Tag Archives: who are you

Nunhead Cemetery, who is named on the headstone ?

Nunhead Cemetery – Frederick French Lloyd

Lloyd headstone courtesy of Margaret McEwan

Lloyd headstone
courtesy of Margaret McEwan

Ooops, I’ve done it again! But I have done a lot on my project this weekend, so thinking I need a diversion.  I have had a couple of diversions lately, namely the headstone from East Ardsley churchyard, the newspaper article, and now I have another – a photograph of a headstone.

Why is it such a nice photograph? Why does it have information on it that I can read…..why? And why is he not called John Smith, that might be impossible, but he is not called John Smith!

He is Frederick French Lloyd and his tilting and damaged headstone in Nunhead cemetery, still retains some dignity.

‘In every loving memory of FREDERICK FRENCH LLOYD, devoted husband and father, who passed away 13th February 1953, aged 52 years.  “Good was his heart and in friendship sound.  Patient in pain and loved by all around.  His pains are o’er, his griefs forever done, A life f everlasting joy he’s now begun. Also in ever loving memory of RICHARD LLOYD, devoted **** and  *****, who passed away 27th April 1953’

The remainder of the headstone is covered by undergrowth but you can see part of another sentiment.

What relationship does Frederick and Richard have? Are they father and son, brothers or cousins?

Frederick French Lloyd was the son of Robert Horatio Lloyd and Emily  nee Groombridge, who he married in the late summer of 1872, in the St Saviours Registration District of London and was one of nine children:- Susan, Annie, Margaret, Elizabeth, Harriet, Maude, Richard, Albert and Frederick – born between 1870  and 1901.  At the time of Frederick’s birth, the family were living at 110 Brandon Road, Newington.  Robert was employed as a Fish Porter, Susan and Margaret were ‘mother’s helpers’ and 19 year old Annie, she, ironed collars to add to the family coffers.

It was ten years later in 1911. that the family, now consisting of six people, lived at 1 Eltham Street, Walworth, London – a six roomed house.  Robert was now classed as a General Dealer. Emily, who had been married to Robert for 36 years had given birth to 13 children with 10 surviving to the 1911 census.  Susan, now ironed collars, Maud Pearl was an Ironer, Albert was a Printer’s Assistant, while Frederick was still at school

"1899 Gus Ellen" by Kbthompson (talk · contribs) - The Theatre Museum (London). Licensed under PD-US via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1899_Gus_Ellen.jpg#/media/File:1899_Gus_Ellen.jpg

“1899 Gus Ellen” by Kbthompson – The Theatre Museum (London). Licensed under PD-US via Wikipedia –

Frederick left school and started working ‘on the markets’, as a Costermonger – a street seller of fruit and vegetables. In 1920 he was living with his parents, still at 1 Eltham Street with his parents, according to the Electoral Registers.

He married Hannah Tobin in the March quarter of 1924 in the Southwark Registration District and they went on to have five children.  In 1939, 1 Eltham Street is still home, but Frederick seems to be the head of the household, with his wife, Hannah also still living there as is Robert Horatio, but no Emily, as she had died in 1933 aged 77.

I think this now answers the question asked about the relationship between Richard and Frederick, they were brothers.  We know where they rest but where is Hannah ……….oh no! is that another question to answer?

NO!

A Boy Named Sue or Any Other Name That Fits!

As usual I start off doing a little project and then I go off on a tangent – I was looking for someone on a war memorial, a local one, that had a surname that I knew one of my friends was researching – I sent her a message and while waiting for the reply, the whole blog went belly up and did a full 180 ° turn – so you will have to wait for that blog.

But, while I was waiting for a reply, someone on one of my facebook groups placed a request for information on a lady who died in Egypt in 1918 – well what was I to do?  Leave her question unanswered, or go for it!  A quick search of Probate came up with nothing, a search of passenger lists came up with a few but none that I could say 100% without further information.  So the good old 1901 was consulted, but not to sure about the entries, therefore, forward 10 years to 1911 and this is where it went all wrong!!

I had been looking for ‘Abbie Garner’, she may have been known as Abbie and everyone called her Abbie, and it stuck but I checked Abigail and I should not have done……………..as one entry, an entry very near the top of the list in the 1911 census was for a George Abigail Garner – a transcription error on the index I thought, but no, it was his name, he wrote it clearly on the census and I was totally and utterly distracted from both the war memorial and Abbie.

Now I am hooked, who was George Abigail Garner and why the unusual middle name for a man and why did he give his son the same name?  Starting where I found him in 1911, we have George snr, head of the house aged 38 and working as a cooper, born in Lowestoft.  His wife, Mary Elizabeth aged 34, stated she had been married 10 years, given birth to 4 children, with 3 surviving to the 1911 census. Elizabeth Shepherd Garner is aged 10 and born in North Shields, next is George Abigail jnr, and then Helen aged 5. Finally, Robert Stephenson Garner aged 7 months.  Why does Helen have only one name when her siblings have an extra ?

A change of websites and a hit for G A in Lowestoft comes up in 1901 where Nathan Garner aged 55 is the head of the house, a town crier, with his wife Martha and 5 children aged between 20 and George, the youngest on the census aged 8. But still not a hint of a clue as to why Abigail was used as a middle name – George is not even entered with this name on the census.  Think we may have to back a generation to see what lies there.

So to Google, a wonderful too, but don’t believe all you read – verify and check with original sources where possible but if that is not possible make a note of the source and where you found the information.  A search for Nathan Garner took me to a site listing all Town Criers world wide, very interesting but I am confused as to why it had an piper playing over the page and even turning my sound off, still the sound could be heard when mousing over the information – why it was not Scottish and had no reason to be there.  I like a good tune played on bag pipes, in tune and in the right place – rant over, now back to Nathan.  Well, the site did tell me he was working as a crier in 1891.  Another link took me to a page full of Suffolk family names – this should be interesting and was.  The Nathan Garner I had been looking at on the previous site was born, as we know from the census in 1901, around 1845, but the list of names goes back one more generation, as I said I needed to do.  Nathan Garner, yes another, was born around 1829.  Back to the census.

The 1871 census has Nathan living next door to his brother, William, at 7 Nobbs(?) Buildings, Lowestoft and is a tailor, brother William is a basket maker.  Nathan jnr is 16 and working as a shoemaker.  I now know Nathan snr’s wifes name – Martha, obtained from an original document.  Next stop was to find who Martha was. A visit to Freebmd and a quick search came up with just one entry – Nathan Garner + Martha = Martha Abigaill……………..Fantastic.  So, it looks like that George Abigail Garner, even though there is a spelling variation, has the maiden name of his grandmother as his middle name – not unusual but sometimes it may raise a few questions.

George Abigail Garner had a son in 1903 and like generations before gave his son his name – George Abigail Garner.

Problem solved and back to the blog I was going to start earlier!

Who Are You?

A few years ago I sorted through all the family photographs and put them in family folders. There were lots of people I knew – aunt and uncles, family members, family friends and lots of people who were totally unknown to me.  Some of the photographs, mainly from my mum’s time in the war had a short sentiment followed by a single name, others bore no wording.  Why should mum right on the reverse who they were – she knew them!

My dad also had photographs, not so many, but they also had either a few words or nothing.

In a moment of frustration of trying to find out who these people were Who Are You? was born.

Taken by C. Wilkinson

The pictures were scanned and then put into an online photo album with as much information about the picture as I could find on the reverse or deduce from the image.  I was loaned pictures, begged pictures, scanned them all and indexed them – cross referencing them if I knew they were from one place but the photograph was taken elsewhere.

All in all there are pictures of unknown and known people from the British Isles, Canada, America, Ukrkaine, Africa and a section of WW1 & 2.

Just to give you an idea as to some of the pictures – there is a family photograph in the Morley section of a couple and a small child written on the reverse is ‘ Aunt Mary ‘ but, who was Aunt Mary ? Is she the lady or is she the child ? Other images from the Morley section include members of the Donkersley  Worrel, Kershaw families  – most of the Morley photographs were handed to me as one group, so therefore I have kept them together and linked to other sections, but a photograph of a young man taken by Chas. A. Saylon, photographer, S. E. cor. Sixth & Penn Sts, Reading, PA. ( or South East corner of Sixth & Penn Streets). Who is this young man ? Was he visiting family or did he live in Pennsylvania ?

This section of my site Wakefield Family History Sharing has not been available for a while, but is now available and shortly with have the addition of extra pages with a connection to Victorian and Edwardian photographers.

Wakefield Family History Sharing

Who Are You?

Who Are You ?

Who are You ? How many times have you looked at a photograph and asked that question ? From my experience I can say 100’s if not 1,000’s.

I’m not a betting person but I will guarantee that you will have gathered, inherited or bought photographs of people, not always related but you have wondered…. Who Are You?

Donald Curtis, probably taken in Africa – the Curtis family new the Riach people from Urquhart and Lhanbryde, Moray.

My mum for instance, she served in the ATS during WW2, being posted to Nottingham and Burntisland just across the Firth of Forth from Edinburgh.  During her time in the ATS she collected lots of photographs of young men and women all serving their King & Country.  These wonderful pictures showing happy times during an unhappy period in our history are not only part of my family history but are important socially aswell.

These photographs, all in wonderful black and white, either have no information or simply ‘love Willie’ or ‘regards Joan’. But, who is Willie and who is Joan – mum knew who they were, where the photo was taken and when, so why would she bother to write names, places and dates on her ‘memory’ photograph?

So, what to do with all these photographs of her time in the ATS, her youth in the Urquhart area of Morayshire and her work as a housekeeper to Miss Kynoch in Fochabers, plus photographs of a friends son who was now married, had a son and lived somewhere in Africa, possibly South Africa.

A Gallery, a big gallery, that was the idea, with images scanned and questions posed on each picture.  Then I was given access to a local historians collection of photographs –  two very large shoe boxes to be precise, full of thick cards and some of the backs, beautifully decorated, were more interesting that the actual photograph on the front.  Some of these photographs had names and dates on the reverse.  The photographers studios were worldwide.

How to gather all these photographs in one place that seemed to make sense and make it easy for visitors to search and peruse.  I decided to divide in to areas i.e. Bradford, Leeds, Canada, Morayshire etc.

To view this collection of Who Are You’s visit WhoAreYou and enjoy !