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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...

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...

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...

Storwood & The Popplewells

In the mid 2000s I clearly remember a telephone call from my mother when she shared with pride and incredulity that a neighbour, Peter Popplewell, had introduced her as ‘local.’ It had only taken thirty years. Hagg Bridge House, Storwood, York, was our home from the mid 1970’s onwards. My parents had returned to England from South Africa with one...

Dick Hudson & Guinness World Record

Guinness World Record for Longest Place Kick, Rugby Union. Our great uncle, Richard “Dick” Hudson, was born and raised in Bridlington, a coastal town in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Attending Bridlington Grammar School from 1938-1944, Dick excelled at Latin and rugby. By the time we visited the Hudson family, they had settled in Newton Ferrers, Devon, where Dick was...

Brenda, James, & The Giant Quake

Loma Prieta Earthquake October 17, 1989 – Where were you? On this day 35 years years ago I was 8 years old. My little brother James and I were at our babysitter’s house with a few other kids. We were watching the “Battle of the Bay” baseball game. Oakland A’s vs. San Francisco Giants. They had a big oak table...

Lizzie Edgar & The Bottle Stopperers

Our Great Grand Aunt, Elizabeth Edgar (1870-1956), was born in Newcastle Upon Tyne, Northumberland, the third of twelve children. Aunt Lizzie relocated to York with her parents, Ann LUMSDOM and John Thomas EDGAR, who worked as an engine fitter on the railways, until she entered domestic service for a family on Coney Street. At the age of 21 she married...

Clark’s of Darlington

The Clark family of Cumberland worked for generations as agricultural labourers before the industrial revolution brought mining and iron foundries to the Lake District. We can trace our family back to our 4th Great Grandparents, John CLARK & Jane CHICKEN, residents of the rural village of Kirkbride, Cumberland, in the late 18th century! Their son Joseph CLARK (1820-1895) became an...

Hudson’s of Bridlington

The Hudson family have been traced back as far as the mid-18th century and the towns of Bradford & Bingley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. However at least four generations called Bridlington home, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, where the family were carpenters and building contractors. Our 2nd great grandfather, Joseph Henry HUDSON, expanded the construction business to...

Captain Luther Little’s Tall Tales

Our 4th Great Grandfather, Luther LITTLE, from the Bacon family line was a New England sailor, naval officer, and privateer. Hailing from Marshfield, Plymouth, Massachusetts, Luther’s career at sea spanned the Revolutionary War from 1771-1799 but represented only the first half of his life. In his 85th year, Luther sat down with his granddaughter and recounted the tales of his...