Sat in a field that once belonged to a loving neighbour of my 8th Gt Grandfather?

Well, it is fair to say that my 52 Ancestors in a Year project motivation has dwindled in 2018 and I have not been actively doing any family history for about 3 months,  and then I do the usual... go on holiday, in the caravan (obviously taking my family history with me!) and start looking for "dead people" in the area.

And as usual something turns up that fascinates me and one of those coincidences that only fate can answer!....

We have come to a lovely (fantastic actually) caravan touring site; Thornbrook Barn in Thornton in Lonsdale, Yorkshire Dales. Chosen by Ian, I had nothing at all to do with choosing the area nor the site!

One rainy evening, i get my laptop out and look for any ancestors recorded as living near this area and of course there was:  a Myles LAYFIELD being married near by in Ingleton.  I couldn't recall who Miles was, but after a little digging this is how he was showing in my tree:

• My Mother Edna TRATTLES b.1926 Middlesbrough, daughter of
• John James TRATTLES b. 1890 Stockton on Tees, son of
• Frederica Sophia BRADLEY b. 1859 Richmond, daughter of
• Dorothy LAYFIELD b1828 Scorton , daughter of
• John LAYFIELD b.  1784 Melsonby, son of
• Thomas LAYFIELD b.1756 Bolton Upon Swale, believed to be son of
• John LAYFIELD b.abt 1700,  (married in Bolton upon Swale), believed to be son of
• Allan LAYFIELD b.abt 1674 Bolton on Swale, believed to be son of
• John LAYFIELD b.abt 1623, (married in Thornton in Lonsdale), believed to be son of
• Miles LAYFIELD b.abt 1595 (married in Thornton in Lonsdale)

I had the following info on Myles re his marriages and wives: Miles married twice, first to Ellin and then on 27 Oct 1647 in Thornton in Lonsdale to Jennet Wildman. Ellin died Mar 1642/3 in Ingleton District.

So, having refreshed myself on the Layfield branch of my tree, I began to re-investigate via the wonderful world wide web (and thankfully Thornbrook Barn having excellent wi-fi!) and I came across some research work undertaken by the "Ingleborough Archaeology Freebooters" (IAF)

Now, of course, I cannot be 100% certain that Myles is really and truly my 8th Great Grandfather. Much of the latter generations are based on assumptions, however it is easier to start with "some" info to disprove than to prove something that is not at all known.

So my search begins for more info on Myles.

IAF have transcribed parish register records and show on their website:

Baptisms in Ingleton

Marriages in Thornton in Lonsdale

Ingleton Burials 1607-1812

IAF also have transcribed a number of wills from Ingleton parish

Firstly I located the will of the late John Gibson, who had named Myles Layfield as a witness to his will, however then I came across the following:

LAYFIELD Myles of the Moorgarth Will & Inventory 1651 (June the 21st 1651)…. it is quite weird that I am sat here typing, making notes of these events and the date is…. 20th June 2018, one day short of 367 years to the day of this will!.

Now to the coincidence…. 
Myles last will & testament states " I appoint my Loveing Neighbours Lawrence Butterfield and John Balderston of the Hallsteads, desireing them to see this my will performed….."

The below map (courtesy of OS Maps online), shows Moorgarth and also highlighted is Halsteads. Whilst Ian and I are not staying at what is named as Halsteads today, we are staying where the ¶Is located (Thornbrook Barn), which according to the current owners was an old barn built in 1700s, so I think it is fair to assume that this barn / field would more than likely have been part of the Halsteads estate back in the 1600's.

So it looks like we are staying in the field of my 8th Great Grandfathers loving neighbours!

Will transcription (courtesy of IAF)
Unfortunately I am unable to reproduce any part of the will as I do not have written consent from IAF, however you can access the pdf document yourself here

One thing that is evident in Miles' will is that he only mentions 1 son, Myles (born in 1651, the year before his fathers death)  However I believe there is a chance that John, his first son from his first marriage, could have moved to Bolton upon Swale at the time of Myles death and was no longer considered as part of Myles close family. John would have been aged 24 by the time of Miles second marriage and he himself already married to Jane/Jean since 1644. 

You will notice from the parish records transcripts, there is a baptism of John to Myles Layfield in Ingleton in 1623, with a  John Layfield marrying Jane Guye at Thornton in Lonsdale parish 1644 and it is believed they are the same John & Jane that were living in Bolton upon Swale in 1660s with many of their children being baptised here.

Clearly there is more to investigate to try and prove or disprove this theory - but for now I am happy to think I am sat In my caravan in a field ( a very nice one at that!) that once belonged to a loving neighbour of my 8th x Gt Grandfather.

Week 11 - Lucky

There is absolutely no doubt that my #52 ancestors project for this year has fallen off track!... Hopefully I will catch up soon.

The subject for week 11 is "lucky" : "Do you have an ancestor who was lucky at something? Lucky to be alive? Lucky at cards? Lucky in love? Maybe you have an ancestor with a name that reminds you of luck or fortune. There's always "luck of the Irish." Maybe you have a story of how luck played a role in finding an ancestor. Write about that this week."

....still to do! 

Week 10 - Strong Woman

March is Women's History Month, so what better way to start than with the prompt of "Strong Woman." What female in your family tree has shown remarkable strength (either physical or emotional)? Tell her story.

..............To be started!!!

Week 9 - Where there's a will

What is week 9 about?  Amy states "I've been asked if this theme means a will (as in the probate document) or will (as in being determined or strong minded). My answer is: Yes. :-) Use this prompt however you are inspired to. Maybe you've come across an interesting will. Explain it like you would to a non-genealogist. What story does it reveal? You could write about an ancestor who was determined to do something. (Or maybe you have an ancestor named Will!)"

=========================================

Our Blacks, Robsons, Tinnings & Grahams of Cumberland

I thought I would use this opportunity to write about something that one of the FB genealogy groups I am involved with might find an interesting read. The group is "Family History around the Solway Coast, Cumberland", initiated by my cousin Julie, also the person who located and purchased a copy of the will I am going to talk about and how it helped us to confirm a longstanding assumption.  Hopefully it will also enable me, to yet again, re-acquaint myself  with those Cumbrian ancestors who have caused us a few brickwalls! … Enjoy!

The maternal Great Grandfather of myself and Julie Brough (nee Jones) is William PERCIVAL, born 1857, Rockcliffe Cross, Cumberland, England.  His parents were John PERCIVAL and Jane (nee BLACK).

John & Jane married 12 Nov 1853 at Rockcliffe.  We have always been reasonably confident in tracing Johns ancestry, however Jane is another story.

Jane's marriage certificate shows her father to be James BLACK, a labourer. One of the witnesses was a David TINNING.  Whilst married to John Percival, Jane gave birth to 10 children, the first male child being named David Tinning Percival and the first born female child being named Mary Jane Tinning Percival this obviously led us to believe there was a Tinning surname connection.

Censuses after Jane's marriage show she was born either at Rockcliffe or Saint Meries in Cumberland. (we believe St Meries refers to St Mary's parish district in Carlisle)

We have not confidently located the correct census records for Jane from 1841 & 51, but did come across these:

   1851: Jane Black age 20 (born in Arthuret), a factory girl living with her 2m old daughter Mary in Stanwix

   1841: Jane Black, age 10 living with John Robson (67 weaver), Mary Robson (69), James Robson (31 weaver),  Pattenstown, Low Longtown.

We believed it was highly likely that Jane was living with her grandparents in 1841, which would make her parents James BLACK & **** ROBSON. We are not convinced the above 1851 Jane is ours.

in the 1861 census, Jane married to John Percival has a Mary ROBSON residing with her as a boarder (age 91), again adding to the assumption that Mary is Jane's grandmother and probably had much to do with her upbringing and was now being cared for in her old age by her granddaughter.

 

There is a marriage for James BLACK and Mary ROBSON 9 Jun 1832 at Gretna Green, and then a repeat marriage 6 Jan 1833 at Arthuret. Could this couple be "our" Janes parents?, was Jane born out of wedlock and brought up by her grandparents?

There is a record of a James and Mary BLACK, both born in Arthuret, living in Lancashire in 1851.  Either  way...this is how we have come to assume that our Great Great Great Great Grandmother is Mary Robson.. But we were not really ever sure.

We located a birth for Mary ROBSON to John ROBSON and Mary (nee TINNING) (hoorah - the Tinning connection)

**Correction** 17/3/18  Julie has pointed out that we actually have not found the birth/baptism for Mary. There are baptisms forJames 1804 and Betty 1802 to John Robson and Mary (late Tinning). 

And now to how the will fits in to this story.….. Julie had ordered a couple of TINNING wills from the Arthuret / Longtown districts, that she believed were somehow linked to out ancestors…  and how right she was!

The second sentence of the will of Jane Tinning of Chapeltown reads;

 I give and bequeath unto my sister Mary Robson all my body clothes, together with the sum of sixty pounds but should my said sister die previous to I, I give and bequeath the said body clothes, and the said sixty pounds unto Jane Percival of Cleughfoot.

Jane PERCIVAL (nee BLACK) our Great Great grandmother of Cleughfoot.  You recall the 1861 census (image above)?Jane was living in Cleughfoot! with Mary Robson...

Jane is not named as "Niece", we therefore conclude that she was Jane Tinnings Great Niece.   (It is always possible that Jane was adopted or the child of a close friend, and raised by Mary Robson (nee Tinning).....but for now we are sticking to our story!)

So, to the rest of the will and more ancestors…….

Jane TINNING, was a spinster farmer of Chapeltown farm, which she inherited from her bachelor brother David, originally believed to be their fathers farm). Her will, dated 1863, names the following:

I also give and bequeath unto my niece Mary Tinning, Brampton, my cousins Jane Graham, Parkrigg, (Jane Graham’s maiden name was Park. She married John Graham. Her parents were Reginald Park and Mary Graham (I believe that Mary was the sister of Jane Graham – who married James Tinning. This would make Jane Tinning and Jane Graham (nee Park) cousins!) Elizabeth Blaylock, Hallees, (Elizabeth Blaylock’s maiden name was Graham. She married George Blaylock. Her mother was Margaret; married to Reginald Graham (identified via a headstone transcription) I believe that Reginald Graham was the brother of Jane Graham – who married James Tinning. This would make Jane Tinning and Elizabeth Blaylock (nee Graham) cousins!) 

Mary Davidson, Langholm, (Scotland) (Mary Davidson’s maiden name was Graham. Mary was the sister of the above Elizabeth Blaylock (nee Graham). Therefore with the same parents and relation to Jane Tinning) Mary Wright, Longtown, (Still to figure this out) John Graham, Longtown, (Still to figure this out)  

Reginald Park, Shawhead (Reginald Park is the brother of the above Jane Graham (nee Park), therefore with the same parents and relation to Jane Tinning) and Joseph Park, Souternmoor, (Joseph Park is the brother of the above Jane Graham (nee Park) and Reginald Park, therefore with the same parents and relation to Jane Tinning) ….the sum of forty pounds.

Whilst we still may not conclusively be able to say that Jane Black is the Granddaughter of Mary Robson (nee Tinning) or the Great Niece of Jane Tinning, we enjoyed the journey looking for our Black's, Robson's, Tinning's & Graham's

The photos in this story were taken by myself in 2016 after travelling around to locate the places mentioned in Janes will.  Special Thanks to Julie, who without her ordering this will we would never had the journey in the first place.

Below is a map (courtesy of  Google Earth) showing the location of the places named in the will.

Week 8 - Heirloom

Week 7 - Valentines

Week 7....

.........never happened! I could not come up with anyone to write about with the subject "Valentines".... our family is not what I would describe as romantic...no one even was born or married on valentines day!

Week 6 - Favourite Name

Favourite name has to be Caroline Lowther, my paternal Great Grandmother.

My eldest brother John and his wife had their second child, a daughter 40 years ago in 1978, they named her Caroline Lydia Sanderson. My dad, George Sanderson, was a "proper" northern working man who we all recall saying….."Caroline, why on earth Caroline, where has that name come from?"….  He appeared to have not thought much of the name.

Dad was the son of George Lowther Sanderson and his wife Lilian (nee Rowell).

Dad died in 1988. It was not long after this when my sister in law, Linda, started on the family history trail. Linda had ordered my Grandads (George Lowther Sanderson) birth certificate....What an interesting read that was!

 

Georges father was Thomas Sanderson and his mother was Caroline Lowther. So my dads grandmother was called Caroline! And he clearly never knew and unfortunately was not around to learn of this.

To this day, my niece still finds it a litle spooky when viewing her Great Great grandmothers, Caroline Sanderson's, (married name) death certificate, when she herself was named Caroline Sanderson.

So who was Caroline Sanderson (nee Lowther) ?

Caroline was born 1 April 1867, daughter of George Lowther and Jessie (nee Downie) in Kirkbymoorside, North Yorkshire.

In 1871 at the age of 4 she was still living in Kirkbymoorside at Piercy End Street  with her parents and 2 older siblings, George(10) and Emily (5).

In 1881, at the age of 14, she was a domestic servant for the Muzeen family in Riccal Moor, Harome.  Mr Barugh Muzeen was a farmer of 170 acres, living with his wife and 5 children.

Sometime  between 1881 and 1886 Caroline had met her future husband Thomas Sanderson (who was also from Kirkbymoorside).  They married on 30 Mar 1866 at the Bethel  Chapel  in Kirkbymoorside. 

(for info on the Bethel religion, see www.kirkbymoorside.ryedalemethodist.org.uk/history2012.pdf).

On the marriage certificate Thomas made his mark "X" however Caroline did sign her name.

Between their marriage and the 1891 census they had moved to Middlesbrough, which was still in the county of North Yorkshire at that time.  In 1891 they were living a 42 Carter St, with their daughters Annie (2) and Florence (1m).

Caroline and Thomas had a total of 8 children.

In 1901 they were living at 13 Disraeli St, Middlesbrough with 5 children, Annie M (13), Thomas G (8), Eliza M (6), John W (4) George L (1).

 

Going back to my niece , Caroline, when she married she had 2 children one of them being named Eliza.

In 1911 Thomas and Caroline were living at 19 Fancoat St, Middlesbrough, with 6 children: Annie May (22), Thomas George (18), Eliza Maud (16), John William (14), George Lowther (11), Mary Ann Downie (4) and 1 grandson John Henry Dixon (4m)

The 1911 census tells us that Thomas and Caroline had 8 children born alive, with 6 children still living (2 children having died).  We know that Florence died within her first year and that they also had a son in 1901, Arthur Downie, who died not long after birth.

Caroline died before Thomas on the 4th April 1929, my dad would have been aged 3 at the time, so is not surprising that he did not recall or even know that his granny was called "Caroline".

Caroline's death certificate states the cause of death was Asthenia & Jaundice and probably Carcinoma of Head of Pancreas. She was aged 62 years and residing at 23 Samuelson St, Middlesbrough. Her husband survived her by 13 months.

Both are buried in Linthorpe Cemetery in Middlesbrough.

Week 5 - Census

Due to my weeks hol in Lincolnshire -- I missed this weeks publication. I am going to come back to this weeks topic at a later date.

Week 4 - Invite to Tea

Week 4 - Who would I invite for tea?

 

Whilst I would like to invite all my ancestors for tea and have a jolly old get together, I have to select Rachel Noyce, my Great Great Grandmother . I would like to chat to her to find out why she left her family and birth place of London and travel north in the 1850s, how did she travel and where did the journey take her?

Rachel was born in Marylebone in 1839, the daughter of William and Mary Ann (nee Boyington).  She was one of 12 children born to William and Mary Ann between 1823-1847.  I have been unable to locate any of the family in the 1841 census, so where they were living is a mystery.

William (Rachel's father) was born in Hampshire, Mary Ann (mother) was born in Middlesex, as were all of Rachels siblings, from Marylebone to Paddington areas.

In 1851 Rachel was living 10 Crafter Terrace, Latymer Road, Shepherds Bush Village, Hammersmith with her parents and 5 siblings
Transcript 1851 census 

• William 51 Hampshire, a labourer
• Mary Ann 47 Marylebone
• John 20 Marylebone
• Charles 18 Vintry Ward City
• William 13 Paddington
• Rachel 10 Marylebone
• James 8 Paddinton
• George 5 Paddington

Her elder brother  Charles emigrated to USA in 1853 with William following in 1862 

Between 1851 and 1864 I have no idea where Rachel was living or where she was employed.

The next time we hear of her is in December 1864 when she was married to Thomas Robinson, a blacksmith in North Yorkshire. The marriage took place in Terrington and the marriage certificate states that Rachels residence at the time was Terrington, where as Thomas' residence was Eston.
Rachels first marriage did not last long due to the death of Thomas in 1866.
Rachel married her second husband in 1867, in Eston (where Thomas' residence had been, so I suspect is the pace that Rachel and Thomas had lived after their marriage).

Her second husband was James Caygill Briggs, my great great grandfather who  was a miner.

In the 1871 census Rachel and James have 3 children:

Elizabeth 5, Edward 2 & Mary Ann 1 (My Great Grandmother). The age of Elizabeth does raise the question as to whether she was the daughter of Thomas or James. (I should consider ordering her birth certificate to see what was officially recorded). 

They were living in Lealholmside, Glaisdale. Elizabeth and Edward were both born in Eston, however Mary Ann was born in Glaisdale (according to the 1871 and later censuses) though, to date, we have never been able to locate Marys birth registration / certificate.

In 1881 the Rachel and James were living in Yearby, Kirkleatham with 4 of their children.

The following year in 1882 Rachels second husband died.  James died after 21 days of Rheumatic Fever on 16 Feb at the age of 38.
Rachel was now alone again with 4 children aged between 7 and 14.

In Sept 1886, Rachel married her third husband, Thomas Harrison.
In 1891 Rachel and Thomas were residing in a cottage in Yearby, though there were no children living with them. Thomas was 20 years older than Rachel.
Thomas Harrison died in 1900, leaving Rachel to have outlived her 3 husbands.
In 1901 Rachel was working as a Laundress and still living in Yearby (washer - own account - at home)
In 1911 Rachel was living alone, still in Yearby with "no occupation" stated. 
Rachel lived to the age of 85, and died in the last quarter of 1924 in Stockton on Tees.

I would love to sit down with Rachel, over a cup of tea and hear her life story. I suspect it was a hard and sad one, but Rachel's character must have been strong and determined.

Week 3 - Longevity

The theme for week 3 is longevity and can be about the longest lived person in my ancestry or even someone who has taken an "age" to find out about.  Despite Ann Baker, my maternal GGGG Grandmother, believed to have lived to the age of 102, I am choosing to write about my maternal Great Grandfather and the efforts into finding out about who he was & where he came from and the many issues about finding out this information. Not to mention highlighting some queries that still exist about him!

My mother was Edna Trattles, her father was John James Trattles.

We knew very little about John James'  (my grandad) early years other than the person my mam knew as 'his dad', her grandad, was not Johns real dad….he had been known as "Mr Parker". Mam did not even know her grans name, only that she was her dad's mam.

We also knew that John James had a brother who was believed to have owned/ran a shop in Redcar, but all contact had been lost and we knew nothing else about Johns childhood. (We had also assumed, incorrectly, that they were all from Middlesbrough)

I started family research in the very late 1980s, at this time only the 1881 census was available to review (census are only made publically available 100 years after the event) and also my knowledge into "how to" and "where to go" was extremely limited. You also must appreciate that at that time many records were not yet available on-line, instead research had to be done in the records offices, searching through microfiche in order to find the information needed.  Sites that make it easy to locate civil registration dates were not yet available or just not sophisticated/populated enough to be able to provide adequate info.

To find my Great Grandfather I would need to use information available about his son John James and this would take 3 steps :

1 - find the fathers name/parents name on John James birth certificate (having to find his birth first - of course!)

2 - locate the marriage certificate of the parents to identify their ages & mothers maiden name.

3 - look at the  censuses to try and find more about them.

John James - My Grandad - Birth

Using the parish registers in the archives office at Middlesbrough, I eventually located John James birth in Stockton, this enabled me to order his birth certificate (Ordered 1993)

John James was born 20/10/1890 at 15 Kirby St Stockton, Father was John James Trattles (my great grandad), Mother was Frederica Sophia (formerly Bradley).

😸Hoorah - we now know the name of my Great Grandad - John James Trattles and his "wife"

**At this point in the story we will refer to my Great grandad as JJT(1) and his son  (my grandad) as JJT (2)**

Parents Marriage: John James Trattles & Frederica Sophia Bradley

More than 10 years were spent looking for this marriage (which would have given us JJT (1)'s age and ultimately be able to deduce his birth year). For reasons that will become clear…. It was, to this day, never to be found!

We now know that JJT(2) was born in 1890 and therefore not on the 1881 census - but he would have been on the 1891 census, which (by 1993) was now publically available.

I cannot recall If I was now using digitised records to search for people on the census, I believe I was. I eventually found the family! Though that fact that they were named "Tratles" instead of "Trattles" was probably one reason for further delay in finding them, search engines were not as clever!

Quite clearly I could see that My Great Grandad JJT(1), aged 45, a Mill Wright Labourer,  was living in Stockton on Tees, with Frederica, his wife and Alfred and John J, his sons.

*Lesson learnt after the event!  Do not make assumptions about what you see/ read!!*

JJ(1) Birth? Given that in the 1891 census JJT(1) was aged 45, he would have been born about 1846 in "Steers"….stuck again! Where on earth was Steers in Yorkshire!  Mam was never able to offer much help with my research, but the one thing she was able to tell me was that this was "Steers" was the local name for "Staithes".

(see Wikipedia Staithes)

It was during the next few years ( I say a few ...it felt like a lifetime)  that I started to "collect" Trattles (mostly from Staithes).  I contacted so many people who were researching Trattles just to see if they had found my John James, to no avail. We had about 4 "Johns" that were candidates and eventually (again over many years) we were able to discount most of them.

My one name Study for Trattles continues to this day, though has had many stops and starts. It is now officially registered with the Guild of One Name Studies. I have over 4500 individuals in my database (Trattles, their spouses and descendants from all over the world)

It took a while to locate the family in the 1881 census (using digital searches), mostly through my lack of knowledge on how to search properly for those potentially difficult to find people!. The family surname had been transcribed "Traffles". Eventually finding them, I had my 2nd and most important breakthrough! This led to me learn an interesting English law that existed at the turn of the 1900s

Fredericka was not JJT(1)'s  wife , she was his sister-in-law! Using this information I looked for Frederica Bradley's sisters and their marriages.

(Incidentally I will mention at this point that Frederica went onto marry Mr Samuel Carter in 1899, describing herself as a spinster, and later marrying Mr Mark Parker in Oct 1926, the gentleman my mam knew as her grandad)

John James Trattles (1) married Harriet Clara Bradley in 1876. Harriet died in 1879 (only 8 days after giving birth to son Alfred).  The assumption can be made that her younger sister Frederica moved into the household to look after the baby (as we see in the 1881 census).  It is worth mentioning that John & Harriet had also had a son, William born in 1887, however he died in infancy)

10 years later (1891) we know that JJT(1) and Frederica are claiming to be man and wife and they have a son JJT(2). So now to the question...why could I not find their marriage?, did they marry?, why lie on the 1891 census?

The answer was that I found that it was illegal, before 1907, to marry your deceased wife's sister: Deceased Wifes Sisters Marriage Act 1907

I now knew I had the right JJT(1), however it is worth noting that on the 1881 census John gave his age as 34 and place of birth as "Comdale, Yorkshire"! Here we go again…. Where on earth is Comdale!

Over the years, with some limited evidence to back this up, I have deduced that Comdale is actually "Commondale", located on the North Yorkshire Moors.

I now had another document I could order, that should contain information about JJT(1), his marriage certificate to Harriet Clara, which hopefully would identify JJT(1)'s  father. The marriage took place on 29th February 1874 (leap year!) in Stockton. JJT(1) was aged 29, he was a coachman and his father was Thomas Trattles, a labourer.

This would give JJT(1)'s year of birth approx 1844

So I needed to find a son born to Thomas Trattles between 1844 and 1847, in Yorkshire (either Staithes or Comdale). By this time in my research journey, I had learnt a few tricks of the trade and knew I had to search for everything and anything, with all sorts of wildcards and name resemblances and not only just stick to place names / people names I knew!

Having searched all Thomas Trattles from Yorkshire area and identifying if they had a son called John (within a 20 year time frame of the years I was interested in) the following were potentials:

• John T Trattles son of Thomas & Maria in 1856 in Northumberland (located via 1871 census)

• John Trattles son of  Thomas & Jane in 1842 in Staithes (located via 1851 census - living near Scarborough)

It is worth noting I did look for other Johns born in the same time period with any other fathers name (not just Thomas) and again, by following their individual lives, I was able to discount many of them.

I had ordered JJT(1)'s Death certificate in 2005, but this provided no new information, other than giving us doubt as to his real year of birth: "John James Trattles of 392 Cannon St, died aged 44, 15th June 1896. Informant was son A Trattles".  He would have been born in 1951/2 if he was 44 at his death!

We have now progressed in time to 2013! (during the years that passed I concentrated on gathering Trattles as well as researching my other family ancestry lines...I was not just doing nothing !). No one had come to light as having the same Trattles ancestors as me. Well, that is except for the contact made with Julie Brough (nee Jones).

Julie is my cousin, being the daughter of my Auntie Joan (mams sister). The sisters lost touch in the 1960s and Julie I grew up knowing nothing much about each others families. Family History research brought us together in the early 2000s. Whilst Julie also knew nothing of the ancestry of JJT(1) we have worked together to try and break down some of those brick walls.

In March 2012 Julie had that ultimate Eureka moment!   Searching local newspaper articles she had found something that would take our research along a different path, confuse us even more, but also enable us to pull together some of the jigsaw, though there is no doubt there are still many assumptions made along the way.

The Email was "Look at this!.....

"15th June 1899 Trattles : In Memory of John James Trattles better known as James Harrison late of 392 Cannon St who died June 15 1896. In life respected in death lamented.""

WHAT!..... "James Harrison"….what on earth !

There were 4 newspaper articles that had been located. The death notice in 1896 and then for the following 3 years a memoriam notice. I assume it was Frederica who submitted these as they continued up to the year that she re-married.

We had heard the name Harrison before, it was the maiden name of the person we had been thinking might possibly be JJT(1)'s mother, Jane (wife of Thomas).

In 2013 I ordered the birth certificate for John born to Thomas and Jane which told me that John was born to Thomas Trattles ( a labourer) and Jane (nee Harrison) 4th Dec 1841 at Staithes. Harrison! Surely this was no coincidence?

So other that the year of birth, which was about 5 years too early and the name being John instead of John James everything else seemed to fit, however there were still a few questions to answer. Why did he say he was from Comdale? And why was he also known as "John James / James Harrison / Trattles"?

At this point it was time to concentrate on Jane Harrison and her family background in more detail to see if we could uncover any new information. This led to finding out that Jane was born in 1806 Staithes to William Harrison and Ann (nee Thompson). She had 3 siblings Mark b.1803, Margaret b.1801 and Ann b.1799.

Jane married Thomas Trattles in 1836 and in the 1841 census, age 30 she was living with her father, William Harrison & her brother, Mark, with her 2 children, Leonard b. 1837 and Ann b.1840. Husband Thomas is not at the residence. (again is it worth mentioning this took a while to locate - due to Trattles being transcribed as "Grattles" !)

 In 1851 census Jane was living in Burniston with her husband Thomas Trattles and her 4 children. ( Ann 11, John9, Elizabeth5, Harrison 2)

 Jane died in 1852, and Thomas went on to marry Rebecca Hostler in July 1855. The 1861 census shows us that there was a John Trattles living with Thomas and Rebecca at Oxford St, Scarborough.

Having exhausted anything relating to Jane, I turned to her siblings and found that Mark, unmarried, after the death of his father was living with elder sister Margaret, who had married Thomas Breckon, a farmer originally from Glaisdale.  In 1851 they were living in Danby, and in 1861 they were living at Long Green, Commondale!...

…. Now where had we heard that name before?

This surely has to be a coincidence too far?

JJT(1) stated he was from Commondale in the 1881 census. Could it be that sometime between the  years 1861 to 1876 when we know he married Harriet Clara in Stockton, he had stayed with his maternal aunt and uncle in Commondale? Had he fallen out with his Trattles father and wanted to be known as Harrison? (his mothers maiden name) or could it be something more sinister...had he committed a crime and needed to move away and change his name so he would not be found?, though this seems unlikely as he was later advertising his true name in the local Gazette, for instance when Harriet died:

We had never located JJT(1) in the 1871 census. Using the new name information a search for James Harrison returned the results of a James Harrison, age 28, (married) living in Stockton ! His occupation was Labourer in Iron Works (the same occupation that we know JJT(1) had in 1881).  (Showing as married could be a red herring / enumerator error?)

 Further newspaper searches have proved fruitless and it is more than likely we will never know the real reason for the name change.  However for legal reasons, he obviously still had to use the name he was originally registered with  for his marriage and death certificates.

25 years after starting to look for John James Trattles, I concluded that John Trattles born to Thomas Trattles and Jane (nee Harrison) in 1841 was indeed my Great Grandfather.  He later also became known as James Harrison, marrying Harriet Clara Bradley in 1876. She died shortly after childbirth and Harriet's younger sister, Frederica, moved in with John James to look after the child.  Frederica and John James became a couple in the following years and John James Trattles (my grandfather) was born in 1890, out of wedlock.  John James (aka James Harrison) died in 1899, probably aged 58.  I suspect along with the name changes and the fact that he was not officially married to the woman he called his wife, giving the wrong age throughout his life was something that I find is a strong possibility!

There will always be a nagging doubt about who John James Trattles really was…. And I will always welcome any thoughts, information or ideas about his life & family.

Week 2 - Favourite Photo - Lilian Rowell

This is a photo of my dad, George Sanderson, with his parents George Sanderson and Lilian (nee Rowell). I am giving an overview of Lilians life:

Lilian was born to parents Frederick William Rowell and Jane Elizabeth Bonsor, 11 Mar 1899 at 41 Derby St, Middlesbrough.  She was the 2nd born daughter of 13 children.

In 1901, at the age of 2, she was living with her parents and 2 siblings at 26 Theodore St.

10 years later In 1911 at the age of 11, she was living with her parents and 6 siblings at 46 Theodore St. She had witnessed her mother losing 2 of her children during infancy and no doubt was often left in charge of many of her other siblings at these difficult times. Anne (aka Nancy) her eldest sister was said to have been a little "slow" in the family and maybe Lilian also had to take care of her as well?

I recall in my early years, dad, taking us on trips to Bishop Aukland to visit Aunt Nance, who was living with a gentleman as his housekeeper.

Lilian married George Lowther Sanderson 23rd August 1924 at St Cuthberts Church, Middlesbrough at the age of 25. At the time of her marriage she was living at 31 Laws St, Middlesbrough. The witnesses were George William Sanderson (her next born brother) and his girlfriend Emily Iley, whom he would later marry in 1928.

Lilian's first born child was George Sanderson (my dad) born 24th July 1925.  We can therefore estimate that the photo is taken in the year 1926.

Lilian and George went on to have one more child whilst living at 23 Letitia Street, a daughter, Jean born 3rd October 1930.  Jean only survived to 22nd May 1931, aged 7 months, suffering a short life with hydrocephalus (fluid on the brain). Having come from such a large family this must have devastated Lilian and it clearly had a lasting affect on my dad, who went on to name his first born daughter Lynne Jean.

Lilian and family later moved to 32 Cunningham St and she was known to be very protective of her only son George.  Even shopping him in to the army when he lied on his enrolment about his birth year, giving it as 1924 rather than 1925!

She could not keep hold of him for long and no doubt when he went off to fight in WW2 was beside herself.

Lilian and George continued to live in Middlesbrough and enjoyed many bus trip outings with their local clubs. She died of heart failure on 10th March 1970 at North Ormesby Hospital, the day before her 71st birthday.