Hi Wendy
Brilliant ! Yes, I’m pretty certain you’ll be able to help !
You’ve read the story about the anaesthetist at our new baby’s birth last Sunday (nice chap, though the epidural didn’t work!), wanting to trace his wife’s grandfather, whom she believed came from Leeds? That will put you in the picture.
Well, through this forum, I’ve been able to gather an awful lot of information.
Firstly, her grandfather was Samuel Spencer, not born in Leeds but in Cleckheaton on 3.11.1893. According to the 1901 census, he lived in Springfield Terrace with his sisters, Mary A (1892) and Lizzie (1896). However, the anaesthetist’s wife is certain that her grandfather also had a brother who migated to France (and may have seen millitary service in either India or Sri Lanka), and a sister called Eva, who became a nurse and whom she is named after. If you can shed any light on either of these two, that would be wonderful.
But the most important thing is that they are really keen to trace any living relatives of their Cleckheaton family. Having said that, at the moment we only have the names of two of Samuel’s sisters. If they married, they won’t have retained the name ‘Spencer’, so tracing their lines may prove difficult. (Whether Parish Records or the local Register Office can help?) I’m not really sure how to go about this one. Do you have any ideas? We may have to track back a generation to follow the Spencer name.
Samuel’s parents were James Spencer and Ada Barstow, both born in Cleckheaton in 1868. According to the 1891 census, they lived at 5 Union Street, Cleckheaton. Does Union Street still exist? I couldn’t find it on an internet street map. James had a sister, Eliza Jane (1872) and two brothers, Sam (1875) and John Richard (1877), all born in Cleckheaton. To cast forward, we may have to follow Sam’s or John’s lines.
James worked as a ‘framer’ and Ada as a ‘card filler up’. I assume this was in a textile mill. Was there a significant employer in Cleckheaton, or nearby, where they might have worked?
James’s parents were Richard (born Cleckheaton 1834) and Elizabeth (born Manchester 1841). They lived in Jachin Street, Cleckheaton. Again, does it still exist?
And then we can go back a generation further still to Fredrick Spencer and Mary Ann, both of Cleckheaton, whom, I guess, would have been born between 1805 and 1815, or thereabouts.
If you have easy access to the census returns, is there any possibility that you, or someone could chase the families back through the 1871, 61, 51 and 41 censuses?
But as I said, the most important thing to them is to trace their present-day relatives, so any leads in that direction would be absolute gold dust.
Also, if there are any photographs of old Cleckheaton, or even presnt-day ones, particularly of Springfield Terrace where Samuel was born, this would give them a flavour of the town and the times.
Any help you could offer on any of the above would be wonderful.
Thankyou.
