Ag. Lab. or Pawnbrokers Apprentice

 

Peter HERRON has several questions to answer concerning his families of interest. The father was Albert Henry NICHOLLS who died in 1961 aged 77 was therefore born around the year 1884 and his wife was a BUTTERY who is believed to have originated from the Bourne area. The first of the children was born in 1912. With this information we can say that it is likely that Albert would have married not earlier than 1901 and before 1912. Albert's wife was younger than him by a few years so the marriage dates can be narrowed down to between 1904 and 1912. According to the 1901 census there are 30 individuals called Albert born between 1882 and 1886. Discarding those with an initial that is not 'H' and all those from 'down south' we end up with two people. Albert born 1882 in Leven who was a waggoner and Albert from York born 1886 who was a pawnbrokers apprentice. The most likely candidate here is Albert the waggoner as he ended life working on the land. Leven is not far from Beverley and Albert is living, according to the 1901 census at Durington. Could this be a mis-spelling for Dunnington which is less than 5 miles from Leven? Using FreeBMD to check out the births there is just the one Albert Henry registered in 1882 and this was in the Rotherham district. Just to make things a little more interesting there is a parish near Rotherham called Dinnington.

I think that the only thing to do is to try and find the marriage certificate which would answer so many of the questions and give that all important link back to the census materials. FreeBMD gives two possibles for the marriage one in Rotherham and one in York.

Another name that has come to light during the week is that of Howsley. Although this one does not turn up in the dictionary it does split nicely in two. The –LEY element is from the Old English leah, a wood or clearing while the first part HOW- can easily be the personal name of the owner which is a form of Hugh. Just as simple could the Old English hoh, a hill, spur of land etc.

One of the things that the LDS is famous for amongst the genealogical fraternity is the amount of data that is held by them. Many of the larger towns have a Family History Centre at the Mormon Church and here you can view virtually everything that they hold. But what do they hold? With a little spare time you could go to London and look through the catalogue at the Hyde Park Family History Centre. This is the largest centre outside North America. Luckily for us there is an on-line link to it at www.hydeparkfhc.org/home.php and you will find what can be ordered for viewing. There is also a list of all the talks on genealogy that will be given and in a number of instances the talks are available as an article to download and read at your leisure.

Bits and Bobs

Grimsby Guardian – 26^th August 1858 – William Appleby was charged by Samuel Parker Story with depasturing cattle in West Marsh Lane on the 24^th inst. Contrary to the Bye Laws of the Borough. It appeared that Appleby, who is an old offender, was watching his cows in the lane and Story had got secreted in a cart that was driving past and sprang out for the purpose of taking them to the pound, but the beasts were forced over a drain into a field. Fined 5s and costs

Lincoln Linx

Working with the Wolds Learning Network in Horncastle gives me the opportunity to go to their offices which is situated in Joseph BANKS House. The house has been totally rebuilt it appears from the outside but being staff I am able to root about in the top floor where the original parts of the house are still in view. This is a fascinating house. The name of the house tells of its claim to fame. Sir Joseph BANKS, 1st Baronet, (1743-1820) was an English naturalist, botanist and science patron. He took part in Captain James COOK'S first great voyage and around 80 species bear BANKS' name. He is credited with the introduction to the West of eucalyptus, acacia, mimosa, and the genus named after him, Banksia. BANKS' father died in 1761, and when Joseph turned 21 he inherited the estate of Revesby Abbey, becoming the local Squire and Magistrate, and sharing his time between Lincolnshire and London. Pop in under any pretext to have a look at the house. Sympathetically renovated, modern and ancient building gives it a surprisingly welcoming feel to it. The abbey had had few owners in its lifetime. In 1142, William De ROMARA, Earl of Lincoln and lord of the manor at Revesby, founded an Abbey there for the Cistertian monks. In 1538 it was granted to Charles BRANDON, Duke of Suffolk, and it thence passed from his family to the HOWARDs, Dukes of Berkshire, and from them to the BANKS family.

This week the names I shall look at come from my visit to Horncastle and the Linx Housing Trust. The first name I shall look at is ALLENDER. There are very few examples of this in Lincolnshire. In general the name appears in the middle of the country with the highest concentration in 1881 being in Wolverhampton. By 1998 the centre has shifted to Sheffield and it is here that Jack ALLENDERs mother was born around 115 years ago with the maiden name HARRINGTON. Without research going back as far as the changes in spelling it is difficult to say what the origin of ALLENDER is. However a very similar name is that of ALLENDE and the Old Spanish allende meaning someone who lived some distance from the main habitation.

The name BRUCKSHAW is as you will have noticed a variation on BROOKSHAW. Again this is a name that is not originally from Lincolnshire. Mainly from the Crewe in 1881 we find the Lincolnshire variation BIRKENSHAW throughout the county. This comes from BRUKENSHAW and the two words have the Old English origin of bruc being a brook and scaga that became shaw and was a copse and so we get the dweller living by the copse near a brook. One interesting thing about the name is that when I put the surname into the census search engine it returned not one single Ag. Lab. I am sure that this was purely due to the places that the families lived. A few farmers were listed but in the main the occupations were town based and the type of thing that we now associate with a factory. Put in any Lincolnshire name and 90% would be returned as labouring on a farm.

 

Bits and Bobs

1341 Royal Inquest in Lincolnshire – Gilbert de LEDRED, sheriff of Lincolnshire, in 14 Edward III had a royal commission to collect wool and took 20s from Thomas de LEKYNGFELD of Barton upon Humber not to take his wool. Likewise on the same day similarly took 20s from Thomas del BANK. – Lincoln Record Society Vol 78.

There is very little today that is new. Shouts about sleaze are likely to go back to Noah building the ark and whether the timber bought was kosher.