Haggbridge.com – Never let truth get in the way of a good family story!

Betty Bowness & Her Six Fatherless Children

Elizabeth ‘Betty’ BOWNESS (1825-1870), our 3rd Great Grandmother, was born in Seaton, Cumberland, to Mary ADDISON & William BOWNESS, the village Blacksmith. Being one of eight children who reach adulthood, Betty faced a life defined by deep family ties, grueling hardship, and a devastating pattern of loss. She raised her six children without a listed father, relying entirely on the...

Bowness Comments: 0

Augustus McDonald & Royal Flying Corp

The life of Augustus McDonald offers a captivating window into the courage and endurance of the British working class during an era of global upheaval. A lifelong resident of York, Augustus transitioned from a peaceful civilian career as a hairdresser to enlisting in the Royal Flying Corps during the height of the First World War. Assigned as an officer’s batman on the Western Front, he occupied a highly trusted, deeply personal...

Edgar Comments: 0

Anthony Wear & The Black Watch

Today, 25th September, we remember Lance Corporal Anthony Wear, a volunteer soldier who sacrificed his life on the opening day of the Battle of Loos, 111 years ago. Born into a working-class family in Workington, Cumberland, his life story encapsulates the great pre-war industrial migrations across the UK and the tragic, concentrated devastation that the First World War inflicted upon tight-knit...

Clark/Drewery Comments: 0

Anthony Fussey & The Twenty Perches

Anthony FUSSEY (1784–1860), our 4th Great Grandfather, was a resilient agricultural laborer whose life was rooted entirely in the Holderness peninsula of the East Riding of Yorkshire, where he and his wife achieved the remarkable feat of raising a massive family of 15 children on a tiny plot of land measuring just 20 perches. Living through the peak of the British...

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James Albert Edgar & The Kings Royal Rifle Company

Second Lieutenant James Albert Edgar was a highly decorated British Army officer of the First World War. Serving originally as an enlisted rifleman with the Kings Royal Rifle Company, he distinguished himself through exceptional battlefield bravery, winning the Military Medal (MM) and a subsequent Bar for gallantry prior to rising out of the ranks to receive an officer’s commission. Early Life & Pre-War...

Edgar/Onions Comment: 1

Edward Doty, Duelling Daggers, Defiance, & Dishonesty

Before launching into decades of dysfunction in the new world, the story of our 9th Great Grandfather, Edward DOTY, begins in obscurity. Born in London, England, around 1599, he stepped aboard the Mayflower in 1620 as a 21 year old young man bound as an indentured servant to Stephen Hopkins. While he was merely an impoverished laborer at the time, his signing...

Adams/Bacon/Hayden/Little Comments: 0

Storwood, Baron de Ros, & Hall Hills Hall

The Hall of Hall Hills was the mediaeval manorial complex at Storwood, controlled by the feudal overlordship of Ralph de Mortimer from 1086, and remained in the family until 1425. The site, at the south end of the hamlet, is still surrounded by a prominent moat and was one of the manors of the Baron de Ros of Helmsley, including...

Bainbridge/Clark Comments: 0

William Bowness & Seaton’s Smithy

William BOWNESS (1798-1887), our 4th Great Grandfather, was a Blacksmith in the village of Seaton, Cumberland. William and his wife Mary ADDISON (1803-1879) raised 11 children in Low Seaton. Between 1840-1865, William’s cottage was home to 10-11 people. Even as their children departed Mary’s mother moved in and their eldest daughter, our 3rd Great Grandmother, Elizabeth ‘Betty’ BOWNESS (1826-1870), raised...

Bowness Comments: 0

Ken Bainbridge & Hooping Day

On Hooping Day, all the horse drawn carts from the village and surrounding farms would queue at Oulston Bank, on the hill from the forge, in both directions awaiting their turn to have their hoops, aka tyres, replaced by the village blacksmith. Our great uncle, Ken Bainbridge, along with the boys from the village would be there to help! Blacksmiths...

Bainbridge Comments: 0

Priscilla Mullins & America’s First Love Triangle

Our 9th Great Grandmother, on the Bacon family line, was our first female European ancestor to arrive in North America! Priscilla MULLINS (1602-1685), most likely heralding from Dorking, Surrey, was a member of the Leiden contingent of Pilgrims. They sailed from their self imposed exile in the Netherlands to Southampton to join the expedition. They had originally planned to reach...

Adams/Bacon/Hayden/Little/Swan Comments: 0