New Posts Soon!

I shall be posting more new entries onto my blog soon. After getting through a terrific amount of material in the first few months, I've had to take a step back as I've been busy with other things. Nevertheless, I feel as if I'm still only about half way through all my old unpublished research material - and I've actually got even more new research to put out there - including some work on North American and European genealogy. Thanks to everyone who is visiting in the meantime, I'm still receiving a large amount of traffic. One of the great things about genealogy blogsites is that the material will always be available to anyone who is interested. Hopefully, I shall start posting some more stuff in a couple of weeks. One I recommence, they will probably come thick and fast! Best wishes, James.

Finding my Welsh/English border ancestors

Introduction
I had found that my grandfather Hughes' great-grandfather was Morris Hughes who had ventured the 200 miles to Castleford, Yorkshire in around 1881 from Bilston, Staffordshire where he had been born in 1856. Thirty years earlier, his father David Hughes had also been born in Bilston. In 1849 David Hughes married Jane Lewis. From his marriage certificate I discovered that David Hughes' father was called Maurice Hughes, a labourer. Here I document my search for Maurice Hughes.

Can I find Maurice Hughes?
The first piece of documentary evidence I have that mentions Maurice Hughes is the marriage certificate of his son, David Hughes. This is from 1849, and he is described as a labourer. It is not mentioned that he is deceased, so it is reasonable to believe that he was still alive at this time. This would mean that I should be able to locate him in the 1841 census and perhaps even the 1851. I have had instances, however, where an ancestor was named as a father on a certificate and the registrar failed to add that he was deceased. I also believe that Maurice would be living in Bilston, Staffordshire as this is where his son David Hughes was born in 1826 and where he was still living in 1849. I therefore searched the 1841 and 1851 censuses for the name Maurice Hughes or Morris Hughes. Morris Hughes appears to be a family name used in at least 3 generations, so I am presuming that Maurice could also be called Morris.

The 1851 census was most interesting as I found a Morris Hughes living next door to David Hughes in Black Horse Yard. He is living with his wife Betty and sons Morris and William. Given the unusualness of the name Morris Hughes, this appears to be the right Morris Hughes. Morris is 80 years old in this census and is described as 'not able to work'. It is stated that he was born in Montgomeryshire in Cherbury - but Cherbury is actually just inside England rather than Wales. His wife Betty was born in Montogmeryshire also, though her birthplace is extremely difficult to read - I think it says Ber* which I would presume could be Berriew a parish near to the English border in Montgomeryshire. Interestingly, this is the same area where David Hughes' future wife Jane Lewis also originated. Both sons were born in Bilston, placing this Morris in Bilston in the timeframe that I already knew.

Moving back 10 years, I can also find this Morris Hughes in the 1841 census. Living on High Street, Mill horn? Yard, Bilston, Morris and his wife Elizabeth are living with sons Morris and William and daughters Ann and Margaret. David Hughes is also living with the family providing confirmation that this is the right family. Morris Hughes is described as a labourer.

To find out some more information about Morris Hughes and his family I performed as search for baptisms and marriages in the IGI. I found some extra biographical information from member submissions in the online IGI database. Importantly, I found three elder children - Thomas, another Maurice, and Mary. I am certain that these are the right family as the parents' names were given as Maurice & Betty Hughes, which is quite a unique combination.

As I cannot find Morris Hughes in the 1861 census (he would be 90), I tried to find a death certificate between 1851 and 1861 in Bilston. The closest match was for a Morris Hughes who died on 4th August 1853 of a 'decline of nature'. The death was registered by Thomas Hughes (which could be Morris' eldest son) who was in attendance. Thomas Hughes is recorded as being from Lady Moor Sedgley, but this is certainly the right certificate as the address for Morris Hughes is given as High Street, Bilston.

I have yet to find out about the earlier life of Morris Hughes.

Morris Hughes

Introduction
My grandfather's great-grandfather was Morris Hughes who married and brought up his 9 children in Castleford, West Yorkshire. He is pictured here in about 1907 at a family wedding. I had found Morris in the 1891 and 1901 censuses where he was described as being a coal hewer or coalminer. I also knew that Morris married Mary Gray in Normanton in October 1881. His marriage certificate told me that his father was called David Hughes. However, Morris had not been born in Yorkshire but in Bilston in Staffordshire. I therefore set out to find out more about his earlier life.


A step-father - Charles Woolley
My first task was to find Morris Hughes in the 1881 census. I found him living in Whitwood, a suburb of Castleford where he was working as a coal miner. He is living with Charles Woolley his step-father, and his mother Jane. Charles is described as 'nearly blind' and is not working. Charles was one of the witnesses at Morris' wedding a few months later. Charles Woolley, like his step-son, was also born in Bilston, Staffordshire.

Morris Hughes' father David Hughes must have died before 1871, as during this year Morris is already living with Charles Woolley (b.1833) and his mother Jane (b.1827) at Court 10 House 3, Coseley Street, Bilston. Both Charles and Morris are described as coal miners. Also living with the family is another step-child of Charles, Morris' sister Harriett Hughes and an adopted child called Maria Morris who is only 1 year old. I have no further information about Maria Morris so I do not know what happened to her or why she was adopted.

I was able to find the marriage certificate of Charles Woolley and Jane Hughes. They married on July 25th 1866 at Trinity Church, Ettinghsall. Both Charles and Jane were widowed; Charles worked as a miner and Jane as a laundress. Charles' father was also named Charles Woolley, and Jane's father was David Lewis. The witnesses were John and Mary Ann Allen.


Morris Hughes' father - David Hughes
I was able to further deduced that Morris Hughes' father David Hughes would have died between 1861 and 1866, as I was able to find Morris Hughes living with his father in a private house on Wolverhampton Street, Bilston in the 1861 census. Morris is there with his elder sister Elizabeth, younger sister Harriett and younger brother John, all of whom were born in Bilston. David Hughes who was born in Bilston in around 1826 was working as a labourer in the iron works.

I was able to confirm this information and these relationships from the birth certificate of Morris Hughes. This stated that he was born on the 6th February 1856 at High Street, Bilston to David Hughes and Jane Hughes (nee Lewis). David's occupation is listed as a blast iron founder labourer.

David and Jane were also married and living in Bilston in 1851 at Black House yard. Also living with them is their two year old son David Hughes. As David does not appear in 1861, it is very possible that he died in infancy.

Finally, I was able to find the marriage certificate of David Hughes and Jane Lewis. The marriage took place at St. Mary's Church, Bilston, on Feb 12th 1849. David Hughes, 23, was described as a furnaceman, whereas Jane Lewis, 22, was of no occupation. Both were from Bilston and were previously unmarried. The witnesses were David Lewis and Elizabeth Lewis. This David Lewis may be the father of Jane Lewis, who is described on the certificate as a labourer, confirming what was stated on the certificate of Jane's second marriage. We also get to find out that David Hughes' father was Maurice Hughes (sic) - the inspiration for Morris Hughes' name is revealed.


Read this post to find out updated information about Morris Hughes's youngest daughter, Eveline Hughes, and extra pictures of Morris and his wife.

The Hughes Clan

Introduction

















My maternal grandfather David Hughes (from now on I'll call David Hughes III) was born in Castleford in between the two world wars. Here he is pictured with my grandmother Doreen and my younger brother Daniel about 30 years ago!

My grandad David is the elder brother of Eric and Jack. Talking to my grandad I was able to find out initially a lot of information about the family. Their parents were Elsie Wilkes and David Hughes II. David Hughes II was born in Castleford on the 2nd June 1905. He died on the 13th February 1960. David II had a younger sister Mary born in 1907 and a younger brother Joe Hughes born on 31st May 1909 and who died on 14th December 1991. Joe Hughes married Amy Walsh and lived in Castleford. You can see an obituary for Amy Hughes here.

Also from my grandad I found out that his father's parents were called David Hughes I and Mary Garbutt, both of whom were born in Whitwood, near Castleford. My grandad also knew that David Hughes I was the eldest son and had a younger brother named Charles Hughes who had been in the army - see here for information about Charles.


David Hughes I of Castleford






Knowing the information that my grandad had given me, I found David (b.1882, Whitwood) and his brother Charles (b.1888, Castleford) in the 1901 census. Click here for a picture of David. They were living at 32 Nicholson Street, with their parents Morris Hughes (b.1856, Bilston, Staffordshire) and Mary Hughes (b.1862, Cawood, Yorkshire). Both David and Morris are coal hewers, whereas Charles is noted as a trapper underground. Making up the family in the house are four sisters (Mary Ellen, Harriet, Elizabeth & Laura) and a younger brother named Morris after his father. Also living with the family is Thomas Gray who is described as a boarder (born 1879 Castleford) and who is working as a labourer above ground at the coal pit. Although Thomas is described as a lodger, I subsequently found out that he is the brother of Mary Hughes.

In 1891 the family are also living in Castleford at 24 Love Lane. From this census we also find two other children - Jane and another Morris, who must have died in infancy as Morris and Mary had another Morris by the time of the 1901 census. The 1891 census also listed Sarah Gray as living with the family as a domestic servant - she is also listed as the sister-in-law to Morris, confirming that Morris' wife Mary Hughes' maiden name was Gray.


The marriage of Morris Hughes
Having found out the names of Morris Hughes & Mary Gray I was able to obtain their marriage certificate:

• On October 8th 1881, at the parish church of Normanton

• Morris Hughes, aged 24, bachelor, miner, of Bensons' Lane, father Daivd Hughes a labourer

• Mary Gray, aged 19, spinster, of Bensons' Lane, father Thomas Gray a labourer

• Witnesses - Charles Woolley & Annie Clayton
  

My grandfather's great-grandparents were therefore married in 1881 in Normanton, West Yorkshire. Mary Gray was born in Cawood in between York and Leeds in Yorkshire, whereas Morris Hughes had come to Yorkshire earlier in his life having been born in Bilston, Staffordshire. In the next entry I shall discuss the earlier life of Morris Hughes.

Commonwealth War Graves

John Richard Goodall 1892 - 26/9/1916

In this previous post I wrote about the Goodall family of Castleford, where three brothers went off to serve in France in WW1. I said that I had no idea what happened to the brothers after they enlisted in 1915. However, after reading George G. Morgan's article in his Along Those Lines column - "In search of the Graves of our War Dead" - I decided to have a look in the Commonwealth War Graves database. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission was established in 1917 to mark and maintain the graves of the war dead from Commonwealth countries.

I was amazed by the depth of the database and the extremely useful genealogical information that it contains for some of the entries. Searching for the three Goodall brothers, I only found an entry for John Richard Goodall - hopefully the other brothers survived.

• Corporal JR Goodall
• 10th Batallion, York and LancasterRegiment
• Died on the 26th September 1916, aged 25
• Service no. 10/16821
• Son of George and Sarah K Goodall, of Lower Oxford Street, Castleford
• Grave: I. A. 16., FOSSE No.10 COMMUNAL CEMETERY EXTENSION, SAINS-EN-GOHELLE

Therefore less than one year after the triumphant news article in the local Castleford 'paper annou- ncing that three patriotic brothers had enlisted JR Goodall had died in France. It appears as if John Richard received a promotion prior to his death as he is recorded as being a Corporal.

He is buried in the Sains-en-Gohelle cemetery based in an old mining settlement (just like Castleford). It is 20km North of Arras and 10km West of Lens. It was started in April 1916 and men continued to be burried there until 1918. A total of 472 casualties are laid to rest, 257 from the UK, 214 from Canada, and 1 Australian.














The 10th batallion of the York & Lancaster regiment was formed in September 1914 in Pontrefract, West Yorkshire. I presume JR Goodall must have joined soon after this date if he was already in action in France in 1915. I have tried to find out information about which battle this batallion was fighting on the 26/9/1916 but have been unable to so far. It could well be the Battle of the Somme which lasted from June to November 1916.


The Commonwealth War Graves database is an excellent resource. In my family history I think I am unusual in having so few solider ancestors. Most of my relatives were in reserved occupations so did not serve overseas. Of those brothers and cousins who did serve, most came back. Nevertheless, the Commonwealth War Graves website is certainly deserving of our support for their excellent work.

Castleford Patriots - For King and Country

Introduction
Over the next few posts I plan to write about my mother's father's paternal ancestry - the HUGHES family of Yorkshire, Staffordshire and Wales. I thought I would start this area by showing this news cutting from a local Castleford newspaper in 1915. This is an excellent piece of wartime propaganda cum celebration journalism about the local lads going off to war.

My 2xgreat grandfather was called David Hughes and he was born in 1882 in Whitwood, West Yorkshire. He was the eldest of 9 children, with one of his middle siblings being Charles Hughes who was born in 1888 also in Castleford. In 1910, Charles Hughes married Rachel Ann Goodall in the Pontefract district of Yorkshire - of which Castleford was a part (GRO: Jun 1910, Pontefract, 9c, 152). Rachel Ann Goodall was from a very large family.







In the 1901 census (pictured) she is aged 10 and is living with 7 brothers, 3 sisters and her parents George Goodall and Sarah C. Goodall. The family lived at 13 Mill Lane, Allerton Bywater, where George was a grocer shopkeeper. Fourteen years after this census was taken, England was a very different place as many family members had to go to war:


1915
"FOR KING AND COUNTRY"
Another patriotic Castleford family is that of Mrs Sarah C Goodall of 19 Beaucroft Road Castleford who has three sons and two sons-in-law in the Army. Lance-Corporal John Richard Goodall, of the Yorks and Lancashire Regt. is now at the front. Private Wilfred L. Goodall 12th Batt. K.O.Y.L.I. is still in England. Private Percy Goodall, K.O.Y.L.I., is also in training in England. Pte. J. B. Waring (son-in-law) of the R.A.M.C., has been in France for over 12 months; Sert. Charles Hughes another son-in-law is with the K.O.Y.L.I. still in England."

Click on the image for a higher resolution:


I know very little about Charles' time in the war, but I aim to follow up this research to find out more. I have been able to get his army draft registration card from the National Archives pictured here. He was a Sergeant in the K.O.Y.L.I. (King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantrymen). Please see this webpage for more information about this regiment. It appears as if the 12th battallion which Wilfred Goodall joined was formed in Leeds on the 5th September 1914 by the Yorkshire Coalowners Association. This battallion was known as the Miners Batt. It may also have been the one to which Charles belonged. Finally, I do not know anything about what happened to the Goodall brothers or their brother-in-law JB Waring. I really would like to find this out. (See here for update). I do know, however, that Charles died on the 11th May 1935. We believe that it was as a result of the accumulating effect of residual injuries that he sustained during the war.

Picture of Ada Smith

Ada Smith b.1871

Ada Smith was born in Kirkby Malzeard in North Yorkshire in 1871. I posted about her ancestry and life here. This postcard is of Ada Smith (on the right) with, we believe, her eldest son Henry Cecil Wright and perhaps his son whose name we do not know. My great-grandfather, Harold Wright, was the younger son of Ada Smith. Although most of the family remained in Acomb, we think that Henry Cecil moved to Wolverhampton after serving in the Air Force in WW2. We do not know exactly where or when the picture was taken. On the reverse of the postcard is written in handwriting "Bishop's Castle". There is a small market town by the same name in Shropshire, it is possible that Henry Cecil moved here after the war and was visited by Ada.

The Garbetts of Stourbridge

Introduction
Those ancestors of mine who by far were the most mobile are my coal mining ancestors. These families seemed to have moved great distances in order to find work. Some, like my Hughes ancestors, seem to have moved from Wales through the Midlands and into Yorkshire. Others, like my other Hughes ancestors, from Wales into the North-West and then the North-East of England. My family had always thought that my Garbutt ancestors would be Yorkshire folk through and through. Garbutt is a fairly common name in Yorkshire, indeed I have Garbutt ancestors along another line going back into the eighteenth century in Kilburn, North Yorkshire. So we had no reason to believe that this Garbutt branch would be any different. As it turns out, Joseph Garbutt, my 3xgreat-grandfather was actually from Brockmoor in Staffordshire (this information came from the 1891 and 1901 censuses of Whitwood). This entry is about his family - I hope you are able to follow the following, there are three generations of Joseph Garbetts!


Joseph Garbutt III
Joseph Garbutt married Charlotte Ann Schofield in Castleford, West Yorkshire, in 1881. From the marriage certificate I knew the name of Joseph's father - also Joseph - who I found out was a coal miner like Joseph. Given that Joseph married in 1881, I thought it would make sense to see if he was living in West Yorkshire just prior to his marriage - after all, he would have to have met Charlotte somehow. I found him boarding with a George Homer and family in Whitwood. The Homer family and Joseph were all born in Brierly Hill in Staffordshire, near to Stourbridge - a place famous for its glass works and hence coal production. From the later 1891 and 1901 censuses I knew that this birthplace was slightly off as these state that Joseph Garbutt was born in Brockmoor, Staffordshire, another village near to Stourbridge. It is likely that the information given to the enumerator was more accurate in the later censuses.

I also wanted to see if Joseph travelled to Yorkshire alone. It was common for families to move, so it made sense that other relatives may have also made the trip. I therefore searched for Garbutt's (or Garbett's - the spelling with the 'e' is more common in the Midlands) born in Brockmoor who were living in Whitwood, West Yorkshire. I found Jeremiah Garbutt living with his wife Fanny and children.


Joseph Garbett II
Armed with Joseph's place of birth, age, father's name, and the name of a possible brother, I then searched the 1871 and 1861 censuses for the young Joseph Garbett. It turned out to be relatively easy to find him. In 1861 he is living with his father Joseph (a coal miner) and mother Ann and elder brothers and sisters (Joseph being born in 1861) at Hulland Brockmoor. In 1871, the same family are living at Spoon Lane, Brockmoor, and there is Joseph's younger brother Jeremiah. In both of these censuses, Joseph Garbett Snr's widowed mother Susannah is also living with them.

Moving forward in time to 1881, Joseph and Ann Garbett are living on Campbell Street, Brockmoor, and Jeremiah Garbett is still living at home. He is a puddler in the iron works, but he must have moved within the year or two to West Yorkshire to meet up with his elder brother.


Joseph Garbett I
Joseph Garbett married Ann in around 1852 - I have found a GRO index which I think is the reference to their marriage certificate - Joseph Garbet & Ann Knowles, December 1852, Stourbridge, Vol 6c Page 241. To confirm that this is the right marriage, then I could also obtain one of the birth certificates of either Joseph or Jeremiah Garbett which I have found:
Joseph Garbett - Mar 1861, Stourbridge, 6c, 222 Jeremiah Garbett - Mar 1864, Stourbridge, 6c, 234

But what about the earlier life of the father of Joseph Garbett? From the census I knew that Joseph Garbett's mother was called Susannah, and I knew their birthplaces. Using the census information from 1841 and 1851 and the IGI, I have been able to piece together the following. My ancestor, Joseph Garbett who was the grandfather of my grandfather's grandmother Mary Garbutt was baptised in Stourbridge on the 25th October 1829 in Stourbridge. On the same day a twin brother John Garbett was also baptised, but John died 3 years later. Joseph and John were the youngest children of at least 6 children. There were three girls - Mary Ann (the eldest), Jane and Elizabeth Matilda. There was also an elder brother named Charles Henry Garbett. All of the older children were born in Old Swinford, the name for the ancient parish that comprised part of Stourbridge. The parents of these children were another Joseph Garbett! (born c.1783, Stourbridge) and Susannah Hill (born c.1795, Stourbridge), who were married in Kingswinford (just outside Stourbridge) on 31st December 1816.

In 1841, the family are living in Kingswinford. In 1851 they are living at Chappel Hill, Brierley Hill. The younger Joseph is described as a miner, whereas his father's occupation is given as a 'worker on the roads'. The father Joseph Garbett died at some point between 1851 and 1861 as Susannah is a widow in the 1861 census. Susannah herself continued to live with her son Joseph until her death aged 82 in 1875 (Mar 1875, Stourbridge, 6c, 166).


Charles Henry Garbett
When researching one's family history, I always like to find out about the history of the cousins of my direct ancestors as much as possible. I decided to examine what happened to Joseph Garbett's elder brother Charles Henry Garbett. Charles Henry and his wife Sarah had seven children and lived the majority of their lives in Old Swindford. Charles Henry originally worked as a tanner and skinner (a manufacturer of animal hides for leather work) in Old Swinford, living in Queen Street in 1851 and Angel Street in 1861. However, times became hard for Charles Henry and by 1871 he was living in the workhouse of Kingswinford. Charles Henry died one year later than his mother in 1876 in Stourbridge - Charles Garbett, Stourbridge, Dec 1876, 6c, 116.

Mary Harker is revealed

Introduction
Recently I received the marriage certificate of my 2xgreat-grandmother (Charlotte b.1864, Knottingley) and also that of my 3xgreat-grandmother (Mary b.1834, Knottingley). Whilst I knew their first names I had been quite confused as to what their maiden names were as their census entries had been a bit of a muddle. This is a summary of what I knew for each time point - the originals can be viewed on this page:

1871 census: Charlotte Nichols - stepdaughter of William and Sarah (or Mary) Pascoe
1881 census: Charlotte Pascoe - daughter of William & Mary Pascoe
1881 marriage index: Charlotte Ann Schofield
1891 census: Charlotte Garbutt - daughter of William & Mary Pascoe
1891 census: Charlotte Garbutt - wife of Joseph Garbutt



The marriage certificates
Charlotte's marriage:

• On 2nd October 1881 at the parish Church of Castleford after banns.
  

• Joseph Garbutt, 20, bachelor, occupation - collier, abode - Castleford, father - Joseph Garbutt, father's occupation - collier.

• Charlotte Ann Schofield, 18, spinster, abode - Castleford, father - John Schofield, father's occupation painter.

• The witnesses were John Bennett and Joseph Robshaw.
  

Mary's marriage:

• On 11th February 1866 at the parish church of Pontefract, Yorkshire

• William Pascoe, 30, bachelor, occupation - potter, abode - Knottingley, father - John Pascoe, father's occupation - potter

• Mary Schofield, 32, widow, abode - Knottingley, father - William Harker, father's occupation - labourer

• The witnesses were William Harker and James Goddard.
  

How has this helped?
It appears that Charlotte Ann Schofield (see here for a picture) was born in Knottingley in 1864 to John Schofield, a painter, and Mary Schofield (nee Harker). From the GRO index I found that John Schofield and Mary Harker were married in the June Quarter of 1859 (Jun Qtr 1859, 9c 111 Pontefract), with Charlotte being born 5 years later. I do not know if John and Mary had any other children during this period. By 11th February 1866 John Schofield had died and Mary Schofield re-married to William Pascoe, a potter. William Pascoe was the son of John Pascoe, both of whom were born in Bovey Tracey in Devon. From the censuses, I can find that William and Mary Pascoe had at least two children - Sarah and Mary Jane Pascoe - the step-sisters to Charlotte Ann Schofield. Charlotte Ann Schofield then later married Joseph Garbutt on 2nd October 1881 in Castleford. The only thing that does not fit with this is the 1871 census (see here) where Charlotte Ann is called Charlotte Nichols, the step-daughter of William Pascoe. However, looking at that census entry, it seems as if the enumerator may have been a little confused as he also gets the names of Mary and her daughter Sarah mixed up.

What are the next steps?
The priority is to obtain the birth certificate of Charlotte Ann Schofield, and the marriage of John Schofield to Mary Harker. These should confirm the pedigree that I have outlined above and my belief that the information in the 1871 census was somewhat inaccurate.

Following this I will try to find out more about John Schofield as I do not know very much about him currently. His marriage certificate will let me know his father's name which may help me to find him in the census. As John Schofield married Mary Harker in 1859, I should be able to find them in the 1861 census but this has thus far not been possible. John Schofield's death certificate may also be helpful but I have not yet found the GRO certificate. Schofield is a very common name in Yorkshire so it might be hard to isolate the right John Schofield.


I would also like to find out more about Mary Harker (or Schofield & Pascoe as she became). I know that she was born in 1834 in Knottingley to William Harker, a labourer. In the 1841 census, I find a Mary Harker of the right age living in a place called 'Holes' in Knottingley with a father William who is a labourer. As this is the only Mary Harker in Knottingley, I think this is the right entry. I cannot yet find William and Jane in the 1851 census.

Wedding Pictures!

A Garbutt Wedding - 1907



This image is a scan from a photocopy of the original photograph - I'm sorry it is poor in quality, I hope that I will be able to scan the original directly one day to improve the detail.

This is a wedding photograph taken at a church in Castleford, West Yorkshire in 1907. Although "Redhill Church" is written on the picture, I think the church is All Saints which is near to Redhill Road. From the scribbled notes written around the edges and on the back of the picture, the groom is Joseph Garbutt and the bride is Elizabeth Ann Day. Joseph Garbutt was the younger brother of my 2xgreat-grandmother Mary Garbutt. The image contains a large number of the Garbutt family and the Hughes family, as Mary Garbutt married David Hughes. I shall be discussing the Hughes family in several forthcoming posts. I have previously described the difficulties I have had in tracing the mother and grandmother of Mary Garbutt. I have recently obtained some marriage certificates that have helped enormously with this and will post about them next. The image below is a schematic of what is known about who is who in the picture. As I describe each individual's genealogy, I shall try and blow up their pictures. For now, however, I shall just point out my 3xgreat-grandmother, the mother of the groom - Charlotte Garbutt - she is the third person from the left on the second row from the back. Also, my 2xgreat-grandmother Mary Garbutt is immediately to Charlotte's left. I shall be descrbing what I have recently learned about her in the next post.

Matthew Carr & Ann Padley

Introduction
I previously posted about my search for my Carr and Padley ancestors on my mother's mother's mother's mother's side of my family! My great-great-grandmother was Margaret Ann Carr, the eldest daughter of Matthew and Ann Carr. Through looking at the census I had managed to find that Ann's maiden name was Padley (her mother was living with the family in the 1881 census). This enabled me to search the Padley family back a couple more generations. I had also research Matthew Carr's family back another generation as I had only found in earlier censuses one Matthew Carr of the right age and born in the right place. However, in order to confirm these relationships (discussed in this post in further detail) I still needed to find the marriage certificate of Matthew Carr and Ann Padley. This week I received the following:


The marriage of Matthew Carr and Ann Padley

• On 11th February 1871, at the Register Office in Sunderland

• Matthew Carr, 20 years, bachelor, coal miner, 41 Queen Street Ryhope Colliery, father - Joseph Carr, coal miner

• Ann Padley, 18 years, spinster, 58 Queen Street Ryhope Colliery, father - Joseph Padley, coal miner

• The witnesses were James Carr and Ann Cope?

This is certainly the right certificate and confirms the relationships that I had previously believed. One interesting facet of this marriage is that it was registered in a register office, suggesting that the couple may have married in a non-conformist church such as a Methodist church.

Whilst researching this family I have come across a cousin who is also researching this family. They are descended from Sarah Carr, the eighth child of Matthew Carr and Ann Padley; I am descended from Margaret Ann Carr, the first child of the same couple. In an earlier post I mentioned that in the 1891 census when only a few days old she was called Isabella, but when she came to be christened she was named Sarah. Looking at their website, I have found out a few more details about the Carr and Padley families:

• Sarah Carr married Alexander George Bouas on 1st Jan 1909 and had 5 children. She died on 21 Nov 1951 in Gosforth.

• Ann Padley was baptised on 1st Jan 1854 in West Rainton, Durham and died around 1928.

• The marriage of Ann Padley's parents may have occurred in the September quarter of 1849 in Houghton-le-Spring, with the names Joseph Paddy and Ann Youn - the index was handwritten, the names should read Joseph Padley and Ann Young.

• The mother of Matthew Carr was Margaret McCartney - I had not previously known her maiden name. The reference for this was the GRO indexVol.25, p.150, Dec 1839.
  Whitehaven district, Cumberland. I shall get the certificate to find out the names of Matthew Carr's parents, Margaret McCartney and Joseph Carr.

Zachariah Hughes - still elusive

Introduction
I have been looking for information about Zachariah Hughes for a long time.







I know that my great-great-grandfather John William Hughes' father was called Zacahariah Hughes from JWH's marriage certificate. JWH married on 22 May 1893 in Sunderland, where his father was described as a deceased iron worker. However, as John William did not know his birthplace and Zachariah died young, I've been unable to find a definitive association between John William and Zachariah in very many documents. Nevertheless, I have found one Zachariah Hughes after searching the entire of the North-East of England, whom I believe with a high degree of certainty to be the father of JWH. I have just received the marriage certificate of this Zachariah Hughes.

Zachariah Hughes' Marriage

• On Christmas Day 25th December 1873 at the parish church of St. Paul's, Darlington
  

• Zachariah Hughes, 20 years, bachelor, mill furnaceman, of Lansdowne St, father Joseph Hughes occupation mill furnaceman
  

• Catharine Close, 24 years, spinster, of Zetland St, father William Close, occupation publican

• The witnesses were Gomer Hughes & Elizabeth Jones

What do we learn from this?
1. This marriage is certainly that of the Zachariah Hughes whom I have found previously in the 1861 and 1871 census. Both Gomer and Zachariah Hughes are such unusual names that these must be the same people.

2. This Zachariah Hughes is likely to be the father of John William Hughes. JWH was born in about 1873/4, so this marriage is about the right date. Given this date, the unusual (almost unique) name and that the occupations of JWH's father and this Zachariah match, the balance of probabilities is that this is the right man. However, I still lack that clinching piece of documentary evidence.

3. We learn that Zachariah married Catharine Close and that her father was called William Close.

4. The circumstancial evidence: John William Hughes' children were called Matthew, Catharine and Zachariah. Matthew was the name of John William Hughes' wife's father. It is interesting that Catharine and Zachariah are also the names of who we now believe are his father and mother. Also, John William Hughes' middle name is the same as Catharine Close's father. This is more tantalising evidence that this Zachariah could be the father of John William.


What we still do not know is where Zachariah and Catharine were in 1881, or indeed, whether they lived beyond this. Given that JWH did not know his birthplace it is possible that both of his parents died when he was very young. In which case, who brought him up? and where is he in the 1881 or 1891 censuses? There are still very many unknowns with this family, but we have learned a little bit more about where Zachariah was living in 1873. Darlington would now be a good place to try and find JWH's birth certificate or birth.


Gomer Hughes
It is also very interesting to see Gomer Hughes as a witness to Zachariah's marriage - this would suggest that Zachariah was close to his elder brother, which may be important when trying to find family members who may have raised John William. Unfortunately, I have attempted to trace where Gomer is in the later censuses but have been unable to find him.

Gomer is another unusual first name. In Genesis, Gomer was the eldest son of Japheth one of the three sons of Noah.





According to the genealogies of Genesis, one branch of the descendants of Gomer became the Welsh people. Gomer and Zachariah Hughes were the sons of Josiah/Joseph Hughes who was from Wales - though there are still quite a number of links I need to make to tie-in this family with the pedigree above! Nevertheless, these unusual names could also be helpful in finding out what happened to Zachariah. Given their Old Testament nature, it is possible that the family was very religious and potentially Methodist like a lot of Welsh working class migrants of this period. Methodist records may be somewhere to look for evidence of Gomer, Zachariah and John William.

For the future
This marriage certificate has now enabled me to start searching the family of William Close. It has also confirmed that Zachariah Hughes is the son of Josiah/Joseph Hughes and the brother of Gomer. What I still do not have is the definitive proof that this is the Zachariah Hughes who is the father of John William Hughes - hopefully this will come one day.

The original Curley

Introduction
In three previous posts - here, here, and here - I have discussed my Birmingham Irish ancestry along my Curley and Hennigan lines. To recap, my grandfather was Cornelius Curley, whose father was Thomas Curley, whose father was also called Thomas Curley. This Thomas Curley was married (according to family sources and some documentary evidence) to Jane Hennigan. It has not been easy to piece together the lives of either Thomas Curley or Jane Hennigan. One piece of evidence which until now had evaded my grasp was the marriage certificate of Thomas and Jane - well today I was delighted to receive through the post the following:

• 14th February 1888, at St. Catherine's Roman Catholic Church, Birmingham

• Thomas Curley, 28 years, batchelor, spoon polisher, of 9 Beak Street, father Michael Curley, labourer.

• Jane Hanigan, 25 years, spinster, of 9 Beak Street, father Michael Hanigan (deceased), labourer.

• Witnesses - William Curley & Annie Underhill

How does this help?
1. Michael Hanigan is confirmed as the father of Jane Hanigan. As posted earlier, Michael Hennigan was born in Ireland in 1832 and died in Birmingham in 1885. He was a bricklayer's labourer and the latter part of his life was spent in the workhouse. He is confirmed as deceased on this marriage certificate.

2. One of the witnesses is Annie Underhill (a French polisher), who in 1881 was living as a boarder in the house of Jane's mother Catharine. This is good confirmation that I have the correct Hennigan family. Further confirmation is that Jane Hanigan's address is given as Beak Street where she and her family had been living in the 1881 census.

3. Jane Hanigan is named a spinster. This is important as it shows that she was not previously married and widowed. Therefore the children that she may have had before she married Thomas Curley will have been illigetimate. The added fact from the certificate that both Jane and Thomas lived at the same address - 9 Beak Street - suggests that Thomas and Jane had been living together and having children before they married. I have no idea currently why they delayed in getting married.

4. Thomas Curley's father is given as Michael Curley, which is new information to me! William Curley is another of the witnesses - he may be a brother, uncle or cousin to Thomas.



Michael Curley - the first 'English' Curley
Knowing Thomas' father's name I have been able to find out further information about the Curleys in the census. In the 1871 census I found Michael Curley with his wife Margaret and children Thomas, Mary Ann, Jane and William. They were living in a room in a house at 100 1/2 Bath Row, Birmingham, in the next house to the 'Trees Inn' public house. The licensed victualler in 1871 was William Hicken who was born in Shustoke. The pub is pictured (available online at digital Ladywood) - it survived until the mid 1960s before it was demolished. Wheeleys Lane runs off to the left in this picture. I believe that Michael Curley and family would have lived behind and to the right of the pub.

Michael and Margaret were born in Ireland, but all their children were born in Birmingham. I have yet to find a reference to when they came from Ireland, but it must have been prior to 1859 when Thomas was born. Soon after they arrived, in 1861, they are living in the heavily Irish area - Greens Village. Michael is working as a castor and Margaret is working as a nail cutter. In addition to Thomas, they also have a son called John. They may have had several other children who died in infancy - I would have to look at the Roman Catholic Church records to find this out.

It appears as if Michael Curley died at some point between 1873 and 1881. In the 1881 census, Margaret Curley is living at Myrtles Row in Birmingham and is said to be a widow. Her youngest child is John Curley who was born in 1873, therefore it is likely that Michael Curley died between these dates. According to the GRO index, there are two possible matches for the death certificate which I shall obtain in time.

In 1891, the widowed Margaret is now living at Suffolk St. 6 Court House 2 with her youngest sons William, Michael and John, as well as a grand-daughter Mary Ann Curley and a boarder Mary Caston and her child. I cannot find Margaret Curley in the 1901 census, so she may have re-married or passed away.


Summary
I have therefore managed to get back my Curley ancestry to the Curley who came over from Ireland. Michael Curley was born in 1837 in Ireland and came to live in Birmingham. I do not know if he came by himself or with his parents. Nevertheless, he is, in my family, the original Curley - I am therfore a sixth generation English Curley! Unfortunately I do not have any idea whereabouts in Ireland he came from. The Curley name is most common on the West coast of Ireland in Galway and Roscommon, but until I can find some other records I will not know for sure.