Happy Holidays

A happy holiday to all. I'm afraid that I won't be able to post any research items on the blog for a couple of weeks. I'm going to have a minor operation which will keep me away from the internet for a short while. However, as I'll be recouperating up in Yorkshire, I'm going to take the opportunity to visit the West Yorkshire Archives to search their Church Records, both non-conformist and Anglican. I'm hoping to find a lot of births, marriages and deaths from 1770 to about 1960 in my various families that lived in the West Riding. I'll report back in a couple of weeks. Best wishes, James.

SMITH - Ag Lab ....how original...

Introduction
The very first question I had when I started genealogy was, "who were the parents of Harold Wright?" Harold Wright was my mother's grandfather. He was born and lived in Acomb, a parish in the ancient Ainsty of York. Therefore in about 1999, I went to the Borthwick Institute in York to view their parish registers for St. Stephen's Church, Acomb. Before too long, I had found the following entries:

Baptisms
May 12 1897: Henry Cecil son of Henry & Ada Wright, Acomb, joiner
Jan 17 1900: Harold son of Henry & Ada Wright, Acomb, joiner
Sep 24 1902: Ethel dau of Henry & Ada Wright, Acomb, joiner
Aug 23 1905: Kathleen Maud dau of Henry & Ada Wright, Gale View Acomb, joiner

Marriages
Mar 9 1895:
Henry Wright, 26, bachelor, joiner, Acomb, father James Wright market gardener
Ada Smith, 23, spinster, Acomb, father deceased no name given.
Witnesses- John George Wright, Lilly Smith & Mabel Ellis

I found out that Ada Smith was my great-great grandmother, and that she probably had a sister or cousin called Lilly. Unfortunately though, I had no real information about anything else about her or her family. As she married past 1891, I had to wait until the release of the 1901 census to find out her birthplace. - I actually have a picture of Ada Smith which I aim to scan in soon - see here.


Having obtained the 1901 census, I could see that Ada Wright (nee Smith) was living on Front Street, Acomb, with her husband Henry Wright (working as a wagon builder for the railways) and her two eldest sons - Henry Cecil Wright and Harold Wright (my great-grandfather). This census also revealed that she was born in 1872 in Kirkby Malzeard in the West Riding of Yorkshire right on the border with the North Riding. See here for more on the history of Kirkby Malzeard.

The parents of Ada Smith
This necessitated a trip to the North Riding record office in Northallerton. There I searched the parish records of Kirkby Malzeard.

Baptisms: Oct 1 1871: Ada dau of Richard & Elizabeth Smith, farmer, North Close KM.
May 8 1870: Emily dau of Richard & Elizabeth Smith, husbandmen, North Close KM.

I was fairly confident that this was the right Ada Smith, as I could not find any other references to an Ada Smith in the Kirkby Malzeard registers. After finding Ada in these registers, I was able to search for her family in the censuses between 1871 and 1891. In 1871, Richard and Elizabeth Smith are living in Kirkby Malzeard with daughter Emily. Richard is an agricultural labourer - I think having a Smith ancestor who is an ag lab should be a genealogy badge of honour.


In 1881, Richard and Elizabeth Smith had moved to Alne, near Easingwold, in the North Riding of Yorkshire. This was where the youngest three children and Richard himself were born. His wife Elizabeth was born in Sutton-on-the-Forest, which is also North of York. Richard is living at Malt Kiln Cottages and is working as a foreman malster, which seems to be a bit of an improvement from an ag lab. I found out a lot more about the Smith family by researching the parish registers for Alne at the North Yorkshire Record Office.


In 1891, Richard and Elizabeth were still living at Alne Station Malt Kiln and Richard was still working as a Foreman in the Malt Kiln. Interestingly, they also have a daughter Lillie Smith - who would likely be the witness at Ada's marriage four years later in Acomb. Significantly, I have completed a full research of all the SMITHs of Alne from the nineteenth century - I will write more about the various branches in a later post - however, the only Lillie Smith who was baptised in Alne (and could be therefore a relative) was an illegitimate daughter of an Eliza Ann Smith from Tollerton, baptised on 16/11/1879. I have found no relationship between this Eliza Ann Smith and any of my Smith family though. A possibility is that Lillie was illegitimate and brought up by Richard and Elizabeth, though it is also a possibility that Richard and Elizabeth did not baptise Lillie (unlikely as all their other children were baptised) or baptised her somewhere else (though a search of the IGI has failed to find a potential match).

According to the Alne parish registers, Richard Smith died on 22/9/1892. In 1901, I then found Elizabeth Smith living as a widow in Acomb at 10 Grove Terrace, working as a laundress. On the same street, at 2 Grove Terrace, her son Joseph Smith is living with his wife Hannah and young son Wilfred. Her daughter Ada Smith is living with her young family not far away on Front St, Acomb. I have yet to find out what happened after 1895 to Lillie Smith.

Please go to this post to find out about the ancestry of Richard Smith.

Reading your Lines, Loyns or Lyons

Background





My grandfather Cornelius Curley's maternal grandparents were John and Mary Driscoll. In 1901, they were both living in one of the small tennament buildings of Birmingham - Tennant Dr. 6 Court 9 House - in the Emmanuel parish of Birmingham. Their eldest daughter Mary, Cornelius' mother, was living with them.


From the 1901 census, I found that Mary Driscoll senior was born in approximately 1865 in Birmingham. This rough birthdate and birthplace was confirmed by the 1891 census where Mary Driscoll was a press worker, living at Cardigan St with her husband and daughter, Mary.


An introduction to the Lines family

To find out Mary Driscoll senior's maiden name, I sent off for the birth certificate of Mary Driscoll, my great-grandmother. The certifcate showed that Mary was born on October 23rd 1883 at "Back 44 1/2 Curzon St.", Birmingham - probably another tennament address. The informant of the birth was Mary's mother, Mary Driscoll - formerly Mary Lines.

I then obtained the certificate for the marriage of John Driscoll and Mary Lines, which took place at St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Aston on Christmas Day 1882. Both John Driscoll and Mary Lines were living in Great Lister Street, Duddeston at the time. Mary Lines was 22 years, suggesting that she was born in 1860, and her father was given as Edward Lines - a labourer. Although the registrar originally wrote James Lines, before ammending the certificate. The witnesses to the marriage were Joseph Dignam and Kate Lines. One thing that I find slightly odd about this marriage certificate is that all of the handwriting is in the same hand, yet only Kate Lines has an 'x' next to her name to indicate that she made a mark (signature). I'm not clear why she was asked to do this when it seems as if the other witness and the bride and groom were not.

I have no idea yet who Joseph Dignam may be. At a future date I will try and find out more information about this witness of the marriage between John and Mary. I like the challenge of finding out about the life of people who are initially only a name on a page, but it is also useful to try and find out information about the friends of your ancestors - it may lead to more evidence about the sort of lives that they led.


Edward Lines, Loyns, Lyons...
All of the following information I have pieced together using census records. This is only one piece of evidence, and so I would like to cross-check this with other evidence such as the Roman Catholic church records and vital records.

I was expecting to find the Lines family in 1881 in Gt. Lister St., Duddeston, as this is where Mary Lines was living in 1882. However, I failed to find any Lines there. Searching the index for the 1881 census, I found two Mary Lines who were daughters of Edward Lines, of roughly the right age. One of these lived in a very high class neighbourhood of Birmingham with at least one brother called Percival! Obviously this did not look like the right family. I then found the right family living in a tennament house in John Street, St. Mary's Ward - Edward Lines was a bricklayer's labourer, Mary was of the right age and a press worker, and she had an elder sister Catherine who was unmarried and would make a strong candidate for a witness to Mary's wedding one year later. Like the father of John Driscoll, the parents of Mary Lines also originally came from Ireland.


I initially had some trouble trying to find the Lines family in the 1871 census. This was primarily because I was searching the online indexes for 'Lines', rather than doing what I would have done without the index - searching John St. When I did this, I was able to find the family still living there - though their surname was spelt - 'Lyons'. Edward Lines/Lyons was a labourer, while Mary Lines (my great-great-grandmother) was a 9 year old 'tin worker'.


I also had some difficulties finding the Lines family in the 1861 census. When I did find them, they were still living in St. John street - and there was another spelling of the surname - 'Loyns'. Edward Lines/Lyons/Loyns was a labourer. I have been unable to find him in the 1851 census of England thus far - I know that he must have been in England by 1856 as the eldest child, Catherine, was born in Birmingham. I've also searched the GRO indexes for a possible marriage certificate of Edward with his various surname spellings. There is a marriage of an Edward Loyns in the Dec 1851 quarter which may be a possibility.

I have also been unable to find any references to Edward and Mary Lines later than 1883 (when their daughter Mary Lines was married to John Driscoll). There are some possibilities in the death registers between 1883 and 1891, though none that I can uniquely identify. I think obtaining some extra vital records and Roman Catholic Church registers will be the way to take this research forward. These records will also help to iron out inconsistencies between the data in different censuses - for instance, Mary Lines senior only appears to age 10 years between 1861 and 1881 - assuming that she is the same Mary Lines in every census!

The Journal of William Green Bickley

The son of Mary Jane Green (b1821, Smalley Hill) was William Green Bickley, who was born in May 1842. He became a Mormon while living in England, eventually emigrating to Utah in 1861. 28 years later, he returned to the Black Country on a missionary trip and wrote a journal of his experiences. I have been fortunate enough to have received some extracts from this journal from William Green Bickley's great-grandaughter who lives in Utah. Thanks to my 3rd cousin Gillian for putting me in contact with this fascinating source - Gillian, like myself, is a descendant of Mary Jane Green's younger brother Thomas Green who was born in 1827 in Smalley Hill, Little Wenlock.

The passages concentrate on the missionary work of William, but also contain many interesting social commentaries. The entry for Tuesday 24th November 1889 is of particular interest, as William Green Bickley describes the last few moments of the life of his uncle - and my great-great-grandfather - Thomas Green.

Also, I think diary and journal entries give a wonderful impression of the life and character of individuals. I particularly like one line from this journal entry which I have highlighted in red - it's always important to remember, however, that one person's description of an individual's character may not be the same as another's!

William Green Bickley appears to have had a very eventful and full life in the Mormon Church. I believe that there are some further writings on his life and work, which I hope to be able to read at some point.

SECTIONS FROM W.G. BICKLEY'S MISSIONARY JOURNAL

- CONCERNING THE GREEN FAMILY AND OTHER INTERESTING EXPERIENCES IN ENGLAND 1889 - 1891

"Nov. 3., 1889-- Journeyed to Willenhall in Staffordshire, where my sisters, Betsy and Hannah resided. The meeting between us was affecting as well it may be after a separation of nearly 28 years. I spent that day and the following with them and on Tuesday the 5th I reported to my president at B 40, Roland Road Handsworth, Birmingham. I was excused for 2 or 3 weeks in order that I might visit friends and returned to Willenhall the same day. On the next morning I went to Manchester, and visited with my very dear sisters, Sarah Brown Makinson and Christianna Brown. Oh it was an enjoyable meeting. I myself was moved to tears. I found them both enjoying excellent health. We devoted ourselves to the pleasures of the moment, in talking over old times when we were children and congratulating each other on the happiness of our meeting.

On Friday the 8th we visited our cousin Charles Jones and family and were hospitably received and entertained. During this visit I had the pleasure of going into and inspecting some of the large cotton mills in that vicinity. The manufacture of cotton fabrics being the principal industry of Lancashire. On Saturday we went into Manchester and I must confess, I was astounded and grieved at the sights of degradation and sorrow I witnessed and all caused by that dreadful abomination "Drink". It is certainly a city of wealth and culture but along side of the millionaire, you may see the starving, pinched, haggard faces of the occupants of the slums and oh the agony that is portrayed in the sunken eyes and hollow features of the poor. We visited the royal museum in Peel Park which is really a beautiful collection. We passed a very pleasant day.

On Sunday the 10th we spent the day in visiting with our cousin Fanny, Uncle Thomas Green's eldest daughter at Lees.

Monday the 11th was spent socially by my sister Christianna and myself. In the afternoon I visited some friends of Sarah's and in the evening called upon cousin Charles.

On Wednesday the 13th we made preparations for departure as Christianna was due at a new place of service with Mrs. Smith of 19 Town Hall Square, Bolton.

On the 17th, Sunday, I attended the Sunday School of the church of St. Giles and on the following day I visited my Uncle Thomas at Brownhills, where I passed a very enjoyable two days visit.

On Tuesday the 24th November returned to the mission office and found a note awaiting me desiring that I would go to Brownhills as my Uncle Thomas Green was in a serious condition of ill health. I started at once, walking to Walsall and took the train to Brownhills. I found my uncle very ill indeed and at once endeavored to comfort him and other members of the family.

My uncle said he felt quite content with his prospects of the future state, but he could not hardly have felt so, for he would frequently call upon God for mercy in anything but a contented voice. My mind was sensibly impressed with the absurdity of a death bed repentance. I cannot at all understand how a person can live all his days in a dissolute manner his body continually filled with intoxicants and then at the last moment, when death stares him in the face, expect to have the mercy of God extended to him even so much as to take him to the realms of eternal Glory. I stayed at Uncles until Thursday afternoon. Sat up with him both nights and doing what I could for him. Just before I left Uncle Thomas' home, my aunt Sarah arrived and I must say I was a little disappointed at the cool manner in which she received me after so long an absence. I do not think she interchanged a half dozen words with me but it is of no consequence. I bid Uncle goodbye and went to Willenhall for a day or two, talking wherever I could on the Gospel.

On Monday Dec 9, I returned to the office and found a letter announcing my Uncle's death on the morning of the 6th, inst., and desiring my presence at the funeral on the following day. I went again to Brownhills on Tuesday and saw him laid in his last home on earth and returned to Birmingham in the evening.

Jan 2, Passed the morning studying and writing. In the afternoon, walked to Willenhall to see my relatives. Found all well except my niece, Polly Carter. She was suffering from hysteria produced by fright. A drunken man had threatened to cut her throat and she is naturally quite nervous. I visited both my sisters and stayed at Hannah's.

Saturday March 8. Willenhall. Devoted this morning to a thorough good bath and writing home. In the afternoon I called at the place where my niece is living (Miss Polly Carter).

Sunday March 9. Attended the Parish Church of St. Giles and in the afternoon my niece Polly Carter came to visit me. We took a walk out by Wednesfield and returned by way of Portbello. In the evening my niece Polly Watterson accompanied her back to Darlaston.

May30. Manchester, I took advantage of cheap trip to come and visit my dear sisters, Chrissie met me at the station and we went to Falsworth and passed a social afternoon together. Walked out to the new cemetery and then called upon cousin Charles Jones.

Some interesting entries from September as he visited around the mission. 1890. I imagine they spent a lot of their time just walking from one assignment to the next.

Sept 18. Birmingham. Attended outdoor meeting and the testimony meeting in the chapel.

Sept 19. Walsall. Bro Cummings and I left this morning for a trip through a portion of our district.

Sept 20. Gentleshaw. Upon arising from bed this morning Bro. Cummings felt himself too ill to travel, and it was necessary to visit the people so I continued my journey alone, calling on Uncle Green's folks as I passed through Brownhills.

Sept 21. Gentleshaw. Met with the saints at Wimblebury this afternoon and preached in the evening. Returned to Gentleshaw.

Sept 22. Lichfield. Arrived here early this morning. Visited some of the interesting places.

Sept 23. Birmingham. Walked from Lichfield home. 17 miles. Very tired and glad to get a rest.


Feb 23, 1891. Manchester. Today, I took my bath for the first time in this city. Excellent accommodations are provided by the corporation for this purpose. A really good bath with warm water, soap and flesh brushes and two towels and toilet fixtures can be had for 4 pence, which is 8 cents in U.S. Money and a good second class bath for 2 pence and the large swimming bath only 1 penny. So there is no excuse for any one not getting clean for any length of time. It is out of the question.

In the evening I went to an entertainment in the Central hall which is a place held and controlled by the religious organization known as the Methodists. Whatever the character of their religious services may be, I certainly think they deserve credit for providing an entertainment of the excellent character I witnessed on Saturday evening at the low price of one penny. Exceptionally good artists are secured both vocal, instrumental and elocutory and I must say the various numbers of this program were rendered in a very creditable manner and drew frequent manifestations of approval."

A little more history for the Green Family

The Green Family circa 1770-1850



















The Green Family 1850-1920












This previous post documented my initial research into my father's maternal grandfather - Thomas Green's ancestry.

Thomas Green, his brothers and sisters, and his parents, Thomas and Margaret left rural Shropshire (Lawley near Wellington) for the boys and Thomas Snr to work in the coal mines of Brownhills, Staffs. They moved around between 1871 and 1881 to live in the Carlins Buildings on Watling Street. Living in the nearby Lancashire Cottages in Brownhills were the Deakin family who had also moved in "The Great Trek" from Lawley to Brownhills, as did many other families.

Reading the excellent online biography of the Deakin family, available at the above link, I noticed that a John Henry Deakin married a Mary Jane Green, Thomas Green's elder sister. I recommend reading this article as a nice local family history of the Brownhills area.

The author of this article, Gillian, is my third cousin - our common ancestor is Thomas Green from Little Wenlock in Shropshire. She has a lot more information about the Green family. With her very kind help I have been able to construct the family tree above, which is still far from complete, but a vast improvement on my earlier efforts! Notably, Gillian has been able to go a generation further back than I with the Green family to a John Green, father of William Green, of Little Wenlock. She has also been able to piece together the family of Thomas Green (b1827) and his wife Margaret (nee Machin). Margaret Machin's parents were John Machin and Elizabeth ? of Dawley, Shropshire. I will post a bit more on the Green family soon.

... sorry for the small size of some of the information on the pedigree chart - I hope that all the names are readable if not the dates; I wanted to put all generations and cousins on there, but this means that I lose a bit of readability! Email me if you want to know the dates, or for a copy of the chart.

The Green Family of Shropshire

See this post for an update to this research and the family tree.

Thomas Green is my father's maternal grandfather. He was the husband of Mary Jane Phipps and the father of my grandmother - Mary Jane Green. I knew very little about this family before starting my research. All I had to go on was a report by a genealogist who was employed to find some of my dad's cousins on this side of the family who were entitled to a small inheritance. The genealogist told me that Thomas Green was married to Mary Jane Phipps and also gave me the names of the their children. Apparently, Thomas was married once before he married Mary Jane and had a child, Elizabeth Ann.




From this information, I got the marriage certificate of Thomas and Mary Jane which showed that Thomas' father was also called Thomas. I was able to find Thomas Green in the 1901 census living with his family at Watling St. Brownhills, working as a coal miner.

In the 1891 censuses, Thomas Green is living with his mother Margaret, still at Watling Street. His daughter Elizabeth is staying with a neighbouring family. Thomas Green is a coal miner. However, Thomas Green was born in Wellington, Shropshire.

Just from this information, I was then able to use the census material online and the IGI to compile the above tree. What I want to convey from this post is that while this looks very exciting, I would still hessitate to claim it as definitively 100% accurate - I would want to access more records to affirm what I've found. Some of these relationships were found using "members entries" to the IGI, which are particularly notorious for transciption errors.

Nevertheless, I have not claimed any links just based on the fact that the IGI came up with "the right name in roughly the right place" - in fact, I have been very careful to ensure that the entries are unique to the individuals involved. I was helped with this because William and Thomas Green lived in the same place (Smalley Hill, Little Wenlock) for about 70 years.

Before starting on this branch of my family, I had very little knowledge of them. By constructing the family from censuses and the IGI, I still feel as if I have very little knowledge of them, even though I know a few occupations and where they lived. This is quite a good example of where census and IGI records give you a basic idea of the family tree, but to really find out interesting information it is necessary to access all available records, especially those located in record offices. Hopefully, one day I will get the time to do some research in Shrewsbury.

This is some information on some of the other parishes mentioned in the tree:
Little Wenlock
Wellington
Dawley Magna
Buildwas
Cound
Hughley
Kenley

A mystery suitable for Dalziel & Pascoe

So What is the Mystery?
In the 1891 census, Joseph and Charlotte Garbutt were living on Ford's Row, Whitwood with Mary Pascoe and her daughter Mary Jane Pascoe. It was not clear whether Charlotte or Joseph were the child of Mary Pascoe.

I therefore attempted to search the 1881 census for Mary and Mary Jane Pascoe. I found them still living in Ford's Row with husband/father William Pascoe. William and Mary Pascoe had also two elder daughters - Charlotte and Sarah. All the children and Mary Snr were born in Knottingley, West Riding. However, William Pascoe was a potter who was born in Bovey Tracey, Devon.

I then found William Pascoe in 1871, working as a potter, living at Hill Top Knottingley. His birthplace and age match the 1881 census, as do that of his wife - however, she is called Sarah and not Mary. However, if you look at the 1891 census, it appears as if the enumerator has probably got the maiden names of mother and daughter the wrong way around here. William also has a step-daughter, Charlotte Nichols of the right age and born in Knottingley.

Therefore Charlotte appears to have several names -

1861 census: Cannot find her?
1871 census: Charlotte Nichols - stepdaughter of William and Sarah (or Mary) Pascoe
1881 census: Charlotte Pascoe - daughter of Mary Pascoe
1881 marriage index: Charlotte Ann Schofield - marries Joseph Garbutt???
1891 census: Charlotte Garbutt - daughter of Mary Pascoe
1891 census: Charlotte Garbutt - wife of Joseph Garbutt

It is a mystery if each of these Charlotte's is the same person. Following the census information backwards it would appears so, but it is difficult to explain why her surname changes so much. It appears that she may have had several surnames because of the death and re-marriage of one or both of her parents.

How can we resolve this mystery?
Tracing the life of Charlotte Garbutt may be a case of assuming too many census facts at face value. We need to take the steps backwards more slowly to try and find the evidence that confirms relationships. How can this be done:

1)The marriage certificate of Joseph Garbutt and Charlotte Ann Schofield may help. This appears to be the only Joseph Garbutt marrying at the right time in the Pontefract area, but another Joseph may have been missed in the index and this could be completely misleading.

2) The parish records of Knottingley and Whitwood may throw light on Joseph and Charlotte Garbutt and Charlotte's earlier life.

3) The birth certificates of Joseph and Charlotte Garbutt's children - Mary Ann, Joseph, Ernest, Gertrude & Jane - should give Charlotte's maiden name (or names).

4) Perhaps a marriage between William Pascoe and Mary in around 1865-1870.

In the IGI I found a marriage between a William Pascoe (father John Pascoe) and a Mary Schofield on 11 Feb 1866 in Pontefract. This same IGI entry claims that Mary Schofield's father was a William Harker! The marriage certificate for this is Mar 1866 Vol9c, p98, Pontefract.

So why might Charlotte be called Charlotte Nichols in 1871?, and where is she in 1861? The mystery deepens....

See here for a picture of Charlotte and here for an update to this story.

Amy Hughes - nee Walsh

Amy Hughes was born Amy Walsh in 1909; she married Joe Hughes, the younger brother of my great-grandfather David Hughes (b.1905). I only met Aunt Amy once in about 2000 when I went to talk to her about the family history with my grandad (David Hughes b.1927) at her home in Castleford. She was an extremely kind lady and very interesting to talk to. My grandad has always spoken very highly of her. I found this obituary in an All Saints, Church, Castleford Parish Newletter dated September 2004. It speaks of her long standing work in the Church, Sunday School, Mothers' Union, Local Politics and the Scout Movement. I thought that I would post it here as a tribute to her. - From a family history viewpoint, I think obituaries have to be one of the most wonderful sources of detail about the lives of individuals.

The Garbutt family - how writing on pictures can be very useful!

Background
My grandfather, David Hughes, was born in Castleford in the West-Riding of Yorkshire, as was his father, also called David Hughes (b.1905, Castleford). His father (my g-g-grandfather) was also called David Hughes and was born in Whitwood, Yorkshire. I know a great deal about his family, but relatively little about his wife, Mary Garbutt.

What did we know initially about the Garbutt family?
What I knew initially was that David Hughes (b1882) married Mary Garbutt and had three children - David (b.1905), Mary (b.1907) and Joe (b1909). Mary Garbutt died in childbirth, or soon after, with Joe. Joe Hughes married Amy Walsh - see this post for more information about her very interesting life - and here for information on the ancestors of Mary Garbutt.

Information from family members suggests that Mary might have had a brother, Joe, and that her father may also be called Joe Garbutt. However, the real brekthrough came when my Great-Uncle Jack showed me a picture of a wedding in Castleford featuring about 20 family members that he had in his possession. I will post an image of this photo here when I am able to scan it. This photo featured members of both the Garbutt and Hughes families - and had a few names written on the back. I will write more about the Hughes names in a later post.

The picture was of a wedding between Joseph Garbutt and Elizabeth Ann Day.

Some of the Garbutt names were - Mary Garbutt, Charlotte Garbutt, Ernest Garbutt.

Knowing this enabled me to find out more from the 1891 & 1901 censuses:











In the 1901 census of 4 Pottery Lane, All Saints, Whitwood, I found Joseph and Charlotte Garbutt with their children Joseph, Ernest, Gertrude and Jane. Whitwood is within the ancient parish of Featherstone and about 3 miles from Castleford and Whitwood. Knowing that the elder child were born in Castleford, I searched the 1891 census and found the family living at 57 Fords Row, Whitwood. This confirmed that Mary Garbutt also was their daughter and told me that she had the middle initial 'A'. They are living with a Mary Pascoe, who was born in Knottingley like Charlotte, is the parent of either Joseph or Charlotte - though the census enumerator also seems confused - see here for information about Mary Pascoe. I was then able to find Mary Garbutt in the 1901 census. She was working as a cook in a household in St. Phillips, Whitwood, belonging to a Hannah Lacey. In both 1891 and 1901 Joseph was a coal miner - it is likely that he came to Yorkshire like a lot of those who were born in Staffordshire to work in the coal mines.

Most of the information found here matched the names on the family photo (Charlotte and Ernest Garbutt being unique among census entries to this family), and the information supplied by family. What was new to me was that the Garbutt family came from Staffordshire - Joseph Garbutt was born in Brockmore, Staffordshire. I had expected that the Garbutts would be a Yorkshire family as other Garbutts down my maternal grandmother's line had been from the North Riding of Yorkshire.

This data also needs to be corroborated though with certificates and parish records which I aim to get imminently - particularly:

Marriage of Mary Ann Garbutt & David Hughes - Mar 1904 Pontefract, 9c, 164.
Birth & Death certificates of Mary Ann Hughes (nee Garbutt) - cannot find!

Marriage of Joseph Garbutt & Charlotte Ann Schofield - Dec 1881 Pontefract, 9c, 144 - (probably the marriage of Joseph and Charlotte). see here for an update


I have not yet managed to find out much more about the Garbutt family. However, looking at some of the material available online about Whitwood, I notice one page that lists a memorial to an E.Garbutt who died in WW1. I wonder if this may be the Ernest Garbutt who was Mary's brother and who was pictured on the wedding photograph my Uncle Jack showed me?

The elusive Zachariah Hughes

Every family historian has at least one elusive ancestor. I have several, but I find this chap particularly interesting - and elusive! One reason why he is a source of fascination for me is that the family stories I am aware of describe the Hughes family as quite strict Methodists. I have managed to find out something about John William's later life, but nothing about where he was born - he himself did not know, he says he is born in NK (not known) in the 1901 census. This means that I did not know very much about his early life. I do know, however, that his father is called Zachariah, as this was the name given on John William's marriage certificate - though he had died by this time - 1893. Therefore I have set out to find this Zachariah...


Where to go looking for Zachariah Hughes?
Knowing that Zachariah Hughes existed, I had to think of which records to find him in. I presumed that he lived in the North East of England, either in Northumberland or Durham, as his son, John William Hughes, got married and worked in this area - Whickham to be precise.

1) Church Records:
Perhaps I could find a baptism, marriage or death record for ZH? I have not had time or access to look at every single parish register in this area. It would be wise to start at Whickham and move outwards, probably concentrating on non-conformist registers as family tradition has that they were Methodists. Nevertheless, I looked at two incomplete indexes - the IGI and Durham Records online - to look for a Zac* or Zec* Hughes. As you may imagine, Zachariah is a name that lends itself to many variants. However, I could not find ZH in the Northeast region. The IGI gives 19 matches in England - mainly in Stafford and Worcester. There is also a Zachariah North Hughes from Clapham, Surrey - he began to pop up in a lot of places in my searches.

2) Vital registration records:
Perhaps I would be able to find ZH in the vital registraion records. I have searched the freeBMD index and done a search throug the original records on ancestry. The birth and death indexes drew a blank, however, the marriage index did have one possibility:

Marriage: Zachariah Hughes Dec1873 Darlington Durham Vol 10a, p38. There are two females on the same page - Hannah Spence & Catharine Close - one of these could be his wife. See here for an update.


3) Census records:For a long time I thought that there were no possibilities of any census entry for Zachariah. That was before I learnt to search for Zecariah & Zechariah as an alternative spelling! I have found who I believe to be my ZH in two censuses in 1861 and 1871. He is the only ZH living in NBD or DUR in these two censuses, and significantly disappears in the 1881 and 1891 censuses. An early death of ZH and his wife might explain why John William Hughes did not know his own birthplace.

These census records show that a ZH was living at 41 Consett Terrace in 1861, in Conside & Knitley, a part of Consett, County Durham. He was born in approximately 1854 in Walker, Northumberland. His parents were Josiah (b. 1812, Carmarthenshire) and Eleanor (b. 1817, Gloynoe?, Carmarthenshire) Hughes - Josiah was a 'Rail Mill Furnace Man'. In 1861, ZH was also living with other siblings - Adah, Isaiah, Gomer, Rachel, and Miriam. This appears to be a very religous family, just like the family tradition had.


In 1871, Josiah is now a widower and he and ZH are living with an Ann James, born in Carmarthenshire, who is a house servant. They are living at 363 Consett Terrace, Conside & Knitsley. A large proportion of this community appear to be from South Wales. It seems as if a large community of traveling labourers moved from South Wales to the Northeast. In this census, Josiah says he was born in Pembrokeshire, South Wales. After this census, both Josiah and Zechariah Hughes do not appear anywhere that I can find in future censuses. I need to find further information on this Hughes family and what might have happened to them.


When did Josiah and Eleanor Hughes come to the Northeast?
Assuming that this is the right family - and more evidence is needed to confirm this - it is interesting to find out when Josiah and Eleanor came to the Northeast. Looking at the births of their children from the censuses, it seems as if they lived in Dowlais, Glamorgan (now Merthyr Tydfil) up to 1844, before coming to Consett, County Durham between 1844 and 1847. Between 1847 and 1849 they moved to Walker, Northumberland, before moving back to County Durham by 1861. It has also been possible to find the family earlier in the 1851 census living at 155 Cambrian Row, Longbenton, Walker. Josiah is a 'heater in iron factory' - both Consett and Walker were centres of Iron mining and production in the mid 19th century.

This census also appears to give detailed birthplaces for Josiah and Eleanor - however, I have found them quite difficult to read - so I have magnified them here and if anyone can read them I'd be delighted to hear from you.

I think the top one is "Clydey" - Pembrokeshire, but I'm not sure what the script above the 'pemb' is. This is the birthplace of Josiah Hughes. The bottom one is place in Carmarthenshire and is the birthplace of Eleanor! I haven't yet identified this family in the 1841 Wales census!

As with many lines, I need to uncover extra records to confirm or refute these relationships, but I think that this evidence is encouraging.

Padley & Young families 1800-1860

Ann Padley, born 1852
Ann Padley is my mother's mother's mother's mother's mother! That is, she is my 3xgreat grandmother. I have attempted to piece together her life and family from mainly the census, IGI records and parish records available from Durham records online. I have yet to obtain the vital registration certificates, but hopefully they will confirm these relationships.

I originally found that Matthew Carr had married Ann Padley from the 1891 census image, which showed that Matthew Carr was living his wife, Ann, and his mother-in-law, a widow, Ann Padley. That Matthew's wife was called Ann Padley was confirmed when I found the index of their marriage: Matthew Carr & Ann Padley - Mar 1871, Sunderland, Durham, 10a, 644. - though I have still have to obtain the original document. See here for an update.

I started to piece together the Padley line:

Ann's birthdate in the 1871-1901 censuses, when she was living with Matthew Carr was always given as about 1853-4. However, the place of birth varies widely. I have found the following birthplaces given in the various censuses:

1871 - Rainton, Durham
1881 - Sherburn, Durham
1891 - Roker, Durham
1901 - Hetton, Durham

Searching the vital registration index on freeBMD, I found one possible match - Ann Padley, Jun 1853, Houghton-le-Spring, Durham - which I shall obtain - Most of the places above are townships of Houghton-le-Spring.


Who were Ann Padley's parents?

However, knowing her birthplace and age, and those of her mother, I searched for Ann Padley jnr, in the 1861 census. I found them living at Brick Garth, Hetton-le-Hole, daughter of Joseph Padley (b. ~1825, Houghton-le-Spring, Dur) and Ann Padley (~1825, Longbenton, Northumberland). The only thing here is that the birthplace of Ann Padley Snr does not match that which I had already found on the 1891 census. It was not a matter of it being the wrong parish, but it was the wrong county entirely. However, I have already talked about this particular enumerator of the 1891 census! He seems to have been either completely incompetent or lazy - he also got Matthew Carr's birthplace wrong by about 80 miles! Therefore, I was quite happy that I had the right census entry. This census also gave another birthplace entry for Ann Padley jnr, which was Moorsley, Durham - another township of Houghton-le-Spring.


I was able to gather more information about Joseph and Ann Padley from the 1871 census at 18 Australia Row, Seaton Colliery, Seaham, Easington and the 1881 census at 22 Ogle Terrace, Southwick, Sunderland. This enabled me to find out about the siblings to Ann and that Joseph Padley was a coal miner during this period. Joseph Padley died at some point between 1881 and 1891, as Ann Padley Snr was a widow living with Matthew and Ann Carr by the 1891 census. She died between 1891 and 1901 (nb see here, she may have lived longer). I think Joseph Padley died in Dec 1881 as I have found a death certificate indexed for Dec 1881, Sunderland, Durham, 10a-319, for a Joseph Padley of the right age.


I then decided to take Joseph Padley and Ann Padley's lives backwards in the census. In the 1851 census, Joseph Padley is a coal miner at Haswell, living with his mother-in-law, Ann Young (b.1796, Newcastle) and two sister, Rachel and Elizabeth Young. I am presuming that they are sisters of his wife, Ann Padley (nee Young). Although Ann was born in Northumberland, her two younger sisters were born in Rainton, Durham. It appears that her family moved into Durham around 1826. I then looked for Ann Young in the 1841 census, knowing that her mother was also called Ann Young and that she had two named sisters, but was unable to find a suitable match. I did find possible matches in Haswell though -Ann Snr and Elizabeth living together; Ann jnr living with a different family; but no Rachel.

I also looked in the IGI for potential Young births in Rainton (church pictured on the left), and found the following, which matches with the census data and what I already know - these are potentially the siblings of my Ann Young - though I am always cautious of over-interpreting the IGI, it is an incomplete index after all:

22/11/1826 Rachel Young, dau of Robert and Ann Young, W. Rainton

10/7/1831 Elizabeth Young, dau of Robert and Ann Young, W. Rainton

This then prompted me to re-search the IGI for the baptism of Ann Young, and I found one match:

about 5/9/1824 - Ann Young, dau of Robert & Ann Young, Longbenton, Northumberland

Checking the Tynemouth marriage index and the IGI gave two possible marriages for a Robert Young to an Ann in the right date range:

13 Sep 1818  Robert Young = Ann Canlish
25 Nov 1818  Robert Young = Ann Morton

What about the parents of Joseph Padley?

I have not definitively found Joseph Padley in the 1841 census yet, though there was a Joseph Padley living in Haswell (as he was in 1851) working as a coalminer, who is of the right age. He is living with a John and Matthew Padley who could be brothers. Interestingly, I found at the Durham Mining Museum Records that it looks as if this John Padley died in a mining accident at Haswell where 95 people lost their lives following an explosion on 28 Sep 1844. This web page gives the names of others who lost their lives in the disaster and some rememberance poems.















Joseph Padley consistently gives his birthdate as 1824 and his birthplace as Houghton-le-Spring in the censuses - you can see an image of St. Michael's church, Houghton-le-Spring above.
Therefore I searched the IGI and I found a strong candidate for his baptismal entry:

15 AUG 1824 Houghton Le Spring, Durham, England, Joseph Padley son of John and Margaret Padley. Houghton-le-Spring

This was confirmed by searching Durham Records Online:
Baptisms, Houghton le Spring District - Parish/Church: Houghton le Spring (St. Michael & All Angels) 15 Aug 1824 Joseph Padley, son of the late John Padley & Margaret, abode Houghton-le-Spring.

This gave me the extra information that Joseph Padley's father had died by the time he was born, meaning he must have died in early 1824 (given that he was born in August!). Searching the baptismal entries for Houghton-le-Spring, I found two potential siblings,

07 JUL 1822 Houghton Le Spring, Durham, England Sarah Padley dau of John and Margaret Padley. Houghton-le-Spring.

4 June 1819 Houghton Le Spring, Durham, England Matthew Padley son of John and Margaret Padley. Houghton-le-Spring.

I also searched the Durham Records Online for other Padley records in Houghton-le-Spring and found this marriage:

1 May 1815 John Padley = Margaret Moralee

It is possible that my Joseph Padley is the son of John Padley and Margaret Moralee, and that he has a sister, Sarah, and a brother, Matthew, which may be the Matthew Padley that he could be living with in the 1841 census. I haven't found a baptismal entry for the John Padley who was also living with him in the 1841 census.


Can we piece all of this work together?
What conclusions can we draw from these various strands of evidence? Well, using the various parish records, census entries, IGI records and vital registration certificates enables me to tentatively draw out the family tree above. However, I have used a hashed line for the Padley line as I still need to confirm these relationships. In particular, I need to find -

- the baptism of Ann Padley circa 1853 in Durham, in any number of parishes?
- the marriage of Joseph Padley and Ann Young circa 1849, in Haswell or elsewhere?
- the baptism of Ann Young circa 1824 in Wapping or Longbenton, Northumberland
- the marriage certificate of Matthew Carr and Ann Padley

This family line is a good example of where it is important to flesh out the family history - as it may take converging evidence from numerous sources on cousins, brothers, sisters, etc. to finally establish these relationships.