Hi again Peter,
Sylvia is my cousin and can fill you in with the children/grand-children etc. of Jack and Jane Hedley (nee Sands) if this is of interest, otherwise I can fill you in.
What you write tallies with what my father told me, i.e. that he was an elder son of 10 children, that his grandmother married twice and both her husbands were called Hedley, that his step-father and he had an altercation which resulted in the step-father leaving the household.
In the 1891 census my grandfather and his family were listed as living at 20, Queen Street, Cleator as the second eldest of 7 children. The head of the family is listed as James Hedley aged 39, wife Ann Jane Hedley aged 41 and a mother-in-law? Jane Maitland aged 74? (sorry record not too decipherable).
My wife and I recently visited England (we live in the Netherlands) and spent a couple of hours in the Cleator area. We found St .Johns church and discovered a gravestone with the names of Henry Hedley d. Sept 23rd 1942 and Eleanor Hedley daughter of ?? Hannah Hedley d. ?? 2nd 1936. There are lots of gravestones at the back of St. Johns but the graveyard is in a bad state of repair and as it was raining and we were unsuitably dressed we made a hasty retreat. Next time we come this way we will will be prepared !!
The "James, Joseph, John" naming carries on with my grandfathers children, they were called "Nellie" (could have been Eleanor), James, Lillian, John-Joseph, Stanley and Arnold. Sylvia is the daughter of James and I am the son of Arnold.
Hope this is of use and adds to the body of knowledge.
Your "cousin" Brian
