Robert Stuart King’s England Call-up – Old England Players

Posted on 8 January 2011 by

FootballIreland 0 – 13 England. That was the score on 18th February 1882 when the England football team played Ireland for the first time and this victory remains England’s largest ever win. The 1881-1882 season was the 11th season of competitive football for England but it was the Irish team’s international debut and the friendly game took place at Knock Ground, Bloomfield, Belfast.

The game was also a first (and last) international appearance for Robert Stuart King, later to become Rev. Canon Robert Stuart King, who was studying at Oxford University at the time. Robert played in the half-back position and was one of seven who became the 90th players to appear for England. He played for the full 90 minutes of the game and was aged 19 years and 320 days.

Robert Stuart King was related to me by marriage, being the husband of the daughter of my 2 x great-grandfather on my ‘Dando’ side. You can see Robert’s family page at this link.

If anyone has further information or pictures about the match, or about Robert himself, please contact me.

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Gran’s Graveside Visit – A Life-long Ambition Fulfilled

Posted on 6 January 2011 by

It was a bright October day in 1999 when I travelled to France, with 5 family members, including my late gran who was 83 at the time. The journey was special because we were visiting my great-grandfather’s grave where he’d been buried in 1916.

Accidentally killed during WWI, more than eighty years had passed before Henry James Weaver (1882-1916) finally had a relative visit his graveside. It had been my gran’s life-long ambition to see where her father was buried, a father she’d never known and who had died 10 days before she was born.

Henry is buried in grave I.A.10. at Merville Communal Cemetery Extension and pictures from the visit can be seen in my website gallery. You can also read more about our visit here.

The note attached to the poppy wreath which my gran laid at the graveside

The note attached to the poppy wreath which my gran laid at her father’s graveside

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Henry Ridley From Birmingham. How Do I Tell I Have The Correct Man?

Posted on 29 December 2010 by

Investigating my Ridley family history.

My great-grandmother, Alice Ridley’s, birth certificate states that her father was Henry Ridley, a blacksmith, and her mother, Ann Ridley formerly Cotterill. Henry was ‘Harry’ on Alice’s marriage certificate.

I see her family in Birmingham on the 1871 census before Alice was born. Living there are Alice’s three elder siblings…

Blacksmith (AI Generated)

  • Henry’s age is difficult to read but it looks like 30 (b. abt 1841), born in Birmingham, Warwickshire. He is a blacksmith on the census too.
  • Ann (actually Hannah Maria Cotterill) was born in Dudley Worcestershire in abt 1842.
  • Joseph (who is Joseph Henry), b. abt 1864 in Wednesbury, Staffs.
  • Mary A, b. abt 1868 in Moxley, Staffs
  • Alfred, b. abt 1870 in Derby, Staffs

I’ve traced Alice’s mother in later censuses and she was no longer with Henry. She married a George Oakes in 1874 as Cotterill, her maiden name. As I hadn’t been able to find a marriage between Alice’s parents, this fits.

My problem is all I have for Henry Ridley is one definite census where his age is uncertain. I believe he might be the same Henry that I see in later censuses living with ‘Elizabeth’ in various parts of Lancashire.

Firstly, how might I gather further evidence to support the supposition that my Henry is definitely the one with Elizabeth – there’s no marriage again as far as I can see?

Secondly, and even more pertinent is how can I find out who Henry’s parents were? FreeBMD doesn’t offer any clues as to his birth. The censuses show a possible family where the father is William and the mother is Lydia. FamilySearch reveals the same family with a baptism in 1839 in St Thomas, Birmingham. However, there may be other possibilities and I don’t feel there’s enough to go on so far to be certain that I’m tracing the correct ancestry. Even if I do manage to find a birth certificate for Henry, what information might it reveal to help me ascertain that he’s definitely mine?

[Update: since I first posted, the mystery has been solved with the help of DNA. See this post for details.]

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Florence Smale’s Antique Tea Set

Posted on 23 December 2010 by

One of my most treasured possessions is the antique tea set given to me by my grandmother, Phyllis Grace Geake (nee Weaver). It had belonged to her mother, Florence Smale, and it is thought to have been a wedding present when she married Henry Weaver. Thus this lovely Crown Staffordshire 12 place china set probably dates before 1915.

Florence Smale's Antique Tea Set

Florence Smale’s Antique Tea Set

The set comprises 12 cups and saucers, 12 tea plates, 2 large cake plates, a sugar bowl, milk jug, tea pot and hot water jug with metal lid (my favourite item).

The base of one of the Crown Staffordshire cups

The base of one of the Crown Staffordshire cups

White with delicate yellow flowers mixed with gold patterns mounted on pink with a green border and gold edging, there is a single hairline crack in one of the cups, otherwise the set is perfect.

Detailing on one of the Plates

Detailing on one of the Plates

Hot Water Jug

Hot Water Jug

When I was growing up, my gran used to have the tea set on display in a glass cabinet. I know it meant a lot to her as she was orphaned before the age of 5 and so to have something of her mother’s must have been of special significance.

Crown Staffordshire Antique Tea Set

Crown Staffordshire Antique Tea Set

I sometimes wonder how often Florence used the set and I presume it came out on special occasions only, although this presumption could be wrong. It’s wonderful to have in one’s possession something tangible, an item linking to a generation of yesteryear.

Crown Staffordshire Teapot

Crown Staffordshire Teapot

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PCC And Other Wills At TheGenealogist.co.uk

Posted on 9 December 2010 by

Did you know TheGenealogist.co.uk include several databases of old wills in their subscriptions? These are partial indexes offering online access to images of the original pages. Old wills can be very useful for discovering more about your ancestors, who they were related to and how they lived their lives. Included are…

  • Bristol Wills Index 1572 – 1792.
  • Edinburgh Wills Index 1601 – 1700.
  • Irish Wills Index 1536 – 1810.
  • Leicestershire Wills Index 1495 – 1750.
  • Northampton Wills Index 1510 – 1652.
  • Yorkshire Wills Index 1389 – 1652.
  • Prerogative Court of Canterbury and related Probate Jurisdictions: Will Registers Covering dates 1384-1858. Contains over 776,000 records.

When I contacted TheGenealogist.co.uk about 4 months ago they advised me that their main coverage for the PCC wills so far was 1616, 1647-1650 and 1706-1857.

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