Ancestors “meet” in newspaper columns of 1836

[Davedrave]

I’ve just come across a strange coincidence. In the “Leicester Chronicle” of 20 August 1836 is an amusing report, “Tom and Jerryism at Thurlaston”, that throws an interesting light on life at the time in that village, and on attitudes to social class. The keeper of the “low public-house” [George] Woodward, was a 3x great grandfather of mine.

Adjoining this report in the adjacent column is a report on the antics of William Jarvis and his son Thomas (a pretty awful pair), in Leicester. William was another 3x great grandfather. This report also throws an interesting light on life in the town in the last year before Victoria came to the throne. Life doesn’t sound too peaceful at the time.

It seems quite a coincidence that these ancestors “meet” like this. The actual link between the lines came with a marriage in 1918, the individuals being great-grandfathers of the parties.

[Top-of-the-hill]

  I didn't realise Tom and Jerry went back that far! According to Wiki it was "a commonplace phrase for young men given to drinking, gambling, and riotous living in 19th-century London".

[Davedrave]

  I didn't realise Tom and Jerry went back that far! According to Wiki it was "a commonplace phrase for young men given to drinking, gambling, and riotous living in 19th-century London".

What I particularly like about family history is the byways it leads into. I didn’t know about Tom and Gerry either, before reading the article, and I also learned from it that the village had a “thirdborough” and still had stocks. And my ancestor’s pub had a bowling alley where people played ‘til midnight (rather riotously) by candlelight.

[KGarrad]

In the West Country, particularly Bristol and Somerset, many pubs still have a skittles alley.
Biggest  pub sport in those areas!

[andrewalston]

Skittle alleys are also found in the Midlands. One formed part of the various games played at our works "do" at a pub in Aston.

The Burton Bridge Inn had one upstairs when I last visited. The league tables on the wall indicated that it was not the only one in the area. One of the teams listed was "Directors and Draymen" - no class distinction there!