Nana Green - Ethel Maud Pagan 1900 - 1973

Saying “My Nana was a Pagan” usually got me a few strange looks (visions of Wicca no doubt), but it’s true.  She was born Ethel Maud Pagan on the 24 May 1900 to Thomas Naismith Pagan and Edith (nee Dobney) in Hull, East Yorkshire.  She was an only child, and the family lived with her grandfather Dobney who was a Ticket Collector and Guard for the N.E.R. Her father Thomas was a nautical instrument maker.

 Taken about 1902/1903

She grew up before the First World War, and went to work during the War at Paragon Railway Station working for the N.E.R. in the typing pool there. In 1922, she married Marcus Alexander Green, a young Merchant Navy Officer and they set up home with their young son Ronald in Withernsea, East Yorkshire.
Two more children followed, Derek born in 1924 and Nancy born in 1926. In the 1930s, the family returned to Hull where they eventually settled in a home on Boothferry Road.  The Second World War loomed, and Marcus once again fought in the Royal Navy; Ronald followed his father to sea, though Derek, due to ill health, was unable to fight.  In 1944, a late addition to the family, Peter was born, a year later Ronald married his sweetheart Muriel, Derek’s wedding to another Muriel took place shortly before Ron and Muriel with their toddler son Wesley set sail for a new life in Canada.

Ethel remained devoted to her family, bringing little Peter up with the help of his big sister Nancy. Derek, Muriel and their young family were frequent visitors during these years. Marcus died first in 1966 after a long illness that confined him to the sofa in the front room (my only memories of him).  Ethel took the opportunity offered by Ron and his second wife Verna to visit them in Canada (Muriel had sadly died in the 50s) and see her Canadian grandchildren.  In 1973, Ron brought his family to England for a holiday, but sadly Ethel was very ill and despite rallying round tremendously whilst Ron was in Hull, she died on the 9th August that year just after Ron left to visit relatives down south.

 Part of a larger photo taken at Ron & Muriel's wedding

I’d stayed with her the previous year, a whole week during the summer holidays, I remember the Munich Olympics were on whilst I was with her.  She complained of my cold feet in bed on a night and that I fidgeted too much for her, but that didn’t stop her inviting me to stay.  She was a lovely Nana, and it was sad to lose her when we did.

L-R Marcus Green with a young Peter standing in front of him, Ethel Green with Derek Green behind and Muriel his wife next to him

L-R Marcus, Derek, Ethel, Nancy, Muriel, Christine - in front - Linda holding Carol with Stephen in front of his Nana - taken in 1960

Nana Singleton and the names that got me interested in family history

When I was a child, my Nana Singleton used to come and stay with us over Christmas and often ended up sharing my bedroom - which meant I had to give up my bed to her and sleep on the Z bed borrowed from my sister. Anyone who's ever slept on a Z bed will know that they will freqently for no apparent reason dump the sleeper onto the floor in the middle of the night!  But, I loved my Nana and really didn't mind giving up my bed for her - she had been born in Kilmarnock in Scotland in 1900 and though she'd lived in England (first Barrow in Furness in Lancashire and then Hull in East Yorkshire) since she was about 15 or 16, she retained her lovely Scots burr for the rest of her 94 years.

Nana Singleton in the 1960s at Cowden, East Yorkshire

Often during the nights she stayed before we both slept, she would tell me about when she had gone to a "big house" as a skivvy when she was about 14 and about my mother's habit of sucking the cuffs of the arms of her coats when she was a little girl. My Nana's name was Agnes Caldwell Gray, though she was always known as Nancy, probably to differentiate her from her mother another Agnes; I can remember Nana telling me that he middle name was an old family name from Scotland. She was the eldest of five, two girls and three boys - the others being - John Wilson Gray born 1905 in Scotland, Margaret Colville Gray born 1908 in Troon, Ayrshire, James Crighton Gray born 1911 in Troon, Ayrshire and lastly David Gray born 1916 in Barrow in Furnace, Lancashire, England. There had also been two other children, both girls named Jane Neil Gray, one born and died in 1899 and another born and died in 1901.

 back row - John Wilson Gray, Margaret Colville Gray, James Crichton Gray, front row - James Gray (1877 - 1955), David Gray and Agnes Caldwell Gray - photo taken in the early 1920s

When my Nana was in her 80s, there was a family tree drawn up of her parents, brothers, sister, children, grandchildren and great grandchildren - it was this basic family tree that got me started years later on tracing my family history; and I started with Nana's family as I was fascinated by the middle names she and her siblings had and wished to trace them to their roots. It was then, pure luck that started me off with Scottish Genealogy, where their statutory registers for birth, marriage and death give more information than their English counterparts.

It was fun searching the records, building a family tree, tracing the family in ninetheenth century censuses and discovering new surnames and families, and I did track down all the middle names of the Gray children, most of them to their origins in the family.

My nana - Agnes Caldwell Gray - her paternal grandmother was Agnes Cathcart Slessor Caldwell born in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire in 1858 to Robert Caldwell and Mary Slessor - she married John Wilson Gray in 1876 in Kilmarnock and my Nana's father James Gray was born in 1877.

Uncle John - was named after his paternal grandfather John Wilson Gray who was born in Kilmarnock in 1853 to James Gray and Elizabeth Orr - though I'm still not sure when the Wilson came from yet.

Aunty Maggie - was named after her maternal grandmother Jane's sister Margaret who married an Alexander Colville in Dundonald Scotland in 1860

Uncle James - his middle name was Crighton or Crichton and this proved to be his maternal grandfather's name - Crichton Smith was born in Ballantrae, Argylle in 1820 and married Jane Neil in Symington Ayrshire in 1871 - thus also solving the name of the two young sisters who died in infancy who were named Jane Neil Gray.

Uncle David - though he didn't have a middle name, he was named after his father's Uncle David Gray

My Nana married John Singleton (known as Jack) on Walney Island, Barrow in Furness on 5 June 1920 and they went on to have five children, Christopher Chapman Singleton 1920 - 1974; James Singleton 1922 - 1982; my mother Muriel Singleton 1926 - 1997; Jack Singleton 1930 - 2006; Jean Neil Singleton 1937 and Evelyn Singleton 1939 - all barr Evelyn were born in Barrow in Furness, Eveyln been born here in Hull after the family moved here for my Grandfather to work at Shipham's a local ship building company (who now specialise in valves).

Since I started tracing my family tree, I have gone on to trace my English families to Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Nottinghamshire, Kent, Lancashire & Cumbria - all from becoming interested in where the names in my Nana's family came from. Like many of us I wish now I could go back and talk to my Nana on one of our Christmas evening talks more about her life and her relatives, what more could I have learnt...

Nana and Granddad Singleton with their first 7 grandchildren aboout 1951

Nana Singleton (in the middle) at her 80th birthday party  with 10 of her grandchildren and two great grandchildren - I am second from left in the middle row (with the large glasses!!) - taken 21 March 1980

Ethelbet Peter Sayers 1820 - 1900

This Case Study appeared in Your Family Tree Magazine No. 99 February 2011

Master of a Grimsby Fishing Boat

When I first starting investigating my ancestor Ethelbert Sayers, it was with difficulty; I kept coming across references to an Ethelbert Sayer/s and a Peter Sayer/s, both appeared to have been born in Kent in Herne Bay (or Herring Bay as one census entry had it) between 1820 and 1825. It was only when I had accumulated several documents and certificates that I was able to say with certainty that the Ethelbert Sayer born in Herne Bay in Kent in 1820 and baptised there on the 4 August that year, was the same person as the Peter Sayers who appeared on the 1841 census with his wife Harriet and two young children, John aged 2 years and Thomas 5 weeks. Ethelbert it seems preferred to be called Peter, and one can only wonder if that’s because he didn’t like his given name, yet if that were the case, he wouldn’t have attempted to give his name to his sons.

Ethelbert Sayers settled, with his wife and family, a third son William was born in 1843 and a daughter named Harriet after her mother in 1845, in Grimsby where he was a mariner probably employed in the coastal shipping business. In 1846, the younger Harriet died aged only 3 months, and tragedy was to visit the family again in 1847 when Ethelbert’s wife died of heart disease on the 22^nd September on a visit to her mother and step father in Hull. Mary and Benjamin Wilman were to take on the three little boys to bring up in Hull, whilst their father continued living in Grimsby on his own. In the 1851 census, Ethelbert is enumerated as Peter Sayer, a Visitor in Dover occupation given as Mariner, and in 1861 he is living at 21 Flour Square, a 40 year old widower, occupation given as Fisherman.

 Many of the original skippers of Grimsby smacks became owners, usually of no more than one, but some made big business out of it. The crew lists are kept at the North East Lincolnshire Archives in Grimsby, and it was here a couple of years ago that I first found Ethelbert or Peter Sayers mentioned as skipper on fishing vessels.

The indexes to these crew lists now appear on NE Lincs archives website, and searching these, I found that Ethelbert appears as skipper throughout the 1880s and 1890s on the John Shapley, the Emperor, the Frolic, the Kerry and the Alethia. All these smacks were owned by James Meadows, who appears to have owned about 25 fishing smacks, Ethelbert sailed exclusively for him between 1884 and 1893. In 1883, certification of skippers and mates of fishing boats were introduced, and on a visit to the National Archives in Kew, I found Ethelbert’s certificate in BT130/1, which is kept on microfilm; his certificate number is 0596 and it was issued on 13^th December 1883, this also gives some details of his voyages on the John Shapley.

In 1864, Ethelbert had married again to Mary Ann Fraser, the widow of another fisherman, by this time his children from his first marriage were grown up and married themselves. Ethelbert and Mary Ann were to have nine children from 1865 to 1876, but only the last born was to live to adulthood. On a visit to the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies for a weekend workshop, I was working in their library when I first came across the sad tale of the deaths of Ethelbert’s children. Working through the microfiche of burials for the parish of Great Grimsby, I kept finding burials for young children:

Mary Ann Sayers buried 12 September 1866, Flower Square aged 6 weeks

Ethelbert Sayers buried 15 December 1865, Flower Square, aged 6 weeks

Ethelbert Sayers buried 18 May 1868, Flower Square, aged 8 weeks

Frederick W Sayers, buried 10 July 1870, Flower Square, aged 3 weeks

Mary Ann Sayers buried 9 August 1873, Flower Square aged 3 weeks

Ethelbert Sayers, buried 21 October 1874, Flower Square, Aged 5 weeks

Ethel Rosamund  buried 18 December 1874, Flower Square, aged 2 years

Alfred Sayers buried 27 December 1874, Flower Square, aged 5 years

By the time I had finished going through the burials, there were tears in my eyes, so many young children dying in their first weeks of life, with only two, Alfred and Ethel surviving to live for a paltry few years. Between 1865 and 1874 Ethelbert & Mary Ann lost eight of their nine children, aged from three weeks to five years, all whilst living at Flower Square, surely an inappropriate name - the only child to survive to adulthood from this marriage was Isabella Ethel born in 1876, the youngest child, she wouldn't have known any of her brothers & sisters, how precious she must have been to her parents.

Sending for three of the death certificates (using the online ordering system at www.gro.gov.uk) for Ethelbert who died in 1865 aged six weeks, Ethel Roseman who died 1874 aged two years and Alfred who also died in 1874 aged 5 years, I discovered that they had all died from childhood diseases that were prevalent in the overcrowded urban areas of the mid nineteenth century. Ethelbert died of Diarrhoea, Ethel of Scarlet Fever and Alfred from Diphtheria, all treatable and preventable today in the 21^st century.

Grimsby, like most urban areas in the nineteenth century, was filled with overcrowded unsanitary houses built by speculative builders to house the workers, in this case the fishermen near to their work. Flour or Flower Square was at the end of Victoria Street near to the docks, in his book, A History of Grimsby, Edward Gillett describes some of the homes people were living in; there were ‘... houses where the basement floor was laid upon the ground, no joists put between, and water oozing up’, there were ‘three houses with an unpaved yard which ... was contaminated by leaking closet boxes’. These insanitary conditions must have been hard on the families living in them as they struggled to make a living. It is no wonder then that in the late 1870s the family moved to Humber Street in nearby Clee with Weelsby, an area of better housing and cleaner air.

Ethelbert continued fishing until he was well in to his seventies, I have had sight of a memoriam card for him, that stated he was known as Old Peter and had been well known in the town and well respected. It also states that when the New Dock was opened in the 1850s, Ethelbert walked the full length of the dock under water in a heavy diving suit, that must have been a sight to be seen. I have a great admiration for Ethelbert, he moved north to find work, his first wife died young and he suffered sorrow and tragedy with the death of so many of his children from his second marriage. He died in 1900 and is buried in Scartho Road cemetery in Grimsby. He must have been a man of strong fortitude and I feel as though I know him well, and am proud to have him for an ancestor.

Childhood illness and death

Death in childhood was all too common in the nineteenth century, families from all walks of life experienced sickness and death of their children. Childhood diseases were rampant, with diphtheria, scarlet fever and diarrhoea being killers and many young children succumbed to outbreaks of measles, cholera and small pox. Many families could not afford a doctor, and often relied on folk remedies or patent medicines, which could frequently be dangerous in themselves. Attitudes to death in the nineteenth century were often tempered by the belief that the loved one would be in a better world, many more people than today attended church and the teachings of the bible were often a comfort to families. Funerals could be expensive, but there were Friendly Societies, burial clubs and savings clubs that working class people could use to insure against the paupers burial.

Diphtheria

A respiratory disease that is contagious and causes an inflammation of the throat which makes breathing difficult and can cause asphyxiation. Epidemics often broke out in overcrowded urban areas, tubes inserted into the throat could stop victims from suffocating, a vaccine was introduced in the early part of the twentieth century.

Burial records

Often overlooked, these records can help fill out the missing gaps in your family tree and help build up a picture of your ancestor’s lives. Parish register burials can often be accessed on microfiche or microfilm at the archives centres, local history libraries or specialist libraries such as the IHGS or Society of Genealogists.

Fleeting System

This was introduced in the mid-nineteenth century to make fishing more efficient. Several smacks would sail together and offload their catch packed in ice to the carrier by rowing boat, the carrier take the fish to the home port before returning to the fleet once more.

Sources

Gillett, Edward, A History of Grimsby, 1970 Oxford University Press

Tunstall, Jeremy, The Fishermen: The sociology of an extreme occupation, 1962 MacGibbon and Kee

Will of Herbert Millington Soole 1789 - 1853

Herbert Millington Soole is one of my 4x great grandfathers - going from me b 1960, Derek Alexander Green 1924 - 1997, Ethel Maud Pagan 1900 - 1973, Thomas Naismith Pagan 1872 - 1936, Mary Ann Hobson 1842 - 1875, Mary Ann Soole 1813 to 1880. A long way back to Herbert, he was born in North Cave, lived most of his life in Hull, then moved back to North Cave shortly before he died - he is buried in the graveyard there, and somewhere I have a picture of his gravestone - will post it when I find it.

He died in 1853 and left a will naming his son John Henry Soole as his executor and main beneficiery, his other son Herbert, born in Hull in 1817 was transported to Tasmania in 1841, his crime was larceny; unfortunately he died in 1844; so John Henry was the only son left. Herbert had six daughters (another son John David had died in infancy), Nancy b 1811 died before 1861, Amelia b 1813 died 1857 (she looked after her father and is buried in North Cave with him), Jane b 1820 died 1890, Emma born 1824 died before 1901, Charlotte born 1829 died 1871 in Liverpool; and Mary Ann. Of the daughters only Nancy and Amelia never married, the other four did, and in his will Herbert leaves money to all of them, though with Nancy and Amelia he ensures they don't get control of their own money, his son is to dole it out to them until it was all gone!! The other daughters presumably were assumed to give their money into the control of her husband, since until the Married Women's Property Act in 1870, women were unable to hold onto any money they had earned in their own right or inherited, as they were deemed to be their husband's property, any income etc., was also his property; a further Married Women's Property Act came in in 1882 and clarified matters.

This is a transcription of Herbert's will and codicil

This is the last Will and Testament of me Herbert Millington Soole late of the Town and County of the Town of Kingston upon Hull, but now of North Cave in the East Riding of the County of York Warehouse-keeper made and published this fourth day of April in the year of Our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty three. First I direct all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses to be fully paid and satisfied by my Executor hereinafter named as soon as conveniently may be after my decease. I give devise and bequeath the whole of my personal estate and effects household furniture goods and chattels stock in trade, lighters and all other Vessels or shares therein and all moneys and securities for money and all other my estate and effects whatsoever and wheresoever situate which i may be possessed of at the time of my decease to my Son John Henry Soole of the Town and County of the Town of Kingston upon Hull Chemist and Druggist upon trust to sell and convert into money and after the same shall have been so converted unto money Upon first to pay thereout the following legacies

·         To my wife Hannah Soole the legacy or sum of twenty five pounds

·         To my daughter Nancy Soole of Kingston upon Hull spinster the sum of ninety pounds which I direct to be paid to her by my son the said John Henry Soole by instalments of four shillings per week until the whole of the said sum of ninety pounds shall be paid and exhausted, but without any interest thereon in the meantime

·         To my daughter Mary Ann Hobson the wife of Christopher Hobson of Kingston upon Hull, Sawyer, the sum of ninety pounds

·         To my daughter Amelia Soole of Kingston upon Hull, Spinster the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds, to be paid to her by my son the said John Henry Soole by instalments of four shillings per week until the whole of the said sum of one hundred and twenty pounds shall be paid and exhausted but without any interest thereon in the meantime

·         To my daughter Jane Nettleton the wife of John Nettleton of Kingston upon Hull Engineer the sum of ninety pounds

·         To my daughter Emma Durose the wife of Frederick Durose of New Holland in the County of Lincoln Railway Clerk the sum of one hundred pounds

·         To my daughter Charlotte Pole the Widow of George Pole late of Manchester in the County Palatine of Lancaster Draper the sum of ninety pounds

And I direct (that where otherwise provided) the before mentioned  legacies shall be paid within six calendar months after my decease and shall be for the sole and separate use and benefit of my said Daughters whose receipts along notwithstanding their or any of their being married women shall be a sufficient discharge to my executor and after payment of the before mentioned debts funeral expenses and legacies i direct that my said Son shall stand possessed of the residue to and for his own use and benefit I devise and bequeath all the estates vested in me in trust or by way of mortgage or of which I may have the disposition at the time of my decease with the appurtenances unto my said Son John Henry Soole his heirs executors and administrators according to the nature of the said premises subject to the equity of redemption subsisting in them respectively. And I do hereby appoint my Son the said John Henry Soole to be sole Executor of this my will and I declare that the receipt of the said John Henry Soole or his heirs executors or administrators or the survivor of them for any moneys payable to him or them shall be a sufficient discharge for the money therein exposed to be received And hereby revoking all former Wills by me at any time heretofore made I do declare this only to be my last Will and Testament In witness whereof I the said Herbert Millington Soole the Testator have to this my last Will and Testament contained in two sheets of paper subscribed and set my hand and seal to wit my hand to and at the bottom of the first sheet and to the second and last sheet my hand and seal the day and year first hereinbefore written.

The preceding sheet was signed and this Second and last sheet signed and sealed and the whole thereof duly published and declared by the said Herbert Millington Soole the Testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us (present at the same time) who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names at

Witnesses

Thomas Smith

Seb Hull (could be Sol Hull)

Norman Levett

This is a Codicil to the last Will and Testament of me Herbert Millington Soole late of the Town and county of the Town of Kingston upon Hull but now of North Cave in the East Riding of the County of York Warehouse keeper bearing date the fourth day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and fifty three Whereas in and by my said Will I have bequeathed to my Daughter Nancy Soole of Kingston upon Hull Spinster the sum of ninety pounds to my Daughter Mary Ann Hobson the wife of Christopher Hobson of Kingston upon Hull Sawyer the sum of ninety pounds To my Daughter Amelia Soole of Kingston upon Hull Spinster the sum of one hundred and twenty pounds To my Daughter Jane Nettleton the Wife of John Nettleton of Kingston upon Hull Engineer the sum of ninety pounds To my Daughter Emma Durose the Wife of Frederick Durose of New Holland in the County of Lincoln Railway clerk the sum of one hundred pounds To my Daughter Charlotte Pole the Widow of George Pole late of Manchester in the County Palatine of Lancaster Draper the sum of ninety pounds Now I do hereby revoke the said legacies and in lieu thereof I give and bequeath to my

·         Daughter the said Nancy Soole the sum of seventy pounds which I direct to be paid to her by my son John Henry Soole by instalments of four shillings per week until the whole of the said sum of seventy pounds shall be paid and exhausted but without any interest thereon in the meantime

·         To my Daughter the said Mary Ann Hobson the sum of seventy pounds

·         To my said Daughter Amelia Soole the sum of one hundred pounds to be paid to her by my son the said John Henry Soole by instalments of four shillings per week until the whole of the said sum of one hundred pounds shall be paid and exhausted but without any interest thereon in the meantime

·         To my Daughter the said Jane Nettleton the sum of seventy pounds

·         To my Daughter the said Emma Durose the sum of eighty pounds

·         To my Daughter the said Charlotte Pole the sum of seventy pounds

And I direct that (same where otherwise provided) the before mentioned legacies shall be paid within six calendar months after my decease and shall be for the sole and separate use and benefit of my said Daughters whose receipt alone notwithstanding their or any of their being married women shall be a sufficient discharge to my Executor named on my said will And I do hereby confirm my said Will in all other respects and do declare this to be a Codicil thereto and direct it to be taken and considered as part thereof in witness whereof I the said Herbert Millington Soole have hereunto set my hand and seal the sixteenth day of April one thousand eight hundred and fifty three.

Signed sealed published and declared by the said Herbert Millington Soole the Testator as and for a Codicil to his last Will and Testament in the presence of us, present at the same time, who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other hereunto subscribe our names as witnesses

Edwd Dodd

John Bell

I do herby witness that on the second day of June in the year of our Lord 1853, John Henry Soole of the borough of Kingston upon Hull in the county of the Said Town, Druggist, son and sole Executor named in this the last will and testament (with a codicil) of Herbert Millington Soole, formerly of Kingston upon Hull aforesaid but late of North Cave in the Province of York, Warehouse keeper deceased was sworn with study to insert and perform the same; and taht the whole of the goods chattels or estate of the said deceased within the Provice of York do  not amount in value to the sum of three thousand pounds

Sum under 3,000 £

Preparation

Died 25^th may 1853

Witness my hand F W Bromby – Surrogate

Will & Codl dated 6^th June 1853 under 3,000 

___________________________________________________________________________________

Hannah was Herbert's second wife, his first Amelia Procter had died in 1839 and he had remarried in 1841 to Hannah Lison - he only left her £25 compared to what he left his daughters! As can be seen from the codicil, he obviously didn't do his sums right first time round and had probably estimated the proceeds of his effects too highly. 

John Henry was a chemist and druggist first in Hull, then Leeds, then he moved to London.

New Case Study - Ethelbert Sayers

Am writing a new case study on Ethelbert Sayers - more commonly known as Peter - and who can blame him :-) Deadline really close on this one - 15th November, so less than 10 days now. Thankfully I have most of the material I need for this one. Will post it here after it's been published.

Christopher Chapman Singleton 1863 - 1932

An Orangeman in the family

A chance find of an obituary in a newspaper led me on an exploration of my great grandfather’s political leanings and his involvement in the Orange Order.

On a recent trip to London, I took the opportunity to visit the Colindale Newspaper Library for the first time.  Not having any luck finding what I was looking for, I decided to see if there were any death notices for my Great Grandfather Christopher Chapman Singleton who died in 1932, I didn’t know the exact date, but knew from the GRO indexes that it was in the April to June quarter. I order the microfilm for the Barrow News for 1932 and after winding through the file for quite a while, I got lucky and found an obituary for him.  This told me he died on 9 May 1932 at 144 Sutherland Street, Barrow, but I was astounded at some of the information in the piece.

From the Barrow News of 13 May 1932:

Late Mr C C Singleton
The death took place at Barrow on Tuesday of Mr C C Singleton of 144 Sutherland Street at the age of 68 years.  Deceased was the only life member of Barrow Conservative Party and was chairman of Central Ward branch.  He was a prominent member of the Association for over 40 years and was also a well known and esteemed member of the Orange Order.  He had been in failing health for several months.  He leaves a widow and grown up family.

This, for me was revelatory.  My grandfather Jack Singleton (born 1901) had always been a staunch Labour member and trade unionist, to find that his father Christopher had been not only a member of the Conservative Party, but a life member and chairman of a branch, was a bit of a shock.  However, the biggest surprise of all was that he had been a member of the Orange Order.  At that time I was not aware of just how much Orangeism had spread into the UK in the Nineteenth Century, nor indeed, that there was not only a large Irish membership of the Orange Order in the UK, but a significant membership of English people.

Christopher was born in Liverpool on the 21st September 1863 to William and Mary Singleton, he was one of 10 children and the last to be born in Liverpool.  Within nine months of his birth, the family had moved to Barrow-in-Furness, into one of five cottages on Barrow Island, which were later demolished to make way for the gun shop to be built.  Christopher’s father William was a Steam Crane Driver (1891 census) on the docks. On the 26th February 1877, aged 13, Christopher was indentured as a coppersmith with the Barrow Shipbuilding Company (later to become a part of Vickers and now incorporated into BAE Systems); he was to work there for the next 55 years, the rest of his life. He would have been involved in making and maintain the many parts made of copper that go into a new ship, in his spare time, he also made small copper ornaments such as kettles and pans.

It was during his time at Barrow Shipbuilders that he became interested in political matters, and began his long association with the Conservative Party and the Orange Order. In 1867 the second reform act became law, it extended the franchise to every adult male householder living in a borough constituency, which meant that as Christopher and his brothers became householders, they became eligible to vote; and as such like many working class men, were wooed by both major parties of the time, the Liberals and Conservatives for their votes come election time.

Christopher chose the Conservatives and he was to become a lifelong member of the Central Ward Branch in Barrow, of which he was chairman at the time of his death.  He appears to have been held in high esteem by his fellow members, and many of them turned out for his funeral.  The obituary in the Barrow News (21 May 1932), mentions that the mourners included “representatives of the following: The Conservative Association.  Central and Salthouse Conservative Clubs, the deceased’s own lodge L.O.L 905, L.O.L.365, L.O.L.329, L.O.L. Female 62, L.O.L. Female 146, L.O.L. Male Juv. 22, L.O.L. Girl Juv. 101, R.B.P. Star of Beth., Salthouse Women Unionists, Central Women Unionists, Primrose League and other bodies.”

The Orange connection shows up strongly here, with representatives from 8 lodges, including male, female and juvenile lodges.  I have not been able to find out how many lodges there were in Barrow in the early 1930s, however, Donald M. MacRaild’s book Faith, fraternity and fighting, notes that in 1905 there were 13 lodges in Barrow and Askham, an increase of 9 since the 1880s.  Orangeism was very strong in Barrow and the North West, and there are still lodges in the North West today.

I was very surprised when I read that he had been a member of the Orange Order for over 40 years, as I was not aware that the order had spread outside of Ireland.  It was, of course, brought over to England by the many Irish migrants of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries.  Unfortunately, there are no records available at the Barrow Archives for these lodges, and as MacRaild points out in his book, the Orange Order itself does not have an archivist and where records do survive, they are not very extensive. Not being able to fine many primary sources for Christopher’s membership of both the Orange Order or the Conservatives, I have had to rely on secondary sources such as MacRaild’s book mentioned above and his other book Culture, Conflict and Migration: the Irish in Victorian Cumbria. I found both books, which are previewed on Google Books, to be fascinating in the information they provide on Orangeism, especially in the North West, and this has helped me to understand Christopher’s involvement and place in the order. 

Barrow was the most powerful Orange town in the north of England.  With its direct steamer links to Belfast, both Protestant and Catholic Ulsterman arrived in the town, to work on the docks or at the shipbuilding works, on a daily basis.  One of these migrants was Alexander Hazzard who was from County Down in Ireland and in 1884 married Mary Chapman Singleton, Christopher’s older sister.

Christopher married Mary Alice (Polly) Fogg in 1890 (his first wife Alice Willacy had died in 1889, along with their baby daughter shortly after the birth).  Christopher and Polly moved to live at 5 Glasgow Street in Barrow where the majority of their 12 children were to be born.  This is likely the house in the photograph of Christopher, Polly and their first four children.  A further family photograph taken outside the same house shows Christopher, Polly and their eldest seven children (including my grandfather Jack, seated on his father’s lap) taken about 1904.  I had often wondered about the sashes and plaid the children are wearing and now believe that these could be Orange related, unfortunately the insignia on the older boys’ caps and the medallions on the younger children are too dark to make out.  I believe the flag in the photo behind Christopher may well have Orange associations, and it looks like it has been fastened to the wall and a plaque secured on top of it.  Unfortunately, there is no-one in the family I can ask questions about this photo now, the last of Christopher and Polly’s children died in 1990.

One of the biggest political debates to take place during Christopher’s lifetime, and one in which he would have been involved as both a Conservative and an Orangeman, was over the question of Home Rule for Ireland, which would enable it to have more say in how it was ruled.  Opposition to Home Rule was led by successive Conservative governments from 1880 onwards, their aim was to pursue a policy of conciliation, which became known as constructive Unionism. The Conservative party is still known officially to this day as the Conservative and Unionist Party.

For Christopher his politics as a Conservative supporter and a member of the Orange Order went hand in hand, indeed one of his fellow Orangemen, Provincial Grand Master Harold Ledgerwood was a local Conservative councillor.  It is quite likely that Christopher knew and campaigned politically for Ledgerwood and other Conservative members who were linked to the Orange Order.  His obituary in the Barrow News stated that he had held the highest orders in the Order and may well have run for council himself.  However, there are no available records for me to check, so this will have to remain speculative on my part. 

I wonder now, if my grandfather Jack’s political leanings were as an antidote to his father’s, or whether he felt his sympathies lay more naturally with the emerging and strengthening Labour party, which had its first parliament in 1924 when he was a young man of 23 and newly married with a young son.  I will never know.

When Christopher died in 1932, he left a wife, Polly and nine surviving sons (two children died in infancy, and the only surviving daughter, Hilda died in 1918 aged 24), attended his funeral along with workmates, friends, political colleagues and members of the various organisations he belonged to.  Though a surprise to me, his political activities have enabled me to better understand the times that my great grandparents were living through.

Frank White 1881 - 1909

This case study is about Steve's great grandfather Frank White and how the family name became Kerry and not White.

Case Study

Tragic Death on the Tilford Road

When I first started researching my husband’s family history, I spoke to my father-in-law about his parents and their ancestry.  I was surprised to discover than when he was born he was registered under the name Frank White not Frank Kerry his name now; he said that his father had always been known by the surname Kerry which was the name of his grandmother’s second husband.  He also told me that they didn’t really know what had happened to his grandfather, only that he had died when his father’s sister Nellie was a couple of years old and that he thought it had been in an accident with a horse and cart.

Next time I visited the family history section of our local library, I checked the microfiche of the GRO index for a death of a Frank White sometime between 1907 and 1910; I found the entry I wanted in the March quarter of 1909 and sent for the death certificate. This told me that on the 25 February 1909, at the Cottage Hospital Farnham, Frank White had died from “Internal injuries produced by having been accidently run over by a Furniture van” and that an inquest had been held on the 27 February and the 2 March 1909.  His occupation was given as a Carman of 6 Yeovil Road, Farnborough.

Intrigued, I set out to find out more about Frank White and his family.  I knew from his death certificate that he was 28 at the time of his death making him born about 1881 and I knew that in 1909 he’d been living in Farnborough, however, I didn’t know where he had been born.  Fortunately the 1901 census was available on www.ancestry.co.uk; at first I was unable to find Frank in the census, but I did find his wife, Susan Ellen Gaines with her family at 5 Yeovil Road, two entries above her at 6 Yeovil Road was a Frank White a 20 year old coal carter, Frank had married the girl next door.  The census also gave me his birth place of Odiham in Hampshire, not that far away from Farnborough and that he was visiting his sister Elizabeth, who was married to Susan’s cousin John.

With this information and a visit to the Society of Genealogist’s library in London where I was able to examine the parish registers for Odiham, I was able to put together a family tree for Frank and the White, Watts and Gaines families who were linked by marriage in several generations.  Frank was the 8th child (of 12) of James
White and his wife Louisa Watts, he was born in Odiham in 1881 and moved to Farnborough, presumably for work, where he met and married Susan Ellen Gaines on the 26 December 1903, they had two children Frank born 1904 and Nellie born in 1907.  In February 1909 he was sent on a job by his employers with two other men to drive furniture vans from Rowledge to Wisley Green, by way of Tilford; a journey that was to end in tragedy.

His death certificate had told me that an inquest had been held and given the dates, but on enquiring I learned that the papers for the coroner’s inquests were no longer available for that date.  I would have to go the route of checking the local newspaper.  Not being in a position to visit Farnborough I put a request on the Rootschat forum page for lookups in Hampshire that if anyone was visiting the local library, could they check the newspapers for me.  Fortunately some kind soul did just that and within a few days I had transcribed copy of the newspaper entry, which was an almost verbatim report of the inquest held within a couple of days from that of Frank’s accident, from the Farnham Haselmere and Hindhead Herald for the 6 March 1909 (page 5).

Frank and two colleagues had been on the journey and Frank’s father-in-law Charles Gaines gave evidence that he had seen Frank the previous Tuesday and knew he was going on this journey, and that he had worked for Mr Ward for the last five years and had been accustomed to the work.  The men had been on the road opposite the entrance to Tilford Reeds, Arthur Marks one of the other carmen told the inquest that they had had trouble with the skid pan on Frank’s van and that the chain had broken.  Chas Mosdell the other carman on the journey said that he was first on to the hill where the accident had happened and that when he got to the bottom of the hill he noticed from the light on Frank’s van that he was coming down the hill pretty quickly, and when he got to the van at the bottom of the hill, he saw that only two horses were attached – the other horse had been the one Frank had been walking in the traces.

Neither of the other two carmen actually witnessed the accident happening, but it appears that the horses bolted due to the excess demand on them (the furniture van weighed between four and five tons); Frank was walking beside the horses and not riding on the dickey as he had no skid pan, the chain having broken and was likely run over by the van on its descent of the hill.  He was taken to Trimmers Cottage Hospital in Farnham, admitted at 11.30 pm on the Wednesday evening and died the next day at 10.15 am from internal injuries. The jury returned a verdict of accidental death but added a rider that had the van had a foot brake Frank would probably been riding not walking beside the horses and would have got down the hill successfully.

Frank’s death left his wife Susan Ellen a widow at the age of 23 with two young children, Frank junior was only 4 and his sister Nellie was two.  On looking them up on the 1911 census at www.findmypast.co.uk, I found the family living with Susan Ellen’s parents at Yeovil Road Farnborough. It wasn’t until 1912 that she married William Kerry, a Lance Corporal in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, he was based at the Tourney Barracks in Farnborough.  William and Susan Ellen went on to have six further children as well as Frank and Nellie. From this time onwards, Frank junior became known as Frank Kerry and used the name for all purposes except that of on his marriage certificate.  Frank had married Victoria Annie Lilian Tonks in 1927 and had two sons, Frank Edward born 1930 and Brian in 1937.

Frank junior changed his name by deed poll by swearing a declaration that he had been known by the name Frank Kerry since the marriage of his mother to William Kerry and that he had “always been known as Frank Kerry and I have for fifty years and upwards used the name of Frank Kerry for all purposes including official documents other than my said certificate of Marriage.”  Frank had changed his name to be officially that of his step father William.

The tragedy that ended young Frank White’s life also changed the lives of that of his wife and two children; and led to the family name being changed.  I was struck not only by the horrific accident that ended his life, but by the minutiae of details that the coroner’s inquest had covered.  From the details provided by the various witnesses called to the inquest a full detail of Frank’s last moments was unveiled, including the fact that his was an abstainer and that he had had a penny on him when his father-in-law last saw him and that it was found on his person when he died.  From the statement of one of the witnesses, George William Lonsdale the Headmaster at Tilford Nation School (who was called to help at the accident) I have been able to pinpoint, using maps and Google’s streetview software, almost exactly where the accident took place.  From the testimony of Miss Potter the Matron at Trimmer’s Cottage hospital I know that Frank was conscious when he was admitted to the hospital though he was in a state of collapse; and that Frank had told her that one of the horses had broken its leg, but had said nothing as to how he met with his own injuries.

Even though the inquest report has not survived, from the details reported in the newspaper, I almost feel as though I attended that inquest myself.  The work he carried out was hard and his death must have left a lasting impression on that of his widow and young children, it is hardly surprising then, that my father-in-law said that his father never spoke of the tragedy.





Carman/Carter/Carrier

In the days of horse drawn transport there were plenty of jobs for men like Frank who were generally known as carters or carriers and occasionally carmen.  Their job entailed not just driving the cart, but loading and unloading the goods, as well as looking after the horses. Many carriers transported goods and people between towns and villages, and details of these services are often found in old directories such as Pigots or Whites. Others worked for the railways, collecting goods at the rail yard and then taking them to their final destination. Being a carter was a physically demanding job and would have necessitated a good knowledge of the local area. The type of carts used would vary from job to job, from a two wheeled vehicle probably pulled by one horse, delivering goods in a town, to larger four wheeled vehicles pulled by teams of horses.

Change of Name

Finding out if an ancestor changed their name is not easy, as by English Common Law, you can call yourself whatever you wish.  However, if you need to prove that you have changed your name, to apply for a passport etc., then some documentary evidence of that change will be required.  Deed polls are legal documents involving only one party and are sworn in front of a solicitor.  The deed is the property of the person who changed their name, and there is no obligation to have a copy lodged anywhere central for safe keeping. Some were enrolled and indexes of those that were are held at the National Archives; from 1914 the enrolled deeds had to be advertised in the London Gazette.  If your ancestor changed their name during 1939-1945, names could only be changed 21 days after details of the proposed name were advertised in the Gazette.

Skid Pan

A skid pan was a chain like device used for attaching to the back wheel of a vehicle before going down steep hills. It operated as a brake, by applying friction to the wheel and locking it in place.  See diagram....

From the Dictionary of Daily Wants 1859