John Bell and Susannah Catterall

John Bell and Susannah Catterall, my great-great grandparents, were married at All Saints in Wigan, Lancashire on 8 April 1849.  The details from the parish record of the event were:

                Marriage: 8 Apr 1849 All Saints, Wigan, Lancashire, England
                John Bell - (X), 22 Collier, Bachelor of Hindley
                Susanna Catterall - (X), 21, Spinster of Hindley
                Groom's Father: Nathaniel Bell, Collier
                Bride's Father: Henry Catterall, Spinner
                Witness: Thos. Smithie, (X); Sarah Catterall, (X)
                Married by Banns by: A.Coates Curate\

John was the eldest of Nathaniel Bell and Ann Murray’s nine children and had been christened in their local church at All Saints in Hindley, Lancashire on 9 Dec 1827. On 30 Jan 1830, Susannah had also been born in Hindley but had been baptised at the larger church in Wigan that she later was married in. She was the 5th daughter and sixth child of Henry Catterall and Hannah Dean. One of the witnesses at her wedding was her elder sister, Sarah.

John was a coal miner as were his father and grandfather before him. The area around Hindley had many coal mines and by 1900 there were twenty in operation. Susannah’s family worked in the other main industry of the area, cotton manufacturing, and were mostly spinners and weavers.

John and Susannah had six children, the youngest being my great grandfather:

• Nancy - baptised 29 Jul 1849 at All Saints, Hindley, married Thomas Wood
• Sarah - baptised 19 Sep 1852 at All Saints, Hindley, married Roger Wood   
• Hannah - baptised 14 Jan 1855 at All Saints, Hindley, married James Twist
• Mary Ann - born in 1859, married John Taylor
• Esther - born February 1867, died at aged 8 in Nov 1875 
• John - born 8 Dec 1869, married Margaret Alice Bate 

Sometime between the 1871 and 1881 Censuses, the family moved from Hindley to 22 Shuttle Street in Tyldesley where John continued to be a coal miner. By the time of the 1891 Census though, John and Susannah had become a shopkeepers and he is listed as a Grocer at 47 Elliott Street, Tyldesley. John Bell died there on 20 May 1895 at the age of 67. Susannah continued to operate the shop until her death on 13 Nov 1901.
 
At left: Susannah in the doorway of the shop

Marriage of Edmund Etherington & Dinah Farley

Edmund Etherington and Dinah Farley, my husband’s great-great grandparents, were married 30 Oct 1808 in Hambledon, Surrey.

Though the entry is for Edmund Herrington, the family went by Etherington so this is either a change in name or a spelling error. It also says that both parties were from “this parish” and though Dinah was born close by, Edmund was from Sussex.

On census records, Dinah is consistently shown as being born in Chiddingfold, Surrey about 1789. There is a Dinah Farley christened in Chiddingfold on 7 June 1789. She was the daughter of Edward and Mary Farley and was a middle child of their ten children. The others were: Mary (1778), John (1780), Edward (1783), James (1785), William (1787), Charlotte (1791),  Jane (1793), Frances (1796), and Hannah (1798).  I have been unable to find her parents marriage or any sign of most of her brothers and sisters. A Jane Farley married William Hawkins in Chiddingfold on 12 June 1815 but then the trail disappears. The youngest, Hannah, died at age 17 and was buried in Chiddingfold on 21 May 1816. 

According to census records, Edmund Etherington was born in Lurgashall, Sussex about 1788. A birth record for him in Lurgashall parish records has not been found by me or other researchers. His death records in 1875 indicate that he was 87 which supports his birth being about 1787 or 1788.  On the 1841 Census, a William and Elizabeth Etherington aged 75 and 70 are shown living nearby to Edmund and Dinah in Lurgashall. Could these be his parents?

There also is a record of an Edmund Herrington christened at Eartham, Sussex on 12 September 1788. That child was the son of John and Mary Herrington. I have not seen this record myself but  others have referred to it on Ancestry. If this is a record of his birth than this would suggest that Herrington on his marriage record was his correct name and that he later changed it.

Edmund and Dinah must have had a busy life as they had at least 16 children. The children were christened at different churches indicating that the family may have moved around in their early years of marriage before settling in Lurgashall. Edmund was a farmer. On the 1841 Census, they are shown living in Lurgashall at Windfallwood Common. They then moved to a property called Sibs Farm in Lurgashall as shown on the 1851,  1861 and 1871 Censuses.

Their first two children were christened in Farnhurst, Sussex: Francis on 19 Feb 1809 and
Charlotte on 14 Jan 1810. They took their next son back to Dinah’s home church and had William (b. 23 Nov 1811) christened on 8 Dec 1811 at St. Peter’s, Chiddingfold, Surrey. A son, Edmund, born about 1813 in Tillington, Sussex is shown living with them on the 1861 Census but I have not found corresponding christening record for him. Mary and James were both christened 1 Oct 1815 in Tillington, Sussex. All the rest of their children were christened in Lurgashall, Sussex: Charles on 19 Oct 1817, Diana on 23 Jul 1820, George on  16 Jun 1822, Henry on 30 Nov 1823, Edward on 23 Oct 1825, John on 21 Jan 1827, Harriet on 12 Apr 1829, Thomas on 17 Apr 1831, Jane on 11 Aug 1833, and Noah on 16 Oct 1836.

Dinah died on 13 August 1867 at the age of 78 and Edmund died on 5 January 1875 at age 87. They are both buried in Lurgashall.

Captain Frederick Todd

Sometimes the most interesting stories in your family tree turn out to be not about your direct ancestors but of their siblings. As is the case with George Todd’s brother, Frederick John Todd. I hadn't had much luck finding out much about him.  I knew he was christened in Stokesley, Yorkshire on 04 Nov 1846 and he was on the census with his family until about aged 15. Then nothing - no listing on a census, no marriage at the usual time at about age 25, no death in his twenties.

I had wondered what happened to him until I made contact with a distant cousin who shared some family information that had been passed down to him.  On a pedigree chart made up in 1889, it said that Frederick was aged 43. I knew then that he had lived - somewhere. In small letters added later it said “Drowned”.  A later chart prepared about 1905 said beside his name “Died 2 Jun 1903” and the same date of death was listed for his wife. Were they in an shipping accident? Then I came up with his Second Mate, First Mate and Master Mariner certificates on Ancestry.  That explains why he wasn’t on the census - he was at sea.  I don't know what ships he manned or where they took him but I did find his last voyage which ended in tragedy.

Master Mariner's certificate 1879

There was marriage in the summer of 1896 in South Shields, Durham of Frederick John Todd to Alice Margaret Bell. It turns out she was the younger sister of the wife of Herbert Todd, Frederick’s brother. When they married, he was aged 50 and she was aged 39.

National Probate Calendar: TODD, Frederick John of 2 Kensington terrace South Shields, died 2 June 1903 in Valparaiso Bay, South America. Probate LONDON 15 June 1904 to Herbert Todd merchant and Errington Bell shipbuilder's cashier Effects £125

THE SHIELDS DAILY GAZETTE, Thursday, Jun 4, 1903 - The Arequipa Lost. Forty five Rescued. Captain and Wife Drowned and from the THE SHIELDS DAILY GAZETTE, Wednesday, Jun 10, 1903 - DEATHS On the 2nd of June, in the SS Arequipa, which foundered in Valparaiso Bay, Captain Frederick John Todd and his wife Alice Margaret. Source: britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk

From Dictionary of Disasters at Sea during the Age of Steam: The SS Arequipa was a British passenger steam ship built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Co. in 1889 and was owned by the Pacific Steam Navigation Co. of Liverpool.

The following summary of the sinking can be found at www.wrecksite.eu: The P. S. N. Co´s ship Arequipa was lying moored to buoys off Valparaiso loading cargo on June 2nd, 1903. During the day the weather worsened to such a degree as to stop all work and the hands were turned-to in order that the ship might be prepared to meet the gale. The violence of the seas increased with every hour and at one o´clock on the morning of the 3rd the captain gave orders to raise steam and put to sea, but the ship was now almost helpless, being swept by tremendous waves at frequent intervals. The head moorings parted and the ship was driven on to her stern buoy. The buoy holed her plates and the cable fouled the propeller. It was impossible to keep the water under control and only 15 minutes after striking the buoy the Arequipa sank. It was at first feared that there had been a very heavy loss of life but, contrary to early reports, the owners stated that there were no passengers on board at the time. Nevertheless, the captain and ten of the crew were lost, the third officer and 31 others being saved by the S.S. Laurel Branch while 13 persons were picked up by an unnamed sailing vessel. 

The Family So Far - Allen

Mary Maitland Allen

This photo is of my great-grandmother, Mary Maitland Allen. The story that was passed down to me by my grandmother was that she was born in Glasgow, Scotland and emigrated to Canada as a young woman. She apparently met her future husband, Samuel Mulligan, on the voyage over and after first settling in Montreal later moved to Ottawa. There was mention that her brother Peter also emigrated to Canada. (I have used the spelling of her surname as ‘Allen’ consistently throughout this as it was stressed to me that that was how she spelled her name but the records in Scotland say ‘Allan’). 

Civil registration did not begin in Scotland until 1855.  I have found parish records for the births of her brothers and sisters but not one for Mary Maitland Allen. She was shown as 4 yrs old on the 1851 Census and aged 13 on the 1861 Census which suggests her birth was between 1846 and 1848. Like her brothers and sisters, she was most likely born in Glasgow. The 1901 & 1911 Canada Census asked for both date of birth and year of immigration. Her birthdate is listed as Feb 1849 on one and 15 Dec 1850 on the other. Both times she gave her date of immigration as 1866. I have yet to find her on a Passenger List to Canada then, on a Census in Quebec, or even of her marriage to Samuel Mulligan. But that is, as they say another story, and for now I will address her family in Scotland.

The next generation was apparently not well informed about her ancestors, as shown when they provided details when she died in Ottawa on 18 March 1926. Her Ontario death registration gave her birthdate as 1850 and named her parents incorrectly as Allan and Agnes Maitland. This information was provided by her eldest son. Beechwood Cemetery records list her mother’s name as Agnes Allen and leaves her father’s name blank. Her brother Peter did emigrate to Canada and his Ontario death registration in 1925 lists his parents as Duncan Allen and Margaret Maitland as provided by his eldest son. These conflicting leads did give me some clues for my later searches in Scottish records.

Her parents

Her parents, Duncan Allen and Agnes Maitland, were married in Barony, Glasgow on 21 Aug 1836 (see blog entry March 6, 2013). They had 6 children:

1.  Janet (aka Jessie) Allen - born 11 Aug 1837
2. Agnes Turnbull Allen - born 30 Apr 1839
3. Peter Allen - born 15 Jan 1841
4. Isabella Allen - born 6 February 1843, died 1843 - 1851
5. Ann Allen - born 26 Nov 1844, died 1844 - 1851
6. Mary Maitland Allen - born about 1847

Duncan Allen was born in Gorbals, Glasgow on 15 November 1815 and was the son of Peter Allen and Janet Millar. As well as Duncan, Peter and Janet had four other children: Margaret b.1805 in Barony district of Glasgow; Peter b.1810, John b. 1813, and Isobel b. 1818 all born in Gorbals, Glasgow. Still searching for their marriage.

Wedding - George Todd & Louisa Elizabeth Lake

George Todd and Louisa Elizabeth Lake, my great-great grandparents, were married 29 March 1869 at St. Thomas’, Salisbury, Wiltshire. That’s 144 years ago today! On their marriage certificate, George is listed as a Banker’s Clerk from Ryde, Isle of Wight. George’s father is shown as Thomas Todd, clerk in orders and Louisa’s as Charles Lane Lake, cork cutter. The witnesses were her brother John Phelps Lake and his future wife, Sarah Annie Cole.

The following item was in the Salisbury and Winchester Journal on Saturday 03 April 1869 and it gives the marriage date as 28th of March which was a Sunday:

"MARRIAGES. On the 28th ult., at St. Thomas' Church, by the Rev. Prebendary Renaud, George Todd, Esq., second son the late Rev. Thomas Todd, rector of Kildale, Yorkshire, to Louisa Elizabeth, only surviving daughter of the late Mr. Charles Lane Lake, Salisbury.”

George had been born in Stokesley, Yorkshire on 21 October 1840. He was the fifth of nine children born to Thomas Todd and Elizabeth Jackson. His father had become the Rector of St. Cuthbert’s church in Kildale, Yorkshire in 1842; a position he held until his death in 1860.

Louisa Elizabeth was the youngest of Charles Lane Lake and Mary Mitchell’s ten children. She had been born on 29 June 1847 and christened in the church that she was later married in.  Her family had been corkcutters in Salisbury for several generations.

George Todd had a career in banking which seems to have taken him around the country. He appears on the 1861 England Census at age 21 living in Salford, Lancashire. He must have later come to Salisbury where he met Louisa, before moving to Ryde.  On the 1871 Census, two years after their marriage, the couple are living in Ryde with their first child and George is listed as a Banker’s Cashier.  The 1881 Census shows them living in Bideford, Devon where George was the Manager of the National Provincial Bank of England. They had four children who lived past infancy: Edith Mary Elizabeth, Sydney George, Herbert Lake, and Muriel Louise.