Amanuensis Monday - the will of Alexander Kerss 1831

John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog, has a weekly theme each Monday called Amanuensis Monday to encourage the posting of transcriptions of documents to preserve and publish their contents.



Alexander Kerss was the father of Robert Kerss, and died in Gateshead, Co Durham, England in 1831. His will was proved before the Diocesan Court of the Bishop of Durham, and the original is now held at Durham University Library.



This is the last Will and Testament of me Alexander Kerss of Gateshead in the County of Durham, Yeoman.  I give devise and bequeath all those two Freehold Messuages Dwelling Houses or Tenements Bakehouse and piece or parcel of vacant Ground with the Dwelling House late erected thereon situate lying and being in a certain Street called Hillgate and on the church walk in Gateshead aforesaid and now in the Occupation of myself and others as Tenants thereof with their and every of their rights Members and Appurtenances unto my dear wife Catherine Kerss and her assigns for and during the term of her natural life subject nevertheless to Mortgage debt thereon and the Interest for the same and from and immediately after her decease I give devise and bequeath the same unto my seven Children, Robert Kerss, John Kerss,  Thomas Kerss, Samuel Kerss, William Kerss, Mary Kerss, and Catharine Kerss as Tenants in Common and the Heirs of their respective Bodies and in case there shall be a failure of issue of any such Children then the share of him her or them whose issue shall so fail shall go to the others or other of them as tenants in common and the several Heirs of their respective bodies and in case there shall be a failier of issue of the bodies of all such Children but one then to such one Child and the Heirs of his or her Body and in default of such issue then to my own right Heirs for ever.


And I do hereby declare that the devises hereby made to my said Daughters Mary and Catharine should they take effect shall be for their own and separate use and benefit and exclusive of any Husband or Husbands she or they may intermarry and that the same shall not be subject or liable to the Power Control debts or engagements of any such Husband or husbands.


I give and bequeath all my household Furniture Plate Linen and China and all other my real and personal Estate and effects whatsoever which I shall die possessed of or entitled unto in reversion remainder or expectancy unto my said wife for and during the term of her natural life and from and after her decease I give and bequeath the same unto my said two daughters Mary Kerss and Catherine Kerss, share and share alike and to the survivor of them in case either should die before my said wife and I hereby charge and make chargeable all my real and personal estate with the payment of all my debts and funeral expenses and the charges of proving my will and I do hereby appoint my said sons John Kerss and Thomas Kerss and my said daughter Mary Kerss to be executors and executrix of this my last will and testament hereby revoking all other wills by me at any time made I publish and declare this to be my last will and testament.  In witness whereof I have to this last sheet set my hand and seal and to the first sheet my hand this thirtieth day of September 1831.


Alex Kerss




Signed sealed published and declared by the withnamed Alexander Kerss the Testator as and for his last will and testament who in his presence and in the presence of each declared this and the preceding sheet to be and contain his last will and testament and requested us to sign our names as witnesses thereto:
John Dobson Sol Gateshead
John Lowthin his clerk
Jas Miller.




On the 27th day of August 1832 John Kerss of the Town and County of Newcastle Upon Tyne bricklayer and Thomas Kerss of Blaydon near Winlaton in the County of Durham Blacksmith and Mary Kerss of the Town and County of Newcastle upon Tyne aforesaid Spinster the sons and daughter and the executors names in the wither written Will were duly sworn faithfully to execute and perform the same as usual.
Before me  Luke Ripley Surrogate. 

On this day ... 28 February

1800     Elizabeth Herring Horsley was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of George Horsley and Margaret Herring.

1818     Benjamin Pugh died in Llandeilo Graban, Radnorshire, Wales at 18 months old. He was the son of Henry Pugh and Gwenllian Griffiths.

1829     William Barkwell was born in Sunderland, Co Durham. He was the son of Robert Barkwell and Ann Hudson

1852     Josiah Kinsey Pugh died at Cnych Farm, Pantydwr near St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales. He was my 4  x great grandfather.

On this day ... 27 February

1794     Anthony Smith married Mary Coulson in St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

On this day ... 27 February

1794     Anthony Smith married Mary Coulson in St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

Alexander Kerss 1824 - ??

Last week I wrote about Robert Kerss and mentioned that the 1841 census showed an Alexander Kerss, aged 17, living with him. The obvious assumption would be that Alexander was Robert's son, but I had found no further evidence to support this.

After writing the bio of Robert I decided to have another try to find Alexander. I'd looked on the IGI before but now searched the new Family Search website for any Kerss children baptised in Co Durham. All I found were the children I already knew about. Then I tried searching for other spellings - in the records I've found so far, Kerss has been spelled/indexed in several different ways (Kerss, Caurso, Carss, Caurse, Course, Kiss, Carse, Kirse and Cass to date, plus some other transcriptions even further removed from the real name).

I tried searching for Cass. In retrospect, I should have tried this earlier. Robert's wife Frances died in November of 1824 and was listed in the burial register as Frances Cass. So I searched for a Cass baptism, parents Robert and Frances. And the first hit was Alexander, born 29 October and baptised 5 November 1824 at St Peter's Church, Monkwearmouth. Frances was buried two days after the baptism. So not only had I identified Alexander, I had also discovered the likely cause of Frances' death - it's most likely that Frances died as a result of childbirth.

To confirm that I have the right family, I checked the Bishops Transcripts on Family Search, and found the following entry:

the profession of the father suggests that it is the right family.

So I've solved one mystery. But I've gained another: so far, I've had no luck finding Alexander in any subsequent census or vital record. I've found his cousin Alexander (a year older) but not this Alexander. So the search goes on....

On this day ... 26 February

1812     Matthew Yeal died of measles, aged 7. He was the son of William Yeal and Mary Horsley, and died in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1889     Mary Elizabeth Morgan was born in Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Duncan Morgan and Sarah Evans.

On this day ... 25 February

1799     William Coulson died in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. He was 67 years old.

1853     William Thomas Milbanke Hudson died in Sunderland, Co Durham, England, aged just 2 weeks. He was the son of George Winlow Hudson and his wife Elizabeth Hughes.

1878     Mary Jane Ann Brown was born in Longframlington, Northumberland, England. She was the daughter of Ralph Brown and Mary Hall.

On this day ... 24 February

1801     John Wren married Hannah Harrison at Hexham, Northumberland, England.

1858     Mary Colling was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of William Colling and Jane Turner.

1859   Charles Abraham Read was born in Birmingham, the son of Silvester Read and Ann Terry.

1869   Albert Edward Pugh was born in the Handsworth area of Birmingham, England. He was the son of Edward Pugh and Lavinia Worrell.

1906     Pryce Pugh of Cwmderw Farm, Llanano, Radnorshire, Wales died at the age of 76.

Wordless Wednesday - Acrobatics on the beach

Norman and Phyllis Darby, in a pose that is repeated in several holiday photographs. This looks like the earliest, taken on the beach in Aberystwyth

On this day ... 23 February

1807 William Usher married Jane Cumming at Holy Trinity Church, Washington, Co Durham, England.

1829 George Leeming married Abigail Stephenson at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Co Durham.

1875 William Bagshaw married Evangeline Pugh at Pickering, Ontario Co, Ontario, Canada.

1889 Arthur Gordon Hughes was born at St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales, the son of Morgan Hughes and Jane Eliza Powell.

On this day ... 22 February

1806 Edward Jackson married Isabella Allison at St Stephen's Church, Wolsingham, Co Durham, England.

1813 Mark Hobday married Prudence Brownhill at St Thomas' Church, Dudley, Worcestershire, England.

1840 John Grahamsey Makepeace was born in Gateshead, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Gabriel Makepeace and Ann Ions.

Amanuensis Monday - the will of John Jones 1881

John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog, has a weekly theme each Monday called Amanuensis Monday to encourage the posting of transcriptions of documents to preserve and publish their contents.

John Jones was my 4xG grandfather (the maternal grandfather of Pryce Pugh). He died at the age of 82.

On the seventeenth day of December 1881, the Will of John Jones late of Lodge Farm in the parish of Llandinam in the County of Montgomery Gentleman deceased who died on the 28th day of July 1881 at Lodge Farm aforesaid was proved in Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in the District Registry attached to the Probate Division thereof at Shrewsbury by the Oaths of Price Pugh of Cwmderw in the parish of Llananno in the County of Radnor farmer and John Jones of Tynywern in the parish of Moughtrey in the County of Montgomery farmer, the son of the said deceased the Executors names (in the said Will) they having been first sworn duly to administer.

Estate Under £1500 Gross value £1232.4.10  Net value £1180.0.8

No leaseholds
Extracted by Geo R Thorne of Wolverhampton Solicitor.

This is the last Will and Testament of me John Jones of Lodge Farm Llandinam in the County of Montgomery Gentleman.  I appoint my son in law Price Pugh and my son John Jones (hereinafter called my said trustees) the trustees and executors of this my Will.  I give devise and bequeath unto my said Trustees all my property estate and effects of every kind and description upon trust to convert into money such part thereof as shall not consist of money and to collect and get in all sums of money due to me on mortgage, bonds, promissory notes and other securities and after payment thereout of all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses upon trust to pay to my said son John the sum of Two hundred pounds and to divide the remainder between my six daughters namely Martha, Mary Ann, Jane, Elizabeth, Ann Catherine and Sarah Lavinia in equal shares.  And I hereby declare than should be said daughter Ann Catherine die in my lifetime leaving a child or children then and in such case the child or children shall take (and if more than one equally between them) the legacy or share which the said Ann Catherine would have taken at my decease had she survived me.  Provided always and I do hereby declare than should the said child or children or any of them be at the time of my decease under the age of twenty one years my said trustees shall invest in their own names the share or shares of such child or children being a minor or minors as aforesaid on mortgage or other good security and shall pay the same with all accumulations of interest thereon to such child or children when and as such child shall respectively attain the age of twenty one years.  I hereby declare that the legacies or shares given by this my Will to my said daughters shall be for their respective sole and separate use and benefit and their receipts alone shall be sufficient discharges to my trustees and executors for the same.  I devise to my said trustees all estates vested in me as a trustee or mortgagee subject to the equities affecting the same.  I hereby revoke all former Wills and testamentary dispositions made my me and declare this to be my last Will and Testament.  In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this eighth day of December one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.

Signed and declared by the said testator John Jones as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us both present at the same time who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses (the said Will having been previously read over to the said John Jones in our presence when he appeared to perfectly understand the contents thereof).

The mark of X John Jones

On this day ... 21 February

1804 Richard Hudson was born in Bishopwearmouth parish (part of the town of Sunderland), Co Durham, England. He was the son of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner.

1826 Mary Hudson was born in Sunderland. She was the daughter of William Hudson (also a son of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner) and Mary Newton.

1895 My grandfather John William Hudson was born in West Hartlepool, the son of Robert Hunter Hudson and his wife Margaret Mossom.

1917 Mary Ann Pugh (nee Jones) died at the age of 82 in Stowe Village, Shropshire, England. She was the widow of James Pugh and the mother of Pryce Pugh.

Robert Kerss 1788-1860

Robert was the father of Catherine Kerss.

Robert Kerss was born in Gateshead, Co Durham, England on 11 November 1788. He was the first son of Alexander Kerss, a "sugar baker" and Catherine Errington. Alexander was Scottish, and Robert was baptised in the Presbyterian Church on Silver Street in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, just across the River Tyne from Gateshead.

Robert's family stayed in Gateshead but when he grew up, Robert moved to Sunderland to work as a joiner (carpenter). It's possible that he was apprenticed to a Sunderland joiner - this is something I need to look into. The next record I've found of Robert is his marriage to Frances Hunter on 12 June 1815 at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Co Durham. The couple moved across the river Wear to Monkwearmouth Shore, where they had three daughters:

Catherine Kerss 1817-1877
Elizabeth Kerss 1819-??
Mary Kerss 1822-??

Frances died in early November 1824 and was buried at Monkwearmouth Church.

Robert remarried a couple of years later. On 15 October 1826 he married widow Elizabeth Ridley (nee Bonner) at St Hilda's Church in South Shields. Elizabeth had married Robert Ridley in 1818, and had two children with him (Mary Ann born 1821 and John born 1823) before his death in November 1824.

In October 1839, Robert was a witness at his oldest daughter's wedding. Catherine gave her address as Lombard Street, in Sunderland, so it's likely that this was also Robert's address at the time. He was living there in 1841, when he was recorded on the census living with wife Elizabeth, her children Mary and John, and a 17 year old Alexander Kerss who I haven't yet identified.

During the 1840s the Kerss family moved back to Monkwearmouth. Elizabeth died there in September 1848 (she was buried on 3 September at Monkwearmouth Church).

Robert married for a third time on 28 May 1849 at Bishopwearmouth Church in Sunderland. This time his bride was widow Elizabeth Smith (nee Giles). He gave his residence at this time as Dunning Street, in the parish of Bishopwearmouth. By the time of the 1851 census, the couple were living on Wreath Quay on Monkwearmouth Shore, and the 62 year old Robert was a foreman joiner.

A couple of years later, the 1853 Ward's Directory records Robert as living in (and presumably running) the Hope and Anchor Inn on North Quay, Monkwearmouth Shore.

Robert died on 8 January 1860 following a concussion. The place of death is recorded as Zetland Street in Monkwearmouth - this seems likely to be his home address at the time as the 1861 census shows his widow Elizabeth running the Zetland Inn on Zetland Street. He was still working (at 74) as a foreman joiner.

Updated - 26 Feb 2011: I've now found information on Alexander Kerss.

On this day ... 20 February

1802 Eleanor Johnson was born in Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of John Johnson and Isabel Todner.

1855 Ralph Brown died in Coxhoe, Co Durham, England. He was buried at St Helen's Church in nearby Kelloe. Ralph was my 3 x great-grandfather, the father of Ann Brown.

On this day ... 19 February

1825 Samuel Barkwell was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Devon-born sailor Robert Barkwell and his wife Ann Hudson.

1883 Margaret Jane Powell was born in St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales, the daughter of David Powell and his first wife Margaret Jones (who died only 2 weeks later).

Bill Hudson - a new discovery

When I wrote a post a few weeks ago, giving the biography of my grandfather John William Hudson, I said that I didn't know what he was doing between leaving the army after World War One and going to Hong Kong in 1925. A chance discovery this week has answered that question.

I uploaded my family tree to Ancestry and began to investigate the "shaking leaves" that indicate Ancestry hints. Most of these were either links to records I already have, or links to trees which contained no new information. However, a few have turned out to be good new information.

The first of these was a link to the "Canada, Ocean Arrivals (Form 30A), 1919-1924" collection, which includes a landing form filled out by Bill himself, recording his arrival in Canada in 1921. According to the form, he was bound for Hong Kong, with his passage paid by the British Colonial Service - presumably to take up a job working in the prison service in Hong Kong, a job he would do for the next twenty years.

This changes Bill's story a bit: it doesn't look likely that he was ever a coal miner, as he must have returned to the shipyards after the War (he gave his profession as Boilermaker on the immigration form). It does explain why he was visiting his young cousin in the summer of 1925 - in retrospect it seems unlikely that a working man would take the time to visit a young cousin away from home on his day off, but it's much more likely that someone enjoying an extended leave would do that.

Which leaves one question: why on earth would you choose to sail from England to China via Canada?

On this day ... 18 February

1795 Jane Yeal was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of William Yeal and Mary Horsley, and died at two years old.

1803 George Wren died aged 1 day at Ryton, Co Durham, England. He was the son of farmer John Wren and Ann Brown.

1805 Josiah Pugh married Sarah Price at St Garmon's Church, St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales. They were my 4 x great-grandparents.

1812 Jacob Hood was born in Hartlepool. He was the son of Thomas Hood and Mary Robson.

1828 William Bassett married Patience Hudson at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Co Durham, England. Patience was the daughter of Richard Hudson and Patience Todner.

On this day ... 17 February

1757 George Coulson married Isabell Forrest at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1795 George Horsley married Margaret Herring at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool. They are my 4 x great-grandparents.

1908 Jessie Violet Darby was born in Chicago, the daughter of William Henry Darby and Jessie Pugh.

Wordless Wednesday - Want some sunshine?

Peggy Hudson in Hong Kong with unknown friend in the early 1930s. The caption on the back of the photo says "want some sunshine".  Sent to Peggy's mother back in England.

On this day ... 16 February

1742 Thomas Herring married Elizabeth Matthews in St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. They were my 6 x great grandparents.

1809 Elizabeth Taylor was born in Tynemouth, Northumberland, England. She was the daughter of John Taylor and Mary Meek.

1833 William Colling married Sarah Jane Todner at St Nicholas Church, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Northumberland, England.

1897 Armond Walter Pugh married Clara Etta Blackburn at Louisville, Kent Co, Ontario, Canada.

Modern and historical maps of County Durham

I love finding old family addresses on maps - trying to get a feel for the location when an event happened, as well as looking at the location now, to see if it's likely that any buildings from then still survive. It can be difficult to determine exactly where an old address was on a modern map, when old settlements may have completely disappeared, street patterns changed etc.

This website allows the comparison of old maps from a variety of dates (starting 1855) with a very detailed modern map. If you do any research in County Durham, England, then this is a site you need to know about.

Durham County Council 2341 - - Internet GIS

On this day ... 15 February

1803 Hannah Hudson was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner, and only lived to be a year old.

1818 Thomas Haddock married Elizabeth Oliver at St Mary and St Cuthbert's Church, Chester-le-Street, Co Durham, England.

1853 David Pugh married Jane Price at St Garmon's Church, St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales.

1909 Archibald Eustace Jones was born. He was the husband of my great-aunt Gwenllian Pugh.

Amanuensis Monday - the will of Silvester Read 1879

John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog, has a weekly theme each Monday called Amanuensis Monday to encourage the posting of transcriptions of documents to preserve and publish their contents.

This is the will of my 3 x great-grandfather Silvester Read, who died in Birmingham in 1879.

This is the last will of me Silvester Read of the Fox Inn Freeman Street Birmingham Licensed Victualler hereby revoking all former wills by me made. In the first place I direct payment of all my just debts and funeral and testamentary expenses. I give to my children (namely) Isabella Twist, Silvester Read, Catherine Clements, Sarah Read, Elizabeth Darby and Arthur Read a legacy of fifty pounds each and subject to the payment thereof I give and devise unto my brother in law Mr Charles Terry (Whom I hereby appoint Trustee of this my will) all the rest and residue of my real and personal Estates whatsoever (including all mortgage and trust Estates subject to the Equities and trusts thereof) upon trust that my wife Ann do and shall have the use and enjoyment of my furniture goods chattels and household effects during her life and also that she do and shall receive the rents income and profits arising from my said real and personal Estates with full power for her of her own sole and uncontrolled authority to continue and carry on my said Trade or business or any part thereof for such time and in such manner and in such place or places as she may think proper and without liability to account to my said Trustees or to any other person in respect thereof and to use pay and apply during her lifetime all or so much of the nett annual income arising therefrom as she may deem necessary and proper in the maintenance and support of herself and the maintenance and education of such of my children by my said present wife as shall be living at my decease and from and after the decease of my said wife upon trust that all such parts of my said real and residuary personal Estates as shall not consist of money or securities for money shall be sold and all the residue of my personal Estate collected in and my said Trustee shall pay the clear nett residue of such moneys and of all other moneys which shall come to his hands by virtue of this my will (less expenses of sale, collection and conversion) unto and equally amongst all and every such of my children by my said present wife as shall be living at the time of the decease of my said wife share and share alike with benefit of survivorship and I authorise my said Trustee as and when my said property and effects shall be sold and converted into money as aforesaid and during the minority of any person interested under this my will to place out the share of such minor of and in such money at Interest on Mortgage of freehold or leasehold properties in England or on government securities and to apply for the maintenance and education of each minor the whole or a competent part of the income arising from such share or presumptive share and also of my said Trustee think proper to pay and apply not more than one half of the vested or presumptive share of such minor towards his or her advancement in life and I direct that the legacy share and interest of every female under this my will shall be paid to her for her own sole and separate use and free from the debts of control of her present or any future husband and her receipt alone notwithstanding coverture shall be a good discharge therefore and I declare that the power of appointing new Trustees conferred by the Act 23rd and 24th Victoria Chapter 145 shall for the purposes of this my will be vested in my said wife during her life and after her decease then in the person or persons mentioned in that behalf in the said Act and I appoint my said wife Ann together with the said Charles Terry Executrix and Executor of this my Will. In witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand the second day of September one thousand eight hundred and seventy nine.

Signed by the said Silvester Read in the presence of us who in his presence and in the presence of each other (all being present at the same time) have hereunto set our names as witnesses.

Silvester Read

Witnesses:

Abraham Terry, Portland Street, Aston Manor

Hugh Mathews, Clerk to JS Canning & Canning Sols, B'ham.

On this day ... 14 February

1759 Joseph Maugham married Rebecca Wren at the Church of St Mary and St Stephen, Wolsingham, Co Durham, England.

1848 William Coulson died in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. He was twenty four.

1931 Margaret Hudson (nee Mossom) died at the age of 62 in Darlington, Co Durham, England. She was my great-grandmother.

Research Plan: Frances Hunter 1785-1824

Frances Hunter was the mother of my great-great-grandmother  Catherine Kerss. I haven't yet been able to identify Frances' place of birth or the identity of her parents.

Objective:   find the birth/baptism record of Frances Hunter and identify her parents.

Known facts:
1   Frances Cass died in November 1824 and was buried in Monkwearmouth Churchyard. Her age at death was stated to be 39, giving a probably year of birth of 1785.
2   Frances married Robert Kerss on 12 June 1815 in Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland. The record of the wedding is silent as to her marital status (no details of marital status were given in marriage records at this time in this parish). One of the witnesses is James Hunter, but no information is given about him. A birth year of 1785 would make her 30 when she married.
3   Frances and Robert had 3 daughters - Catherine, Elizabeth and Mary born 1817 to 1822. At this time, most children were named after relatives. Catherine was named after Robert's mother; it's reasonable to think that Frances' mother was either Elizabeth or Mary.

The baptisms of the three daughters don't give any further information about Frances. Nor did she live long enough to be included on a census, which would have given a clue about her place of birth.

Working hypothesis:
1.  Frances was a spinster when she married Robert Kerss. She was born in Co Durham or Northumberland around the year 1785 and moved to Sunderland prior to her marriage with Robert. Either her father or a brother was called James and witnessed her marriage.

Identified sources:
1   IGI / Family Search UK baptisms
2   Findmypast baptisms
3   Parish registers / Bishops Transcripts

Research strategy:
1  Search IGI/Family Search / Findmypast for any baptisms of Frances Hunter in the right timeframe.
2  For any baptisms found, look for others of the same family
3  Verify index entries to parish records or Durham Bishop Transcripts
4  Follow any Frances Hunters found to see if they died or married locally.
5  Consider which parishes in Co Durham / Northumberland were not covered by the IGI etc.

On this day ... 13 February

1863 Stephen Hugh Pugh was born in Uxbridge Township, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of Stephen Pugh and Elizabeth Lore.

1923 Henry Clark died at the age of 75 in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland, England. He was the second husband of my great-grandmother Martha Ann Pattison.

On this day ... 12 February

1823 Mary Hudson (nee Heightley) died in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. She was buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard in Sunderland.

1830 Thomas Whitehouse was born in Meriden St, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Whitehouse.

1907 Rupert Montague Adams was born in Aston Manor, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Arthur Rupert Adams and his wife Adah Hunt.

1935 Stephen Hugh Pugh died in Canada the day before his 72nd birthday.

Sunderland Under Sail

Sunderland Under Sail is a series of 5 booklets published by Sunderland Antiquarian Society. It is a transcription of a series of newspaper articles published in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle from 1881 to 1889 featuring the reminiscences of Bracey Robson Wilson (writing under the pseudonym "Robinson Crusoe"), a sailor who was born in Sunderland in 1812 and grew up there. The books give a lot of background information about life in Sunderland in the 1820s and also contain many details of the inhabitants of Sunderland at that time.

Wilson wrote the following about Richard Hudson.

The easternmost house on the south side of the same square [Akenhead's Square] was a tavern kept by Richard Hudson, running fitter, better known as Dick Hudson. He was a famous swimmer, and was about 64 years ago, appointed Harbour Master and captain of one of the lifeboats. He then removed to the Town End, opposite the Pottery Gate, where he kept the Lifeboat Tavern. The sign was a very large one, and represented a lifeboat going through a fearful sea to a wreck, Richard Hudson steering with an oar, and a man standing in the bow with a boathook in his hand. This sign was painted by Jefferson, who was once a scene-painter in the Sunderland Theatre. From this place Richard Hudson moved to the Ferry Boat Landing, where he died about sixty years ago, and was succeeded by Tommy Davidson as Harbour Master.

(Vol III, page 28)

Wilson also described the work of the running fitters:

The running fitter has now [1881] nearly passed away but sixty years ago we had [a long list of names], whose business it was to manage the keels belonging to the coalfitters. They also placed the vessels in their loading berths, and piloted them to sea.


(Vol II, page 14)

On this day ... 11 February

1805 Hugh Pugh married Elizabeth Williams at All Saints Church, Mochdre, Montgomeryshire, Wales.

1827 Mirrel Maria Turner was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England, the daughter of Francis Turner and Sarah Hudson.

1900 Alfred James Tennant married Ellen Isabella Darby in St Bartholomew's Church, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. The couple later emigrated to Canada.

On this day ... 10 February

1894 Stephen Pugh died in Claremont, Ontario, Canada at the age of 72. He was born in Nantgwyn, Radnorshire, Wales and emigrated with his family in the 1840s.

1921 Mary Margaret Frances Ridley Thomas was born in Bryngwyn, Radnorshire, Wales, the daughter of the local rector William Thomas and his wife Sarah Jane Pugh.

Wordless Wednesday - Bill Hudson, Hong Kong

On this day ... 9 February

1744 Benjamin Bowater married Mary Nicklin in Dudley, Worcestershire, England

1790 Lancelot Hudson married Jane Henderson at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Co Durham, England.

1856 Margaret Pugh died in Llandeilo Graban, Radnorshire, Wales. She was the widow of William Pugh.

1871 Walter William Cambier was born in Sunderland. He was the son of William Alfred Cambier, a Commander in the Royal Navy, and his wife Mary Elizabeth Hudson.

On this day ... 8 February

1832 John Leeming was born in Sunderland. He was the son of George Leeming and Abigail Stephenson.

1934 Mary Ann Pugh died in Hay-on-Wye, Breconshire, Wales, at the age of 73. She was a great-great grandmother of mine.

1988 My great-aunt Dorothy Nettie Nellist (nee Darby) died in Lancaster, Lancashire, England.

Amanuensis Monday - the will of David Powell probated 1887

John Newmark, who writes the TransylvanianDutch blog, has a weekly theme each Monday called Amanuensis Monday to encourage the posting of transcriptions of documents to preserve and publish their contents.

David Powell was my 3 x great grandfather, the father of Jane Eliza Powell.

On the fourteenth day of March 1887 the Will with a Codicil thereto of David Powell late of Hendrew in the parish of Saint Harmon in the County of Radnor, farmer deceased, who died on the eighth day of December 1886, at Hendrew aforesaid was proved in Her Majesty's High Court of Justice in the District Registry attached to the Probate Division thereof at Hereford by the Oath of David Powell of Hendrew aforesaid Farmer,the son of the deceased, the sole Executor named (in the said will) he having been first sworn duly to administer.


Personal Estate gross £18.0.0


No leaseholds


Extracted by The Executor


This is the last Will and Testament of me David Powell of Hendrew in the parish of Saint Harmon in the county of Radnor Farmer. I revoke all Testamentary writings heretofore at any time executed by me and I appoint my son David Powell of Hendrew in the parish of Saint Harmon aforesaid in the said County of Radnor Farmer sole Executor of this my Will. I give and bequeath the following legacies each and every one of them to be paid free of legacy duty that is to say


To my daughter Jane Eliza Hughes wife of Morgan Hughes the sum of Sixty pounds


To my daughter Mary Powell the wife of John Powell the sum of sixty pounds


To my son John Powell the sum of Two hundred and sixty pounds


To my son Arthur Powell the sum of Two hundred and sixty pounds


And to my son Thomas Price Powell the sum of Two hundred and sixty pounds.


And I hereby charge all my real and personal estate of whatsoever kind with the payment of the legacies hereinbefore bequeathed by me and subject to the payment of all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses and the legacies hereinbefore bequeathed by me. I give devised and bequeath my freehold farm known as Hendrew situate in the parish of Saint Harmon aforesaid in the said County of Radnor and all other my property both real and personal of whatsoever nature or kind and wheresoever situate unto and to the use of my said son David Powell his heirs and assigns in fee simple absolutely. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this third day of June one thousand eight hundred and eighty six.


Signed and declared by the said David Powell the testator as and for his last Will and Testament in the presence of us all present at the same time who in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto subscribed our names as witnesses:
Edward Hughes Clerk to Messrs Wood & Talbot, Solicitors, Rhayader
David Thomas, Nantgwyn, Saint Harmon, Black Smith


This is a codicil to the last will and testament of me David Powell of Hendrew in the parish of Saint Harmon in the County of Radnor which Will bears the date the third day of June one thousand eight hundred and eighty six and is written on the first and second pages of this sheet of paper. Whereas since the date of my said Will I have advanced the sum of Twenty pounds to my daughter Mary Powell the wife of John Powell and the sum of Ten pounds to my son John Powell now I hereby declare it to be my Will and intention and I hereby direct that the said respective sums of twenty pounds and ten pounds so advanced as aforesaid shall be and are in satisfaction so far as such sums respectively extend of the legacies respectively and bequeathed by my said Will to my said daughter Mary Powell and my said son John Powell and further I declare it to be my Will and intention that any sums or sum which I may hereafter advance to any or either of the beneficiaries under my said Will shall be and shall be taken to be in part satisfaction pro tanto of the legacies or legacy by my said Will respectively given and bequeathed to such beneficiaries or beneficiary. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this twelfth day of November one thousand eight hundred and eighty six.


Signed and declared by the said David Powell the Testator as and for a Codicil to his last Will and Testament in the presence of us present at the same time who at his request in his presence and in the presence of each other have hereunto set our hands as witnesses.


David Thomas, Black smith Nantgwyn Smithy Saint Harmon
Edward Vaughan Ingram Cefnllech St Harmon


Proved at Hereford with a Codicil on the 14th day of March 1887 by the oath of David Powell, the son, the sole Executor named in the Will to whom administration was granted.


The testator David Powell was late of Hendrew in the parish of Saint Harmon in the County of Radnor Farmer and died on the 8th day of December 1886 at Hendrew aforesaid.


Gross £18.0.0


The Executor

On this day ... 7 February

1793 Elizabeth Hudson was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England, the daughter of Lancelot Hudson and Jane Henderson. She died in September 1793.

1799 Richard Coulson was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England, the son of Robert Coulson and Barbara Smelt.

1839 Charles Taylor married Mary Leeming at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool.

1885 Margaret Pugh nee Kinsey died at Cefnpawl Farm, Abbey-cwm-hir, Radnorshire. After the death of her first husband Pryce Pugh in 1843, Margaret married his brother Josiah Pugh.

Richard Hudson 1770 - 1821 and Patience Todner 1767 - 1848

Richard Hudson, the father of George Hudson, was born on 10 March 1770 in Numbers Garth, a street in the town of Sunderland, but in the parish of Bishopwearmouth, Co Durham. His parents were Lancelot and Elizabeth Hudson. He was baptised in St Michael's Church, Bishopwearmouth on 14 May 1770.

Richard was only fourteen when his father died, but by then had probably been working for a few years, following his father's trade and working as a keelman.

Patience Todner was born in late 1767 in Chartershaugh, a mining village in the parish of Chester-le-Street (now an empty field on the edge of Washington New Town, though the name lives on in the bridge crossing the river Wear by the field). Her parents were Ralph and Mary Todner. Ralph was a coal miner, though later on he worked as a water man (probably running a ferry across the river Wear).

On 30 April 1787 seventeen year old Richard married nineteen year old Patience at Holy Trinity Church, Washington, Co Durham. The couple settled in Sunderland and their first child, a boy called Lancelot after Richard's father, was born barely four months later. They went on to have a further 11 children, the last, George, being born in 1810. All the children were born in Sunderland.

Richard continued to work as a keelman, but also worked as a running fitter (in charge of organising a fleet of keelboats), ran a tavern, and for the last few years of his life, was the harbourmaster at Sunderland.

Richard died at the age of 51, on 10 June 1821, and was buried in Holy Trinity Churchyard, in Sunderland.

Patience survived him by twenty-seven years. In the years following Richard's death, she continued to run the Lifeboat Tavern - the pub the couple had run together. Later, it was inherited by one of their daughters. In 1841, Patience was living with one of her sisters (the Todner women were long-lived) running another pub, this time back at Chartershaugh. Patience died in Sunderland on 7 January 1848, and was buried alongside her husband at Holy Trinity.


Their children were:

Lancelot Hudson 1787-1854
Ralph Hudson 1789-1852
Elizabeth Hudson 1792-1863
Richard Hudson 1794-??
Thomas Hudson 1796-1799
Margaret Hudson 1798-??
Jane Hudson 1800-1870
Patience Hudson 1802-1857
Thomas Hudson 1804-1810
William Hudson 1806-1875
Ann Hudson 1808-1809
George Hudson 1810-1869

On this day ... 6 February

1877 Jonathan Josiah Pugh died aged 15 in Llanbadarn Fynydd, Radnorshire, Wales. He was the son of James Pugh and Mary Ann Jones.

On this day ... 5 February

1758 Joseph Hood married Dinah Watt at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1800 Thomas Lakinby died at only 15 days old, in Hartlepool. He was the son of Thomas Lakinby and Martha Robson.

1841 Stephen Pugh married his cousin Mary Pugh in St Garmon's Church, St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales.

1857 William James Darby, my great great grandfather, was born in Aston, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Henry Darby and Ellen Haywood.

On this day ... 4 February

1695 James Coulson married Isable Mensworth at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. (Actually technically not "on this day" as in 1695 England was still using the Julian Calendar, but it's too complicated to work out exactly which day is 316 years ago!)

1800 John Hood was born in Hartlepool, the son of Thomas Hood and Mary Robson. John died of scarlet fever when he was only 3 years old.

1815 The rather splendidly named Lancelot Hudson Halliday was born in Sunderland, the son of John Halliday and Jane Hudson.

1833 Ann Miller was born in Sunderland, the daughter of John Miller and Margaret Hudson.

On this day ... 3 February

1872 Henry Usher married Jane Marson at St John the Evangelist Church, Birtley, Co Durham, England.

1877 Edward Bowen married Maria Lewis at All Saints Church, Mochdre, Montgomeryshire, Wales

Wordless Wednesday - Dick and Dora Hudson

Dick at the wash tub, he took it in the garden that you could see him better, helping Dora.

I think that the photo was taken in Australia where Dick and Dora settled after World War Two. The caption is on the back of the photo which was mailed to Dick's brother Bill Hudson back in England. Dick was Richard Wilson Hudson, his wife was originally Dora Ethel Wood.

On this day ... 2 February

1718 Robert Kerss was born in Coldstream, Berwickshire, Scotland. He was the son of Robert Kerss.

1752 Thomas Bowater married Ann Taylor at St Martin's Church, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England.

1988 Jessie Violet Griffiths nee Darby died at Morecambe Bay, Lancashire, England. She was my great-aunt.

February goals

Around New Year, many genealogists posted their goals for the year on their blogs. Other than deciding to keep a blog, I didn't come up with any goals for the year - I hope that the need to write posts for the blog will keep me sufficiently focused to get something done. I've noticed that some bloggers are also posting monthly goals - this strikes me as being more manageable, and I like the idea of posting the goals in public to hold myself accountable. So here are my goals for February:


New research

• Fixing sources (see later) and writing blog posts should help to identify the gaps in my genealogy. Having identified them, I need to try to fix them. I don't think there are any easy gaps left, at least on my direct lines. So the plan is to write proper research plans for the missing information. Then arrange to complete them - this will mean going to archives, not just looking on the computer. I've done this before, but it's been a while. My goal for February is to write 2 research plans.
• Following on from this, I already have a list of lookups to do at a few local archives. My goal is to get to an archive, for at least a couple of hours this month - maybe take a day or two off work and get to Durham Record Office.

Blog

• I've now written up all my grandparents, great grandparents and great great grandparents for this blog. This is where my information starts to get more sketchy. So I'm going to slow down with the posts. I'll post my research plans, to keep myself honest, and try to complete 4 more profiles of couples. Along with some meme posts, like Wordless Wednesday, that should mean around 12 posts for the month (aside from "On This Day" posts which will continue to go out daily). My goal is to post 12 times this month.
• Try to figure out how to add pages to the blog to include some Ahnentafel details, or descendant lists, as indexes to the postings. My goal is to add one page to my blog.

Eating the elephant:

There are some (re)organisation tasks I want to do, all of which will take forever. The only way to do these is the same way that you eat an elephant - one bite at a time.

• Tag all digital files with the User IDs from Legacy. Everyone in my family tree has an ID number, and I want all my digital files to include the appropriate user numbers in the filename. (The idea is that I can then use Windows Search function to easily locate everything to do with any given person, just by searching for the User ID - it works well, I just wish I'd thought of it years ago). I've done 2569 files so far, and have 8811 left to go. My goal to do around 20 a day (probably fewer if they are census files as these will have several IDs to attach)
• "Fix" sources in Legacy. Just about everything in my database is sourced, after a fashion, but I want to get the sources fixed so that they include all the information they should. As part of the process, I will be able to identify any facts for which the evidence I have is inadequate - for example, where all I have is an index entry. My goal is to fix sources for 5 people during the month.
• Scanning photographs - I inherited a box of photos from my grandmother.  Got hold of them AFTER my old scanner stopped working and it's taken me ages to get a new scanner. Now that I've run out of excuses, I want to get them scanned (and tagged). Then get hold of the photos from the other side of the family. My goal is to scan 10 pictures a week.

Indexing

I decided a couple of years ago to get involved with indexing through the Family Search website. I used the old FamilySearch a lot and benefited from the indexing done by the LDS volunteers; it seems only fair that I should do some indexing in return. My goal is to index at least 10 names a day - say 300 for the month.

On this day ... 1 February

1767 William Evis married Elizabeth Herring at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1779 Thomas Fenwick married Elinor Todner at St Michael's Church, Houghton le Spring, Co Durham, England.

1795 Elizabeth Yeal was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of Robert Yeal and his wife Dinah Hood

1887 Elizabeth Powell was born in St Harmon, Radnorshire, Wales. She was the daughter of David Powell and his second wife Catherine Jane Lewis.