Geoffs Genealogy Update 2 January 2013
Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 | Geoff
December was a fairly quiet day for me on the genealogy front. As I expect you will understand, I was preoccupied with preparations for the Christmas festivities which, I must say, I enjoyed greatly. I love Christmas. It’s always a good experience to give and receive presents, get together with family and friends, and eat too much! I think I scored on all these counts this year, and necessity dictates that I shall soon be undertaking my usual January & February weight reduction campaign. However, first there are lots of goodies still to be eaten …..
One of the presents that I received was a book that I had very much wanted to get my hands on – Marriage Law for Genealogists, by Professor Rebecca Probert, which is published by Takeaway Publishingin (2012). This book is newly published, and has received very favourable reviews. Professor Probert specialises in marriage law, and has written several books on the subject. She is also a very fine speaker on the subject, as members of the Shropshire Family History Society discovered in the first half of 2012 when she gave two talks at our gatherings. The second of these talks was given at very short notice, as a scheduled speaker at our Open Day had to pull out at short notice. We were all very grateful to Rebecca for stepping into the breach, and giving us a really interesting and entertaining talk.
When I tell you that Professor Probert also sent me an article for publication on the Shropshire FHS Journal you will understand why I am a fan of her work. I was delighted to publish her article in my last journal as editor, in December 2012.
Anyway, I am looking forward very much to reading this book, which I’m confident will greatly improve my knowledge of its subject.
During December I did some more research into Jan’s forebears. This time I left the Haves clan and concentrated on the Watsons and Sayers. I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned this before, but one branch of her Sayer family has a very colourful history. Samuel sayer (c1799-1866) was born and bred in the East Anglian countryside, but in 1828 he married a certain Elizabeth Utting (born c1803 in Jersey) in Jamaica!
The couple then settled in Bogota, Colombia, where their first child – Edward (aka Eduardo) was born in 1829, as were their other seven children. The family thrived in South America, and descendants of Samuel & Elizabeth live in the Bogota area to this day. Jan and I had the pleasure of meeting one of them some years ago, when he came over to the UK with his wife, on a visit.
Other descendants of Samuel & Elizabeth live in various parts of the USA, and we also have met one of them, as well.
Not all the Sayers were quite so adventurous, of course. Most of them lived their lives working away in Suffolk and Norfolk. All very interesting.
Also during December I took a little time to do some more work on the Culshaws. They tend to be rather neglected, I’m afraid, because the Bankes Pedigree is so endlessly fascinating that it monopolises most of my attention, but I really should give them more of my time.
This time I had a look at Alexander Culshaw (1856-1927), piecing together as much as I could about his life story. Like many of my nineteenth century Culshaws he was born at Farington, just south of Preston. Although his father was recorded as being a small scale farmer, Alexander earned his living as a railway worker. In December 1881 he married a Blackburn lass – Sarah Ellen Slater (1858-1925), and the couple lived in Blackburn for the rest of their lives. By 1891 Alexanderhad achieved the dream of most small boys, by becoming a loco engine driver, and as far as I can tell he continued to be an engine driver for the rest of his working life. He was certainly thus employed in 1911.
Alexander and Sarah had seven children, only two of whom were boys.
The second John Bankes’ Descendants Reunion is now only five months away, and in the next few weeks the pace of our preparations will start to speed up. If you have indicated that you intend to come you should expect to receive an update from us in the next 4 – 6 weeks. If you haven’t said that you would like to come, and you are descended from a sibling of John Bankes, Citizen & Haberdasher of London (c1652-1719), we do hope that you will join us on Saturday 8th June at Coulsdon. If this event is as good as the first one, I don’t think you will want to miss it!
Hello,
Could you tell me you connection to George Maliphant and Elsie Gudgeon,I am connected to Elsie.
Thanking you,
Ellen Hamilton.
PS I don’t use Facebook.
Hi Ellen
I am not connected to the Maliphants, but my wife is . They feature in her family history.
Not sure whether you may be interested, but there is a Maliphant Jubilee held each summer. We’ve been to some of them, and they are most enjoyable and very friendly events. You can see details of the 2013 event on the following website: http://www.maliphant.info/