Welcome to this, the story of my families and their history. You will find details of my genealogy with documentary evidence to back up the research. You will also find some of the family stories and myths which inevitably get handed down from one generation to the next. There are some personal histories which help us to understand past lives and personalities.
This family history is intended to set each generation in the context of related and associated families. Often the associations of one generation become relationships in another, and I am interested to see how that pattern develops through the centuries.
For centuries they were agricultural labourers. With the Industrial Revolution many turned to mining and the steel industries, while some ran small commercial premises, or were the carpenters and builders who helped to build the housing or the carts used by the others.
I’m proud of this heritage and feel that in their own small way, each of these working class families has contributed to the advancement of the communities where they lived. That doesn’t mean there isn’t still a secret hope that one day someone notable may turn up…
Old photographs are fascinating, not only because they reveal the faces of family members we would otherwise not recognise. They also tell us something about the way they dressed.
Ever remarked that everyone wore a hat 100 years ago?
Using images taken over the past 150 years, we look at changing dress codes and habits.
Names and dates mean little if we know nothing of the lives of our families. Where they lived, their occupations, the churches central to their lives, and their contributions to the community.
I have collected documents from many sources and use them here to illustrate our family histories.
I am always on the the lookout for more details relating to these families, including jobs, friends and interesting information about the places they’ve lived.
