Helen Daisy Wetherall (1885-?) – married in South Africa

Helen Daisy Wetherall (1885-?) and Frederick Davis.My great-grand aunt and uncle. Helen, or Daisy as she was usually known, was born on 8 April 1885 in Great Yarmouth and baptised in the town’s St Nicholas parish church on 23 June. Her parents were shipwright Benjamin Wetherall and Sarah Green. She grew up surrounded by her siblings […]

Robert Wetherall (1829-1905) – Marylebone bricklayer

Robert Weatherall

Robert Wetherall (1829-1905) and Charlotte Watering (1829-1917).My 3rd great-grand uncle and aunt. Like several of his siblings, Robert’s actual birth and baptism dates are a bit of a mystery and it may be that he wasn’t baptised at all. Certainly, I’ve found no records recording it. Earlier census returns suggest he was born in Great […]

Edward Charles Stolliday (1873-1966) – baker and chef

Edward Charles Stolliday (1873-1966) and Margaret Elizabeth Bowles (1876-1939). My great grand-uncle and aunt.  Born on 2 March 1873 to parents Edward Stoliday and Harriet Goulty, young Edward Charles Stolliday was baptised at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on 28 February 1875. He grew up in the town’s crowded row houses, although his fisherman […]

William Brooks Wetherill (1820-1903) – transported to Australia

Hobart in the 1840s

William Brooks Wetherill (1820-1903). My 5th great-uncle. William Brooks Wetherill was born on 7 March 1820 to Thomas Wetherill and Rebecca Brooks and was baptised on the 12th at St John Timberhill in Norwich, Norfolk. He was found guilty of burglary and sentenced to 10 years’ transportation to Australia. He grew up in Norwich with […]

James Wetherall (?1833-?1918) – service in the Royal Navy

HMS Gorgon

James Wetherall (1833-1918) and Rhoda Brown (1839-1904). My 3rd great-grand uncle and aunt. James Wetherall was one of the children of my 4th great-grandmother Rebecca Frances Wetherall, and like his siblings he was born illegitimately in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. I’ve yet to find a baptism record for him but surviving census returns estimate his year of […]

Gertrude Wetherall (1877-1964) – war service and tragedy

Gertrude Wetherall (1878-1964) and George Albert Harvey (1882-1937). My 2nd great-aunt and uncle. Gertrude Wetherall was born on 5 December 1878 and baptised on 23 December that year at St Nicholas’s Church in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. After growing up in Admiralty Road, Great Yarmouth, Gertrude went to stay with her sister Emmeline and her family […]

Alfred Dolamore (1835-1910) – death in the canal

Alfred Dolamore (1835-1910) and Elizabeth Dolamore (1836-1904). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Alfred Dolamore was baptised on 15 February 1835 in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire, to parents David Dolamore and Mary Ann Walker. He was brought up in and around nearby Leavesden. He was working as an agricultural labourer at the time of the 1851 […]

John Stoliday (1817-1896), his wife Catherine and the courts

John Stoliday (1817-1896) and Catherine Smith (1822-1910). My 3rd great-grand uncle and aunt. John Stoliday was born on 25 April 1817 and baptised on 8 June that year at All Saints’ Church in Rackheath, Norfolk, to parents James Stoliday and Mary Gay. John grew up with his parents and siblings in and around Rackheath and […]

Alice Amelia Stolliday (1877-1929) and a tale of tragedy

Alice Amelia Stolliday (1877-1929) and Robert William Feek (1875-1934). My great-grand aunt and uncle. Alice died relatively young, leaving her husband so distraught that he took his own life. She was born on 5 August 1877 in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and baptised on 12 May 1878 at St Nicholas’s Church to parents Edward Stoliday and […]

Susan Budgen (1795-1870), a Sussex publican

The Half Moon in Warninglid in the early 20th century

Susan Budgen (1795-1870) and George Tulley (1787-1837). My 4th great-grand aunt and uncle. Susan Budgen was baptised on 19 April 1795 in St Nicholas’s Church in Worth to parents William Budgen and Betty Streeter and grew up in the village. She married George Tulley on 16 October 1820 in Nuthurst, Sussex, an 11 or so mile journey from […]

Mary Ann Budgen (1863-1953) and her family’s brush with poverty

Mary Ann Budgen (1863-1953) and Frederick John Lunnon (18664-1932). My great-grand aunt and uncle. Born in 27 August 1863 in Worth, Sussex, Mary Ann Budgen was baptised on 4 October that year at St Nicholas’ Church. Her parents were Thomas Budgen and Maria Dolamore. At the time of the 1881 census she was living at […]

Thomas Finch (1795–1852) and the Reigate workhouse

Thomas Finch (1795-1852) and Sarah Chisley (1803-1848). My 3rd great grand-uncle and aunt. Baptised at St Mary’s Church in Reigate, Surrey, on 4 April 1795, Thomas was the oldest son of Thomas Finch and his wife Ann Burley. Young Thomas married Sarah Chisley by license in Reigate on 27 July 1820. She was from the […]

Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921)

Dover war memorial

Phoebe Ann Ward (1836-1921). My 2nd great-grandmother. Phoebe Ann Ward was born in Tottenham, Middlesex, on 28 November 1836 and was baptised there on 26 February 1837 at All Hallows Church. Her parents were gardener William Ward and Mary Ann Downer. As a teenager, Phoebe worked as a domestic servant. The 1851 census shows her living at […]

Tanjore Abraham Ward (1832-1920) – businessman and publican

The Cook's Ferry Inn in about 1900

Tanjore Abraham Ward (1832-1920) and Amelia Lambourn (1834-1895). My 2nd great-grand uncle and aunt. Tanjore was born on 12 August 1832 and baptised at All Hallows in Tottenham, Middlesex, on 27 July 1834. Of all William Ward and Mary Ann Downer‘s children, Tanjore is the most curious. His name comes from a city, also known […]