On This Day ... 14 August

1786     Ralph Hudson was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner.

1817     Catherine Kerss was born in Monkwearmouth Shore, Co Durham.  She was the daughter of Robert Kerss and Frances Hunter and was my great-great grandmother.

1889     Henry Owen Dabridgecourt Becher was born in Houghton-le-Spring, Co Durham. He was the son of Harry Becher and Zoe Louisa Hudson.

On This Day ... 13 August

1782     Weltkin Winlow was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of George Winlow and Weltkin Gladden.

1854     George Travill married Rosabella Pugh at St Phillips Church, Birmingham, Warwickshire. Rosabella was the daughter of John Pugh and Charlotte Harrison.

1855     Richard Haddock died at 5 Lambton Street, Sunderland, Co Durham. He was 35 years old.

John Brown 1775-1850 and Martha Robinson 1773-1839

John and Martha were the parents of Ralph Brown.  Most of what I know about them was gleaned from the baptism records of Ralph and his brother William at Bankside Chapel, North Shields, Northumberland, England.

Ralph was baptised on 17 April 1806 and the baptism record reads:

1806: Ralph son of John Brown, joiner, Hoydon Dock, parish of Wallsend, Ct N. by his wife Martha was born the 13th March and baptised the 17 April.


Witnesses: present John Bolam and Elisabeth Shotten both of Hoyden Dock.

William's baptism record was more helpful:

1803: William, son of John Brown, joiner, Hoyden Dock by his wife Marrion was born on the 18th August and baptised on the 12th September.


The father was born in the Parish of Alnwick and the mother in the parish of Wooler, her maiden name was Robison.


Witnesses present when the child was baptised John Bolam, ship carpenter and Robt Chaddock both of Hoyden Dock.

Although the mother's name is different, I'm confident that this is the same couple - there's no other John Brown in the Bankside Registers, and there is a marriage between John Brown and Martha Robinson in Alnwick (Northumberland) in 1799.

So far I've not found a baptism for either John or Martha/Marrion - as you might imagine there are quite a few John Browns and I haven't sorted through them yet.

Besides William and Ralph I've found no baptism records for children, but John is on the 1841 census with two young women living with him:

Mary aged 25
Martha aged 15

In the 1841 census no information is given about the relationships between people in a household, and ages are rounded down to the nearest 5 years. The older woman could be a child of the couple, it seems unlikely that the younger one is - Martha would have been between 48 and 53 when the younger Martha was born.

Ralph married in Houghton-le-Spring, Co Durham, England in 1830 and this clue enabled me to find his father on the 1841 census in Easington Lane, part of the old parish of Houghton-le-Spring. I was also able to find their burials at Hetton-le-Hole Church (Hetton parish was carved out of Houghton in 1838, and Easington Lane was in the new Hetton parish). Martha died in October 1839 at the age of 66.  John died in May 1850 and his burial record states he was 75 years old.

On This Day ... 12 August

1824     Richard Hudson Wilkinson was born in Sunderland, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Emerson Wilkinson and Jane Hudson.

1849     John Heighington died at Church Row, in Darlington, Co Durham.  He was 83 years old and was my 3 x great-grandfather.

1873     Margaret Horsley, nee Hood, died at Wells Yard, in Hartlepool, Co Durham.  She was 65 years old and was my 3 x great-grandmother.

On This Day ... 11 August

1799     Mary Todner was born in Washington, Co Durham, England.  She was the daughter of Ralph Todner and Mary Dand.

1854     Richard Robson was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham. He was the son of Mills Robson and Elizabeth Leeming.

1857     Isabella Read nee Child died at 12 Grosvenor Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. She was 41 years old and was my 3 x great-grandmother.

Wordless Wednesday - Norman Darby

Photograph from mid to late 1930s of Norman Darby.

On This Day ... 10 August

1809     George Horsley died in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. He was 82 years old.

1830     Thomas Revely Halliday died in Sunderland, Co Durham. He was the 11 year old son of John Halliday and Jane Hudson.

1994     Dora Ethel Hudson nee Wood died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She was 96 years old and was the widow of Richard Wilson Hudson.

On This Day ... 9 August

1799     Elizabeth Hudson nee Wardell died in Bishopwearmouth, Co Durham, England. She was my 4 x great-grandmother.

1807     Mary Coulson (nee Coulson) died in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1824     Emerson Wilkinson married Jane Hudson at Holy Trinity Church, Sunderland, Co Durham. Jane was the daughter of Richard Hudson and Patience Todner.

Amanuensis Monday - letter from Bill Hudson to Peggy November 28th 1941

My grandfather Bill Hudson worked as a prison officer in Hong Kong from 1921 to 1941. He was still in Hong Kong in December of 1941 when the Japanese invaded and occupied the colony. My grandmother Peg and my father Peter had been evacuated to Australia in July 1940. Peg kept the last couple of letters Bill wrote from Hong Kong prior to the Japanese invasion, along with the letters he wrote immediately after liberation.

Most of the letters are long, so I'm going to serialise them over the next few weeks.

This is the third letter - the first starts here and the second here - and was written on 28 November 1941, less than two weeks before the Japanese invaded. I think this is the last letter Peggy received from Bill until Hong Kong was liberated.

28.11.41

Sweetheart.

A few lines before the mail goes, to show you I still love you.

I find I can post much later here, as I can send a messenger down with this any time before 3.30 pm. It's such a unsociable day, fine drizzle and cold also.

I am moving my kit today, I expect the old Chamfor Wood box to come in today some time. Now this bitch does not want to leave Stanley, she says Jillard Amal will cause too much trouble. as the old Wash amal that used to be at Stanley, you remember, the trouble of putting the Brooms out.

If she insists on not coming here, I'll have no alternative but give her the push.

I am liking the work here very well, a warder Bud wants to come back to it again if I had not been drawing acting pay, I would fight to stay here, the only snag are those damned old Qrs, which I am afraid will drive me mad, no curtains, four chair covers, grass matting, anyway I'll get over it.

Will be very busy paying out the staff in a few minutes time, hope I don't pay out too much. 

Kiss me now, all my love, Always and Ever, Bill xxxxx

On This Day ... 8 August

1845     George Gray was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Sarah Gray.

1918     Harold Edgar Hudson was killed in action in France. He was the 20 year old son of Thomas Edgar and Frances Anne Hudson of Birmingham.

On This Day ... 7 August

1792     Thomas Coulson was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Thomas Coulson and Isabella Bulmer.

1806     Thomas Joseph Whitehouse was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of Joseph Whitehouse and Ann Hobdey.

1811     Two week old Jeremiah Hudson died. He was the son of Lancelot Hudson and Jane Henderson.

On This Day ... 6 August

1792     John Kerss was born in Gateshead, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Alexander Kerss and Catherine Errington.

1798     Thomas Wren died in Wolsingham, Co Durham. He was 65 years old.

John Moor 1759-1810 and Hannah Wren

John Moor was born in 1759 in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, England.  By 1782 he had moved to Newbrough, a few miles to the east in Northumberland. He married Hannah Wren at St Michael's and All Angels Church in nearby Warden on 26 August 1782.

Hannah was born in 1756 at Dean Raw, Haydon Bridge, Northumberland. Her family had also moved to Newbrough during the 1770s, and both John and the Wren family were living at Allerwash Redhouse in the chapelry of Newbrough.

The couple had several children, the first three born at Newbrough:

George Moor b1783
John Moor b1786
Isabel Moor b1788

and a further three born in Whickham parish, Co Durham, England:

Elizabeth Moor b1792
William Moor b1796
Hannah Moor 1799-1883

Sometime after the birth of Hannah, the family moved again, to Oxclose in the parish of Washington, Co Durham. By this time, John was working as a coal miner - there's no record prior to Oxclose of John's occupation.

John died in Oxclose on 10 March 1810, and was buried at Holy Trinity Church, Washington, on 11 March 1810.

I haven't been able to find out when or where Hannah died, although it seems likely that the family remained in Washington parish as daughter Hannah married there in 1819.

On This Day ... 5 August

1805     George Hudson was born in Bishopwearmouth, Co Durham, England. He was the son of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner.

1850     Robert Hood married Sarah Gibbons at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham.

1878     Albert E Pugh was born in Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada. He was the son of Edward W Pugh and Ann Linton.

On This Day ... 4 August

1790     Mary Kerss was born in Gateshead, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of Alexander Kerss and Catherine Errington.

1841     Susanna Child (nee Shore) died at 12 Court, 1 House, Navigation Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England, following a fall downstairs. She was the wife of John Child and was 57 years old.

1852     Harry Becher was born in Cork, Ireland. He was the son of John Richard Hedges Becher and Lucinda Jane Elizabeth Hull.

1873     Hugh Pugh died in Claremont, Ontario, Canada. He was 96 years old.

Wordless Wednesday - A day at the beach

DJ Pugh, his wife Delilah and children Phyllis and Colvin on the beach at Aberystwyth.

On This Day ... 3 August

1790     Dinah Hood was born in Hartlepool, Co Durham, England. She was the daughter of Thomas Hood and Mary Robson.

1910     Alfred Woodham married Mabel Chapman at Uxbridge, Ontario, Canada.

On This Day ... 2 August

1804     Hannah Hudson died at William Street, Bishopwearmouth, Co Durham, England. She was only 1 year old, and was the daughter of Thomas Hudson and Mary Todner.

1806     Isabella Coulson (nee Pounder) died in Hartlepool, Co Durham. She was the wife of Robert Coulson, and died of consumption at only 31 years old.

1864     Thomas Rodie Hudson Dalrymple married Jane Hill Whyte Todd at Auchleach, Stonykirk, Wigtownshire, Scotland.

Amanuensis Monday - letter from Bill Hudson to Peggy November 26th, 1941

My grandfather Bill Hudson worked as a prison officer in Hong Kong from 1921 to 1941. He was still in Hong Kong in December of 1941 when the Japanese invaded and occupied the colony. My grandmother Peg and my father Peter had been evacuated to Australia in July 1940. Peg kept the last couple of letters Bill wrote from Hong Kong prior to the Japanese invasion, along with the letters he wrote immediately after liberation.

Most of the letters are long, so I'm going to serialise them over the next few weeks.

This is the second letter - the first starts here - and was written on 26 November 1941, less than two weeks before the Japanese invaded.

Page 1 is here
Page 2 is here
Page 3 is here

Page 4

Well here is page 4, wish me luck in filling it. The trouble this way is still very [unreadable], I wish things would quieten down, we may have a chance of getting you back then, but not in these troubled times. I have got the telephone fixed up, only you see what they are doing with me, send me away from it.

Please you received the peticoat, and nothing to pay, it should be good at $12, Kiss me now.

What's wrong with Peter, tell him he must eat otherwise he will not grow to be a big Man.

A young Revenue Officer has just come inside, 15 months for demanding money, Scott by name, I don't know him, his wife is down in Australia. A big shock for his wife. Another P.O.D. head has just died, only 42, Bishop by name, the evacuation is the cause of a lot of this.

I can't write what I think in this letter, about the one who lives with you, I'll have to wait until you are safely back from Port Augusta, you do not say how long you are going for, will it be a fortnight. I'll try and write on Sunday, I'll see how things go on, I may come out here on Sunday afternoon, this furniture here reminds me so much of you, unlike the ? place I am going to and it's surroundings.

Good night Sweetheart, I do miss you more than words can express, if only I had you back I would not care. Nice double bed weather, any hopes Peg.

All my love Dear, kiss Peter for his Daddy, and tell him to eat more.

Always and Ever,

your Bill xxxxx

On This Day ... 1 August

1819     Joseph Hood married Elizabeth Bradley at St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool, Co Durham, England.

1842     Christopher Thomas Pugh was born at Hospital Street, Birmingham, Warwickshire, England. He was the son of John Pugh and Charlotte Harrison.

1917     Sidney James Darby married Emily Wilson at St Mary the Virgin Church, Ashford, Kent, England. Sidney was the son of William James Darby and Elizabeth Read.