimdon Station, Easington, Wingate, Durham 552-1 30 Schedule 156 Line 3; Available at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/  (Accessed: 12/01/2022)

5.        Richard Wright (1901) Census return for Eppleton Row, Hetton-le-Hole, Houghton-le-Spring, Durham Public Record Office: RG13; Piece 4695, Folio: 106; Page: 12 Available at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ (Accessed 15/06/2020)

6.        Richard Wright (1911) Census return for Fenwick Street, Sunderland West, Durham Public Record Office: RG14; Piece30145; Available at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ (Accessed Reference 15/06/2020)

7.        Richard Wright (1909) National School Admission Registers & Logbooks 1870-1914, 1909 Admissions Bishopwearmouth Church of England School – Boys, Page 30 Admission No 9233; Available at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/  (Accessed: 12/01/2022) 

8.      Richard Wright (1939) England and Wales Register return for Louth Road, Cockerington, Louth, Lincolnshire, Part of Lindsey, The National Archives, Kew, London, Reference RG 101/6477A ; Available at http://www.ancestry.co.uk/ (Accessed 15/06/2020)

9.      (1941) Raider Swoops on Lincs. Market Town: Five Dead, Lincolnshire Echo 20^th Feb 1941 Available at https://www.findmypast.co.uk/  (Accessed: 12/01/2022)

10.    Catford N (2009) Station Name: Louth Available at http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/l/louth/ (Accessed 10/01/2022)

11.    Wikipedia (2009) Louth Railway Station Available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louth_railway_station (Accessed 10/01/2022)

2022 - 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Weeks 3 and 4 (Incorporating #MyGenealogyStory)

 Week 3 (Jan. 18-24): Favorite Photo and Week 4 (Jan. 25-31): Curious - incorporating  #MyGenealogyStory 

When I first saw the final two week topics for January, I wasn’t completely sure what I was going to write about; did I even have a favourite photograph? But then I saw another prompt suggesting writing about #MyGenealogyStory on Twitter (courtesy of Daniel Loftus @DanielGenealogy) and after reading Paul Chiddicks blog post about how and why he got started (here) I decided to try and combine the three.

If you read my Week 2 post about finding a Family Bible, you will already have some insight into why I decided to begin to research my family tree.  For me it was all about being curious about who I was/am and where my roots where from (especially on my paternal side).

Cover of  the Family Bible

Writer's own

Having spent over three years from the age of 6 moving house copious times in a strange foreign country, the Communist Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, having only limited contact with family back home, and then losing my dad at a young age (10), meant I felt a step apart from most of my family.  My dad was an only child of elderly parents, his father had died when I was 6 months old and my grandma didn’t really like to talk too much about that side of the family, saying only “there had been a second marriage” that made it difficult.  I now know that my Great-Grandmother had died when her children were very young and her husband, my Great-Grandfather remarried and had three more children, following his death his widow took her three children across to the US, but my paternal grandfather and his siblings remained in England.  Combined with the fact that Grandma's side of the family were a typical rural Lincolnshire family, with a “life happens just get on with it” point of view it meant that I didn’t really experience any sharing on family stories from my paternal line at all.  On my maternal side, I was at least blessed with a bit more knowledge of the family history, my maternal grandmother’s family were descended from residents of the Yorkshire village of Duggleby, (there is a family tree tracing that line back to the time of the Domesday book - here) but again there is less information about my maternal grandfather’s side of the family.  I have an uncle and aunt that I can ask questions of, and I was very lucky that my aunt recently passed me some paperwork, including a small address book that belonged to my maternal great-grandfather.  All that aside, I have found that there is still some inconsistency and mistruth, woven into the few stories I have been given.

Therefore the motto of the #Curious part to the #Foundations of my journey into my family history is, as I’m sure it is for many “Who am I and where do I come from?”

Royalty free image via depositphotos.com

I think my research into the family tree truly began not long after the break-up of my first marriage; sitting by myself once the children were settled, the question of ‘Who am I’ was quite large in my mind and so I tried to piece together what I could jotting down notes here and there and asking my mum, who was still with us at that time about her family and grandparents.  She made notes for me of what she could remember, notes which incidentally I’ve recently come across again, and it’s worth noting how family stories and what we think of as factual information can actually be incorrect.  My mum told me that her grandfather had been married twice (true), that his first wife had died (false) so he was free to remarry; this was important as they were from a strict Catholic background. I’ve since found that he actually divorced his first wife on the grounds of her adultery, which would perhaps explain his subsequent move to a new area with his second wife. I’m not convinced it would explain the 3 year reduction in his recorded age though, which was even carried through to his funeral notice, perhaps he just mis-remembered? That 3 year difference, combined with the fact his surname had been incorrectly spelt, Cairns instead of Kerrin, made finding his Glasgow birth record difficult, but I did manage to track it down eventually.  The fact that the Scottish records have additional information such as parents marriage made me certain I had got the correct record.

Bundle showing some of my mother's notes and the 2006 printouts of my previous research

Once my children had both started school, and with the advent of online records becoming more available I started researching with more earnest.  Alongside my mother’s notes mentioned above, I’ve also come across a lot of printed searches and small family tree entries I made in 2006.  Again, I can see the lessons I have learned since.  On some of my early forays into online research, I made the basic, but easy, mistake of taking a suggested tree at face value; if their details for the members I knew were correct tallied, I would often add the details for the extended family members. I know, I know, rookie error!! But we live and learn, and I have managed to tweak and correct the errors as I have come across them in my recent research foray which began when I turned 50. My current aim is to write up the lives and details of my grandparents and great-grandparents.  I decided that once and for all I wanted to produce the best researched family tree I could for my, now adult, children. They may not presently be that interested, but as I am the last person who can at least give some personal context to the family stories, I want to make sure that if they do develop an interest, they have something meaningful to refer to.

I’m returning to the prompt of Curious again here, as part of the next stage of my genealogy journey. My desire to bring meaningful, realistic and valid stories to my ancestors lives led me to join the wonderful Curious Descendants Club, the brain child of the equally wonderful NataliePithers. Within the club’s pages lie a vibrant, supportive forum of other family historians, and a whole range of workshops and challenges. There is a wealth of information amongst the members of the club, which includes people from across the globe, who are able to provide suggestions for locating records in areas we may not be used to. For example, until it was mentioned by one of the members, Jenny, I was unaware of Trove, an amazing body of Australian online papers, gazettes and magazines, and surprisingly it’s free.  I took a look, and have managed to use the site to locate funeral notices, court reports and some articles giving a small insight into some of the social life for an Australian great-uncle. The main focus of the club is to help us to hone our skills in writing about the various individuals on our family trees, and there is always someone to offer valuable feedback on a piece of writing.

 

 

Sample of records downloaded from Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/)

Due to a frustratingly long flare up of the costochondritis and intercostal neuralgia that I experience as part of my fibromyalgia, I have been experiencing, what even for me, is a prolonged period of inactivity over the last few weeks. However, my wonderful husband, who has been watching my renewed enjoyment of genealogy research, bought me a belated Christmas/early birthday present of a photograph scanner, he then brought down the boxes of old photographs that have been living in the attic for far too long, putting them in front of me with a smile.  Incidentally it was within these boxes that I also found mine and my mother’s notes referred to above.  He knew that this would help me take the next step in reaching the level of research I need to in order to produce a comprehensive family record.

Some of the photos brought down from the attic

As I began working through them it was incredibly hard to work out who a lot of the people were and which side of the family they belonged to, I had for the most part kept any from my maternal and paternal sides separate but there were some that had slipped into the wrong pile. Cue many distracting moments trying to expand on faces without making them too blurry and flicking between one photo and the next to see if I could recognise any similarities! I believe that I have now correctly ordered them into the right family groups, but I still have many more to scan.  

Whilst going through this process I was also trying to see if I could decide on what would be my favourite photograph for the purpose of the #52Ancestorsin52Weeks prompt.  I lost count of how many times I changed my mind!!  

Would it be the one of my dad in his early RAF days when he took part on an inland waterways canoeing challenge with some colleagues?  

Newspaper clipping from Yorkshire Post and Photograph showing my Dad stepping into his canoe (1962)

From Writer's Private Collection

A beautiful photograph of a young lady dated approximately 1910-15 which I believe to be my paternal Grandma?

From Writer's Private Collection

Or even a delightful photograph of a young boy (a 1^st cousin 2x removed) sitting in a pedal car in 1920s America?  

"Cyril in Omaha"

From Writer's Private Collection

Decisions decisions!! In the end the photo(s) I’ve chosen to be my favourite, are a completely unexpected choice.  Amongst all the photographs were several wedding pictures of couples where I had no idea who I was looking at. One of these though was embossed with the details of the photography studio which was located in Sunderland, and there was another, old picture of a young girl also marked with a (different) Sunderland photographic studio.  I knew that my paternal grandfather was from Sunderland, but didn’t have any information about his siblings also from that area.  I decided, although I knew it was a long shot, to put those photos on the Sunderland Antiquarian Facebook page, in the hope that someone might recognise the people in the pictures.  

Three photos shared on Facebook

From Writer's Private Collection

Amazingly, just two days later I was in touch with Jen, the daughter of the young girl in the photo who was also the bride in the other photos.  Jen explained that her maternal grandmother was the sister of my grandfather, my great aunt Sarah, making Jen my 2nd cousin!! So far we have exchanged brief information, and I’m hoping that at some point over the next year I can meet her and her brothers face to face.  Jen, sent me copies of two photos, one of which shows our great-grandparents and their 5 children, it’s just amazing, and has totally stolen the title of my favourite photograph!!

Photograph showing L-R William, Sarah (Jen's Grandma), Eveline, John (my Gt-Grandfather), Ann, Mary (my Gr-Grandmother) and Richard (my Grandfather)

Private Collection - shared with Jen's kind permission.

So, where am I now? Where has my curiosity brought my genealogy story?  My initial careless meanderings through family history is evolving into more thorough genealogical research, into which I am beginning to incorporate real context using additional record sources. I have a new-found favourite photograph together with some newly found relations; and I have a proper goal of what it is I am wanting to create, and why.

I am excited to see where my journey takes me next!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2022 – 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – Week 1 – Foundations

When I saw the prompt list I thought I knew what I was going to write about for this prompt, it was to be about the family bible that piqued my interest in discovering more about my roots, who I was and where I came from. But that unexpectedly changed today, 3^rd January 2022, following an impromptu visit to my step-father. The ensuing conversation reminded me of my real reasons for wanting to research and write about my heritage, the desire to add context and meaning to my forebears, to breathe life back into the lives they lived.

For background, my father (an only child) died when I was 10 and my mother met my step father when I was around 13 years old. She would spend evenings and weekends with him but other than odd occasions, like Christmas, I only lived in the same house as him for around 6 months when I was aged around 17, as my mother maintained a separate house for much of their early relationship. I write this just to illustrate that although he is a very important member of my family, whom I love dearly, his own family history normally feels very separate to mine.

However, since my mother passed in 2008, I have found our conversations have run along different lines with much talk of his early years growing up in Belfast in the 40s and 50s.

Today was one such conversation. I had asked after his sister and he launched into a series of tales about her and his 4 brothers. As he described his childhood home near the Grease Works, his words reminded me of descriptions I had read about the houses my paternal Gt-grandparents will have lived in, at the newly developing Hetton-le-Hole colliery, but hearing him talking from memory gave true context to the words I had read. Likewise, when he told me of the lack of coal for the fire and cooking range, the lack of electricity and the outside toilet, it made it all the more real. And how do you understand from mere words on a page the truly cramped conditions of these two-up two-down houses? Certainly nothing made me feel it more than my step-father telling me how he as the eldest shared a bed with his next two brothers whilst the 4^th shared with their younger sister and the last born was in with their parents, but when the youngest needed to ‘graduate’ to the siblings’ bed, my step-father decided to join the RAF in order to have a bed all to himself. That said, whenever he was on leave that resulted in him sharing a bed with three brothers rather than the two when he had left.

As he talked about his parents and his maternal grandfather, he told me one of his nephews was researching their family tree and had already made some new discoveries. I smiled to myself, knowing that his nephew would already have a wealth of stories handed down to him coming from such a large family and would surely have no difficulty in creating context around all the discoveries he is yet to make.

However the smile was also for me and my own discovery today, in the way in which someone from a completely different area to my ancestors, someone who never knew them, can still give very real and vibrant context to their lives, and for that I am truly grateful.

Therefore my #52Ancestors Foundation has to be storytelling and conversation.

Hetton-le-Hole miner's cottage 

Inside typical miners cottage 

Photographs courtesy of Hetton Local and Natural History Society http://www.hettonlocalhistory.org.uk/teachers/teacherpage.html 

Write a Life Challenge

Back at the end of November/early December Natalie Pithers set us a 10 day challenge over in the #CuriousDescendantsClub.

The aim was to select an ancestor and a particular challenge they may have faced in their lives, then to focus in on that aspect and write about it. We could look at the wider aspect of their life, the times they lived in alongside the social and family setting to give some background and context to the decisions they may have had to make. Obviously, although we would be able to ascertain the definitive facts we had to use a bit of creative license to help us put life into the situation. 

I chose to write about my Gt-gt-grandmother Mary and my Great-Grandfather John who was born out of wedlock. 

I'm sharing a small extract of my writing below : 

4th September 1871

Mary raised her long skirt as she squatted down in front of the fireplace to face her young son John, not wanting it to trail in the ash she had just been about to sweep up, and telling herself it was the smell of soot in the air that was making her eyes sting. She smiled sadly as she reached out gently to brush one of his dark curls away from his bright blue eyes, recognising how much like his long gone father’s they were. Her mind briefly thought back to the last time she had seen him, the night before he had left. He had seemed so true, those same eyes sparkling with excitement as they spoke of the future they would have together; he was going ahead, initially to lodge with family, a cousin, but told her he would bring her to him when he had been able to secure a cottage for them. It made sense at the time she recalled, they had been meeting in secret and Ann’s marriage to William Hawkey was already set for the following year, and Mary needed to stay and keep house for her still grieving father who had lost his eldest son John, his wife Mary and daughter Catherine in the space of a twelve-month.

She’d understood of course that it would take time for him to establish himself, and she didn’t see him for two months, when he attended the Methodist Chapel in Hetton-le-Hole with his parents, he smiled at her and winked, but she didn’t get chance to speak with him. She was kept busy in any case, cooking and cleaning, fetching water, and helping her sister Ann with her dress, and time soon passed, before she knew it her betrothed had been gone five months and she had only seen him once from a distance. She didn’t notice at first, but one day Ann was complaining of a belly ache and asked her if she had any spare cotton, the realisation came to her.

Firstly she had managed to speak to the father’s mother, asking matter of factly, as they were both fetching water, how he was getting on, over in East Rainton. His mother beamed a broad, proud smile, ‘He’s getting wed, met a right bonny young lass. It’ll be in the spring just as his bond’s due again as he’s hoping to get them a house.’

Mary nodded weakly, wishing that they hadn’t kept their courting secret, ‘how lovely, our Ann’s getting wed then too’ whilst inwardly she thought ‘oh yes, I know all about the house plans. ‘

She had been so afraid when she needed to speak to her Da, had waited a few more days to be certain, but as she raised her eyes to his that night in front of the fire, where she had expected to see anger, she saw sadness and acceptance.

‘We’ll fetch Mrs Daniels round and let her have a look at you, I wish yer Ma was still here.’

And that was it, no more was said. The neighbours obviously knew, some looked at her and shook their heads, but Mrs Daniels let it be widely known that the father had gone to East Rainton for work but had died shortly afterwards, which although only partly true, seemed to appease most of them.

Now, two and a half years later, most of them that knew had moved away too, and things at home had developed in their own way. John had taken to calling his grandfather Da, as the rest did, and called her Maw-maw, not quite being able to say Mary. She had loved him, fed and cared for him of course, but could see the sense in her father’s words when John was just six months old, ‘You still need to make your own life, and not be stuck here with me. It’s like my John’s come back to me, and he’ll be with family so you won’t need to worry. You will know when the time is right.’ And now, it seemed the time was right. Ann was long gone, with bairns of her own, young William was soon to go down the pit himself to work alongside Da, and Mrs Garret (a childless widow) had agreed to move in in her place and keep the house while both men worked.

And so Mary found herself on the eve of her wedding, having to bid her young son farewell....

 

It's been a long time!!

I just realised that this blog has been completely inactive since my first post in 2018!!  I guess that just goes to prove my point about the struggles of living with some chronic health conditions!

I've decided that due to the increasing unlikeliness of me ever actually doing anything along the lines I had intended I will repurpose this blog as a place for me to write up little pieces in response to writing prompts I encounter as a member of the brilliant Curious Descendants Club which focusses on helping people vitalise their writing around their family history research.

So far I haven't managed to attend any of the Zoom workshops, due to a combination of my stamina/fatigue and social anxiety, however they are all recorded so that I am able to watch back at my leisure and so dip in and out of.

The club sounded perfect for me as I have been attempting to research my family for years (I do mean years) picking it up as and when able, but without knowledge of the people involved it has felt like I'm merely creating a list of names and dates with very little meaning to anyone else.  I'd like to be able to instead produce something that brings elements of the people to life, reflecting on different challenges the may have faced during their lives.

So let's see where that leads, and how long it actually is before I post another update!!