My grandmother’s sister, Christina Clark, was born on 27 March 1865 in Peterhead. She was still living in the town with her mother and siblings at the time of the 1871 census, but by 1881 appears to have left home as she is recorded as an unemployed domestic servant in Aberdeen. On 5 October 1886,… Continue reading Legal Troubles
Author: Emma Maitland
Earliest Ancestor
I have to confess that this week’s subject is one that does not particularly inspire me as my interest in family history has never been driven simply by how far back I can get. I have already mentioned that a researcher has been able to take the Ginn family line back as far as 1450… Continue reading Earliest Ancestor
Religious Traditions
My paternal grandfather, Frederick Maitland, was born in Portsmouth on 1 June 1886. Employment records show that in 1902 he became an apprentice in the Royal Dockyard, aged 14, and that he was still employed there as an engine fitter when he died in 1951 at the age of 64. My father recalled that he… Continue reading Religious Traditions
Cousins
I have mentioned a couple of times that James Maitland and Letitia Baker are my 3x and also 4x great grandparents, and the reason for this is that on 1 September 1879 their grandson, George Thomas Maitland, married Emily Ann Dowding, who was the daughter of his cousin, Charlotte Maitland. Emily was born in Blandford… Continue reading Cousins
Travel
For the first time since I started the 52 Weeks challenge, this prompt had me stumped. One of the most striking features of my tree is that on the whole my ancestors didn’t travel very far from the place where they were born and those that did, thanks to a seafaring occupation, wartime service or… Continue reading Travel
Family Business
Most of my 19th century ancestors lived in rural areas and worked on farms in some capacity, but those who lived in Blandford Forum in Dorset were engaged in a much wider range of businesses. I have already mentioned that my Maitland ancestors were tailors and shoemakers [see Surprise], and this week’s post will focus on… Continue reading Family Business
Favourite Name
I have a number of interesting surnames in my tree, but my favourite is Pursglove. Somewhat disappointingly, it seems that it has nothing whatsoever to do with either purses or gloves as the consensus is that it is derived from the hamlet of Purslow in Shropshire. This distinctive name can be traced back through my… Continue reading Favourite Name
FAN Club
FAN stands for Friends, Associates and Neighbours, and the principle of this technique is that researching the people who surrounded an ancestor may yield clues to their identity when direct documentary evidence is lacking. I recently had a go at applying it to my elusive great great grandfather, William Clark [see Brick Wall] to see if… Continue reading FAN Club
Artist
The only professional artist in my tree is my mother’s cousin, Rosamond Cullingford, who had a studio in Lyme Regis and painted under the name Rosamond Higgins. Rosamond was actually a double cousin as her mother was my grandmother’s sister, Ada Howe, and her father was my grandfather’s brother, Arthur Cullingford. Arthur was a gamekeeper… Continue reading Artist
Wedding Bells
My maternal grandparents, Mildred Howe and William Jack Cullingford (always known as Jack) were married at St Peter’s Church, Yoxford in Suffolk on 22 October 1925. No one in the family knows how or when they met, but the hospital where Mildred worked as a nurse from 1919 – 1925 was in Woodbridge, just a… Continue reading Wedding Bells
Sleuthing Notes 