I’m going to start a new weekly feature called Wedding Wednesday. Like many family historians I have lots of wedding photographs so this will be a great opportunity to feature some of my photographs and a bit about the people in them.
It’s a poor scan but it shows the wedding of one of my grandmother’s brothers where she was a bridesmaid (centre, above the bride) along with two of her sisters. I only have a couple of photographs when she was young so this is a very special photograph.
Some times the internet scares me. I was having an idle google of some of my family names and found a search result for Selina Cleopatra Ann Caswell. This lady had an unusual name so always sticks in my mind. Her father was a Captain in the Royal Navy and the last ship he had served on was the Cleopatra around the time his only daughter was born, hence the name.
I will add a separate post about the details of her life but I must post the results of today’s search:
From: Paul Cutmore
Subject: Shalfleet Registers
Date: Sun, 14 May 2000 01:00 +0100 (BST)
I was recently poring over a microfilm of the Shalfleet Registers when
unusually I came across a letter. It starts:
"Sir, Will you kindly tell me the fees for searching your register of
baptism in your parish?"
So I immediately thought that here was someone involved in Family History
research!
The letter was written on 2 Nov 1886 by Miss Selina Cleopatra Ann CASWELL
in Bitterne?, Southampton. It carries on:
"I fancy the register of baptism of my Grandfather the late Commander
Benjamin LEIGH, R.N. may be found in your church as Bouldner is in the
Parish of Shalfleet. He was the 2nd son of Benjamin LEIGH Esq. of Thorley,
by his 2nd wife Miss DRAPER. The register of Thorley has been searched
unsuccessfully. My grandfather died in the month of February 1846, age 74
which would give for date of birth 1772".
Funnily enough I tentatively have Benjamin LEIGH b. 1773 Shalfleet in my
family tree, although I have his father's (Benjamin) second wife as Sarah
STRICKLAND.
Ring any bells for anybody?
I wonder if Rootsweb will preserve this message for 100+ years!
Paul Cutmore in Cambridge
Not only is this my relative but it seems she was researching her own family tree when she was in her 40s. She never married and I couldn’t find any Will so I wonder what happened to her research.
One of my favourite and most enigmatic characters in my family history is Alfred Mansel Young. I’ve previously posted about him, but just the bare facts. He’s my brick wall.
Why was he an enigma?
Because he left his family in Portsmouth and went to live in South Wales with a branch of his family.
A couple of years ago we went to South Wales for a long weekend and managed to go and visit some of the addresses my relatives had lived. I’m not sure why but I really like doing this and I think it adds another dimension to your knowledge, getting a feel for the places they lived in and the streets they must have walked.
I wonder why he left his family and moved away? His life was so short yet he had moved from Portsmouth to Bridgend and then enlisted and been killed, all by the time he was 21.
He enlisted with the South Wales Borderers in Bridgend and his name is on the Bridgend War Memorial so he must have been living their permanently. Perhaps there were no jobs for him in Portsmouth, he’d fallen out with his family or was sent away after his mother died when he was young?
When we were in Bridgend I checked all the local papers at the local Record Office for mentions of his death but I couldn’t find any.
We visited the street mentioned in the 1911 census but only half of the street survived, the wrong half, of course!
After his death his medals must have been sent to his father as they were eventually passed down to me along with a couple of his army photographs, his cap badge and a name badge.
His First World War Army records were destroyed so this is the only information I have about him. I suppose a lot of people must have people like this in their family whose lives were cut short by war. I just find it so frustrating that I can’t find any information about him.
Posted in British Army, Wales, Young family
Tagged Bridgend, British Army, South Wales Borderers, Wales, Young
I was so excited that someone found my blog searching for William St Clair Cole. I think this is a really unusual name and is one of my ancestors so I was quite sad that they didn’t leave a comment. I thought I would add a post about him in case they come back!
William St Clair Cole was born in 1853 in Cape Town, the Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. His parents were Robert Cole, a Clerk in Holy Orders and Charlotte Cole.
Married Blanche Elizabeth Young on the 23 December 1880 at the Parish Church, Fareham, Southampton.
1881 census: Bank Clerk, 5 Peninsular Terrace, Southampton St Mary
1883 son Robert Mansel S Cole born
1887 daughter Gertrude Cole born
1891 census: 37 Osborn Road, St Denys, Southampton
1892 married Maria Mary Brown, in Paddington, London
1894 daughter Rita St Clair Cole born
1901 census: 8 Anglesea Road, Shirley, Southampton
1902 Kelly’s Directory lists him at 260 Shirley Road, Southampton
1911 census: Bank Clerk, 21 Beach Grove, Liscard, Chesire (wife listed as mentally affected)
Died 1924, Birkenhead, Cheshire
Could possible check The London Probate Registry to see if he left a will?
Posted in Cole family, Young family
Tagged bank clerk, Cole, Southampton, The London Probate Registry, Young
Recently my mum has been helping her cousin identify some old photographs. I inherited lots of photographs from my maternal grandparents and luckily they went through a lot of them with me when they were still alive.
I have three new photographs to add to my collection. Unfortunately they’ve been scanned to a very small size but it’s nice to have them.
Keith Hacker’s wedding, 1960s
Les Hacker’s wedding
front row, third left, Nanny Hacker, Auntie Bid, Kath Winchcombe, bride and groom, Auntie Dor, Auntie Else. Middle row – 3rd left, Grampy Hacker, Uncle Chip just behind him, miss 3, then Uncle Cecil, Auntie Connie, Uncle Reg. This must have been taken before 1935, as Grampy and Uncle Cecil died that year from TB. The whole surviving family (4 boys, 4 girls) of the 10 children Nanny had, are on this photo.
Auntie Dor’s wedding
I haven’t had much time for any family history research lately. It’s going to be a hobby which I dip in and out of when I have time.
I thought I would use this blog to make a note of queries I have, perhaps someone will read and be able to help 🙂
What do you do when you would like to trace an old address? I have relatives living on the Isle of Wight according to the 1841 census and I would love to try and trace the house they were living in.
In 1841 George Caswell was recorded as living at Hawthorn Cottage, Northwood, Isle of Wight, Hampshire. I’m from the Isle of Wight so I often think about tracking down this property. Last time we visited we even went to Cowes/Northwood and it was so frustrating to be in the area and not know where this property was. I admit I was on my iPhone googling like mad but unable to find anything.
The 1841 census was brief but it shows that Hawthorn Cottage was in the Parish of Northwood and surrounded by Mill Hill, Ivy Cottage, Three Gates and Broadfields.
The occupants of the house were
I’ve just looked on google maps and Mill Hill still exists so perhaps it’s just a case of driving down the road looking to see if any houses have their original names on them? We’ve done this before and were lucky – which I must write about another time.
Alternatively I could go to the Record Office but I feel they must be too busy to answer this kind of enquiry.
Posted in Caswell family, Census, Royal Navy
Tagged 1841 census, Caswell, Isle of Wight, Record Office
