A Wedding in Barbados

A Wedding in Barbados

Alice Jackson married James Wigglesworth, a soap maker, in the Parish Church, Wakefield, on August 12 1884. James was 28 years old, and Alice was 20. James was the son of James, a Gentleman, while Alice of Guisley on the Hill (?) was the daughter of Hugh William Jackson, also a Gentleman.

Alice gave birth to a daughter, Violet, in 1888.

Before her marriage to James and children, Alice, aged seven (1871), lived in St John’s. A governess is one of the inhabitants. Was Ellen E Turner the governess of Alice and her two siblings? By 1891, and now a married woman, Alice lived at 25 Market Street; in 1901, the family and a servant lived at Holme Field, Denby Dale Road.

June 28, 1888, was a memorable day for the Wigglesworth couple, as Alice gave birth to a baby girl, Violet. James Alice and probably family and friends attended Violet’s baptism on September 9, 1888, in All Saints Church, now Wakefield Cathedral.

James died in 1907.

1910, Alice and Violet set sail from England. They arrived in Barbados just in time for Violet’s marriage (later the same day) to Commander William Heron Coombs, widower, in the Cathedral and Parish Church of St Michael, Barbados.

Marriage in newspaper

William was born in 1851 in Stoke, Devon, the son of James Martin Coombs, a banker, and Frances Augustus Evans Griffiths. At the time of his marriage, he was living at “Short Hall”, S Anns.

Entry in Parish Register

In 1916, William was living at The Little House, Waltham St Lawrence, and a newspaper article detailing his career was published in honour of his 65th birthday. “He entered the Royal Navy in 1866, and from 1876 to 1884 served under the Government of India as Assistant Superintendent of Marine Surveys, being principally employed on the harbours of Madras, Colombo, and Goa. He retired from the naval service in 1894 with the rank of commander, but afterwards held the office of Protector of Immigrants in the colony of Trinidad and Tobago, where he was also a member of the Legislative Council and a J.P. Mr Coombs is an Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical and Astronomical Societies.” Extracted from Reading Mercury, Oxford Gazette, Newbury Herald, and Berks County Paper April 1 1916.

During WWI, William was a Shipping Intelligence Officer. In August 1918, an application was made for his appointment as Companion of Imperial Service Order—the request was refused even though he had served the required time on Overseas Duty.

He died in Pension Leighton, West Park, Jersey, on April 28 1931. Probate was granted a few months later.

Pension Leigh, West Park, Jersey, after 1931, was a small hotel

A few lines in a newspaper with a couple of names and dates now tell a short story of a couple. Both had been married before and came from good families. One travelled the world, while the other stayed in Wakefield. How did William and Alice meet? Did they have a friend in common? Did their parents know each other? Were they penpals?

Can anyone fill in the gaps?

Wakefield’s Honoured Soldier

Wakefield’s Honoured Soldier

If you hear the name Andrew Moynihan, what is your first thought?

Andrew was born in Saw Yard, Wakefield, at the beginning of 1830, the son of Malachi and Ann nee Scott. A few months later, his parents took him to St. Austin’s Catholic Church, where he was baptised.

He joined the army when he was 17 years old and, by age 25, was a sergeant in the 90th Foot – a Scottish Infantry regiment raised by Thomas Graham in the late 1700’s. The Regiment has seen action in many well-known wars: French Revolutionary Wars, Napoleonic Wars, Crimean War, Sepoy Revolt (India), Xhosa Wars (South Africa) and the Anglo-Zulu War.

The Regiment set sail from England, heading for Balaklava, and saw action at the Seige of Sebastopol. There was then a return to England before heading to India to join other regiments with the Indian Rebellion and later in the hear the relief of Lucknow. A t total of six Victoria Crosses were awarded while the Regiment was based in India. He was promoted to sergeant major while in India and, in 1856, was commissioned into the 8th (King’s) Regiment of Foot. The following year, he was promoted to lieutenant and, in 1863, promoted to captain.

With another return to England to train more recruits, they headed off to fight in the Anglo-Zulu War. In 1866, he left Kingstown, Ireland, for Malta, where he was based for just over a year.

Victoria Cross

While the 90th Foot was in Crimea, Andrew Moynihan was awarded the Victoria Cross on the 8th of September 1855 at Sebastopol. The London Gazette of the 24th of February 1857 has the following citation: Sebastapol, Crimea, 8 September 1855, Serjeant Andrew Moynihan, 90th Regiment (Perthshire Light Infantry). When Serjeant, 90th Light Infantry, at the assault of the Redan, 8th September 1855, he encountered and killed five Russians. He rescued from the Redan a wounded Officer under heavy fire. He was awarded this great honour by Queen Victoria at Hyde Park on the 26th of June 1857.

Moynihan, while living in Floriana, Malta, died on the 19th of May 1867 (aged 37) after contracting typhoid fever after drinking unsterilised goat’s milk. He rests in Ta Braxia Cemetery, Malta, under a raised chest tomb with a prominent cross covering the entire length of the stonework.

Andrew married Ellen Anne Parkin in 1853 in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire. Ellen followed her husband to Malta, where their son Berkley was born in 1865. Now a widow, Ellen returned to England – Leeds, where she raised Berkley and his two sisters.

The family home by the harbour via Google Maps

Berkley Moynihan became an eminent surgeon and lecturer in Leeds and a Baron in 1929 (Berkley George Andrew Moynihan, Baron Moynihan). Berkley was a surgeon, while my relative was in charge of the Leeds Infirmary. Upon his retirement, my relative had the honour of having the hospital renamed in his and one other’s name – but that is another story. 

UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970

UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970

I am always pleased when Ancestry of FindMyPast add new collections to their portfolio, and their latest is quite interesting. Like many other researchers, I always put my family names in the surname search area to see who can be found in their index. This new collection was no exception. I searched for the surnames Riach and Siddle and came up with only a few Riach people, but more Siddle’s – more research is needed.

What is this collection? The UK, Royal Mail Pension and Gratuity Records, 1860-1970. The record set covers a good number of years, and you will be able to find a surname of interest.

A young man named Frederick Bartholomew Rabey (Ancestry have him indexed as Rahey – when you look at the typed original document, the bottom part of the ‘b’ has not scanned well).

The document is headed ‘Application for Gratuity to the Legal Personal Representatives of a Deceased Civil Servant Under Section 2 (1) of the Superannuation Act. 1909. ‘ From that heading, you can deduce that Frederick Bartholomew Rabey has died. According to FreeBMD, he died on March ¼, 1918, in Wakefield, aged 31.

According to the scanned image, Frederick was born on 22 July 1886 and worked as a postman for seven years and two months with a salary/wage of 27/- per week (70 8s 6d per annum). He had a boot allowance of £1 1s. His uniform was valued (estimate) at £2 7s 6d, and Sunday pay worked out on average at £5 10s 7d. Totalling £79 7s 7d on which the gratuity is based.

The reverse side of the document tells that Frederick was appointed to the Post Office in 1909 and worked in Rotherham (30 March 1910). And for the London Postal Service (8 January 1915) and Wakefield (26 March 1916).

More helpful information included on the form is that Frederick received an Army Pension of 16/6 a week. So, he served in the Army for some time. That information will wait for a moment. He died on the 7th of January 1918 as a result of Pneumonia. The Post Office statement said that Frederick discharged his duties with diligence and fidelity to the satisfaction of his superior officers by command of the Postmaster General.

And so, on March 4, 1918, John Bradbury (of the Treasury Department) signed a document to give Frederick’s legal personal representatives a gratuity of £79 7s 7d.

Although he made Wakefield his home, Frederick was born in Smithfield, London. He attended several schools but was removed from education after his mother died in 1899.

When Frederick enlisted in the Dorsetshire Regiment at age 18 in 1904, he listed his occupation as a Pawnbroker’s assistant.

With a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair, would you recognise the 5′ 5½” tall Frederick as he walked down the street? He was placed on the Army Reserve list in 1907 and discharged in 1914 as ‘physically fit for War Service’.

In 1912, Frederick married Annie Brooks in The Congregational Church, The Green, Ossett, and they made their home in Ossett.

Frederick was taken off the Reserve List and became part of the British Expeditionary Force, entering France on the 16th of August 1914 and saw action in the Battle of Aisne when he received a shrapnel wound to the left elbow. He returned to England to be hospitalised (possibly Netley Hospital), which resulted in his left arm being amputated. As he was no longer physically fit, he was given a Silver War Badge to show the public that he had been a soldier and was discharged due to illness or disability. Along with his SWB, he was entitled to the 1914 Star and the British and Victory Medals.

His wife, Annie, lived at 1 Storrs Hill Road, and after Frederick’s death, she received half of his military pension.

Annie married for the second time in June 1920 – in the same church- to Ewart Brook, a 29-year-old widower who worked as a farm labourer. Annie’s re-marrying would mean losing her first husband’s Military Pension.

Annie died in 1962, followed by Ewart in 1973.

Ancestry also has the UK Postal Service Appointment Books, 1737-1969, which may also be worth examining.

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane – Rhodes and Ward Families

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane

William Jepson Rhodes was born in Wakefield in 1876. He was the son of Ezra Rhodes and his wife Hannah. By the time William was 15, his father, Ezra, was a widower looking after two teenage boys who both worked as joiner labourers with their father, a joiner. Home for the small family was Rhodes Yard, in the Primrose Hill area of Wakefield. Both Rhodes boys had been born in Wakefield, while Ezra had been born in Morley. Next door was widow Elizabeth Rhodes, who was living on ‘Own Means’ also from Morley – could she have been his mother? And could her husband have been responsible for the building of Rhodes Yard?

William, now 25, lived in Epsom Place in the Parish of St Mary, Wakefield, and was a cabinet maker.

Just short of ten years later, William was now the father to three daughters and one son. Home for the family was Mollacree’s Yard, Kirkgate, Wakefield. He had married Mary Ann nee Ward in the summer of 1898. William’s father, Ezra, was on the marriage certificate as a Master Joiner. He was also a witness on the happy day. Mary’s father was James Ward of Sun Lane, Warrengate, Wakefield, a foreman railway waggon shunter.

In 1939, William and his wife Mary were together in Duke of York Street, Wakefield – William was now a joiner and shopfitter.

Between the census dates, another set of documents tells another side of the Rhodes family – passenger lists. In 1908, mum Mary and three children were on SS Etruria bound for Middlesbro’ Kentucky from Liverpool. Why? The passenger list tells that the nearest relative was an aunt who lived in Northgate, Wakefield – no name of the aunt, but something maybe to research later. Where was William Jepson Rhodes? Had he died? No, I have seen the headstone; William was still alive. Did he stay in Wakefield? No. William, aged 32, travelled on SS Lusitania in February 1908. His wife Mary was living in Zetland Street, Wakefield, probably preparing for her upcoming journey.

Why did the family leave the country? They only stayed briefly, as they are in the 1911 census. All eight of the Rhodes’ are living in Mollacrees Yard. William, a shopfitter, works for George Blakey on Back Lane, Westgate, Wakefield.

Family headstone in Sugar Lane Cemetery ©

William died in May 1945. His wife, Mary, followed in October 1958. The headstone gives the reader one valuable snippet of information – Mary was the sister of Thomas Ward. Thomas, included on the memorial, died in Boston, USA, in November 1946. There is now a link to America. In modern-day traffic, the journey from Boston to Middlesboro, Kentucky, is over 14 hours and a longer and more arduous journey during the first decade of the twentieth century. A visit to Mary’s brother could be the reason for the short stay.

Although I am curious to delve a little deeper into the Rhodes / Ward families, I must tell myself to stop and leave any further digging to the family or someone with another connection – not me!

West Riding Comtemporary Biographies

CENTRAL WEST RIDING OF YORKSHIRE

AT THE OPENING OF XXth CENTURY

Contemporary Biographies

I bought this book quite a few years ago, even though it was in a rather sad state. I seem to recall that it was on a stall at the York Family History Fair – I can’t remember how much the asking price was; however, I do remember parting with £5 after some bargaining. The front and back covers were, and still are, separate from the rest of the book; the spine is damaged, and the front fly cover is also loose. Saying all that, there is only one loose section – one piece of paper folded in two with the names – The Right Hon. the Earl of Scarborough; Mr Alexander Wentworth MacDonald Bosville, JP; The Most Rev. William Dalrymple Maclagan, PC., DD., DCL., and Sir John Austin, Bart., JP., pages 103, 103a, 104 and 104a. Considering the outside condition, the other pages are in very good shape.

It seemed such a shame to leave such a once handsome, large and heavy book to an unknown future. I knew it would come into use one day. The following are extractions with a Wakefield connection.

Bruce – Samuel Bruce LLB., JP., St John’s House, Wakefield: only son of the late Thomas Bruce, gent., of Wakefield: born at Leeds, July 10th, 1829: educated at the West Riding Proprietary School (now the Grammar School), Wakefield and University College, London. Barrister-at-Law; graduated 1851 and a member of Convocation; student of the Middle Temple (1851-55); called to the Bar, November, 1855; has practised in Wakefield; appointed Stamp Distributor in 1874, and is one of three only in the United Kingdom allowed to receive death duties; appointed a Justice of the Peace n the first grant of a Commission of the Peace for Wakefield, 1870; a Governor and Treasurer for the Crowther and other local charities; has long taken a prominent part in public affairs, especially in educational and political matters.

Fernandes – Charles Bathurst Luis Fernandes, JP., Wakefield; son of Joze Luis Fernandes, the elder, of Wakefield, and his wife, Catherine Mary, only daughter of George Hutchinson, of Whitton House, near Stockton-on-Tees, in the county of Durham, and of Wet Brunton, in the county of Northumberland; born at Porto Bello House, Wakefield, November 27th 1833; of Portuguese extraction, being descended, on the paternal side, from the Marquis de Tavora, the political opponent the Marquis de Pombal; educated at Christ’s Hospital, London, and Wakefield Grammar School. Admitted a Solicitor in 1857; is Solicitor to the Governors of the Wakefield Charities; Clerk to Normanton Urban District Council;Clerk to the Normanton and District Joint Hospital Committee; Clerk to the Trustees of Lady Hutchinson’s Charity, etc.,;acted as Solicitor in promoting a scheme for supplying Wakefield with water from the Penistone Hills, instead of the water which was then drawn from the River Calder; was also engaged as Solicitor either for or against nearly all the schemes propounded for supplying pure water to Wakefield, which culminated in the present supply from Rishworth Moors, takes a deep interest in agriculture and the breeding of horses, particularly thoroughbreds and draught horses; owner and breeder of Middlethorpe, Yorkshire Lad, and Chief Baron; owns and maintains the Sturton Stud Farm, near Gainsbro’; Lincolnshire. Married Francis Sarah, daughter of Thomas Bayldon, of Hollinghurst, near Wakefield, who was the proprietor of a large landed estate at Mowthorpe, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Kingswell – William Henry Kingswell, 95 Northgate, Wakefield; son of William Henry Kingswell, silk merchant; born at Wakefield, December 29th 1874; educated at Wakefield Grammar School. Articled with H Plews, of Wakefield; admitted 1899; was Managing Clerk with Messrs. Clements, Williams and Company, 11 King Street, E.C.; returned to Wakefield, 1901, and acquired the practices of Messrs. Brown, Wilkin and Scott, and Mander and Company; Steward of the Manor of Crigglestone, and of the Manor of Newland-cum-Woodhouse Moor.

Ottley – John Bickersteth Ottley – 1, Hatfield Street, Wakefield, eldest surviving son of the late Rev. Lawrence Ottley, Rector of Richmond and Canon of Ripon, Yorkshire, who was the eldest son of sir Richard Ottley, late Chief Justice of Ceylon; his mother was Elizabeth Bickersteth,, was daughter of the late Rev. John Bickeresteth, of Sapcote, Leicestershire, and sister of the late Bishop Bickersteth, of Ripon, and Dean of Bickersteth, of Lichfield, and niece of the late Lord Langdale; born at Acton, Suffolk, February 5th 1845; educated at St Peter’s School, York, and afterwards a Foundation scholar at Charterhouse, London; in 1864 he obtained an pen Exhibition at Trinity Hall, and afterwards an open Scholarship at Emmanuel College, Cambridge; graduated Second class in the Classical Tripos in 1868; articled to the late Mr Octavius Leefe, of London; admitted solicitor, Trinity term, 1871; succeeded, in 1874, to the practice of the late Mr Charles Oriel (also an old Carthusian); appointed, after the passing of the Bancruptcy Act, 1883, Official Receiver in Bankruptcy at Wakefield, the Bancruptcy district of Barnsley County Court being added to his jurisdiction in 1895, on the death of the late Mr Clegg, of Sheffield. Married August, 1896, Margaret Wray, of Newmillerdam, near Wakefield, and had two children living.

Beverley – Christopher Beverley, JP., West Royd, Farsley, near Leeds; son of the late Christopher Lodge Farsley, of Wakefield; born at Wakefield, November 22nd 1847; educated locally. Justice of the Peace for the city of Bradford; head of the firm of C Beverley and Company, commission wool combers, Albion Works, Bradford, Chairman of Beverley Bros., Ltd., Eagle Brewery, Wakefield. Married Evangeline, daughter of the late Israel Roberts, of Westfield, Stanningley Club: Bradford and County Conservative.

Fawcett, Joshua Swallow, JP., Ashleigh, Ossett; son of Frederick Fawcett, of Horbury; born at Thornes, near Wakefield, March 28th 1842; educated at local school, Leeds and Dewsbury. Extract wool, merino, and mungo manufacturer, and oil extractor, Caldervale Mills, Healey, Ossett; started business in 1872, in partnership with Messrs. Firth and Jessop; formed company, 1898, as Fawcett and Firth Ltd.; is Chairman of the Company; was member of Ossett Borough, 1893. Married Mary, daughter of the late Jeremiah Fisher of Horbury.

RhodesWilliam, Fern Bank, St John’s North, Wakefield; son of the late Joseph Rhodes; born at Wakefield in 1844; educated at local schools in Wakefield, and at Almondbury, near Huddersfield. Engineer and ironfounder; proprietor of the Grove Iron Works, Wakefield which were established in 1824, by his father, whom he joined on leaving school; for the last nine years member of Wakefield Corporation, formerly member of the Board of Guardians; Chairman and Vice-President of Wakefield Liberal Club; Chairman of the Engineering Employers’ Federation (Wakefield Association); Governor of Wakefield Charities; member of the Society of Freemasons, Sincerity Lodge, No. 1019, Wakefield.

note – ironfounder is one word in the book.

Wade, Henry, Redville, St John’s North, Wakefield; son of the late Walter Wade, of Wakefield; born at Stanley, June 17th 1866. Cloth manufacture; entered his father’s business, 1881; became partner, 1895; in 1897 the business was turned into a private company, of which Mr Wade is one of the Managing Directors; a Governor of Clayton Hospital; a member of the Council of Mechanics Institute, Wakefield; Treasurer of Wakefield Cricket Club. Married Emma, daughter of John Northcote, of Newton Abbott, Devon.

Ward, Joseph, Bottomboat House, Ossett, Yorks; son of the late Samuel Ward; born at Ossett, in; educated locally. Mungo manufacturer at Bottomboat Mill; started business in 1854; for the past forty years has been interested and associated with all Ossett improvements and advances; served on the old Board of Surveyors, then on its successor, the Local Board, and finally a member of the Corporation; Mayor, 1898, member of the Finance Committee; was Chairman of Gas-works Company, now Corporation property.

Married Elizabeth, daughter of the late James Benson, of Liverpool.

Childe, Henry Slade, Homegarth, Wakefield and Holbeck Hill, Scarboro’; son of Joshua Childe; born April 4th, 1861, at Eccleshill, near Bradford; educated at Wakefield Grammar School. Member of the firm of Messrs. Childe and Rowand, mining engineers, 59, Westgate, Wakefield and Barnsley Union Banking Company Ltd., and of the Yorkshire Railway Waggon Company Ltd.; returning as a member of Wakefield City Council, representing St John’s Ward, in 1898; Mayor of Wakefield, 1901-02; a Freemason. Past Provincial Grand Registrar in West Yorkshire Freemasonry, and Vice-Chairman of the Charity Commission of that Province. Married in 1890, Kate, only daughter of Henry France, of Thornes. Clubs; St Stephen’s. Leeds and Wakefield.

Note- Rowand – spelling as in the book.  It could be Messrs. Childe and Rowland, mining engineers. Reasons- Childe history pages and one of Childe’s children using the middle name Rowland.

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane Cemetery – Rhodes

 

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane Cemetery – Rhodes

William Jepson Rhodes was born in Wakefield in 1876. He was the son of Ezra Rhodes and his wife Hannah. By the time William was 15, his father, Ezra, was a widower looking after two teenage boys who both worked as joiner labourers with their father, a joiner. Home for the small family was Rhodes Yard, in the Primrose Hill area of Wakefield. Both Rhodes boys had been born in Wakefield, while Ezra had been born in Morley. Next door was widow Elizabeth Rhodes, who was living on ‘Own Means’ also from Morley – could she have been his mother? And could her husband have been responsible for the building of Rhodes Yard? William, now 25, lived in Epsom Place in the Parish of St Mary, Wakefield. He was working as a cabinet maker.

Just short of ten years later, William was now the father to three daughters and one son. Home for the family was Mollacree’s Yard, Kirkgate, Wakefield. He had married Mary Ann Nee Ward in the summer of 1898. William’s father, Ezra, was on the marriage certificate as a Master Joiner. He was also a witness on the happy day. Mary’s father was James Ward of Sun Lane, Warrengate, Wakefield, a foreman railway waggon shunter.

In 1939, William and his wife Mary were together in Duke of York Street, Wakefield – William was now a joiner and shopfitter.

Between the census dates, another set of documents tells another side of the Rhodes family – passenger lists. In 1908, mum Mary and three children were on SS Etruria bound for Middlesbro’ Kentucky from Liverpool. Why? The passenger list tells that the nearest relative was an aunt who lived in Northgate, Wakefield – no name of the aunt, but something maybe to research later. Where was William Jepson Rhodes? Had he died? No, I have seen the headstone; William was still alive. Did he stay in Wakefield? No. William, aged 32, travelled on SS Lusitania in February 1908. His wife Mary was living in Zetland Street, Wakefield, probably preparing for her upcoming journey. Why did the family leave the country? They only stayed briefly, as they are in the 1911 census. All eight of them are living in Mollacrees Yard. William, a shopfitter, works for George Blakey on Back Lane, Westgate, Wakefield.

William died in May 1945. His wife, Mary, followed in October 1958. The headstone gives the reader one valuable snippet of information – Mary was the sister of Thomas Ward. Thomas, included on the memorial, died in Boston, USA, in November 1946. There is now a link to America. In modern-day traffic, the journey from Boston to Middlesboro, Kentucky, is over 14 hours and a longer and more arduous journey during the first decade of the twentieth century. A visit to Mary’s brother could be the reason for the short stay.

Although I am curious to dig a little deeper and delve further into the Rhodes / Ward families, I must tell myself to stop and leave any further digging to the family or someone with another connection – not me!

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane Cemetery – Horsfall

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane Cemetery – Horsfall

When taking you on a walk around one of Wakefield’s cemeteries, I often wonder what I will find.  Will I be surprised when I see their occupation or where they lived?  Where will my little walk take me this time?

Who will get their chance today?

A granite memorial in shades of pink, white and grey – a solid structure yet simple in its design and wording ‘In Affectionate Remembrance of Henry Horsfall, Surgeon Wakefield. Born August 20th 1817. Died March 13th 1898.’

The first workable census to look for Henry is 1851. He lives at ‘Manor House’ in the All Saints Ecclesiastical District. A single man, he tells the enumerator he had been born in Wragby. His occupation fills his section and encroaches into the line below ‘General Practitioner of the Royal College of Surgeons & Pharmacists (?) of Apothecaries Hall, London’. Joseph Balmford was born in Wakefield 16 years earlier and was a medical pupil under the tutelage of Henry. Also in the male household was 25-year-old Ann Pickersgill, a servant.

Twenty years later, Henry is still a single man. His housekeeper (Domestic) is now Featherstone-born Jane Earnshaw (aged 48). Not only has he changed his housekeeper, but he has also now changed his address to Southgate. A few houses away is another surgeon, John Whiteley – a General Practitioner and a Royal College of Surgeons member.

By 1881, there has been another change in housekeepers (Jane Beckett) from Featherstone. Is this the same Jane with a name change, even though she’s saying she is single in the 1871 and 1881 census, or is she just stretching the truth a little? Henry has also been on the move again; he now lives in Burton St, St John’s.

The census of 1891 gives a house number for Henry’s house in Burton Street – six. A new general servant looks after Henry, Stanley, born Kate Wilkinson, aged 20. Kate also looks after Sarah Whiteley, aged 53, his niece. Do you remember the surname Whiteley? Dr Whiteley lived a few doors away from Henry in the 1871 census – could there be a family connection or just a coincidence?

We know a little about Henry from his census entries, but who were his parents? On the 28th of December 1817, John Horsfall, a farmer of Hill Top, Wragby and his wife Sarah, took their young son to St Micheals Church, Wragby, to be christened by J (?) Morville, Curate. John, of Hill Top, died at 50 in 1823.

John of Wragby and Sarah (Smirthwaite) are found in Pallot’s Marriage Index, 1780-1837, as being married by License in 1796. Pallot’s Marriage Index includes over 1.5 million marriages in England (three million people) from 1780 until the beginning of Civil Registration in 1837. The Boyd’s Marriage Index includes over 3.5 million marriages, kept by the Society of Genealogists and goes back to 1538 up to 1837. Both marriage indexes have been transcribed and are now available online.

What kind of person was Henry in his professional capacity? The Editor’s Letter Box of 1853, page 225 of the Association Medical Journal, exact date unknown, includes a letter dated February 19th 1853. ‘Memorial, From Medical Practitioners In Wakefield and Its Vicinity To the Royal Colleg Of Surgeons’ was signed by over 20 General Practitioners and Surgeons from Wakefield, except one from Redcar. What was Henry and his fellows up in arms about? These men, members of the Royal College of Surgeons, felt a little put out that women could be granted a Licenciate qualification in Midwifery. These men were greatly concerned that they had undergone much training over several years. Their concerns also went on to say that they felt their hard-earned qualification would be regarded less by the local people. They also thought that the College would be introducing an inferior class of practitioners into their midst. Could this annoyance also be fuelled by the fact that these midwives could take away some of the general practitioners’ and surgeons’ trade? But they did sign, ‘We have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your obedient servants. Henry gave his address as Kirkgate – could this be the Manor House address? Other names included Benjamin Walker, Westgate End; Ebenezer Walker, sen., Wakefield; Benjamin Kemp, Westgate End; William Wood, Cheapside; and S Holdsworth of Grove House, Wakefield.

Henry and Ebenezer Walker, both members of influential surgical families, were medical officers at the Wakefield Medical District and Workhouse. Henry was also a surgeon at the headquarters of the West Riding Constabulary and a medical officer at Hatfield Colleries. Henry’s brothers John and Francis were also doctors and this family were the forerunners to one of the towns existing surgeries. Between these brothers they called the great and good of the town their patients, including Squire Warterton. Henry and Francis were the first surgeons in the North Riding to perform a Tracheostomy. The London and Provincial Medical Directory of 1850 shows Henry living and working in premises adjoining the Market Cocoa and Coffee Tavern in Manor Courtyard. He later, as we know, had premises in Southgate – does this sound familiar to those who live locally? Mr Whiteley also joined the surgery.

During the 1849 cholera epidemic, Mr Waterton distributed his own Waterton’s Pills. Henry and Waterton had a verbal conflict following the death of a patient who had been relying on Waterton’s Pills. Henry vigorously attacked Waterton for his lack of medical knowledge and interference. Henry ate humble pie and apologised to save a legal suit. Waterton had both wealth and standing in the community – Walton Hall.

The Wakefield Microscopic Society was founded by Henry and six other doctors who could vote on other people to join at the cost of 2/6d, and they must own a ‘good’ achromatic microscope. Several more doctors joined in the following years, with others attending occasional meetings.

So Henry had an interesting life. He died in March 1898 and rests, as we know, in Sugar Lane Cemetery. The Probate for his estate was granted to John Horsfall and Frederick Wilson Horsfall, both farmers, the following month. His estate had been re-sworn in September, and the amount had been increased slightly to £113,277 17s 7d. Frederick Wilson Horsfall moved to Potto Grange, Northallerton and lived on private means. When he died in 1920, he left just over £16,000.

Gomersal Cemetery

Gomersal Cemetery

While wrestling with what else to include in this issue of Cameo, Morley & District Family History Group magazine, I came across a few photographs taken in Gomersal St Mary’s cemetery while on the hunt for a family headstone. In the slightly overgrown grounds, I came across the headstone of T. H. Ellis, a CWGC memorial.

Ellis CWGC headstone Gomersal Cemetery © C Sklinar 2020

The first website I must visit to find out who T. H. Ellis is is the CWGC site to input some of the information I already know. T. H. Ellis – the search gave six results. It was the first of these results that was of interest and confirmed by his burial place. And so it was that Private 68624 Thomas Henry Ellis of the KOYLI Reserve Garrison Battalion who died on the 5th of December 1918 aged 19; Thomas was the son of Mrs Sarah Thrippleton, formerly Ellis, – well, that last bit of information certainly gives one clue, but I’ll come back to that later.

Thomas Henry was born in Liversedge in the 1st Quarter of 1899. By the time of the census in 1901, Thomas Henry was two years old and living with his 13-year-old sister, Lily, his father, Micklethwaite, aged 45; his mother, Sarah, and Henry, Micklethwaite’s father, aged 73 – Some family trees on Ancestry have Henry dying in 1869, if that is the case, how is he listed in the 1901 census? In 1903 Micklethwaite died. With two children, Sarah had two choices – to marry again or muddle through. She chose the first choice, and in the December Quarter of 1903, Sarah married William Thrippleton, a woollen weaver, in the Dewsbury Registration District.

The 1911 census shows that William and Sarah had been married for eight years and had no children, but Lily and Thomas Henry were each ten years older and still living with their mother. There was one addition, though, Ivy Ellis, a three-year-old classed as granddaughter-in-law. William called Sarah’s children by the term in-law, not stepdaughter or son. The family live on Moor Lane, Gomersal, in a two-roomed house. That sounds like it was a little on the ‘cosy’ side!

Back to Thomas Henry. As we know from his headstone, he enlisted in Bradford into the KOYLI. The Service Record relating to Thomas Henry does not appear to have survived. I don’t think Thomas Henry served abroad, as he has no Medal Card either, so I’ll work with what is available.

The Army Register of Soldiers’ Effects 1901-1929 includes Thomas Henry and his mother, who was beneficiary to the £3 11s 8d owed to him by the army. The next record set, which includes some interesting information, is the Fold3 collection – a sister site to Ancestry but with an added fee to view. If you are a member of the Western Front Association, they can be viewed from their website for free, as the WFA have the care of the original cards. The faded pink card shows that Mrs Sarah Thrippleton was the Dependant but was superseded by William Thrippleton, who now says that he is the stepfather. Home for William is Burnleys Cottages, Hill Top, Gomersal nr Leeds. But most importantly included is the reason why Thomas Henry rests in a Gomersal cemetery. He died ‘at home’, meaning in the UK of pneumonia.

Sarah, whose maiden name was Brewell, died in February 1926 at Hill Top, Gomersal. William, born in 1869, was included in the 1939 Register along with Lily and Ivy – could this prove that Ivy was Lily’s child? Another question, but one I’m not going to attempt to answer.

William died in June 1945, aged 76 and was buried on the 29th of the same month in plot 644 in the extended graveyard.

Find My Past New Collections

Find My Past New Collections

Findmypast has added Lincolnshire Baptisms, with 216,638 new and unique records joining the FMP collection. These records cover 269 churches ranging in years from 1754 – 1812. The records include information about Alfred Tennyson and Sir John Franklin.

Joining Lincolnshire’s baptisms are 52,387 marriages from the Suffolk Marriage Index collection. These additions cover the years 1813 – 1837 and 500 churches.

For something new from West Yorkshire – the National School Admissions Register. So, if your family has connections to Halifax you may be in luck. Records being added to the existing collection, which includes pupils of both school-age and adults (up to the age of 45), covering the years 1867 – 1927.

There have recently been quite a few new collections and updates to many existing military records. A completely new collection is bound to be of interest to many of us. This collection is the British Army, Local Armed Forces’ Enrolment Forms Anglo-Boer War 1899 – 1902. The amount of information is mainly dependent on the type of form used but mainly contains the soldier’s usual information – name, age, nationality and trade of soldier as well as the usual regiment, regimental number and place of enlistment. A physical description can make these men come to life.

When I find a new collection, I, probably like many of us, add a family name to the surname search. Well, I had a little surprise when I added Riach to the Boer Enrolment collection – not many results, three in total, but something to get my teeth into later. I was a little disappointed with the result from Arthur Riach, who was born in 1868 and enlisted in 1900 in Port Elizabeth into Brabant’s Horse. Lucky enough for me, Arthur has two records with much more information. Arthur was 30 years old, and his mother lived at 53 Bassett Road, North Kensington, London.

David MacKinlay Potter Riach was born in 1876 and enlisted in Cape Town in July 1901. He served in the Civil Service Company Cape T Guard C. D. F. David had previously served in the W. P. M. Rifles. In his civilian life, he had been a Civil Engineer in the Civil Service. His next of kin was his father, Revd. W. .L. Riach of 3 Tipperlinn Road, Edinburgh.

I searched for another of my family’s names but found nothing. I tried a few surnames I know the group has a connection to but found nothing. One last name was included before I gave up on the collection. I tried Officer – a surname which I have in my tree from Wakefield. And there was one entry. William Officer, born in 1861, was 40 when he enlisted in August of 1901 in Durban. He served as 2813 in the Railway Pioneer Regiment, having previously served in the Wrafekaig Town Guard S. L. H. for 15 months. William was married to Ida, his next of kin, who lived in Colesberg. One other snippet of information on his record was that he was a Presbyterian.

Sadly, the transcribed records I looked at had limited information, but probably enough get an idea of the man at that time in his life.

Last collection I found very interesting – a set of 12,000 commemorative plaques – you know the ones, Blue Plaques you see up and down many towns, although some of the plaques in the collection are not necessarily ‘blue’. The information is limited, but there is a bonus of having a picture.

Ancestry has recently added the following to its ever-growing collection.

The county of Berkshire has done well with this recent update with the Berkshire WW2 Evacuation Records 1939 – 1945; Home Guard 1943 – 1958; Civil Defence 1939 – 1945 and WW2 Related Miscellaneous Records 1939 – 1971.

Another new addition is Scotland, Burial Monument Inscriptions 1507 – 2019.

This link is not new but may be of interest to some of you. The Public Record Office Victoria (Australia) has uploaded information, links and images of Convict Registers. The images of the Register of Convicts include – name, ship, arrival date, sentence, ticket of leave (date and number) and occupation and remarks.

I hope that this information has given you something to get your teeth into on a rainy day.

Another Walk Around Sugar Lane – Wales

Another Walk around Sugar Lane

In 1922 A E Wales erected a memorial to his wife. The words were carved into a large stone which had a flat surface at the front to show his words to anyone who passed by, it was topped with a cross carved to resemble branches of a tree. Neatly carved stone forms a boundary for the memorial. A E Wales’ words ‘This cross is erected by A E Wales in sweet memory of his wife Belle who died 3rd May 1922.’

The unusual memorial tells the passer-by who rests beneath, but like many memorials, it brings to the fore many questions. Who was A E Wales? Where did the couple live? Was Belle a nickname? Let me see if I can answer some of those questions, and I hope no more arise during the hunt!

Mr and Mrs Wales certainly led me on a journey with very little information on the headstone. My first port of call was Ancestry with a very vague search of A E Wales with a wife of Belle. Nothing seemed to jump out as the right family, but after a few search variations, there was an Arthur Edley Wales from Sheffield. I had a starting point. When I’d viewed a few of the links Arthur Edley didn’t seem to have a wife with any name that could be adapted to Belle. The next port of call was FreeBMD, again using a vague search and still with Arthur Edley in mind – nothing. I even viewed the 1921 census for any hints it might give, and again no results. It was time to change tactics. Could A E Wales have used a familiar name for his wife but her burial record may, just may have her ‘Sunday’ name – Wakefield.gov.uk here I come and she was there in full Sunday glory – Isabel Annie. This wonderful resource also told me she was 50 years of age and had lived at Probate House, King Street, Wakefield. I also now knew that she had been laid to rest three days after her demise and that F Stoke was the officiating minister. I had gained quite a bit of information so it was time to go back to my original sources and look for a marriage to a Wales. There they were. Arthur Edley was a false lead, but I now had. Isabel Annie Danson married to Albert Edward Wales.

Isabel was born in 1867 to Edmund Dawson and his wife Mary. Edmund was employed as a Colliery Manager. Edmund and all of his children seemed to have been born around Ingleton. Following the census through the years, Isabel, before her marriage, worked as a certificated schoolmistress. And in 1901, she was a lodger in a house on Bright Street, Swinton, near Wath. Two years later in 1903, Isabel and A E Wales married in the Settle Registration District. It makes me wonder how the couple met, he was in Wakefield, and Isabel was in Wath. But they did!

Was life good for the couple? The 1911 census can give an insight into that question. Well, it seems there is a little question mark over the age of Isabel, who by now had been married seven years. The union at that time had not blessed them with children. So, home for them was Glen(?) Marsh, Bradford Road, Wakefield, which they shared with two visitors -.Frances and Selina Hague were both head teachers from Swinton. Albert Edward was a Government employee; he was the District Probate Registry Clerk.

A quick look at the 1921 census has an Isabel Annie Wales born in Ingleton in Scarborough but it seems no Albert Edward – could Isabel have been there for health reasons or to visit friends or family? But as we know, she had died by early May of the following year. Now to Probate. She has a Probate entry, but I was wondering if Albert would have processed the probate for his wife. If he did or not, it seemed to progress quite quickly as on the 19th of May, her monies, the sum of £1314 5s 1d, was to go to A E.

Another question now arose. Is Albert Edward resting with his Belle? It is a very simple answer – No.

In the summer of July 1923, A E married Isabel Hartley sum ten years his junior, in Belper, Derbyshire. Following the couple in the 1939 Register (which confirms I had the correct couple) they are living at Woodencroft(?), Alfreton, where A E said he was a Chief Clerk, Probate, Retired. A E again had a childless marriage.

Albert Edward Wales of Wodencroft (correct name from Probate Registry), Derby Road, Swanwick, died on the 20th of July 1946 at Kings College Hospital, Lambeth, London. Probate Nottingham 31 August to Isabel Wales widow. Effects £844 5s 4d. Isabel Wales of 126 Derby Road, Swanwick, died 30 May 1971. Probate London 28 June 1971. Effects £3117.

How convenient that both wives were called Isabel, it must have saved some upsetting moments.