RootsChat.Com
Independent Islands => Isle of Man => Topic started by: grumpyproctor on Saturday 22 April 06 16:15 BST (UK)
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George Robert Stephenson 1819-1905, nephew of George Stephenson (The Rocket). George Robert was educated at King William College on the IOM. Can anyone help me with his place of birth, his parents and any siblings?
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Hello,
I’ve tried to find info about George Robert without much success.
Have you received any info about him since April? If so, I'd like to hear it, and if not, I’ll tell you what I know……
Interesting that you say there were quite a few Stephensons in the Chesterfield area - I'm trying to find a link with my maternal grandfather's side, Taylors, who lived in or around Clay Cross. A female Stephenson descendant married a Taylor, so the story goes.
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I see George Stephensons birth is on the familysearch IGI (Newcastle, Northumberland area), so maybe the easiest way to trace George Robert is to find George Stephensons siblings births/marriages (I can see a few) and trace him that way......
Catherine :)
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HI
Just incase you haven't see this take a look at the following website
http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9069613
Wendy
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Julieanne, catherine, wendy.
Thanks for the replies, I have tried via George and siblings to find Geo Rbt, but so far no luck, I will have a look at the article.
Best Wishes
Grumpyproctor (Ken)
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though I have scanned part of the 1st ed of the KWC college register (www.manxnotebook.com) there is more info re him in the 2nd ed
under entries sept 1836
Stephenson, George Robert, born October 20th, 1819. Left Nov. 15th, 1837.
Son of R. Stephenson, Manchester.
Asst. Engineer, Manchester and Leeds Ry., 1837-43. Chief Engineer,
Tapton Collieries, 1843. Resident Engineer, S.E. Ry. Consulting Engineer,
Canterbury, New Zealand, 186o. Director, Engine Works, Newcastle-
on-Tyne. M.I.C.E., 1853. Elected to Council of Civil Engineers, 1859.
Elected President, 1875. Member, R.Y. Squadron. Lieut.-Col. to Engineer
Volunteer Staff Corps. Died Oct. 26th, 1905, at Charlton Kings, Cheltenham
the istitute of civil engineers should have a biography
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Hi Grumpyproctor,
Can you tell me if you are asking about Geo Robert Stephensson a a descendant? I have some info on him. He had no brothers but four sisters. I am new to this site and don't know quite how it works yet
Bob
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Hi, I see these posts are old, but hoping you may still recieve this.
I am looking also into George Stephensons family tree. I have a female ancestor who was a Stephenson some how connected to THE ROCKET. She was married to a man with the surname Towart/Towhart or something similar.
If you have any information on this, I woud really appreciate it.
Many thanks
Rebecca
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Rebecca,
I have a lot of detials of the tree of George Stephenson, but cannot find a link to the name Towart.
Have you any dates and places for him?
Regards, RSRoper
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Unfortunately not, I"ve come to a dead end with this. All I have is a hand written family tree with these names on it. Our family history is in the Northumberland and surrounding areas.
My Nan tells me that the Stephenson name has a link to the Rocket. Im still trying to get my hands on birth certificates, so if I find any more info, Ill be sure to forward it.
Thanks heaps
Rebecca :)
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Hi everyone, George Robert Stephenson was my great great great grandfather. So much mystery around George R, even with the knowledge I have there are still missing links which i would like to find- to do with Georges R's children, it is the missing link in my story.
Mary Stephenson who was one of G's male son's daughter and my great grandmother well she married a Thomas Clayton in 1898 and they had six children, one girl -my grandmother and 5 boys.
When the last direct relations of Stephenson died off in the states, two of these brothers kept quiet about the inheritance they received from the Stephenson estate, yet still with in my are the plates.
So who I am looking for are male (s) children of George Robert Stephenson- anyone with any ideas.
Bless you all
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ps I mean't to say, the plates are still owned by a cousin in my family
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Barbara,
I have the make chldren of GRS Robert, George, Henry, Thomas St Lawrence, but none of them had a daughter Mary.
I wonder if you have the right George Robert Stephenson. There may have been several.
What are the plates you mention? They may help
Bob
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I'm curious, when and where was your Thomas Clayton born and the same for Mary Stephenson?
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Well I guess we are looking at the Jarrow area, and am only saying that, because my Mother was born there, and that's where my Grandmother hails from. The only other information I have about Mary is the date she was born 1880 and the date she was married 1898, but nothing on Thomas Clayton.
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Hi Barbara
I've sent you a personal message.
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for those trying to follow/help Barbara as well here are the details for Mary Clayton nee Stephenson as seen in the 1901 census
Thomas Clayton bn 1872 bn Heworth Durham on the 1911 states born Embleton Northumberland
Mary Clayton bn 1876 Embleton Northumberland on the 1911 she states born Gateshead
Thomas rbt Clayton bn 1898 Durham City
Mgt Jane Clayton bn 1901
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hello barbera,
i stumbled on this chat, whilst trying to look up my family tree, my grandads mother was mary jane stephenson from jarrow she was born so im told 14th oct 1900, she married a man called joseph sewell coulson. mary janes father was a george stephenson born around 1880 he apparently had around 5 children - dorothy,margaret,alice,george and mary i dont know of his wifes name but she died and he married again to a lady called mabel and they had i think 3 more kids. i wonder if you or anyone else could shed some more light on this or possibly tell me if this links my family to george robert stephenson'. many thanks joe.
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Joe,
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Joe,
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Hi Everyone,
I wonder if anyone can help (or if what I say helps anyone). I'm trying to trace family connection to George Stephenson. There is a family tradition handed down from my Great Grandmother (Fanny Wood, ne Smith) that we are related to GS. Fanny's mother was one Elizabeth Stephenson who married a George Smith (Grocer and leader in Catholic Apostolic Church) on the Isle of Wight (evidence: Birth Certificate). Elizabeth Stephenson was born in 1818/19 (Evidence: We have an original sampler stitched by Elizabeth Stephenson with the inscription: 'Elizabeth Stephenson Aged 12 Years 1831' & Fanny Smith's Birthday Book with entry 'Mother, 1819. The Northumberland and Durham Baptism record lists only one Elizabeth Stephenson born in these years. Elizabeth Stephenson, 30 Nov 1818 Father's forenames: George / Mother's forenames Elizabeth. The Stephenson Locomotive Society has a chart of the Stephenson family (3 generations: http://www.stephensonloco.org.uk/SLSgeorge.htm) which names three Elizabeths - daughters of George's brothers, James, Robert and John. But then the trail goes cold. I have some ideas about this, but, they need rigorous research. By the way, I also have two family albums with about forty images of the family. If anyone is interested, I'll scan and put on my flickr site.
Best
Chris
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From Chris Again. Sorry, I forgot to mention that Elizabeth Stephenson's baptism record states that she was baptised/registered at:
Tynemouth, Christ Church, Northumberland.
Also: For three generations our family middle names have been 'Stephenson' and 'Graham'. 'Graham' is irrelevant because it comes from the Smith line - one of whom was Cyril Graham Smith.
Also, I should mention, most of the photographs are unidentified.
Best
Chris
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Chris,
My father was Cyril Graham-Smith, and his father, John Anderson Smith, and Fanny Wood (Smith) were brother and sister. He also believed that he was descended from George Robert Stephenson.
I checked with The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London, who had kept a comprehensive Stephenson Family Tree. I believe that he was their first President. They stated there definitely was no link.
There was an Elizabeth Stephenson in their Family Tree but she had no children.
We must be distant cousins!
Mike.
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Dear Mike,
How fascinating that you should find me. We are indeed cousins, but not so distant. My father is the grandson of Fanny Smith (Wood), who, by my reckonning, was your great aunt! Fanny married Alfred Wood, and they migrated to Australia in 1887. They had five surviving children, Geoffrey (my father's father), Marjorie, Edith, Ronald and Helen. My father (John Graham Wood - note family middle name; I'm Christopher Graham Wood) was an only child, but had two sons, my brother and I. My younger brother David Stephenson (!) Wood, is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Curtain University, Western Australia, and I am founder-director of an Australian educational study tour company, Australians Studying Abroad (www.asatours.com.au).
But now to the interesting stuff. My great aunts (Marjorie, Edith, Helen) were spinsters. They left a considerable family archive, including three tantalising photo albums, with a number of photographs of your family in them. There are also letters. I shall try to scan as many as possible and either send them to you by e-mail, or put them up on my flickr site.
As to George Stephenson. Fascinating how family myths develop! That two branches of a family should share the myth. Since my last post, by cross referencing photographs, letters, and census information, I've worked out who the Stephensons were. George Stephenson was a pianoforte maker (we have a French harmonium of 1855 that he obviously owned) who moved south from the Newcastle area (hence the connection with the George Stephenson of Rocket fame - they must have lived nearby), and his daughter, Elizabeth Stephenson our mutual matriarch!!), was born in London, in either 1819 (1851 census) or 1821 (1841 census - RG No. HO107, Piece 685 Book/Foli 15/30, p.55). At the time of the 1841 census, George and Ann, and their children Elizabeth, Nathaniel, Jane, Robert, Thomas, Ann and Fanny were living in Hampden Street, St Pancras, Marylbone. In the 1851 census Elizabeth (now aged 30 or 32) was actually with her mother and father in London. George Smith, husband of Elizabeth and our mutual patriarch, and their first daughter, Elizabeth, were at the Parkhurst Barracks Canteen, Carisbrooke, Hampshire - (occupation: Innkeeper). In 1861 Census, George, Elizabeth and their living children Nathaniel Graham, John Anderson (grandpa), George Christopher (who migrated to New Zealand) Isabella S, and Fanny Jane (my great grandmother), were living at Lugley Street, Newport, Isle of White.
This is written in great haste, there's lots more, including a photograph of Cyril as a boy with toy boats. I 'phoned my father. He's tickled pink, and sends his regards!
Chris Wood
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Dear Chris,
I am flabbergasted to get your reply so quickly and I would dearly like to keep in touch, but as I have only just signed on to this site, I can not either send or receive Personal Messages from you until I have made at least 3 posts! I can not read the message you have sent.
I obviously have quite a lot of "Smith" history about those who stayed in England, but not much luck about those who went either to Australia or New Zealand.
The Smith family also included Sarah Ann Byam Smith, who died when only 3.
My Sister has a daughter who is married and lives in Sydney!
I also have the photo of my Father with his model boats!
I will send you my Email Address as soon as I can send you a Personal Message.
Best Wishes to you and your family.
Mike.
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Dear Mike,
I sent you an e-mail that you'll obviously get when you have posted three times. We're all so looking forward to hearing from you and sharing information. I've begun to scan the albums, and hopefully, when we can exchange e-mails, will be able to show you all of them (there are about 50 photos - all sent to Fanny from 'home' between 1887 and 1910. In the meantime, we're actually sorting the archive because I'm trying to find time to write a book about Marjorie Wood. The three 'aunts' - or 'the girls' - as everyone called them (Marjorie, Edith, Helen) were very close to a young man with whom they formed a literary society - just a little one called the 'Bloody Little Rosebuds' (I have their minute book). The young man's name was Harry Tatlock Miller, and together they launched Australia's first avant garde arts journal, called 'Manuscripts' in the early 1930s. Harry Tatlock Miller went on to run the Redfern Gallery in London, and his lifelong friend, Loudon Sainthill, became one of Britain's great theatre designers (RSC, etc., he also designed the sets for the film Look Back in Anger). In the archive the aunts left a large collection of Marjorie's drawings and writings, which a friend is at present cataloguing. I've put some photos of the aunts and the drawings up on flickr - you might like to have a look: http://www.flickr.com/photos/australiansstudyingabroad/collections/72157625398036995/
Many of Marjorie's drawings, lino cuts, and pen and inks were of elves, goblins, etc., and she wrote and told wonderful stories about them. She is remembered in a book by the Australian artist Robert Ingpen, whom she inspired as a young boy... Robert Ingpen, Australian Gnomes, Melbourne, Rigby, 1979). The aunts spoke beautifully - not toffy, but exemplary grammar (something they got from their mother) and had very good - sometimes wicked - senses of humour. Fanny (she was called 'Lou' in Oz) seems to have been extremely well-educated and imaginative. The family were members of the Catholic Apostolic Church, and became Anglicans when the last 'Angel' died. Does any of this resonate?
When the aunts' older brother Geoffrey (my grand father) was fighting in WWI, he used to spend much of his leave and convalescence (he was wounded in France) with his aunt Isabel and her daughter - his cousin - Nan. We have his letters home...
I've letters and photos from George Christopher from New Zealand, but haven't been able to trace the family there.
We can't wait to correspond. Dad is on cloud nine to know we've found his family!
Best
Chris
PS Edith's full name was Edith Victoria Anderson Wood
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Dear Chris,
I am not going to be able to keep up with you. I am a "Two fingered Typist" and I am going to be 80 next month!
My Smith and Stephenson records don't go back very far. George Smith's father was John Smith and I think that I found the right family, but it is very difficult to know for sure. If I am right George had a brother Charles.
Elizabeth Stephenson and her Father is my limit on that side.
John Anderson Smith Married Elizabeth Roskilly and had 6 children, but only 2 produced Grandchildren - Cyril and Winifred. Winifred married Richard Pentony and had one son who died young and 3 daughters who all married and had children and grandchildren.
My father, Cyril, has a story that is more complicated as he married twice. He had an illustrious career - first going out as a teenager to the Boer War as a Sapper running a searchlight. After returning he became a Civil Engineer and went to India to build enormous bridges for the railways. He later taught Engineering in Poona and wound up as Principal of the College. He was also involved with the military and became Colonel of the Poona Rifles. There is a good bit more, but it will have to wait till I can use Email for it.
Thank you again for your quick reply.
Mike.
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Hi Chris
Dont know if this is of any help, and I haven't done any research into the maternal side of my family yet.
But my Great grandmother Florence Cowell nee Smith born 1895 her Father was John Smith always claimed that her family was related to George Stephenson's family.
The family hailed from Heworth Co. Durham now Heworth/Felling Gateshead.
The Smith family were ferrymen (rowed passengers from Felling shore across the Tyne to St Anthony's) and then were employed on the Railway when it began in the area.
Of course I have no proof of any family relationship to the Stephenson's and it may just be a family myth due to the families connection with the railways.
Regards
Mike
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Roper, Hi Again, I cracked your book again for another read, Some Where around page 12 you said that Stephen Liddell dies and is buried on his father over there. I think not, I show him over here in franklin County Georgia in around 1847 buying land like a drunk on shore leave. It's a good throw off, Who buries a person entitled to money better then a story like that. However I am sure he got his part. Also the Nixon sister to PA, Never Happened, They as well settled in and Around Abbeville South Carolina, I wish the non sense and off tracking would stop. I ask again, release the DNA from young Robert stephenson hair in the UK for testing and settle it. I am sure yu have the power to get it. Was a great line in your book on the liddell kid died, did not happen,Regards David Stephenson Georgia USA