The EDWARDS side of the family is really what got me started down this road to finding the roots of my family. My mother always thought that her father (who died when she was 13) had come from St. Albans or Bury St. Edmunds. In fact the family was from there but her father Alfred EDWARDS was actually born in Lancashire.
The furthest I have been able to go back is to is John EDWARDS who was born in 1778 in St. Albans’s Hertfordshire, England. He married Sarah HILL on the 13th of June, 1801 at St. Stephen’s in St. Albans. Sarah was also from St. Albans born in 1780,her father was William HILL and her mother was Mary SMITH. They had eleven children.
These very early records came from the family tree of someone else with whom I share ancestors. So consider the fact that records of birth, deaths and marriages were not registered, by law, until 1837 and you can understand the sparse information I have on them.
The first was Suzanna EDWARDS, she was born in August of 1801 only a couple of months after the wedding but you must remember that the records were not always accurate back then, otherwise make your own conclusions!
Next there was William, born in December of 1802. He married Elizabeth BUCKLEY in 1827. She was also from St. Albans. He was followed by Thomas born in May 1805.
Then there was James who was born in 1807 and who died two years later.
James died in the March of 1809 as Joseph was born in the April of the same year. He married Mary WILSON in 1829.
Sarah was next, she was born in February of 1812 but died the following October. Mary EDWARDS followed Sarah in 1814.
The next son, Samuel, was born in 1816. He would go on to marry Lydia RYDER and become the direct line to my Grandfather Alfred EDWARDS.
Another son George was born in 1818 only to die a year later. Following George there was another Sarah, presumably named for the baby that died. Unfortunately this Sarah also, being born in late February of 1822, died the following February of 1823.
Finally came Eliza EDWARDS born in 1824.
All of the children were born in St. Albans, they were all Christened and I think it would probably be at St. Stephen’s where their parents were married. The drawing of a church at the top left of this page is of St. Stephen's Church.
For this jumping off point to the EDWARDS I must thank Harry Cautherley without who’s help I wouldn’t have known where to start.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
(9) James BRADSHAW
The oldest ancestors I have are James BRADSHAW and Nancy CHADWICK. I can’t find where I got Nancy’s name from, but I think it might have been from someone else’s tree. My database of names has quite a few that I found that way. But I’ll start with them, since I can follow Nancy down through her children.
James was born in 1807, Nancy in 1806. Both were from an area know as Little and Great Marsden. A description of the area says “Marsden, a township and two chapelries in Whalley parish, Lancashire. The township consists of the two chapelries, called Little M. and Great M”. In various census records its shown in different ways and eventually becomes Brierfield. This was a bit confusing to me when I started researching. There were quarries, and coal mines and later came the cotton mills.
James and Nancy were married in November of 1825.
They had seven children starting with William born in 1827, followed by John 1833, Elizabeth 1835, Henry 1837 (who was the great, great grandfather of my dad) , Sarah 1841, James 1843 and Thomas 1846. They all were born in Great and Little Marsden, Lancashire.
In the 1841 census there was no sign of James, but Nancy was living with 5 of her children on Dark Lane in Little Marsden. The two younger children, James and Thomas, are not shown on this census but are on the next one. So they must have been absent from the home when the census was taken. But James senior is not there either, and he doesn’t appear again. To say this branch of the family is illusive is an understatement. Maybe Dad didn’t know anything after all.
James was born in 1807, Nancy in 1806. Both were from an area know as Little and Great Marsden. A description of the area says “Marsden, a township and two chapelries in Whalley parish, Lancashire. The township consists of the two chapelries, called Little M. and Great M”. In various census records its shown in different ways and eventually becomes Brierfield. This was a bit confusing to me when I started researching. There were quarries, and coal mines and later came the cotton mills.
James and Nancy were married in November of 1825.
They had seven children starting with William born in 1827, followed by John 1833, Elizabeth 1835, Henry 1837 (who was the great, great grandfather of my dad) , Sarah 1841, James 1843 and Thomas 1846. They all were born in Great and Little Marsden, Lancashire.
In the 1841 census there was no sign of James, but Nancy was living with 5 of her children on Dark Lane in Little Marsden. The two younger children, James and Thomas, are not shown on this census but are on the next one. So they must have been absent from the home when the census was taken. But James senior is not there either, and he doesn’t appear again. To say this branch of the family is illusive is an understatement. Maybe Dad didn’t know anything after all.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
(8) The BRADSHAW side
I think I'll write a little about my dad's side of the family. He was one of three children, with one brother and one sister. I knew from my mum that he had a brother who died young and she thought there were a few other children who were deceased. My dad, as I said in an earlier post, was never very forthcoming about his family and when I searched the new 1911 census I found that my Grandma BRADSHAW had 9 children and only the three survived.
This side of the family lived in Lancashire, which is where I was born. Mum's side came from Cumberland but moved there too later on.
My dad's name was Clifford BRADSHAW and he was the youngest of the three that lived. In fact he was born on 4th June 1910 and the brother who died, Lawrence, died during the three months prior to Dad's being born. How hard that must have been for his mother. He had a sister May and a brother Bertram (Bert). I haven't been able to find Bert's birth year. May married and her husband and my Grandad BRADSHAW both died when I was quite young. I don't remember Uncle Fred and my only recollection of my grandfather is being taken into the front room of their house to see him in his coffin. I think I was about 4 or 5 years old, but haven't been able to find their death records either. I think its probably because they're still relatively recent. At one point my grandad played the piano for the silent movies. Auntie May and Uncle Fred used to sing semi-professionally at sea-side shows in Babbacomb, Devon where they lived. But this is all recent, so I should start at the beginning.
This side of the family lived in Lancashire, which is where I was born. Mum's side came from Cumberland but moved there too later on.
My dad's name was Clifford BRADSHAW and he was the youngest of the three that lived. In fact he was born on 4th June 1910 and the brother who died, Lawrence, died during the three months prior to Dad's being born. How hard that must have been for his mother. He had a sister May and a brother Bertram (Bert). I haven't been able to find Bert's birth year. May married and her husband and my Grandad BRADSHAW both died when I was quite young. I don't remember Uncle Fred and my only recollection of my grandfather is being taken into the front room of their house to see him in his coffin. I think I was about 4 or 5 years old, but haven't been able to find their death records either. I think its probably because they're still relatively recent. At one point my grandad played the piano for the silent movies. Auntie May and Uncle Fred used to sing semi-professionally at sea-side shows in Babbacomb, Devon where they lived. But this is all recent, so I should start at the beginning.
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