52 Ancestors 2023 – Week 1 – I’d Like to Meet…

This is probably the 3rd year I have started Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks prompts but I am hoping to be more successful this year, fingers crossed!

There is quite a few people in my tree I would like to meet so I have decided to turn this into more of a “if I could hold a dinner party” post and choose people from my family tree to invite.

First on the list would be my great grandmother Lois Haskard. She died when I was 11 so I did have the chance to meet her when I was young but I would love to meet her again as an adult and ask her all the questions about her life that I never got to ask her.

The second person around the table would be my paternal grandmother, Galina, who I sadly never got to meet. She died when my dad was a teenager of cervical cancer and blood clots. I would love to just say hello and ask her about her childhood. She was taken as a teenager from her little village just outside of Kharkiv, Ukraine. The family were fleeing their home when the German military was invading in the 2nd World War. She ran back to the house to quickly get her little sister’s forgotten coat, that was the last time she saw her family.

The third person I would like to invite would be my 3x great grandmother, Harriett. She gave birth to my 2x great grandmother, Kitty, at the age of 16 and sadly died of chorea 8 months later. I would like to know her story, how she came to get pregnant at such a young age of 15/16? Who was the father of Kitty? I always hope Kitty was born out of a loving relationship but because Harriett died of Chorea was she a vulnerable young person who was taken advantage of?

And finally, the fourth person would be Lois’ mother, Emma. Emma gave birth to 12 children with 3 dying in childhood. From the photos I have of her, she looked like a strong but kind woman. I still to this day don’t know much about her father. He was named on her birth certificate, baptism and marriage certificate, he lived with her and her mother, always stating they were married, however I have no marriage record and he always used her mother’s name not his own. Emma’s maiden name is her mother’s name too. I would like to ask her more about her life and her parents even though apparently she didn’t like to say much about them when she was alive unfortunately.

I hope I can carry on with this little project this year, I am currently studying the IHGS Correspondence Course (just starting Lecture 3) so I am hoping 2023 will be a very fulfilling year in my family history hunt!

Many thanks for reading and I would love to know who you would like to meet!

Laura

Sampson Reeves & Mary Briggs

Sampson Reeves was born on the 14th November 1867 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. His parents were Abraham Reeves & Eliza Smith. Sampson married Martha Briggs in 1890 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. Martha was born on the 1st of July 1868 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Her parents were John Briggs & Hannah Fox.

They had 6 children:

• Eliza Hannah – Born on the 21st October 1891 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. She never married and in the 1939 Register she is found in the Mansfield Union Workhouse with her occupation listed as Charwoman (a woman employed as a cleaner in a house or office). She died on the 10th of October 1943 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire aged 51 and was buried in Huthwaite Cemetary on the 13th of October 1943. Her residence on this record is listed as 40 Sherwood Street which is also where Sampson and Martha are living on the 1939 Register.
• Ernest – Born on the 10th February 1895 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. He was baptised on the 17th of February 1898 in Beighton, Derbyshire where the family lived for a short while. In 1930 he married Mabel Bacon in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire and in the 1939 Register, they are living in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire where Ernest is working as a Colliery Hewer. They had 3 children. Ernest passed away in 1981 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire aged 86.
• Gertrude – Born on the 27th December 1897 in Beighton, Derbyshire. She was baptised on the 17th of February 1898 also in Beighton, Derbyshire (The same as Ernest). She married Frederick Farnsworth in 1920 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. They had one child before Frederick passed away in 1921. Gertrude remarried to Gilbert Stallard in 1931 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. They had 2 children. In the 1939 register, Gilbert and Gertrude were living in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Gertrude passed away in 1971 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire aged 74.
• Charles Enoch – Born on the 18th July 1900 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. He married Ethel Greaves on the 14th August 1920 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. They had 4 children together and in the 1939 Register they are living in Sutton in Ashfield where Charles is working as Colliery Coal Hewer Underground and is also part of the A.R.P Medical Services. He left and took his older son to middlesex, Here he married Clara Burgin in 1952 in Willesden, Middlesex. They had 4 children together. Charles died on 21st September 1974 in Ealing, Middlesex aged 74.
• John Thomas – Born on the 26th February 1903 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. He married Martha Wilkinson in 1925 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. They had one child. In the 1939 Register John and Martha were living in Sutton in Ashfield and John is working as a Brickyard Labourer. John passed away in 1978 in Sutton in Ashfield aged 75.
• Alice May – Born on the 1st June 1909 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. She married Joseph Instone in 1929 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. They had one child who sadly passed away after a few months of birth. In the 1939 Register, Alice and Joseph are living in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Joseph’s occupation is listed as Colliery Miner – underground unemployed, which may explain why they moved to Macclesfield, Cheshire where Alice passed away in 1944.

In the 1891 Census, Sampson and Martha are living in Sutton in Ashfield, Sampson is working as a Coal Miner.

In 1893, Sampson appears in his first newspaper article about his latest crime he has committed, and it was not the last either. I will post another post about this soon and link to it.

In the 1901 Census, Sampson is listed at Samuel, they are both still living in Sutton in Ashfield. Sampson is working as a Coal Hewer. Eliza A is 9, Ernest is 7, Gertrude is 4 and Charles E is 7 months.

In the 1911 Census, Sampson and Martha are living in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire. All 6 children are living with them. According to the census they have been married 20 years, had 6 children all of which are still living. Sampson’s occupation is Miner along with Ernest his oldest son.

In the 1939 Register, Sampson and Martha are living in Sutton in Ashfield, just the two of them. Sampson’s occupation is Colliery Hewer – Retired and Martha’s occupation is listed as Unpaid Domestic Duties.

Martha died on the 15th May 1941 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire and was buried at Huthwaite Cemetery on the 17th May.

Sampson died on the 1st December 1945 in Huthwaite, Nottinghamshire and was buried at Huthwaite Cemetery on the 4th December.

If you have anymore information on the family or even are just related to any of them I’d love to hear from you!

L

Joseph Green & Elizabeth Brown – Colourful

A big branch of our family tree is the Green branch. With a lot of help from other people, this branch stretches back to the 1200s. A bit closer to home, in 1794 my 5x Great Grandfather Joseph Green was born in 1794 in Denby, Derbyshire. On the 7th of April 1823 (exactly 163 years before I was born to the date) he married Elizabeth Brown (see where the colour title comes in?!) again in Denby, he was 29 and she was 22. Elizabeth was born in 1801 in Holbrook, Derbyshire.

They had 8 children:

• William – Born later on in 1823 in Denby. (Elizabeth would’ve been pregnant with William on her wedding day)
• Mary – Born in 1825 in Denby and sadly died at 21 years of age in 1846, she was buried on the 3rd of December 1846 in Denby Church Yard.
• Emma – Born on the 30th of November 1826 in Denby. She married Joseph Orme on the 9th of September 1845 and they emigrated to America in 1863. They settled in Honeyville, Box Hill, Utah.
• Lavinia – Born in 1828 in Denby and later moved to Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire
• Thomas – Born in 1831 in Holbrook, Derbyshire.
• Joseph – Born in 1833 in Holbrook.
• Dorothy  – Born in 1836 in Denby
• Hannah – Born in 1839 in Holbrook.

In the 1841 census they were all living in Denby. Joseph was a coalminer.

By the 1851 census, a lot of the children have “flew the nest”. Joseph sr is still a Coal Miner. Thomas, Joseph jr and Hannah are still living at home, Thomas and Joseph are Coal Miners also. Hannah is at school. I did wonder where Dorothy was as she would’ve been only 16 and I had already found that she was married the next year in 1852. She was actually visiting in Chesterfield, next door/adjacent to her sister Emma and her husband Joseph Orme. The head of the house she is staying at is Samuel Orme who is 2 years younger than Joseph so may be a brother or cousin. Emma and Joseph already had 2 Lodgers living with them as well as their 3 children so my guess would be Dorothy was visiting her sister. Chesterfield is a town and Denby a little village so I can imagine a visit to the big town to a little village girl would’ve been an exciting time.

In the 1861 census, its just the two of them Joseph and Elizabeth, Joseph is still a Coal Miner. Hannah is living just next door though with her new husband, Francis Thorpe and their 8 month old son, Herbert.

In the Derbyshire Advertiser and Journal 3 March 1865, it reports that Elizabeth sadly passes away

“Green – On the 13th nit., at Denby Common, Elizabeth, wife of Joseph Green, aged 64”

Elizabeth was buried on the 17th of February 1865 in the Denby Church Yard.

In the 1871 census, Joseph is still a Coal Miner living in Denby. He has a lot of visitors! Hannah and her husband Francis and their children, Herbert 10, Mary 8, Thomas 6, Elizabeth 4, Emma 2 and James John 9 months. Next door is William and his wife Mary and their children Thomas 23, John 19, William 13, Naomie 10, Elizabeth 8 and Mary Ann 6. William is also a Coal Miner. Its nice to see Joseph is not on his own and still surrounded by his family.

Joseph died on the 17 November 1876 aged 82 and was buried on the 21 November 1876 in Denby.

L

Robert Greaves & Kitty Marriott

Robert Howiss Greaves was born in March 1870 in Skegby, Nottinghamshire. His parents were Robert Greaves & Sarah Ann Parsons. Robert was married to Kitty Marriott on the 12th of October 1889 at the Parish Church in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Kitty was born on the 17th of December 1868 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Her mother was Harriott Marriott.

They had 15 children:

• Harriett Elizabeth – Born 1889 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Wilfred – Born 1891 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• William Henry – Born 1893 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Died in 1893 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Burial 8th Octobr 1893 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts.
• Mary Ellen – Born 1894 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Arthur – Born in 1895 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Thomas – Born in 1896 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Died in 1896 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Agnes – Born in 1897 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Sarah – Born in 1899 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Ethel May – Born in 1900 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Lily – Born in 1902 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Eric – Born in 1903 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Twin of Hilda. Died in 1903 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Hilda – Born in 1903 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Twin of Eric. Died in 1903 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Annie – Born in 1904 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Harold – Born in 1905 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts
• Kate

On their Marriage Certificate, Robert is 19 and a Miner. He is living on Bown Street, Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. His father is Robert Greaves who is a Labourer. Kitty is stated as Kate and she is 20 with no occupation and is living on Union Street, Sutton in Ashfield. Her father is unknown so there are no details for him.

In the 1891 census they were living at 221 Bown Street, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Robert is 21 and a Coal Miner. His birth place is Skegby, Nottinghamshire. Kitty is Kate again and is 22 and working as a Seamstress. Her birth place is Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. They have one daughter Harriett who is 1 and her birth place is Sutton in Ashfield, Notts.

In the 1901 census they were living at 12 Crown Street, Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Robert is 31 and a Colliery Contractor Underground. His birth place is Skegby, Notts. Kittie is 32 and is a Hoisery Seamer (At Home) and her birth place is Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Harriett is 11, they have had more children; Wilfred who is 10, Mary Ellen who is 7, Arthur is 6, Agnes is 4 and Ethel May is 11 months. All of their place of birth is stated as Sutton in Ashfield.

In 1903, Kitty was charged with child neglect. I have written a post about this called Neglecting The Family and the saddest part is that it was her husband Robert who informed the police about her. Kitty died on the 24th July 1909 and was buried on the 27th July 1909 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. The cause of her death was Epilepsy which is probably why, her house work and childcare deteriorated.

Robert remarried in 1910 in Sutton in Ashfield, Notts to Ann Clarke.

In the 1911 census they were living at 32 Huthwaite Road, Sutton in Ashfield. Notts.  Robert Howis was 41 and a Coal Miner Hewer. His birth place was Skegby, Nottinghamshire. Ann is 43 and her birth place is Sutton in Ashfield, Notts. Robert and Kitty’s children and Ann’s children are on here, but all of them of step children. Wilfred is 19 and a Coal Miner Hewer, Mary Ellen is 17, Arthur is 16 and a Coal Miner Hewer, Agnes is 14 and a Factory Seamer, Ethel is 9 and at school and Annie is 7 and also at school. Ann’s children; Hedley, 16, May, 14 and Joseph, 7.

Robert died in 1937 in Sutton in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Neglecting The Family

On the British Newspaper Archive Website, I had been looking for more information on a court record I had found recently and once I had finished researching this I went on to typing different ancestor names into the search box. One was Kitty Greaves, my great great grandmother. I had initially typed her name in with hope that something would come up about her mother, Harriott Marriott. Harriott was born in 1853 and gave birth to Kitty on the 17th December 1868 aged 16. Kitty’s birth certificate shows no father and I was hoping a newspaper would maybe come up with a reason why a 16 year old girl would be having a baby and not declaring the father. Harriott sadly died the year after on the 30th of August 1869. The cause of the death certificate is Choreu (Think this is Chorea)
However two articles came up about Kitty and none including Harriott but rather about her and her own children.
Derby Daily Telegraph 14th August 1903

Sheffield Evening Post 14th August 1903

I know they’re not very clear reading, especially the first one from the Derby Daily Telegraph, but the basics of it are that Kitty had very badly neglected her children “in such a manner as to cause the unnecessary suffering and injury”. Its the fact as well that her husband, my great great grandfather Robert Greaves had been reported her to the police too. The conditions of houses at that time wouldn’t have been brilliant anyway so the house must have been in a pretty bad state, far worse than I could ever imagine. “An officer from the N.S.P.C.C found the children covered with vermin”.
On the 1901 census she was down as working as a Hoisery Seamer at home so she must have been spending all her time working and neglecting her poor children and house. My Great Grandmother, Ethel Greaves was born in 1900 so she would have been only 3 years old at the time when Kitty went to the “Gaol” for 6 weeks hard labour. Kitty died just under 6 years after the charge on the 24th of July 1909 from epilepsy.
It also says that Kitty had stated she was the mother of 12 children. I have only records of 6 so I will have to do a bit more research and see if she had any children that were either living elsewhere or had sadly died very young.

(Newspaper articles found at http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

James Haskard & Emma Gregory

James Charles Haskard was born on the 14th of February 1878  in Radford, Nottinghamshire. His parents were John Haskard & Betsy Deaball. James was married to Emma Gregory on the 12th of February 1898 at the Register Office, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. Emma was born in 1st April 1878 in Radford, Nottinghamshire. Her parents were William Fletcher and Martha Gregory.

They had 11 children:

• ?
• Joseph – Born 1901 in Nottingham, Notts.
• Betsy – Born 1904 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts. 
• Elizabeth – Born 1907 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• Thomas  – Born 1909 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• James Charles – Born 1912 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• Lois – Born 1914 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• Fanny Burton – Born 1916 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• John Burton – Born 1918 in Nuncargate, Notts. 
• Annice – Born 1921 in Nuncargate, Notts.
• Ronald – Born 1923 in Nuncargate, Notts.

On their Marriage Certificate, James Charles Haskard is 19 and is a Printer (Journeyman). He is living at 52 Denman Street, Nottingham. His father is John Burton Haskard who is a Cycle Fitter. Emma is 19 and lives at 21 Denman Street, Nottingham. Her father is James Gregory (deceased) and was a Gardener (Domestic Service).

In the 1901 census they were living at 4 Chapel Row, Hazel Street, Bullwell, Nottinghamshire. James C is 23 and is a Litho Printer. His birth place in Nottingham, Notts. Emma is also 23 and has no occupation. Her birth place is Nottingham, Notts. Emma must have been pregnant with Joseph when this census was taken, he was born later that year.

In the 1911 census they were living at 15 Sherwood Place, Nuncargate, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. James C is 33 and a Colliery Labourer Above Ground. His birthplace is Radford, Notts. Emma is 33 and has no occupation. Betsy is 6 and her birthplace is Kirkby Woodhouse, Notts. Elizabeth is 4 and Thomas is 1, their birthplace is Nuncargate, Notts. Nuncargate was very much a miners village, with Annesley Colliery nearby, so this reason is probably why the family moved here from Nottingham. The census also states that James and Emma have been married 13 years, they have had 5 children, 4 still alive. As the 1911 census only includes 3 children, I did a bit of digging and Joseph their eldest son is living with James’ mother Betsy in Nottingham. I have yet to find a 5th child who had passed away.

On Lois Haskard’s Birth Certificate, it states she was born the 3rd of December 1914. Her father was James Charles Haskard and her mother was Emma Haskard formerly Gregory. James’ occupation was a Colliery Banksman. It was signed by Emma and was registered on the 15th of January 1915.

James died on the 19th of February 1951 in Nuncargate, Notts.

Emma died on the 7th October 1960 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Notts.

James and Emma outside of 15 Sherwood Place, Nuncargate, Notts.

My Family Tree

Welcome to my Family Tree.

This site is a bit of a work in progress and I have a lot of information still to put up. If you have any questions or have any of matches of surnames in your family tree please get in touch.

Thomas Green & Elizabeth Lowe

Thomas Green  was born in 1877 in Annesley, Nottinghamshire. His parents were Thomas Green & Emily Varley. Thomas was married to Elizabeth Lowe in 1899 in Basford, Nottinghamshire. Elizabeth was born on the 2nd February 1881 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. Her parents were Edward Lowe & Priscilla Gell.

They had 5 children:

• Thomas Edward – Born 1900 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. 
• Ethel – Born 1902 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
• Walter – Born 1904 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
• Ernest – Born 1908 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.
• Ivy – Born 1910 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

In the 1901 census they are living at 12 Station Street, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire with Elizabeth’s parents. Thomas is 24 and is a Coal Miner (Loader). He is down as son in law and his place of birth is Todds Row, Nottinghamshire (A mining community in Annesley, no longer there today). Elizabeth is 20 and has no occupation. She is also down as daughter. Thomas (Edward) is 11 months and his place of birth states East Kirkby, Nottinghamshire.

In the 1911 census they are living at 15 Lime Street, Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire. Thomas is 34 and is a Collier Hewer. His birth place is Bleak Hall, Nottinghamshire (same as Todds Row above), Elizabeth is 30 and has no occupation. Thomas Edward is 11, Ethel is 9, Walter is 8, Ernest is 3 and Ivy is 9 months. Kirkby, Notts is all of the children’s place of birth.

On Ernest’s birth certificate, it states he was born on the 14th of September 1908 at 14 Station Street, Kirkby, Nottinghamshire. His father is Thomas Green and his mother is Elizabeth Green formerly Lowe. Thomas’ occupation is Coal Miner. It was signed by E Green, mother, 14 Station Street, Kirkby on the 19th of September 1908.

Thomas died in September 1941 in Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Emma died in 1958 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire