On This Day in FEBRUARY ...

[nanny jan]

Born in 1820 in London, my 3xgt. uncle William Bailey, son of James and Hamutal (nee Page). After his baptism at St Luke, Old Street I can find no confirmed sightings of him....too many of the same name.   

It's also the birthday of my first born.........in 1969.   


Nanny Jan

[LizzieW]

Benjamin Bayldon my 4 x g.g.uncle was baptised in Almondbury Parish Church, Almondbury, Yorkshire in 1736/7.  He was a brother of Maboth Bayldon below.

Susanna Dye my 2 x g.g.aunt was baptised at St Mary’s Parish Church, Newton Flotman, Norfolk.  She was sometimes known as Susan.  When her sister my 2 x g.grandmother died aged 53, leaving an elderly husband (who was 21 years her senior) and 2 of her sons still at home, Susanna, who was unmarried, went to live with them as a housekeeper/cook. 

Thomas Boulton Benson my 1st cousin 3 times removed was baptised in Dalton in Furness, Lancashire in 1851, 3 months after his birth.  I don’t know where the name Thomas Boulton comes from but my g.grandfather was given the same name when he was born in 1857.  I cannot find any Boulton’s in the family or any illegitimate children prior to these births.  I contacted the local archivists to see if they had any clues, but they said it was a fairly well known name in the area.  In fact on the 1851 census, there is a Thomas Boulton born 1786 and his wife Betty, living next door to Thomas Boulton Benson and his parents in Ireleth.  He was an ag.lab, so unlike in another branch of my family not an employer or a rich man that his name was given to two children.  I’ve checked out the parents of the Thomas Boulton born 1786 and there is a choice between a John Boulton and a Margaret Woodend or a William Boulton and a Mary Hunter.  Either way, there is still no connection to my ancestors.

John Hobson & Maboth Bayldon my 4 x g.grandparents were married at Almondbury Parish Church, Yorkshire in 1772.  It's possible that both John and Maboth could write, as the signatures on the parish record are not the same handwriting as the rest of the record but they are similar to each other.  The witnesses also signed their own names.  This seems remarkable to me in 1772.  John was a Drysalter and his will in 1800 showed he was also a shopkeeper.  Maboth’s father was variously described as a chapman, a merchant or a clothier, so he presumably he could write his name at least.  Chapman is just another name for merchant.

Charles Lightfoot my 7 x g.g.uncle was baptised in Holme Cultram, Cumberland in 1681/82

Charles Dawson my husband’s 2 x g.grandfather died in Salford Lancashire from Morbus Cordis and Chronic Bronchitis in 1873.  His occupation was variously given as a groom or horse keeper.

Elizabeth Woodward (nee Hayes) my 3 x g.grandmother, known as Betty, was buried  at St Laurence Church, Frodsham, Cheshire in 1825

John Okey and Elizabeth Negus my 7 x g.grandparents were married at St Andrew the Great Church, Cambridge in 1687/88

[terry h]

1st Cousin 6 xR Margaret Rutherford b 2/2/1783 West Bolton, East Lothian daughter of John & Marion Rutherford nee Falconer.

1st Cousin 5 c R Ann Eliza Falconer nee Mclean b 2/2/1836 County Tyrone, Ireland.

1st Cousin 4 x R Margaret Herbert b 2/2/1864 Yetholm, Roxburghshire, daughter of Andrew & Jessie Herbert nee Sherrif.

1st Cousin 4 x R Margaret Downie Cowe b 2/2/1869 Chirnside, Berwickshire, daughter of William & Anne Cowe nee Blair.

2nd Cousin 3 x R Ellen (Helen) Hastie  daughter of Philip & Ellen (Helen) Hastie nee Hastie m Samuel Martin 2/2/1892 Warren County IA.

4g Uncle James Chisholm son of Benjamin & Isabella Chisholm nee Gray m Janet Brodie 2/2/1864 Melrose, Roxburghshire.

3g Uncle Thomas Hastie son of Thomas & Janet Hastie nee Falconer m Jennet Shearer  daughter of Robert  & Janet Shearer nee Brown 2/2/1872 Coldstream, Berwickshire. Thomas died 21/10/1884 and Jennet 14/8/1941 both in Mackay, Queensland, Australia.

4th Cousin 2 x R Margaret Joanna Hastie b 2/2/1912 Fowler, California, daughter of Clark & Violet Hastie nee Gower. Margaret d March 1941 Bremerton, Washington.

2nd Cousin 4 x R Ida Norton Hastie daughter of Alexander & Georgina Hastie nee Virtue m Albert Warren Wright son of Isaac & Ellen Wright nee Graham 2/2/1893 Warren County IA.
As an aside Albert's brother Edwin Wright married Ida's sister Janet Hastie..........then Albert & Edwins father Isaac (a widower) married Isabella Hastie another sister of Ida..... Three sisters married to two brother and their father must have made for a few complicated relationships!!!

[Whipby]

He was quite a character and if he went out to the shops, or to take his dog for a walk, mum knew it would be at least 2-3 hours before he got back because of all the people he would stop and talk to.  In the bottom photo you can just see some white near his collar.  That was covering his throat.  He'd had laryngeal cancer and had his voice box removed and was supposed to speak by putting two fingers on a stoma in a hole in his throatneck   Unfortunately, he used to press too hard so gave up that method and just used an electronic larynx, a battery operated machine that produced a sound when placed against his neck and spoke.  This produced a sound like a Dalek.  My grandchildren thought it was hilarious, so he did it more and more for them.  It didn't stop him talking 90 to the dozen to everyone though and they could all understand him.

In the last 10 years of his life he actually had had cancer of the bowel, larynx and prostate - all primaries - bowel and larynx cured, only the prostrate returned near the end of his life.  The doctors were amazed that he was so well for the 10 years from when he had his first cancer to his death.

What a lovely smile your dad had.  What a lovely person he must have been, you must be very proud of him.

[GrahamSimons]

Sophia Gould died 2nd February 1871. She was born Sophia Barrett and was my second cousin three times removed. She married John Scott Gould in 1840 but the marriage was childless.
She has been the key to unlocking a flood of Barretts in my family tree, as her husband was seriously rich and left her very well off; her Will is one of those genealogical gems that list so many people, with at least an indication of their relationship. She left over £250,000 excluding real estate; the will includes over eighty cash bequests, many charitable bequests including to her own almshouses in Taunton, these amounting to over £38,000; nine or ten estates are named and bequeathed (there may well have been more in the residuary estate). My great-grandfather was one of the executors and a beneficiary. Following all the names through the family took me a very long time - even though many of them were already known to me. My main regret is that I haven't found out much about the Gould family, which is where the wealth came from - and a minor regret that the wealth hasn't filtered down to me!

One press report: Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette 23rd February 1871: Mrs. Scott Gould, who died recently at North Curry, near Taunton, was possessed of nearly half a million sterling. She has left a legacy of £2,000 to the Taunton and Somerset Hospital.

[genjen]

On February 3rd 1865, my great grandfather, Clarence Samuel Howe, was born in Brightlingsea, Essex. He was the second son but until census information became available my family believed him to be the eldest or that an older brother had died in childhood. All first sons were named Benjamin and for some reason, in later years, Clarence was known as Ben. But it seems that the brother didn't die young. He can easily be found living, firstly in Kent and then in Surrey and working, not as a seaman as most of his family, but as a baker. He married Miss Bun the Baker's daughter ( I can't remember her actual name without consulting my tree) and lived to  a respectable age. So what did he do to be cast out from the family and for his little brother to inherit his name?
Clarence was a merchant seaman and at some point in his travels, he met the very young Catherine Shaw of Nairn. They married in Caistor, Lincolnshire and two months later, she gave birth to their first son ( Benjamin, of course). Clarence and Catherine settled in Nairn where he gained his master's certificate and went to be the only member I have found so far to have been awarded a medal or letters after his name. He was involved in a major sea rescue just off Nairn where a Norwegian vessel had gone aground. The King of Norway gave medals to all the rescuers and Clarence was subsequently awarded the MBE. Here he is in all his glory.

[LizzieW]

Elisabeth Pake my 4 x g.grandmother was baptised at Holy Trinity Church, Haddenham, Cambridgeshire in 1764.  She married aged 22 and by the time she was 34 she had died and left 6 children behind, including my 3 x g.grandfather who was only 9.

William Spraggett my husband’s 3 x g.g.uncle was baptised in 1779.  He was one of 15 children and the eldest of the 8 brothers of Ann Spraggett below.

Roger Postlethwaite Benson my 2 x g.g.uncle died in the Union Workhouse, Ulverston, Lancashire in 1875 from Phthisis Pulmonalis.  I don’t know if he was resident in the Workhouse, or just died in the hospital attached to the workhouse, the informant was a nurse and he was buried in the Parish Church at Ulverston.  Although Roger was the 5th child and 3rd son born to my 3  g.grandparents, he was the first and only one to be given his mother’s maiden name as a middle name.  He is listed with his parents and siblings on the 1841 census, but after that there is no trace of him until his death.  I guess he was an ag.lab and travelled around for work and was never registered on a census.  All his siblings, apart from the eldest who died aged 21, married and are shown on census after 1841.

John Thomas Brand my g.uncle married  Sarah Dudley Robertshaw at St Luke’s Church, Cheetham, Manchester in 1884.

William Clarke & Ann Spraggett  my husband’s 3 x g.grandparents married in Wellesbourne, Warwick in 1829.  She was the sister of William Spraggett above but unlike her mother who had 15 children, Ann only had 5 and that included a set of twins.

[Lydart]

(Book-marking as I keep losing the thread, in more ways than one !)

[stonechat]

Isaac Pullen of Bishops Frome Herefordshire married Ann/Nancy Hodges of Dymock in Gloucs at Bishops Frome in 1795.

Ann is the sole source of my Gloucestershire ancestors.

Thanks to a correspondent and the will of her father for clearly establishing that was the rigfht connection and Ann is the same person as Nancy