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I am trying to place the Reverend Courtney Smith into the Smith/Milnes family who owned Dunstan Hall, near Chesterfield, but I am getting myself thoroughly confused and Smith is not a good name to research when you're getting sken-eyed!

Courtney Smith was baptised in Edensor in 1808, the son of Richard and Charlotte Smith. He was a clergyman at Barlow. He married Emily Barnes in Brampton in 1835; their last child was Ernest Broughton Smith (I'm pretty sure that middle name is relevant). He died in Pleasley but is commemorated in the grounds of Beauchief Abbey.

Beauchief Abbey was owned by the Pegge family (or Pegge-Burnells by the late 1700s). Peter P-B had, in 1782, married Mary Lee, who was the widowed daughter of William Milnes of Aldercar. Peter's mmn was Broughton and his son in law/nephew (they were keen on marrying in!) was Broughton Steade (aka Broughton Pegge-Burnell). So that's why I suspect the Broughton name is significant.

William Milnes, Mary's father, had a brother Richard Milnes, who owned Dunstan Hall. He in turn had a son Richard Milnes  (1747 - 1824) of Barlow Grange.

At some point in the 19th century (I think) the Milnes at Dunstan Hall changed their name to Smith, or maybe added Smith as a second surname, I'm not clear on this. Maybe it was the other way around? Genuki has a comment from 1817; Dunston-hall some time belonging to the family of Milnes, is now the property and residence of Mrs. Smith, grand-daughter and heiress of the late Richard Milnes, Esq.  One of their number, William Broughton Smith (WBS - it's that name again!) married Mary Steade, who was Peter PB's granddaughter, and his son gained a royal licence in 1873 to use the Milnes surname again.

So ultimately I think that Courtney Smith, commemorated in Beauchief Abbey, was probably related to Mary Pegge-Burnell who came from the Milnes family but as I said, I've got myself confused and don't blame anyone for being equally confused now!

Can anyone help me untangle this? Many thanks in advance!

(And if you think this is bad, well some of the descendants of WBS's line in Australia decided to drop a couple of names as otherwise their surname would have been Craven-Smith-Milnes-Pegge-Burnell!!)

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Death listed Leicester Central 3A / 465  so may be buried leicester .

Given the above, I had a look at my sources for Gilroes, which supposedly go up to y2000, and neither Everard nor Ethel is listed there.

I have to add though that this is not foolproof, as my grandfather isn't listed either (died early 1960s) yet I know he's there!

My mother has always believed that her cousin died in the Coventry blitz. However, I got the death certificate and it turns out that her cousin, who was a young child, died of diphtheria on 16 Nov 1940 in Whitley hospital, Coventry, which I understand was the infectious diseases hospital.

I have a medical background so I know a bit about diphtheria, and the stats for the type of infection on the death cert are that 10% of children so infected died. Not good, but it still means that 90% survived.

Does anyone have any knowledge or information about whether Whitley hospital was affected by the blitz (it doesn't seem to have a taken a hit, so far as I can see)? 16.11.1940 was the day after the Blitz so I'm guessing that the city infrastructure was ruined - would the hospital still have had electricity/water? Would staff have gone to work there as normal (if they were alive and able to get there!) or would they, and equipment, have been redeployed elsewhere in the city where medical need was greatest?

I'm just wondering if an element of my mother's story is correct, inasmuch as maybe the diphtheria wouldn't have killed her cousin if there was a working ventilator available, or if the staff had all been at work as normal, etc etc.

Does anyone have any further ideas or information? It's conjecture of course but I would like to give my mum an idea of the circumstances of her cousin's death. (My mum lived in western Leicestershire at the time and remembers having a bed made up under the dining room table, for extra protection, and seeing the red glow on the horizon and being told that that was Coventry burning).

She appears in the "registers of habitual criminals" in 1902. Selina alias Emma Bradshaw; 5'2in tall, light brown hair, blue eyes, scar and mole on nose; b 1858,Leicester. Sentenced to 3 years jail; AYLESBURY prison.

There is a Selina N Bradshaw in Tooting Bec hospital in the 1939 register "incapacitated". DOB 16 Feb 1858. Could this be her? This Selina probably died in Wandsworth district in q4 1942

Just for interest, I've found the grave of William's second wife,Susannah Puryer- in Welford Rd, plot cK227. I'd guess she's buried with her parents:

PURYER   JOHN   1860   DEC   23   75   CHURCH GATE   SAINT MARGARET      
PURYER   SARAH   1861   FEB   17   68   CHURCH GATE   SAINT MARGARET   
GREEN   SUSAN   1871   OCT   8   44   SANVY GATE   SAINT MARGARET   
BOSTOCK   ELISE MAY   1899   AUG   30   15MTHS   CLAY ROAD   LEICESTER