Thursday, 9 November 2017

Cousins

It was lovely to see some of cousins recently at a local celebration.  So we've pulled together some of our photos of cousins - although we're not entirely sure of the identity on some of the photos.

Crowther


Margaret and Iris

Before she married, Mum was a babysitter for Margaret and Iris.

We're not entirely sure if this is Margaret and Iris but we have no indication who else it could be


Margaret and Iris at Grandma's house with Helen and possibly Anne
At Mam and Dad's wedding



At Whitley Bay with Dad
At home in the sixties





















Kathleen, Michael, Pat and Joan

We saw a lot of these cousins since we went to the same church.  Also Kathleen used to our babysitter.

Michael

Kathleen at Mam and Dad's wedding
Birthday Party (Joyce's fourth), with Kathleen, Pat and Joan

Helen and Joyce with Pat and Joan and some of the children from our street

Joan 
Kathleen with Joyce


Anne

Anne with Helen and Pat.  The Birthday cake was made by Aunt Iris

Anne with Helen and Joyce


Kenneth

McAndrew


Celia and Geoff
Celia and Geoff at the beach with Grandma, Dad, Aunt Josie and Aunt Celia


Celia and Geoff at Grandma's 

Celia and Geoff with other cousins at Grandma's

Michael
This photo was taken by Dad and says Michael and Pal in the back garden

Michael and Uncle Alf with Dad


John and Sue
John
John and Susan

Susan


Helen and Joyce with two Susans

Great Great Grandparents Part 2

As we mentioned in the previous blog, the further back in time we go , the more difficult it is to find information about our ancestors.  There are some individuals for whom we have a great deal of information for example if they appeared in military records.  However most of our ancestors were ordinary people who went about their business without being recorded other than in parish baptisms, marriages and burials.  Any further blogs going back in time will only include ancestors for whom we have uncovered additional information.

Crowther


George Arkell Wouldhave (1837-1908)

George was a cabinet maker and joiner. George was the younger of two sons of Richard Wouldhave (1794-1844), a shoemaker (or cordwainer) and Isabella Arkel (1798-1879). George married Phyllis Robson in December 1860 in All Saints Parish Church, Newcastle.

All Saints Church, Newcastle
George had several sisters as well as his one brother, Richard.
His siblings were:
  • Ann Wouldhave (1819-1862)
  • Hannah Wouldhave (1821-1892)
  • Isabella Wouldhave b 1824 married Joseph Nicholson, a shoemaker, in 1853.
  • Jane Wouldhave b 1831 married George Sanderson, a Master Boat Builder.
  • Richard Wouldhave (1832-1907), a Shipwright. Richard (RI102) married twice, firstly to Jane Jackson at the Salem Chapel, Hood Street, Newcastle, in 1852 and secondly to Ann Webster in 1868 following the death of Jane in 1866. Jane was the daughter of George Jackson, a master mariner in North Shields and Ann was the daughter of Thomas Webster, shipwright of North Shields. Richard went into partnership with William Johnson in 1875 and they had premises near to the Low Lights at North Shields. Wouldhave and Johnson launched their tugs at the Low Lights up until 1884 when the Fish Quay was extended. (More information about Richard and his family can be found in our blog Wouldhave Family Surname at wouldhavestudy.blogspot.com)
  • Eleanor Wouldhave b 1841 married David Chambers in 1864 in North Shields.

Death of Mr G Wouldhave
There passed away yesterday (Thursday) an old and highly respected resident of Jarrow, in the person of Mr George Wouldhave.  The deceased was a relation of William Wouldhave, the inventor of the life-boat.  He was 70 years of age and was for many years a prominent musician in Jarrow and district.  He was a native of North Shields and had resided in Jarrow for 46 years.  He leaves a widow and grown-up family.

Phillis Robson (1840-1917).
Phillis was the daughter of William (1799-?) and Barbara (1803-1869) Robson formerly Smith.  William was a housepainter.  It is intriguing to think that our grandfather, Joseph Crowther, followed his grandfather into the same profession.
Grandad (in his later years) painting

Phillis was born in North Shields in October 1840.  She was named after her grandmother Phyllis (formerly Brunskill) who was born in Middleton in Teesdale in 1765 and was living with the family in Collingwood Street, Chirton in 1841 and 1851 census.  Phillis had several siblings.
  • Matthew Robson b1831, a housepainter
  • Elizabeth Brunskilll Robson b1835
  • William Allan Robson (1835-1849)
  • John Sharp Robson 1838, a housepainter, who lived in the house in Collingwood St after his father’s death
  • Hannah Bell Robson b1843 married Thomas Murray, a grocer, in 1868 and lived in Collingwood Street.
John Lowe (1821-1884)
John was the son of Robert Lowe (1801-?) and Margaret Scott (1801-?).  He was born in Ferryhill in 1821.  His father Robert was a coal miner and John followed the same occupation in the Durham coalfield from a young age.  He died in 1884 from chronic bronchitis and heart disease aged 63 years. John had the following siblings
  • Joseph Lowe b1826, also a coal miner from a young age.
  • Ann Lowe b 1831 who was a maid at Windleston Hall owned by William Eden, Baronet, in the 1851 census. This was later the birthplace of Anthony Eden (Prime Minister from 1955-1957).
  • Mary Lowe b 1836

Margaret Bell Storey (1818-?)

Margaret had been married at least twice before marrying John Lowe in Kelloe in 1847.  For her marriage to John Lowe she gave her father’s name as Thomas Storey. She had married James Douglas in 1842, also in Kelloe, giving her surname as Graham and her father’s name as Thomas Sheraton.  Therefore it is difficult to find her original maiden name and trace her parents and family.

McAndrew


Richard Paddon (1821-1900s)
Richard was born in 1821 in Co, Mayo, his father was Michael Paddon, a labourer and his mother Anne.  In the 1861 census he was living in the Market Place, Morpeth and his occupation was agricultural labourer.  In the 1871 census he was an agricultural drainer at Billy Pit Village, Longbenton.  He appears in the 1901 census as a labourer living in Gateshead. We cannot find a death certificate for him and cannot find him in the 1911 census so we have assumed he died sometime in the 1900s. 

Nancy or Mary or Anne McKay or McCoy (1831-?)
Mary was born in Mayo in 1831.  Her father was Thomas McCoy, a labourer and her mother was Mary.  She married Richard Paddon in the Catholic Chapel in Pilgrim Street in 1852; in 1870 this Chapel was demolished to provide space for building the Fire Station. The family lived at various places in Northumberland including Morpeth and Longbenton.  In the 1871 census her sister, Catherine McKie aged 27, is living with the family and she is an agricultural field labourer. Mary died before the 1901 census where her husband is described as a widower, but we haven’t found a death certificate.

William Pinkney (1846-?)

William was the son of John Pinkney (1822-1884) and Ann Wright (1824-1891).  He was born in Craghead, Durham. William was a coal miner and eventually a Pit Sinker, one of the highly skilled men who dug the pit shaft.
St Thomas' Church at Craghead

His siblings were
  • Elizabeth b1847 married John Grieveson in 1870
  • Thomas (1849-1904) married Mary Jane Graham in 1874. He was a coal miner and his sister Annie and brother John lived with him and his family in Pelton.
  • Hannah Jane b 1852 married William Owers in 1873.  William was a coal miner and they lived next door to Thomas and his family. Hannah Jane died in 1890
  • Ann (1860-1926)
  • Eliza b 1862 married James Owers in 1883 (possibly brother to William above)
  • John (1868-1941) a coal miner
Mary Ann Stobbs (1848-1918). 
It has been very difficult finding any information about Mary Ann.  She married William Pinkney in 1867 in Trinity Church, Pelton.  On her marriage certificate Mary Ann, a spinster aged 20, gave her father’s name as Joseph Robinson, a coal miner.  We have not been able to find any family on the 1851 or 1861 census that includes Mary Ann Stobbs and Joseph Robinson. The family lived in Twizell Colliery for several years, where William was a Coal Miner.  In the 1881 census the family are living in Brotton in Yorkshire; William is a Pit Sinker. The family later moved back to Pelton. 

St Paul's Church, West Pelton

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Great Great Grandparents Part 1

Great Great Grandparents



Our great grandparents were born into the Georgian era but most of their adult life was spent in the Victorian era.  They would have seen a tremendous amount of change throughout their lives and many of them moved to more industrial areas to find work and thrive in the industries which were rapidly changing with technological innovation.  It becomes harder to find information about people before the advent of the general registration of births, marriages and deaths (1837) and before the national census started in 1841. Most of the information comes from parish records that are available online or at the local record offices we have visited. However there is probably more information available that we haven’t yet found. This may change as we find other resources to trace our families.  We also have no images of our great great grandparents although it is possible that there may be photographs of them somewhere.
This first blog gives information of four of our great grandparents from each side of the family

Crowther

Joseph Crowther (1820-1889)
Joseph was the son of Joseph (1786-?) and Betty Crowther, formerly Parkinson. Joseph Crowther Snr was a Slater. Joseph was a Cooper and also a Freeman of the City of Liverpool. Joseph had two siblings, Elizabeth b 1817 and James b 1812. Joseph married Eliizabeth Hitchmough in 1845 at St Brides Church in Liverpool. They lived in Blundell Street and later in Troughton Street in Liverpool until they moved with their family to Jarrow in the 1870s.
Liverpool Town Hall would have been a familiar sight for
Joseph as a Freeman of the city

Elizabeth Hitchmough (1823-1892)
Elizabeth was the daughter of Ralph Hitchmough (1798-1861) and Ellen Penketh (1796-1862). She was born in Hale in Lancashire. (Hale is now in Cheshire and is located close to Liverpool) The family lived in Mulberry Street in the East End of Liverpool.  Ralph was a cowkeeper and the family appears to have been reasonably affluent, having three servants in 1841. Ellen had a number of younger siblings:
John b 1824, who married Sarah Grears in 1848, was a policeman
Francis b 1826, a butcher in the 1851 census
Alice b 1827 married Stephen Kitching in 1848. Stephen had taken over the family business by the 1861 census.
Mary H b 1829 married Charles Chatham, a wood carver in July 1851
Ellen b 1831 married Thomas Williams in 1853.
Ralph b 1832 was apprenticed as a plumber in 1851.

Elizabeth Pratt (1828-1907)  and Thomas Slaughter (1815-1860)
Elizabeth was the daughter of Peter, a labourer, and Mary Pratt. Elizabeth married Thomas Slaughter in 1858 in Brighton, but it isn’t clear if Thomas (1815-1860) was Willliam Slaughter’s (1855-1925) father (and therefore our great great grandfather), since William's birth was registered under the name William Henry Pratt, with no father’s name on the certificate.
Thomas died in Brighton workhouse in 1860; the family must have been destitute since Elizabeth was in the workhouse with her youngest child Frederick Stephen in the 1861 census. Undoubtedly Elizabeth moved north because of the promise of employment for her sons in the coal mines of Durham. Elizabeth married for the second time in 1873 to William Wake (1813-1887), a widower and coal miner, eighteen years her senior.

 McAndrew

Edward McAndrew (1830-1870s)
Edward was born in Mayo in about 1830 and died sometime in the 1870s in the North East.  He lived in the All Saints area of Newcastle and in the 1871 census his occupation is given as Drainers Labourer.  
This early postcard of Newcastle shows the All Saints
area on the right of the picture

When his son Edward got married to Mary Paddon in 1878, his occupation was given as Labourer and he was deceased. We have so little information about him that it is difficult to trace him any further.

Mary Caulfield (1825-1901)
Mary was born in Co Mayo and lived in Newcastle for a time with her husband Edward McAndrew. She was widowed by 1878 and in the 1881 census she is staying with her son Edward and his family in Byker. She died in 1901 in Wallsend.

Early 1900s Map of the area of Devon around Exeter,
Crediton, Newton St Cyres and Poughill.

Thomas Burridge (1833-1919)
Thomas was the son of Thomas Burridge and Elizabeth Stuckey.  He was born in Poughill in Devon in 1833.  Thomas Snr died at the age of 38 in 1842.  The family was split up and Elizabeth is an agricultural labourer in the 1851 census with her daughter Jane but there is no sign of Thomas or his other siblings. They may well have been apprenticed to a farmer. In December 1854, Thomas married Elizabeth Voysey in Newton St Cyres, Devon.  They moved to Cornwall in the early 1860s and then to the North Durham area in the late 1860s.  Thomas had the following siblings
Mary b 1831
Elizabeth b 1839
Jane b 1842

Elizabeth Voysey (1830-1900). 
Elizabeth was the daughter of John Voysey (1796-1861) and Elizabeth Bowden (1799-1869).  She was born in 1830 in Puddington, Devon. Puddington is a small village in mid-Devon not far from Tiverton.  John was a Farm Labourer and the mortality rate of children in the area at this time was high; several of their children died young. The following siblings did reach adulthood.
Mary Ann b 1824 married James Kingslan in 1846
Harriet (1828-1873) ended her days in the workhouse at Crediton
Eliza b 1837 married James Bowden in 1856. Their daughter Emma Bowden was with Thomas and his family in Bowes Terrace, Lamesley, on the 1871 census.
Elizabeth married Thomas Burridge at Newton St Cyres in 1854.

The parish church of St Andrew's, Lamesley

Wednesday, 7 June 2017

Great Grandmothers

Our Great Grandmothers either moved to the North East when their husbands or families came looking for work in the mid 19th century or they were born in this area of the country. They would have had hard lives with large families to care for. Many of them lived in coal mining areas which have extensively changed or disappeared following the closure of the mines in the twentieth century.

Crowther

Hannah Isabella Wouldhave (1861-1911)

Hannah was born in North Shields and baptised at the Middle Street Mission.  Her parents were George Arkell Wouldhave (1837-1908) and Phyllis Robson (1840-1917). George was a cabinet maker and joiner.  The family was related to the famous William Wouldhave, Inventor of the Self-righting Lifeboat. 
William Wouldhave exhibition at South Shields Museum

The family lived in North Shields until the mid 1860s when they moved to Jarrow.  Hannah was the eldest child and her siblings were
  • Elizabeth Ann Wouldhave (1863-1925), who married Thomas Giddes Morpeth in 1884 in St Peter’s, Jarrow.  Thomas was an Engine Fitter and the family lived in Wallsend.
  • Georgina Wouldhave (1867-1937) married James Francis Crowther (the brother of Thomas Frederick Crowther, Hannah's husband).
  • William Robson Wouldhave (1873-1923) married Sarah Ellen Ibbs (1873-1939) in 1897 at St Paul’s, Jarrow.  William was a Driller in the Shipyards.  The family lived in Jarrow.
  • Richard Wouldhave was born in 1877 and died a year later.  He was buried in Jarrow cemetery.
  • John George Wouldhave (1879-1952) married Frances Batey Quin (1881-1950) in 1915 in South Shields. He worked in the shipyards and the family lived in Jarrow.
  • Eleanor Jane Wouldhave (1883-1962) married George Alexander Stock (1882-1918) in 1906 in St Mark’s, Jarrow. 

Isabel (Bell) Lowe (1859-1933)

Bell was the daughter of John Lowe (1821-1884) and Margaret Bell Storey (1818-?).  She was born in Kelloe in North Durham, where her father was a coal miner.  Margaret, her mother, had been married at least twice before marrying John and there were children in the family from at least one previous marriage. 
Bell Lowe in the late 1920s

The family moved to Jarrow in the late 1870s. A number of Bell’s siblings died young; the following reached adulthood
  • Jane Douglas (1844-1881), a child of a previous marriage, married William Gates, a coal miner in 1862.
  • John Lowe (1851-1924), married Frances Jane Fenton in 1874.  John worked as a coal miner all of his life and is buried in Hebburn Cemetery.
  • Mary Hannah Lowe (1858-1897) married George Maudling, a coal miner, in 1879.
  • Elizabeth Lowe (1861-?) married Alfred Davison in 1891. 

McAndrew

Mary Paddon (1854-1938)

Mary’s birth was registered in the All Saints district of Newcastle. She was the daughter of Richard Paddon (1821-?) and Mary McKay or McCoy (1831-?), who were both born in Mayo, Ireland. They were married in the Catholic Chapel in Pilgrim Street in 1852; in 1870 this Chapel was demolished to provide space for building the Fire Station. The family lived at various places in Northumberland including Morpeth and Longbenton.  Richard’s occupation was agricultural labourer. Mary married Edward McAndrew in 1878.  Mary had seven children, all girls, with the exception of her son, Edward.  She must have found it particularly difficult bringing up a family when her husband, Edward, was admitted to the County Lunatic Asylum in Newminster, Morpeth in 1896. In the 1901 census Mary was an agricultural labourer, aged 47 years.  When her husband was released from the Asylum he wasn’t able to work, so there wouldn’t have been much money coming into the household.  Mary died in Wallsend in 1938 from Heart Failure, aged 84 years.
Shipyard cranes in Wallsend in the late 1970s

Her siblings were
  • Bridget Paddon (1857-1922) married George Turnbull in 1878.  The family lived in Lamesley, Eighton Banks and Gateshead.  Bridget had six sons and one daughter; most of her sons became coal miners.
  • Michael Paddon (1859-1919) lived in Gateshead and was a night watchman for the North East Railway.
  • Thomas Paddon (1860-1933) married Margaret McHugh in 1888.  They had six children and the family lived in Felling.  Thomas was a Coal Hewer.
  • John Paddon (1865-?) was also a coal miner and lived in Gateshead.
  • Patrick Paddon (1870-?) worked as a labourer for the NE Railway Company and lived in Gateshead with his brother Michael.

Sarah Pinkney (1874-1951)

Sarah was the daughter of William Pinkney (1846-?) and Mary Ann Stobbs (1848-1918).  The family lived in Twizell Colliery for several years, where William was a Coal Miner.  In the 1881 census the family are living in Brotton in Yorkshire; William is a Pit Sinker i.e. one of the highly skilled men who dug the pit shaft. The family later moved back to Pelton. Sarah married Frank Burridge (1873-1915) in October 1867 in Trinity Church, Pelton.  They lived in Beamish.
Modern day Beamish Village

After Sarah’s husband, Frank, died, she stayed with her son Frank and they lived in Wallsend. She was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in 1951. Sarah had the following siblings

  • Elizabeth Ann Pinkney (1869-1939) married Richard Gloyne in 1893.
  • John Pinkney (1872-1952), a coal hewer who lived with his sister Dinah and her husband.
  • Dinah Pinkney (1876-1940) married William Andrew Nixon in 1895. In the 1939 register they were living in Craghead.
  • William Pinkney (1881-1946) married Margaret Annie Carr. William was a coal miner and in the 1939 register he was living in Seaham Colliery.
  • Josephine Pinkney (1889-1952) married Samuel Wase.  In the 1939 register they are living in Stockton on Tees.  Josephine was buried in Preston on Tees.

Tuesday, 23 May 2017

Great Grandfathers

In the mid 1800s there was a huge increase in industry in Britain.  Many of our ancestors moved from their agricultural bases in the South and West or from Ireland to the industrial areas in the North East. The map shows some of the areas our ancestors moved to.  The railway system was much more extensive than at present and cheaper fares (third class) allowed easier movement throughout the country.


Map of North Durham showing some of the areas where our great grandparents lived

Crowther

Thomas Frederick Crowther (1858-1900)

Thomas was the third son of Joseph Crowther (1820-1889) and Elizabeth Hitchmough (1823-1892). He was born in Liverpool, his family lived at 19 Count Blundell Street. His father Joseph was a Cooper. Sometime between the 1871 and 1881 census the family moved to Jarrow, presumably for economic reasons. 
Thomas became a Marine Engineer.  He married Hannah Isabella Wouldhave in February 1889 in St Paul’s, Jarrow.
Postcard picture of St Paul's Jarrow.  It is now next to the site of Bede's World

Presumably due to Thomas’s occupation, the family moved to Barrow in Furness during the late 1880s and then to Govan, Glasgow.  Thomas also joined the Freemasons (we still have his certificate). Thomas died in Victoria Hospital, Glasgow aged 41.  He was suffering from Bright’s disease (a chronic disease of the kidneys), for which there was no cure at the time.
Hannah Isabella brought her family back to Jarrow, to be near her family.
Thomas had the following siblings

  • Alice Hitchmough Crowther (1847-1911), who married Alfred Hutchings (1847-1909) in 1872.  The family lived in Heaton, Newcastle.
  • Joseph Crowther (1851-1921), who married Mary Anne Davies (1856-1940) in 1877.  The family lived in Toxteth, Liverpool.
  • James Francis Crowther (1855-1903), who married Georgina Wouldhave (1867-1937), Hannah Isabella’s sister. The family lived in Jarrow.  Sadly their son, Joseph Frederick Crowther, who joined the Durham Light Infantry in 1915, died in action in Flanders in February 1918.

William Henry Slaughter (1855-1925)

William was born in Brighton.  His mother, Elizabeth Pratt (1828-1907) married Thomas Slaughter in 1858 in Brighton, but it isn’t clear if Thomas was Willliam’s father.  Thomas died in Brighton workhouse in 1860; the family must have been destitute since Elizabeth was in the workhouse with her youngest child Frederick Stephen in the 1861 census. Undoubtedly they moved north because of the promise of employment in the coal mines of Durham.  By the late 1870s the family were in Sherburn Hill, Durham and in the 1871 census the three eldest boys are working in the pits. Elizabeth married for the second time in 1873 to William Wake (1813-1887), a widower.
William worked as a coal miner all his life.  He married Bell Lowe (1859-1933) in February 1880 at St Paul’s, Jarrow.  The family lived in Hebburn Colliery.
William had the following siblings

  • George Thomas Slaughter (1853-1889).  George worked as a coal miner all of his life and died of tubercular disease of the spine aged 35.
  • Frederick Stephen Slaughter (1859-1939) married Jane Elizabeth Dixon (1860-1916) in 1882.  Although Frederick was also a Coal miner he had sufficient education to be a census enumerator for the 1881 census.  Frederick sometimes took the surname Wake (as in the 1901 census) and in his will he was named as Frederick Stephen Slaughter or Wake. After the death of Jane he married Frances Anne Manners in 1917, who was granted probate on Frederick's death November 1939.
  • John Michael Slaughter (1868-1940), who was also a coal miner and lived in Hebburn.

McAndrew 

Edward McAndrew (1853-1930)

Edward was baptised in St Joseph’s, Gateshead in 1855.  He was the son of Edward McAndrew (1830-1870?) and Mary Caulfield (1825-1901).  Both of Edward’s parents were born in Co Mayo. In the 1911 census Edward’s aunt was staying with his family and she gave her birthplace as Geesala, which is a small village in the North West of Co Mayo. 
Edward married Mary Paddon in 1878 at St Patrick’s Chapel Gateshead.  They lived in Felling, then Byker, finally living at High Row, Bigges Main.  Edward was a iron driller in the shipyards.  In May 1896,  Edward was admitted to the County Asylum, Newminster in Morpeth.   According to the case books, he was delusional but not violent.  

He returned home in August 1908 at the request of his relatives. In the 1911 census he was again living in with Mary in High Row, Bigges Main.  At some point after this they moved to central Wallsend and Edward died at Rawdon Road in November 1930.


  • It has proved difficult to find siblings for Edward.  We think he had a brother, Thomas (1858-?), who was a Stick Hawker in the 1871 census, but we can’t find anything more about him.

Frank Burridge (1873-1915)

Frank was the youngest son of Thomas Burridge (1833-1919) and Elizabeth Voysey (1830-1900).  Thomas and Elizabeth were both born in Devon and lived near Newton St Cyres, where they were married in 1854. Thomas was an agricultural labourer; he moved to find work and in the 1861 census the family were in Cornwall.  Then in 1871 the family had moved to Lamesley in Durham and Thomas’s occupation was Coal Miner.  The family moved around the area staying in Collierly, West Pelton and Beamish.  Frank was the youngest son and he followed his father and brothers into the collieries.  He married Sarah Pinkney(1874-1951) in 1892. Frank worked as a coal miner all his life and died aged 42 years of Heart failure.
Frank had the following siblings

  • John Voysey Burridge (1856-1886) married Alice Meddick in 1881.  John worked in the coal mines and the family lived in Sunniside.
  • Thomas Burridge (1859-?) married Emma Owers in 1883.  They lived in Kibblesworth, Beamish and then Stanley; Tom was a coal miner.
  • Mark Burridge (1860-1915) married Elizabeth Ann Wilkinson in 1884.  Mark was a coal miner but was unable to work from 1901 since he was suffering from a mental disease.  In October 1915 he went missing and was found dead six weeks later on 27th November in the Twizell Colliery reservoir. A coroner’s jury returned a verdict of suicide.
  • Ben James Burridge (1866-1938) married Sarah Hutchinson(1866-1946) in 1885 and the family lived in Pelton and Craghead. Ben was politically active and sought election as a Parliamentary candidate and representative of Durham Miners Association to the trade Union Congress in 1914.  He was not elected to either of these posts, but is recorded as a Labour Agent for the registration of electors in the Consett Parliamentary Division in 1918.  Ben was also a delegate to the Derby Methodist Conference in 1913. In 1913 adverts in the Scotsman looking for a Doctor for the Craghead Medical Association gave Ben’s name as the contact for application to the position.
Memorial to Miners at Craghead

  • Ben James’s son, Ben James Herbert Burridge (1898-1977) was a footballer who made 124 appearances in the Football League for Darlington, Sheffield Wednesday and Oldham Athletic in the 1920 and 1930s.  He joined the RAF in 1917 serving as a wireless operator.
  • Mary Ann Burridge (1870-1962) married John William F Stephenson in 1891.  In the 1901 census the family is living two doors from her brother Mark and his family in West Pelton. In the 1939 register, May is living with her two daughters, Elizabeth, a Head Teacher, and Ada J, a Colliery Bill Clerk, in Twizell Lane in Pelton.  

Twizell Lane, Pelton in April this year

Friday, 21 April 2017

Grandmothers and their families Part 2

Slaughter family

Cousins, from left Jacob Porter, Iris Crowther and Florrie Gray.
 (We're not sure who the other two are)


Margaret (Meg) Slaughter (Grandma)
Margaret was a middle child of ten, four of whom died young.  Her parents were William Henry Slaughter, born 1855 in Brighton and died 1925 in South Shields, and Bell Lowe, born 1859 in Kelloe, Durham and died in 1933 in South Shields.
Grandma was born in October 1892.  Although she was christened Margaret, she was often called Meg. The address for her parents was 25 East St, Hebburn. She was 21 years old when she married Joseph Crowther, just before the outbreak of WW1, in July 1914 in St Marks Church, Jarrow. She died in North Shields aged 72 years in March 1965.

Grandma with her daughters and daughter in law
l/r Iris, Alice, Grandma, Joan, Peggy, Audrey, Jean


John Lowe Slaughter
John was born in Oct 1883 in Hebburn Colliery and died in Newcastle in 1940. He was a Blacksmith by trade; in the 1901 census he is listed as a Shipyard Blcaksmith.  In September 1906 he married Mary Todd at St Oswald’s Church in Hebburn.  In the 1911 census they are living with her parents, Henry and Mary Todd, at Argyle Street, Hebburn.  Mary died in 1916 as a result of enemy action during World War 1.  In July 1916 a German submarine approached off the undefended port of Seaham Harbour.  Mary was visiting her cousin, Jennie Brown, who lived at New Seaham, and they were walking through Seaham Colliery Yard when several shells from the submarine fell in the area.  Mary was severely injured and died the following morning of her wounds.  John married again in 1919 to Charlotte Holmes. John was listed in the 1939 register as living in Clara Street, Benwell.  He died in 1940 in Newcastle aged 56. 

Edith Slaughter 
Edith was born April 1888 in Hebburn and died in 1974. Edith married Jacob Porter in August 1908 in St Oswald’s Church, Hebburn.  Grandma was a witness to the marriage (aged 15). In the 1911 census Edith and Jacob were living in Phillip Street, Hebburn and Jacob was working as a stoneman in a coal mine. They had three children, Lilian (b1909), Edith (b 1911) and Jacob (b1919). 
Lilian and Cliff 1945

Lilian married Frederick Brown in 1931 and  Edith married Francis Ramsay in 1936.  We can find no further information about Jacob.  Jacob Porter snr died in 1960 and his wife, Edith, in 1974.
Iris with the Porters


William Henry Slaughter 
William was born in Aug 1895 and died in 1973. He attended St Oswald’s school, leaving in 1909 (listed in the Jarrow Express 1915). He enlisted in the territorial force at Hebburn in 1913.  At the time he was working for the Hebburn Mining Company.  In 1915 he was shipped to Le Havre as a Gunner with the Royal Field Artillery.  He was admitted to a Canadian Field Hospital in May 1915 with a gunshot wound to the head and neck. He was appointed to the rank of bombardier in May 1916 and he was confirmed in the rank of Corporal in July 1917.  He was finally demobilised in January 1919 with medals 1914/15 star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.  He married Elizabeth McGibbon in March 1918 in St John’s, Hebburn (he was given leave to attend his wedding!). His sister Elizabeth was a witness at the wedding. William stayed with the Territorial reserve (Royal Regiment of Artillery) until his final discharge in 1930. William and Elizabeth had three children, William born August 1921, Irene born 1926, and Elizabeth who sadly was born and died in 1928. William was living in Mons Avenue, Hebburn in the 1939 register with his wife and father in law. William died in 1973 and his wife, Elizabeth, died in 1976.

Elizabeth Ann Slaughter (Great Aunt Liz) 
Liz was born in Nov 1899 in Jarrow and died in 1970.  She married George William Gray in August 1920.  They had two children, George (b1921) and Florence (b1928).  In the 1939 register George and Elizabeth are living in Phillip St, Hebburn, with their two children.  George (jnr) married Margaret (possibly Margaret Sisterton in 1942) and Florence (Florrie) married John Stelling in 1951. George (snr) was a postman; he died in 1976.  Liz died in 1970.
Great Aunt Liz and Grandma

George Gray and Peggy
Florrie, centre back with her husband John
and son John in centre front





















Frederick Slaughter 
Frederick was born in 1905 and so far we have found very little information about him.  He was living with the family in the 1911 census.

Burridge Family


Grandma with grandchildren Helen, Celia (Terry) and Geoff
Grandma Mac, Elizabeth Ann Burridge
Elizabeth Ann (sometimes called Cissie) was the eldest of six children.  Her parents were Frank Burridge, born May 1873 in East Castle, Tanfield, Durham and died in November 1915 in Beamish, and Sarah Pinkney, born in Jun 1874 in Twizell Colliery, Durham and died in 1946. In the 1939 register Sarah is living with her son Frank in Wallsend, not far from the shipyards and near to Rawdon Road.
Elizabeth Ann was born in Janurary 1893 in West Pelton, Durham and died in May 1972 aged 79 years. She was 19 years old when she married Edward McAndrew in June 1912 in Newcastle Registry Office. One of the witnesses, Sarah Melody, was Grandad’s sister. In the 1939 register the family were living in Rawdon Road in Wallsend and they later moved to Norfolk Gardens. 

Grandma and Grandad at Josie's wedding

Ethel Burridge
Ethel  was born in 1895 in Beamish.  In the 1911 census she was living in Stanley in the household of Robert Bell (a gas works cartman) as a domestic servant aged 15 years. She married George W Ranson in 1918 and had 5 children. Norman (b1919), George William (b1921), William S (born and died 1923), Violet (b1924) and Ethel (b1927). Ethel’s husband, George, died in 1928 and in the 1939 register Ethel is living with her son George (occupation Fire Brick Machine Tenter) in a small village called Stone Chair, near Halifax.  Ethel died in 1978 in Halifax.

Mary Ann Pinkney Burridge
Mary Ann was born in 1897 in Chester le Street.  She married John Dott in Wallsend in July 1920. We haven’t been able to find any further information at this time.

Ellen and Ray - marriage 1946.
Photo addressed to 'Aunt Cissie' -
but we haven't worked out who they are yet

Josephine Burridge
Josephine (Jessie) was born in August 1900 in Chester le Street and died in 1980.  She married Walter Kinchley in 1929. They had a son, James Kinchley in 1933.  In the 1939 register Josephine is living in Willington with her son and either her father in law or brother in law, James.  She is described as a widow, although we haven’t yet found the death of her husband.  Josephine died in 1980.

William Pinkney Burridge
William was born in August 1902 in Chester Le Street and died in 1972. He married Margaret Elanor Nicholson in Wallsend in 1926.  They had two sons, William P J Burridge (b1926) and Charles Nicholson Burridge (b1930).  In the 1939 register they were living in Shaftoe St, Willington and William’s occupation was working in the antimony and lead works.  William was a member of the Auxiliary Military Pioneer Corps in 1940 when he became a prisoner of war in France until the end of the war in 1945.

This has a label on the back saying Burridge
- but no specific identity.


Frank Burridge 
Frank was born in January 1914 in Chester le Street and died in 1997. He married Violet Strike in 1942.  As mentioned above, in the 1939 register Frank was living with his mother in Wallsend.  Violet was living a short distance away and appears on the same page of the register. Frank was a pneumatic driller.  He died in 1997 and Violet died in 2003.