The earlier Smiths

Robert & Ann Smith of Alne







So far I have described how I traced back the ancestry of my great-great-grandmother Ada Smith to her grandfather Christopher Smith (b.1815) of Alne. Christopher Smith's gravestone is the weathered one in the middle of this picture of Alne Churchyard.

In order to find out about Christopher's family I searched the parish registers of Alne from 1781 onwards. Here I found that Christopher Smith was born on the 5th February 1815 to Robert and Ann Smith of Alne. In all, Robert had 13 children being named as a labourer each time. I am sure that all of these children belong to the same Robert and Ann, rather than there being two couples in Alne named Robert and Ann Smith bearing children at exactly the same time. The interval between each baptism is appropriate for one couple and no child is ever given the same name as another. What is more, from my work on the census in Alne I have only ever seen one couple named Robert and Ann Smith.


As an aside, I think it is rather sweet that the last two boys, who were twins, were named Joseph and Benjamin - the biblical Benjamin being the youngest and twelfth son of Jacob and Rachel and full blood brother to Joseph the 11th child of Jacob and Rachel. Perhaps, the family were quite religous! This Joseph and Benjamin Smith were the 12th and 13th sons of Robert and Ann, though sadly Joseph died in infancy. Pictured above is the 1841 census when Benjamin is 5 years old. By this time the elder four boys, James, Christopher, William and Robert had all left home.

In 1841, the Smith family is living at Hill Top in Alne. By 1851, they are living at Crankley Lane with their youngest son (Benjamin), an unmarried daughter (Ann) and widowed son (Robert). Robert Smith is an agricultural labourer as he was for all his life. He died in 1857, but his wife Ann survived him until 1866. In 1861 she was still living with Benjamin, and a different unmarried daughter Grace, and a grand-daughter Eliza. This census also gives us the interesting information that Ann Smith is living at Crankley House and is a farmer of 14 acres with no labourers.


The parents of Robert & Ann Smith
So who were the parents of Robert and Ann Smith - my greatX5 grandparents? Well, to find this out I need to know where and when they were born. The best evidence for this is from the census - I like to use the earliest possible census for estimating birth years, as the older people get the wilder they become in their own estimates of their birth year! From the 1851 census we can find that Robert Smith was born in West Burton in around 1795 and Ann in Tholthorpe in the same year. This would make them just 18 when they had their first child, James. Tholthorpe is a small village in the parish of Alne, so I searched the Alne marriage registers and found the following entry:

7/9/1812 - Robert Smith, 21, & Ann Humphrey, spinster, 19, Alne, witnesses - William Dunnington & Mary Flawith.

This marriage is a good candidate for Robert and Ann, though the ages are slightly off. However, given that James was born only 5 months later it seems as if this wedding may have been somewhat rushed and hence Robert and Ann may have slightly inflated their own ages. Looking back through the Alne registers I then found the following entry. I wish I had been able to take a photocopy of it when I first went to the record office, hopefully I will in the future:

Sun 2/3/1794, Baptism Sun 9/3/1794, - Ann Humphreys, spurious daughter of Margaret Humphreys, a poor woman of Tholthorpe, (did not pay for baptism - a pauper).

Looking for Robert Smith's baptism, I have not been able to search the West Burton registers which is in the parish of Aysgarth in the North Riding of Yorkshire, a little distance from Alne. However, from the IGI I found the following member's entry which seems to be from the same member who submitted a large amount of information about the Smiths of Alne about 15 years ago. Although the birth date is slightly off, the other data is very specific and so I am inclined to believe the parentage of Robert Smith, though I'd love to know how the submitter found out the information:

b.1798, Robert Smith, son of Thomas Smith & Elizabeth Lambert. Married Ann Humphrey in 1812 in Alne.

Summary
There is therefore still much to find out about the Smith family, though I am pleased with how far I've been able to get. I am particularly interested in finding out some more specific details of the lives of my Smith 'ag-lab' ancestors. Although I had to wait 4 years from when I knew about Ada Smith until the release of the 1901 census to really breakthrough and discover her ancestry, it has been worth the wait.

The marriage of Christopher Smith and Hannah Farmery

In this previous post I had mentioned that I had had some trouble with finding the marriage record of my ancestors Christopher Smith and Hannah Farmery. Christopher was from Alne and Hannah was from Huby, both of which are parishes in the North Riding of Yorkshire. I had been unable to find the marriage record in the Alne parish records and had not had time to look at the Huby records. However, a kind person on the Yorksgen genealogy mailing list saw my problem and drew my attention to an IGI entry which I had foolishly overlooked. This appears to be the right marriage record:

Christopher Smith & Hannah Farmery - 19 MAY 1836 - at Saint Michael-Le-Belfrey, York.

This marriage took place one year before the birth of their eldest child, William, and therefore I'm pretty sure that it is the right record. What is intriguing is that they married at St. Michael-le-Belfrey, a church (pictured) which stands adjacent to York Minster.

The question remains, why did they marry here? I have seen in some articles that describe the ancient parish of St. Michael-le-Belfrey that this parish included some extra (or 'peculiar') areas of the North Riding of Yorkshire - I'm still uncertain whether Huby was amongst those. If so, this church may have been their usual (or at least Hannah's family's) place of worship. Another reason why they may have married there is that they may have frequented York often to sell produce - I know that several other of my ancestors who were agricultural labourers in parishes up to 30 miles North of York sold produce regularly in York. Finally, I have heard that in the early 1800s many people were drawn to worshiping at St. Michael-le-Belfrey as there was a particularly inspiring preacher there by the name of William Richardson. It is unlikely, however, that he brough Christopher and Hannah to this church as the rest of their church 'footprints' are in the Alne registers. I would like to find out more about why Christopher and Hannah got married at this church - perhaps one of the best ways forward will be to find out whether they married by license or banns, and also I must obviously find the original entry.

Nevertheless, it is fascinating to know that one's ancestors got married at such a prominent church in the history of York. Indeed, 166 years before their marriage in the very same church on April 16, 1570 there was the baptism of a certain Guy Fawkes.

Christopher Smith of Alne 1815-1890

Introduction













I previously described how I traced back my great-great-grandmother Ada Smith's parentage to a Richard (b.1843) and Elizabeth (b.1847) Smith, from Alne in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Above is a recent picture I took of the Alne Church. Below is a street scene from an Alne postcard which is un-dated. See here for a brief history of Alne.













Following this, I was able to go back another two generations of the Smith family in relatively quick time - I was able to spend a day at the North Yorkshire Record Office where I transcribed all of the Smith records in the parish registers. Adding this data to the original census records that I was also able to transcribe I could build up a picture of all of the Smiths in the parish of Alne. Subsequently, I visited the parish church of Alne and found the gravestones of several of the Smith family. Unfoturnately, the Alne Church is quite exposed to the elements which made reading the tombstones quite difficult, but nevertheless some good information was gleaned. Finally, I was also able to gain some information about the Smith family from online and libary-based trade directories. I had thought that researching Smith family history and genealogy may be quite arduous, but as this family were contained for such a long period in one place my task was quite easy.


Putting the details together
Christopher Smith was baptised in Alne on 5th February 1815 to Robert Smith (a labourer) and Ann. I then have little information on Christopher until he marries a Hannah in about 1836-7. I have calculated this marriage date as their first child William Smith was baptised in Alne on the 26th April 1838. The next children were Jane (1841), Richard (13/1/1843 - my direct ancestor), Robert (1849) and Elizabeth Ann (1856). According to the census, Hannah was born in Huby, near to Alne. I have not yet found the marriage of Christopher in the Alne parish records, but a member's entry in the IGI says that a Christopher Smith b.1814 in Alne married a Hannah Farmery in Yorkshire in 1836. This rather vague entry appears to fit with the evidence that I have as Christopher was baptised in February 1815 in Alne, and the Farmery name is a very unusual surname in Yorkshire - except in Huby. I need to spend another visit to the Borthwick Institute to see if the marriage is in the Huby parish records. I could also find out Hannah's maiden name by purchasing the birth certificate of one of Christopher and Hannah's children. - see this post for an update on this marriage record.


After marriage, Christopher and Hannah lived their entire lives in Alne, living at the following places:

1841 - John Street

1851 - Alne Street

1861 - 'Poorfact?' House


1871 - Town St

1881 - 'Alne Village'.

From 1838 to 1881 in the parish and census records Christopher is described as being an agricultural labourer or just labourer. By 1881 his wife Hannah is 'deaf and lame' at the age of 67. She died two years later, being buried on the 17th September 1883 two days after she died (as mentioned on his picture). Christopher was buried seven years later in Alne on 24th July 1890. He died on the 22nd July as mentioned on his headstone in Alne parish church (also see picture). As you can see I took the image just as it was getting dark which has made the image difficult to read. Even when I was there it was extremely difficult to read as it was heavily weathered. Nevertheless, it is always pleasurable to find the gravestone of one of your ancestors.

What I can piece together about the life of Thomas Curley jnr ?

In a previous post I discussed the evidence for the names of my great-great-grandparents, Thomas Curley Snr and Jane Hennigan. This was getting a little bit ahead of myself, as I had not really mentioned very much about my great-grandfather, Thomas Curley jnr. I have not been able to find many pieces of documentary evidence about the life of Thomas - but genealogy is very much a 'work in progress', so in this post I shall put together what I know about him in a timeline (see here for picture).

Thomas Curley jnr Timeline
1884 - birthdate of Thomas working back from the age on his marriage certificate (20 years in 1904). Father is 'Thomas Curley'.

23/4/1887 - birthdate of Thomas according to information gathered from family (Thomas' sons).

March Qtr 1888 - Thomas' father Thomas Curley marries Jane Hennigan (according to GRO indexes). According to family information, Jane Hennigan is Thomas' mother. (update here).

5/4/1891 - 1891 census. I believe that he may be living in a one room tenemant building on St. Martin's St., Immanuel Parish, Birmingham. I need to be satisfied that this is the correct Thomas though.

31/3/1901 - 1901 census. I cannot find any trace of Thomas Curley in this census.

26/12/1904 - Marries Mary Driscoll at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Birmingham. His occupation is brass polisher and he lives at 3 Holliday Street. See marriage certificate above.


20/4/1905 - Birth of eldest son, Cornelius Curley (my grandfather). Occupation - cycle polisher. Abode - 158 Tennant Street. See birth certificate above.

1905-1909 - Birth of a daughter, Mary (died in infancy), and son, John. Unknown where living. Information gained from family members.

8/11/1909 - Birth of daughter, Doris Mary Curley. Occupation - cycle polisher. Abode - Back 88, Bishopgate Street. See birth certificate above.

1910-? - Birth of 9 more children - Michael, Dennis, Thomas, James, Terrence, Leopold, Percy & Sidney (twins who died in infancy), William (Bill). Information gained from family members.

I do not know when Thomas died.


Finding a birth record of Thomas Curley is still a priority. I have not been able to find one indexed in the GRO, so I shall need to consult the Roman Catholic parish registers in the hope that one might be there. Also, baptismal records of Thomas Curley and Mary Driscoll's children will give me more information about where Thomas was living after 1904. As I don't have time to do these myself, I think I shall employ a Birmingham researcher to do them for me. Finally, if I can accurately find Thomas Curley in the 1891 and 1901 censuses, that would give me much more information. Please read this poem for an insight into the life of Thomas Curley and Mary Driscoll.

The Curley Clan - a poem by Doris AM Lawrence

"The Curley Clan" is a poem by my first cousin-once-removed, Doris A. M. Lawrence. I hope that she does not mind me reprinting it here. Doris kindly sent me a photocopy of the poem a few years ago, when it was published in a book edited by Carl Chinn along with other poems about Birmingham families by local writers.

This poem is a lovely commentary on aspects of the social history of the Curley family who lived in some of the poorest areas of Birmingham. The poem talks about my great-grandmother (Doris' grandmother) Mary Driscoll, and her thirteen children. My grandfather, Cornelius was the eldest. Doris' mother Doris was the fourth child of thirteen. Mary Driscoll and her husband, Thomas Curley, had two girls and eleven boys in total.

From the ages of the children named in this poem, I would think that Doris has placed the events of the story occurring just after the first world war. Unfortunately with the photocopy I have, a line or so is chopped off one of the verses, but it still makes very interesting reading. I have also been informed that in one of the Carl Chinn Birmingham history books about local areas, there may exist a couple of pictures of some of the Curley brothers as youngsters. I hope to be able to find these and put some up on this website.

Thomas Curley and Jane Hennigan

Introduction
The father of my grandfather Cornelius Curley was called Thomas Curley, a polisher of brass (in 1904 on his marriage certificate to Mary Driscoll) and bicycles (in 1909 on birth certificate of his daughter Doris Mary). Information from relatives had told me that Thomas Curley's parents were called Thomas Curley and Jane Hennigan, who both came from Birmingham. The family tree above has been constructed from this family information. However, actually confirming the family tree in the records has not been easy or successful just yet.


Searching for Thomas Curley's parents in the records
a) The marriage record of Thomas Curley jnr
Thomas' father was confirmed as Thomas Curley, from his marriage certificate. He was married on 26th Decemeber at St. Peter's Roman Catholic Church, Birmingham: age - 20 years, occupation - brass polisher, address - 3 Holiday Street, father - Thomas Curley, father's occupation - metal polisher. The witnesses at the marriage were Lillian Turner and John Hennigan. From a marriage certicicate, there is obviously no more information about the mother of Thomas Curley, though from what I know from the family John Hennigan may be a relative.

b) Finding a record to the marriage of the parents of Thomas Curley
One of the first things I tried to do was to find the marriage of Thomas Curley and Jane Hennigan, as these were the names I was given for Cornelius Curley's grandparents. It took me a long time for two reasons. The main reason was because I was searching for the marriage up to 1884 (as Thomas Curley jnr was married aged 20 in 1904, giving him a birthdate of 1884). The other reason was because foolishly I did not anticipate the number of ways in which one could spell Hennigan. I have finally found what I think is the GRO index to their marriage.

Thomas Curley & Jane Hanigan Birmingham 6d 237 March 1888

The only problem here is that the marriage appears to be registered four years after the birth of Thomas Curley. There could be a few reasons for this including: 1) The marriage was late in being registered, which seems unlikely, 2) Jane was not the first wife of Thomas, and Thomas jnr may be the son of a different wife. I have not yet got the marriage certificate, but I'm hoping that it may clear up these questions. Also, I have still not had chance to visit the Roman Catholic records in Birmingham. They would likely provide many answers.

A third possibility is that Thomas and Jane lived together but did not marry for some time. This would seem to be very unusual in Roman Catholic families, but it is not entirely impossible, especially as I have been told by relatives that Jane may have had an eldest son, Bernard Hennigan, out of wedlock prior to her marriage to Thomas Curley. (update here).

c) Finding a birth record for Thomas Curley jnr
Finding the birth certificate of Thomas Curley jnr (born c1884) would also give information about the mother and father of Thomas. However, I have yet to find anywhere in the GRO index a reference to the birth of a Thomas Curley in Birmingham (or thereabouts) in the 1880s. A family member told me that they thought that Thomas Curley was born on 23rd April 1887, but until I find the birth record in either the GRO or Roman Catholic Church Records, then there is no way to be sure.

d) Any assistance from the census?
From the marriage certificate of Thomas Curley we know that he was born in about 1884 and that his father was called Thomas Curley. We also know that they were living at 3 Holiday Street and that both Thomas' worked as polishers. Searching the 1891 and the 1901 censuses, the picture becomes even murkier.

Here is what I believe to be the family in 1901, living in Hackers Building, Holiday Street. Thomas is listed as a jeweller's polisher. Many of the children's names match with those given to me by relatives. However, Thomas junior is not there - Indeed, I cannot find him anywhere in the 1901 census - I have tried numerous name combinations without success.

In the 1891 census, I have the reverse problem! I can find a son Thomas Curley with a mother Jane. But here, the father is called William. However, I think this may be an error - the occupation of this William is a spoon polisher like Thomas' should be. Also both William and Jane's birthdates are the same as those from the 1901 census. Finally, one of the children - Maragaret has the same birthdate. I am not too worried that not all of the children's names match, as according to relatives they had at least 13 children - so it would not be too unusual for not all of the children to be living in the one room under one roof on census night. In this census, they are living in one of the rooms in a house in St. Martin's Street, Birmingham. Again, I cannot find a Thomas Curley snr anywhere in the 1891 census. Significantly, a William Curley of this age does not appear on any other census, and so could be Thomas though this is yet to be proved. Finally, a Jane Curley from Birmingham only appears indexed once in both the 1891 and 1901 censuses - each of those being the above entries.

Overall, the census has proved to be very confusing and has not provided any concrete evidence. I am still trying to put this information together and to think of new leads (any suggestions welcome). I think it is important for me to get the marriage certificate of Thomas Curley and Jane Hennigan in 1888. It would also be good for me to get hold of the baptismal, marriage and death records in the Birmingham Roman Catholic Churches, but I've not had the time for this yet.

e) Any other solutions?
Another solution may be to try and follow some of the extra lines. For instance, following the Hennigans - such as Bernard Hennigan (the supposed illegitimate son of Jane) or John Hennigan, the witness at the marriage of Thomas Curley and Jane Hennigan. I'll talk more about these in later posts - see here for example.

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