Rebecca Honeyman died 30 Dec 1928 Middlesbrough

[tillypeg]

Found this in the Darlington & Stockton Times for Sat 5 January 1929 - hope someone has this lady in their tree!

"Mrs Rebecca Honeyman of 31 Sydney Street, Middlesbrough who died on Sunday at the age of 86 had the rare distinction of being a great great grandmother.  Thus has been broken a link in the unusual way of 5 generations in a direct line.   The four descendants are:-  Mrs Kate Stevenson (62) the eldest daughter; Mr James Stevenson (43) the eldest grandson; Mrs Hannah Elizabeth Page, the eldest great grand daughter and Freda Mary Page 2½, the great great grand daughter. 

A native of the south, Mrs Honeyman came to Middlesbrough about 66 years ago and she has lived in the town ever since.  Mrs Honeyman's family is noted for longevity.  Both her mother and her husband's mother lived to be over 90.  The old lady had a total of 88 descendants living - 6 children, 43 grandchildren, 38 great grandchildren and 1 great great grandchild."

The GRO death index has her age as 84.

[Pels.]

Both her mother and her husband's mother lived to be over 90.  

Not that I would ever disbelieve family tales, nor a report from the D&S Tilly, but I wonder if this was Rebecca's mother-in-law, because her age looks open to speculation too :

Death, June qtr 1906   
Hannah Honeyman, age 82   
Stokesley, Vol 9d, page 405

And her mother :

Death, Dec qtr 1906 
Catherine Mason ,age 88   
Middlesbro' Vol 9d, page 419

Interesting reading - thanks for posting !!

Won't it just serve me right if someone finds them in 1911, because I didn't check ! 

Pels.

[Pels.]

Rebecca's father-in-law :

Death, June qtr 1902
George Honeyman, age 84   
Stokesley, Vol 9d, page 415

And this, I think is her father :

Death, Sept qtr 1903   
Peter Mason, age 85   
Middlesbro', Vol 9d, page 390

I have to agree, for longevity - it's not bad, is it ? 

Pels.

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Hi Pels,

I just knew someone would look them up.   Don't be checking out the 88 descendants, will you!!

Tilly

[Pels.]

Tilly, I can't help but notice you've given some wonderful help to quite a few people just recently !! 

I couldn't let this go without any response ! But no, I won't be checking on the rest ! 

Pels.

[graemepurvis]

I can probably give you the 88 !
Rebecca Honeyman was actually 83, born in Bedfordshire in July 1845 and is my great great grandmother. All the other posts are correct. Really pleased you posted this and I found it, as for some strange reason I had never been able to find her death date. I think I had her dying in 1905 until she showed up on the 1911 census. Thanks again.

[tillypeg]

Hi Graemepurvis,

So pleased that this snippet has at long last proved useful!  I invariably jot down a couple of items of interest when some of my own searches prove elusive, just in case they are useful for someone.  There are so many interesting articles in the old newspapers, it seems a shame to not mention them somewhere.

Tilly

[Jomot]

And a very late thank you from me too.... Rebecca was my Great Great Grandmother also, although I'm only just starting that bit of my tree. 

Rebecca's daughter Ethel shared my mams bedroom when she was in her final months (she died in 1955 aged 69) but my mam remembers her as being full of fun and with a very naughty sense of humour, and that her favourite things in life were a bottle of stout and a pinch of snuff!

But with the recent instruction that we should increase our greens to 7 a day to live longer & healthier its probably worth mentioning that the Honeyman and the Mason families were both fruiterers / greengrocers 

[tillypeg]

Julie,

Those are wonderful memories to add to this thread!  I will stick with the fruit and veg too - stout and snuff won't be on my menu.

Tilly