Monthly Archives: May 2023

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.

Another Walk around Sugar Lane – Grace

A Walk around Sugar Lane – William John Grace

   William John Grace had been born on the 10th of January 1856 and nine months later he was taken by his parents, William and Jane to St Mary’s Church, Wakefield to be bapt.ised. The family more than likely walked from their home in Thornes Lane for the happy occasion.

   In 1861 the four year old John was living with his parents and two younger brothers on Holliday Row; His father, William was employed as an engineer in one of the local worsted mills. By the time of the next census, 1871, William’s father had died and Jane, now a shopkeeper was the head of the family. The 1881 census came and went and Jane now had no occupation listed but John William was a mechanic. His brother Henry was a postman, while his youngest brother James was a telegraph clerk working for the Great Northern Railway.

   In 1887 life changed for John William, as aged 30 while living in Sandal, he married Mary Ann Firth (31) in St Michael’s Church. Mary Ann was 31 years old and lived in the Westgate Common area. Both John and Mary signed their name on the church register while a witness, William Firth had to ‘make his mark’. The church register gives the impression that John’s father is still alive as there is no ‘deceased’ written below his name. The newlyweds lived at Belle Vue, moving a couple of times but still in the same vicinity.

Grace family headstone © C Sklinar 2014

 John and Mary went on to have four children, three girls and one boy, all born between 1891 and 18994.

   John died in 1907. The 1911 census gives more insight into the couples lives. Having been married for 7 years (which should not have been included on the form and was struck through by the enumerator) Mary had had four children and by 1911 only three were alive. Mary was working as a charwoman. Her children were employed as a stitching machinist, an apprentice stitching machinist and an apprentice fitter at a steam economist works, probably Green’s Economisers and the youngest child aged 11 was still at school. The family lived at 7 Wright Street, Belle Vue, consisting of a cellar, house, bedroom and attic, just above the address where the head of the household signs is the name John Wm Eason, who gave the reason for being there as witness. Mary Jane Grace just ‘made her mark’. Strange, as she did sign her marriage entry in the church register, albeit in a very poor hand.

   When it was time for the 1921 census to be handed in, it was a Mr Grace that signed the double-sided sheet – this could have been her only son who had now left home. The three daughters were now all working – the eldest two were boot machinists for James Ledgard and Sons, Alms House Lane, while the youngest girl was a stocking leg knitter for Isaac Briggs and Sons, Gradient Mills, Barnsley Road.

   The 1939 Register includes Mary and two of her daughters, still living at 7 Wright Street. The two daughters are now working for the GPO (General Post Office) as office cleaners, but there is a new entry. The new addition is for Harry Grace born in 1924 who works as a messenger boy again for the GPO. Now a question arises. Is Harry the son of one of the daughters? Is he Mary’s grandson from her only son? Is he a nephew? With curiosity rising and the knowledge the answer was only a website away I took a closer look. Harry was the son of James Grace and Gertrude Wootton – so Harry was her grandchild from the only son, James and his wife Gertrude nee Wootton.

   Well, that was another short insight into the life of someone named on a headstone. With two names, dates of death and ages enough information was given to start a family tree. And quite quickly three get    nerations were found. There were only two sources that took a little time and that was the 1939 Register and the 1921 Census I had to look a few of the images before finding the correct family. In fact it has taken me longer to write this than do the research. Anyway, the research is always much more fun!

   ‘In faithful remembrance of John William the beloved husband of Mary Ann Grace who died 7th July 1907 aged 50 years also the above Mary Ann Grace who died 5th Sept 1946 aged 80 years. ‘Perfect Peace’.’