Hi, Moira,
Great to get such a quick response. I have only just discovered Rootschat and took a chance, so bear with me if I get in a muddle. I am not a member of Genes Reunited.
We are connected via the Dobson family. My gt.gt. grandmother, Joanna Poulson (b.Liverpool) was the first daughter of George Poulson and Mary Ann Hughes.( His first wife was Ellen Pickavance as noted by your previous contacts). Her younger sister Eleanor b.1836 married Geo. Asquith Dobson, draper's assistant in Newcastle and they appear to have had five children - Anne, married Ernest Hind, Emma Louisa m. John H Maughan, Flora m. Thomas Jamieson, Lily and William Asquith (letter carrier) who married Sarah McGee (?). children George, Matthew and Elizabeth. Did he marry again, - Mary Potts ?. Eleanor's sisters - Mary Ann, b.1834 joined her sister in Newcastle and married Francis Gilmour a music master from Hants who was working there, Ann, b.1835 married Thomas Murray and died young, Louisa b 1837 married George Hill Weddell an estate agent who died in 1867. Their 2 children returned to Liverpool.
My grandmother didn't know much about her mother's family. They were rather cagey but when my mother wanted to go on the stage (and succeeded) she was told that 'two aunts' had run away from home to go on stage which might explain why they ended up in Newcastle, although it was suggested that the Poulsons were of Danish extraction and there were mariners in the family who hailed from there.
Francis Gilmour, husband of Mary Ann may have had theatrical connections through his work. He seems to have run away from his family whilst still married . He was described as a printer whilst married to his first wife.
Any info about the Newcastle Poulsons would be most welcome.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Gabrielle.
