Author Topic: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.  (Read 40042 times)

Offline Suffolk Mawther

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #18 on: Friday 02 January 09 01:34 GMT (UK) »
Hello David,

I did try a couple of searches on the Sense of Place web site, under Footman Pretty and Co a photograph came up that is at the SPS (Suffolk Photographic Survey) which states, Footman Pretty store but it is in fact their corset factory, shows the sewing machines in the old factory.

Tried putting in Footmans and no matches, tried Westgate Street and SRO has a couple of photographs taken in 2002 when the Queen visited Ipswich.

Not much luck  :-[

My husband was at the Suffolk Record Office on Tuesday and was going through some photographs and noticed that although he had worked on the SPS and had identified many photographs, they were still not sorted out properly or they were labelled incorrectly (as they had been before he identified them).

We are both involved with the setting up of Framlingham Archive which will go on-line sometime this spring, similar to the photographic archive for the town of Sudbury - if only all Suffolk towns could have such a web site.
www.sudburysuffolk.co.uk/photoarchive  leads the way.

Perhaps Annie, wherever she may be, is pleased that you are finally helping to dispell the myths and stories about her life and you may yet uncover the real story - I hope so.

Pat ...
 



 
Every time I find an ancestor,
I have to find two more!

SUFFOLK - Pendle, Stygall, Pipe, Fruer, Bridges, Fisk, Bellamy, Sparham - all link to  Framlingham 
DERBY - Bridges and Frost (originally Framlingham/Parham)
NOTTINGHAM - Lambert & Selby
BERKSHIRE/then Hammersmith LDN - Fulker
LDN/MDX - Murray, Clancy, Broker, Hoskins, Marsden, Wilson, Sale
 
GGfather Michael Wilson born Cork, lived Fulham London - moved to Boston USA 1889, what happened next?

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #19 on: Friday 02 January 09 10:16 GMT (UK) »
Thanks Pat. And good luck with the Framlingham website.
 Kind regards,  David.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline Greensleeves

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #20 on: Saturday 03 January 09 10:40 GMT (UK) »
Hi David and all interested in Annie's plight

Annie's story is quite a haunting one really - full of human interest!  I am wondering about her two children: were they both adopted at the same time, or shortly after their respective births?  The answer to this might help paint a more detailed picture of her life and her struggles...

Regards

Greensleeves
Suffolk: Pearl(e),  Garnham, Southgate, Blo(o)mfield,Grimwood/Grimwade,Josselyn/Gosling
Durham/Yorkshire: Sedgwick/Sidgwick, Shadforth
Ireland: Davis
Norway: Torreson/Torsen/Torrison
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #21 on: Saturday 03 January 09 11:57 GMT (UK) »
Hello again, Greensleeves. 

You are quite right, it's haunted me for years; wondering who she was, why didn't her children have a father, why did she disappear and where to !

To put a little more flesh on the bones of the story; from her days at Westgate street, circa 1891, she is next found in Newark, Notts. where Constance's birth is registered in 1895. Three years later, Francis ( my GtUncle Frank) is born, apparently in Earsham.  Three years later, on the 1901 census, the two children are down as boarders with the Bedwells. The next information I have is from  Constance's marriage certificate dated 1 Sep 1919 :  Father's name - Not known to her, adopted in infancy by Benjamin Bedwell.

I have quite a few postcards to Constance, my Grandmother, from her adoptive parents sent during the first war. Both she and her brother Frank seem to have had a loving upbringing with the Bedwells in Earsham. Indeed during the second world war, Constance's daughter (my mother) was evacuated to live with 'Grandma' Bedwell.

Boy do I regret not having pressed for answers while people with the knowledge were still with us. But howmany times has that been said...

One way or t'other, the truth Will out.

Regards, David.

ps;  I will try to attach a photo of the two children with their adoptive mother taken during WW1. Hope it works !
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.


Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #22 on: Saturday 03 January 09 12:02 GMT (UK) »
Crikey ! I don't know what happened there. Were they supposed to be life-sized ?
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline Greensleeves

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #23 on: Saturday 03 January 09 18:58 GMT (UK) »
Hi David - what a brilliant photo! They certainly look a handsome pair, don't they.  Am I right in thinking  that their names both include 'Asthill'?  If so, am wondering whether this is of relevance ie if it could be the father's name? Just a thought...

Greensleeves
Suffolk: Pearl(e),  Garnham, Southgate, Blo(o)mfield,Grimwood/Grimwade,Josselyn/Gosling
Durham/Yorkshire: Sedgwick/Sidgwick, Shadforth
Ireland: Davis
Norway: Torreson/Torsen/Torrison
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #24 on: Saturday 03 January 09 21:52 GMT (UK) »
Well I managed to get the photo where I wanted it, just not quite how I wanted it.
But thanks Greensleeves, it is quite a nice shot of them isn't it.
Yes you are right. Asthill is a middle name of both of them. The same thought re a fatherly connection had crossed my mind also. Problem is, where to look; Gt. Bentley,Essex,  Ipswich,  Newark,  Earsham  or any point in between.
It's a tantalizing clue but I feel it's pretty near impossible to trace.  Shame !

Still, as I think I've said before, the truth will out.

Just a thought mid-typing.....what if he (Mr. Asthill) was a soldier? It would explain the moving around the country. They may have married after the birth of Frank. He may have been killed shortly after. But how would I check on that?

6 out of 10 David. Needs more work !

Thanks again, Greensleeves.

Regards, David.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.

Offline Greensleeves

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #25 on: Sunday 04 January 09 11:40 GMT (UK) »
HiDavid -
Right.... now, was Mr A a soldier...? Let's be subjective here for a moment and work out if he was, why would Annie be in Newark?  Well... it would appear that the Sherwood Foresters/Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry had a base at Newark. Bit difficult w these regiments because they all amalgamated & changed names over the years. However,these regiments did fight in the 2nd Boer War, the Royal Sherwood Foresters going to South Africa in 1899 and not returning  until 1902, for example.

Of course, there is no evidence whatsoever that he was a soldier, but why not?   Annie certainly wouldn't be the first well-brought up young lady to (as my mother used to put it) 'throw her bonnet over the windmill' for a handsome chap in uniform! Perhaps you have received a message from beyond!

Greensleeves
Suffolk: Pearl(e),  Garnham, Southgate, Blo(o)mfield,Grimwood/Grimwade,Josselyn/Gosling
Durham/Yorkshire: Sedgwick/Sidgwick, Shadforth
Ireland: Davis
Norway: Torreson/Torsen/Torrison
Census information Crown Copyright, from www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Offline onefortheroad

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Re: Westgate St. IPSWICH - 1891.
« Reply #26 on: Sunday 04 January 09 15:43 GMT (UK) »
Hi Greensleeves.

...."throw her bonnet over the windmill"....  what a lovely picture that paints !
I've not heard that expression before; it makes the point beautifully.

Anyway, as you'd nudged me in the direction of the Sherwood lot, I Googled  'Sherwood Foresters Boer War'  and it came up with a website which has a roll of honour.
This revealed :   Pte 1240 G. ASTILL  1st Btn. Sherwood Foresters. Died of disease, 28 Aug 1900. Buried Krugersdorp Cem. S.A.

Wrong spelling of surname, but surely that would be quite common in those days, I would have thought : The 1901 census has a wrong spelling of Auston for the two adoptees ( it appears as AUSTEN).

However. Back down to earth.... it's still a long shot that things panned out that way. It'd be a miracle if it were that simple.
I'll have a rummage through the ether highway tonight to try and pinpoint a male Asthill somewhere in the UK. It's not a common spelling if the 'h' is actually correct.

Yes, Greensleeves, I could do with a 'message form beyond'  - 
                           "Speak up Annie...... you're breaking up !"

Converse with you later, Greensleeves.

Regards,David.
Yorkshire: Riley, Holdstock, Smith, Turner, Pearson, Bailey, Swift.
Devon: Spry, Gimblett, Sleep, Wyvell(Wyvill), Fox, Kingsbear.
Lancashire; Squires (Swires ?).
Norfolk/Suffolk: Auston, Bedwell, Crooks, Charlish.
Essex: Auston,.