FIDDIAN FAMILY HISTORY Our Family Saga Primarily for the ancestors of Dr James Anthony Fiddian and his wife Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Starting with the Fiddian family story we then explore our remaining family pedigree and several connected families back as far as Tudor times. After a number of Fiddian miscellany we finally delve into the Medieval Period to find our early ancestors in the Midlands who came from Normandy and before that…… Dr Anthony Paul Fiddian 2016 FIDDIAN FAMILY HISTORY Our Family Saga Primarily for the ancestors of Dr James Anthony Fiddian and his wife Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Starting with the Fiddian family story we then explore our remaining family pedigree and several connected families back as far as Tudor times. After a number of Fiddian miscellany we finally delve into the Medieval Period to find our early ancestors in the Midlands who came from Normandy and before that…… Dr Anthony Paul Fiddian 2016 Copyright © 2016 by Dr Anthony Paul Fiddian To all of our ancestors, Family we knew in life, and Family we can learn of here, Who made us what we are. 12 Generations of the Fiddian & White Families ending with our parents: FIDDIAN family Rev William Fiddian Priest 1530-1577 John Fiddian Yeoman 1572-1621 John Fiddian Yeoman 1594-1649 Richard Fiddian Yeoman 1638-1699 Thomas Fiddian Yeoman 1677-1721 Thomas Fiddian Nail Master 1711-1801 William Fiddian Nail Master 1743-1780 William Fiddian Gentleman/Brass Founder 1772-1842 Rev Samuel Fiddian Wesleyan Minister 1804-1880 Judge James Paull Fiddian District Judge/JP 1853-1896 Dr James Victor Fiddian Surgeon/GP 1887-1965 Dr James Anthony Fiddian General Practitioner 1922-2010 WHITE family Agnes Elizabeth Baker 1573-1611 Jane -1677 Ursula -1728 Ann -1764 Sarah Cooper 1709-1790 Sarah Millward 1743-1827 Catharine Showell 1771-1810 Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Elizabeth Mary Doris White 1897-1988 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts 1922-2011 Rev Henry White Priest 1559-1617 Francis White Farmer 1596James White Farmer 1634-1701 Robert White Farmer 1660-1721 Philip White Farmer 1683-1726 Philip White Innkeeper 1715-1784 James White Farmer 1755-1820 Thomas White Bootmaker/Publican 1807-1867 Thomas E White Bootmaker/Dairyman 1842-1918 George F White Bootmaker/Dairy Farmer 1872-1955 Elizabeth Mary Doris White 1897-1988 Dr James Anthony Fiddian General Practitioner 1922-2010 Elizabeth Beane 1562-1601 Jane Mary Mary Hammond 1665-1747 Helen Palmer 1691-1749 Tabitha Bush 1711-1784 Ann Mary Murrell 1765-1822 Mary Pilbrow 1801-1851 Elizabeth Cann 1846-1913 Jane Bell 1873-1951 Dr James Victor Fiddian 1887-1965 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts 1922-2011 12 Generations of the Roberts & Brooksbank Families ending with our parents: ROBERTS family John Roberts Yeoman 1595-1670 John Roberts Gentleman 1621James Roberts Yeoman 1646-1736 Thomas Roberts Yeoman 1680James Roberts Yeoman 1706-1758 Henry Roberts Yeoman 1732-1781 James Roberts Yeoman 1764-1834 Dr John Roberts Surgeon/GP 1790-1851 John Roberts Surgeon/Druggist 1825-1889 George William Roberts Druggist/Coal Agent 1856-1926 Hubert Roberts Commercial Clerk 1891-1939 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Teacher 1922-2011 BROOKSBANK family Joan Halle 1589-1673 Elizabeth Alice Elizabeth Ann Scott 1704-1764 Alice Proctor 1733Alice Coates 1760-1834 Susannah Shaw 1796-1830 Priscilla Graham 1835-1927 Jane Sykes 1853-1919 Marion Beatrice Brooksbank 1891-1991 Dr James Anthony Fiddian 1922-2010 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1539-1577 James Brooksbank Yeoman 1561William Brooksbank Yeoman 1583William Brooksbank Yeoman 1636-1687 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1670-1730 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1720-1784 Joseph Brooksbank Farmer 1764-1798 William Brooksbank Farmer/Weaver 1788-1868 John Brooksbank Farmer/Weaver 1818-1901 Wright Brooksbank Stone Mason/Farmer 1852-1896 Marion B Brooksbank Dressmaker 1891-1991 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Teacher 1922-2011 Joan Oldfield 1540Joan -1609 Katherine Gray 1599Susannah Elizabeth Mellar 1676Mary Lund 1727Nancy Bradley 1762-1827 Hannah Wood 1794-1871 Elizabeth Armitage 1821-1903 Emily Scurry 1852-1933 Hubert Roberts 1891-1939 Dr James Anthony Fiddian 1922-2010 CONTENTS Introduction Part 1: The Fiddian Family Story Chapter 1 - Yeomen in the West Midlands 5 Chapter 2 - Working with Metal (and ‘Woods’) 8 Chapter 3 - Saddlers and Early Emigrants 12 Chapter 4 - Social Status, Wine and More Metal 14 Chapter 5 - Brass Founding and Religion 18 Chapter 6 - Leaving the Black Country 21 Chapter 7 - Judge James Paull Fiddian & Granny Pink 24 Chapter 8 - Fiddian Cousins 26 Chapter 9 - The Fiddian Family Now 28 Part 2: Our White Family Story Chapter 1 - 500 Years from Norfolk to Cambridgeshire 29 Chapter 2 - The Whites, Farming in Fulbourn 32 Chapter 3 - Olive’s Turvey Family History 36 Part 3: Our Roberts Family Story Chapter 1 - Yeomen in Herefordshire 39 Chapter 2 - Doctors in the West Riding of Yorkshire 40 Part 4: Our Brooksbank Family Story Chapter 1 - Early Brooksbanks 43 Chapter 2 - Yeomen in the Dales 47 Chapter 3 – Woollen Weavers and Hardship 49 Part 5: Our Splendid Family Pedigree Part 6: Other Notable Families in our Pedigree Chapter 1 - The Vasey Family from the North York Moors 76 Chapter 2 - The Orcadian Linklaters 80 Chapter 3 - The Wiltshire Brinsden Family 83 Chapter 4 - The Gloucestershire Clarkes 86 Chapter 5 - The Cornish Family of Paull 88 Chapter 6 - The Cornish Polkinghornes 91 Chapter 7 - Three more Cornish Families 92 Chapter 8 - Another Three Families, from Warwickshire 95 Chapter 9 - Two more 16th Century Great-Grandfathers 97 Part 7: Connected Family Stories Chapter 1 - Far-flung Fiddian-Greens 99 Chapter 2 - Top-notch Leedham-Greens 106 Chapter 3 - Moulton Methodist Ministers and More 111 Chapter 4 - The Devonshire Reddaways 120 Chapter 5 - Extended Family Members who Died in War 125 Part 8: Family Miscellany Chapter 1 - Fiddians who went to Australia 139 Chapter 2 - Fiddian as a Given Name 143 Chapter 3 - Christian Names used by Fiddians 149 Chapter 4 - Commonest Fiddian Occupations 150 Chapter 5 - Religion in our Extended Family 153 Part 9: Granny Pink’s Journal Part 10: A Theory of our Fiddian Origins Chapter 1 - Vivian as a Given Name in Medieval England 171 Chapter 2 - Regional Phonetic Derivations from the Name Vivian 181 Chapter 3 - Candidate Families in the Midlands 184 Chapter 4 - Putative Norman Ancestors 190 Chapter 5 - Our Links to the Vikings 192 Our Family Saga 2 Our Family Saga INTRODUCTION This book has been prepared in the first instance for me and my siblings Nick, Jackie, Judy and Bill as children of Dr James Anthony Fiddian and his wife Audrey Jacqueline Roberts. It is of course of very relevant to our descendants, particularly our 14 children James, JoJo, Alex, Georgie, Nikki, Sally, Tom, Rob, Matt, Ollie, Jack, Sam, Laura and Ella though sadly it will only tell half of their family story. For their children it will only reveal a quarter of their family history and so on. So I hope that future generations will add to the saga making it more relevant to them and their own children without losing what we already know. For this purpose I will gladly make the DOCX and PDF files available to you all so you can construct your own Family Saga. Let me now tell you a little about how I got to this point and why I decided to print this book. It began with me looking into my Fiddian ancestors, it’s what you do when you have a unique name like that, and I’m not the first to look at our family history. Indeed there is a story about the Fiddian River Chart (see opposite), a sort of family tree but made to look like branching rivers, the original of which was made of brass. It was probably made in about 1828 by William Fiddian, the Brass Founder and grandson of Thomas Fiddian born in 1711, with whom the chart started. Apparently my great aunt Hilda Fiddian born in 1885 had inherited this via her father Judge James Paull Fiddian. I am pretty sure of this because I have the ledger with all the details used to construct the chart and this too starts with Thomas Fiddian in 1711. In the mid-1950s there was a meeting in Birmingham which involved six members of the extended Fiddian family who were interested in our family history. My great aunt Hilda took the chart to the meeting and lent it to one of the other participants, but it wasn’t returned and we have never found out what became of it. Quite recently a Fiddian 6th cousin sent me a copy of a local newspaper which reported this meeting on the 20th June 1956, as his father the amateur golfer Eric Fiddian had been at the meeting, and he enclosed a paper copy of the chart. So at least I have seen what it looks like as my aunt didn’t have a replica (not easy in 1956!). During my researches I have made contact with several distant cousins, usually in their 50s or 60s (our ancestor William Fiddian was 56 in 1828) all of whom have a shared passion in Fiddian genealogy. So it all goes to show how avid we family historians can become. In my own case I haven’t stopped with just the Fiddians but then explored the families of our other three grandparents, White, Roberts and Brooksbank and then the whole of our family pedigree. Each time I completed the research of a family name I prepared a short story about that branch. Then after delving into numerous other branches of our extended family and back as far as I could go I had collected numerous short stories. So it now seemed time to collect all the stories together and put the whole saga into print. I have also recently published our 3 Our Family Saga grandfather Dr James Victor Fiddian’s memoirs under the title ‘Small Town Surgeon’ as it merited a separate book. But don’t worry I haven’t lost the passion for genealogy and have plans to complete the research on my wife and children’s own unique family stories in due course. I have also produced a draft article about the several occasions when an ancestor of mine married an ancestor of my wife, albeit around 900 years ago, but have not included it here as it is likely that further research of her family will uncover more examples. One of my aims has always been to provide as much information as possible about the lifestyle of our ancestors and not just dwell on the dates of births, baptisms, marriages and deaths. Naturally the censuses from 1841 to 1911 have proved very useful but before that I have often had to rely on wills, birth, marriage and death certificates and other documents to gain more social information. Hopefully this has meant that there is more of a story to tell about our extended family and it is possible for the reader to gain an appreciation of what their life must have been like. It would appear that we have been very fortunate over the years and there are very few examples of real hardship in the various branches of the extended family. Indeed quite a few of our ancestors have been very successful and several have been very privileged, especially in the first half of the last millennium. But perhaps I should stop there as I don’t really want to spoil the story for you. I hope you enjoy reading about your ancestors and can see yourselves as active members of this ongoing family saga – ‘Our Family Saga’. Paul Fiddian, June 2016 Great aunt Hilda Grace Fiddian, d. 1984 aged 99 years 4 Our Family Saga Part 1: The Fiddian Family Story Chapter 1 - Yeomen in the West Midlands We will consider the very early origins of our Fiddian family elsewhere, but this story will focus on the rather better documented saga which began in the Midlands in the 16th century. The first Fiddian for whom we have fairly complete data is John Fyddian born in 1572 at Coleshill, Warwickshire and we do know that his father was a William Fyddian who died in 1577. We cannot be certain though if this was the same William Fydian who was ordained as a Priest at the Bishop’s Palace in London in 1554 and who came from the diocese of Chester, but he may well be. There are a couple of other contemporaneous Fyddians from Cheshire and a Fidyan from Staffordshire who could also be related. But the fact that he lived in a market town would be consistent with William being a priest whereas John was almost certainly a Yeoman. In the late 14th to 18th centuries Yeomen were farmers who owned their own land and associated buildings; the size of their holding was supposed to be over 100 acres. There social status was one step down from the Landed Gentry but above a Husbandman. 5 Our Family Saga Although records with information about occupations are sparse before the introduction of censuses we do know from a detailed search of parish records that both one of John’s sons (Thomas) and a greatgrandson (also Thomas – see his burial record on the previous page) were Yeomen. Also we know that John moved to Sheldon, Warwickshire as a young man where he married Elizabeth Baker in 1591 and they had a large family, but Sheldon was largely rural apart from a Manor and small village. So the most likely occupation would have been in agriculture, but where would he have found the money to buy the land and buildings sufficient to warrant his social standing as a Yeoman? Even if his father was a priest it is still most likely that he came from a family of some standing and so would probably have inherited the land or monies from a relative. Whilst we cannot tell from this how far back the family had had such good fortune, we do know that they continued as Yeomen farmers for four generations. John and Elizabeth had at least 7 children, though four of them had died before the age of twenty and Elizabeth herself died aged 37 whilst the remaining children were still quite young. So it would have been pretty tough for John who was only 48 when he too died, though by then two of his surviving sons were old enough to inherit and probably split their father’s estate. One, John Fyddian born in 1594 moved to Northfield and the other, Thomas Fydean/Fiddian born in about 1596 moved to Yardley where he was a Yeoman. A third son Richard Fydian born in 1605 also moved to Yardley but died there in 1625, suggesting that the brothers moved away from Sheldon quite soon after their father’s death. Since none of the family had remained behind in Coleshill or in Sheldon this supports the notion that there was no great attachment for either, and that their roots were probably elsewhere. You will have noted the various spellings of our surname used so far which reflect those recorded in the original documents but we will now use only the form that is used today, despite the continued misspelling by clerks over the next 100 years or so. The main branch of the family is descended from the John Fiddian who moved to Northfield, where many of them remained for the next 100 years or so. Like Sheldon, Northfield was largely a rural farming community until the 19th century although there was a nail making industry in cottages near the church and several mills on the banks of the river Rea. As John was the elder brother of a Yeoman and had a grandson who was a Yeoman it is very likely that he and his other children were also Yeomen. It would have taken John some time to establish himself in Northfield and this may explain why he didn’t appear to marry until he was well into his 30s. He and his wife Jane had eight children but having started quite late the youngest of these were still infants when John died in 1649. However the eldest son, another John Fiddian, was just 18 when his father died and would probably have been able to take over the farm with help from his brothers William and Richard Fiddian aged 13 and 11 years. For some reason this latest John had his eldest son, yet another John Fiddian, born in 1657 at Rowley Regis some 7 or 8 miles away, but then had another son at Northfield where he died in 1682. The fourth John Fiddian though remained in or returned to Rowley Regis where he married, had children and later died aged only 38. His only son was a 5th generation John Fiddian born in 1692 at Rowley Regis who lived into his 78th year and had a 6th generation John Fiddian born in 1732 at Rowley 6 Our Family Saga Regis who in turn had 8 children, none of them called John. This line of the family then appears to come to an abrupt end and we know very little about the family members already mentioned. Returning to the middle brother William Fiddian born in 1636 at Northfield he too moved away but to Dudley where he met and married Alice Nock in 1659 and they had two sons before William died in 1665. Again this line too then comes to an abrupt end and so we are left with the final surviving brother Richard Fiddian born in 1638 at Northfield to continue our story. Although the family enjoyed the status of Yeomen farmers it should be noted that life would still have been quite tough and many died in their 40s and 50s. Richard was almost certainly yet another Yeoman Farmer and he married Ursula from Northfield when he was about 30 and they had five children, only one of whom was a son, Thomas Fiddian born in 1677 at Northfield. This Thomas was recorded as a Yeoman when he was buried in 1721 and it is quite likely that he was the last of the freehold farmers in the family taking over from his father at the age of 22. Although nail making was an increasing industry in the area we do not know if anyone in the family had yet become involved in it, though it was quite common for farmers and their families to make nails during the winter months when less work on the land could be undertaken. Thomas married Ann in his twenties and they had seven children before Thomas died at the age of 44 leaving Ann with several young children. As the oldest son Richard Fiddian was only 14 at the time and perhaps did not want to become a farmer Ann may have been forced to sell some, or all, of their farm. 7 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - Working with Metal (and ‘Woods’) Instead, in 1722 Richard was apprenticed for 7 years to William Moore Snr & Son, Gunsmiths of Birmingham. He would go on to complete his training and become a successful Gunsmith in his own right and there are flintlock muskets bearing his name that have survived to this day. There is no evidence that Richard either married or had children, though he did live to a good old age of 82 years. His two younger brothers were Thomas Fiddian born in 1711 and William Fiddian born in 1716 who probably grew up in and may even have started working in Northfield, but both of them had moved to Halesowen by their twenties. Although they might already have become involved in nail making at Northfield, it was little more than a cottage industry there, whilst at Halesowen (a Market town) it had become the staple trade in the 18th century, with many iron mills and local coal mining. Flintlock musket made by Richard Fiddian, Gunsmith c.1760 8 Our Family Saga William married Mary Betterton in 1742 at Halesowen and they had 9 children, including 5 sons who between them could have started a quite extensive branch of the family, but after a couple of generations it seemed to peter out. So it was left to the middle brother Thomas to keep the family line going and leave his mark. Indeed most Fiddian family trees start with this Thomas and yet we know very little about the man. By the time he reached his majority in 1732 there may not have been a great deal of his inheritance left, but perhaps it was enough to give him a start. In any case as he heralded the pinnacle of the families’ standing in society he must have been quite successful in his chosen occupation, and given the place and time he was most likely involved in Iron or Nail Manufacturing. Most likely the latter as producing iron would have required a greater outlay upfront. The case for Thomas Fiddian being a Nail Master is quite compelling. As a young man he moved from Northfield where nail making was on a modest scale to Halesowen where it was the principal industry and so would have provided greater opportunity. We do not know if he had a sufficient inheritance to establish a business straight away or had to work his way up, but he would have required a warehouse in Halesowen and perhaps smaller depots in the surrounding districts. His sons William and Richard were both Innkeepers from around 1768, a common practice amongst Nail Masters as the nailers could then be paid in kind rather than with cash. His grandson William Fiddian would become the great Brass Founder in Birmingham, a logical progression from working with iron as the nail making industry began to decline from the end of the 18th century when machinery was first introduced. Indeed his three grandsons from his eldest son William would become Gentlemen or an Esquire and so there must have been substantial wealth in the family. In 1773 Thomas was elected as a Churchwarden for Halesowen and Rowley Regis indicating he was well favoured by both the Minister and his congregation. Finally Thomas lived to the age of 90 suggesting that his life had not been too arduous. Thomas married Sarah Cooper in 1740 at Halesowen and they had 7 children, 6 of whom were boys, though two of these died in infancy and a third aged only 18 years, whilst the only daughter died aged 9 years. Of the youngest surviving brother we know only that Barzillai Fiddian born in 1755 was a Churchwarden for Halesowen and Rowley Regis, married late and had no children. The next youngest brother was Richard Fiddian born in 1746, whilst the oldest was William Fiddian born in 1743, and they were most likely given a start in the Nail Making industry by their father. William married Sarah Millward in 1767 and the following year he acquired a Public House in Halesowen, likewise Richard married Sarah Thompson in 1769 and obtained a Public House in the same year. This was common practice for Nail Masters as they would often pay their workers in kind and give them credit notes to spend in their own premises. But William died in 1780 and Richard became a Saddler so Iron Working seemed to come to an abrupt end in this family as the industry started to decline. Richard may also have been a Churchwarden as he was recorded as a witness to a great many weddings in Halesowen. Richard and Sarah had 8 children, 6 daughters and two sons, but one of the girls died in infancy. His eldest son Benjamin Fiddian born in 1769 was the first Sexton and Parish Clerk of St Peter’s Church, Cradley (which had been a Wesleyan Chapel but was allowed to conform by a special Act of Parliament). 9 Our Family Saga He might have needed his faith to sustain him as he lost three wives in a ten year period, although he also tended to be a bit quick off the mark conceiving two children out of wedlock. He married Sarah Morgan in 1794 when she was at least 5 months pregnant and they had four daughters before she died in 1798. The following year he married Hannah Roach who died in 1802 after the birth of their only daughter. His next wife was Diana Aston who had already given him another daughter before they married in 1803, and they had two sons before she died in 1808. Finally he married Hannah Honour Detheridge in 1810 and they had just one daughter, though Hannah had 8 other children to look after, and she lived to a good age. Following their father’s example two of his daughters from his first marriage managed to have a child out of wedlock but he might have found it difficult to scold them very much given his own behaviour. The two sons from his third marriage were Thomas Fiddian born in 1804 and Benjamin Fiddian born in 1806, both at Halesowen. Thomas was a Merchant in Halesowen and married Mary Ann Edwards in 1832 with whom he had four children before he died in 1840 aged only 36 years. The first two of their children died in infancy and the other two died at 10 and 12 years old, but despite her losses Mary Ann lived to the age of 84 years. Life was somewhat better for Benjamin who initially worked as a Spade Finisher but later as a Journeyman Spade Maker. He married Mary Ann Badger in 1832 and they settled in nearby Old Swinford where they had 10 children, two of whom died young. Benjamin himself died from epileptic fits at the age of 58 whilst travelling on business but Mary Ann lived to the age of 86. The oldest of Benjamin’s three surviving sons was another Benjamin Fiddian born in 1842 at Old Swinford who also started off as a Spade Finisher but was more successful than his father and ended up running his own Spade and Shovel Manufacturing business sometime after 1891. He too was probably a Journeyman in his twenties as he met and married Keturah Barnes whilst in Cambridgeshire and their first child was born in Essex, but their other two children were born in Old Swinford. Their only son was Alexander Francis Fiddian born in 1874 and he joined his father in Manufacturing Spades and Shovels as ‘B Fiddian & Son’. Benjamin lived to the age of 78 before he died from a stroke and Alexander then developed the business into a Tool Making Company. Alexander met and married a local girl called Amy Winifred Slim in 1907 and they had two sons and two daughters over a ten year period. Both Douglas Alexander Albert Fiddian born in 1908 and Eric Westwood Fiddian born in 1910 were Amateur Golfers of some standing before becoming Directors of the family Tool Company. Eric was the more impressive golfer of the two, winning both the Boys’ and English Amateur Golf Championships and playing twice in the Walker Cup against the USA. Eric Fiddian Douglas married Hazel Brookes in 1963 but they had no children and he died aged 87 years in 1995. Eric married earlier, in 1933, to Florence Molly Fieldhouse and they had two daughters, but Florence died 10 Our Family Saga in 1962. Eric married again in 1965 to Edwina Pearl Russell and they had a son Mark Alexander Fiddian born in 1966 at Birmingham with Eric living to the age of 95. Mark is married to Claire and they have two boys, but he works for a Computer Hardware Company and so his father was probably the last Fiddian to work with Metal. 11 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 - Saddlers and Early Emigrants Returning to Richard Fiddian (born in 1746), his second son Richard Fiddian born in 1779 at Halesowen was also a Saddler as well as a Churchwarden of St John’s, Halesowen and occasional Groom. He married Mary Forrest in 1802 and they had seven children, including three sons, all of whom survived childhood. Their eldest son was another Richard Fiddian born in 1807 at Halesowen who was a Schoolmaster and Superintendent of Lye Free School in 1841, but also worked as a Farmer, Haulier, Fanner and Coal Dealer at different times and was declared bankrupt in 1846. In 1854 he was accused of embezzlement and the case went to court but he was acquitted. He married Sarah Benbow in 1836 and they had five children, several of whom went to the Antipodes. The eldest, Samuel Fiddian born in 1837 was a Tinsmith (Whitesmith) who went to New Zealand in his 20s or 30s where he was a Miner. Next was Richard Fiddian born in 1839 who was a Pork Butcher and married twice, firstly to Ada Adams in 1860 with whom he had four children and then to Louisa Griffiths with whom he had a daughter. The only son from his first marriage, Richard Fiddian was born in 1869 at Rowley Regis and he firstly joined his uncle Samuel in New Zealand where he was a Miner and then in 1922 he went to Australia taking several different jobs. A daughter of Richard and Sarah, Eliza Fiddian born in 1843 married William Angliss in 1862 and they had 11 children before they all migrated to Australia where their eldest son Sir William Charles Angliss had built up a massive Meat Packing & Exporting Company. Finally Arthur Fiddian born in 1844 was a General Labourer and then a Barge Foreman who married twice, firstly to Sarah Ann Round and then to Sarah Ann Butt, with whom he had a total of 14 children. Although Arthur never emigrated two of his sons, Samuel Theseus Fiddian born in 1865 and Harry Douglas Fiddian born in 1868 ended up in Australia. The only other son who survived infancy was Frank Fiddian born in 1894 at Sparkhill, Birmingham. He was engaged to Lydia May Harris in 1914 but she died suddenly in January 1915 and Frank was devastated. He enlisted as a Private in the Private Frank Fiddian d.1915 12 Our Family Saga Machine Gun Corps and in October 1918 whilst serving at Flanders Fields in France he died from mustard gas burns and was buried at a Military Cemetery in Le Treport. The final child of Richard and Sarah Fiddian was in fact a daughter, Alice Fiddian born in 1783 at Halesowen. In 1807 she had a son George Granger Fiddian born out of wedlock and this must have caused the family great embarrassment as they made attempts to blur the records by referring to Alice as Allec or Alle in an old ledger and on the family tree. Still George was not the first child born out of wedlock in the Fiddian family and he would not be the last. As for some other of the men in this branch of the family George chose to work with leather rather than metal and was a Saddler & Harness Maker and a Tanner, as well as a Registrar and Parish Clerk. He married Anne Mason in 1843 and they had five children at Halesowen, four sons and a daughter though the eldest son died in infancy. The two older surviving sons George Fiddian born in 1846 and Richard Fiddian born in 1848 both worked for the Railways and married, but only George had any sons. These were Sidney Granger Fiddian born in 1888, a Spring Maker and Arthur Ernest Fiddian born in 1890 a Lighthouse Engineering Machinist. The two youngest children of George Granger, John and Anne Fiddian migrated to Philadelphia in the USA in 1872 at the age of 22 and 20 respectively but never married. Other children of Richard Fiddian (born in 1779) and Mary were Charles Fiddian born in 1809 and William Fiddian born in 1816, both at Halesowen. Charles Fiddian was another relative who chose to work with leather, being a Boot and Shoe Maker. He married Sarah Perkes in 1832 and they had six children including only one son, Henry Fiddian born in 1832 who was a Boilerplate Shearer. Although Henry married it does not appear that they had any children. Charles’ brother William Fiddian also worked mainly with leather as a Saddle & Harness Maker and married Elizabeth Mobberley in 1844. They had 10 children, of whom three died young, including William Fiddian born in 1849 who was a Civil Engineer, Surveyor and Auctioneer. Others sons were Charles Fiddian born in 1856 another Saddler and Samuel Fiddian born in 1858 an Ironmonger who was also styled as a Gentleman but had no children. 13 Our Family Saga Chapter 4 - Social Status, Wine and More Metal Returning finally to William Fiddian (born in 1743) who like his brother Richard was most likely an Iron or Nail Maker, and a successful one at that, and who was married to Sarah in 1767. They had three sons and three daughters but William died in 1780 shortly before the birth of the last of these, hence her name Posthumia. Despite William’s early death the family must have been very comfortably off as all three of his sons were able to claim the status of Gentleman, although the middle one chose not to use it and the youngest would become an Esquire (a rank between Gentleman and Knight). His eldest son Thomas Fiddian born in 1767 was a Gentleman, Wine Merchant, Property Owner (at least 15 houses and two shops) and Birmingham Street Commissioner who married Elizabeth Bowyer in 1793. They had two sons and two daughters who had grown up by the time that Elizabeth died in 1830, but Thomas who was 8 years younger than her married again in 1832 to an Elizabeth Evans, though they had no children. 35 Calthorpe Street, built for Thomas Fiddian, Gent in 1829 14 Our Family Saga Thomas was still living in Birmingham with his youngest son William Fiddian born in 1801, a Wine & Spirit Merchant, when he died in 1849 aged 82 years. William never married and so when he died in 1867 at Edgbaston he left almost £6000 to his elder brother Thomas (worth over £600,000 today). This would have further bolstered Thomas Bowyer Fiddian, Esq who had been born in 1797 at Birmingham and was a Wine Merchant and Metal & Paper Dealer, but he died the following year. The status of Esquire is a curtesy title above that of Gentleman but below that of Knight belonging to the social class of gentry (or Landed gentry). Thomas Bowyer had married Sarah Raby in 1826 at Wolverhampton and they had had two sons, Thomas Fiddian born in 1827 and William Henry Fiddian born in 1831 both at Birmingham. This Thomas was either something of a polymath or was sufficiently well off to indulge his whims, as he was recorded as an Artist, Sculptor, Designer, Lithographer, Printer and Merchant. He married Frances Chandler at Edgbaston in 1853 and they had three daughters, but when he died in 1878 he did not leave them all that much (less than £1000 in total). His younger brother William Henry was a Wine Merchant who married Ellen Sefton in 1857 at Kings Norton and with whom he had two sons, William Fiddian born in 1858 and Henry Fiddian born in 1865. In 1867 William Henry divorced Ellen at London, a quite unusual occurrence in those times though we don’t know who was cited or for what. William Henry then married again at Chelsea in 1871 to Frances Wood who was 21 years his junior and with whom he had two daughters. William Henry died in 1888 at Newton Abbott in Devon two years after the birth of his last child and four years after the birth of his first grandchild. His son William had married Constance Swinden in 1884 at Kings Norton and they had had a son at the end of that year. He was christened William Ralph Sefton Fiddian, which may have grated somewhat with his grandfather, and he was responsible for the branch of Sefton-Fiddians that is dealt with elsewhere. His father William was a Metal Merchant and Manufacturer of White Metal Goods, whilst William Ralph was a Metal Merchant, Engineer and Manufacturer. The younger brother of William, Henry Fiddian was a Sewing Machine Salesman and Motor Tyre Repairer who married Emily Fanny Harper in 1891 at Kings Norton and they had a son and two daughters, the last of these being born in London. Life must have been harder for Henry and Emily as their son William Henry Fiddian born in 1894 was admitted to the South Eastern Fever Hospital at Deptford (a Workhouse Hospital serving the poor of East London) in 1897. No doubt fearing the worst he was christened in the hospital in the August of that year and then died the next month. After reviewing the sudden change in fortune of one branch of the family we will return to the youngest son of William Fiddian (born in 1743) and Sarah, who was Charles Fiddian born in 1776 at Halesowen. Charles styled first as a Gentleman then later an Esquire, was a Shoe & Boot Manufacturer, Cashier of the Birmingham Street Commissioners, Proprietor of Houses, Spermaceti Candle Maker (no, it isn’t was it sounds like but is from a whale!) and Insurance Broker. Despite all these occupations he still found time to be married three times. Firstly he married Penelope Bennett in 1798 at Aston in Warwickshire and they had twin sons the following year, then a daughter and another son who died in 15 Our Family Saga infancy before Penelope died in 1806. He then married Sarah Reynolds in 1808 at Birmingham and they had three sons before Sarah died in 1813. Finally he married Sarah Brunner in 1815 at Leamington in Warwickshire but they had no children. Charles died at Kings Norton in 1863 at the age of 87 years. The twins from Charles’ first marriage were George and Charles Fiddian born in 1799. George Fiddian was a Shoemaker and married Elizabeth Ball in 1830 at Birmingham where they had a single daughter Sarah. Charles Fiddian was a Gentleman and a Malleable Nail & Coffin Furniture Maker, the latter was a business partnership known as Dawes & Fiddian which eventually went bankrupt in 1861. Charles married Hannah Ryland at Birmingham in 1832 and they had a son and a daughter. The son, Charles John Fiddian was born in 1833 at Edgbaston and was variously a Merchant’s Labourer, a Coal Merchant and a Hardware Agent. He married Emily Jane Holland in 1857 at Kings Norton and they had two daughters, one of whom died in infancy. Of the three sons from Charles’ second marriage, the eldest Edward Reynolds Fiddian born in 1809 died at the age of only 10 years. The second son was Frederick William Fiddian born in 1810 at Birmingham who was an Architect, Surveyor, Cement Dealer and Freemason (the first of two documented Fiddian Freemasons). He was responsible for designing the Church of St Silas in Lozells, Birmingham which was completed in 1854 but is now redundant. He also had the misfortune of marrying four times having lost his first three wives from early deaths and even his last wife died well before him. The first wife Mary Field whom he married in 1835 at Deddington in Oxfordshire, died on their honeymoon at Rhyde on the Isle of Wight after only 18 days. He then married Ann Kirby in 1838 at Birmingham and they had a daughter Leah Amelia Kirby Fiddian born there in 1840 but Ann died the same year (possibly in childbirth). Next he married Eliza Harriet Dean in 1842 at Edgbaston and the following year they had a son who died in infancy, then a daughter Alice Mary Fiddian who died at 25 years of age and finally a daughter Florence Fiddian who lived to the age of 92 years. After Eliza died in 1851 Frederick William still had three young daughters and he married again in 1853 to Ann Chellingworth at West Bromwich and the following year they had a son Frederick Hubert Fiddian who became a Gentleman and a Silversmith (the type of metal was improving!). Frederick Hubert married Amelia Bushell in 1884 at Kings Norton but the family’s misfortune was set to continue. Their first and only child was a son, Frederick William Fiddian who was born in 1889 but died the following year, as did Amelia. Frederick Hubert then died not long after in 1893, though whether this was from heartbreak or other causes is unknown. So we are left with the final son of Charles Fiddian, Gentleman from his second marriage, namely Thomas Henry Fiddian born in 1812. He too was a Gentleman and an Accountant, and in 1850 he married Mary Ann Brunner at Oxford. They had nine children in all, though two died in childhood and a third at the age of only 23 years. Of the three surviving sons William Henry Fiddian born in 1852 at Birmingham was the eldest. He was a Journalist, moving around the country and at one time was Manager and Reporter for the Kentish Express & Ashford News. In 1880 he married Ada Dowsing at Plomesgate in 16 Our Family Saga Suffolk and they had four children, two sons and two daughters. The two girls both became School Teachers a common occupation amongst Fiddians, whilst Thomas Henry Arthur Fiddian born in 1890 at Canterbury was a Builder’s Carpenter but never married. The youngest child was Charles Edward Fiddian born in 1898 who became a Pipe Fitter at Neath in Wales, married a local girl Annie Griffiths in 1919 and had one child, a daughter Joan. The second son of Thomas Henry Fiddian, Gentleman was Thomas Brunner Fiddian born in 1855 at Birmingham who was variously a Jewelry Case Maker, Gas Meter Inspector and Publican. In 1879 he married Catherine Crow at Birmingham and they had a son and a daughter. The latter was Edith Carrie Fiddian born in late 1879 who was also a School Teacher before her marriage in 1908. The son was Thomas Harold Fiddian born in 1881, a Municipal Clerk who married Florence Edith Kimberley in 1915 and had a son Thomas John Fiddian in 1916 at Aston in Warwickshire. There are no records of Thomas John’s occupation but in 1941 he married Nora Lilian Burman at Bromsgrove and they had a single daughter Jill Fiddian in 1949. The final son of Thomas Henry was Charles Bridges Fiddian born in 1863 at Birmingham who was a Telegraphist. He married Emily Eliza Ann Thompson in 1892 and they too had a sole daughter. 17 Our Family Saga Chapter 5 - Brass Founding and Religion We now need to return to the middle son of William Fiddian (born in 1743) who was also a William Fiddian born in 1772 at Halesowen. Whilst it seems likely that William senior was involved with Nail Making at Halesowen it was only in Birmingham that Brass Founding was a fast growing industry at the end of the 18th century. It is most probable that William junior was first apprenticed to one such Brass Founder after his father’s early death (though no records have been found), but no doubt coming into his inheritance he was able to start his own business around the age of 21. He was almost certainly successful very quickly as he had married Catherine Showell by 1795 and they went on to have 11 children, including two pairs of twins though sadly three of the latter individuals died in infancy. Brought up as an Anglican, William switched to the Baptist church in about 1798 after the birth of his first two children and then became a Methodist at some point after 1812, but his second marriage in 1818 and burial in 1842 were both Church of England services. Fiddian brass taps from the 19th century, made at the Fiddian Foundry William was an interesting character, not only building up a highly successful business known as the Fiddian Foundry which included Brass Founding, Cock Founding, Bell Founding and Brass Candlestick Making, but also contributing to society. He sat on the Board of Guardians of the Poor, was a Birmingham Street Commissioner (like his two brothers) and was a Circuit Steward for the Methodist Church. Perhaps most telling is that he eschewed the use of the title Gentleman (unlike his brothers) which would surely have been his if he had wanted it. No doubt having had 11 children in 14 years proved too much for poor Catherine and she died in 1810, but it wasn’t until 1818 that William married again to Martha Millar who by then was too old to give him any more children. William died in 1842 at his home in Great Hampton Street in Birmingham and shortly afterwards his son the Rev Samuel Fiddian sold his business to James 18 Our Family Saga Barwell, though the latter kept the Fiddian name for the business (and as a given name for some of his descendants). 20th century brass bearing the Fiddian name but made by James Barwell & Sons All of William’s surviving children have an interesting tale to tell so we should consider them in turn. The eldest was Mary Fiddian born in 1796 who was initially given a Church of England christening but later registered as a Baptist in 1801 after her father had chosen that faith (Baptists eschew baptism until individuals are professing believers). She married Richard Peart in 1816, another family with strong religious connections that will be reviewed elsewhere. Next was another William Fiddian, born in 1797, who sadly died in 1821 at London (perhaps having gone there to enter the Church) before he really made his mark. The second son was Joseph Fiddian born in 1799 who was the only child who followed his father into the Brass Founding business, working as a Brass Cock Founder for William Fiddian & Son. He married Elizabeth Gill in 1825 and they had a daughter and two sons but the business was sold by his brother Samuel in 1842 and he became a Warehouse Clerk. Perhaps this reflected the families’ view that Joseph was incapable of running the business or simply that William left his son Samuel in charge. In any case Joseph was unemployed by 1847 and three years later was declared insolvent, then in 1855 he died aged only 55. Next was Elizabeth Fiddian born in 1801 who went on to marry Richard Green, another Brass Founder so beginning the Fiddian-Green branch of the family and a story told elsewhere. Another daughter Catherine Fiddian born in 1802 came next and she claimed she would never marry a Methodist Preacher like the many that frequented the Fiddian household. In the end she did fall for the Rev James Egan Moulton and married him in 1833, starting a dynasty of Moulton Methodist Ministers and a Baron which will be related later. Sibling number six was Rev Samuel Fiddian born in 1804, a Methodist Minister who married into the Paull family and will be discussed below. Sarah Fiddian born in 1806 was the only surviving twin who married Edward Jones in 1832 and had a son Edward Fiddian Jones, born in 1833 who became an Iron & Brass Founder and employed up to 70 staff. His son Charles Fiddian Jones born in 19 Our Family Saga 1864 was also Manager of an Iron Foundry. The last of the surviving siblings was Ann Fiddian born in 1809 who married her cousin Richard Coates in 1839 but had no children. So despite this large family there were only two sons who kept the Fiddian name going and we will review them further now. As discussed above Joseph had two sons, these being William Fiddian born in 1828 and John Gill Fiddian born in 1830 at Birmingham. William was variously a Plumber, Glazier, House Painter and Silversmith Warehouseman, marrying Fanny Lucas in 1852. They had a single son, John Lucas Fiddian in 1854 and William died in 1873 at the age of only 45 years. John Lucas was a House Painter and Paper Hanger at Southam in Warwickshire where he met and married Clara Charlotte Deugard in 1893 at the age of 39. Although Clara was nine years younger than John they never had any children and John died just after World War One. Joseph’s other son John Gill was for a time a Harness and Leather Goods Maker at Aston in Warwickshire but both before and after this he had a variety of Clerking jobs in Birmingham. In 1857 he married Annie Hewitt at Birmingham and they went on to have three sons and three daughters. The eldest son was Joseph William Fiddian born in 1863 but after the 1871 census there are no further records of him so it must be assumed that he died as a boy, although the 1911 census suggests that all of Annie’s six children were still alive. The next son was Frank Fiddian born in 1867 who became an Incorporated Accountant not long after the Society began in 1885. Frank married Helen Marianne McKewan in 1892 at West Bromwich in Staffordshire and they had a daughter the following year but no other children. Frank’s younger brother Henry Fiddian was born in 1872 and worked as a Cashier. In 1902 he married the younger sister of Frank’s wife, Edith Annie McKewan at Aston and they had five children including two sons. The eldest son was John Arthur Fiddian born in 1907 at West Bromwich of whom we know very little. He married Ella Irene Moffett at Birmingham in 1939 but they had no children and John died at the age of 93 in the year 2000. Henry’s other son was Frank Martin Fiddian born in 1916 who was only 62 when he died. He had married Janet Winifred Short in 1942 and they had had two sons and a daughter. The two sons Anthony M Fiddian born in 1947 and Jeremy R W Fiddian born in 1950 do not appear on any records after their birth. Two of John Gill and Annie’s three daughters were Elementary School Teachers. 20 Our Family Saga Chapter 6 - Leaving the Black Country Returning to the remaining son of William Fiddian (born in 1772) we find the Rev Samuel Fiddian born in 1804 at Rowley Regis in Staffordshire. He was ordained as a Methodist Minister in 1826 and began by working as a Travelling Preacher in the Leyton area of East London. By 1835 he was in Cornwall where he met and married Grace Burall Paull at Camborne. The Paull family of Cornwall will be discussed in detail elsewhere but it is worth noting here that it was they who introduced the vocation of training as doctors into our family. Samuel and Grace were to have 13 children in all, nine daughters and four sons, and because of his work they were born in seven different counties around England. It is quite incredible to imagine this ever increasing family being lugged around the country though four of the girls did die young. In fact by the time all the siblings had died they would be scattered even further afield, including Wales, India and Australia. Samuel himself was still working as a Methodist Minister in 1872 at Middleton in Lancashire where he baptised one of his own grandsons. Grace died in 1879 and Samuel drowned while bathing at Barmouth in Wales the following year. 1872 Samuel became the Proprietor and Headmaster of Creswick Grammar School, a position he retained until 1903 the year before he died at the end of a visit to England. He and his family in Australia are discussed elsewhere. Of those who survived childhood, the eldest was Mary Paull Fiddian born in 1836 who was a Teacher and never married. She migrated to Australia in the 1860s probably just after her brother Samuel and died at Creswick in Melbourne in 1908. Next was Grace Burall Fiddian born in 1838 at Tunstall in Staffordshire (like Mary), a Governess she never married and died aged 96 at Hastings in East Sussex. Samuel Fiddian born in 1842 at Castle Donnington in Leicestershire was the eldest son and in 1859 he went to Tasmania for three years before returning to study Maths at St John’s College, Cambridge where he got a 1st Class Honours degree (Wrangler). He then migrated to Australia towards the end of 1868 becoming the Headmaster of Prince Alfred College, Adelaide and two years later was the Senior Classics and Maths Master at Geelong College in Victoria. In 21 Our Family Saga The next daughter was Catherine Fiddian born in 1843 at Loughborough who fell for the Rev John Colwill Reddaway and married him in 1868 at Aston in Warwickshire. Their only child was Prof William Fiddian Reddaway born in 1872 at Middleton in Lancashire who became Professor of History at King’s College Cambridge and was also Master (Censor) of FitzWilliam College, Cambridge. The next son was Dr Alexander Paull Fiddian born in 1845 at Loughborough who trained at King’s College, London and was both a Physician and a Surgeon. He married Mary Leonora Gregory in 1872 at Hackney in London and then practised at Cardiff, Wales where they had four sons and a daughter. Remarkably none of their five children married though some of them had quite colourful lives. Alexander R Fiddian was born in 1875 and joined the Civil Service in 1897. He spent many years in the Colonial Office particularly in West Africa and in 1926 was appointed as an Establishment Officer for the Colonial & Dominion Office. Dr Benjamin Gregory Fiddian was born in 1876 and trained to be a Surgeon at Charing Cross Hospital receiving his MRCS in 1901. Sadly he spent from 1911 to his death in 1948 in Dorset County Asylum, Dorchester where he was classed as a lunatic. William Alfred Fiddian was born in 1879 and got a scholarship to study at Brasenose College, Oxford. Whether or not he ever completed his studies he was working in Gateshead as a Yardmaster for a Railway Company in 1911 and died in Newcastle in 1966. Dr Arthur Edwin Fiddian was born in 1881 and was a GP with a MRCS qualification. During WW1 he was a Captain in the RAMC and spent time in Egypt. Finally Constance Leonora Fiddian was born in 1889 and in 1911 was working as a Dishwasher, possibly because her father had just died. The penultimate son of Samuel and Grace Fiddian was William Moulton Fiddian born in 1846 at Loughborough who graduated from St Catharine’s College, Cambridge with a BA and a MA. He joined the Indian Civil Service rising from Collector, then Head Assistant to Magistrate and finally, District & Session Judge. In 1880 he married Alice Ann Bond, 14 years his junior at Cuttack, Bengal, India and they had three daughters and two sons all born in India. The first of these was Kenneth William Fiddian born in 1881 who was a Switchgear Designer but never married and died in Ealing at the age of 81. Next was Alice Muriel Fiddian born in 1883, she became the third wife of Robert Harborough Sherard in 1928 but was too late to have any children. Robert, a Writer and Journalist, was also a friend and Biographer of Oscar Wilde as well as the son of a Clergyman. The second daughter was Gladys Kathleen Fiddian born in 1884 who married William Ronald Corrie in 1913 at Ealing. During WW1 Ronald was a 2nd Lieutenant in the East Yorkshire Regiment serving in France and was mortally wounded at the Battle of Arras, dying from his wounds two weeks later on 23 April 1917 at Le Touquet he was buried at Etaples. The second son was Cedric Moulton Fiddian born in 1890, a graduate of Cambridge University he became a School Teacher then Headmaster of King’s College School, Cambridge. During the war he was invalided out of the army after becoming shellshocked and remained quite eccentric being known to hold outdoor Latin classes in a homemade ‘bomb 22 Our Family Saga crater’. He married Winifred Annie Morton in 1922 at London and they had a son William Evelyn Harold Fiddian born in 1923 at Worcester. This William went to King’s College School then King’s College, Cambridge where he studied Agriculture, completing his degree after the war. He became an Agricultural Scientist and married Valerie Ann Addis in 1950 at Hartismere in Suffolk where they had three children. These were Susan Jean Fiddian born in 1952, Richard Morton Fiddian born in 1953 who has a son and a daughter, and Mark Laurence Fiddian born in 1956 a Photographer who also has a son and a daughter. The final daughter of William and Alice was Dorothy Aileen Fiddian born in 1891of whom we know only that she died in 1979 at St Albans at a respectable age of 88 years. Before discussing the last of Samuel and Grace’s sons there are two more daughters to consider. The first of these was Sarah Jane Burall Fiddian born in 1851 at Pontefract in Yorkshire who was a Governess and lived to the age of 84 years having married Edward Lowder Downing, JP a Shipbroker and County Magistrate in 1896 at Newmarket. The other daughter was Pauline Burall Fiddian born in 1855 at Howden in Yorkshire who was also a Governess and married the Rev Frederick Charles Wright a Wesleyan Methodist Minister in 1890 at Cambridge. 23 Our Family Saga Chapter 7 - Judge James Paull Fiddian & Granny Pink Finally my great-grandfather James Paull Fiddian was the last son of Samuel and Grace Fiddian and was born in 1853 at North Shields in Northumberland. He was educated at Kingswood School, Birmingham and Christ’s College, Cambridge before entering the Indian Civil Service (ICS) in 1875. Like his older brother William Moulton he progressed from Collector, then Head Assistant to District & Session Judge and JP. In 1884 he married Ella Louise Vasey at Hawthorn in Melbourne, Australia and not long afterwards they enjoyed an extended honeymoon in America, which was recorded in a diary kept by Ella (see Granny Pink’s Journal). The following year, their first child Hilda Grace Fiddian was born at Cambridge, though the other six children were all born in India. Hilda never married and died at the age of 99 at Carnforth in Lancashire, the longest lived Fiddian to date. The next child Ella Margery Fiddian was born in 1886 at Chingleput in Madras but sadly died the following year. Then there were twins James Victor Fiddian and Guy Vasey Fiddian born in 1887 who both survived despite their place of birth. The next son was William Moulton Fiddian born in 1889 at Tellicherry in Kerala and after him Eric Alfred Fiddian born in 1893 at Trichinopoly in Madras. The final son was John Paull Fiddian who was born in 1894 but died at the age of four months and was buried at Berhampore in Madras. Two years later Judge James Paull died from dysentery at the age of 42 whilst Ella and the surviving children were in England and he was buried alongside John Paull at Bejipur Cemetery. Although devastated by news of her husband’s death brought to her by a sister-in-law, Alice whose husband William Moulton Fiddian was also serving in India, Ella managed to hold herself together for the sake of her five children. The final estate left by James Paull only came to a little over £700 (worth about £78000 in today’s money) and yet she managed with a pension from the ICS to complete the education of their children, with three of her sons becoming doctors. Not long after his death she returned to Australia taking the children with her but as the oldest boys reached senior school age she came back to England in about 1901. After Public School Guy Vasey and James Victor both went to Cambridge University but the latter had initially read Architecture at Birmingham before poor eyesight brought about a later switch to Medicine. During WW1 both of them were Captains in the Royal Army Medical Corps, whilst William Moulton was a Captain in the Suffolk Regiment and Eric Alfred, who had obtained his MRCS at St Bartholomew’s Hospital, was a Surgeon Lt in the Royal Navy. William Moulton or ‘Bill’ as he was known was the first to marry, in 1914 to Alice Emma Colyer and their two daughters were born during the war before two sons, Peter Moulton Fiddian and Michael Paull Fiddian came along in 1921 and 1923 respectively. Bill was the 24 Our Family Saga last of the Fiddian Gentlemen and largely worked in Suffolk as a Wheatbroker, and I can remember meeting Uncle Bill (actually my great-uncle) on a couple of occasions before his death in 1966 at Ipswich. My grandfather Dr James Victor Fiddian (left, aged 25) was next to marry in 1915 to Elizabeth Mary Doris White (below left, aged 18) at Peterborough Cathedral and the first of their daughters Barbara Hilda Fiddian was born in 1916 at Cambridge. After the war they had two more daughters, Judith Grace Fiddian born in 1919 and Doris Angela Fiddian born in 1921, then two sons James Anthony Fiddian born in 1922 and Richard Vasey Fiddian born in 1923 all at Ashton-under-Lyne where he was a Surgeon and GP. Despite having a twin brother James Victor was closer to his younger brother Bill and the two families had many summer holidays together, especially at the farm in Fulbourn near Cambridge where my granny came from. Her mother was of course a White as well and she was known by the children as Granny White which led to Ella their paternal grandmother becoming known as Granny Pink to distinguish her. Ella died in 1931 at Newton Abbot in Devon hopefully content that she had successfully brought up her children on her own. The next of the brothers to marry was Eric Alfred who wed Marjorie Lisle Holdsworth in 1918, the daughter of Rev William West Holdsworth whom he had lodged with as a student before the war. Having failed to serve in the RAMC during WW1 like his doctor brothers he did so in WW2, first as a Captain but later as a Major. After running the No 1 Casualty Clearing Station in Italy he was recommended for a MBE. It does not appear as though they had any children and Dr Eric Alfred Fiddian died in 1968 at Midhurst in Surrey, the year after Marjorie had died there. Finally Dr Guy Vasey Fiddian married Eleanora Shaw in 1920 at Belper in Derbyshire and they had two daughters and a son at Stockport in Cheshire. Guy Vasey was the first of the brothers to die, in 1959 at Barnstaple in Devon. His only son, David Garth Fiddian was born in 1923 at Stockport in Cheshire and married Muriel Winifred Marshall in 1946 at Kingsbridge in Devon. They in turn had a daughter and a son Simon Vasey Shaw Fiddian born in 1950 at Bideford in Devon. Simon worked for 42 years in the Ministry of Defence, finishing as a Senior Project Manager, he married Donna Joan Moore in 1972 at Plymouth in Devon and they too have a daughter and a son plus five grandchildren. 25 Our Family Saga Chapter 8 - Fiddian Cousins My grandfather Dr James Victor Fiddian had five children who have all now died, the last of these being my father Dr James Anthony Fiddian (right, aged 20). He passed away in 2010. Like his father, my father had been a GP at the same practice in Ashton-under-Lyne in Lancashire but between the two of them my aunt Dr Barbara Hilda Fiddian was the local GP. Barbara Hilda was the eldest of the five children and married quite late in life in 1952 to Joseph Bernard Bryson, having a single son Mark Fiddian Bryson who was born in Manchester in 1954. Mark is my only first cousin whom I regularly saw as a child despite the fact that we were considered a big family. He is married to Anne, with two grown-up sons and they all live ‘up north’, so we generally only meet now at funerals and weddings. Neither of my other two aunts, Judith Grace Fiddian and Doris Angela Fiddian, married so there were no more cousins there. My only uncle Dr Richard Vasey Fiddian was a General Surgeon and married twice, firstly to Aileen Lorna Adams in 1955 with whom he had a son Jonathan born in 1958 at Norwich. Aileen was born in Australia and they mostly lived there until 1967 when they returned to England, and where Aileen died shortly afterwards. So for most of my childhood Jonathan was on the other side of the world. Uncle Dick did marry again in 1971 to Jean Moore at St Albans and they had two daughters, Emily and Sarah, and an adopted son James Henry Vasey Fiddian born in 1977 who were of course a good deal younger than me. Both my father and uncle served in Burma during WW2, both saw action and my uncle oversaw the rebuilding of the Burma Road by Japanese POWs but neither of them ever spoke to me about it. As far as my grandfather’s siblings and their families are concerned I had very little contact over the years. His elder sister Hilda Grace Fiddian did live near my grandparents and didn’t die until 1984 so I saw her regularly and she was quite a character, but never married. I don’t believe I ever met my grandad’s twin brother Dr Guy Vasey Fiddian, nor his son David Garth Fiddian or daughters Nancy 26 Our Family Saga Patricia and Mary Brinsden Fiddian. But through my interest in family history I have now been able to make contact with my second cousin Simon Vasey Shaw Fiddian son of David Garth. Like me Simon is now enjoying retirement and also has a fascination with Fiddian genealogy. As I have already mentioned Eric Alfred Fiddian didn’t have any children and so that leaves only William ‘Bill’ Moulton Fiddian as a potential source of more second cousins. I also discussed having met Uncle Bill a couple of times but I don’t recall ever meeting his sons or daughters. Peter Moulton Fiddian was a similar age to my father and managed to equal the Fiddian record of four marriages, but as the first and third marriage was to the same lady I’m not sure if that really counts. His first wife was Elizabeth Mary Bennett and they first married in 1945 at Uxbridge. They had two daughters and a son and again through my family research I have made contact with one of them. Jane Alison Mary Moulton Fiddian born in 1946 at Hillingdon is another of my second cousins and we regularly exchange Fiddian facts. Jane lives at Bury St Edmonds where she runs an Interior Design Company with her daughter Raychel Claire Catherine Fiddian. Her father married his fourth wife Linda Osborn in 1980 at Bromley in Kent and they had a son Paul William Fiddian, who I am also in contact with. That’s about it as far as second cousins are concerned, but I have now made some contact with a third cousin Mark Laurence Fiddian, born in 1956 at Hartismere in Suffolk who is a photographer in Cambridge. Another Mark, Mark Alexander Fiddian born in 1966 at Birmingham who works for IBM is one of the few Fiddians who still live in the Midlands, also shares an interest in the Fiddian family and has been in touch. He is actually a 6th cousin but who’s counting! Further afield a number of Australian Fiddian cousins have also been in touch including a 3rd cousin Geoff and a 6th cousin Jennifer so hopefully we can continue to extend our family contacts. As I have failed to mention already, I am like my father one of five children. Two brothers, Nick and Bill, and two sisters, Jacky and Judy make up my siblings. Between us we have exceeded our father’s generation in producing children. All of us are married (three of us more than once!) and between us we have 14 children: James, JoJo, Alex, Georgie, Nikki, Matt, Ollie, Jack, Sally, Tom, Rob, Sam, Laura and Ella. So each of this generation has either 11 or 12 cousins, and it gets pretty rowdy when we’re all together. Quite a few of them are already married and/or producing the next generation and we will hopefully have more Fiddian cousins to come. My brother Bill moved to Australia in 2004 so we are contributing to the Fiddian pool in Australia as well. 27 Our Family Saga Chapter 9 - The Fiddian Family Now As most of the recent generations of the family are still alive I have been quite circumspect in discussing personal details to respect their privacy. In fact as many as 100 of those born as Fiddians may still be alive at the time of writing, which represents a little over 20% of all our family since 1540. This should not be too great a surprise because our family tree if represented as a pyramid would have a very broad base. It does though mean that it is quite difficult to represent all the family together in a single display and presumably this will get even harder with subsequent generations. There are also some anomalies caused by use of double-barrelled names, so that Sefton-Fiddians are strictly Fiddians whilst Fiddian-Greens are not though we are delighted to include both in our extended family. Though the Midlands were home to our family for several centuries (and maybe many centuries) there are not very many still living there today. Despite some having been born there, the Sefton-Fiddians have now largely moved away as have the Fiddian-Greens. My 6th cousin Mark Alexander Fiddian and his family, descended from Benjamin Fiddian & Son, Spade Makers are still living in Worcestershire. Also still in the Birmingham area are several descendants of George Granger Fiddian via his great-grandsons Cyril and Geoffrey Fiddian, whose children would also be my 6th cousins. Apart from these two branches I think the rest of the family have been scattered far and wide, not only around England and Wales but also especially in Australia and more occasionally North America. About one third of all living Fiddians call Australia home and for those Fiddians born in the last 50 years the figure is almost 40%, suggesting that it may not be long before the proportion reaches a half. As for the family who remain in the UK, the majority were born and live south of Birmingham especially Hampshire, Kent, Surrey, Oxfordshire, Norfolk and Glamorgan. So perhaps, most of us are gradually migrating southwards until we reach the sea or go to Australia. Regarding occupations, this has been dealt with elsewhere although the information is less readily available for family members born in the past 100 years except where I know them well. My research has gradually brought me into contact with more and more of my Fiddian relatives and I mentioned several more distant cousins who are in touch. A recently started Extended Fiddian Family Group on Facebook already has over 50 members and offers a means of keeping in touch with family relatives scattered around the globe. So there is really no excuse why the larger Fiddian Family should not remain just that since we all share more than just an unusual name. May I take this opportunity to wish the Fiddian family well for now and in the future? 28 Our Family Saga Part 2 - Our White Family Story Chapter 1 - 500 Years from Norfolk to Cambridgeshire The surname White, meaning pale skinned, is generally of quite ancient origin and may have its roots in Anglo-Saxon or Viking history. This would fit with a family that we first find in the apparently remote reaches of Norfolk. Yet in the 14th century Norfolk was the most densely populated and most intensively farmed region in England. Despite this White was not a very common name in Norfolk with fewer than 200 occurrences before 1600. As we know the earliest parish records are generally found in the early 16 th century and we have as our first ancestor a John White born around 1515 and his wife Joan who started a family in Thrigby, a largely arable parish near Great Yarmouth. Of their children, John White born in 1550 died aged 8 and twins Henry and William White born in 1553 both died five days after being christened, leaving another Henry White born in 1559 as the sole surviving child we have found. Perhaps because of this family tragedy Henry became a cleric, which in medieval times was a term for a junior member of the clergy who were one of the few groups who could read and write. In 1583 Henry was appointed Rector of the Church of Thurgarton, All-Saints by the Bishop of Norwich, Edmund Freke. The Church was formerly a rectory under the patronage of the Abbot of St Bennet of Holm since before the Norman Conquest in 1066 and was then under the Bishop of Norwich since the English Reformation in the mid-16th century. Thurgarton is some 25 miles from Thrigby and five miles inland from Cromer, and here Henry started a family with his wife Elizabeth Beane who was from nearby Gresham. In 1586 they had a daughter Susanna followed by six sons over the next 12 years, the second youngest of whom was Francis White, born in 1596. After his wife Elizabeth died in 1601, Henry married again at the age of 54, but his new wife Alice Goggs gave him no more children. He remained Rector until his death in 1617, a total of 34 years. His son Francis set up home with his wife Jane in South Creake, about 25 miles west of Thurgarton, where he was most likely involved in farming of some sort. They had six children in the space of only seven and a half years, the first and last dying within only a few weeks of birth but remarkably twins Richard and Alice White born in 1631 appear to have survived (twins are one of several themes in this White family). A second son, James White born in 1634 and his wife Mary settled in Elsing, about 20 miles south-east of South Creake, a somewhat larger village which may have offered a wider range of work. They had only two children that I can find and the eldest of these was Robert White born in 1660, the younger son James born in 1664 died within a week of his christening. 29 Our Family Saga Robert White married Mary Hammond at Semer in Suffolk in 1681, some 60 miles south of Elsing, but they returned to his birthplace to raise a family. They had seven children, though three of these died young, and the first Philip White born in 1683 at Elsing carried on the family line though he died aged 43. Philip married Helen Palmer at Elsing in 1714 and they had five children before he died. The eldest was another Philip White born in 1715, but whatever work had kept the family in Elsing for more than 70 years did not interest him as he moved to Gressenhall a few miles west, having married Tabitha Bush in nearby Scarning. At one time Philip was Innkeeper of the Half Moon Pub on Quebec Street, East Dereham (closed in 1919) but probably moved there after having a family. He and Tabitha had seven children, with six surviving beyond childhood, and the youngest of these was James White born in 1755 at Gressenhall. James married Ann Mary Murrell in nearby Billingford in 1783, but they lived in Gressenhall where they had 11 children, nine of whom survived childhood. The youngest was Thomas White born in 1807, who moved to Cambridge as a young man. In 1830 he was a leather cutter/currier, in 1841 and 1851 he was a boot/shoe maker and in 1861 he was Landlord of the Royal Oak Pub at 71 Burleigh Street, Cambridge (boot/shoe making and publican are two other family themes). Thomas White married first Mary Pilbrow in 1827, with whom he had five children including Thomas Elijah White born in 1842 at Cambridge, and married second Mary Ann Crane in 1852, with whom he had a son George William White born in 1860 at Cambridge. Thomas Elijah White married Elizabeth Cann in 1864 and they had 10 children, only one of whom died in childhood, and their fifth child was George White born in 1872 at Cambridge. Thomas Elijah was variously a Shoe Maker, Boot Maker, and Milkman/Dairyman (the latter also being a family theme). George White was briefly a Boot Maker before becoming a Dairyman and Dairy Farmer (farming being the last of the family themes). George married Jane Bell in 1896 and they had six children, the first of whom was Doris White born 1897 in Cambridge who was only 18 when she married Dr James Victor Fiddian my grandfather. Doris and James spent most of their married lives after the Great War in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire and had five children including my father Dr James Anthony Fiddian born there in 1922. Another of George White’s children was Thomas Frederick White born in 1903 at Fulbourn, just outside Cambridge, whom we knew as Uncle Tom. Tom was a Dairy Farmer, Farmer and Milkman who in 1928 married Olive May Turvey in Cambridge. They had nine children, the middle one of whom died in infancy, and of these the eldest is Bryan White born in 1929 who worked in the Diplomatic Service (twice as Ambassador and lastly as Consul General). Bryan married Helen Jenkins and had three children, Alison, Jimmy (adopted) and Emma, plus two grandchildren. Next is James White (our cousin Jimmy) born in 1932, he was a Buyer in Fashion Retailing and when we were children he live quite near so we saw quite a bit of him. Jimmy married Julia Redman in 1964 and they also had three children, Simon, Vikki and Belle, plus four grandchildren. All these years after Henry White became a Rector in 1583 we have two more Rectors, Julia and her son Simon, though Julia is now retired. 30 Our Family Saga Tom and Olive’s third child was Sheila White, born in 1934 who was a Farmer first in Cambridgeshire and then in Devon before she died in 1999. Sheila married Derek Benney in 1959 and they had two children, Laurence and Jane. John White born in 1936 was next and he too was a Farmer, first in Fulbourn from age 15 to 31, then briefly in Devon with Sheila and youngest brother David before returning to Fulbourn where he continued farming until his retirement in 2005, 54 years in all. John married Patricia Palmer (Pat) in 1957 and they had three children, Pippa, Catherine and John James. Sadly John James who was also a Farmer died when he was only 29 years old. After losing Barry White just after birth in 1937 Tom and Olive had Christine White in 1941. Christine married Dr Ronald ‘Ron’ Howard and they have lived at Calgary in Canada for many years, a great place to visit. Next were twins Helen and Horace White who were born in 1943. Helen married Marvin Blair in 1964 at Cambridge but they later moved to the United States. They had children Judy and David, plus two grandchildren. Horace was another Farmer as a young man and still lives at Barnsbury Farmhouse, but then became a Publican. He was Landlord of The Six Bells in Fulbourn for many years until he retired and handed over to his son Hugo. Horace married Linda Martin in 1967 and they had four children, Lucy, Toby, Hugo and Polly, plus six grandchildren. Finally we have David White who was born in 1945 and he too was a Farmer, initially in Fulbourn and then from 1967 in Devon. In 1971 he married Janet Staniforth and they had a son Robert White and now have two grandchildren. So between them Tom and Olive’s 8 children gave them 17 grandchildren, 46 great-grandchildren and already 3 great-great-grandchildren, so our White family continues from strength to strength. As we have seen several members of the family were involved in farming, initially around Fulbourn, and my father James Fiddian and his younger brother Dick would spend holidays there as youngsters working on the farm. In turn my brother Nick Fiddian and I spent a few summers helping with the harvest as teenagers, working alongside our older cousins John, Horace and David. Returning to the subject of family themes, perhaps the most remarkable is the occurrence of twins in our White family. Amongst the total of 323 individuals born into the extended White family that I researched I found 8 sets of twins, which compares with 13 sets of twins amongst the other 6,251 individuals on my database. This means that it is about 12 times more likely for a White pregnancy to result in twins than any of the other families I have studied, which is odd given that it is the women who carry the genetic risk for twinning. Of the other themes, I found nine Farmers, six Boot/Shoe Makers, five Dairymen/Milkmen and five Publicans. Overall, White is quite a common name throughout the UK but fortunately for my research it was not at all common in either Norfolk or Cambridgeshire at the dates I was interested in. I was therefore able to trace the family back 14 generations to my 11 times great grandfather John White born 500 years ago and for those of you who are interested I have documented quite a large part of the family who remained in Norfolk before and after Thomas White moved to Cambridge just under 200 years ago. There are now also members of our extended White family in Canada, the United States and Australia. 31 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - The Whites, Farming in Fulbourn From the time that George Frederick White moved to Fulbourn at the very end of the 19th century our White family have been stalwarts of this large village. Of course the family came there to farm and five generations have now done so and been associated with six different farms - Barnsbury, Caudle Corner, Fernleigh, Highfield, New Shardelowes and Northfield. Of these six farms, three are still in White hands though the number of White Farmers has decreased even more. George’s father Thomas Elijah White, whose family originally came from Norfolk, had been running a successful dairy business in St. Philip’s Road in Cambridge. Thomas, who died in 1918, had set up the business with two of his sons, pasturing his small herd of 20 to 30 cows on Midsummer Common, on common land rented from Cambridge County Council. He became a successful dairy farmer, but he also dealt in property, becoming wealthy enough for his sons to go into farming and to buy their own farms. When George bought Barnsbury Farm in Cox’s Drove in 1900 he transferred the dairy there and took the cows from Cambridge. His brother Bert joined him in about 1910 and for a while they farmed together, buying some more land in Teversham Road, until in 1912 they split up. Bert bought the land and farm at Fernleigh Farm, while George stayed on at Barnsbury Farm. Bert’s descendants continue to farm at Fernleigh Farm. The brothers also rented some land from the church in Fulbourn Fen, but acquired no more land until 1929, when George Edward, George Frederick’s eldest son, moved into Highfield Farm. In 1953 Bert bought Caudle Corner Farm from Fulbourn Hospital, and in the same year, Northfield Farm was bought from the Chaplin family. Finally, in 1989 Bert’s grandson Frederick Bertram Basil bought New Shardelowes Farm. It is the descendants of Bert who remain farming in Fulbourn in the 21st century, namely his grandson Frederick and the son and grandson of his granddaughter Jane, both of whom chose to retain the White family name. Frederick still farms New Shardelowes, while his nephew Timothy and Timothy’s son Daniel run Caudle Corner Farm. As for George Frederick and his descendants, he continued to farm at Barnsbury Farm, living there and farming in partnership with his four sons until his death in 1955. His youngest son Harold continued to live for a while at Barnsbury Farm but the other two sons (Thomas Frederick and John Basil) had moved out, and in 1967 farming activities ceased there altogether. Some of the land was then sold off and eventually the farmhouse was bought by Horace, one of Thomas Frederick’s five sons, together with a couple of acres of land. Horace, who still lives in the farmhouse, did not stay in farming but became a publican and the landlord of The Six Bells public house. When George Edward took over Highfield Farm, with its 88 acres and the 44 acres of church land, he was living in the old farmhouse on Apthorpe Street, but when in 1964 that house was sold, (its outbuildings and land had already been sold in 1957 and the site is now occupied by Greater Foxes), it ceased to be a working farm. He left the village and went to live 32 Our Family Saga in Felixstowe, leaving his two sons, Derek and Ted, to continue farming what was still called Highfield Farm, though farming activities continued from their houses in Apthorpe Street and Shelford Road. Taking a closer look at the different farms: 1) BARNSBURY FARM in Cox’s Drove was originally known as either Spring Hall or Cock’s Farm (after John Adolphus Cock who died in 1868). This farm is of some antiquity, with its thatched cottages dating back to before the Enclosure Act of 1808. When it was bought in the 1870’s by Richard B. Holmes, a property developer who lived in Barnsbury, London, it became known as Barnsbury Farm. He also built nearby the larger Barnsbury House. In its heyday under the White family, the farm, while also growing arable crops, was the centre of a very successful dairy business. Fathers and sons ran this business in partnership, first George Frederick and three of his sons (George Edward, Thomas Frederick and Harold Humphrey) then Thomas Frederick and his family. Thomas Frederick or ‘Tom’ was born in 1903 and had eight children, but of them only John, his brother David and his sister Sheila, remained in farming. John worked for his great uncle Bert at Fernleigh Farm from the age of fifteen and then for Bert’s son (his uncle) until 1959, when for the next eight years he went back to work and run Barnsbury Farm. He did not live there, but between 1959 and 1967 he and Pat were living at Northfield Farm which was bought by the Whites from the Chaplins in 1953. From 1967 to 1969 he was farming in Devon with his brother David, and then returned and continued farming until his retirement in 2005. There was a big dairy unit at Barnsbury Farm – where at one time they were milking 100 cows - and they had large milk rounds, in Cambridge (including a couple of Colleges), Romsey Town, Cherry Hinton, The Wilbrahams and Fulbourn. There had been other dairies at one time: the Laceys, who had quite a big herd at Queens Farm, and the Stalleys, who had eight or nine cows at Home Farm, were selling milk up till the end of the 1960s. At Barnsbury Farm, the cows were kept in a big cowshed and they were of all sorts, including Shorthorns which were mixed with Friesian and Guernsey cattle, but the milk was kept separately because you’d get a penny a pint more for Jersey or Guernsey milk. The cows would be pastured on the land at Highfield Gate, and the Whites also rented some pasture land from Cambridge Water Company (it went right down from Cox’s Drove to Teversham Road). When the milking machines were introduced in the 1940s it led to a great change in the daily routine. Two men could then milk a hundred cows while before that it had needed up to a dozen men to do the milking. Milk was sold in bottles but also around the war directly from churns with a measuring jug. You had to be careful to keep your thumb out of the jug or you might give a short measure to someone. Also, there could be some very strange and often grimy receptacles which would be offered when milk was ladled from the churn and these would have to be first washed. 33 Our Family Saga The Whites’ dairy was the last one left in Fulbourn but this ended when Horace bought Barnsbury Farmhouse and the business, together with the arable land, was all sold off in about 1960. Even though there were already quite a lot of machines to work the 500 to 600 acres of arable land, the Whites still kept and employed horses for many years to do the work. As a young boy John started working on the farm aged seven during the school holidays and like many other farming lads he would lead the horses at harvest time (thankfully by the time I was old enough to help with the harvest they had tractors). The horse-raking and harrowing could be quite difficult as you risked getting your toes trodden on by the horses. The horses, up to six Suffolks and Shires, were kept at Highfield Farm, but by about 1950 they let them go as more machinery was bought for use on the farm. 2) FERNLEIGH FARM on Teversham Road was, like Caudle Corner Farm and New Shardelowes, with its house and buildings, a post Enclosure farm, situated outside the village boundary and surrounded by its own fields. It was the second farm acquired by the White family, bought in 1912 and was first farmed by Bert and then by his descendants, who continue to farm there to this day. Bert’s grandson, Frederick Bertram Basil, is now the owner. 3) HIGHFIELD FARM on Apthorpe Street was the third farm bought by the White family and was situated in the heart of the village. It has a long history as a farm, the farmhouse itself, still called Highfield Farmhouse, is one of the oldest houses in Fulbourn and was originally a 14th century hall house. Members of the Payne family lived and farmed there from the late 19th century until the 1920s. In 1929 it came into the hands of the White family when George Edward White and his family came to live there. In 1964 it ceased to be a working farm, the farm buildings were then demolished and the land was sold for building. Later, the house itself was sold. 4) CAUDLE CORNER FARM off the Teversham Road was another of the post Enclosure farms, situated very near Fernleigh Farm. It was bought off Fulbourn Hospital in 1953 by Bert White. It is still in the hands of the White family, being farmed by Bert’s great grandson, Timothy. 5) NORTHFIELD FARM was known, since the beginning of the 19th century and up until about 1912, as Chafy’s Farm. This farm and farmhouse stood on what is now Northfield and, like Highfield Farm, has a long history as a farm. For fifteen years, from 1953 to 1968, it was owned by the Whites who bought if off the Chaplins. Between 1959 and 1967, John and his wife Pat lived there. John recalls that it was a lovely old house, surrounded by outbuildings where they kept dry sows, as well as bullocks. But now nothing is left of the farm. In 1968 it was sold to the Lacey family who, while continuing to farm the land that went with the house, demolished the fine farmhouse and sold the site for housing. 6) NEW SHARDELOWES FARM was the sixth and last farm to be bought by the White family. With its yellow brick farmhouse, it, too, is a post Enclosure farm. Situated along the Balsham Road, a good mile to 34 Our Family Saga the south east of the village, it was bought in 1989 by Bert’s son, Basil, who continues to farm it. Previously, it had been owned by the Wombwell family who had farmed it from 1952 to 1982. The four farming families of the Wrights, Wombwells, Chaplins and Whites came to farm in Fulbourn in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, after the Enclosures Act of 1808, supplanting families who for generations, perhaps, had lived and farmed there. Present farming families include the names of those who were known as landowners rather than farmers and who as lords of the Manor since the late 18th century, have farmed their estate, both before and after the Enclosures Act. They too have experienced all the changes, whether the introduction of mechanisation, technology, new crops and fertilisers, the purchase and sale of land, and the disappearance of livestock from the land. But ordinary farming families have experienced so many changes that for many, working for themselves with relatively modest acreages is no longer viable. The number of people employed on the land and in ancillary services has dramatically fallen and Fulbourn can no longer be considered the farming community that it once was. For the White family this means that very few of them are still farmers. That does not mean though that they go unnoticed in the village as they make their mark in other ways. Pay a visit to The Six Bells any day and you will likely find a few Whites going about their business. [This work on ‘The White Family in Fulbourn’ was derived from an excellent article originally prepared by Ursula Lyons on behalf of Fulbourn Village History Society with input from John and Pat White. I have made some amendments and reformatted it for posterity in Our Family Saga.] 35 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 – Olive’s Turvey Family History Just like our father before us I spent several happy summers with my brother Nick helping our White cousins (actually our cousins once removed) with the harvest at Fulbourn in Cambridgeshire. The family house was always bustling from dawn to dusk and at the heart of it was Auntie Olive (or just mum to my cousins), wife of Tom White. She was born Olive May Turvey in 1903 at Cambridge and married Thomas Frederick White in 1928 at Cambridge before producing 8 children in 16 years (a middle baby died shortly after birth). As Turvey is quite an uncommon name I thought it would be fruitful to attempt to trace her roots. Turvey is generally considered to be a locational English surname, deriving from the village of Turvey in Bedfordshire, and would usually have been used when the individual moved away from the village. Although Turvey is an ancient village recorded in the Domesday Book, initial records of the name don’t regularly occur until the 16th century. I have though found several Turveys in the 13th and 14th centuries probably deriving from William de Alnot, Lord of Turvey who gave the Church of Turvey to the Prior and Convent of St Neot, Huntingdonshire in 1147. From about 1235 there are several men styled ‘de Turvey’ as in John de Turvey, probably descendants of William de Alnot. I have also come across a John Turvey, priest who was made Rector of Clifton in Bedfordshire on 14 May 1396 and later Rector of Yelden (or Yielden). Although these early Turveys were living near where we find Olive’s ancestors I cannot establish a direct link. The first putative ancestor of Olive’s that I have identified is a Leonard Turvey born in about 1680 and living in Stanbridge about 20 miles from Turvey village. He married Ann in around 1702 and they had 5 sons that I could identify. From the 13th to the 15th centuries sheep farming was the most important local industry in Bedfordshire and agriculture in general predominated in the county up to the 19th century. Straw plaiting and lace making also featured from the 16th centuries, but given the move of Leonard’s grandson to Norfolk in the 1780s suggests to me that the family worked the land. The youngest of Leonard’s sons was Richard Turvey born in 1717 at Stanbridge and, as so often with the youngest of several sons, he moved away although only to the neighbouring village of Tilsworth. There he married Mary in about 1740 and they had 13 children in 24 years, losing at least 3 in infancy. I was particularly struck by the name of their firstborn, a daughter who was called Flawn a very rare first name which derives from the old French word for a kind of pancake and is more usually found as a surname. Leaving Flawn and the rest of the family behind was the 11th child, a son named Thomas Turvey who was born in Tilworth in 1762. Twenty years later we find him in Norfolk marrying Mary Algar and settling in Banham where they had at least 3 children. Here sheep farming and other forms of agriculture 36 Our Family Saga would have provided most of the employment in the area. The youngest child and only son was Robert Turvey who was born in 1801 at Banham. Mostly Robert worked as a Tailor, recording himself as a Master Tailor, but in the 1850s when he had several children to provide for he also ran a Post Office from his house/shop and referred to himself as a Letter Receiver. He is also recorded as having been a Publican on his son’s wedding certificate, though by then he had died. His home life too was a little complicated as we shall see. He married Mary Taylor in 1830 at Banham but it does not appear as though they had any children. In 1841 they had a young girl of 5 called Caroline Mary Rutledge living with them who was Mary’s niece (daughter of her sister Ann) who may have been lent to them to make up for being childless. They also had Robert’s mother Mary Turvey living with them, supposedly aged 85, who died in 1844. The younger Mary Turvey died in 1846 and sometime later Robert acquired a Housekeeper called Sophia Davy, 19 years his junior. I believe that Sophia had already produced a daughter called Sarah Ann Davy out of wedlock before coming to work for Robert but that she then had Thomas Robert Davy in 1850. By 1851 Caroline is still with them but recorded as a House Servant, Sarah and Thomas are recorded as lodgers and Sophia is still Housekeeper. By 1852 Robert and Sophia are married and by 1861 they have had another 5 children, the first of whom was born only a few months after the marriage. I am certain that Thomas Robert Davy is Robert’s son not least because he is recorded as such on the 1861 census despite still being called Davy, whereas Sarah Ann is recorded as a step-daughter. Both children later acquired the surname Turvey but whether Sarah Ann was formally adopted I do not know. She certainly married under that name some years later. Thomas Robert moved to Cambridge as a young man, marrying Ellen Jessie Tarrant there in 1873. He worked as a Bricklayer and they had 5 sons together but sadly both he and Ellen died in 1890 aged only 40 and 36 respectively leaving a fairly young family. Their eldest son had died aged 3 leaving Harry William Turvey born in 1875 as the man of the house. Harry had in fact been born near Matlock in Derbyshire, presumably where his father was working at the time, but the others were all born in Cambridge. Born within 5 years of each other the 4 surviving sons all lived into the 1940s. Like his father Harry was a Bricklayer, whilst the next brother Thomas Richard Turvey joined the army in 1892 aged only 15 but stating his age as 18. After their parents died he and the next brother Robert Elijah Turvey born in 1879 were taken in by Thomas Robert’s younger sister Jane Elizabeth then married and living in Sheffield. The youngest of the brothers was Frederick Herbert Turvey born in 1880 and he was taken in by Thomas Robert’s elder sister Sarah Ann, married and living in Grantchester but childless. Harry married Adelaide Sandford at Cambridge in 1898 and they had a son and 3 daughters, though the youngest Mary died in infancy. The oldest was Horace Albert Turvey born in 1900 at Cambridge, who was a career Chief Mechanic in the Royal Navy. In 1942 he was serving on HMS Phoebe, a Light Cruiser, off the coast of West Africa when they were hit by a torpedo. He died the 37 Our Family Saga following day, one of 46 men who lost their lives, and was buried along with 28 comrades at Pointe Noire European Cemetery in French Equatorial Africa. He left a wife Annie and two young sons. The two surviving daughters of Harry and Adelaide were twins Ellen Jessie and Olive May Turvey born in 1903 at Cambridge. Ellen married Frederick Bowers in 1935 at Cambridge and as far as I can tell they had only one child Janet Bowers born in 1938 at March. This may have done Ellen no harm however as she lived for over 102 years, dying in 2005 at Kings Lynn. Olive as we already know gave birth to 9 children, with 8 surviving, and she died in 1985 at Fulbourn aged 82. Her husband Tom White born the same year as Olive lived until 1990. Their 8 children Bryan, James, Sheila, John, Christine, Horace, Helen and David produced 17 grandchildren for them, who in turn have given them 46 great-grandchildren and now already 3 great great-grandchildren. So I think we can say that Olive really did rather well, with a bit of help from Tom, bringing up such an amazing family. Indeed they were an amazing couple and my favourite time when I stayed with them was Sunday lunch. Olive would somehow produce mountains of great food to sustain the crowd around an enormous oval table, not just family was welcome but anyone else she felt needed feeding. Occasionally someone had produced a hare or two and Olive would jug them for the family meal, which was great as only she and I liked jugged hare! I don’t think I have ever eaten as much as when I stayed with Auntie Olive and Uncle Tom, no wonder they produced such a fine family. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know a bit about the Turvey family and Olive’s background, and hope that you have too. 38 Our Family Saga Part 3: Our Roberts Family Story Chapter 1 - Yeomen in Herefordshire We first find our Roberts ancestors in Herefordshire at the beginning of the 16 th century when parish records began. Since Roberts is a commonly occurring name it is doubtful that I would have found these early ancestors but for a single reference to Herefordshire on a tattered old family tree of my mothers. The name is derived from either “servant of Robert”, more common in England, or “son of Robert”, more common in Wales. Although the name Robert was found in England before the Norman Conquest in 1066 it was mainly introduced into England by the Normans. In Wales the name is most widely found in the northern parts. So, the family is probably more likely to have descended from the servants of a Norman Robert’s family but whether they themselves were Norman, Anglo-Saxon or Gaelic we cannot tell. Our earliest known ancestor is a John Roberts born around 1505, probably in Bridstow a village two miles west of Ross-on-Wye (then known as just Ross), who in 1539 married Elizabeth Thomas from nearby Peterstow. They had three sons that we know of and the youngest of these was Reignold Roberts born in 1550 at Bridstow who had five children around the end of the 16th century. The third of these, and eldest son, was John Roberts born in 1595 at Bridstow. This John was almost certainly a Yeoman Farmer in the environs of Ross (which today is still a small market town). Like his grandfather John, he too had three sons and the youngest of these was also a John Roberts born in 1621 at Tarrington, about 10 miles north of Bridstow. The younger John was known to have been a Gentleman Farmer at Weston under Penyard, two miles east of Ross-on-Wye. Since he was the youngest son of a lesser branch of the family but appeared to be a member of the landed gentry, it suggests that the family were quite well established. His third child and heir was James Roberts born in 1646 who married an Alice and had ten children. Thomas Roberts born in 1680 at Weston under Penyard, was the sixth child and fifth son of James Roberts and so would not have been expected to inherit much from his father. Thomas had six children, and the second of these James Roberts born in 1706 in Ross-on-Wye as a second son may well have felt it would be better to look elsewhere for his fortune rather than wait for a paltry inheritance. Indeed by 1727 we find him 175 miles away in Clitheroe, Lancashire marrying Ann Scott from Rochdale and the following year the first of his children was born in nearby Holden. He was already recorded as a Yeoman by that time, but whether he had acquired the land and property necessary for this status by marriage or by work is unknown. 39 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 – Doctors in the West Riding of Yorkshire The third of James’ children and his heir, was Henry Roberts born in 1732 at Holden who was also a Yeoman but spent most of his life in nearby Gisburn where all nine of his children were born. The third of these and eldest son was another James Roberts born in 1764 at Gisburn. James married Alice Coates in Hubberholme in 1789, had children in Sedbergh and Halifax between 1790 and 1803 and died in Wakefield in 1834. All of these places (including Gisburn) were originally in the West Riding of Yorkshire and are associated with farming and/or the Woollen Industry. He was therefore most likely a Yeoman Farmer and/or a Yeoman Clothier, and probably started as a farmer and progressed to a clothier as he ended up in two of the three major centres of the Woollen Industry (Halifax and Wakefield). The woollen trade had declined during the Civil War but had recovered by 1750 and reached a peak between 1770 and 1840, before mechanisation was introduced. His oldest child and only son John Roberts born in 1790 at Sedbergh became a General Practitioner and Surgeon. As a child I remember being fascinated by stories of Dr Roberts riding across the moors at dead of night, black medical bag strapped to his saddle, as he went off to attend a patient. John’s three sisters were unmarried and in 1861 were all living together in Wakefield on the income from a number of houses they owned there, so the family were obviously quite wealthy. John Roberts himself had nine children between 1817 and 1835, and at least two of these became doctors. The eldest was Dr James Roberts born in 1817 at Linthwaite, who attended University College London where he received the Conjoint Medical Qualification (MRCS and License of the Society of Apothecaries [LSA]). He lived at Golcar and had two sons, Arthur born in 1851 and Alonzo born in 1855, who both went to Medical School in London (Arthur first being a Theology student at Clare College, Cambridge) but then dropped out to live grandly off their own means with servants. The next son of Dr John Roberts was Dr William Roberts born in 1821 at Linthwaite, who was a Surgeon but didn’t acquire his MRCS until 1860. He had one son, John Henry Graham Roberts born in 1849 at Linthwaite, who was a Gentleman and Watercolour Artist. John Roberts’ third son was another John Roberts born in 1825 at Linthwaite and whose marriage certificate in 1856 stated he was a Surgeon. The census records for 1851, 1861, 1871 and 1881 all document this John Roberts as a Druggist (Pharmacist). His great-granddaughter (my mother) claimed he was a Doctor but I couldn’t substantiate this. After researching the history of medical qualifications I believe that this can all be explained by The Apothecaries Act 1815 and The Medical Act 1858 passed by Parliament to regulate the qualifications of Practitioners of Medicine and Surgery. The first Act made the LSA compulsory for all Physicians and those who wished to dispense medicines. The second Act made registration compulsory, though single qualifications would suffice (eg. the MRCS, the LSA or the Licence in Midwifery). So the first John 40 Our Family Saga Roberts would have had at least the LSA in order to practice as a Doctor after 1815 but may not have had any formal surgical qualifications. Of his sons, James Roberts had both the MRCS and LSA and so was very well qualified to practice as a Doctor. William Roberts must have had the LSA at least (but not necessarily any surgical qualifications) in order to practice as a Surgeon in 1851, but after the Act of 1858 may have felt a little exposed and so he obtained the MRCS in 1860. The third son John Roberts must have had the LSA in order to be a Druggist in 1851 and this would have entitled him to become a Surgeon by 1856. However, after 1858 he probably decided, with a wife and young son to support, against obtaining further surgical qualifications, and although he could have continued as a Surgeon he chose to remain as a Druggist. He was still technically a Doctor but he would have had to be placed on the Register in order to practice as one and I can find no evidence of this. A fourth son, Charles Roberts born in 1830 at Linthwaite was also a career Druggist and so he too must have had the LSA. Returning to John Roberts born in 1825, he had four children by his wife Priscilla Graham, the eldest of whom was his only son George William Roberts born in 1856 at Linthwaite just three months after their marriage. Like his father George was initially a Druggist, but by 1891 he was a Coal Agent and in 1911 he was an Assistant Overseer and Rate Collector. George married Jane Sykes in 1886 and they had three sons, but the first two died at 7 and 8 months of age respectively and so Hubert Roberts born in 1891 at Slaithwaite was the sole surviving child. Hubert was a Clerk in a Woollen Mill before the war and then served in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding) Regiment from 1915 to 1918 where he was promoted to Sergeant. He was gassed while fighting in the trenches and never fully regained his health. In 1919 he married Marion Brooksbank at Huddersfield and they had one child Audrey Jacqueline Roberts born in 1922 at Slaithwaite. The Registrar named on her birth certificate was her grandfather George William Roberts. At this time Hubert (pictured left below) was a Commercial Clerk in Slaithwaite, but they later moved to Cheadle in Cheshire where he ran a dairy until his early death aged 47 years. Hubert Roberts Audrey met Richard ‘Dick’ Fiddian whilst at Girton College, Cambridge during the Second World War but having met the rest of the family in Ashton she ended up marrying his elder brother James Fiddian in 1943 (see next page). Qualified as a Teacher, Audrey spent the remainder of the war at a Boarding School in Arnside, Lancashire, acting as a sort of surrogate mother to numerous young boys. After the war they had five children of their own (one of whom is your author) who in turn gave their parents 14 grandchildren, and the large family Audrey had always wanted. Sadly she did not live quite long enough to see any of her great-grandchildren, four already and more on the way at the time of writing, as she died in 2011 a year and a half after our father. It is also a pity that she failed to realise that both her parents’ families were actually more impressive than she appeared to give them credit for. The early Roberts men were Yeomen farmers, even counting a Gentleman in their 41 Our Family Saga midst, but to successfully make the move from Herefordshire to Yorkshire in the early 18th century was quite a feat. Less than 100 years later the family were producing doctors, pharmacists and even another Gentleman. The Brooksbank family also have an interesting tale to tell as we shall see. The wartime wedding of Lt. James Fiddian and Audrey Roberts, 11th December 1943. 42 Our Family Saga Part 4: Our Brooksbank Family Story Chapter 1 - Early Brooksbanks We know that there is only one family of Brooksbanks and that they came from the West Riding of Yorkshire, with the earliest records of the family name being found in the late 13th and 14th centuries. This is not very surprising since first names were only generally used until this time. In 1275 the first Poll Tax was levied and by 1377 full scale Poll Taxes were being used to fund the war against France. The wider introduction of taxation required more specific identification of individuals, so rather than just say Tom we get Tom the baker or Tom Baker. Another way surnames arose was from the local topography, so someone living near the banks of a brook might become known as Tom Bythebrokesbank (broke being the genitive form of brike in Middle English, meaning brook). Being a little cumbersome this could become Tom Bythebroke or Tom Brokesbank. Not surprisingly, the first wider records of the family name are found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Records for 1379, but there is a single mention of a Thomas Brokesbank in 1273 (in Yorkshire). Apart from a Thomas Bythebroke from Warwickshire (late 13th century to 1317), a Henry Bythebroke from Waterfall, Staffordshire (1327) and a John Bethebrokes, Worcestershire Subsidy Rolls (1332), all the early records are from the West Riding: 1309 Adam Bithebroke, Rastrick (Juror, held 8 acres of land) 1339 Henry Bythebroke, Rastrick (Manor of Wakefield) 1375 Roger Bythebroke, Walton (and wife Magota) 1377 Thomas Bi-the-brokes-bancke, Elland 1379 John Bythebroke, Wombwell (and wife Cecilia) 1379 William Bithebroke, High Hoyland (and wife Elena) 1379 John Bythebroke, High Holland (Taylor, and wife Elena) 1379 Thomas Brokesbank, Warley (and wife) 43 Our Family Saga 1379 Henry Bythebroke, Huddersfield (and wife Joanna) 1379 William Bythebroke, Huddersfield (and wife Cecilia) 1379 John Bythebroke, Huddersfield (and wife Agnes) 1379 Richard Bythebroke, Huddersfield 1379 John Brokesbank, Allerton (and wife) 1379 Adam de Brokesbank, Yorkshire 1403 Clement Bythebrok, Bradley (land settlement claim) 1405 John Bythebroke, Liversedge (witness to several land grants to 1415) 1409 John Bythebroke, Birstall (witness to will, could be same as above) 1427 John Bythebroke, Crofton (Prior of Nostell to 1472, aka J Huddersfield) Bythebroke in its various forms has not survived and there is only one Brooksbank clan, so it remains uncertain how many from the above list are our ancestors. The Thomas Brokesbank (1379) from Warley is probably the first clear ancestor and the proximity of many of the others suggests at least some were relatives. Before returning to the Brooksbank family history it is worth looking at the major events in the region since William the Conqueror arrived in England and how these may have shaped our ancestry there: 1069-1070 - Following the Danish invasion in the North, King William set about isolating and destroying his enemies in York. The ‘Harrying of the North’ was very extensive and has been called the worst genocide in England. Both side of the River Aire, between the Humber and the Tees, all living things (people and animals) were killed, crops destroyed and houses burnt, then the land was salted. Up to 100,000 people (5% of the population of England) may have been killed or died of starvation. In 1086 (Domesday Book) large areas of Yorkshire were still described as ‘wasted’, with an average of 60% of each manor lying idle and only 25% of the population remaining. 1092 - King William created the Barony of Pontefract for Ilbert de Lacy, who had fought beside him at Hastings and assisted in the ‘Harrying’. Ilbert had built Pontefract Castle in 1070, having been granted the Honour of Pontefract (which consists mainly of the West Riding of Yorkshire). The Lacy clan were one 44 Our Family Saga of the most powerful families in the North, founding religious houses at Nostell, Pontefract and Kirkstall. Ilbert’s brother Walter de Lacy founded the first Parish Church of Huddersfield. 1135 - King Stephen built the Castle at Almondbury on what is now known as Castle Hill and in 1137 granted this to Henry de Lacy. 1272 - King Edward I granted another Henry de Lacy the privilege of holding a weekly market in Almondbury, which remained the most important market in the region for several centuries. 1307 - King Edward II’s reign saw pestilence and famine, and Almondbury Castle was destroyed. 1311 - Almondbury and Huddersfield manors became part of the Duchy of Lancaster. Then in 1315 when Thomas, Earl of Lancaster was executed Sir Richard de Birton became Lord of the Manor. 1349 - About one third of the population of Yorkshire were wiped out by the Black Death. 1377 - Free warren of Huddersfield was granted to the Prior and Canons of Nostell Priory. 1455 - The War of the Roses, which lasted until 1487. The Houses of Lancaster and York (two rival branches of the Plantagenets) fought for the throne of England. The region was at the centre of the action and was the scene of rapine and bloodshed. 1460 - At Sandal Magna on the 30 December there was a decisive Battle of Wakefield at which the Duke of York was killed and much of his army destroyed. 1811 - The Luddite insurrection started in Nottinghamshire but soon spread to the West Riding, and Huddersfield was deeply involved. Over the centuries the region had been invaded by the Celts, the Romans, the Vikings and the Normans, but by the 14th century it was finally finding its own identity. The major industry from the middle ages onwards was the woollen industry which would have produced wool textiles for export from the area. There was also other farm production, but this was most likely only sufficient for local use. It is also worth considering the population of the West Riding over time and this is estimated to have been as follows: 1066 = 65,000; 1086 = 16,400; 1290 = 127,400; 1377 = 87,000; 1600 = 197,500 Such low figures are also seen for local villages, so in 1379 the population of Huddersfield was 200 whilst that of Almondbury was only 100. 45 Our Family Saga Thomas Bythebrokesbank of Warley was probably born around 1330 and may well have been of Saxon origin. In 1371, with three others, he was elected to supervise the reparation of the palisades at Erringden Park for a small fee. In 1377 he is recorded in the Poll Tax Records as Thomas By-the-brokesbancke of Elland. Then, in 1379, as Thomas de Brokesbank, with two others, he is ordered to supervise the removal of the corn mill at Warley, rebuild it at Luddenden and dam up the water. On the occasion of the 1379 tax record mentioned above he is named as Thomas Brokesbank. We know he had a wife, but not her name, and think that the John Brokesbank of nearby Allerton (also mentioned above in 1379) may have been a younger son and possibly first of the family to make the move to Airedale. Others of the family remained around Halifax until the 17th century. They were a leading family in Warley owning two substantial houses, several messuages, two fulling mills and half the timber at Booth Knowl. [The story of the broader Brooksbank family from this point on is well documented in the book ‘Brooksbank – Yeoman of the Dales’ by E M Shepherd.] 46 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - Yeomen in the Dales In the previous chapter we identified a Thomas Brooksbank (Brokesbank) mentioned in 1273 as the first likely member of the family to have used the surname that we know of. He was probably born in the West Riding of Yorkshire, possibly in Rastrick, in about 1240 and was most likely a Yeoman of some standing in the local community. He had a son Adam Bythebroke born in about 1270, who in 1309 was a Yeoman with 8 acres of land and served as a juror. His son Henry Bythebroke was born around 1300 and by 1339 he too was a Yeoman, living at Rastrick in the Manor of Wakefield. The court rolls for the Manor of Wakefield are an important source of information, recording the business of the court baron (held three times a year at Wakefield) and the court leet (held twice yearly at Wakefield, Halifax, Brighouse or Rastrick and Kirkburton). Henry Bythebroke had at least six sons, the oldest being Thomas Bythebrokebank born in 1330 and living at Elland in 1377 as a Yeoman. By 1379 the surname seems to have evolved into Brokesbanke, close to its final form. Thomas Brokesbanke had a son John Brokesbanke born in 1354 in Warley (Halifax) who ended up as a Yeoman in Allerton, about 7 miles away. There were then a couple of generations where we do not know the first names of the individuals before another John Brooksbank was born in 1453 in Warley. He too was a Yeoman and a Grieve (Bailiff) of Warley, and the Brooksbanks were one of the leading families in Warley. Chapter 9 of the book ‘Brooksbank – Yeoman of the Dales’ is entitled ‘The Murder of Sir Gilbert Brooksbank’ and deals with the feuding in the Royal Manor of Wakefield at that time. The Steward of the Manor was Sir Richard Tempest, who had been one of King Henry VIII’s bodyguards at Flodden Field, and he was fighting Sir Harry Savile of Thornhill. Sir Gilbert Brooksbank, son of John Brooksbank, an inoffensive, innocuous priest at Heptonstall was murdered in 1536 by Robert Briggs, one of Sir Richard Tempest’s men, because he had displeased the knight. Divine retribution occurred sometime later when Sir Richard was thrown into the Tower of London, for his involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace, and died there from the plague. Richard Brooksbank, a younger brother of John Brooksbank, born in 1455 in Warley, continued our family line and had at least four sons. The youngest born in 1480 became Sir John Brooksbank, Curate of Elland. The eldest, another Richard Brooksbank, born in 1475 in Warley became a Yeoman upholding the other family occupation. He had at least five sons, the second of whom was Thomas Brooksbank born in 1495 in Warley and who became a Yeoman in nearby Sowerby. Thomas and his wife Margaret had three sons and a daughter that we know of and the youngest of these was a William Brooksbank born in 1517 in Sowerby. Being the youngest child of a second son would have meant a meagre inheritance was likely to be all he would receive and so William chose to settle in Almondbury some 10 miles away. By the age of 47 Our Family Saga 20 William had started a family and went on to have at least five sons, the second of whom was another William Brooksbank born in 1539 in Almondbury. 48 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 – Woollen Weavers and Hardship We do not know the occupations of this lesser branch of the family in the 16th and 17th centuries, but it is quite likely that they worked in the woollen industry and/or in farming (the two often going together). William Brooksbank the younger married Joan Oldfield in 1560 and they raised a family of at least seven children, five of whom were daughters (one of whom died in infancy). Their eldest child was James Brooksbank born in 1561 in Almondbury who became the man of the house at the age of 16 years when his father died aged 38. The older girls would have been able to help their mother in the house but there were three children aged six and under, and James was probably the only breadwinner. Somehow they got by and James Brooksbank had married another Joan by the age of 21 and they went on to have 11 children, three of whom died in infancy. The eldest of their children was William Brooksbank born in 1583 at Almondbury and his second son was another William Brooksbank born in 1636 at Almondbury. His second son was yet another William Brooksbank born in 1670 in Almondbury who married Elizabeth Mellar in 1704. They had three daughters before having a son William who died in infancy and then another son William Brooksbank born in 1720 at Almondbury. This William married Mary Lund in 1744 at Almondbury and they had nine children, six daughters and three sons, with three dying in infancy. Their eighth child was a Joseph Brooksbank born in 1764 at Almondbury where this branch of the family had been resident for over two hundred years. Indeed, the population of Almondbury had been steadily rising from early in the 18th century and continued to do so until 1792 when a sharp decline occurred, probably due to a migration towards the prospering industrial centre of nearby Huddersfield. Those remaining in Almondbury were most likely still occupied in farming and/or cloth making. Joseph Brooksbank married Nancy Bradley in 1784 and they had six children that we know of, the third being another William Brooksbank born in 1788 at Almondbury. We know from census records that William Brooksbank was a hand loom weaver (woollen weaver), but he would prove to be one of the last of a dying breed. In 1795 there were about 75,000 hand loom weavers (mainly men) in England and they could earn up to £1 10s per week, a princely sum in those days. By 1812 shortly before he married there were over 200,000 weavers and in 1820 as many as 240,000. However, the power loom had increasingly been taking over during this time as it was faster and cheaper, so wages for hand loom weavers had dropped to as little as 5s per week by 1829. By this time the numbers of weavers had started to decline, with 188,000 in 1835, 60,000 in 1845 and only 6,000 in 1861. In fact William may have been quite fortunate as he married Hannah Wood in 1814 and they raised a family before the worst of the decline, having seven children in all, and he was able to supplement his income by farming. He was still working as a weaver in 1861, aged 72, but could probably manage on the pittance this now provided as only he and his wife remained at home. 49 Our Family Saga Their second child was John Brooksbank born in 1818 at Almondbury. One of only two sons, he too was a hand loom weaver like his father, but sometime after 1851 he became a greengrocer and by 1871 was farming 6 acres of land. As late as 1891 he still gave worsted weaving as one of his occupations, probably still having the loom at home he would no doubt have worked on it when he could. His younger brother Allen Brooksbank born 1831 gave his occupations as fancy cloth manufacturer, woollen pattern designer and tailor, probably because by then he could not make a living from weaving. John Brooksbank married Elizabeth Armitage in 1845 and they had ten children, six boys and four girls. The fifth of these was Wright Brooksbank born in 1854 at Almondbury and he avoided cloth manufacture altogether, working as a stone mason, farmer and master joiner instead. His youngest brother John William Brooksbank born 1863 did though work as a power loom weaver. Wright Brooksbank married twice, firstly to Anna who gave him two sons before dying in 1887 and secondly to Emily Scurry (whose first husband Fred Cox had died young) in 1888 at Helme. Although Emily was already 36 years old by then she managed to give him three daughters. The first of these was Hannah Brooksbank born in 1888 at Spark Green only four months after the wedding. A devote Methodist, Auntie Hannah as we knew her, may never have known this as her baptism was not held until a year after her parents’ marriage. The youngest of the three girls was Marion Beatrice Brooksbank born in 1891 in Helme, our grandmother. One mystery I haven’t resolved involves the 1891 Census records for Wright and Emily Brooksbank. Emily, who would have been six months pregnant at the time, was living at Helme with her five daughters (three from her previous marriage) and listed as head of the family, working as a laundress. Wright meanwhile was five miles away at Almondbury, living with his father, mother and two of his brothers and working as a stone mason. I guess they had to live where the work was but it must have been tough. Following their forced separation Wright died less than five years later aged only 43, leaving Emily with six daughters aged 4 to 19 years. At the time of the next Census in 1901, the four older girls were working in local cotton or silk mills and Emily was at home looking after the two youngest. By 1911 they had moved to Slaithwaite though the two oldest daughters had left home by then and all the others were now working, the middle two as woollen weavers in a cloth mill, the next as a shop assistant in a confectioners and the youngest as a dress maker working from home. Having managed to survive these difficult times they then had to endure the Great War and it was shortly after this that Marion Brooksbank married Hubert Roberts. Their only child was a daughter, Audrey Jacqueline Roberts born in 1922 at Slaithwaite, our mother. Having been gassed in the war Hubert was never fully well and he died in 1939 aged only 47, but despite this further travail Marion was able to send Audrey to Girton College, Cambridge the following year. The Brooksbanks are a large and generally very successful family, though I’m not sure that my mother ever fully appreciated their pre-eminence. For several centuries they were successful Yeomen in the Yorkshire dales and then in the mid-17th century a branch of the family took London by storm reaching new heights. By the whim of fate my mother was descended from a lesser branch of the family who lost 50 Our Family Saga out to elder brothers when the inheritances were shared out. They struggled on a number of occasions when fathers, generally the only breadwinner, died early and women or children were forced to earn a crust. The industrialisation of weaving also dealt a blow to the family’s way of life in the 19 th century. But they endured and mother should have been proud of what they achieved. 51 Our Family Saga Part 5: Our Splendid Family Pedigree Although most genealogy inevitably focusses on the surname of the chosen family this provides a very limited view of family history, largely because it ignores the contribution from the female lines and as a consequence gives a rather narrow perspective. Of course my name is Fiddian and so I want to know all about the early Fiddians, but if I want to know about my makeup (or DNA for that matter) I need to look at all my ancestors who have contributed to making me what I am. That can prove quite frustrating since many of us family historians get involved because our name is a bit unusual and we may not want to trawl through millions of Smiths just because our Fiddian ancestor married one. As luck would have it we seem to have had plenty of unusual names in our pedigree as well and so it has proved to be very rewarding to meander back through the generations. The next challenge comes from the simple mathematics of such generations which double the number of ancestors each step back in time. So by the time we have arrived at our 4x great-grandparents we hope to find 64 of them and if we are fortunate enough to get back to the 16th century we might find up to 1024 8x great-grandparents. I would have over one million 18x great-grandparents and by the time of my 21x great-grandparents in the 13th century there would be almost 8.4 million of them. Since the population of England in 1250 was a little over 4 million there must have been quite a bit of intermarriage between our ancestors. Even so, assuming we are reasonably successful in going back quite far, we are then left with the question of how to present the significant amounts of data to our audience. I’m not aware that anyone has yet developed a suitable way to analyse and display such results concisely, so I will attempt to tell the story my own way. 1. Our Grandparents As expected we have four grandparents in this generation of our family pedigree, Fiddian and White on the paternal side and Roberts and Brooksbank on the maternal side. Two of these names (Fiddian and Brooksbank) are actually unique, by which I mean that all persons with that name belong to the same clan. Whilst the other two names are very common, all four have been traced back to the 16th century or beyond. Indeed we can identify our Fiddian 10x great-grandfather, our White 11x great-grandfather, our Roberts 12x great-grandfather and our Brooksbank 21x great-grandfather. Our grandparents are tabulated below and the same format will be used throughout: 52 Our Family Saga Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note James Victor Fiddian E M Doris White Hubert Roberts Marion B Brooksbank 1887 1897 1891 1891 India Cambridge Yorkshire Yorkshire Surgeon, GP Mother, H/W Clerk Dressmaker ‘Small Town Surgeon’ 17 inch waist Gassed in WW1 Lived to 99 The four families are documented back to our 10x great-grandparents in Tables 1 and 2, whilst their stories have been told elsewhere in greater detail. 2. Our Great-Grandparents Naturally, we have eight of these and the new family names are Vasey, Bell, Sykes and Scurry. For two of these (Bell and Scurry) we can only trace them back to our 6x great-grandfathers, the others to our 7x (Sykes) and 8x (Vasey) great-grandads. Our four great-grandfathers and their wives are given below: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note James Paull Fiddian Ella Louise Vasey George F White Jane Bell George W Roberts Jane Sykes Wright Brooksbank Emily Scurry 1853 1859 1872 1873 1856 1853 1852 1852 Northumberland Australia Cambridge Cambridge Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Essex Judge in India Mother, H/W Boot Maker Mother, H/W Druggist Mother, H/W Stone Mason Mother, H/W Died at 42 Granny Pink Dairy Farmer Fulbourn Registrar Slaithwaite Farmer Laundress The Vasey family are detailed in Table 3 and discussed elsewhere. 3. Our 2x Great-Grandparents As the numbers increase it may be easier to consider the paternal and maternal branches separately: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note Samuel Fiddian Grace Burall Paull Thomas Vasey Elizabeth Brinsden 1804 1811 1826 1823 Staffordshire Cornwall Yorkshire Devon Wesleyan Minister Mother, H/W Draper Mother, H/W Drowned at 76 13 children Migrated to Oz Migrated to Oz 53 Our Family Saga Thomas Elijah White Elizabeth Cann John Bell Mary Ann Moden 1842 1846 1839 1841 Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Shoe/Boot Maker Servant Farm Labourer Mother, H/W Dairyman Mother, H/W Cherry Hinton Laundress For the new family names above I traced them back to our 6x (Cann), our 8x (Moden), our 11x (Brinsden) and our 14x (Paull) great-grandads. Whilst for the new names below I have managed only to get back to our 6x (Graham and Taylor) and 7x (Dransfield and Armitage) great-grandfathers. The Brinsden family are documented in Table 3 whilst the Paull family can be found in Table 4, traced from our 11x and 14x great-grandfathers respectively. The maternal branch looks like this: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note John Roberts Priscilla Graham Joseph Sykes Hannah Dransfield John Brooksbank Elizabeth Armitage William Scurry Eliza Taylor 1825 1835 1812 1814 1818 1821 1824 1825 Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Lancashire Yorkshire Yorkshire Essex Essex Pharmacist Mother, H/W Coal Merchant Mother, H/W Hand Loom Weaver Mother, H/W Farm Labourer Mother, H/W Surgeon Lived to 92 J Sykes & Sons Slaithwaite Farmer Almondbury Bailiff/Groom Braintree 4. Our 3x Great-Grandparents There are many more names with this generation, most notably the Linklater family, detailed in Table 5 (from our 12x great-grandad), who can be traced back to our 16x great-grandfather on Orkney. Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note William Fiddian Catherine Showell Alexander Paull Susanna Burall George Vasey Margaret Linklater James Brinsden Mary Arnold Thomas White Mary Pilbrow William Cann Mary Browning Charles Bell 1772 1771 1783 1791 1791 1789 1780 1797 1807 1801 1814 1821 1816 Worcestershire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Norfolk Suffolk Hertfordshire London Cambridge W Fiddian & Son Mother, H/W Doctor Mother, H/W Timber Merchant Mother, H/W Timber Dealer Mother, H/W Boot/Shoe Maker Mother, H/W Baker Mother, H/W Farm Labourer Brass Founder 11 children Surgeon Camborne Builder/Joiner 7 children Earl’s Bailiff 8 children Publican Died at 50 Barnet Lived to 88 Fen Ditton 54 Our Family Saga Hannah Balls William Moden Sarah Fowler 1815 1807 1804 Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Mother, H/W Farm Labourer Mother, H/W Died at 37 Cherry Hinton 9 children As above there are another 8 new surnames from our maternal side of the family: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note John Roberts Susannah Shaw George Graham Martha Denton Thomas Sykes Elizabeth Beaumont John Dransfield Betty Buckley William Brooksbank Hannah Wood William Armitage Elizabeth Barber Cyril Scurry Ann Tiffen Joseph Taylor Mary Potter 1790 1796 1809 1809 1779 1780 1786 1784 1788 1794 1787 1802 1793 1790 1801 1802 Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Essex Essex Essex Essex Doctor Mother, H/W Architect Mother, H/W Hand Loom Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Farmer Mother, H/W Labourer Mother, H/W Gardener Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Surgeon, GP 7 kids, died at 34 Timber Merchant Clayton by Bradford Woollen Weaver Died at 42 Died at 54 Died at 42 Weaver 7 children Highfield Southowram Lived to 87 Tailoress Steeple Bumpstead Broomfield It is already evident that three quarters of our mother’s ancestors came from Yorkshire whereas our father’s ancestors were much more scattered from around England. There is, however some similarity in the types of occupation for each side of the family except that weaving was more specific to Yorkshire. 5. Our 4x Great-Grandparents Sadly we know the occupations of fewer of this generation as they had mostly died before the censuses began: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note William Fiddian Sarah Millward William Showell Elizabeth King William Paull 1743 1743 1732 1749 1745 Worcestershire Worcestershire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Nail Master Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Yeoman Died at 36 Lived to 84 Died at 45 Died at 40 Lived to 82 55 Our Family Saga Grace Dunkin Paul Burall Grace Jennings Thomas Vasey Mary Hodgson Archibald Linklater Adeline Wilson John Brinsden Ann Smith John Arnold Susannah Shepherd James White Ann Mary Murrell Robert Pilbrow Mariah Syrett John Cann Elizabeth Murphy Robert Browning Sarah Mason John Bell Rebekah Sargent Richard Balls Sarah Gibson Richard Moden Elizabeth Allen Joseph Fowler Mary Wayman 1754 1756 1763 1740 1755 1752 1769 1748 1747 1770 1770 1755 1765 1780 1781 1777 1779 1791 1791 1778 1772 1778 1779 1766 1771 1773 1781 Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Orkney Yorkshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Hampshire Norfolk Norfolk Suffolk Suffolk London Essex Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Cambridge Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Yeoman Mother, H/W Fisherman Mother, H/W Saddler to the Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Farmer Mother, H/W Brickmaker Mother, H/W Bricklayer Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Agricultural Mother, H/W Agricultural Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Lived to 81 Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Farmer 8 children Went to Whitby He lived to 85! Earl of Aylesbury Lived to 85 Back to 8x ggf Known as Sukey Back to 11x ggf 11 children Lived to 83 Died at 44 Died at 50 Lived to 76 Back to 7x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Labourer Died at 43 Labourer Back to 7x ggf Wilburton Littleport The Dunkin family can be found in Table 5, the Syrett family in Table 6 and the King family in Table 7. As above fewer occupations are known for the maternal side of the family: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note James Roberts Alice Coates William Shaw Mabel Lee Joseph Graham Ann Exley Matthew Denton Hannah Gledhill William Sykes Hannah France James Beaumont 1764 1760 1769 1772 1781 1783 1786 1789 1751 1757 1742 Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yeoman Mother, H/W Coalminer Mother, H/W Timber Seller Mother, H/W Weaver Mother, H/W Mother, H/W - Son of Yeoman Both died in 1834 Lived to 80 Saddleworth Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Lived to 82 Lived to 73 Back to 7x ggf 56 Our Family Saga Sarah Spencer Edmund Dransfield Sally Varley John Buckley Hannah Lees Joseph Brooksbank Nancy Bradley Samuel Wood Hannah Fawcett Joshua Armitage Elizabeth Jackson William Barber Ann Charlton William Scurry Susannah Spooner Joseph Tiffen Mary Eldridge Isaac Taylor Mary Finch James Potter Catharine Burnett 1757 1759 1755 1755 1764 1762 1768 1767 1758 1755 1768 1771 1766 1766 1775 1772 1768 1768 1753 1758 Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire London Newcastle Essex London Essex Essex Essex Essex Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Card Maker Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Mother, H/W Back to 6x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 8x ggf Back to 21x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 7x ggf Silkstone (for) Weaving Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 7x ggf Back to 6x ggf Back to 6x ggf Wanstead Back to 6x ggf 6. Our 5x Great-Grandparents Since there are 128 of these, with two ladies only identified by Christian name it is too cumbersome to list all of them here, so we need to be more selective (the full list is shown in Table 8). In addition many of them only go back one or two generations at most and there are no details about their occupations. I have therefore chosen the twelve couples with most information who represent almost 20% of our 5x great-grandparents: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note Thomas Fiddian Sarah Cooper John King Catherine Collins Alexander Paull Catherine Henwood Haughton Dunkin Jane Polkinghorne William Jennings Elizabeth Hockin Richard Vasey 1711 1709 1723 1721 1707 1715 1712 1716 1736 1736 1712 Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Nail Master Mother of 7 Mother Yeoman Mother of 5 Yeoman Mother of 6 Mother of 3 Yeoman Lived to 90 Lived to 81 Back to 1560 Died at 32 Died at 47 Lived to 92 Back to 1584 Lived to 84 St Ives Back to 1430 Back to 1575 57 Our Family Saga Ann Wallis William Linklater Helen Muir Charles Brinsden Elizabeth Clarke Philip White Tabitha Bush William Syrett Mary Hersey Henry Roberts Alice Procter William Brooksbank Mary Lund 1713 1732 1735 1709 1710 1715 1711 1755 1759 1732 1733 1720 1727 Yorkshire Orkney Orkney Wiltshire Gloucestershire Norfolk Norfolk Suffolk Suffolk Yorkshire Lancashire Yorkshire Yorkshire Mother of 6 Fisherman Mother Rector Mother Innkeeper Mother Mother Yeoman Mother of 9 Yeoman Mother of 9 Back to 1565 Back to 1400 Married at 16 Son of Gentleman Painswick Back to 1515 Back to 1565 Back to 1540 Wickham Skeith Back to 1505 Goosnargh Back to 1336 Sowerby Bridge It should be noted that 83% of these selected families are ancestors of our paternal grandfather, but we will continue to follow them back in time. The Polkinghorne family (Table 4); Henwood, Hockin and Clarke families (Table 6); and Cooper, Collins and Wallis families (Table 7) are further documented. 7. Our 6x Great-Grandparents So far I have identified 244 of our 256 6x great-grandparents (95%, Table 8), some of which are: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note Thomas Fiddian Samuel Cooper Thomas King Edward Collins Alexander Paull William Henwood John Dunkin William Polkinghorne James Hockin Thomas Vasey Richard Wallis William Linklater John Brinsden Richard Clarke Philip White John Syrett James Roberts William Brooksbank 1677 1675 1692 1680 1675 1677 1688 1687 1704 1685 1696 1705 1676 1676 1683 1727 1706 1670 Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Orkney Wiltshire Gloucestershire Norfolk Suffolk Herefordshire Yorkshire Yeoman Yeoman Middle Class Middle Class Yeoman Yeoman Husbandman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman ‘Yeoman’ Gentleman Yeoman Farmer Farmer Yeoman Yeoman Died at 44 Back to 1535 In Coventry Back to 1510 Lived to 83 Back to 1535 Back to 1584 Back to 1455 Back to 1430 Back to 1575 Back to 1565 Last landowner Rector, MP Back to 1525 Back to 1515 Back to 1540 Back to 1505 Back to 1336 58 Our Family Saga For half of our 6x great-grandfathers tabled above there are no definite occupations, but there are several factors which lead to the conclusion that most of them were of the social class of Yeoman or higher (landed gentry). In particular it is very unusual to be able to trace families back beyond about 1550 unless they or their ancestors were of notable standing. Also families tended to marry into other families of a similar social standing and finally any wealth was usually passed down through the male line. Since the 18 men in the table represent 36 families, this is only about 15% of all our known 6x greatgrandparents and so may not be very representative of our whole family, but does represent almost ¼ of our paternal ancestry. 8. Our 7x Great-Grandparents Sadly the number of families that can be traced this far back have been reduced and so we can identify only 232 (45%) of our possible 512 7x great-grandparents. For 35 7x great-grandmothers only a Christian name was found and so the number of fully identified members of this generation are, actually 197 out of 512 (38%). 9. Our 8x Great-Grandparents Fears about coping with a thousand or so members of this generation were clearly unfounded. So far I have found only 130 out of 1024 possible ancestors (13%) this far back in time, with surnames available for many of them (86%). The full list is given in Table 9 but I will review in detail here only the 18 surnames that were presented previously: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note John Fiddian John Cooper Thomas King Edward Collins John Thomas Paull Robert Henwood John Dunkin Henry Polkinghorne Vincent Hockin Thomas Vasey Ralph Wallis Alexander Linklater John Brinsden John Clarke 1594 1602 1629 1596 1622 1601 1624 1632 1633 1605 1629 1632 1620 1631 Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Orkney Wiltshire Gloucs Yeoman Yeoman Middle Class Middle Class Yeoman Middle Class Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman ‘Yeoman’ Gentleman Yeoman 8 children Southam Coventry Kingsbury Died at 37 Bodmin Moor Camborne Illogan Lived to 72 4 yeoman kids West Heslerton Suitor grandad Wootton Bassett Hartpury 59 Our Family Saga James White John Syrett James Roberts William Brooksbank 1634 1659 1646 1583 Norfolk Suffolk Herefordshire Yorkshire Farmer Farmer Yeoman Yeoman Rector grandad Died at 48 Gentleman father Almondbury 10. Our 10x Great-Grandparents There are still 17 of the above surnames out of a total of 60 individuals that can be traced back to our 10x great-grandparents: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note William Fiddian Robert Cooper John King William Collins Alexander Paull Nicholas Henwood Robert Dunkin Stephen Polkinghorne Vincent Hockin Ralph Wallis Oliver Linklater John Brinsden Thomas Clarke Henry White Francis Syrett John Roberts William Brooksbank 1530 1535 1560 1510 1550 1535 1557 1561 1571 1565 1585 1568 1560 1559 1602 1595 1539 Midlands Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Orkney Wiltshire Gloucestershire Norfolk Suffolk Herefordshire Yorkshire Rector Yeoman Middle Class Middle Class Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Suitor Yeoman Yeoman Rector Farmer Yeoman Yeoman Coleshill Alveston Coleshill Warwick Gentleman grandad St Neot Camborne Breage Camborne Village Assizeman father Gentleman’s son Village Thurgarton Village Gentleman’s son Almondbury 11. Our 12x Great-Grandparents Of our 12x great-grandparents only 14 have been traced so far, with 8 of these our 12x greatgrandfathers from the surnames above: Name Birth Stephen Paull 1492 John Dunkin 1500 Thomas Polkinghorne 1487 Birthplace Occupation Note Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Gentleman Yeoman Gentleman Gunwin Manor Camborne Notable family 60 Our Family Saga Rafe Hockin Magnus Linklater Thomas Syrett John Roberts Thomas Brooksbank 1518 1535 1540 1505 1495 Cornwall Orkney Suffolk Herefordshire Yorkshire Churchwarden Assizeman Farmer Yeoman Yeoman Camborne Assizeman’s son Estate village Bridstow Yeoman dad 12. Our 14x Great-Grandparents There are still five 14x great-grandfathers that can be traced back to the 15th century: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Note Stephen Paull Thomas Polkinghorne John Hockin Andrew Linklater Richard Brooksbank 1428 1422 1460 1465 1455 Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Orkney Yorkshire Gentleman Gentleman Yeoman Roithman Yeoman Manor, wealthy Notable family Notable family Gentleman grandad Knight’s son Of particular note is Richard Brooksbank, a Yeoman at Warley in Yorkshire, whose son was the Rev Sir John Brooksbank, both a Knight and Curate of Elland. He also had a nephew the Rev Sir Gilbert Brooksbank, who was likewise a Knight and a Priest of Heptonstall but was murdered by a Robert Briggs. The latter being a servant of Sir Richard Tempest, the Steward of the Royal Manor of Wakefield, who was later thrown into the Tower of London where he died of the plague. 13. Our Earliest Ancestors These are the only four families that can clearly be traced any further back: Name Birth Birthplace Occupation Generation William Hockin Christe Linklater Roger Polkinghorne Thomas Brooksbank 1400 1400 1290 1240 Cornwall Orkney Cornwall Yorkshire Yeoman Gentleman Gentleman Yeoman 16x ggfather 16x ggfather 19x ggfather 21x ggfather So, we have traced our ancestors as far back as possible to the 13th and 14th centuries. As discussed elsewhere the Fiddian surname appears to derive originally from the Latin name Vivianus and was therefore introduced by the Normans after the invasion in 1066. The Linklater family were probably 61 Our Family Saga originally Vikings who settled in Orkney over 1000 years ago and so may originally have come from Norway. The Normans too have Viking ancestry and it is likely that we have more than one link back to them. Nevertheless many of our earliest ancestors have surnames that derive from place names in England and so much of our ancestry is undoubtedly English (British) dating back to the Anglo-Saxons. A large proportion of our maternal ancestry is clearly from Yorkshire but back far enough even this was once part of the Danelaw (as were Norfolk and Cambridge). As far as I know I am the only descendant in our line of the family to have had their DNA tested but my results are interesting. They indicate a strong British ancestry with 80% of my DNA coming from this region, but 12% of my DNA is of Scandinavian origin, 4% is from West Europe (France and Germany) and 2% is from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). This certainly seems to fit with my ancestry as detailed above and whilst the smaller values would require confirmation I am happy to conclude that we are in large part of English stock with a contribution from the Vikings. 62 Our Family Saga TABLE 1: 12 Generations of the Fiddian and White Families ending with our parents FIDDIAN family Rev William Fiddian Priest 1530-1577 John Fiddian Yeoman 1572-1621 John Fiddian Yeoman 1594-1649 Richard Fiddian Yeoman 1638-1699 Thomas Fiddian Yeoman 1677-1721 Thomas Fiddian Nail Master 1711-1801 William Fiddian Nail Master 1743-1780 William Fiddian Gentleman/Brass Founder 1772-1842 Rev Samuel Fiddian Wesleyan Minister 1804-1880 Judge James Paull Fiddian District Judge/JP 1853-1896 Dr James Victor Fiddian Surgeon/GP 1887-1965 Dr James Anthony Fiddian General Practitioner 1922-2010 WHITE family Agnes Elizabeth Baker 1573-1611 Jane -1677 Ursula -1728 Ann -1764 Sarah Cooper 1709-1790 Sarah Millward 1743-1827 Catharine Showell 1771-1810 Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Elizabeth Mary Doris White 1897-1988 Audrey J Roberts 1922-2011 Rev Henry White Priest 1559-1617 Francis White Farmer 1596James White Farmer 1634-1701 Robert White Farmer 1660-1721 Philip White Farmer 1683-1726 Philip White Innkeeper 1715-1784 James White Farmer 1755-1820 Thomas White Bootmaker/Publican 1807-1867 Thomas E White Bootmaker/Dairyman 1842-1918 George F White Bootmaker/Dairy Farmer 1872-1955 Elizabeth Mary Doris White 1897-1988 Dr James Anthony Fiddian General Practitioner 1922-2010 63 Elizabeth Beane 1562-1601 Jane Mary Mary Hammond 1665-1747 Helen Palmer 1691-1749 Tabitha Bush 1711-1784 Ann Mary Murrell 1765-1822 Mary Pilbrow 1801-1851 Elizabeth Cann 1846-1913 Jane Bell 1873-1951 Dr James Victor Fiddian 1887-1965 Audrey J Roberts 1922-2011 Our Family Saga TABLE 2: 12 Generations of the Roberts and Brooksbank Families ending with our parents ROBERTS family John Roberts Yeoman 1595-1670 John Roberts Gentleman 1621James Roberts Yeoman 1646-1736 Thomas Roberts Yeoman 1680James Roberts Yeoman 1706-1758 Henry Roberts Yeoman 1732-1781 James Roberts Yeoman 1764-1834 Dr John Roberts Surgeon/GP 1790-1851 John Roberts Surgeon/Druggist 1825-1889 George William Roberts, Druggist/Registrar 1856-1926 Hubert Roberts, Commercial Clerk 1891-1939 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Teacher 1922-2011 BROOKSBANK family Joan Halle 1589-1673 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1539-1577 Joan Oldfield 1540- Elizabeth James Brooksbank Yeoman 1561- Joan -1609 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1583William Brooksbank Yeoman 1636-1687 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1670-1730 William Brooksbank Yeoman 1720-1784 Alice Elizabeth Ann Scott 1704-1764 Alice Proctor 1733Alice Coates 1760-1834 Joseph Brooksbank Farmer 1764-1798 Susannah Shaw 1796-1830 Priscilla Graham 1835-1927 Jane Sykes 1853-1919 Marion B Brooksbank 1891-1991 Dr James A Fiddian 1922-2010 64 William Brooksbank Farmer/Weaver 1788-1868 John Brooksbank Farmer/Weaver 1818-1901 Wright Brooksbank Stone Mason/Farmer 1852-1896 Marion Beatrice Brooksbank 1891-1991 Audrey Jacqueline Roberts Teacher 1922-2011 Katherine Gray 1599Susannah Elizabeth Mellar 1676Mary Lund 1727Nancy Bradley 1762-1827 Hannah Wood 1794-1871 Elizabeth Armitage 1821-1903 Emily Scurry 1852-1933 Hubert Roberts 1891-1939 Dr James A Fiddian 1922-2010 Our Family Saga TABLE 3: Vasey and Brinsden Ancestors of our Grandparents VASEY family BRINSDEN family - - - - - - Thomas Vasey Yeoman 1605Richard Vasey Yeoman 1650-1729 Thomas Vasey Yeoman 1685-1765 Richard Vasey Yeoman 1712Thomas Vasey Yeoman 1740-1826 George Vasey Builder/Joiner 1791-1862 Thomas Vasey Silk Mercer/Draper 1826-1899 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Dr James Victor Fiddian Surgeon/GP 1887-1965 Ann Hall Hannah Carr 1657Anna Beswick 1691Ann Wallis 1713Mary Hodgson 1755-1845 Margaret Linklater 1789-1855 Elizabeth Brinsden 1823-1904 Judge James P Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Elizabeth M Doris White 1897-1988 Edmond Brinsden Yeoman 1535John Brinsden Yeoman 1568John Brinsden Gentleman 1594-1644 John Brinsden Gentleman 1620-1675 Rev John Brinsden, BA Curate/Gentleman 1642-1719 Rev John Brinsden, BA Rector/Gentleman/MP 1676-1745 Rev Charles Brinsden MA/Chaplain 1709-1780 John Brinsden Saddler 1748-1828 James Brinsden Timber Dealer/Agent 1780-1840 Elizabeth Brinsden Milliner 1823-1904 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Dr James Victor Fiddian Surgeon/GP 1887-1965 65 Joan 1615Alice Ann -1675 Joan Guilbert 1619Jane Elizabeth Mortimer 1682-1738 Elizabeth Clarke 1710-1779 Ann Smith 1747-1832 Mary Arnold 1797-1869 Thomas Vasey Draper 1826-1899 Judge James P Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Elizabeth M Doris White 1897-1988 Our Family Saga TABLE 4: Paull and Polkinghorne Ancestors of our Great-Grandparents PAULL family Stephen Paull Yeoman 1428-1479 Stephen Paull Yeoman 1463-1527 Stephen Paull Yeoman 1492-1578 Richard Paull Yeoman 1526Alexander Paull Yeoman 1550-1601 Richard Paull Yeoman 1578-1645 John Thomas Paull Yeoman 1622-1659 John Paull Yeoman 1641-1691 Alexander Paull Yeoman 1675-1758 Alexander Paull Yeoman 1707-1755 William Paull Yeoman 1745-1828 Dr Alexander Paull Surgeon 1783-1883 POLKINGHORNE family Thomas Polkinghorne Gentleman 1422Thomas Polkinghorne Gentleman 1455Thomas Polkinghorne Gentleman 1487-1562 William Polkinghorne Yeoman 1530-1592 Stephen Polkinghorne Yeoman 1561-1627 Stephen Polkinghorne Yeoman 1601Henry Polkinghorne Yeoman 1632-1692 Alexander Polkinghorne Yeoman 1664William Polkinghorne Yeoman 1687-1742 - Margery Brea 1496-1577 Elizabeth 1527Jane 1560Cheston Hockin 1581-1645 Jane Harry 1622-1695 Elizabeth Bryant 1650-1715 Jane Rowe 1672-1730 - Mary Agnes Opy 1510Eleanor Cowling 1540Joan Joyre 1567-1622 Frances Jane Thomas Susanna Towen Jane Michell 1690Haughton Dunkin Yeoman 1712-1776 William Paull Yeoman 1745-1828 Catherine Henwood 1715-1807 Jane Polkinghorne 1716-1800 Grace Dunkin 1754-1835 Grace Dunkin 1754-1835 Susanna Burall 1791-1822 Dr Alexander Paull Surgeon 1783-1883 Susanna Burall 1791-1822 Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 Rev Samuel Fiddian 1804-1880 Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 Rev Samuel Fiddian 1804-1880 Judge James Paull Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Judge James Paull Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 66 Our Family Saga TABLE 5: Dunkin and Linklater Ancestors of our Great-Grandparents DUNKIN family John Dunkin Yeoman 1500-1560 Robert Dunkin Yeoman 1530-1590 Robert Dunkin Yeoman 1557-1610 John Dunkin Yeoman 1587John Dunkin Husbandman 1624-1675 John Dunkin Husbandman 1660-1740 John Dunkin Husbandman 1688-1745 Haughton Dunkin Yeoman 1712-1776 LINKLATER family Grace Dunkin 1754-1835 William Paull Yeoman 1745-1828 Magnus Linklater Tacksman 1535John Linklater Assizeman 1560-1610 Oliver Linklater Suitor 1585-1618 William Linklater Suitor 1611-1687 Alexander Linklater Tacksman 1632Thomas Linklater Tacksman 1658William Linklater ‘Yeoman’ 1705William Linklater Fisherman 1732Archibald Linklater Fisherman 1752-1838 Dr Alexander Paull Surgeon 1783-1883 Susanna Burall 1791-1822 Margaret Linklater 1789-1855 George Vasey Builder/Joiner 1791-1862 Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 Rev Samuel Fiddian 1804-1880 Thomas Vasey Silk Mercer/Draper 1826-1899 Elizabeth Brinsden 1823-1904 Judge James Paull Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Ella Louise Vasey 1859-1931 Judge James P Fiddian, JP 1853-1896 Argent 1505Mary Antorne 1535Joan Margery Mary 1635-1689 Elizabeth Richards 1666-1746 Elizabeth Ellis 1689-1746 Jane Polkinghorne 1716-1800 67 - Marion Johnston 1590Margaret Corrigall 1611-1645 Katharine Spens Margaret Johnston 1644Marjory Morwick Helen Muir 1735Adeline Wilson 1769- Our Family Saga TABLE 6: Other Family Lines from the 16th Century HENWOOD (Cornwall) HOCKIN (Cornwall) SYRETT (Suffolk) CLARKE (Gloucestershire) Nicholas Henwood 1535-1602 (m. Joan Davy) Ralph Henwood Fulling Miller 1569-1646 Robert Henwood 1601(m. Joan Cowling) John Henwood 1640(m. Margaret Thomas) William Henwood Yeoman 1677-1753 Catherine Henwood 1715-1807 (m. Alexander Paull) William Paull Yeoman 1745-1828 Ralph Hockin Churchwarden 1518-1576 John Hockin Churchwarden 1545-1592 Vincent Hockin Yeoman 1571-1635 Vincent Hockin Yeoman 1600-1656 Vincent Hockin Yeoman 1633-1705 Vincent Hockin Yeoman 1664James Hockin Yeoman 1704-1766 Elizabeth Hockin 1736(m. Wm Jennings) Grace Jennings 1763(m. Paul Burall) Susanna Burall 1791-1822 (m. Dr Alex. Paull) Grace Burall Paull 1811-1879 (m. Rev Sm Fiddian) Thomas Syrett 1540-1595 (m. Alice Moss) Francis Syrett 1570-1639 (m. Mary Rumsey) Francis Syrett 1602-1671 (m. Mary Thrower) John Syrett Farmer 1628John Syrett Farmer 1659-1707 William Syrett 1692-1754 (m. Anne Chandler) William Syrett 1719-1756 (m. Sarah) William Syrett 1740-1782 (m. Mary Saunders) Mary Ann Syrett 1781-1826 (m. Robert Pilbrow) Mary Pilbrow 1801-1851 (m. Thomas White) Thomas E White 1842-1918 (m. Elizabeth Cann) Richard Clarke 1525(m. Alice) Thomas Clarke 1560(m. Alice Homes) Richard Clarke 1595(m. Mgt Haywood) John Clarke Yeoman 1631Richard Clarke 1652(m. Sarah Tyner) Richard Clarke 1676(m. Jane Dobbs) Elizabeth Clarke 1710-1779 (m. Rev Ch Brinsden) John Brinsden Saddler 1748-1828 - - - - 68 - - - Our Family Saga TABLE 7: More Family Lines from the 16th Century COOPER (Warwickshire) KING (Warwickshire) COLLINS (Warwickshire) WALLIS (Yorkshire) Robert Cooper Yeoman 1535John Cooper 1569(m. Maria Biddle) John Cooper 1602(m. Anna Pigeon) Joseph Cooper 1627(m. Mary Metcalfe) Samuel Cooper 1675(m. Mary Abell) Sarah Cooper 1709-1790 (m. Thomas Fiddian) William Fiddian Nail Master 1743-1780 John King Yeoman 1560John King 1592(m. Alice Haddon) Thomas King 1629(m. Elizabeth Male) Seny King 1659(m. Elizabeth) Thomas King 1692(m. Penelope Blake) John King 1723(m. Cath. Collins) Elizabeth King 1749-1789 (m. Willm. Showell) Catherine Showell 1771-1810 (m.Willm. Fiddian) Rev Samuel Fiddian Wesleyan Minister 1804-1880 William Collins Yeoman 1510Thomas Collins 1541(m. Joyce Milnes) Edward Collins 1596(m. Edith) Edward Collins 1649(m. Jane Miles) Edward Collins 1680(m. Eliz. Jackson) Catherine Collins 1721(m. John King) Elizabeth King 1749-1789 (m. Willm. Showell) Catherine Showell 1771-1810 (m. Willm. Fiddian) Rev Samuel Fiddian Wesleyan Minister 1804-1880 Ralph Wallis Yeoman 1560Christopher Wallis Yeoman 1599Ralph Wallis 1629(m Blanch Dursdale) Christopher Wallis 1652(m. Grace Walker) Robert Wallis 1696(m. Ann Fox) Ann Wallis 1713(m. Richard Vasey) Thomas Vasey Yeoman 1740- - - 69 - - Our Family Saga TABLE 8: All 128 of our 5x Great-Grandparents (and 244 of our 6x Great-Grandparents) Name Birth Birthplace Parents Thomas Fiddian Sarah Cooper Charles Millward Ann Thomas Showell Mary John King Catherine Collins Alexander Paull Catherine Henwood Haughton Dunkin Jane Polkinghorne Edward Burall Susanna Mean William Jennings Elizabeth Hockin Richard Vasey Ann Wallis Richard Hodgson Elizabeth Kidd William Linklater Helen Muir Isaac Wilson Margaret Rickinson Rev Chas Brinsden Elizabeth Clarke Abraham Smith Elizabeth Hacker James Arnold Mary Deadman Thomas Shepherd Elizabeth Bryant Philip White Tabitha Bush John Murrell Mary Tuck William Pilbrow Elizabeth Elder William Syrett Mary Saunders 1711 1709 1717 1700 1723 1721 1707 1715 1712 1716 1733 1724 1736 1736 1712 1713 1719 1720 1732 1735 1735 1750 1709 1710 1712 1713 1743 1741 1739 1744 1715 1711 1730 1731 1763 1773 1755 - Warwickshire Warwickshire Worcestershire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Orkney Orkney Yorkshire Yorkshire Wiltshire Gloucestershire Wiltshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Hampshire Hampshire Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Suffolk Suffolk Suffolk - Thomas F & Ann Samuel C & Mary Abell Charles M & Elizabeth Radcliffe Thomas S & Elizabeth Terry Thomas K & Penelope Blake Edward C & Eliz Jackson Alexander P & Jane Rowe William H & Catherine John D & Elizabeth Ellis William P & Jane Michell John Burall & Ann Nicholas M & Christian George J & Mary Francis James H & Mary Thomas V & Anna Beswick Robert W & Ann Fox George H & Anne Shield Robert K & Agnes Iverson William L & Marjory Morwick Robert M & Margaret Henry W & Hannah Stocker William R & Margaret Pearson John B & Elizabeth Mortimer Richard C & Jane Dobbs John S & Sarah Workman John H & Ann Tarrant Richard A & Anne Denton Peter D & Mary Rogers Thomas S & Susanna Ruddle John B & Mary Trigg Philip W & Helen Palmer Francis B & Elizabeth Lowgate Thomas M & Elizabeth Castle John T & Mary Keeney Thomas P & Hannah Frost William E & Martha Copsey William S & Sarah - 70 Our Family Saga James Cann Esther Brown Matthew Murphy Susannah Reynolds Robert Browning Sarah Hawkins Benjamin Mason Martha Rollins Edward Bell Mary Scott Henry Sargent Mary Danby William Balls Elizabeth Gibbs Joshua Gilson Sarah Hewitt Simon Moden Susannah Gibson John Allen Susanna Blacktop Joseph Fowler Phoebe Hovel Matthew Wayman Elizabeth Foreman Henry Roberts Alice Proctor John Coates Ann Tennant John Shaw Sarah Kirshaw Joseph Lee Ann Crabtree John Graham Anne Bains Thomas Exley Ann Denton 1747 1749 1759 1754 1765 1768 1766 1766 1748 1748 1735 1745 1759 1727 1728 1743 1740 1742 1742 1745 1743 1732 1733 1723 1739 1737 1738 1733 1735 1750 1748 1760 1763 London Suffolk Essex Essex Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Yorkshire Lancashire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Jonathan Denton Hannah Rawnsley Henry Gledhill Hannah Lee James Sykes Sarah Sykes Joshua France Rebecca Wrigley Adam Beaumont Mary Tweedale Robert Spencer Elizabeth Whiteley 1753 1747 1758 1718 1716 1713 1712 1715 1711 1709 - Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire 71 George C & Annabella Sedgwick Francis B & Margaret Place John M & Esther James R & Elizabeth Thomas B & Sarah Eusden John H & Sarah Tubbs Benjamin M & Mary Kent John R & Elizabeth Bartle John B & Ann Prime John S & Martha Free Henry S & Marcey Richard B & Ann Ballden John G & Elizabeth Clifton William G & Sarah Robert H & Joanna Simon M & Elizabeth Richard G & Susan Prime William A & Susannah Battris Caleb B & Mary Thomas H & Margaret Macer Thomas W & Mary Beecheno James R & Ann Scott William P & Mary Foster John C & Alice Falshaw John T & Elizabeth Nally John S & Alice Morehouse Adam K & Dinah Dyson John L & Mary Hirst Thomas C & R Saltonstall William G & Mary Atkinson Francis B & Mary Bell George E & Ann Sykes Thomas D & Martha Charlesworth John D & Mary Robert R & Mary Mitchel John G & Martha Asher John L & Mary Ross Thomas S & Mary Rawnsley Edmund S & Elizabeth Wood James F & Hannah Parkin John W & Martha Crowther James B & Mary Nuttall Robert T & Alice Simpson John S & Mary Kershaw James W & Sarah Mallinson Our Family Saga Joseph Dransfield Martha Meller James Varley Elizabeth Sutcliffe William Buckley Mary Dronsfield John Lees Sarah Gledhill Will Brooksbank Mary Lund Matthew Bradley Martha Charlesworth William Wood Hannah Quarmby William Wilkinson Mary Fawcett John Armitage Mary Hobson Thomas Jackson Martha Battey John Barber Sarah Scholefield John Charlton Elizabeth Slater John Scurry Elizabeth Bovey Joseph Spooner Mary Gair Thomas Tiffen Christiana Moriarty James Eldridge Margaret Waller Thomas L Taylor Love Millbank John W Finch Mary Dennison Peter Potter Mary Burton John Burnett Elizabeth Harvey 1726 1723 1731 1731 1726 1727 1715 1715 1720 1727 1740 1739 1735 1735 1732 1738 1718 1716 1727 1729 1731 1729 1731 1734 1737 1736 1739 1729 1732 1739 1740 1730 1743 1709 1717 1727 1724 Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire London Durham Northumberland Essex London London London Essex Essex Essex Essex London London Essex Essex 72 Richard D & Elizabeth Kay Edmund M & Hannah Whitehead Thomas V & Esther Butterworth Christopher S & Martha Rangeley Edmund B & Mary John D & Mary Edward L & Anna Goldthorp James G & Mary Robinson William B & Elizabeth Mellar Robinson L & Elizabeth Platts John B & Sarah Blackburn John C & Mary Shaw William W & Rebecca Walton John Q & Martha Crossland John W & Elizabeth Wood Peter F & Bridgit Vinson John A & Martha Mitchell William H & Ann Roebuck William J & Elizabeth Pearson Edward B & Mary West Joshua B & Mary Blackburn Abraham S & Martha Rigg William C & Ann Allinson Lawrence S & Mary Andrews John S & Mary John B & Sarah Widows Joseph S & Mary Gayre Edward G & Jane Weatherburn Samuel T & Mary Manning Thomas M & Ann Harding Thomas E & Margery Aspinall John W & Sarah Thomas T & Ann Taylor Abraham M & Rebecca Oliver James F & Mary Wiltshire Josiah D & Mary Catchpool Philip P & Elizabeth Michael B & Mary John B & Rebecca Francis H & Elizabeth Our Family Saga TABLE 9: Our 130 known 8x Great-Grandparents Name Birth Birthplace Occupation John Fiddian Jane John Cooper Anna Pigeon John Metcalfe Matthew Abell Alice Lagoe John Terry Ursula Thomas King Elizabeth Male Edward Collins Edith William Miles Anne Waring William Jackson Richard Mantle Margery Harley John Thomas Paull Jane Harry Edward Bryant John Rowe Alice Cater Matthew Job Jane Glanville Robert Henwood Joan Cowling John Thomas Catherine Adams John Dunkin Mary Gilbert Richards Ann Hancock Robert Ellis Susannah Brock Edward Jeffrey Ann Flavill Henry Polkinghorne Jane Thomas Andrew Towen 1594 1602 1607 1601 1611 1604 1629 1596 1629 1633 1601 1623 1622 1622 1620 1595 1610 1608 1601 1610 1629 1634 1624 1635 1627 1631 1630 1635 1634 1639 1632 1633 Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Warwickshire Shropshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Devon Devon Devon Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Fulling Miller Husbandman Yeoman - 73 Our Family Saga Milleston Cock John Michell Constance Veal Robert Rosecrow Katherine Nicholas Mean Elizabeth Vincent Hockin Honour Stevens Thomas Vasey Ann Hall Ralph Wallis Blanche Dursdale James Fox Isabel George Hodgson Robert Davill Jane William Shield Bridget Silvester Francis Elyetson Robert Kidd Thomas Kidd Agnes Hunter Alexander Linklater Katharine Spens John Brinsden Joan Guilbert Edward Mortimer Mary John Clarke Joan John Hacker Sarah Marsh Simon Arnold Anne Richard Doe Susannah John Trigg Anne Hammond James White Mary Francis Outlaw Elizabeth Watts Francis Bush Elizabeth Hubbard Edward Pilbrow Ann Brett John Syrett 1629 1633 1633 1634 1605 1629 1631 1613 1610 1650 1632 1632 1620 1619 1612 1631 1644 1636 1634 1615 1631 1659 Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Orkney Orkney Wiltshire Berkshire Wiltshire Wiltshire Gloucestershire Gloucestershire Hampshire Berkshire Berkshire Hampshire Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Norfolk Suffolk Suffolk Suffolk 74 Yeoman Yeoman Yeoman Tacksman Gentleman Yeoman Farmer Farmer Our Family Saga Frances James Eusden Mary John Free Martha Henry Bunnion Margaret Dobbs Simon Moden Ann Simons Thomas Prime Ann Parker James Roberts Alice Henry Tennant Anne Metcalfe Robert Shaw Mary Woodhead Joseph Kay Thomas Sykes James Rawnsley Hugh Wrigley Jonathan Crowther William Kay John Haigh John Meller Nicholas Meller John Butterworth Susan Gratton John Lees John Newton John Walshaw Mary Johnson William Brooksbank Katherine Gray John Blackburn Mary Broadhead William Scholefield Abraham Milbank Mary George Mapes Elizabeth 1660 1663 1665 1646 1652 1646 1655 1636 1648 1635 1583 1599 1635 1632 1641 - Suffolk Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire Herefordshire Herefordshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Yorkshire Lancashire Essex Essex - 75 Yeoman Yeoman - Our Family Saga Part 6: Other Notable Families in our Pedigree Chapter 1 - The Vasey Family from the North York Moors The popular view is that the name Vasey originated from the Anglo-Norman word ‘enveisie’ meaning playful or merry and was introduced by the Normans. This would indicate that the ultimate origin was the Latin word ‘invitiare’ meaning pleasure and indeed the Domesday Book records a Robert Invesiatus in 1086. A more straightforward origin might be from the name of a commune in Normandy called Vessey and again there is a Robert of Vessey recorded in the Domesday Book with manors in Lincolnshire. Either way this would suggest that the family may have come over with the Normans although we find little evidence of them over the next 500 years. An exception to this is found in the Rievaulx Chartulary where as many as seven members of the Lenveiset family are recorded. Rievaulx Abbey in the North York Moors was founded in 1131 and the records date from this time. When we do find our first definite Vasey ancestor about 450 years later it is most interesting to discover the family using the same Christian names (Roger, Robert, Thomas and William) and living in a village only 19 miles from the Abbey. Indeed the Vasey surname has cropped up most commonly over the years in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and Durham as well as their surrounding counties so we may well have found their origin. Thomas Vasey was born in 1605 at Egton in the North York Moors and would most likely have come from a family who worked the land as farmers of some sort. In 1634 he married Ann Hall at Egton and they had several children including five sons, the next to youngest being Richard Vasey born in 1650 at Egton. I have found at least five Vasey Yeomen in the late 17th and 18th centuries in villages at the eastern end of the Vale of Pickering that I believe came from this family. The two oldest brothers of Richard Vasey, Matthew and Thomas moved as young men to Ruston in Wykeham and Ebberston, two villages close by each other and about 25 miles from Egton. There they married, had children and made a living as Yeoman Farmers, either as a result of inheritance from their father and/or through marriage. The middle son John cannot be traced beyond his birth, but the two youngest brothers Richard and William also moved to Wykeham and Allerston near their older brothers, where they also married and had families. It is not possible to confirm if they too were Yeomen but it is likely that they were farmers as the surrounding areas were mainly arable land and woods. Richard Vasey married Hanna Carr in 1679 at Wykeham and they had a son Thomas Vasey born in 1685 at Wykeham. Thomas married Anna Beswick from the neighbouring village of Hutton Buscel at Wykeham in 1710 and they had 11 children of whom the oldest son was Richard Vasey who was born in 1712 at Wykeham. At least one of Richard’s younger brothers was a Yeoman and so it seems most likely that he was as well, 76 Our Family Saga perhaps because his father had been a Yeoman too or because his great uncles had had few sons between them. Richard married a young woman from the village called Ann Wallis in 1736 and they had several daughters and a son Thomas Vasey born in 1740 at Wykeham. Thomas as the eldest and only son was also probably a Yeoman Farmer but for some reason he moved to Pocklington about 30 miles away and there he married Mary Hodgson in 1776. They had their first child in Pocklington the following year and then moved to Tollerton about 25 miles further inland where they had another daughter and 6 sons. The next to youngest of these was George Vasey born in 1791 at Tollerton but like his siblings christened in neighbouring Alne. By now the family were not doing so well, and only the eldest Thomas was still in farming but as an Agricultural Labourer. At least four of the brothers were Joiners at one time or another and the most successful appears to have been George. The youngest, Ebenezer later became a Tea Dealer and had 11 children, the second of whom became the Rev Thomas Vasey a Baptist Minister who worked all over the British Isles. George Vasey meanwhile had started off as a Timber Merchant, then become a Builder employing 8 staff and finally worked as a Joiner and Appraisor. He married Margaret Linklater of the Orcadian Linklaters in 1817 at Whitby and they had 6 sons and a daughter. In 1862 George was thrown from a horse drawn buggy and died from his injuries. Of his 6 sons, two died in infancy, one stayed in Whitby but died aged 37 years and the other three went off to London as young men. The oldest of these three, Archibald married in Croydon, Surrey in 1853 and had 6 children at Greenwich, London before dying aged only 40, having worked as a Draper and a Wine & Provisions Merchant. The youngest Samuel had already married in Whitby in 1853 and had 9 children in Stepney, London before dying aged 57, having worked as a Wine & Provisions Merchant and a Ship’s Chandler. The middle of the three brothers who left for London, Thomas Vasey born in 1826 at Whitby, didn’t stop there long as about the time his brothers were getting married he took a boat to Melbourne Australia. He had worked as an Assistant Silk Mercer at Ludgate in London in 1851 but by 1856 he was a Draper in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia. By then he had married Elizabeth Brinsden from Powderham, Devon in 1855 at Geelong and they had 7 children in the space of only 11 years. Ella Louis Vasey born in 1859 at Collingwood was the second of four daughters and was actually christened Ellen, but chose Ella in preference. She married my great grandfather James Paull Fiddian in 1884 at Hawthorn, Melbourne and shortly afterwards she and James went on an American journey for which she kept a journal (see Part 9: Granny Pink’s Journey). On her return she managed to have 7 children in only 10 years though two died young and in later life was known as Granny Pink (as opposed to Granny White). Before the youngest of her surviving children was even three years old and whilst she was in England with her remaining 5 children, her husband James who had been a District Judge in the Indian Civil Service died from dysentery in Madras. Ella initially struggled in England bringing up the children aged 3 to 11 on her own, and took them all over to Australia where her family could help. After a few years and as the older boys approached senior school age she took the family back to England to complete their education. She must have done a good job though as all her sons went to university and three of them 77 Our Family Saga became doctors. Ella died in 1931 at Newton Abbott in Devon not far from where her mother had been born. As one of her children was my grandfather James Victor Fiddian it would seem as though this story of the Vasey family was at an end but I would like to return to Ella’s siblings in Australia. Two of these died in infancy but she had two surviving brothers as well as two surviving sisters. The younger brother Alfred Vasey was born in 1868 at Bdara, Victoria and married Edith Helen Buttle in 1903 at Victoria. They had three sons, Archibald James born in 1904, Geoffrey Alfred born in 1907 and Carl Raymond born in 1912. Alfred and two of his sons were Farmers and the other son was an Agricultural Scientist so they had all reverted to the original family occupation, although all four of them did have additional jobs. The youngest son also extended the family migration by settling first in Fiji and finally in New Zealand. The older of Ella’s brothers was George Brinsden Vasey who was born in 1860 at Heidelberg, Victoria. George was a Solicitor and a Barrister and in 1890 married Alice Isobel McCutcheon at Victoria with whom he had 6 children. The oldest of these was Thomas Arnold Vasey born 1891 at Malvern, Victoria who worked in the Wool Business, becoming a Company Director. In 1914 he happened to be in England and so became an Able Seaman in the Royal Navy, receiving the standard British Campaign Medals. Next was John Brinsden Vasey born 1893 at Malvern who joined the Australian Engineers in 1914 and as a Corporal in 1915 he was wounded in the face and leg whilst fighting at Gallipoli. On his way to Malta for treatment he died from septicaemia. The oldest daughter was Blanche Isabel Vasey born in 1900 at Glenroy, Victoria who died in 1911 at Balwyn, Victoria. Gilbert Howard Vasey was born in 1904 at Balwyn and for most of his working life was a Lecturer, but he became an Engineer in his 70s and lived into his 80s. The youngest daughter Marjorie Hope Vasey was born in 1906 at Balwyn and became a nurse. The remaining son was George Alan Vasey born in 1895 at Malvern, who because his father was also George was known as Alan instead. In 1913 Alan joined the Royal Military College and because of WW1 they graduated early. By 1915 he was a Lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces and the following year he was fighting at the Somme following which he was made Captain aged only 21. He saw action at Messines, Ypres, Amiens and the Hindelburg Line. By 1917 he was Brigade Major, had been awarded the DSO and was mentioned twice in dispatches. In 1919 he returned to Australia as a Lieutenant/Honorary Major but was not promoted to full Major until 1935. At the start of WW2 he was made a Lt Colonel and was sent to Palestine. By 1941 he was a temporary Brigadier with a CBE, a Bar for the DSO and a Greek Military Cross. The following year he returned to Australia as a temporary Major General and in 1943 saw action in Papua New Guinea where he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) and awarded a US Distinguished Service Cross. He nearly died from polyneuritis, but recovered and just as he was about to take command of the 6th Division was killed when the Hudson aircraft he was flying in crashed into the sea off Cairns. Major-General Alan Vasey, CB, CBE, DSO & Bar was buried in 1945 with full military honours having been mentioned in dispatches again following his death. He left behind his wife whom he had married in 1921 at Glenroy as Jessie May Halbert and both their two sons George Halbert Vasey and 78 Our Family Saga Robert Alan Vasey. Jessie continued her work on behalf of the war widows, started during the war when she founded the War Widow’s Guild of Australia. She was made President of the Guild in 1946 and then set about improving housing for war widows starting with £5000 donated by Sir William Angliss (whose mother was Eliza Fiddian, our 3rd cousin) and became Managing Director of Vasey Housing in 1949. Jessie was appointed an OBE in 1950 and a CBE in 1963. She died in 1966 from a cerebral thrombosis whilst returning from a work trip but was honoured again in 1995 when she was featured on an Australian postage stamp as Jessie Vasey. This seems an appropriate point to end the story of the Vasey family from North Yorkshire who we first encountered more than 400 years ago. In today’s terms we would probably describe them as a mostly middle class family starting as Yeoman Farmers in the North Yorkshire Moors but there is the suggestion that they may have been in that region since the Norman Conquest. What is perhaps most remarkable is that they managed to remain unnoticed for so long that we find little evidence of them until parish records began. Even then we generally only have details of births, marriages and rarely deaths, with the occasional will revealing that several of them were Yeomen. The only times there are any signs of wrongdoing were in 1657 when a Matthew Vasey was executed for High Treason at York Castle and in 1773 when another Matthew Vasey was hung for Highway Robbery at Durham after stealing from a wealthy man at Darlington. But as we do not know if they came from our branch of the family, as there were so many other Vaseys in surrounding counties, it seems fair to say that our Vasey ancestors have done us proud. 79 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - The Orcadian Linklaters As early as the 8th century the Vikings had a foothold in Orkney, using it as a base for incursions onto the mainland. According to the Orkneyinga Saga, the Earldom of Orkney was first created for Ragnvald Eysteinsson in the 9th century by King Harald Fairhair of Norway. Ragnvald’s younger brother Hulc, we will later discover, is a putative ancestor of the Fiddian family. Over the next 500 years Orkney was essentially a part of Norway and hence the island’s culture, language and way of life were those of a Norse earldom. One of the consequences was the development of Udal law, part of which required land and property to be divided equally between sons rather than largely going to the oldest son on the father’s death. This had the effect of gradually reducing the size of family estates and so the power and influence of the individual landowner. The impact of Udal law and the gradual exchange of influence from Norway to Scotland were beginning to be felt when we first meet the Linklaters in the early 15th century. As elsewhere the introduction of taxation had meant the need for surnames to be created and in 1424 we find the record of a Good-man called Criste Linklater who was heavily fined for criticising (justly) the Foud (Administrator) Sir David Menzies, Lord of Weems, who had been appointed to run Orkney in the absence of the Earl. From this we can deduce that Criste must have been born by 1400 at the latest, as he must have reached his majority, that he was a Gentleman of some standing and that he was wealthy. We believe that he lived at Linklater in the parish of Sandwick on the Mainland (the principal island of Orkney) and took his name from that place. We do not know the name of his son, but do know that he, as well as both his son and his grandson, was a Roithman. This is such an obscure term that we are not entirely sure of its meaning, but a Roithman was probably a leading landowner who was also a Councillor/Lawman in the local courts. At the start of the 16th century there were said to be 24 Roithmen in the Orkneys, with the title being hereditary as we know of Roithman families. Sadly there are no baptismal or marriage records before 1630 and no death records at all for Orkney so we are more limited in providing family details than usual. The population of Orkney has never been much over 20,000 but the early Linklater family were pretty near the top of the pile. The parish of Sandwick, one of the largest and most fertile parishes, was originally two parishes, North and South, and the ancient township of Linklater was in North Sandwick. There were three outstanding Udal families in North Sandwick, the Kirknesses, the Linklaters and more recently the Hourstons. In addition to Linklater the family had lands in Scabra, Northdyke and Scorwell, all in North Sandwick, as well as Mirbister in Harray, in Stromness, in Graemsay and Housbie in Birsay. Criste’s grandson Andro (Andrew) Linklater was born around 1465 and went on to marry twice, creating two significant branches of the family. 80 Our Family Saga His first wife was the daughter of Magnus Corrigall of Corrigall, and through her the family later acquired more land. Their son Andrew Linklater the younger was born in 1490, and he too was a Roithman. This branch of the family remained at Linklater for the next six generations until the land was sold. Andrew the younger’s son William Linklater was born in 1520 and he was later called an Assizeman, then his son Alexander Linklater born in 1545 became known as a Suitor instead as did his son Andrew Linklater born in 1570. This Andrew also married twice, the first time to Helen Hunto with whom he had a son Alexander Linklater born in 1595. This Alexander married a Janet Linklater, though we do not know how closely she was related, and they had a son Andrew Linklater born in 1620. [I have identified 14 occasions of a Linklater marrying another Linklater, though they did make up over 1% of the population of Orkney]. Alexander gradually sold off the lands in Linklater from 1662 until 1667 to Robert Richan, after his son Andrew had died in 1662. Prior to this in 1644 Andrew had married Agnes Sinclair, and had sons Hugh and Lawrence Linklater, born in 1645 and 1650 respectively. It was Hugh as heir who confirmed the sale of his grandfather’s land in 1670 when he reached his majority. [Roithman, Assizeman, Suitor and the later Lawrikman probably meant the same but were used at different times]. The other main branch of the family came from Andrew Linklater’s second marriage to Katherine Kirkness of Kirkness in about 1498. We do not know the first name of their son born in 1500 but he had two sons Hutcheon (Hugh) Linklater born in 1525 and Magnus Linklater born in 1535. This resulted in two other branches of the family the first headed by Hugh became the Linklaters of Overquoys and Netherquoys, who owned Quoy Crystie in Newgar, Sandwick. Hugh was known as a Tacksman (a landowner of intermediate legal and social standing) who was born at Nether Linklater where there is still a farm to this day. The township of Linklater was clearly expanding as there was also an Upper and a West Linklater. Hugh had a son Thomas Linklater born in 1550 at Nether Linklater who in 1574 married Katherine Linklater. They had three sons Magnus (born in 1575), Oliver (born in 1580) and Alexander (born in 1585) Linklater. Then in 1601 Thomas Linklater received an equal share of the Linklater inheritance with his second half-cousin Alexander Linklater (born in 1545, see above), presumably under Udal law. As a result his three sons did very well for themselves, Magnus inheriting the Linklater share, Oliver receiving the Quoys and Alexander getting Scorwell in North Sandwick. The Magnus Linklater born in 1535 (above) headed the other chief branch of the family, and it was probably he who acquired the lands at Housbie in Birsay (north-west Mainland) by marriage. His son John Linklater born 1560 in Birsay became an Assizeman, and therefore of some standing. John had six children, three sons and three daughters, and the oldest of these was Oliver Linklater born in 1585 at Housbie who became a Suitor of Court. Oliver married Marion Johnston in about 1610 and they had two sons, the oldest of which was William Linklater born in 1611 at Housbie. William married Margaret Corrigall from Sandwick in 1627 when they were both only 16 years old and they had three sons before Margaret died aged 34. The youngest of these was Alexander Linklater born in 1632 at Housbie, who because Udal law no longer pertained probably inherited less than he might otherwise. He married 81 Our Family Saga Katharine Spens in Birsay in 1659 and they had two sons, the oldest of whom was Thomas Linklater who appears to have been born over a year before the wedding. This little mishap seems to have passed by without much fuss and Thomas married Margaret Johnston in 1688 at Birsay and they had four sons. The youngest son was William Linklater born in 1705 in Birsay, who married Marjory Morwick in 1724 at Birsay and they had five children. Their third child was William Linklater born in 1732 at Stromness. We know little about the details of their life but without Udal law we can surmise that this family were now no longer major landowners, were generally having more children and were having to move to find work. William married Helen Muir in 1751 and had only one child that we know of, Archibald Linklater born in 1752 at Stromness. As a young man Archibald found his way to Whitby in Yorkshire, possibly in search of work in the fishing industry, and married Adeline Wilson there in 1787. They had a daughter Margaret Linklater born in 1789 at Whitby who married George Vasey in 1817 at Whitby. George Vasey is my 3x great grandfather and the Vaseys were the subject of another tale, so I will finish this story soon. By now I can see a familiar theme to many of our early family histories. Whilst we cannot go further back than Criste Linklater we can surmise that he probably had Norse blood in his veins and may even share a common ancestry with the Fiddian family itself. Whoever Criste’s ancestors were, they were certainly quite high born as we can see from the status of Christe himself and his immediate family. Thanks in part to the quirks of Norse law in Orkney they remained in this position for over 200 years, reducing the dilution of inheritances by having small families whilst at the same time sustaining several prominent branches. Then from the early 17th century as Scottish law replaced Udal law we began to see a larger share of the inheritances going to the eldest sons, larger families emerging and more migration beginning to occur. As luck would have it, yet again, the line of descent to us seems to have passed through several sons quite low in the pecking order. Whilst we do not know the precise occupations of the last of our Linklater ancestors, they may well still have worked the land like their predecessors but they probably didn’t actually own the land and certainly got their hands dirtier. As we leave the last of the Linklaters, Margaret, behind we see that she actually married quite well or perhaps I should say her husband did well. By 1841, at the age of 50 when the first Census occurred, George Vasey was a Timber Merchant and 10 years later he was a builder employing eight staff. Finally aged 70 in 1861 he was a Joiner and Appraisor, though the following year he had the misfortune to be thrown from a horse drawn buggy and died from his injuries. His fourth son, my great-great grandfather, Thomas Vasey was born in 1826 and aged 25 was an Assistant Silk Mercer in London. Then, two years later he emigrated, ending up in Australia, though that really is another story. 82 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 - The Wiltshire Brinsden Family The early origins of this fascinating family may be lost in antiquity but there is still an interesting tale to tell. Current wisdom suggests that Brinsden is a locational name, deriving from a now lost village, but the question still remains as to where this village was. If we look only at today’s spelling of the name then almost all the early examples are found in Wiltshire, and indeed this is where we find our first definite family member. However, as with many surnames there are often several early variations and it is no different with Brinsden, where we find also Brunsden and Bronsden as well as versions missing the ‘d’ or replacing it with a ‘t’ and others ending ‘on’. Other possible sources for the missing village include Devon, where we also find many early versions of the name, and Lincolnshire where the same is true. Another intriguing suggestion was made over 100 years ago by family researchers looking at a branch of the family in America. Here the family name has persisted as Bronsdon since the first immigrant, a Robert Bronsdon, born in 1638 settled in Boston in the 1660s. He too came from Wiltshire and it is possible that he is from the family I am about to describe, but this cannot be confirmed. What is most interesting is that the ‘lost’ village is identified as Bronteston or Bronston (later to become Branston) near Burton in Staffordshire. If this is correct then it would lead us back to Lady Godiva who held the estate about 1000 years ago. William the Conqueror confiscated the estate from her descendants and it was held of him by the Abbey of Burton who in turn granted it to various persons. In about 1200 a family settled there and took their name from the place, the first of these being Ailwyn de Brontiston. A line can then be traced to William Bronston who was Abbot of Burton from 1454 to 1472. It would be splendid to claim this line as our ancestors but I cannot confirm a definite link. Returning then to Wiltshire we can claim as our earliest definite ancestor from this family line an Edmond Brinsden born in about 1535 probably at Great Bedwyn. A peculiarity of these first few generations of Brinsdens is that they have two records for their christenings, one giving Great Bedwyn as the place of their baptism and the other Trowbridge (some 32 miles away). Since the later give only the year of their baptism, as opposed to the day, month and year, I assume this to be a supplementary recording in the County town and believe that the family were based in Great Bedwyn at this time. Edmond was a Yeoman, a man holding and working a small landed estate, and it seems most likely that this was agricultural (his wife’s will referred to cows and sheep). Whilst the manufacture of Woollen Cloth was also an important local industry I believe that the family were Yeoman Farmers rather than Yeoman Clothiers. Edmond married Jone (the name being a medieval version of Joan) and they had several children including four sons. We know nothing of the oldest, Anthony and little about the youngest, Samuel except that at some point he moved to Bristol where he ended his days. The middle two sons were both Yeomen 83 Our Family Saga like their father, Thomas Brinsden born in 1571 at Great Bedwyn who would have a son Edmond born in 1604 who succeeded his father as a Yeoman and John Brinsden born in 1568 at Great Bedwyn. This John as the older son probably inherited the larger portion of the estate and was also a Yeoman. He married Alice and they too had at least four sons, the first of whom died shortly after birth. The second son, another Thomas remains a mystery (except that he could be the father of the second Robert mentioned below), but the two younger sons both became Yeomen. The youngest of these, Robert Brinsden born in 1601 had no surviving sons and left his lands, orchards and houses to a kinsman Robert Brinsden who could possibly be the same man who went to America. The other son of John and Alice was another John Brinsden, born in 1594 at Great Bedwyn. He too was a Yeoman initially but was so successful that he was elevated to the upper classes as a Gentleman, the lower rung of the Landed Gentry. As a young man he either sold his holdings in Great Bedwyn and reinvested the proceeds in Wootton Bassett or retained the holdings and profited from the rents. In either case he moved to Wootton Bassett by his early 20s and married a local girl, Ann with whom he had at least 6 children, including four sons. It is worth noting that Great Bedwyn had by then seen better days and was fast becoming known only for the number of its alehouses. The eldest of his children was another John Brinsden, born in 1620 at Wootton Bassett and he too gained the status of Gentleman, holding considerable property in the town and nearby Eastfield. Of the other sons little is known apart from the third son Christopher Brinsden who moved to Bristol and made a living there as a Vintner (wine merchant). John Brinsden married Joan Guilbert from Thatcham, Berkshire in 1641 at Bishops Cannings and they had a son John Brinsden born in 1642 at Wootton Bassett, as well as 2 other sons and 3 daughters. This John Brinsden went to Oxford University (St Alban Hall, now Merton College) gaining a BA, before being ordained as a Deacon in 1664 and a Priest in 1666. He was Vicar of Winterbourne Monkton from 1666 until his death in 1719 and was also a Preacher in the Diocese of Salisbury in 1674 and Curate of Berwick Bassett Chapel from 1686 to 1719. He married Jane and they had six children, the eldest of whom was another John Brinsden born in 1676 at Preshute (a parish near Marlborough) as well as 2 other sons and 3 daughters. Like his father this John Brinsden (the 5th with that name) went to Oxford University (Queens College) and graduated in 1697 with a BA. In 1708 he was ordained as a Deacon at Fulham, London and then in 1712 he was ordained a Priest at Salisbury, becoming Rector of Tockenham until his death in 1745. He was one of a new breed of Reverend Gentlemen and also acted as ‘man of business’ or Private Secretary to Henry St John, who was created 1st Viscount Bolingbroke in 1712 and whose seat was at nearby Lydiard Tregoze. In this position he befriended both Voltaire, the French writer and philosopher, and Alexander Pope, the poet. He had a house at Durham Yard, just off the Strand in London, where Voltaire stayed as a paying guest in 1727 during an illness. The poet, AP as he was known, corresponded with John over several years. It was quite something to be able to count Bolingbroke, Voltaire and Pope amongst your acquaintances. From 1722 to 1727 he was MP for Wootton Bassett. 84 Our Family Saga In 1699 John married Elizabeth Mortimer at Bishopstone and they had quite a large family (possibly as many as ten children, though some died in infancy). A middle son was Charles Brinsden, born in 1709 at Wootton Bassett, who like his father and grandfather went to Oxford University (Balliol College), gaining a BA then a MA and being ordained a priest in 1733. He was Vicar of Queen Camel and Rector of Marksbury, both in Somerset, Domestic Chaplain to Lord Henry Hyde 4th Earl of Clarendon and Rector of Lydiard Tregoze, Wiltshire. He died in 1780 and there is a marble monument to him in the chancel of Shapwick Church where he is buried. Charles had married Elizabeth Clarke at Fretherne, Gloucestershire in 1739 and the only child of this union that could be found was a John Brinsden born in 1748 at Lyneham in Wiltshire. Rather less is known about John other than that he was a Saddler to Lord Charles Brudenell-Bruce (Earl of Aylesbury, and later 1st Marquess of Aylesbury) who was Colonel of the Wiltshire Yeomanry or Militia. We also know that he married Ann Smith in 1770 at Lyneham and lived just past his 80 th birthday. John and Ann had several children including James Brinsden born in 1780 at Preston, a hamlet near Lyneham. James was a Timber Dealer and an Agent/Bailiff for Lord William Courtenay, 9th Earl of Devon whose seat was at Powderham Castle, thus upholding the Brinsden tradition of allegiance to a high ranking noble. James married Mary Arnold at Exeter, Devon in 1818 and they had 8 children in 16 years, before James died at Powderham aged only 60. Mary was much younger and lived for another 29 years after James, but must have struggled to bring up the children. The oldest, John Brinsden born in 1820 at Powderham and christened at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Exeter was trained as a Civil Engineer and emigrated at the end of 1850 with his wife and 4 children. He ended up in Columbia (‘the city of dreams’), State Capital of South Carolina USA but spent considerable time in Cuba and was also a Merchant. A middle daughter Mary stayed with her mother but remarkably the 6 others (4 daughters and 2 sons) all went to Australia in the 1850s. The second oldest daughter Elizabeth Brinsden born in 1823 at Powderham and like her siblings christened at a Wesleyan Chapel was a Milliner before leaving England. Not very long after arriving in Victoria, Australia she married Thomas Vasey a Draper in 1855 at Geelong. Thomas had arrived in Australia around the same time as Elizabeth and they had 7 children, the second of whom was Ella Louise Vasey born in 1859 at Collingwood, Melbourne – my great grandmother. There are no records of their passage to Australia but it is tempting to think that they met on board ship on the way to Australia. That really is the end of our story of the Wiltshire Brinsdens, a family that had enjoyed notable success over a period of over 300 years in the county. It may be only because of James Brinsden’s untimely death that most of his children headed off to foreign shores, but thankfully my great-great grandmother was in the right place to meet my great-great grandfather. It is also interesting to note the common themes of religion and Australia evident in yet another branch of our extended family. 85 Our Family Saga Chapter 4 - The Gloucestershire Clarkes This hereditary name is almost certainly a medieval occupational name derived from the word clerk or cleric, usually referring to a scribe in a minor religious order who because they could marry would have been able to establish a family with this surname. Since such clerks in the middle ages were generally the only ones who could read and write the name was probably extended to any literate man. Today the surnames Clark, Clarke, Clerk and Clerke are testament to the very men who have provided much of our early family history by documenting major events in their lives. Our own Clarke family are not especially remarkable but do contribute to our overall pedigree. It might also be mentioned that we have another Clarke family from Warwickshire in our pedigree though they do not appear to be directly connected. We can begin with my 11x great-grandfather Richard Clarke who was born in about 1525, probably in the environs of Gloucester, who could have been our first ‘clerk’ but was more likely a Yeoman or Farmer. In 1544 he married an Alice at Charlton Kings, now a suburb of Cheltenham, which again might suggest a quite well-to-do family but they lived at Upleadon about 10 miles from Gloucester. The village of Upleadon had formed part of the estate of Gloucester Abbey since Norman times and was populated by the Clarke family who represented around one fifth of the 20 or so local households in the 16 th century. Richard and Alice had at least 8 children there, including twins Agnes and James who died in infancy, but the youngest was a fifth son Thomas Clarke born in 1560. As the youngest son Thomas may have felt the need to venture afield and in 1588 we find him marrying Alice Homes at Chaceley near Tewkesbury but they then had several children at Charlton Kings including Richard Clarke born there in 1595. In 1624 we find Richard marrying Margaret Haywood at Hartpury (where my daughter Nikki would go to University 385 years later!) some 5 miles from Upleadon. They had at least four children at Hartpury, including twins Elizabeth and Ann who died in infancy, and a son John Clarke born in 1631. John seems to have remained in Hartpury, at least initially after marrying a Joan in about 1650 and they had at least three children there including Richard Clarke born in 1652. The family or at least Richard may then have moved south of Gloucester as we find him in 1673 married to Sarah Tyner at Leonard Stanley, near Stroud. But though they may have had as many as 10 children there at least one, Richard Clarke was christened in 1676 at Mitcheldean west of Gloucester in the forest of Dean. Richard married Jane Dobbs in 1695 at Huntley, also west of Gloucester, and they 7 or more children at Painswick near Stroud of which at least three died in childhood. A second Elizabeth Clarke born in 1710 completes the short review of this Clarke branch of our pedigree. In 1739 she married the Rev Charles Brinsden and their great-granddaughter Elizabeth Brinsden married Thomas Vasey, whose daughter Ella Louise Vasey married Judge James Paull Fiddian, my great-grandfather. 86 Our Family Saga It was difficult to research this branch of the Clarke family, not least because there are more than 2 million records of Clarkes although only 40,000 or so relate to Gloucestershire. There may be the odd inaccuracy in my findings as a result and of course it is sad that we know so little about the occupations of our ancestors in Gloucestershire but I feel sure they left their mark. Whether they have any relationship to the nearby Warwickshire Clarkes will remain a mystery. Perhaps not surprisingly my wife’s pedigree also contains a Clarke family from Cambridgeshire who would eventually take a perilous trek across the US by wagon train to Salt Lake City, but that’s another story told elsewhere. Again there is no reason to assume these families are directly connected as Clarke is so widespread, but I would like to think that though they were common by name they were not common by nature. 87 Our Family Saga Chapter 5 - The Cornish Family of Paull Since my middle name is Paul I have always been interested in the family name of Paull, indeed my Granny White used to send me birthday cards addressed to me as Paull. My mother, a teacher, wouldn’t allow me to be christened as Paull because she worried it would cause me embarrassment at school but I have always associated with that spelling of the name. There are many forms of the surname, which derives from the Latin paulus meaning small, and even within this family the name has changed over the years. The version most widely attached to the family in the 15th and 16th centuries is Pawley, which is said to be of Medieval English origin, but could also be a Norman locational name. At some point in the 17th century the branch of the family that led to my great-great grandmother Grace Burall Paull began recording the name as Paull. The earliest record of the family is of a John Paly of Gunwin mentioned in the Subsidy rolls (tax records) of 1327. Gunwin (or Goonwhyn, meaning ‘White Downs’ in Cornish) can be found on the downs just outside St Ives near the village of Lelant. Although not a substantial manor, the seat of Gunwin remained in the family for several hundred years and they were recorded as a respectable family. The manor house was knocked down many years ago and replaced by two farmsteads, which have now been converted into six holiday cottages (known as Gonwin Manor Cottages). It is certainly in a stunning setting overlooking the sea. Following John Paly there is a gap of about 100 years before more complete records of the family can be found. According to the Pawley Family Tree there is a line of Stephen Pawleys from 1428 to a Stephen Pawley born in 1492 at Gunwin who became Lord of the manor in the early 16th century. In around 1520 he married Margery Brea from Paul near Mousehole. The Brea (later Bray) family were another respectable Cornish family, now associated with Camborne, and this match may have benefitted the Pawley family if she was an heiress. They had at least two children that I know of leading to two branches of the family. The older son was another Stephen Pawley (the 4th of that name) born in 1524 at Gunwin and he inherited the family seat of Gunwin. The records at this time give the name with many different spellings but mostly interchanging ‘w’ with ‘u’, so Pawley or Pauley and Pawly or Pauly. The younger Stephen married Jane Samford from Combe Florey near Taunton, Somerset in around 1547. They had several children but the eldest was yet another Stephen Pawley born in 1548 at Gunwin. This Stephen married Margery Tresteane from Veryan in 1596, the Tresteanes being another wellestablished Cornish family. He is recorded in 1625 onwards as Stephen Pawley, Gentleman the lowest rank of the landed gentry but superior to Yeoman. This would indicate that his predecessors were probably Yeomen farmers and perhaps helped by marriage the family were now doing rather better. Indeed the next three Lords of the manor were also recorded as Gentlemen. The first of these was Hugh 88 Our Family Saga Pawley born in 1598 at Gunwin, the eldest of 11 children who are recorded on a memorial at the Church of St Uny at Lelant. Hugh Pawley, Gentleman married Joan Searle in about 1640 and the following year they had a son Hugh Pawley born at Gunwin. This Hugh was the Town Clerk of St Ives from 1675 to 1683, and in 1680 he married Judith Remfry. They had 7 children, all of whom, along with their parents are recorded on a memorial in the Church at Lelant. The second child and eldest son was yet another Hugh Pawley born in 1682 at Gunwin. This third Hugh Pawley, Gentleman married Christian Blight in 1717 at Lelant but they either had no children or only daughters who survived him. When he died in 1760 the estate passed out of the hands of the Pawleys and came to be held by the Praeds who owned the neighbouring estate of Trevethoe (also known as the manor of Lelant and Trevethow). So the Pawley dynasty that had held Gunwin for over 450 years finally came to an end. Returning to the earlier Stephen Pawley and his wife Margery Brea it is worth pausing briefly before exploring the other branch of the family that leads to my great-great grandmother. Another likely son of theirs is a Thomas Pawley born in 1525, who in turn had a son James Pawley born in 1545 who had a daughter Leonora Honor Pawley born in 1575. This Leonora married Sir John Edward Underhill in 1596 around the time he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth for gallant conduct in Spain. Sir John was the son of Thomas Underhill, Keeper of the Wardrobe of Kenilworth Castle to the Earl of Leicester, whose father was Sir Hugh Underhill, Keeper of the Wardrobe to Queen Elizabeth I at the King’s Manor, Greenwich. After an unsuccessful plot against the Queen, Sir John along with Leonora and their son John Underhill born in 1597 escaped to the Netherlands. Refused permission to return to England when the Queen died in 1603 they remained in Holland where Sir John died in 1608. Leonora and her son stayed on in the company of a group of Puritans (Honor being a virtue name used by the Puritans) and John received military training in the service of the Prince of Orange. In 1630 they boarded Arabella, flagship of the Winthrop Fleet, and set off to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in Salem. Captain John Underhill was very successful in America both in leading militia against Native Americans and in local government at Boston, Stamford and New Amsterdam, variously serving as Selectman, Sheriff, Magistrate, Justice and Governor for the Dutch (and later High Constable and Surveyor-General for the English). Eventually he fell out with his adopted countrymen and returned to English service before retiring to Kenilworth estate at Oyster Bay on Long Island. Married twice, firstly to a Dutch woman Helena de Hooch and later to a Quaker Elizabeth Feake who converted him, he had 8 children in all. Both because of his own colonial activities and because of numerous well known descendants the Underhill name is highly regarded in America even having its own Society. Finally resuming our journey with the second main branch of the Paull family we return to the other son of Stephen Pawley and Margaret Brea, Richard Pawley born in 1526 at Gunwin. As a younger son he would not have been destined to inherit much from his father and so must have moved to nearby Gulval around 6.5 miles away. The family name in Gulval is generally recorded as Pawle or Paule and it is easy 89 Our Family Saga to see how the latter could be read as Paull. Although it would be about 150 years before the first Yeoman would be recorded in this branch of the family it appears that they acquired an estate in Gulval at some point either by hard work or judicious marriages. This would suggest that this line of the family also worked the land though many of them were involved in tin mining at some point. Anyway, Richard Paule married Elizabeth in around 1548 and they had at least 3 sons, the second of these being Alexander Paule born in 1550 at Gulval. Alexander married Jane in around 1577 and they had several children, the oldest being Richard Paule born in 1578 at Gulval. We know little about this Richard except that he left an estate valued at around £140, which would be equivalent to over £200,000 today, and he married Cheston Hockin at Gwithian in 1608 and they had 4 sons of whom the third was John Thomas Paule born in 1622 at Gulval. At the time of his father’s death in 1645 John who had administered the will was referred to as John Thomas Paull. But John who was not the main beneficiary had already moved to Camborne where he had married Jane Harrye in 1638. They had 10 children of whom the second, and eldest son, was John Paull born in 1641 at Camborne. This John married Elizabeth Bryant at Camborne in 1674 and they had 7 children, the eldest being Alexander Paull born in 1675 at Camborne. He would later be referred to as Alexander Paull, Yeoman confirming that this branch of the family had achieved some standing. In 1697 he married Jane Rowe at Camborne and they had at least 8 children, including 7 sons, the oldest two of whom were Thomas Paull, Yeoman & Church Warden and Charles Paull, Yeoman & Church Warden born in 1699 and 1703 respectively. Many of their descendants were involved in tin and copper mining. Their third son was Alexander Paull born in 1707 at Camborne and he married Catherine Henwood at St Ewe in 1735. Of their 5 children we are interested in the middle one, William Paull, Yeoman born in 1745 at Camborne who married Grace Dunkin in 1780 at Camborne. They had a son Dr Alexander Paull born in 1783 at Camborne who was a Surgeon at Truro. Alexander married Susanna Burall at Camborne in 1808 and they had 3 children including a son Dr Alexander Paull born in 1813 who also became a Surgeon and a GP. Their middle child was a daughter Grace Burall Paull born in 1811 at Camborne who in 1835 married my great-great grandfather the Rev Samuel Fiddian, a Wesleyan Methodist Minister working in Cornwall at the time. They went on to have 13 children born in different parts of the country including Dr Alexander Paull Fiddian a Surgeon & Physician and Judge James Paull Fiddian my great grandfather born in 1845 and 1853 respectively. A total of 9 members of the Fiddian family have now had Paull as a middle name but sadly I am not one of them. The Paull family have now spread throughout the UK and the rest of the world but it is quite remarkable that all of the family members that are mentioned herein were born in Cornwall towards the western-most tip of the county. They were successful in all of the branches that I have looked at and have lived up to their early description as a respectable family in the 500 years that I have addressed. 90 Our Family Saga Chapter 6 - The Cornish Polkinghornes This surname is a Cornish locational name and derives from an estate of that name in the Parish of Gwinear between Camborne and St Ives. Polkinghorne Farm can still be found on the site of the old manor, near the village of Gwinear. The name was first recorded as Polkenhoern in 1316 but the usual spelling today is Polkinghorne, although versions without the final ‘e’ or spelt as Polkenhorn and even Puckinghorn(e) can be found over time. Our first ancestor with the name was Roger Polkinghorne, Gentleman of Polkinghorne Manor, my 19x great-grandfather. He was born in 1290 to a family that belonged to at least the lower echelons of the landed gentry. In 1320 he had a son, also a Roger Polkinghorne who would later succeed his father as Gentleman of Polkinghorne Manor. The new King, Edward III granted Arms to Roger senior in 1327 but he died the following year and so it would have been some time before Roger junior could have taken control of the estate. After then marrying in his early 20s the latter Roger had a son John Polkinghorne who would succeed him. Following John there were several more successive Gentlemen of Polkinghorne Manor, namely William Polkinghorne born in 1372, Nicholas Polkinghorne born in 1398, Thomas Polkinghorne born in 1422, Thomas Polkinghorne born in 1455 and Thomas Polkinghorne born in 1487. In 1527 this latest Thomas married Agnes Opy from Bodmin who was from another notable Cornish family, and their firstborn son John Polkinghorne born in 1528 continued the line of Gentlemen. Our branch though continued through a second son William Polkinghorne born in 1530. William was not so fortunate as his elder brother, but having moved some 9 miles south to Breage established himself as a Yeoman Farmer and married Eleanor Cowling there in 1560. Their eldest son Stephen Polkinghorne, born in 1561, succeeded his father as a Yeoman in Breage where he married Joan Joyre in 1587. It was not until 1601 and after they had moved to Illogan near Camborne, that their son Stephen Polkinghorne was born. This Stephen too held the status of a Yeoman and in 1630 he married a Frances with whom he had a son Henry Polkinghorne born in 1632 at Illogan. Yet another Yeoman Farmer, Henry married Jane Thomas in 1657 at Illogan and in 1664 they had a son Alexander Polkinghorne who moved to Redruth in his late teens. There he married Susanna Towen in 1683 and established himself as a Yeoman and they had a son William Polkinghorne born in 1687. William would prove to be the last of the Yeomen in our branch of the family and in 1711 he married Jane Michell at Redruth. They had a daughter Jane Polkinghorne, born at Redruth in 1716, who married Haughton Dunkin a Yeoman in 1741 at Illogan. Their daughter Grace Dunkin, born in 1754 at Camborne, went on to marry William Paull also a Yeoman at Camborne in 1780. So we find the two notable families of Paull and Polkinghorne being linked via a marriage with yet another of our Cornish families. 91 Our Family Saga Chapter 7 - Three More Cornish Families Several notable Cornish families, particularly from the Camborne and Redruth area appear in our family pedigree and many of these have direct connections to each other. Two of these, the Paulls and the Polkinghornes, have already been discussed but there are three more such families worthy of our attention. These are the Dunkin, Henwood and Hockin families who can be traced back to at least the early 16th century. Indeed we can find the first of our Hockin ancestors at the very start of the 15th century though very little is known of him. Though the origin of the surname is uncertain it is thought by some to have arisen as Halkin, a diminutive of Hal, which in turn was a shortened form of Henry. William Hockin (my 16x great-grandfather) was born in about 1400, probably in what was known as the Camborne-Redruth Registration District and possibly from around Phillack where the family were once farmers. He had a son William Hockin born in around 1430, though the name was recorded as Huchyn, who in turn had a son, John Huchyn, born in about 1460. This John also had a son John Hockin born in 1490 who died in 1547 at Camborne. John married Margery at Camborne in about 1516 and they had a son Ralph Hockin born there in 1518. Clearly the family were now settled in Camborne and would remain there for almost 200 years. Ralph was a Churchwarden in the recently reformed Parish Church and from 1557 was variously referred to as ‘Warden of the Light’ and ‘Warden of the Box’. He had a son John Hockin born in 1545 at Camborne and he too was a Churchwarden (Warden of the Box) though whether this was a full-time job we do not know. John married a Maud in around 1569 and they had a son Vincent Hockin born in 1571 at Camborne. Vincent was a Yeoman according to his will, indicating that his family were in the equivalent of today’s middle class, and he farmed around Camborne. In 1596 he married a Jane and they had another Vincent Hockin in the year 1600. This Vincent was also a Yeoman Farmer as was his son, a third Vincent Hockin born in 1633, according to his will. This latest Vincent married Honour Stevens in 1655 at St Ives and in 1660 the fourth Vincent Hockin was born at Camborne, although he wasn’t baptised until 1664. It is quite probable that he was also a Yeoman but there are no records to confirm this. In 1703 he married a Margery and the following year they had a son James Hockin, both at Illogan (just outside Camborne). Like his father, James as the eldest son would also most likely have been a Yeoman and in 1722 he married a Mary at Illogan. It was not until 1736 that James and Mary had a daughter Elizabeth Hockin at Illogan, and she in turn married William Jennings there in 1760. Their daughter Grace Jennings was born in 1763 and would go on to marry Paul Burall in 1786, whose daughter Susanna Burall born in 1791 at Camborne would later marry into the Paull family. 92 Our Family Saga The next of our families bears the name of Henwood, which probably arose as a locational name from a small village on the edge of Bodmin Moor. This would seem to be confirmed by the fact that we first come across this family in St Neot only 8 miles away. Nicholas Henwood (my 10x great-grandfather) was born there in around 1535 but we know very little about him except that he married Joan Davy in 1565 at St Neot. Their son Ralph Henwood born in 1569 was one of at least six children born to them, though at least two died in infancy. Ralph or Rafe (as it was also recorded) was a Fuller with his own Tucking Mill. Fulling (or tucking) was a process in woollen cloth making which involved cleansing the cloth to remove impurities and thicken it. This could be done using a water mill known as a Tucking (or Fulling) Mill. It would probably have afforded Ralph the status equivalent to a Yeoman and suggests that they were quite well off. Whether Ralph’s father and son were also Fullers or worked the land as Yeomen/Farmers is not known. In 1599 Ralph aged 30 married Frances Kemp a young lass of only 15 from Launceston, who gave him three children before dying in 1608. He then married Joan Woods aged 19 from St Stephens by Launceston with whom he had five more children. The eldest of his children was Robert Henwood born in 1601 at St Neot only 7 months after he married Frances, so my suspicion is that she was initially hired as a Servant and he only married her after she fell pregnant. Robert married Joan Cowling from St Neot in 1635 and she gave him five sons and two daughters, the third son being John Henwood born in 1640. Perhaps because John was likely to miss out on inheriting any land and/or property from his father he moved away from St Neot, first marrying Margaret Thomas at St Mabyn, near Wadebridge, in 1676 and then setting up home at St Ewe, 5 miles south of St Austell. Whether he worked the land on an estate there or was able to rent his own land we do not know. In 1677 his son William Henwood was born at St Ewe. William married a Catherine in 1710 and they had a son John in 1712 and then a daughter Catherine in 1715. This Catherine Henwood also married into the Paull family, to an Alexander Paull, a Yeoman from Camborne in 1735. She gave him 5 children before Alexander died in 1755, but Catherine herself lived to the age of 92. The final family are the Dunkins whose name may also have arisen as a diminutive, from Duncan, although there is nothing to suggest that this branch came from Scotland. The first family member we come across is a John Dunkin born in about 1500 at Camborne, my 12x great-grandfather. He was a Yeoman and in 1525 he married a young woman named Argent, who gave him a son Robert Dunkin in 1530 at Camborne. Robert too was a Yeoman, as were his son and grandson, and he married Mary Antorne in 1555 at Camborne. In 1557 their firstborn son was another Robert Dunkin who died in 1610 and whose will confirmed that he was a Yeoman. This Robert married a Joan in 1586 at Madron, north of Penzance and she gave him a son John Dunkin the following year. Continuing the line of Yeomen, John Dunkin married a Margery in 1609 at Camborne and they had several children before another John Dunkin born in 1624. This John having older brothers did not fare so well in his inheritance and had to make do as a Husbandman, as did his son another John Dunkin born in 93 Our Family Saga 1660 at Camborne, 8 years after his father married a Mary. This latest John married Elizabeth Richards in 1686 at Camborne and they had a son in 1688 who was also a John Dunkin and later a Husbandman (the third with that name and status). In 1710 this John married Elizabeth Ellis at Camborne but broke with tradition by calling his firstborn son Haughton Dunkin in 1712. Haughton prospered quite well, achieving the status of Yeoman and leaving about £600 when he died intestate in 1776 (worth about £87000 today). Haughton married into another of our Cornish families, to a Jane Polkinghorne, in 1741 at Illogan and they had 7 children. The fourth of five daughters, born in 1754, was Grace Dunkin and in 1780 she married William Paull a Yeoman and son of Alexander Paull and Catherine Henwood. A son of theirs, also called Alexander Paull and a Surgeon, would later marry Susanna Burall the grand-daughter of Elizabeth Hockin discussed above. So, all five of our Cornish families can be linked to each other. 94 Our Family Saga Chapter 8 - Another Three Families, from Warwickshire Besides the Fiddian family itself there are a number of other notable families in our pedigree who come from Warwickshire and in particular there are the Cooper, King and Collins families. In addition to sharing the county of their origin, they may all derive from Yeoman stock and the latter two are also directly linked. On a broader level they are also very common names each being recorded between 1.5 and 2.5 million times on genealogy sites, but are all relatively more common in Warwickshire itself (possibly up to four times more prevalent than elsewhere in England). This of course makes it more difficult to ensure the accuracy of any historical research. It will come as no surprise to learn that Cooper is originally an occupational surname derived from the Anglo-Saxon word for a barrel maker and as such is one of the oldest hereditary names recorded. Our first Cooper was actually more likely to have been a Yeoman or Farmer and was Robert Cooper born in about 1535, my 10x great-grandfather. He had a son John Cooper born in 1569 at Alveston near Stratford-uponAvon who married Maria Biddle in 1601 at nearby Southam. The following year they had a son, also John Cooper born at Southam who had remained quite local and married Anna Pigeon at Sherbourne near Warwick in 1626. But by the following year they had moved 35 miles northwest to Birmingham where their son Joseph Cooper was born. The family would then remain in Birmingham for the next 100 years or so and since all the records over this time relate to St Martin’s Church it is likely that they lived near the Bull Ring area of Birmingham. In 1654 Joseph married Mary Metcalfe at St Martin’s and they would go on to have at least 7 children, 5 daughters and two sons, the last of which was Samuel Cooper born in 1675. Samuel then married a local lady named Mary Abell in 1706 and they had a daughter Sarah Cooper in 1709 followed by a son Samuel in 1712. Sarah married my 5x great-grandfather Thomas Fiddian in 1740 at Halesowen ending our branch of the Cooper family. Thomas was a Nail Manufacturer and so it is possible that Samuel, Sarah’s father, may also have worked in Iron Production or a related occupation, indeed he could have been a Barrel Maker (Cooper!) but that seems somewhat unlikely after all those years. The second of our Warwickshire families bore the name of King, which like many names was gradually formed by the regular use of a nickname. In this case the nickname would likely have arisen ultimately from the old English word ‘cyning’ meaning kingly and so perhaps denote a regal manner in the original bearer of the name. My 10x great-grandfather John King born in about 1560 was the first of my ancestors with this surname but there is no knowing how regal he was. Indeed we do not know for sure what his occupation was although he may have been another Yeoman Farmer or the like. The birth of his son John King in 1592 at Coleshill a market town near Birmingham gives us pause to question whether he could be working on the land from such an urban habitation. 95 Our Family Saga John married Alice Haddon in 1616 at Bulkington a large village between Nuneaton and Coventry and they had several children in Coventry, including Thomas King who was baptised at Holy Trinity Church in 1629. Thomas married Elizabeth Male at Allesley, a village in Coventry, in 1647 and they had at least 5 children who were all christened at Holy Trinity Church, including Seny King born in 1659. Seny married an Elizabeth sometime in the 1680s and they had several children in Coventry, one of whom was Thomas King also christened at Holy Trinity Church in 1692. Thomas remained in Coventry marrying Penelope Blake at Holy Trinity in 1717. They had six children in six years, though two sons died in infancy, with their only daughter being christened with the unusual name of Cave (from an aunt). The youngest surviving son was John King born in 1723 and christened as usual at Holy Trinity. He married Catherine Collins in about 1743, probably in Coventry, and they had eight children. The second of four daughters was Elizabeth King born in 1749 and she would later marry William Showell in 1768 at Holy Trinity Church. Their daughter Catharine Showell born in 1771 at Coventry married William Fiddian, Gentleman and Brass Founder in 1795 at Birmingham. The fact that the latter was a quite notable figure in Birmingham society would suggest that the King, Collins and Showell families were probably ‘middle class’ but we can really say no more than this. The final family is the Collins clan whose surname is generally thought to derive from the patronymic Nicholas. The latter was a very common name of Greek-Roman origin introduced by the Normans and abbreviated to Col. The addition of ‘kin’ by the Saxons meaning ‘son of’ led initially to Colkin but this ended up in various forms including Collins. My 10x great-grandfather William Collins was born in about 1510 in Warwickshire and like the head of the two previous families may also have been a Yeoman or similar. He had a son Thomas Collins born in 1541 and baptised ironically at St Nicholas Church, Warwick and 5 more children thereafter, though twins born in 1542 died in infancy. Thomas married Joyce Milnes in 1575 at Kinsbury near Tamworth and they had a son Thomas born in 1578. Thomas then had two more children Edward Collins born in 1596 and Simon Collins born in 1597, but perhaps this was with a second wife. Edward married an Edith and appears to have moved to Clifton upon Dunsmore near Rugby where they had at least three children, including another Edward Collins born in 1649. This Edward married Janes Miles in 1674 at Nuneaton and was back in Kingsbury by the following year when the first of their four sons was born, though he died shortly afterwards. Their second son was another Edward Collins born in 1680, and he married Elizabeth Jackson in 1710 at Kingsbury. They had 8 children, with 3 of them dying in childhood, and one of the surviving daughters was Catherine Collins born in 1721 at Kingsbury. As already discussed above Catherine married John King and their daughter Elizabeth King married William Showell whose daughter Catharine married William Fiddian my 3x great-grandfather. 96 Our Family Saga Chapter 9 - Two More 16th Century Great-Grandfathers There remain two families from our pedigree to discuss from which I have identified 16 th century great-grandfathers but which are otherwise unconnected. The first of these is the Wallis family, which one might assume to have Scottish ancestry but which is probably of English origin following the Norman invasion. It derives from the French word ‘waleis’ meaning a ‘foreigner’ and has many versions including Wallis, Wallace and even Waleis. My 10x great-grandfather was Ralph (or Rafe) Wallis who was born in about 1560 in West Heslerton, North Yorkshire. Given this location and a sense of the status of the family it is reasonable to assume he was a Yeoman Farmer but this is not proven. We do not know who Ralph married in about 1583 but she provided him with 9 children, including 7 sons of whom two died in childhood. One of the younger sons was Christopher Wallis born in 1599 at West Heslerton who would probably not have had much of an inheritance but stayed put nevertheless. He married in about 1624, though again we do not know the wife’s name, and they had 3 sons and 3 daughters. Only Ralph Wallis born in 1629 and his sister Dorothy Wallis born in 1636 survived infancy. In 1651 Ralph married Blanche Dursdale, and they had a son Christopher Wallis in 1652 and a daughter Dorothy Wallis in 1664. Christopher married Grace Walker at West Heslerton in 1684 and they had 5 sons, the last born of whom was Robert Wallis who was christened in 1696. Finally moving from the family home as a younger son, Robert married Ann Fox a girl from nearby Rillington when they were both only 16 years old. In fact they married at Wykeham about 8 miles from home and settled there. Their first child Mary Wallis was born there only 4 months after they married and they had two further children. In order to blur this I believe that Mary later used her mother’s name Ann when she married Richard Vasey, Yeoman in 1736 at Wykeham. Richard and Ann had 6 children, 5 daughters and a son, though one daughter died in infancy. So, with Ann (or perhaps I should say Mary) we see an end to the Wallis family in our pedigree. The other family that I wish to review here briefly are the Syrett clan from Suffolk. Theirs is an unusual patronymic surname from the old English ‘sige-raed’ which separately means victory (‘sige’) and council (‘roed’) and might refer to a man of some standing. There are many different versions though the earliest recorded come from Suffolk and Norfolk in the 13th centuries. My 12x great-grandfather Thomas Syrett was born in about 1540 at Easton, Suffolk an estate village which featured in the Domesday Book. It seems quite likely that he worked the land but whether this was as a Yeoman Farmer or as a worker of lower status is unknown. He married Alice Moss in 1565 at Easton and they had a son Francis there in 1570, Thomas living until 1595 and Alice managing one more year. 97 Our Family Saga Francis was taken with a young woman from nearby Parham, about 3 miles away, and married Mary Rumsey there in 1598. As well as two daughters they had a son Francis Syrett born in 1602 at Parham. The younger Francis stayed in Parham where he married Mary Thrower in 1627 and they had a son John Syrett the following year and a daughter Mary Syrett in 1629 before Mary died in 1630. Francis married twice more in 1631 and 1635 but I could find no evidence of further children. Both Francis senior and Francis junior lived to the age of 69 years. John Syrett married Anna in the early 1650s and had 3 children, including a son John Syrett born in 1659 at Bacton near Stowmarket. John junior married Frances in 1687 and they had 4 children at Bacton including William Syrett born in 1692, before John died early in 1707 at the age of only 48 years. William married Anne Chandler the week before Christmas in 1717 at Bacton and they had a son William Syrett there in about 1719 and another son John Syrett in 1727 but no other children, with William senior dying at 62 years of age. William junior married a Sarah in 1738 at Bacton where they had 10 children including William Syrett born in 1740 (but two died in childhood). This William married Mary Saunders at Bacton in 1768 and they had 6 children the last of which was a daughter Mary Ann Syrett born in 1781 before William died at 42 (his father had also died early at 37). At the beginning of the next millennium in 1800 Mary Ann (registered as Mariah) married Robert Pilbrow a Brickmaker at Woolpit and the following year they had a daughter Mary Pilbrow there, and after a 10 year gap had 3 more children, though the middle one of these died in childhood. Mary Pilbrow somehow met Thomas White a Leather Worker who was from Norfolk and they married on Christmas Day in 1827 at Cambridge, the year after her mother had died aged only 44 years. They had a son, one of 5 children, Thomas Elijah White born in 1842 at Cambridge who would become grandfather to my grandmother Doris White who married my grandfather Dr James Victor Fiddian. The latter’s mother was a Vasey and so provides the link to the other family we discussed previously with the name Wallis. Mary Pilbrow also died early at the age of 50 years, so only one of the last six generations had lived beyond 50 years. 98 Our Family Saga Part 7: Connected Family Stories Chapter 1 - Far-flung Fiddian-Greens This branch of the family started less than 200 years ago and has produced a small but well scattered and talented group amongst the Green family, that share the distinction of the double barrelled name. The confusion arises because early on not all children in the same family were given the name Fiddian in addition to the name Green and the names were not always hyphenated. Nevertheless the initial impetus must have been to preserve the Fiddian name and perhaps those descendants bearing the Fiddian-Green name wished to keep their surname more distinctive. As the Fiddian family is itself quite small we have tended to want to include the Fiddian-Green branch as part of our own despite the fact that it defies normal convention, initially being a descent through the female line. William Fiddian born in 1772 in Halesowen, Worcestershire was a successful Brass Founder who had his own business in Great Hampton Street, Birmingham in the early 19th century. In 1795 he married Catherine Showell at Birmingham and they went on to have 11 children in 15 years before Catherine died in 1810. The fourth of these children was Elizabeth Fiddian born in 1801 at Birmingham who being the second daughter probably helped to look after the younger ones following their mother’s death. Just around the corner in St Paul’s Square, an elegant and desirable location in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham a young man called Richard Green was establishing his own business as a Brass Caster. Richard born in 1795 at Birmingham was the fourth of seven children born to a Richard Green and his wife Ann Stevens. The elder Richard had probably not been as successful though he had made a living from making steel buckles and toys, but in any case the younger Richard was a second son and so may have had to start his own business. He began by dealing in metals and wire, became a general caster and finally a Master Brass Founder, employing seven men by 1851. Back in 1825 he would have known the older William Fiddian as a fellow businessman and the latter would no doubt have approved of him as a suitor for his daughter Elizabeth. Richard Green married Elizabeth Fiddian in 1825 at St Martin’s Church in Birmingham and they had nine children in the next 15 years. All three of their sons were christened Fiddian Green (with no hyphen) but only two of the seven daughters were christened with a second name that was a family name, Peart and Osborn respectively. This suggests that they were trying to preserve the Fiddian name in the male line but whether it was Elizabeth or Richard who pushed the matter we may never know. 99 Our Family Saga It would appear that three branches of Fiddian-Greens might have arisen but the youngest of the brothers, Charles Fiddian Green born in 1836 at Birmingham and who was a Modeller, died at the age of 23 at West Bromwich, Staffordshire leaving no children. The remaining sons were Richard Fiddian Green born in 1829 and William Fiddian Green born in 1831 both at Birmingham. Before considering their descendants it is worth noting what happened to the parents of Richard and Elizabeth. Elizabeth’s father died in 1842 at Great Hampton Street at the age of 70, having remarried in 1818 his second wife Martha died in 1848. Richard’s father Richard died at Studley, Warwickshire in 1835 in his 75th year but we do not know when his wife died. Elizabeth herself died in 1857 at St Paul’s Square, Birmingham aged only 56 and Richard died the following year aged 62 in a lunatic asylum at Duddeston Hall in nearby Aston leaving just under £3000 in his will. Their oldest son would become the Rev Richard Fiddian Green, although he started off working as a clerk in his father’s business. In 1853 he became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and remained such for 54 years. This involved quite a bit of moving around the country and so it was that in 1857 he met and married Mary Holmes in Hull, Yorkshire. She died there two years later presumably in child birth and he did not marry again until 1861. His second wife was the daughter of a Wesleyan Minister, Ann (‘Annie’) Brandreth and they married at Clutton in Somerset. Richard and Annie had five children in four different places around the country, and again there were three sons. This time though three different family names were given to the different boys, so they were Richard Brandreth Green born in 1863 and William Fiddian Green born in 1865 both at Huddersfield, and Charles Albert Leedham Green born in 1867 at York. So again family names from the female line were being preserved though neither of the girls had family names for their middle name. Richard and Annie had only two servants when the children were young, a domestic and a nursemaid. Richard Brandreth Green was an engine fitter and at some time in his 20s or 30s he emigrated, ending up in Parramatta, a suburb of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia. In 1911 he married Elizabeth May Shayler there and they had three children, including a Richard Henry Brandreth Green born in 1913 but no Fiddian Greens. The latter Richard and his wife Joyce Nellie Huxley ended up in Wanganui, New Zealand about as far as you can get from England but I don’t know when they went there. Charles Albert Leedham Green trained in medicine and became a Consultant Surgeon, practising in the Edgbaston area of Birmingham before retiring to St Columb, Cornwall where he died aged 64. He married Ethel Lascelles Lees in 1899 at West Bromwich and they had three sons all called Leedham-Green (and he and his wife had adopted that surname by 1901) so starting a new family name. By 1911 Charles must have been doing really well as they had a German governess and four servants. 100 Our Family Saga The middle brother William Fiddian Green continued the line and so will receive rather more attention. In 1881 as a sixteen year old he was at school in Weston-super-Mare with his younger brother Charles and for both of them this education was successful. William worked for a firm called Cooper and Nephews Ltd, an animal health business that operated worldwide, and he ended up as Director of the South Africa Company. In 1959 the business became part of the Wellcome Foundation which my wife and I worked in for many years. He must have been in South Africa before 1898 because he married Clara Sophia von Nierkerk Chalmers at Queenstown in that year and they had four children, all Fiddian-Greens and born at Port Elizabeth. This family really do like to preserve family names because the three oldest children were Richard Rawstorne Fiddian-Green, William Brandreth Fiddian-Green and Mary Leedham Fiddian-Green (although they have yet to create a triple barrelled name). William senior died in 1942 in hospital a few minutes before his wife arrived and Clara in 1954, both at Port Elizabeth. Their eldest son Richard Rawstorne was born in 1899 and he remained in Africa, like his father becoming a Director of a company, and died in 1976 from heart failure. In 1937 he married Mary Elizabeth Baxter at Capetown and they had four children, again all Fiddian-Greens. The eldest of these and only son is Richard William Fiddian-Green born in 1938 who is the third generation to become a Company Director. In fact he has been a Director and Treasurer of several Yarn Spinning Mills but in Lachine, Quebec, Canada. He is married and has two children and two grandchildren who are all FiddianGreens living in Canada but whose details are private. The oldest of Richard’s sisters was Jane FiddianGreen born in 1940 at Nairobi, Kenya who was a Real Estate Manager but sadly died in 2011 from cancer, her husband Robin Hendry died a month later. The other two sisters are still living. The other son Dr William Brandreth Fiddian-Green born in 1903 was educated in England at Oxford University and St Mary’s Hospital before returning to Matatiele in South Africa where he worked as a GP until his death in 1969 from a heart attack. He married Dr Isobel Alys Faichnie in 1932 in Southern Rhodesia another doctor who had qualified at Capetown in 1929. They had two sons and it should come as no surprise that the eldest was Charles William Faichnie Fiddian-Green born in 1934 at Mataiele. He was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford but returned to South Africa where he was a successful businessman, ending up as Chairman of Rennies Group (South Africa). He married twice later in life and I have found no evidence of any children which may have avoided embarrassment as his first wife already had a double barrelled name. He died of cancer in 2004 at Three Falls Farm in the Gauteng Province of South Africa. The younger son of Dr William Brandreth Fiddian-Green was Dr Richard Guy Fiddian-Green who was born in 1940 at Matatiele and went to university in England. After a year of engineering he switched to medicine and did his early clinical jobs in the UK. Settling on Gastro-intestinal surgery as a career and returning to South Africa for general surgery training he then moved around until finally settling in Boston, USA. Although he had faculty appointments in Groote Schuur and Michigan he was eventually appointed Chair of General Surgery at the University of Massachusetts. Still active in retirement, his latest Tweets were made on the day before his death, from a heart seizure in April 2014. A cause for concern 101 Our Family Saga amongst the South African born Fiddian-Greens is that the number one cause of death appears to be heart disease, followed by cancer. He married Prunella Crawshay from Amersham, Buckinghamshire in 1968 at Pretoria in South Africa and they had three daughters in London, but subsequently divorced. This means that there are only two males in this branch of the family to continue the family name. The other branch of the family arose from the second son of Richard Green and Elizabeth Fiddian, William Fiddian Green born in 1831 at Birmingham. He began work in the family Brass Foundry in St Paul’s Square, progressing to a caster of both brass and German silver before he became a Master Brass Founder, eventually employing 25 men and 11 children (although the latter is not very PC these days). A measure of his success is that he left £59,000 in his will in 1901 which today would be approximately £6.5 million. He married Ann Maria Sunderland in 1857 at Liverpool and they had their first child Annie in 1860 whilst they were still living in Birmingham. By 1861 they had moved to Handsworth, Staffordshire perhaps because of William’s expanding business and they had another six children there. A no time did they have more than two servants although they could have afforded to. After Annie their next three children were all boys and then they had three more girls. The eldest son was William Frank Green born in 1862, so they had forgotten to use the new family name, and he worked as a metal merchant. Marrying Jessie Griffith in 1890 they had three children all with a middle name that was a family name (Hope, Moulton and Barnham), but just not Fiddian so we can leave this line. The youngest son was Richard Fiddian Green born in 1867, who like his brother William was a metal merchant, but he ended up as a Director of the Metal Company. He married Thirza Jane Connor at Ealing in 1892 and they had four children, three boys and a girl, requiring three servants to cope. But Richard forgot the plan as well or Thirza had other ideas because the two oldest boys were christened Connor Green and the two youngest just plain Green and so we must leave this line as well. The middle son of William Fiddian Green was Charles Fiddian-Green born in 1864 and he was the most successful of the three. He began as an apprentice brass caster then became a metal merchant like his brothers, but he ended up as Managing Director of the Metal Company. He married Sarah Ellen Wilcock who came from Stalybridge, Cheshire in 1893 at Audenshaw near Ashton-under-Lyne and although they only had two children required four servants including a Governess and a Housekeeper to look after everything. Fortunately they decided against using Sarah’s surname and used Fiddian instead for their only son who was christened Charles Anderson Fiddian Green. He would later become known as Charles Anderson Fiddian Fiddian-Green (look in Wikipedia if you don’t believe me) and he was born in 1898. They also had a daughter Evelyn Hope Fiddian-Green born in 1904 who married Reginald Young Turnbull Kendall (enough said!). During WW1 Charles was a Lieutenant Colonel serving in France and received a DSO; he was also the last member of the extended Fiddian family to hold the honorary title Esquire. He died in 1927 at Tamworth in Staffordshire aged only 63, whilst Sarah lived almost 30 years longer. 102 Our Family Saga Charles Anderson Fiddian Fiddian-Green was an English cricketer, an opening batsman who played 107 first-class matches between the wars for Cambridge University as well as Warwickshire and Worcestershire counties. Because of WW1 he didn’t go to Cambridge University until 1920 at the age of 21 and so he would have played cricket alongside one or more of the Assheton brothers who captained the team from 1921-3. He twice exceeded 1000 first-class runs in a season and had four centuries in all but his cricket was somewhat curtailed when he was made a Master and then Head of Cricket at Malvern College in Worcestershire. In 1924 he married Marjorie Agnes Haywood-Farmer at Tamworth, Staffordshire but dodged a bullet by calling all his children FiddianGreen. He died at Malvern in 1976 aged 77 but Marjorie continued to live there until 1993. Their three children were all boys and would all end up in the Royal Navy. The youngest was Richard Anderson Fiddian-Green born in 1933 at Upton-upon-Severn. He was an acting Sub-Lieutenant in the Navy when he died at the age of only 21. The oldest was Charles Edward Fiddian-Green born in 1926 at Upton who reached the rank of Lieutenant Commander in the Navy. He married twice, having three children from his first marriage and one from the second. All four children are Fiddian-Greens and the oldest is a male who went to Cambridge University and is now working in Zurich, Switzerland. They all appear to be successful in their chosen careers but I don’t know if they have had any children. In any case as they are all living I will say no more. The final brother was John Haywood Fiddian-Green (who could so easily have been John HaywoodFarmer-Fiddian-Green) who was born at Upton in 1929. He rose to the rank of Commander in the Navy and died in 1994 at Taunton Deane in Somerset aged only 65. In 1960 he married Jean Brown at Westminster in London and they had two children. The youngest of these who is still alive has been married twice and had a child from each marriage, but as she was a daughter they are not Fiddian-Greens although they do have interesting surnames. Her older brother is also still alive but as he is in the public eye I feel I can reveal something about him. He is of course Nicholas Haywood Fiddian-Green born in 1963, known as Nic, who is a British Sculptor specialising in models of horse’s heads. Educated at Eton and Chelsea College of Arts he was inspired by a horse’s head he saw on a visit to the British Museum as a student. Many of Nic’s sculptures are cast in bronze which is remarkable given that his 1, 2 and 3x great-grandfathers all made a living from casting brass. He survived an episode of leukaemia in 2006 after undergoing six months of chemotherapy. Nic lives with Henrietta on the Surrey Downs, and she is also keen on horses but prefers to ride them 103 Our Family Saga instead. They have four children, two sons and two daughters who are all Fiddian-Greens, so like the other branch of the family they have only two males to continue the family name. This brings us to the end of the story so far for this relatively young family of Fiddian-Greens. As can be seen they have been a very successful family in a range of chosen careers. Sadly they were not consistent in adopting the name Fiddian-Green and so the family has not grown as much as it might have. At the present time there are just four young male members of the family to continue the line. Perhaps what is most remarkable about the family so far is that they have already settled in four of the six habitable continents, leaving only Asia and South America still to conquer. An example of Nic Fiddian-Green’s work After further research it has become clear that Charles Fiddian-Green born in 1864 was in fact christened as Charles Fiddian Green and only officially changed his name by Deed Poll on 10 June 1918 when he was 54 years old. This is consistent with official records which only give his surname as FiddianGreen after this date. He obviously changed only his surname from Green to Fiddian-Green and so became Charles Fiddian Fiddian-Green. His son Charles Anderson Fiddian Green born in 1898 must then have adopted the name Charles Anderson Fiddian Fiddian-Green as all records after 1918 give the latter name. This Charles had three sons all of whom were Fiddian-Greens and two of these had children. In total this branch has so far produced 16 Fiddian-Greens, more than one third of the recorded number. Charles Fiddian Green had a cousin William Fiddian Green born in 1865 who went to South Africa in his 20s and became Director of Cooper and Nephews Ltd. Sadly there are few records after this time, but 104 Our Family Saga he was using ‘Fiddian Green’ as a surname (no hyphen) in 1897 when he visited England and had changed it to William Fiddian-Green before he returned in 1937 to visit St Mark’s Hospital, London. It is interesting to surmise that he was in cahoots with his cousin Charles but this is only speculation. Although he did have four children born between 1899 and 1909, all of whom later had the surname Fiddian-Green, the first record of this was in 1924 after the first official Fiddian-Green had been announced in The London Gazette. Altogether 18 individuals (almost half) with that surname have come from this branch of the family. The remaining 5 individuals are not strictly Fiddian-Greens as the hyphen was never officially included in their name. Nevertheless as they are all clearly from the same branch of the Green family they have been included in this report. 105 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - Top-notch Leedham-Greens The Leedham-Green family are another branch of the Green family and descendants of Richard Green and Elizabeth Fiddian, via their eldest son the Rev Richard Fiddian Green. The latter Richard and his brother William Fiddian Green were both precursors of the Fiddian-Green branch but Richard was also responsible for starting the Leedham-Green branch at about the same time. Indeed he might well have established yet another branch, of Brandreth-Greens, if his eldest son had played ball. From this it is clear that Richard Fiddian Green and his wife Ann Brandreth had three sons, and they were Richard Brandreth Green born in 1863 at Huddersfield, William Fiddian Green born in 1865 at Huddersfield and Charles Albert Green born in 1867 at York. Richard Brandreth Green emigrated in the late 1880s and spent the rest of his life at Parramatta in New South Wales, Australia where he married in 1911. The eldest of his two sons was named Richard Henry Brandreth Green born in 1913 and he married in Sydney and they later moved to New Zealand but I can find no trace of any children. William Fiddian Green went to South Africa in his 20s and was responsible for almost half (18) of the Fiddian-Greens in that branch of the family, whilst his cousin Charles Fiddian Green led to most (16) of the remainder. But where did the Leedham name arise from if the remaining son was called Charles Albert Green? Richard Fiddian Green’s wife Ann Brandreth was the daughter of the Rev John Brandreth, a Wesleyan Methodist Minister like his son in law, and Anne Leedham. So, Charles Albert Green’s maternal grandmother was a Leedham but beyond that there is little to suggest a strong affinity to the name. Indeed Charles Albert had no other names except Green when his birth was registered and on the census records for 1871 to 1891. Then quite suddenly we find that his record of marriage in 1899 to Ethel Lascelles Lees at West Bromwich in Staffordshire gave his name as Charles Albert L Green. Next the 1901 census reported his name as Charles L Green and the following year his firstborn son was given the name John Leedham-Green. Two more sons born in 1905 and 1908 were registered as Richard Garth Leedham-Green and Hugh Lascelles Leedham-Green. Finally in 1911 the census form confirms that all of them are Leedham-Greens and then a daughter, Joan Riccarda Leedham-Green born in 1912 completes the family. There do not appear to be any records of a formal change in the name nor reports in The London Gazette but this is not actually a legal requirement and anyone can begin using a new name without redress. We can only speculate on the motive and precise timings of the introduction of Leedham to Charles Albert’s name and the decision to add a hyphen making his surname Leedham-Green. It is unlikely to be a complete coincidence that both his brother and a cousin were also about to start using Fiddian-Green but this wasn’t actually formalised until 1918. Although his brother was in South Africa by 106 Our Family Saga 1891, his cousin William Fiddian Green was a near neighbour and it seems quite plausible that there should have been some family discussion. In any case the Leedham-Green branch does seem to have begun about 16 years before the Fiddian-Green branch although in the same generation. However, as there was only one male in the first generation and it has only been going a little over 100 years, the LeedhamGreen family remain quite small. Returning to the patriarch we find a rather impressive character. He studied medicine at Birmingham, Gottingen and Heidelberg Universities then trained as a Surgeon. He finished with the qualifications of MD, MB BS, LRCP, & FRCP and was variously a Consultant Surgeon, Joint Professor of Surgery at Birmingham University and Consulting Surgeon. He must have been rather successful in all this as by 1911 he and his wife were living at 17 Carpenter Road in Edgbaston, a large 10 bedroom house, with five servants including a German Governess for the three children. Charles Albert also volunteered to serve as a Civilian Surgeon during the Second Boer War in 1900, only a year after his marriage but was invalided home after contracting enteric fever. Of course it is possible that he had contact with his brother William Fiddian Green who was living in South Africa at this time. During the First World War he served in the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) rising to the rank of Major but was based at the First Southern General Hospital in Birmingham. Charles Albert died in 1931 at the age of only 64, but he had certainly made his mark before handing the baton to his eldest son John Charles Leedham-Green. John Charles was educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford reading Chemistry first before taking up Medicine. He completed his clinical training at Middlesex Hospital where he won a Clinical Prize and a Travelling Scholarship, enabling him to visit clinics in Berlin and Stockholm. Qualified in 1931 he later became a Consultant Surgeon in Birmingham and Professor of Surgery at Birmingham University. John Charles married a Cambridge University Medical Graduate, Dr Gertrude Mary Somerville Caldwell in 1939 at Eton in Buckinghamshire and they would have a son and a daughter during the war. In 1940 he joined the RAMC as a Surgeon initially in Scotland and then in West Africa where he was put in charge of a Surgical Division with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. John Charles Leedham-Green (opposite) was the first to be born with the Leedham-Green name in 1902. 107 Our Family Saga He ended the war based at India Command in Calcutta and came home. By then he had decided that it would be difficult to make do as a Consulting Surgeon and so went into General Practice with his wife Mary at Southwold in Suffolk. Even then he didn’t let up and was a founder member of the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) being elected a Fellow in 1970. In retirement he was President of the local Rotary Club and also of the local branch of the Royal British Legion and his hobby was correspondence chess. He died at Southwold in 1984 but Mary, who was 10 years younger, died at Cambridge in 1996. The only son of John Charles and Mary is Charles Richard Leedham-Green born in 1941 at Peebles in Scotland. He also went to Oxford University and after getting a degree in Mathematics in 1963 he stayed on and obtained a DPhil in 1966 (the Oxford term for a PhD). Charles Richard has had a distinguished career in his chosen subject and became Professor of Pure Mathematics at Queen Mary, University of London in 1997. He is particularly renowned for his work in group theory and has published over 50 research articles on the matter, as well as co-authoring the definitive monograph ‘The Structure of Groups of Prime Power Order’ in 2002. His more recent work has involved computational group theory and he co-designed the product placement algorithm. On his 65th birthday the 300th edition of the Journal of Algebra was dedicated to him and when he retired in 2006 Queen Mary held a conference in celebration of his mathematical achievements. The other child of John Charles and Mary is Elisabeth Somerville Leedham-Green born in 1944 at Marylebone, London. Like her brother she went to Oxford University, but from 1963 to 1970 where she emerged with a PhD in Classics and English. Whilst at Oxford she was a member of the Archaeological Society and retains an interest in this subject to date. For the past 43 years she has been an Emerita Fellow and Honorary Archivist at Darwin College, Cambridge University and is also a part-time Archivist at Peterhouse College. Meanwhile Charles Richard married Mary E Baldry in 1963 at Ipswich in Suffolk and they had a son and two daughters evenly spaced every two years. Their son is Richard J LeedhamGreen born in 1965 at Oxford who married Jane C Riley in 2002 at Sleaford in Lincolnshire. Richard has worked as a Finance Officer, an Operations Manager and an IT Manager, and currently works for ‘developmentplus’ in Lincoln. He and Jane have two daughters, Ruth Elisabeth Leedham-Green born in 2003 and Sophie Ann Leedham-Green born in 2007. The eldest daughter of Charles Richard and Mary is Dr Kathleen Elisabeth Leedham-Green, known as Kay born in 1967 at Oxford. She studied Medicine at Kings College, London and is now a Clinical Fellow in Primary Care and Public Health Sciences. Kay has been married twice and has a daughter and a son, both Leedham-Greens. The youngest daughter of Charles Richard and Mary is Sarah Jane Leedham-Green, born in 1969 at Waltham Forest in Essex, who is Editor of ‘Who do you think you are’ magazine. She married Philip B Williams in the year 2000 at Somerset and they have a daughter and a son. Returning again to the head of the Leedham-Greens, Charles Albert, his second son was Richard Garth Leedham-Green born in 1905 at Edgbaston, Warwickshire. Richard married Phyllis Maude Wallis in 1933 at Rathdown in Ireland. Phyllis was one of a pair of tennis playing sisters before her marriage, though she 108 Our Family Saga was rather outshone by her elder sister Mabel Hilda who even played twice at Wimbledon. Richard and Phyllis had three children at Birmingham, the first of whom was Felicity Ann Leedham-Green born in 1938. She married Nicholas W Hague in 1966 at Kensington in London and they had three daughters. Her brother Kevin Leedham-Green was born in 1943 and married Julia Elizabeth Tomkins in 1969 at Bucklow in Cheshire. They have a daughter Gaynor Anne Leedham-Green born in 1972 at Cardiff in Wales and a son Daniel Garth Leedham-Green born in 1974 at Kidderminster in Worcestershire. Kevin has been a Director of Renderplas Ltd since 1992 and is currently Chairman, his wife Julia is also a Director and has been Company Secretary of Renderplas and Daniel is Managing Director. Gaynor, known as Gay married Adam J Darke in Jan 1998 at Bristol where she is a Nutritional Therapist and they have a son and a daughter. Kevin’s younger sister Carmelita M Leedham-Green was born in 1948 and married David Lowdon in 1981 at Walsall in Staffordshire and they have a son and a daughter. Charles Albert’s third son was Hugh Lascelles Leedham-Green born in 1908 at Edgbaston. Educated at Rugby School and Balliol College, Oxford Hugh was a keen cricketer at school and well into his 40s when he played for the Butterflies Cricket Club. He trained as a Solicitor and practised in London for some years as Hopwood, Mote and Leedham-Green of Grays Inn Square. Hugh married late, in 1958 at Hampstead to Isabel Daniel Duder born in Bahia, Brazil who was 10 years younger and they had no children. They retired to Hove in Sussex and Hugh died there in 1994, with Isabel going three years later. Isabel’s father had been a Merchant in Brazil and died in 1928 at the Rift Valley in Kenya, but the family were originally from Somerset. Her oldest brother died in 1929 at Christchurch, New Zealand at the age of only 17 years. Finally, the only daughter of Charles Albert and Ethel was Joan Riccarda Leedham-Green born in 1912 at Edgbaston. It doesn’t appear that she ever married and apart from at least three trips to New York in her 20s and 30s we know very little about her life except that she was a Teacher. She died in 1999 at Brighton in Sussex at the age of 87. For a distinct branch of the family which only began a little over 100 years ago, the Leedham-Greens have produced quite a group of high achievers, both male and female. Of the 15 adults so far there have been three medical doctors, a PhD, a solicitor, a professor of maths with a DPhil, a teacher, three company directors, a finance/IT manager, an editor, a nutritionist and a makeup artist. Only one of the women appears not to have had a career. This small group has produced four Oxford University graduates plus two others who went to Medical Schools and many degrees or higher qualifications. Sadly of the most recent generation, born this century only one is male so the name may not continue to flourish but hopefully he and the three latest females will uphold the high standards of education and careers set by their predecessors. After another dig into the archives I have finally solved the mystery of the origin of the LeedhamGreen name. Charles Albert Green changed his name by Deed Poll as early as 1892 and this was 109 Our Family Saga published in The Times of 29th November for that year when he would have been 25 years old. Indeed the record states he was an MRCS and LRCP, currently residing at Didsbury College, Manchester. I don’t believe he was a pupil at the Wesleyan College but was probably staying with his father who was Principal there. This is consistent with his entry in the 1896 Medical Directory which gives his surname as Leedham-Green. So the Leedham-Green name has actually been in existence for 124 years and predates the formal introduction of the Fiddian-Green name by 26 years, making it more likely that the latter was a reaction to the former. I am therefore inclined to think that the brothers William Fiddian Green and Charles Albert Green who were at school together in Weston-super-Mare were in cahoots and it was their cousin Charles Fiddian Green who would later respond. 110 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 - Moulton Methodist Ministers and More Moulton is not an uncommon surname and is known as a locational name, where the place of birth or residence was given to a family. But there were several places called Moulton and so we find clusters of Moulton families in various counties including Cheshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Northamptonshire and Yorkshire. Our Moulton family are first found in Chester, Cheshire in the 18th century and it was difficult to trace them further back in time. From this time there is quite a good deal of information about the family often recorded by contemporary members of the family. The first Moulton we can identify was Robert Moulton, a Cordwainer who married Susannah Griffiths in 1766 at Chester where they had at least five children. The second of their children was William Moulton born in 1769 at Chester and it was not very long before he was giving his parents cause for concern. Robert and Susannah were staunch Anglicans and became increasingly perturbed by William’s affinity for the Wesleyan Methodist Society. The Methodist movement derived from the teachings of John Wesley and the first Society was formed in 1738. By the time William was a young man the movement was well organised into circuits (groups of societies). His parents did not approve of the emotionalism of the Methodists and warned young William that he would soon change his mind and then regret becoming a turn-coat. But William remained firm in his resolve and it was not long before he was a Class Leader, unusually for such a young man, and soon after he was welcoming his parents as new members. He became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister in 1794, the first of ten members of the family over four generations to do so. The family connections to the Wesleyan movement extended beyond the immediate family and so we should look at the wider family. William married Maria Henrietta Egan in 1802 at Southwark after he had moved to London. Maria’s grandfather was the Rev John Bakewell, a contemporary and friend of John Wesley, who wrote several hymns including “Hail, thou once despised Jesus” and was a Wesleyan local preacher for 70 years. William and Maria had 15 children in all, although only nine survived to maturity, and the second of these was James Egan Moulton born in 1806 at Bedford. In 1828 the Rev James Egan Moulton began a career as a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and in 1833 he married Catherine Fiddian at Birmingham. Before continuing with the Fiddian connection we should review the other children of William and Maria. Their oldest child was William Moulton born in 1803 at Yarmouth in Norfolk who didn’t appear to let the family’s new found religious zeal influence him unduly. He married Elizabeth Lane in 1823 at St Pancras and they had 8 children in that part of London. This William was a Tailor as were two of their three sons, William Bateman Moulton (born 1826) and George Joseph Moulton (born 1835), although the 111 Our Family Saga former later took to French Polishing. The youngest son was Edward Henry Moulton born in 1841 who became a Cheesemonger and was the only one who appears to have had children. Edward Henry married Julia Ann Christy at Marylebone in 1868 and they had two sons before Edward Henry died aged only 34, but the youngest of these Arthur Moulton born in 1871 died aged three months. Their other son Edward Henry Moulton was born in 1869 at St Pancras. He was a Clerk, a Tram Conductor and then a Tram Driver, but by 1911 he was unemployed and in 1913 he died aged only 43. Edward Henry II had married Ellen Elizabeth Hand at St Pancras in 1891 and they had had 7 children before his early death, including two sons. The oldest of these was another Edward Henry Moulton born in 1890 at St Pancras (ten months before they married). Edward Henry III lived somewhat longer than his namesakes but still died at the age of 52 and both his wife and mother also died young, at 41 and 47 years respectively. The children of all three of these generations must have become quite used to getting by without one or both parents. The third Edward Henry was employed as a Railway Carman, which was actually a person who drove a horse-drawn carriage for the Railway delivering local goods and parcels. He had one brother Herbert Percival Moulton who was born in 1894 at Hampstead. During WW1 Herbert served as a Corporal in the Royal Field Artillery and in 1915 was gassed in the trenches in France. This led to his early discharge from the army and may have contributed to his early death aged 47. Herbert married Amy Laura Hodges in 1918 at St Pancras where they had 7 children and he worked as a Saddler. Two of his sons, Herbert Charles and Frederick James Moulton were born in 1919 and 1924 and worked as a Postman and Black Cab Driver respectively. Meanwhile Edward Henry III had married Annie Florence Cleave in London in 1914 and they 5 children there and a sixth at Romford in Essex. Their eldest was Edward Alfred Moulton born in 1916 at St Pancras who married Kathleen Cunningham in Essex in 1939 and they had a son and daughter who are still alive. Edward and Annie had only one other son, Alexander P Moulton born in 1923 at St Pancras but he died in care at Hampstead before the age of two. Annie was ill for a long time with tuberculosis and died in 1935 aged 41. From all this it can be seen that this branch of the family had to struggle quite hard during their time in London. Returning to William and Maria with their 15 children, they had 8 sons that I can identify and so I will deal with the others of these in turn before coming back to James Egan. The third son was John Bakewell Moulton, named for his great grandfather, who was born in 1807 at Newark-on-Trent, Nottinghamshire and was ordained a Wesleyan Methodist Minister in 1830. By 1835 he was working at Lincoln where he met and married Sarah Harrison Dixon. He was an evangelical and hard-working preacher but died from influenza when he was only 30 before they had had any children. The fourth son was Ebenezer Moulton born in 1809 at Nottingham and he too became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister in 1835. The Rev Ebenezer Moulton was an active preacher for 50 years and moved around the country quite a lot. He married Elizabeth Parkes in 1842 at Yardley in Birmingham and they had three children in three different counties. Their only son was James Ebenezer Moulton born in 1844 at Bristol who started work for a Manufacturing Optician and eventually became one himself. He married Mary Jane Wildman in 1882 at Colne in Lancashire and they had three daughters so ending that line. 112 Our Family Saga Three more sons of William and Maria were Robert, Samuel and Samuel Ananiah Moulton born in 1812, 1814 and 1816 respectively but I can find no evidence that they survived childhood. Their final son was Joseph Moulton born in 1820 at Norwich who was a Druggist and Grocer but also worked as a Wesleyan Local Preacher (a layman authorised to lead worship on a regular basis). I can find no evidence that he was ever ordained but the Methodist records are incomplete as they claim only 8 members of the family were Ministers whilst I have found 10. Joseph married twice, firstly to Mary Squance who was born in Ceylon the daughter of the Rev Thomas Hall Squance who was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and Missionary. They married in 1848 at Whitechapel and had four children, though Mary died aged 43 at the birth of the last. Joseph married again in 1871 to Mary Ann Knight at Nottingham but had no further children. Both Joseph’s sons, Thomas S T Moulton born in 1848 and Theodore Squance Moulton born in 1851 at Islington appear to have died in childhood. So, we can return to Rev James Egan Moulton and Catherine Fiddian who married in Birmingham in 1833. For some time I was quite at a loss to fully understand why Catherine’s father William Fiddian who is my 3x great grandfather was apparently such a central figure to both the Fiddian-Green and Moulton families. Of course he was the father of Elizabeth and Catherine who married into these families, but why did his son Samuel suddenly emerge as the first Wesleyan Methodist Minister in the Fiddian clan and another of his daughters Mary also have a Wesleyan Methodist Minister for a son. The answer is really quite simple, for not only was William Fiddian a very successful Brass Founder with his own business but he was also a Circuit Steward for the Methodist Church. This is a very important role in the teams which lead local churches within the Methodist circuits and William would have seen a great deal of Methodist Preachers especially the younger unmarried ones who would often stay at his house in Great Hampton Street, Birmingham. So, William’s oldest daughter Mary Fiddian married Richard Peart who was actually a Printer and Stationer with his own business and their first son James Peart ran this family business. Their second son Rev William Fiddian Peart was an Anglican Priest, as was his son the Rev Fiddian Edward Peart, and their youngest son the Rev Richard Peart was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister. William’s oldest son William Fiddian died aged 24 but his next son Joseph Fiddian continued the family line in Brass Founding. Joseph’s son John Gill Fiddian was an executor of his cousin, James Peart’s will and so all these families were close. William’s daughter Elizabeth Fiddian married Richard Green another successful Brass Founder and their first son the Rev Richard Fiddian-Green was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister who married the daughter of another Wesleyan Methodist Minister and was the first of the Fiddian-Greens. William’s son the Rev Samuel Fiddian was another Wesleyan Methodist Minister whose daughter Catherine Fiddian married the Rev John Colwill Reddaway yet another Wesleyan Methodist Minister, though he died aged only 33. Finally we have William’s daughter Catherine Fiddian who as a young woman was noted for saying that she would never marry a Methodist Preacher such as the ones who frequented her father’s house, but she clearly relented as she married the Rev James Egan Moulton. Indeed she was a devoted wife and 113 Our Family Saga mother to their seven children, which included four remarkable sons (all four have Wikipedia entries). The first of their children was the Rev Dr William Fiddian Moulton, MA born in 1835 at Leek in Staffordshire, a third generation Wesleyan Methodist Minister who was also a Biblical Scholar and Educator. He was the first Headmaster of The Leys School, Cambridge and in 1890 was elected President of the Methodist Conference at Bristol. In 1898 on his way to visit a sick parishioner he had a heart attack in the grounds of the school where he was still headmaster and died shortly afterwards. He was buried at the Histon Road Cemetery, Cambridge and has a memorial in Wesley’s Chapel, London. The second son of James Egan and Catherine was the Rev James Egan Moulton born in 1841 at North Shields. He was educated at the Wesleyan Kingswood School, Bath but asthma prevented him going to University and he worked as a Clerk for a Shipping Company until he was accepted into the Ministry. He left England shortly after bound for Tonga but stayed in Sydney, Australia whilst awaiting his posting. There he founded Newington College, a boarding school for boys and was its first Headmaster. Rev Dr William Fiddian Moulton Rev James Egan Moulton He had married Emma Knight at Melbourne in 1864 and they had three sons and three daughters, the first of these was another Rev James Egan Moulton born in 1871 on Tonga. James Egan II presided over the Methodist Church on Tonga, established Tupou College there and translated several works into Tongan, including Milton’s Paradise Lost and the Bible. He returned to Sydney in 1891 and took up the Presidency of Newington College and we will return to his Australian descendants at a later point. The third and most noted son of James Egan I and Catherine was born in 1844 at Madeley in Shropshire and 114 Our Family Saga became Lord John Fletcher Moulton, Baron Moulton, GBE, KCB, QC, PC, FRAS, FRS. John Fletcher was a Mathematician, Barrister, Judge and Politician, said to have been one of the twelve most intelligent men in Britain and who corresponded with Charles Darwin. He won a scholarship to St John’s College, Cambridge where he graduated Senior Wrangler in 1868 and won the Smith’s Prize. He then became a Barrister specialising in patent law and experimented with electricity for which he was elected to the Royal Society and awarded the French Legion of Honour. An advocate for medical research he was appointed as the first chair of the Medical Research Council. Moulton then became Liberal MP for Clapham, Hackney South and finally Launceston and then in 1906 was made Lord Justice of the Court of Appeal and a Privy Councillor. In 1912 he entered the House of Lords with a life peerage as Baron Moulton of Bank. From 1914 to 1916 he was Chairman of the War Committee advising on explosives and then Director-General of the Explosives Department expanding production 20-fold (in WW1 there was always more explosives than shells to hold them). In 1917 he was directed to produce poisonous gas though he believed that to be a departure from civilized warfare. He was awarded the Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1915, the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire in 1917, Le Etoile Noir of France, the Order of Leopold of Belgium and the Order of the White Eagle from Russia (the last person to receive the latter before the collapse of the Russian monarchy). After the war he resisted pressure to lead the expansion of the British Chemical Industry and instead returned to his first love – the law. He died in London in 1921. The final son of James Egan I and Catherine was to become Prof Richard Green Moulton, PhD. Richard was born in 1849 at Preston in Lancashire and went to Kingswood School in Bath and Clevedon College in Northants before going to Christ’s College, Cambridge. He got his MA at Yale University and his PhD from Pennsylvania State University. After several trips to the US he finally settled in Chicago in 1890, where he became Professor of Literary Theory and Interpretation at the University of Chicago. He was also a Lawyer and Author of several books including ‘The Literary Study of the Bible’ and ‘Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist’. His wife Alice Maud Cole whom he had married at Sheffield in 1896 joined him in America but they had no children. After his retirement in 1919 they returning to England and he died at Tunbridge Wells in 1924, the last of this remarkable generation. 115 Our Family Saga If we now look at the families of each of these four sons of James Egan Moulton and Catherine, we should begin with the Rev William Fiddian Moulton who married Hannah Hope in 1862 at Stoke-onTrent. Hannah was the daughter of a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and had spent most of her life on Jersey where her father had died in 1850. She had remained there with her American mother until she had reached maturity and then they returned to England to find her a husband. Hannah and William had two sons, the Rev Prof Dr James Hope Fiddian Moulton born in 1863 at Richmond, Surrey and the Rev Prof William Fiddian Moulton born in 1866 at Westcott, Surrey. James was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, Tutor at Didsbury College, Professor of Hellenistic Greek and Indo-European Philology at Manchester University, Fellow of King’s College Cambridge, Doctor of Letters from the University of London and author of numerous books. James Hope and his son William Ralph James married Eliza Keeling Osborn in 1890 at Portsea Island and they had two sons and two daughters. Eliza also came from a staunch Methodist background, her father, both of her grandfathers, a maternal great-uncle and two cousins were Wesleyan Ministers. Sadly she died at Manchester in 1915 aged only 47 and so the following year James went off to India as a Missionary and also to do research and lecture there. Returning by boat in 1917 they were torpedoed off the coast of France and although James and several others were able to escape in a lifeboat he died the day before they could reach Corsica and was buried at sea. Their eldest son William Ralph Osborn Moulton born in 1892 at Cambridge was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment during WW1. In 1916 whilst his father was in India he was killed in action in the French trenches at the Battle of the Somme. Their other son was born in 1903 at Chorlton in Manchester and became the Rev Prof Dr Harold Keeling Moulton, the tenth Moulton Wesleyan Methodist Minister. He was educated at the Leys School and King’s College, Cambridge before training for the ministry at Didsbury College. For 30 years from 1927 he was a Methodist Missionary in South India, first teaching at Findley College, Trichinopoly and then as Professor of New Testament Studies at the United Theological College, Bangalore. In 1957 he returned to England and was the Translation Secretary at the British and Foreign Bible Society. He married Marjorie Ireland in about 1930 and they had four daughters all born in India so 116 Our Family Saga ending this Moulton line. The eldest of James and Eliza’s daughters was Edith Hope Moulton born in 1894 at Cambridge who died in 1902 at Didsbury in Manchester. Their other daughter Helen Hope Moulton was born in 1905 at Chorlton in Manchester. In 1929 she married Dr George William Hollings who was a Medical Missionary (and son of a Wesleyan Methodist Minister) and shortly after they left England, living first in Ceylon, then China, Japan and Canada. Eventually they settled in New South Wales, Australia, where George worked as a Medical Practitioner. The other son of the Rev William Fiddian Moulton was his namesake born in 1866 at Westcott, Surrey who became the Rev Prof William Fiddian Moulton. After securing a MA at St John’s College, Cambridge the younger William taught at The Leys School as an Assistant Master before entering the ministry in 1897. He served in the rural circuits for 13 years as a Wesleyan Methodist Minister then taught at Cliff College, Derbyshire first as a Lecturer then Professor of Theology and Classics. He was also an organist and found time to write several hymns. He married Jessica Collins in 1901 at Leeds and they had a son Raymond Fiddian Moulton born in 1905 at Birkenhead, Cheshire who sadly died within a few weeks of birth. This William wrote a book entitled ‘William Fiddian Moulton – A Memoir’ about the life of his father which was published in 1899 a year after the latter’s death (it is readily available online). Returning to the Rev Dr James Egan Moulton, the second with that name, who went to Tonga and had three sons there, the eldest became the Rev James Egan Moulton III born in 1871. He was a pupil at Newington College, founded by his father, and the ‘crack man’ of the College’s first fifteen Rugby team. James was selected to play a representative game for the State whilst still at school and played against England and the first British Lions touring side when only 18. He then followed in the family tradition and became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and was Headmaster of the Wesleyan Tupou College from 1893 to 1905. In 1921 he published a book about his father called ‘Moulton of Tonga’ which recalls the life of this great man (it is also available online). In 1896 he had married Fanny Alice Corner in Cootamundra, New South Wales and they had seven children, including four sons. Their eldest son was James Egan Moulton IV born in 1898 at Sydney, but he died aged 6. The next son was Kirton Bakewell Moulton born in 1903 at Bowral, NSW who was a Clerk and later a Local Government Officer at Broken Hill, NSW. He married Vera May Hardman in 1928 at Marrickville, NSW and they had a son Dr John Egan Moulton born in 1930 at Molong, NSW. John went to Newington College, playing only once for the first fifteen Rugby team and then to the University of Sydney where he was a resident at Wesley College. In 1954 he graduated as a Doctor of Medicine and then went to England to complete his surgical training. He became a Consultant General Surgeon and Chairman of the NSW Institute of Sports Medicine, then in 1986 he was Medical Adviser to the Australian Rugby Union and Team Doctor to the Wallabies during their Bledisloe Cup win in New Zealand and the first two Rugby World Cups, including Australia’s maiden win in 1991. In 1994 he was elected to the Council of Newington College and became Honorary Secretary in 1998. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for services to surgery, medical education and sports medicine in 1997. Married twice he had three children, including one son, and five grandchildren. He died on the Gold Coast in 2012. 117 Our Family Saga The third son of James Egan Moulton III was James Egan Moulton V born in 1904 who worked for most of his life as a Farmer in NSW but later in life was a Signing Teacher. He died in 1967 and does not appear to have had a family. The final son was Frank Kelvin Moulton born in 1908 at Parkes, NSW who was at different times a Chemist, a Sugar Refiner in Fiji where he met and married Catherine Elizabeth Harper and a Clerk. He died on the Gold Coast in 1998. The second son of James Egan Moulton II was John William Richard Moulton, born in 1872 on Tonga but lived and worked later in life in the suburbs of Melbourne. He married twice and may have had a son and a daughter but Australian records are pretty sparse. John worked as an Accountant and died in Melbourne in 1931. The final son of James Egan II was Alfred Vuna Moulton, born in 1875 on Tonga. He worked as a Secretary and for much of the time he lived in Manly, Sydney. In 1899 he married Lily Hague at Newtown, NSW and they had two sons. The first of these was Alfred Vuna Moulton II, born in 1900 at Petersham, Sydney. In 1918 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force having spent 4 years in the Senior Cadets. He worked as a Clerk but was also unemployed on some occasions. In 1925 he married Alice Edith Bullivant and they had a son Geoffrey Bullivant Moulton who was born in 1926 but was killed in an accident aged only 19. The other son of Alfred Vuna I was Harold Fiddian Moulton, born in 1907 at Marrickville, NSW. Harold worked as a Clerk initially and then a Purchasing Officer. He married Annie Sophia Baker in 1927 at Manly, Sydney and they had a son Sidney Harold Moulton, born in 1927 (six months after the wedding). Sidney worked as a Watchmaker and in 1949 he married Thelma May Tipping at Parramatta, NSW. He died in 2005 at Port Macquarie, NSW but I don’t know if he had any children. We return now to Lord John Fletcher Moulton who married Clara Thomson in 1875 at Hanover Square in London. Clara was born in London but her parents were both German. Her father Bram Hertz was a Diamond Merchant and in the 1850s he and his family were in Java, Indonesia. In 1858 Clara met there and married Robert William Thomson who was a Scottish inventor and engineer, most famous for inventing the pneumatic tyre. A few years later Clara and Robert returned to Scotland and had four children, whilst Robert continued inventing. Robert died in 1873 aged only 50 leaving Clara with two sons and two daughters aged 12 and under. Still she married John Fletcher two years later and gave him a son the Hon Hugh Lawrence Fletcher-Moulton born in 1876 at London but sadly she too died early in 1888 aged only 52. It was not until 1901 that John Fletcher married again, this time to Mary May Davis from Boston, Massachusetts who was 25 years younger than him. May as she was known, gave him a daughter the Hon Sylvia May Fletcher-Moulton, born at London in 1902, but then May also died early in 1909 aged only 38. In 1911 John Fletcher was living alone at Onslow Square, South Kensington with Sylvia and 10 servants, including a Child’s Nurse and a French Governess. Clara’s children from her first marriage were not adopted by John Fletcher but did well for themselves anyway, particularly the youngest, Courtauld Greenwood Thomson born in 1865 at Edinburgh. He was a very successful businessman holding several public and charitable offices and ended up as Lord Courtauld Greenwood Courtauld-Thomson, Baron Courtauld-Thomson of Dorneywood, CB, KBE. During WW2 he turned his country seat of Dorneywood into a hostel for allied air force officers and then in 1943 he gave 118 Our Family Saga it to the nation for use by Ministers of the Crown. He died unmarried in 1954 at Midhurst in Sussex. His sister Elspeth Thomson married Kenneth Grahame author of ‘The Wind in the Willows’ and ‘The Reluctant Dragon’. The other sister Winifred Hope Thomson was an artist and amongst her paintings is a portrait of Thomas Hardy, the author as well as one of her brother as a young man. His brother Harold Lyon Thomson was Alderman and one time Mayor of Westminister as well as the Consul-General of Albania. Hugh Lawrence Fletcher-Moulton was a Barrister (like his father), an Author and briefly a Liberal MP for Salisbury in 1923. He served as a Major in the Royal Garrison Artillery during WW1 from 1915 to 1918, spending most of his time in France then remaining in the army until 1921. Hugh married Isabel Tredwell Boydell Houghton, the daughter of another Barrister in 1902 at Bayswater in London. They had no children and Isabel died in 1933 (the 1911 Census states that a Registered Surgical Nurse was living with them and so she may have been ill for quite a while). He married again in about 1936 and his second wife became Marie Josephine Fletcher-Moulton, but they had no children either so this line ended. Hugh’s half-sister Sylvia May Fletcher-Moulton went to school in the US and then St Paul’s Girls School in London before reading History and Law at Girton College, Cambridge. She also became a Barrister in 1929 and worked in the Chancery Division (High Court of Justice) until 1937. During WW2 she was Regional Administrator in the West Midlands for the Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS). Sylvia returned to Barcombe, near Lewis in Sussex, after the war where she created a beautiful garden and a small business in flowers which she sold to Covent Garden. In 1947 she was appointed to the Lewis Bench as a Magistrate, which she continued until her retirement in 1973. She held numerous official and charitable positions and in 1961 was awarded the CBE. She never married and died at her home in 1989. The remaining son of James Egan Moulton and Catherine Fiddian was Prof Richard Green Moulton who spent most of his working life in the USA. As we have already seen he had no children and so this line too came to an end. So of the four brothers, children of James Egan and Catherine, only the line of James Egan II who went to Australia has persisted through male heirs. The only other line of Moultons that has persisted derived from the elder brother of James Egan I and they are not actually related to us. So what seemed a quite large and generally very successful family has rather petered out, leaving only a small branch in Australia. Although we have met some pretty remarkable characters the most surprising finding for me was just how many Wesleyan Methodist Ministers we can lay claim to as members of our extended family. My wife is still struggling to come to terms with this revelation! 119 Our Family Saga Chapter 4 - The Devonshire Reddaways Yet another unusual family name, that became associated with the Fiddian family in the 19 th century. It is probably a locational name as there is a reference to Radewei in the Domesday Book, a small manor in the Black Torrington Hundred in Devon held by Alfred the Breton under King William. This would place it at the location of Reddaway Farm in Sampford Courtenay near Okehampton first referenced in the 13 th century. Story has it that Henry III gave the farm to the family in 1241 for services to the King. For a time in the late 13th century the farm reverted to the estate of Sampford Manor but was again in the hands of the Reddaways by the 14th century. In the early 15th century the farm was at least part owned by Henry Reddaway who had a son, also called Henry and a grandson John. They were probably all Butchers as well as Farmers on the north edge of Dartmoor. Most of today’s family, with several variants in the spelling of their name, originate from this source. Our first Reddaway from the start of parish records is the John Reddaway mentioned above. He was born near the start of the 16th century and died in 1559. Reddaway Farm was passed on to his son John Reddaway born in about 1540 and remains with the family today, but it is another son William Reddaway born in 1545 who is of interest to us. William married a Joan and had a son Oliver Reddaway born in about 1569, probably at nearby Belstone. This branch of the family remained at Belstone for more than 300 years, farming several hundred acres and producing a series of Yeomen, so they must have inherited quite well despite William being a second or lesser son (all the wills have sadly been lost). It is not clear whether the wealth of this branch was constant throughout or gradually increased but the lineage does not always follow the first son from this point onwards. Oliver married Joan Tuckfield in 1591 at Belstone and the following year had a son Thomas Reddaway. Thomas continuing to farm on Dartmoor, married Katherine Tremlett in 1621 and she gave him 5 children, but then died in 1628. He then married Alice Aller in 1630 at Belstone and they had another 8 children. The penultimate of these was Robert Reddaway born in 1643 who died in his 80th year at Inwardleigh just outside Dartmoor. Robert married Jane Moggridge in 1671 at Sampford Courtenay and had a son Robert Reddaway born in 1675 at Okehampton. Robert married Charity Langmead in April 1703 at Okehampton but appears to have already had a son Oliver Reddaway with her as he was christened in February of that year. It must have taken Oliver some time to establish himself as it wasn’t until 1750 that he married Mary Moyse at Belstone. Mary was 24 years younger than Oliver and provided him with several children, the first of whom was Robert Reddaway born in 1751 at Belstone. Robert married his first cousin Mary Reddaway (daughter of Oliver’s brother William) in 1780 at Belstone. This was probably not the only time Reddaway cousins 120 Our Family Saga married and there were also several instances of female cousins acting as Housekeepers for their unmarried male cousins. Robert and Mary had five children, the oldest of whom was William Reddaway born in 1783 at Belstone. William was the first definite Yeoman confirmed by the records, farming 110 acres at East Lake Farm in Belstone (now riding stables) in 1841 and 1851. By 1861 he had retired and his son Richard Reddaway was Yeoman Farmer of East Lake. William had married Grace Knapman in 1804 at South Tawton and they had 10 children including 7 sons. At least two more of their sons were Yeoman, William Reddaway born in 1814 and Edmund Reddaway born in 1819 both at Belstone who farmed at Sampford Courtenay and Higher Corscombe Farm respectively, were both unmarried and each had a cousin as housekeeper. Returning to Oliver Reddaway, another of his sons was William Reddaway born in 1759 at Belstone. This William may have had to struggle harder to gain the status of Yeoman as he did not marry until 1808, to Damaris Ellis 17 years his junior and who had already fathered his child. Their son was initially registered as William Ellis when he was christened a month after their wedding, but would later take his father’s name. The younger William Reddaway as he became known married Mary Colwill in 1830 at Sourton and was a Yeoman Farmer at Corscombe Down Farm, in Sticklepath. Their eldest son, another William Reddaway was born in 1839 and continued to farm at Corscombe after his father retired. death in 1949. He was a Lecturer at FitzWilliam College, Cambridge from 1896-1907, Censor 1907-1924, University Lecturer 1927-1937 and finally Professor of History. He also wrote several books on modern history, many of them devoted to the countries of the Baltic region. The youngest son was John Colwill Reddaway born in 1841 at Corscombe who became a Wesleyan Methodist Minister in 1863. By 1868 he was working in Warwickshire and met Catherine Fiddian, daughter of the Rev Samuel Fiddian another Wesleyan. They married at Aston and in 1872 had a son William Fiddian Reddaway at Middleton in Greater Manchester, who was baptised there by his grandfather Samuel. The Rev John Colwill Reddaway died in 1874 aged only 32 and it was another 10 years before Catherine would marry again. An only child Prof William Fiddian Reddaway had an impressive career as a Historian and Author. He was educated at The Leys School and then King’s College, Cambridge and was awarded a History BA with 1st Class Honours in 1894. Awarded various prizes and a scholarship he got his MA in 1898 and became a Fellow until his Prof William Fiddian Reddaway In 1906 William Fiddian married Kate Waterland Sills at Cambridge and they went on to have four sons and a daughter, all of whom left their mark. The eldest son was Thomas Fiddian Reddaway born in 121 Our Family Saga 1908 at Chesterton, Cambridge. Like his father Thomas Fiddian was a Historian and Author, but his speciality was urban history and in particular 17th century London. He was educated at Oundle School then King’s College, Cambridge where he got an MA in History and was then Lecturer at Claire College before becoming Professor of London History at University College, London. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Society of Antiquaries. He had been a cadet Sergeant Major at Oundle School but joined the Royal Artillery in 1939 as a Gunner. In 1942 he joined GHQ Liaison Regiment (known as Phantom) as an Adjutant but was soon promoted to Captain, finally gaining the rank of Major. In 1944 he married Edith Margery Jay Horne, daughter of Sir Alan Edgar Horne, MC 2 nd Baronet Horne. They had 7 children including 6 sons, the eldest of whom is Edgar James Fiddian Reddaway born in 1945 at Hambledon, Surrey. Prof Thomas Fiddian Reddaway died in 1967 at Lambeth but Edith survived him by almost 40 years before passing away in 2006. William Fiddian’s second son was Henry Reddaway born in 1909 at Chesterton who also went to King’s College Cambridge, where he studied Modern Languages. Henry was a Foreign Language Translator and apparently spoke at least 8 languages. He never married and was known to be somewhat thrifty leaving £3.5 million when he died in 2003 aged 93, mostly to charities. The third son of William Fiddian and Kate was William Brian Reddaway born in 1913 at Cambridge. Like his elder brothers he went to Oundle School then King’s College, Cambridge. He was initially reading for the Mathematics tripos, intending to switch to Natural Sciences but instead read for the Economics tripos. His supervisors at King’s included the economists John Maynard Keynes and Richard Kahn. After spells at the Bank of England and Melbourne University he was first a Fellow of Clare College since 1938, Lecturer and then Reader and finally Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University from 1969-1980, and after as Emeritus. He was also Economic Consultant to the World Bank from 1966. Brian as he was known married Barbara Augusta Bennett in 1938 at Strood in Kent and they had three sons and a daughter, including Stewart Fiddian Reddaway born in 1941 at Cambridge. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1967 and appointed CBE in 1971. Brian died in 2002 at Cambridge, six years after his beloved Barbara. The only daughter of William Fiddian and Kate was Ruth Reddaway born in 1915 at Cambridge. Ruth was educated at Benenden School and Girton College, Cambridge where she read Modern Languages and Economics. She met and married Cecil Colyer in 1936 at Cambridge and they had three daughters and a son Cecil G Colyer (who would in turn have a son Andrew Fiddian Colyer). After a brief spell in Nigeria where Cecil was posted in the Colonial Service they returned to England and ran a Sports and Social Club for Uppingham School and Corby Steel Works. During the war Cecil was a Pilot Instructor in the RAF and then afterwards they moved to Shillingstone in Dorset where he ran the Woodwork Department of Bryanston School. Cecil was in fact a noted Liveryman in the Worshipful Company of Turners. As the children grew up Ruth became an avid walker and horse rider in Dorset, fighting for rights of way and access to open spaces. She even stood as a Liberal candidate in County Council elections but was unsuccessful. Cecil died in 1994 but Ruth lived on until 2011when she died aged 95. 122 Our Family Saga Norman Reddaway Ruth Colyer plus dog The final son of William Fiddian Reddaway and Kate was George Frank Norman Reddaway, known as Norman and born in 1918 at Cambridge. He too was educated at Oundle School and King’s College, Cambridge where he gained a double first in Modern Languages. In early 1940 he was commissioned from the 168th Officer Cadet Training Unit as a 2nd Lieutenant and served in the No.3 Air and Military Mission with the British Expeditionary Forces, managing to survive the sinking of the SS Aboukir when it was torpedoed. He then served in the No.1 GHQ Reconnaissance Unit and GHQ Liaison Regiment (Phantom). For the latter he was appointed MBE in 1946 and was given the honorary rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He then served for several years in the Allied Control Commission until 1951 when he joined the British Foreign Office. With Under-Secretary of State Christopher Mayhew he co-founded the Information Research Department and was later to warn his boss that new recruit Guy Burgess was not to be trusted (the latter was swiftly dismissed). In 1965 he was appointed CBE and from 1974 to 1978 Norman was British Ambassador to Poland, a fitting end to an impressive career. In 1944 he married Jean Brett at Westminster, London and they were to have two sons and three daughters. Jean herself had studied at the Slade School of Art and was an Art Teacher and Watercolour Artist of some repute. One of their sons was born in Ottawa, Canada in 1953 whilst Norman was posted there. He was David Norman Reddaway and was educated at Oundle School and FitzWilliam College, Cambridge where he read History. David joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1975 and has had a colourful career, with assignments to Iran, India, Spain, Argentina and Afghanistan. He married Roshan Firouz from Iran in 1981 at Westminster, London and they have three children. In 2002 his 123 Our Family Saga appointment as British Ambassador to Iran was rejected by Iran but he was High Commissioner to Canada in 2003, British Ambassador to Ireland in 2006 and Turkey in 2009 to 2014. He was appointed MBE in 1980, CMG in 1993 and KCMG in 2013. Sir David Reddaway, KCMG MBE is now retired after a distinguished career. The Reddaway family originated in Devon and to this day almost three quarters of British Reddaways were born in Devon and most of the remainder were born in England with only a few in Wales. Just over 10% of worldwide family members have been born outside the British Isles. So we can still rightly refer to them as Devonshire Reddaways though the branch that we are most closely connected with, have made their mark more widely in recent years. Like so many of our related families they were Yeoman Farmers for many years but the decision by John Colwill Reddaway to join the Church took him away from this life. Over the past 150 years or so his descendants have trodden a very different path and despite him only having one son have managed to grow to reasonable numbers. This has been helped by a propensity for sons to produce more sons than daughters (more than twice as many) and so the name continues. It is interesting to speculate whether any members of this branch have considered starting a line of Fiddian-Reddaways as there have been several sons with Fiddian as a middle name. I have identified four of these but there may be more as several recent births have been registered with the initial ‘F’ in front of Reddaway. Still I think there would be no need to do this as Reddaway is such a distinctive name in its own right and quite a few of the family members in the past 150 years have achieved more than enough to give the name added weight. Indeed for a relatively small branch of the extended family they have more than their fair share of entries in Wikipedia and other biographical sources. Still I’m not complaining as it makes my research so much easier and provides a good story to tell. 124 Our Family Saga Chapter 5 - Extended Family Members who died in War Our nearest relatives well know that we were very fortunate not to lose anyone close in either of the World Wars but it is sobering to realise that many members of our extended family gave their lives for their country. The tables at the end of this review list 89 men who lost their lives in the two wars and are consistent with reported numbers of deaths. There were approximately 734,697 British Military deaths in WW1 and 383,700 in WW2, a ratio of 2:1, and relatively limited compared with global deaths of approximately 9.6 and 23 million respectively. Despite this terrible global carnage we will focus on our own families and the impact of the wars on them. In order to consider each of the more personal deaths from these wars it is most practical to look at each branch of the family in turn. Where possible I have included as much detail as could be found regarding the manner of the deaths and the family situation. I will also mention some of those who were severely wounded in either war, made a notable contribution or provided medical care as their Military service. A brief mention of the Boer Wars will also be made but earlier wars generally will not be covered here. FIDDIAN: An initial search revealed only two Fiddians who had died, one in each World War, but the actual impact was greater than this. In fact there were at least 5 men who belonged to our extended family and gave their lives in WW1 alone and another, who was severely shell-shocked. Four of the deaths occurred in 1917 and three of these share common features, being husbands of Fiddian wives who died or were mortally wounded in the trenches. Lieutenant William Ronald Corrie born in 1887 at Beckenham, Kent was married to Gladys Kathleen Fiddian my 1st cousin twice removed in 1913 at Ealing London, but had not yet started a family. William joined the Artists Rifles in 1914 and served in Flanders in 1915 where he got his commission before being invalided home with shell-shock and serious thigh wounds. The following year he retrained as a Grenade Officer and in 1917 returned to France as a 2nd Lieutenant in the East Yorkshire Regiment. On 9 April he was mortally wounded at the Battle of Arras whilst serving as Officer Commanding in the Battle Police and died on 23 April at Le Touquet. He was later buried at the Military Cemetery in Etaples. Sadly I know 125 Our Family Saga very little of what became of Gladys after William’s death, except that in 1934 she eventually remarried to a Herbert Guy Loder and died in 1965 at Hounslow in London. John Edward Jordan was born in 1883 at Aston, Warwickshire and before the war was a Brewer’s Stocktaker. He had married Edith Carrie Fiddian in 1908 at Aston, my 3rd cousin twice removed, and they had a daughter Vera Catherine Jordan in 1909 at Smethwick in Staffordshire. John was a Private in the South Staffordshire Regiment and on 14 March 1917 he was killed in action at the town of Bapaume on the Somme. I think Edith may have married again after the war but Jordan is a common surname so I cannot be sure. She had been an Assistant Schoolmistress before marrying and so may have had the possibility of working as a Teacher to support herself and Vera. Percy Herbert Keel was born in 1885 at Berwick St James, a village in Wiltshire. He actually joined the army in 1902 on a Short Service Commission at the age of only 16, giving his age as 18 and three quarters, he was 5 foot 6 inches and weighed only 9 stone but was still accepted. It is quite likely that he was escaping a life of drudgery as a Farm Labourer but can’t have found the 7 th Dragoon Guards any easier. He married Ellen Fiddian my 4th cousin once removed at Walworth in South London in 1914 and the following year they had a daughter Doris Ellen Keel. Percy signed up again, this time as a Private in the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment and was sent to France. In 1917 he was killed in action at Flanders Fields and was buried at Ypres in Belgium. Ellen never married again and died in 1958 at Rochford in Essex. Alfred Oswald Peart was born in 1892 at Coventry, Warwickshire and is my 3rd cousin once removed. Before the war he had worked as an Analytical Chemist and was unmarried. In 1916 he enlisted in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve and the following year he was serving as an Ordinary Seaman on board the SS Ravensworth, a Newcastle Iron Steamer. They were outward bound from Cardiff to Norway when the ship foundered after a collision with the SS Eveleen 4.5 miles from the Copeland Islands in the North Irish Sea. Only 5 men were drowned but Oswald was one of them. He was buried at the Plymouth Naval Memorial in Devon. His parents had had one other child, a daughter Hildred. Our fifth family member who died was actually a Fiddian and my 4th cousin twice removed. He was Frank Fiddian born in 1894 at Sparkhill in Birmingham and in 1911 was working as a Stock-keeper in a Boot Factory. He was engaged to 20 year old Lydia May Harris when she died suddenly in January 1915 leaving him devastated. Not long afterwards he enlisted in the Machine Gun Corps and was later sent to France. On 2 October 1918 whilst serving as a Private in the French part of Flanders Fields he was badly burnt by Mustard Gas and died from his wounds. He was buried at Mont Huon Military Cemetery in Le Treport, France near Dieppe. Cedric Moulton Fiddian was the brother of Gladys Kathleen Fiddian, wife of our first fatality Lieutenant William Corrie. Like his sister he was born in Cuttack, Bengal, India in 1890 where his father was a District Judge as was my great-grandfather, so he is my 1st cousin twice removed. After graduating from Cambridge University he became a Schoolmaster but was called up in 1915. By October of that year 126 Our Family Saga he was an acting 2nd Lieutenant in the South Staffordshire Regiment but following exposure to intensive bombardment was overcome with shell-shock. This resulted in him taking absence without leave and he was removed from the Army as a result. Had he been an ordinary soldier he may well have been subject to Field Punishment Number One or even treated as a coward and shot (304 of our men were executed in WW1). He later returned to teaching and became Headmaster of King’s College School, Cambridge where he continued to be haunted by his experience of war. During WW2 only one member of our immediate family was killed and he was part of the 1 st Australian Imperial Force. Sergeant James Moulton Fiddian was born in 1911 at Creswick, Victoria, Australia and was working as a Bank Officer before the war. He was married to Kathleen May Hawthorne and they had a son Richard Moulton Fiddian (sadly Australian records are more scant than those in the UK). From 1939 Acting Staff Sergeant James Fiddian was stationed in Indonesia with the Australian Infantry and in 1942 he was on Ambon Island when they came under attack from the Japanese army. He was reported as missing in action and presumed dead. Sadly no body was recovered but he is remembered on the Roll of Honour at Ambon Memorial, Maluku, Indonesia. Another more distant casualty was Harold Fiddian Green, a 5th cousin once removed. Harold was born in 1911 at Southam in Warwickshire and in WW2 joined the Coldstream Guards rising to the rank of Sergeant. At some point, possibly as early as 1943 he was captured by the Germans and sent to Stalag VIII-A Prison Camp in Gorlitz, Saxony. There he was held as a POW with the prisoner number 155386. Although liberated in September 1945 his health was poor and he was sent to the Emergency Hospital in Birmingham where he died on 3rd November. He was buried at Stratford-upon-Avon Cemetery in Warwickshire in a war grave. ROBERTS: None of our Roberts family was killed during WW1 or WW2 but one of them was severely gassed. Our mother’s father was Hubert Roberts but we never got to meet him because he died early at the age of only 47 as a result of his WW1 experiences. He was born in 1891 at Slaithwaite in Yorkshire and was a Clerk in a Woollen Mill before the war. Hubert enlisted in 1915 and rose to the rank of Sergeant in the Duke of Wellington’s (West Riding Regiment). He fought in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Flanders and on at least one occasion experienced a Gas attack. Though he continued in service until the end of the war the gassing had a lasting effect on his health and was purported to have hastened his death. He initially worked as a Commercial Clerk after the war and married my grandmother Marion Beatrice Brooksbank in 1919 at Huddersfield. 127 Our Family Saga WHITE/TURVEY: There are no records of any White family members being killed or severely wounded in either World War. However my Auntie Olive married to Uncle Tom White, one of the Fulbourn farming families, was born a Turvey. She was one of four children including her twin sister Ellen Jessie Turvey who lived to be 102 years old. Their older brother was Horace Albert Turvey born in 1900 at Cambridge, a long serving Chief Mechanic in the Royal Navy. In 1942 he was serving on HMS Phoebe off the coast of West Africa when they were torpedoed with the loss of 46 lives. Horace died on the following day, 24 October, and was buried at Point Noir European Cemetery, French Equatorial Africa along with 28 other casualties. BROOKSBANK: The Brooksbank family are generally considered to be a single clan, but they are a large family and have had a propensity for military careers over the years. As a result there are quite a few family casualties from the two World Wars but not many of these are from amongst my closer relatives. So from the tables at the end of this discussion there are only two Brooksbanks that I have included as family members, who died in WW1 and there is another who was seriously injured. The two deaths were part of an even greater family tragedy that saw an entire generation die prematurely. It began with my 11th cousin four times removed Edward Clitherow Brooksbank, Eton and Cambridge scholar, JP, Deputy Lieutenant for the West Riding of Yorkshire, Officer of the Order of St John and Lord of Healaugh Manor. He married in 1885 and had four children, three sons and a daughter, who were all destined to die young. Indeed the youngest of them died first, Hugh Godfrey Brooksbank was born in 1893 at Healaugh Hall and by 1914 was in the Alexandra, Princess of Wales’s Own Yorkshire Regiment. He was serving as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion at the age of only 21 when he was severely wounded at the first Battle of Ypres on 2 Nov 1914. He was returned to London but died from his wounds 6 weeks later having twice been mentioned in despatches for conspicuous gallantry. His eldest brother Stamp Brooksbank was born in 1887 at the family home, later studied at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge then qualified as a Barrister before entering the army. He was a Captain in the same Regiment as his younger brother, but on 25 Sep 1915 he was reported as wounded and missing at the Battle of Loos and presumed killed in action. Whether to compensate in part for the sacrifice of his sons, Edward Clitherow was in 1919 created 1st Baronet Brooksbank of Healaugh Manor. But fate had not finished with him yet and his two remaining children would die before him, his unmarried daughter 128 Our Family Saga Margaret in 1926 aged only 35 and his middle son Lieutenant Colonel Edward York Brooksbank killed in a car crash aged 46 years. Even his wife Dame Katharine was to die first in 1939 and he finally died alone four years later. Another somewhat distant 12th cousin three times removed, William Richard Brooksbank was severely wounded in WW1 but survived. He was born in 1886 at Hatcham in London and became a Gardener as a young man before joining the Royal Navy in 1904 on a Short Service Commission. In the end he remained in the Navy until 1921 as an Acting Seaman but in 1918 he was badly injured when his ship, the Minesweeper HMS Newbury was shelled and sunk by a German Destroyer in the Dover Straits. He survived and returned to his family, a wife and four children who had spent the latter part of the war in Hartley Wintney, and lived another 50 years. There were 14 more Brooksbanks who died in WW1 and another 7 who were killed in WW2 but I know little about them other than what is summarised in Table 1. Since they are even more distant relatives I ask only that they are remembered by us all as having given their lives for us, but will not share any more of their stories here. MOULTON: Rather like the unfortunate Brooksbank family discussed above the main tragedy related to WW1 and involved a single Moulton family. My 2nd cousin twice removed, the Rev Prof Dr James Hope Fiddian Moulton born in 1863 had married Eliza Keeling Osborn in 1890 at Portsea Island and they had had two children at Cambridge when the youngest Edith Hope Moulton died in 1902 aged only 8. They then had two more children at Chorlton in Lancashire and all was well until war broke out. Eliza died in 1915 at the age of only 47 and James took himself off to India as a Methodist Missionary. Meanwhile their eldest son William Ralph Osborn Moulton born in 1892 had joined up in 1914 and was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Manchester Regiment based in France. In 1916 the Regiment were caught up in the offensive known as the Battle of the Somme and on 4th August launched an attack on German lines near Longueval. The manoeuvre failed and Lt William Moulton was killed in action, later being buried at Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, France. His father then decided in 1917 to return to England via Egypt and was taking the SS City of Paris out of Port Said when they were torpedoed and sunk off the Gulf of Lion. James, a friend and several others managed to escape in a lifeboat but he died on the third of the four days it took to reach safety on Corsica. Two days later, on 9th April he was buried at sea leaving two orphans back home. The only other casualty in WW1 was Corporal Herbert Percival Moulton who was born in 1894 at Hampstead in London. A saddler before the war broke out he joined up with the Royal Field Artillery in 1914 and was serving in France in 1915 when he was badly gassed in the trenches. This led to him being 129 Our Family Saga discharged from the army on medical grounds but he still received all his Campaign Medals. There were no known casualties of our Moulton family members during WW2. VASEY: Remarkably the only two war deaths in this branch also came from a single family. My great-great uncle George Brinsden Vasey born in 1860 in Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia was a Barrister and Solicitor. He married Alice in 1890 and they had six children, although one of the two girls died aged 11. Three of their sons saw service in WW1, the fourth being too young. The eldest son Thomas Arnold Vasey born in 1891 in Australia, a Wool Buyer happened to be in England when war broke out and so he joined the Royal Navy. He served as an Able Seaman, survived the war and received the standard British Campaign Medals (Pip, Squeak and Wilfred!) before returning to Australia. The second son John Brinsden Vasey born in 1893 at Malvern, Victoria was a Surveyor when the war started and so he joined the 2nd Field Company, Australian Engineers. By 1915 he had been promoted to Corporal and was serving in Gallipoli, Turkey when he was wounded in the face and leg on 7th August. He was being transferred to Malta for treatment when a week later he developed septicaemia and died. He was buried at Pieta Military Cemetery on Malta. The next son was George Alan Vasey born in 1895 at Malvern who had entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1913. With the outbreak of war his class graduated early and he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the Permanent Military Forces (PMF) in 1915. He saw action at the Somme in 1916 and was promoted to Captain, commanding the 13th Field Battery. Alan as he was known fought at Messines and Ypres, being promoted to Brigade Major in 1917 then took part in the defence of Amiens, the allied offensive and the attack on the Hindelburg Line. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order and was twice mentioned in despatches by Sir Douglas Haig. Alan returned to Australia in 1919, resuming as a Lieutenant and honorary Major in the PMF. He was only promoted to a full Major in 1935 and had considered giving up the army having qualified as an Accountant. In 1937 he joined Army HQ in Melbourne and was promoted to Lt Colonel in 1939 before embarking for Palestine. By 1941 he was a temporary Brigadier, had been appointed a CBE and was Commander of Australian Forces on Crete. He was awarded a Bar to the DSO and the Greek Military Cross (1st Class), then returned to Australia as Deputy Chief of General Staff. Promoted to Major General in 1942 he fought a major campaign in Papua New Guinea for which he was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) and was awarded the US Distinguished Service Cross in 1943. He then had to return home severely ill with polyneuritis but recovered and flew north to assume command of the 6 th Division. The Hudson aircraft he was in then crashed into the sea killing all on board, a tragic end for such a distinguished officer. 130 Our Family Saga Major-General George Alan Vasey, CB, CBE, DSO & Bar aged only 49 was buried at Cairns, Queensland with full military honours. He had served with distinction in both World Wars and I feel deeply privileged to be able to claim him as a cousin (twice removed). I would encourage the reader to learn more about his amazing exploits which can be readily viewed online. You should also discover that his wife, born Jessie Mary Halbert in 1897, was also honoured. She had been the Founder and President of the War Widows’ Guild of Australia in 1940 and continued the work after Alan’s death. Jessie fought for increased War Widows’ pensions, formed the War widows’ Craft Guild and then set about improving housing. With £5000 donated by Sir William Angliss, son of Eliza Fiddian (my 3 rd cousin thrice removed), she bought her first property for the Vasey Housing Association for ex-servicemen and their families. She was appointed an OBE in 1950, then a CBE in 1963 and featured on a 1995 Australian postage stamp. LEAFORD: This is my wife’s family name and so clearly they are only related to me through marriage but it seemed appropriate to include them here. There have been three fatalities in the two World Wars from this family. The first of these was William Harris Leaford born in 1895 at Plympton in Devon, a 2 nd cousin twice removed of my wife. He joined the Royal Garrison Artillery in 1914 and served as a Gunner in the Western European Theatre. In 1917 they were stationed in Flanders Fields when William was wounded and on 10th August he died from these wounds. He was buried at a British Military Cemetery in Ypres, Belgium along with many thousands of unknown soldiers. Charles Leaford, a 7th cousin once removed of my wife, was born in 1892 at King’s Lynn in Norfolk. In 1915 he joined the Army Service Corps at Luton and ended up serving in the Balkan Theatre as a Wheeler Corporal. He contracted dysentery in 1918 and was admitted to Salonica General Hospital in Greece. Charles died there from his infection on 24th September. Charles Victor James Leaford was born in the year of William’s death, his 2nd cousin once removed, at Romford in Essex. Charles had joined the Royal Navy in 1939 and was serving as a Stoker 1st Class on RN HMS Arethusa. In 1942 they were part of an escort for a convoy that had left Alexandria bound for Malta. About 450 miles out they were torpedoed by a low flying enemy aircraft and the resultant explosion and fire took 156 lives of the 500 men on board and injured many more. Their ship was the only casualty of Operation Stoneage and the convoy made it to Malta ending the siege there. Sadly Charles was one of the fatalities and was buried at sea on 18th November with a memorial at Chatham in Kent. He had only married Paulina Moir Rothwell at Ilford in Essex a little over a year before but they had not had any children. 131 Our Family Saga PRATER: The only other reasonably near relative of my wife to have died in war was a 5th cousin twice removed, Cyril Francis Prater born in 1905 at Birkenhead in Cheshire. He was one of 6 children who went to Australia with their parents when they emigrated in 1911. Cyril was a Stoker in the Royal Australian Navy in WW2 and on 4th May 1942 he was serving on HMAS Yarra when it was sunk by Japanese warships. Out of a crew of 160 plus 40 Dutch rescuees from the Paragi they were carrying, only 34 survived the initial sinking. By the time they were rescued by a Dutch submarine 5 days later only 13 were still alive but Cyril was not one of them. Since the date of his death was given as 9th May it is assumed that he must have survived the initial event. There are another 8 Praters who died in WW1 and two who died in WW2 that are listed in Table 2. They are not included in my wife’s family tree but are distantly related as the name is unique to the one family. They have been included for completeness and because we should remember all those who gave their lives for us. VIVIANS: I have also included a list of Vivians who died in the two World Wars in Table 3. Although it seems very likely that they are related to the Fiddians and so to me, no direct link has yet been found. Rather more surprisingly they are related to my wife, though the link is quite distant, and this would provide another reason for including them. One of them, Lord Worsley, bears the surname Pelham but was married to a Vivian and is a 21st cousin of my wife. This might seem rather a tenuous link but like the Brooksbanks, the Vivians are an interesting family with strong military connections and so I honour their sacrifices here. This brings us to the end of the family names of those that died or were seriously wounded in the two World Wars but this seems to be a good place to recognise others who made a notable contribution. 1. ROYAL ARMY MEDICAL CORPS (RAMC): Seven members of our family have served in the RAMC during the wars and all can be traced back to the Rev Samuel Fiddian, my 2x great-grandfather. Two of his sons, Dr Alexander Paull Fiddian and Judge James Paull Fiddian had sons who were doctors at the time of WW1. The former had a son Dr Arthur Edwin Fiddian born in 1881 who was a Captain and was mainly stationed in Egypt. The latter had three doctor sons who would all serve in the RAMC although he had died when they were children. My 132 Our Family Saga grandfather Dr James Victor Fiddian born in 1887 served as a Captain in France and recounts some of his experiences in his memoirs “Small Town Surgeon”. He tells of treating and rescuing the wounded from no-man’s land at the Battle of the Somme. His twin brother Dr Guy Vasey Fiddian was a Captain in the RAMC from 1917 and served in German South-West Africa. Their younger brother Dr Eric Alfred Fiddian born in 1893 was actually in the Navy during WW1. In 1915 he was a Surgeon Probationer in the RNVR serving on HMS Nereide (a Destroyer). Then in 1916-7 a RN Temporary Surgeon on HMS Glory (a Battleship). By 1918 he was a Surgeon Lieutenant in the Royal Navy. Not to be outdone by his older brothers he then served in the RAMC during WW2, first as a Captain but later promoted to Major, at the No 1 Clearing Station in Italy for which he was awarded a MBE. Finally my aunt, Dr Barbara Hilda Bryson (my grandfather’s eldest daughter) was commissioned in the RAMC as a Lieutenant in 1942. She remained in service until 1951 when she was promoted to Captain. The Rev Samuel Fiddian had a sister Elizabeth Fiddian who married Richard Green and their son Richard Fiddian Green was the first of the Fiddian-Greens. He in turn started another branch of LeedhamGreens who have also produced doctors in the family. The first of these was Dr Charles Albert LeedhamGreen born in 1867 who completed his medical training at two German universities. In fact he was a Civilian Surgeon during the Second Boer War in 1900 but was invalided home after contracting enteric fever. Then in WW1 he was a Major in the RAMC at the First Southern General Hospital in Birmingham. His son Dr John Charles Leedham-Green was born in 1902 and trained as a surgeon. In 1940 he joined the RAMC and was initially based in Scotland, then went to West Africa where he was a Lieutenant Colonel in charge of a Surgical Division. He also went to France, back to England and then ended the war at India Command in Calcutta. 2. SENIOR RANKS: Remarkably we are distantly related to Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig who was a Field Marshal in WW1. He was married to Dorothy Maud Vivian and is a 21st cousin (twice removed) of my wife. It is somewhat controversial to claim him as a relative since he was Commander of the British Expeditionary Force in 1915 and during the Battle of the Somme, so could be claimed responsible for many of the deaths discussed herein. Shortly after victory he was praised as the man who had won the war and was given a huge state funeral in 1928. But after his death other views were more widely discussed and he was even called the “Butcher of the Somme”. Still he was the highest ranking army officer from 1915 to 1918. We can also lay claim to two Generals in the family during WW2. Major-General Ralph Ernest Vivian born in 1891 trained at the RMC Sandhurst and rose to Acting Major during WW1 when he was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Military Cross. During WW2 he served in India, Burma, Ceylon and Iraq, was appointed CBE and rose to the rank of Colonel and Honorary Major-General. The 133 Our Family Saga other Major-General was George Alan Vasey born in 1895, who died in 1945 and was discussed previously. As mentioned above Dr John Charles Leedham-Green was a Lieutenant Colonel in the RAMC during WW2. The only other Lieutenant Colonel we can lay claim to during wartime was Charles Fiddian Fiddian-Green born in 1864. Besides being Managing Director of his own Metal Company he was a Major in the 1st Voluntary Battalion of the South Staffordshire Regiment in 1908. During WW1 in his 50s he was Lt-Col and Deputy Commanding Officer of the 5th Battalion of the same Regiment and was awarded a DSO for his services. There were also several Majors and Captains, many of whom have already been mentioned. Indeed our father Dr James Anthony Fiddian born in 1922 was a Captain/Acting Major during WW2 and served in both North Africa and Burma, but never spoke of his wartime experiences. 3. OTHER NOTABLES: There remain a number of wartime tales about notable individuals or situations that are worth recounting. Although from an earlier time Major Clement Walker-Heneage born in 1831 must surely be worth mentioning. A 21st cousin of my wife through his marriage to Henrietta Vivian, he was an officer in the 8th Hussars and survived the Charge of the Light Brigade in 1854. As a Captain in the Indian Mutiny in 1858 he led a charge with 3 men and routed the enemy, charging through their camp and capturing two heavy guns. For this amazing deed he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Another recipient of the Military Cross was Captain Ronald Frank Strickland Mauduit born in 1894 and educated at Wellington College and Sandhurst. During WW1 he was a Flying Ace in the Royal Flying Corps seconded from the 7th Dragoon Guards, credited with 9 aerial victories. In 1919 he married Irene Brooksbank becoming my 12th cousin (3x removed). He remained in the army and died in 1928 playing polo in India. Percy Arthur Brooksbank, Gentleman born in 1897 and another 12th cousin had many stories to tell. Educated at Eton and Sandhurst, he was so annoyed by delays in getting his commission for WW1 that he ended up serving as a Captain in the French army. In 1917 he married a dubious lady in London who gave him VD on their wedding night. He divorced her after the war and married Annabelle Ralphs a US grocery heiress. Between wars he was a Racing Driver, Polo Player and Arabian Horse Breeder then in WW2 worked for British Intelligence. Perhaps not surprisingly he was dead by 54. Lord John Fletcher Moulton, Baron Moulton of Bank, GBE, KCB, QC, PC, FRAS, FRS born in 1844 is a cousin 3x removed. He had already accomplished much and was a life peer by the outbreak of WW1. In 1914 he was made Chairman of the committee advising on the supply of explosives for the British war effort. Soon he was appointed Director-General of the Explosives 134 Our Family Saga Department, first in the War Office then the Ministry of Munitions. They were highly successful increasing production 20-fold and he received the GBE, KCB and other awards. In 1917 he was ordered to produce poisonous gases but this was against his better judgement. His son Major Hugh Lawrence Fletcher-Moulton born in 1876 served in France during WW1. My great uncle George Edward White was only born in 1899 but was desperate to join the army. In 1915 at the age of only 16 he was a Private in the Cambridgeshire Regiment and saw action in both Belgium and France. Discovered to be underage in 1916 he was then sent home. But in April 1917 as soon as he was 18 he re-enlisted and returned to active service. Roy Alan Birtles born in 1909 a 4th cousin once removed was a Captain and Acting Major in Italy during WW2 and received the MBE for his services. Alison Stirling Tulloch born in 1906 was married to Sir William Brooksbank, an 11th cousin 4x removed. She was a Captain in the Women’s Royal Army Corps during WW2 and was awarded a MBE. Close to home my father’s younger brother Richard Vasey Fiddian born in 1923 was a Captain in the Royal Engineers in the latter years of WW2 and oversaw Japanese POWs helping to rebuild the Burma Road critical for transport in that part of the world. RSM Ernest John Leaford born in 1909 is a 3rd cousin once removed of my wife. In 1940 he was a Staff Sergeant on the HMT Lancastria off the coast of Brittany. The ship was a converted Cunard liner carrying 4000-9000 refugees, troops, RAF personnel and crew. They were being evacuated as part of Operation Ariel two weeks after Dunkirk. The ship was bombed by German Junkers planes and after three direct hits she rolled over and sank in 20 minutes. There were 2477 survivors (including Ernest), meaning between 1500 and 6500 personnel died. This would have been a devastating blow to British moral and so the Government suppressed the story. Although news leaked out about 5 weeks after, the full story never came out. So, it would seem that the family rose to the challenges of the World Wars and generally gave of their best, even giving their lives in many cases. We should be very proud of their efforts and remember the ultimate sacrifice made by those that died. 135 Our Family Saga Table 1 – Our Relatives Who Gave Their Lives in WW1 and WW2 Rank Name Born Died Place of Death Notes Stoker Lieut Capt Cpl Lieut Pte Pte Lieut Cpl Sgt Rev Dr Gunner Lieut Pte Pte Seaman Pte Pte Pte Pte Pte Pte Gdsmn Pte William Henry Brooksbank Hugh Godfrey Brooksbank Stamp Brooksbank John Brinsden Vasey William Ralph O Moulton Albert Brooksbank Frederick George Brooksbank Hugh Freeth G Brooksbank John Brooksbank Rufus Brooksbank James Hope Fiddian Moulton Frederick Stanley Brooksbank William Ronald Corrie John Edward Jordan Percy Herbert Keel Alfred Oswald Peart Harold Brooksbank Leonard Brooksbank George William Brooksbank Gordon Brooksbank Joseph Brooksbank H Brooksbank Lancelot Brooksbank Frank Fiddian 1884 1893 1887 1893 1892 1885 1897 1885 1882 1895 1863 1896 1887 1883 1885 1892 1898 1889 1899 1886 1899 1883 1894 1914 1914 1915 1915 1916 1916 1916 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917 1917 1917 1917 1917 1917 1917 1918 1918 1918 1918 1918 1918 Sheerness London Loos Gallipoli Somme Somme Somme Somme Staffs Normandy At sea Normandy Le Touquet Somme Flanders Irish Sea Flanders Nord, France Nord, France Nord, France Nord, France Salonika Nord, France Flanders HMS Bulwark Wounded at Ypres Hugh’s bro, MIA Buried in Malta Killed in action Died of wounds From Ashton-u-L Killed in action Died of wounds Died of wounds Off Corsica Died of wounds Wounded at Arras Killed in action Killed in action SS Ravensworth From Ashton-u-L Killed in action Killed in action Buried at Arras Killed in action RAMC Killed Nov 2nd Mustard Gas Sgt Sgt Trooper L Cpl Ch Mec Sgt Sgt Pilot-Lt Signalm MajGen Sgt Denis Brooksbank James Moulton Fiddian Alan Brooksbank Herbert Brooksbank Horace Albert Turvey Alfred Clifton Brooksbank Thomas Brooksbank R O D Brooksbank Geoffrey Brooksbank George Alan Vasey Harold Fiddian Green 1911 1911 1919 1897 1900 1922 1905 1922 1923 1895 1911 1941 1942 1942 1942 1942 1943 1944 1944 1945 1945 1945 England MIA Malaya Burma W. Africa England W. Europe Greece W. Europe Cairns Birmingham RAF Vol. Res. Ambon, Indonesia Buried in Singapore King’s Own YLI HMS Phoebe RAF Vol. Res. Buried in Normandy SAAF Buried in Germany Air crash Stalag POW, Gorlitz 136 Our Family Saga Table 2 – My Wife’s Relatives Who Gave Their Lives in WW1 and WW2 Rank Name Born Died Place of Death Notes Pte Pte Rifleman Pte Rifleman Sgt Pte Sgt Gunner Cpl Arthur George Prater Charles Albert Prater Alexander Prater Arthur Prater George Prater John Picton Herbert Prater John Thomas Prater Stephen Prater William Harris Leaford Charles Leaford 1893 1881 1892 1890 1879 1891 1880 1891 1895 1892 1914 1914 1916 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917 1917 1918 Nord North France Loos Somme Ypres Nord, France Salonika Flanders Ypres Salonika Killed in action Killed in action Killed in action Died of wounds Killed in action Killed in action Killed in action Killed in action Died of wounds Dysentery Plumber Stoker Stoker Pte Stanley Frederick Prater Charles Victor James Leaford Cyril Francis Prater Victor George Prater 1917 1917 1905 1919 1941 1942 1942 1943 Mediterranean Mediterranean SE Asia Italy HMS Galatea HMS Arethusa HMS Yarra Buried at Bari 137 Our Family Saga Table 3 - Vivians Who Gave Their Lives in WW1 and WW2 Rank Name Born Died Place of Death Notes A Seaman Lieut Capt Sapper Lieut Lt Col Rifleman Pte Lieut Capt Ldg Telegr Capt Sapper Pte Pte Stoker Pte Bombardier Driver Stoker Francis Alfred Vivian Charles Sackville A Pelham William Geoffrey Vyvyan George Alfred Vivian Walter Drummond Vyvyan Charles Augustus Vivian Ernest Ralph Vivian Frederick Charles Vivian Gilbert Vivian Richard Trevor Vivian Reginald Claude Vivian Beresford Haughton Vyvyan Reginald Vivian Wilfred Bernard Vivian William Bassett Vivian Claude Vivian Albert Henry Vivian Frank Vivian Percy Vivian William John Vivian 1894 1887 1876 NZ 1887 1874 1887 1893 1892 1889 1896 1893 1883 1896 1898 1892 1898 1879 1895 1880 1914 1914 1914 1915 1915 1915 1916 1916 1916 1916 1916 1917 1917 1917 1917 1918 1918 1918 1918 1918 HMS Amphion Ypres Ypres Egypt St Eloi, Belgium Ypres Somme Nord, France Calais Basra, Iraq HMS Hampshire Flanders Gaza Flanders Bugle, Cornwall HMS Tetrarch Nord, France Nord, France Somme HMS Eglantine Hit mines Lord Worsley Career soldier Pneumonia Career soldier Career soldier Killed in action Died of wounds Died of wounds RAMC Ship sunk Died of wounds Malaria Killed in action At home Died of disease Killed in action Died of wounds Killed in action Died of disease Gunner A Seaman Pte Pte A Seaman Sgt Sgt Lieut Steward Pilot-F.O. Pte Capt Fusilier Capt Capt Bombardier Cpl Pilot Officer Lieut Capt Alan Joseph Vivian Henry Warren Vivian Edwin Wilfred Vivian Harry Nicholas Vivian Henry Robert Dunne Vivian Keith Bridgland Vivian Anthony William Vivian Arnold Guy Vivian Byron Thomas Vivian Sidney Richard Vivian Richard Henry Vivian Guy Joseph Vivian Kenneth Charles S Vivian William Graham Vivian Claude Panton Vivian Francis Alexander Vivian John Frank Vivian Jack Kenneth Vivian Graham St Aubyn Vivian Frank Trevor Vivian 1921 1917 1908 1920 1918 1920 1921 1915 1913 1917 1920 1911 1921 1914 1920 1915 1919 1922 1921 1941 1941 1942 1942 1942 1942 1942 1943 1943 1943 1943 1943 1943 1943 1944 1944 1944 1944 1944 1946 Greece HMS Neptune Egypt Egypt HMAS Perth Australia Malta Padua, Italy SS Iron Knight Germany Australia Middlesex Tunisia Tunisia Normandy Normandy Normandy Calais Ravenna, Italy Andover Royal Artillery Hit mines Aussie Aussie Sunk by Japanese RAAF, accident RAF Gren. Guards Torpedoed RAF Unknown Died of wounds Killed in action Killed in action Royal Artillery Royal Artillery Killed in action RCAF Royal Engineers Air crash 138 Our Family Saga Part 8: Family Miscellany Chapter 1 - Fiddians who went to Australia Over the past 150 years a number of members of the Fiddian family have chosen to move to Australia and set up home there. Interestingly, the 30 or so individuals that made the journey all come from just two branches of the family. In most cases a male Fiddian emigrated with his wife and children, although they did not always travel together. As a result a sizeable proportion of the Fiddian family now call Australia home. The first immigrant was Samuel Fiddian, born in 1842 who permanently settled in Australia in 1869. He is the great, great-uncle of the most recent immigrant, my brother William Fiddian who arrived with his family in 2004. Apart from Samuel’s sister Mary Paull Fiddian all the other Fiddians who settled in Australia in the intervening years come from another branch of the family. In overall chronological order we have: Samuel Fiddian – son of the Rev Samuel Fiddian and Grace Paull Burall he had spent 3 years in Tasmania between matriculation and attending St John’s College Cambridge. Leaving Cambridge with First Class Honours in Mathematics (Wrangler) he returned to Australia in 1869 and held a number of teaching posts. From 1872 to 1903 he was Proprietor and Headmaster of Creswick Grammar School. He was also a Wesleyan Lay Preacher and Circuit Steward. He married Charlotte Sophia Robin in 1872 at Adelaide and they had several children. Of these only 3 sons survived, James Rowland Fiddian born in 1873, Samuel Fiddian born in 1877 and William de Jersey Fiddian born in 1878, all at Creswick, Victoria. James had only one son who survived childhood, James Moulton Fiddian born in 1911 at Creswick who was killed in Indonesia during WW2, a single grandson and one great-grandson. William had two surviving daughters but no sons. On the other hand Samuel junior had 7 children, 5 sons and two daughters. Between them the sons have in turn produced 9 sons and 6 daughters and similar numbers of grandchildren. Mary Paull Fiddian – Samuel’s eldest sister, born in 1836 was a Teacher and followed her younger brother to Australia in about 1870. I can find no evidence that she ever married. William Charles Angliss – born in 1865 at Dudley in Worcestershire to Eliza Fiddian and William Angliss, he had learnt the butcher’s trade at his uncle’s in London as a boy. In 1881 he emigrated, going 139 Our Family Saga first to New York, then Queensland in 1884, before settling in Melbourne in 1886. He would go on to become a very successful businessman, politician and philanthropist but by 1900 was just getting started. Jenny Sophia Fiddian – younger sister of Harry and Samuel Theseus Fiddian (below) she was born in 1884 at Kings Norton, Worcestershire. Her mother had died when she was only 6 and her father had remarried later that year, having 9 more children in the next 9 years. Perhaps influenced by the success of her cousin William Angliss junior she travelled to Sydney in 1900, unaccompanied and unassisted aged only 16. In 1905 she went to New Zealand but there the track goes cold. Henry (Harry) Douglas Fiddian – born in 1868 at Kings Norton in Worcestershire to Arthur Fiddian and Sarah Ann Round, he was the nephew of Eliza Fiddian. He had worked as a general Labourer in England and perhaps inspired by the success of his cousin William Angliss junior overseas he left for Australia with his wife, arriving there in January 1901. Initially he worked as a Police Officer, then later as a Tallow Man and Foreman. Their only child was a daughter. Eliza Fiddian – born in 1843 at Old Swinford in Worcestershire to Richard Fiddian and Sarah Benbow, she married William Angliss in 1862 at Dudley and they had 11 children, losing one in childhood. William Angliss had been a Tailor but in 1903 aged 69 he went to Australia to join his son Sir William Charles Angliss taking two daughters with him. In 1904 Eliza and two more daughters followed him. Eventually all 10 of their children ended up in Australia, with several sons working for William Angliss junior. The latter’s refrigerated meat business would eventually make him a millionaire (and in 1950 supposedly Australia’s wealthiest person) and gain him his knighthood. Samuel Theseus Fiddian – born in 1865 at Rowley in Staffordshire he was the elder brother of Harry Fiddian. In the 1890s he was a volunteer Sergeant in Ireland and Ceylon, then in 1907 he followed his younger brother and went to Australia taking his wife and a daughter with him. He got work as a Freezing Hand (removing the sheep’s skin from its carcass whole) but died in a car accident in 1913. Percival Douglas Fiddian - born in Columbo, Ceylon in 1894 he was the son of Samuel Theseus Fiddian and followed his father to Australia. By 1914 he was a Lance Sergeant serving in the ANZAC Forces during WW1. He married Emmie Newton in 1914 and they had two sons and two daughters. The eldest son Douglas James Fiddian born in 1920 did not appear to have any children, but their other son Thomas Newton Fiddian born in 1933 had two sons and 3 daughters. Between them his children have produced 15 grandchildren for Thomas. Samuel Arthur Fiddian – elder brother of Percival Douglas Fiddian he was born in 1890 at Fermoy in Cork, Ireland. In England he was a Butcher’s Labourer and Storeman before the war, then served in the Royal Field Artillery during WW1. He joined his family in Australia after the war and in 1919 married Florence Lecky Witheridge at Footscray, Victoria. They had a son William Samuel Fiddian born in 1920 at Footscray who in turn had a daughter. 140 Our Family Saga Richard Fiddian – nephew of Eliza Fiddian (above) and cousin of Harry and Samuel Theseus Fiddian, he was born in 1869 at Rowley Regis, Staffordshire. In 1893 he had gone to Wellington, New Zealand but later returned to England. In 1922 he took a ship to Australia and was followed the next year by his wife and daughter. Richard Benbow John – nephew of Richard Fiddian (his mother being Lottie Adams Fiddian, sister to Richard) he was born in 1891 at Cradley Heath, Staffordshire. He was a Lance Bombardier in the Royal Artillery during WW1 and sometime between 1920 and 1937 he arrived in Australia. He worked as a Labourer for many years and then a Brick Works Manager. William ‘Bill’ Graham Fiddian – born in 1960 at Hyde in Cheshire, the great great-nephew of Samuel Fiddian, who first went to Australia in 1869, Bill followed his ancestor but by plane. He arrived in Perth, WA on Australia Day in 2004 with his wife and 3 children, one of whom another Samuel (Sam) has already produced a grandson. Bill worked as a Quantity Surveyor and Director in the Perth area before retiring to Margaret River in 2014. Over a period of only about 50 years from 1869 the bulk of the Fiddian family who migrated to Australia made their move. Most of them settled in and around Melbourne though the two branches of the family would remain quite separate. I remember going to Melbourne for the first time about 30 years ago and having heard something of my Australian cousins looked up our family name in the phonebook. I was amazed to find as many as 19 entries for adult Fiddians living in the area. As I hadn’t wished to spoil the flow when dealing with the family members who actually went to Australia as opposed to being born there I will return to Samuel Fiddian’s descendants. His eldest son the Rev James Rowland Fiddian was a Presbyterian Minister who had two sons and two daughters, the oldest son dying within a few days of birth. His surviving son Sergeant James Moulton Fiddian who died in WW2 also had a son Richard Moulton Fiddian who became a Civil Engineer. Richard in turn had two daughters and a son Richard James Fiddian. As the latter individuals are all alive I will refrain from giving further details. Samuel’s third surviving son William de Jersey Fiddian was a Bank Manager and he had a son and 3 daughters, but the son and a daughter died at birth. The final surviving son of Samuel Fiddian was his namesake Samuel Fiddian. Samuel junior was an Indentor and Manufacturer’s Agent and it appears he had an illegitimate child, Raymond Ward, just before marrying his cousin Margaret Nellie Robin in 1906. They had 7 children, 5 sons and two daughters, and numerous grandchildren. The oldest son Ian Paull Fiddian was born in 1909 and has a middle name that comes from his greatgrandmother Grace Burall Paull. Like Moulton, Paull is another family name associated with the Fiddian family that has been used as a middle name. Indeed it was my grandmother’s wish that my middle name would be Paull, but my mother (a Teacher) stood her ground and I lost an ‘l’. Ian Paull trained as a 141 Our Family Saga Barrister, was Manager of two Melbourne Orchestras, Concert Manager for ABC and Secretary of the Melbourne University Conservatorium of Music. He also spent 10 years from 1942 as a commissioned officer in the Australian Military Forces. In 1935 he married Elizabeth Mary Sweetman and they had 3 sons, Ian Tristan Samuel Fiddian born in 1936, David Edward Fiddian and Geoffrey Paull Fiddian. Between them the sons produced 7 children, 5 sons and two daughters. The next of Samuel’s children was Hubert de Jersey born in 1911 who also had 3 children, Leila Joy Fiddian, Marcus Hugh Fiddian and Juliet Valda Fiddian. Samuel’s third son was Basil Fiddian born in 1912 who had 4 sons, Roger Austin Fiddian born in 1943, Andrew Fiddian born in 1946, Malcolm Fiddian born in 1949 and Peter Fiddian born in 1952 who died in 2014. The first 3 of Basil’s sons have produced 6 children, 4 sons and two daughters. The next of Samuel’s sons was Geoffrey Lynn Fiddian born in 1916 who had a son Geoffrey Angus Fiddian and a daughter, but I don’t know if they in turn had any children. Samuel’s final son was William Robin Fiddian born in 1923 who had 3 daughters, Jennifer Ruth Fiddian born in 1958, Margaret Carolyn Fiddian and Susan Fiddian. Samuel also had two daughters Margaret Shirley Fiddian born in 1915 and Ruth Fiddian born in 1921. Since records in Australia are quite limited I have not been able to include most of the latest generation of Fiddians to have been born there. Nevertheless, the website contains 65 Fiddians born in Australia and more than 30 Fiddians (including spouses and children of female Fiddians) who have gone there to live, so the likely total of our Australian cousins over time must be more than 100. I also estimate that over 30% of the worldwide Fiddian family now call Australia home. Ode to Antipodean Fiddians There once was a Samuel Fiddian, Who hankered to be Australian, He went there by water, Had five sons and a daughter, Now our cousins are Antipodean. 142 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 - Fiddian as a Given Name Having already documented the Fiddian-Green family (see ‘Far-flung Fiddian-Greens’) there are at least 57 more occasions where Fiddian has been used as a given name. Almost all of these have occurred following the marriage of a female Fiddian, but not always in the next generation of children. Most of the individuals are male (49) and over half (37) are multiple instances in different branches of the family. A few may be errors where the name was wrongly written down or transcribed and for a few others there was only a single record and no corroboration. Beginning with the better substantiated cases and by branch of the family we have: 1. MOULTON (8) – Although we have dealt with the Moulton family elsewhere it is worth reviewing the relevant members here. Catherine Fiddian married the Rev James Egan Moulton in 1833 at Birmingham. Their eldest son was the Rev Dr William Fiddian Moulton born in 1835 at Leek, Staffordshire. His two sons were the Rev Prof Dr James Hope Fiddian Moulton born in 1863 at Richmond, Surrey and the Rev Prof William Fiddian Moulton born in 1866 at Westcott, Surrey. The latter had a son Raymond Fiddian Moulton born in 1905 at Birkenhead, Cheshire but he died a few weeks after birth. James Hope Fiddian Moulton had a son the Rev Prof Dr Harold Keeling Moulton who was a Methodist Missionary in India and two of his four daughters born in India were Elspeth Fiddian Moulton born in 1939 and Hilary Fiddian Moulton born in 1942, both at Bangalore. Hilary married Christopher Warman in 1962 and they had a son Guy Fiddian Warman the following year. Another son of James Egan Moulton and Catherine Fiddian was the Rev Dr James Egan Moulton who became a Methodist Missionary in Australia and Tonga. His grandson was Harold Fiddian Moulton born in 1907 at Marrickville, NSW Australia. 2. BIRTLES (7) – Florence Fiddian married Robert Birtles in 1869 at Kings Norton, Worcestershire and they had a son George Frederick Birtles born in 1876 who had a son Roy Alan Birtles born in 1909 both at Kings Norton. The latter had two sons, Anthony Fiddian Birtles born in 1931 and John Fiddian Birtles born in 1936 both at Birmingham. Anthony had a son Simon Fiddian Birtles born 1960 at Stratford-upon-Avon whilst his brother John had four sons from two marriages. These were Charles Fiddian Birtles born in 1964 and Henry Fiddian Birtles born in 1966 both at Oxford plus Sam Fiddian Birtles born in 1986 and William Rufus Fiddian Birtles born in 1988 both at Swindon, Wiltshire. 143 Our Family Saga 3. REDDAWAY (4) – Catherine Fiddian married the Rev John Colwill Reddaway in 1868 and they had a son William Fiddian Reddaway born in 1872 at Middleton, Lancashire. His eldest son was Major Thomas Fiddian Reddaway born in 1908 at Chesterton, Cambridge who had a son Edgar James Fiddian Reddaway born in 1945 at Hambledon, Surrey. William also had a great grandson Andrew Fiddian Colyer born in 1975 at Birmingham via his daughter Ruth Reddaway. 4. PEART (3) – Mary Fiddian married Richard Peart in 1816 at Birmingham and they had a son the Rev William Fiddian Peart born in 1822 at Birmingham. He had a son the Rev Fiddian Edward Peart born in 1861 at Shepton Mallet, Somerset who in turn had a son, John Fiddian Peart born in 1899 at Beer Crocombe, Somerset. John was a career soldier and never married. 5. JONES (3) – Sarah Fiddian married Edward Jones in 1832 at Aston, Warwickshire and they had a son Edward Fiddian Jones born in 1833 at Birmingham. The latter Edward had a son Charles Fiddian Jones born in 1864 at Birmingham. The younger son of Sarah Fiddian and Edward Jones was William Parkes Jones who had a son Harry Fiddian Jones, who was also born in 1864 at Birmingham. 6. COATES (2) – Sarah Fiddian married James Coates in 1804 at Old Swinford, Worcestershire and they had a son William Fiddian Coates born in 1808 at Old Swinford. William in turn had a son James Fiddian Coates born in 1841 at Dudley, Staffordshire. 7. GREEN (2) – Caroline Grace Fiddian married James Green in 1867 at Old Swinford, Worcestershire and they had a son Samuel Fiddian Green born in 1872 at Stourbridge, Worcestershire (not the same family as the Fiddian-Greens). They also had a son Harold Acton Green who in turn had a son Sergeant Harold Fiddian Green born in 1911 at Southam, Warwickshire. This latter Harold was a POW at Stalag VIIIA in Gorlitz, Germany during WW2 and died in Birmingham shortly after his return to England at the end of the war. 8. MILLER (2) – Frances Ann Fiddian married William Robert Miller in 1905 at Birmingham and they had a son Robert Fiddian Miller born in 1910 at Handsworth, Staffordshire. One of the latter’s children was a son Roger Fiddian Miller born in 1943 at Birmingham. 144 Our Family Saga 9. LACON (2) - Charles Fiddian Lacon was born in 1873 at Penn Fields, Staffordshire son of Eliza Fiddian and Edward Lacon. Charles Fiddian Proudman was born in 1909 at Wolverhampton, Staffordshire grandson of Eliza Fiddian and Edward Lacon via their daughter Mary Lacon. 10. FIDDIAN-GREEN (2) – Charles Fiddian Fiddian-Green born in 1864 and his son Charles Anderson Fiddian Fiddian-Green born in 1898, both at Handsworth in Staffordshire ended up with two Fiddians in their names after Charles senior changed their surname by Deed Poll. 11. GRIMM (2) – Two children of Joanna Victoria Fiddian (my niece) and Zachary Joseph Grimm are Caspar James Fiddian Grimm (my great nephew) born in 2012 and Penelope Vera Fiddian Grimm (my great niece) born in 2015, both at London. The remaining family members are all single instances with Fiddian as a given name: Frances Fiddian Atkinson born in 1890 at Stambermill, Worcestershire daughter of Fanny Fiddian and Frederick Arthur Atkinson. Richard Fiddian Bird born in 1849 at Lye in Worcestershire, son of Eliza Fiddian and Joseph Bird. Mark Fiddian Bryson (my cousin) born in 1954 at Manchester, son of Dr Barbara Hilda Fiddian and Joseph Bernard Bryson. Jane Fiddian Forrester born in 1809 at Halesowen, Worcestershire and daughter of Jane Fiddian and Joseph Forrester. Elizabeth Fiddian Hunstone born in 1843 at Tipton, Staffordshire grandson of Elizabeth Fiddian and James Hunstone. William Francis Fiddian Law born in 1958 at Kidderminster, Worcestershire son of Patricia Mary Fiddian and Francis John Reginald Law. Arthur Fiddian Lynall born in 1857 at Digbeth, Birmingham son of Sarah Fiddian and William Sylvester Lynall. Thomas Fiddian Male born in 1804 at Halesowen, Worcestershire son of Phoebe Fiddian and Thomas Male. Charles Fiddian Webster born in 1806 at Tamworth, Staffordshire son of Posthuma Fiddian and Samuel Webster. The Rev Leslie Victor George Fiddian Lean born in 1898 at Kensington, London son of Victor Cumming Lean and Clara Jean Fiddian. Leslie Edward Fiddian Young born at Manchester in 1926, his grandmother was Keturah Bertha Fiddian who married who married William Arthur Young in 1896. 145 Our Family Saga The above 48 examples are all clearly members of the extended Fiddian family and like the 38 Fiddian-Greens were given the middle name Fiddian to help preserve it. A number of common features can be seen amongst many of those distinguished by this middle name. Almost all of them were born in Birmingham or the surrounding Midlands, many of them were born in the 19th century or shortly afterwards and most of them were the children of a female Fiddian. After one or more generations the use of the name generally became lost within each branch. There remain a number of instances where individuals with Fiddian as a middle, or even first name are either unrelated to the Fiddian family or a link cannot be established. An interesting example of the former took some time to unravel but can now be seen to make perfect sense. In 1842 the ‘Fiddian Foundry’ which had been established by William Fiddian at Great Hampton Street, Birmingham was sold to James Barwell by William’s son the Rev Samuel Fiddian on his father’s death. James Barwell grew the business so that by 1881 he was employing 110 hands (63 men, 43 boys, 3 girls and a woman) but they kept the name Fiddian as a trademark and many items such as brass bells were inscribed with ‘Fiddian’. Some members of the Barwell family were given the middle name Fiddian as a result though I have identified only two so far: Bryan Fiddian Barwell born in 1920 at Kings Norton, Worcestershire was the great grandson of James Barwell and Sarah Ann Palmer. James died in 1898 and left £35k in his will. His son Edward (one of 11 children) took over the business and died in 1918 leaving £26k in his will. His son Cecil Edward Barwell took over the business but either sold or dissolved it in 1920. His son Bryan died in 1991 at Birmingham. John Charles Fiddian Barwell, OBE born in 1968 at Birmingham is the great-great grandson of James Barwell. The remaining instances of Fiddian as a first or middle name are as follows: 1. Lily Fiddian Ashwin born in 1861 at Birmingham – no connection found. 2. Dorothy Fiddian Dixon born in 1909 who became Dorothy Hay-Bolton, leaving a Charitable Trust in her name after her death in 1994. Her link to the Fiddian family remains a mystery. 3. Henry Fiddian Hayward born around 1835 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire to William Hayward and Catharine. 4. John Fiddian Taylor born in 1854 at Birmingham and died in 1855 at Birmingham. 5. Thomas Fiddian Napkin recorded once but probably Thomas Phethean Napkin born 1881 at Bolton, Lancashire to Thomas Napkin and Emma Phethean. 6. Fiddian Gidoy married in 1662 at Lea Marston, Warwickshire to Marry Greenwood – no other information. 7. Fiddian Ruston married Harriet Handy in 1833 at Birmingham – no other information. 146 Our Family Saga Again Birmingham and the Midlands provide a common theme for many of these but I cannot say if any of them are related to the Fiddian family. Then it began to dawn on me that there was a common theme for most of the connected individuals from the Midlands. At first it appeared that the William Fiddian born in 1772 at Halesowen who developed the Fiddian Foundry in Birmingham was the common factor, and indeed he led to many of them including the 38 Fiddian-Greens. However, going back another generation we find William’s father William Fiddian born in 1743 at Halesowen and a brother Richard Fiddian born in 1746. From these two we can in fact trace all of the directly connected family members with Fiddian as a given name including the Fiddian-Greens. So we have a total of 86 individuals with Fiddian in front of their surname who are direct ancestors of these two men, including two who had Fiddian twice and the 4 more distant descendants born after 1950. To illustrate how these 86 individuals are connected we need to look at the family tree. You can view this by finding Thomas Fiddian born in 1711 on the website and using the descendants tab but I will also describe it here. Thomas had 7 children but 4 of these died in childhood leaving 3 sons, William born in 1743, Richard born in 1746 and Barzillai born in 1755. I can find no evidence that Barzillai Fiddian ever had children so that leaves only William and Richard who had descendants. Incidentally their father Thomas lived until the ripe old age of 90 but would still have died before the Fiddian given-naming began. William married in 1767 and Richard in 1769 and they had 6 and 8 children respectively. William’s eldest son Thomas Fiddian born in 1768 was described as a Gentleman in 1849 suggesting he was well-to-do either from inheritance or acquisition. He had children but Fiddian as a middle name was only used once in his offspring. His sister Ann Fiddian born in 1770 never married. The remaining 4 of William’s children all had descendants with the middle name of Fiddian. So, the 5 children of William who themselves had children all had descendants as follows: 1. Thomas Fiddian (born 1768) had a son Thomas Bowyer Fiddian, Esq who had a son Thomas Fiddian who had three daughters. The youngest of these, Clara Jean Fiddian married Victor Cumming Lean. 2. William Fiddian (born 1772); 5 of his children either had children with Fiddian as a given name and/or had descendants who did so. They were: Mary Fiddian born in 1796 who married Richard Peart, Elizabeth Fiddian born in 1801who married Rev Richard Green, Catherine Fiddian born in 1802 who married Rev James Egan Moulton, Sarah Fiddian born in 1806 who married Edward Jones, Rev Samuel Fiddian born in 1804 who had a daughter Catherine Fiddian born in 1844 who married the Rev John Colwill Reddaway. Later descendants of his are Mark Fiddian Bryson, Caspar James Fiddian Grimm and Penelope Vera Fiddian Grimm. 147 Our Family Saga 3. Sarah Fiddian (born in 1774) married James Coates. 4. Charles Fiddian (born in 1776) had a son George Fiddian born in 1799 who had a daughter Sarah Fiddian born in 1830 who married William Sylvester Lynall. He also had a son Frederick William Fiddian born in 1810 who had a daughter Florence Fiddian born in 1847 who married Richard Birtles. Yet another son of Charles Fiddian was Thomas Henry Fiddian, Gentleman born in 1812 who had a daughter Florence Ann Fiddian born in 1866 who married William Robert Miller. 5. Posthuma Fiddian (born in 1780) married Samuel Webster. Returning to Richard Fiddian born in 1746, he had 5 children who had descendants with Fiddian as a given name as follows: 1. Benjamin Fiddian (born in 1769) had a son Benjamin Fiddian born in 1806 who had a daughter Caroline Grace Fiddian born in 1840 who married James Green. Two later descendants of the latter Benjamin (via a third Benjamin Fiddian born in 1842) were Leslie Edward Fiddian Young and William Francis Fiddian Law. 2. Jane Fiddian (born in 1770) married Joseph Forrester. 3. Phoebe Fiddian (born in 1772) married Thomas Male. 4. Elizabeth Fiddian (born in 1775) married James Hunstone. 5. Richard Fiddian (born in 1779) had 3 offspring with children and/or descendants with Fiddian as a given name: Charles Fiddian born in 1809 who had a daughter Eliza Fiddian born in 1834 who married Edward Lacon. Their daughter Mary Lacon born in 1876 married Thomas George Proudman. Eliza Fiddian born in 1814 who married Joseph Bird. William Fiddian born in 1816 who had a daughter Fanny Fiddian born in 1865 who married Frederick Arthur Atkinson. This completes the ancestry for all 86 of the individuals with Fiddian as a given name who can be traced back to the two Fiddian brothers, William and Richard from Halesowen. We may never know if this was a carefully orchestrated plan or merely that the family in the 19th century were rather happy to perpetuate their unusual name of Fiddian. 148 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 - Christian Names used by Fiddians The top ten Christian names for 236 males The top ten Christian names for 234 females who were born as Fiddians are: who were born as Fiddians are: 1. William 2. Thomas 3. Richard 4. James 5. John 6. Samuel 7. Charles 8. Henry 9. Paul(l) 10. Arthur 1. Ann* (28) 2. Mary (25) 3. Elizabeth* (23) 4. Sarah (20) 5. Jane (9) 6. Margaret (8) 7. Susan (8) 8. Alice (7) 9. Emily (7) 10. Catherine* (6) (38) (27) (19) (18) (18) (18) (12) (12) (12) (10) * including variants and diminutives Some other miscellany, namely maximum longevity in the main branches of the family: Fiddian – 99 years (Hilda Grace Fiddian) White – 99 years (Alice Edith White) Roberts – 90 years (James Roberts) Brooksbank – 101 years (Ina Muriel Brooksbank) 149 Our Family Saga Chapter 4 - Commonest Fiddian Occupations Perhaps the most striking finding is just how many different jobs the Fiddian family have had a go at, 105 and counting so far. It is also important to note that we don’t have the information for very many Fiddians who died before the census began in 1841 or for all the younger family members. In addition it is not easy to interrogate the database for spouses, so this review really only includes those born as Fiddians rather than the extended family. Still there are data for 259 of the 470 Fiddians (55%) on my website, so we should be able to get an idea of any major trends. The commonest single occupation was Teacher (16), mainly involving women to which we could add Governess (5), though it should be noted that women would generally only work before marriage until well into the 20th century. There was also Clerk (16) mainly male, although for many of these it was not a long term occupation but rather a first job during adolescence or young adulthood. The second commonest job of girls and women was Domestic Servant (13) and for men it was Doctor (13, plus one woman). There have been at least 23 male Fiddians who have worked with metal, but only two of these were actually Brass Founders and the others were Metal Workers (6), Metal Merchants (4), Spade Manufacturers (3), Ironmongers (2), Nail Makers (2), Gunsmith (1), Silversmith (1), Whitesmith/Tinsmith (1) and Sculptor (1). Another rather mixed bag of occupations was Assistant (12), of which two thirds were young women or girls. For men there was Labourer (7) of which most were general labourers and two worked for Merchants, but perhaps most surprisingly there have been no confirmed Agricultural Labourers. There have as well been several Wine or other Merchants (8), Shopkeepers (8), Accountants (8), Yeomen (7), Saddlers (6), and Stock-takers (5). But we also have a number of Fiddians who were denoted as Gentlemen (7), the lowest rank of English gentry, standing below Esquire and above Yeoman, and usually meaning a well-educated man of good family who did not need to work for a living. There have also been Fiddian Esquires (2), a rank just below that of Knight. Perhaps more surprisingly there have been a number of Priests (4), Church Wardens (8) and Parish Clerks (2) as well as Methodist Circuit Stewards (2) and a Registrar (1). Finally we have had Engineers (5), Civil Servants (4), Lawyers (3) and Judges (2) on the one hand, Postmasters/Postmistresses (4), Tradesmen (Plumbers [3], Painters/Decorators [3] and Joiners [2]) and Craftswomen (Dressmakers [2], Seamstresses [2] and Upholsterer [1]) on the other. That still leaves around 100 miscellaneous jobs that were mostly found on only one occasion but less often on two or more instances. These latter include Birmingham Street Act Commissioners (3), Shoemakers (3), Soldiers (3), 150 Our Family Saga Surveyors (3), Agents (3), Dealers (2), Foremen (2), Station Masters (2), Printers (2), Laundresses (2), Insurance Brokers (2), Bank Managers (2), Authors (2), Photographers (2), Interior Designers (2), IT Specialists (2), Managing Directors (2), Professors (2) and Amateur Golfers (2). A list of the single instances of occupations is given as an addendum for completeness. This reinforces the disparate nature of work that we Fiddians have been involved in over the years and is in striking contrast to other connected families where there are generally themes running down through the generations. Remarkably we know quite a lot about the early Fiddians in the 16th and 17th centuries who were Yeomen Farmers for at least four generations before their proximity to the Black Country and the development of Nail Making in the area seems to have led at least some of the family into this industry. Certainly from the 18th century onwards several Fiddians were Metal Workers of one sort or another, some very successfully. Today the Midlands’ Fiddian family are best known for Brass Founding but only a small number of our ancestors actually worked in this industry. The only other notable occupation for 18th and 19th century male Fiddians was Saddler and/or Harness Maker, although the finding of several Fiddian Gentlemen and Esquires around the same time period does indicate that the family were doing pretty well for themselves. It was somewhat later in the 19 th and 20th centuries that the family started taking to medicine and surgery as a vocation for men. Females, particularly from large and/or less well-off families would often need to seek employment until they married and so many of these became Domestic Servants or Assistants. Young women from the somewhat more successful families would generally turn to Teaching, either at schools or at home (as Governesses). We can probably conclude that the Fiddian family has overall been quite successful over the centuries not just because of the occupations discussed but also since there are very few ancestors who had to engage in the most gruelling manual labour. In addition there were no spells in the Poorhouse or Workhouse and the majority of children were schooled at least until 11 or 12. The sending of young men to University did not generally start before the second half of the 19th century and wasn’t common until the 20th century. Cambridge was generally preferred to Oxford when a Russell Group University was chosen. The remaining issue is the reason for the prominence of the family in the 18th century which seems to start from Thomas Fiddian born in 1711. His father, another Thomas Fiddian, born in 1677 was a Yeoman and it is likely that his ancestors going back to John Fiddian born in 1572 were also Yeomen. As a Yeoman was a member of a social class who held and cultivated a small landed estate (traditionally of at least 100 acres), he would usually have been a freehold farmer. But given that Northfield was also one of the nail making centres of the area it is quite likely that the family became involved in this industry at some point. This may have started as a means of supplementing their income when farming was difficult but at some point they probably took on a more managerial role. 151 Our Family Saga Thomas senior died in 1721 when his children were quite young, and his oldest son Richard was apprenticed to be a Gunsmith the year after his father’s death. Thomas junior was only 10 when his father died but somehow he succeeded in heading up a notable dynasty. As both Richard and Thomas were too young to inherit their father’s farm then the land and buildings may well have been sold and the money held for the boys until they reached their majority. Richard became a Gunsmith using his inheritance to set up the business but as he had no family his estate probably came to Thomas in due course. In the meantime Thomas moved to the market town of Halesowen probably using his money to set up a Nail Manufacturing business there. Thomas’ two surviving older sons William and Richard were owners of Public Houses at the ages of 25 and 23, strongly suggesting that they too were already Nail Masters. The brothers were not only responsible for all the Gentlemen and Esquires who graced the family but also started the trend to use Fiddian as a second name. It is their father Thomas Fiddian who heads up the Fiddian ‘River Chart’ and his eldest son William Fiddian born in 1743 who produced the most impressive offspring. William’s eldest son Thomas was a Gent and never really worked, whilst his eldest son another Thomas was a Wine Merchant, Metal Dealer and Esquire. William’s second son, another William Fiddian was the well-known Brass Founder who created the Fiddian Foundry and his third son was Charles Fiddian, Esq another very successful businessman. So, much of the character and the connections of our family emanate from these notable fellows. MISCELLANEOUS OCCUPATIONS: Agricultural Scientist Architect Artist Auctioneer Author Bank Officer Barge Foreman Blind Maker Brush Maker Buyer Cashier Civil Engineer Coal Merchant Coffin Maker Counsellor Designer Engine Maker Event Organiser Freezing Hand Gardener Gas Inspector Groom Huckster Indentor Jewellery Case Maker Journalist Manufacturer Marine Engineer Miner MoD Project Manager Motor Tyre Repairer Musician Nurse Policeman 152 Proprietor Publican Researcher Salesman Secretary Sewing Machine Seller Silversmith Social worker Statistician Telecommunications Tracer Trimmer (Coach/Motor) Watchman Wheatbroker White Goods Maker Our Family Saga Chapter 5 - Religion in our Extended Family When looking at occupations amongst the extended family I was struck by the number of Priests we have had over the years, particularly as we do not appear to be a very religious clan nowadays. These have tended to be clustered in certain branches of the family whilst other branches do not contain any Priests. Overall I believe the incidence to be somewhat greater than in the general population and this may reflect the social standing of many of our ancestors. Of course it is impossible to detail the individual beliefs of our family members but perhaps looking at the clergy in our midst will tell us something of our collective faith over the years. FIDDIANS (16): Our earliest Fiddian ancestor, my 10x great-grandfather the Rev William Fiddian born in 1530 was probably an Anglican Priest but was referred to as a Cleric in Coleshill, Warwickshire. It was then many years before the Rev Samuel Fiddian born in 1804, my 2x great-grandfather was ordained as a Wesleyan Methodist Minister and travelled around England. Another Fiddian to become a Priest was the Rev James Rowland Fiddian born in 1873 at Creswick, Victoria, Australia, my cousin twice removed, who was a Presbyterian Minister (though he almost became a Methodist). Finally, and very recently the Rev Benjamin Nicholas Fiddian was ordained as an Evangelist in 2015 at Newport in Wales. Another 12 Priests are related to us through marriage or are sons of female Fiddians, and 8 of these are closely connected to the Rev Samuel Fiddian above. One of Samuel’s sisters, Mary Fiddian married Richard Peart and two of their sons became Priests. The first of these was the Rev William Fiddian Peart born in 1822 who was a Church of England Priest, as was his son the Rev Fiddian Edward Peart born in 1861. The second son was the Rev Richard Peart born in 1832 who was a Methodist Minister. Another sister of Samuel, Elizabeth Fiddian married Richard Green and their son was the Rev Richard FiddianGreen born in 1829, another Methodist. He married Ann Brandreth who was the daughter of the Rev John Brandreth born in 1798, also a Wesleyan. Samuel’s son Samuel who went to Australia married Charlotte Sophia Robin whose grandfather was the Rev Thomas Rowland, a Wesleyan born in 1796. Two of Samuel’s daughters also married Priests, Catherine Fiddian married the Rev John Colwill Reddaway born in 1841 a Methodist and Pauline Burall Fiddian married the Rev Frederick Charles Wright another Methodist born in 1861. Alice Muriel Fiddian, my cousin 2x removed married Robert H S Kennedy whose father was the Rev Bennet S C Kennedy born in 1832 a Church of England Curate. Another 2x removed cousin, Cedric 153 Our Family Saga Moulton Fiddian married Winifred Annie Morton whose father was the Rev Evelyn Howard Morton an Anglican born in 1856. My great uncle Eric Alfred Fiddian married Marjorie Lisle Handsworth whose father the Rev William West Handsworth born in 1859 was a Wesleyan. Finally my 6x cousin, Susan Mary Fiddian married the Rev Anthony Brian Green born in 1939 who was also an Anglican. MOULTONS (15): Rather than extend the previous section I have chosen to discuss this branch separately despite the connection to the Rev Samuel Fiddian. Another of the latter’s sisters Catherine Fiddian married a Methodist Preacher, the Rev James Egan Moulton born in 1806. His father Rev William Moulton born in 1769 was the first of 10 Wesleyan Methodist Ministers from this single family. Two more of William’s sons would become Methodist clergy, the Rev John Bakewell Moulton born in 1807 and the Rev Ebenezer Moulton born in 1809. James Egan also had two sons who would become Wesleyan Preachers, the Rev William Fiddian Moulton born in 1835 and the Rev James Egan Moulton born in 1841. William Fiddian in turn had two sons, who were Methodist Priests, the Rev James Hope Fiddian Moulton born in 1863 and the Rev William Fiddian Moulton born in 1866. James Egan (the 2nd) had a son also called the Rev James Egan Moulton born in 1871 who was a Methodist Minister and finally James Hope had a son Rev Harold Keeling Moulton born in 1903, the last Moulton Methodist Minister. James Hope Fiddian Moulton was married to Eliza Keeling Osborn, whose father was the Rev George Richard Osborn born in 1834 and grandfather was the Rev George Osborn born in 1808, both Wesleyan Methodists. James Hope’s daughter Helen Hope Fiddian was married to Dr George William Hollings, a Medical Missionary whose father was the Rev William Walmsley Hollings born in 1867, another Methodist. William Fiddian Moulton’s wife Hannah Hope was the daughter of the Wesleyan Rev Samuel Hope born in 1785. Finally James Egan Moulton the 3rd was married to Fanny Alice Corner whose father was the Rev Kirton Abraham Corner born in 1844 and a Methodist Minister for 44 years. WHITES (3): The earliest of our White ancestors and another of my 10x great-grandfathers was also a Cleric; the Rev Thomas White born in 1559 was an Anglican. It was then nearly 400 years before this branch of the family produced any more Priests. My cousin once removed, James E White married the Rev Julia E H Redman, born in 1943 who would later become a Church of England Rector. Their son the Rev Simon J H White born in 1965 is also a Church of England Rector of Morpeth in Northumberland. 154 Our Family Saga BRINSDENS (3): Three successive generations in the 17th and 18th centuries were Anglican Priests in Wiltshire and neighbouring counties. The first was the Rev John Brinsden, Gentleman born in 1642, then his son the Rev John Brinsden, Gentleman born in 1676 and finally his son the Rev Charles Brinsden born in 1709. BROOKSBANKS (9): Despite my siblings and I receiving more religious direction from my mother’s side of our family there are fewer Priests in our maternal ancestry. Indeed none of the Roberts family has been ordained but tended to be Doctors instead. From the Brooksbanks there are several who took the cloth though most of these were several centuries ago. In the 15th century two brothers were Augustinian Priests at Nostell Priory near Wakefield. One, the Rev John Brooksbank born in 1395 became the Prior and held the position for 45 years whilst the other the Rev James Brooksbank born in 1397 was a Canon there before becoming Prior of Breedon in Leicestershire. Almost 100 years later there were two cousins who became Priests and both were also Knights. They were probably ordained between 1505 and 1515 so would most likely have been Catholic Ministers as Henry VIII had not begun the Reformation until around 1530. The older cousin the Rev Sir John Brooksbank born in 1480 was Curate of Elland, near Huddersfield. His younger cousin was the Rev Sir Gilbert Brooksbank born in 1490 and Curate of Heptonstall, near Warley. In 1536 Sir Gilbert was murdered on the orders of Sir Richard Tempest, one of King Henry’s men and Steward of the Royal Manor of Wakefield. Sir Richard was later that year involved in the Pilgrimage of Grace, a Yorkshire rising against the closure of the smaller monasteries and was thrown into the Tower of London where he died of the plague. Four more recent Brooksbank Priests included the Rev Abraham Brooksbank born in 1632 who became Vicar of Bradford and Prebend of Salisbury which by then was Anglican. Also the Rev Nicholas Brooksbank born in 1645 Curate of Elland; the Rev Edward Hawke Brooksbank, JP born in 1789, an Anglican Vicar; and the Rev Walter Brooksbank born in 1830, Anglican Rector of Lamplugh. Finally the great-grandfather of a very distant Brooksbank cousin of mine was the Rev Gideon Hardinge born in 1667 and Vicar of Kingston-upon-Thames. In addition to the 46 family Priests discussed above there are another 21 who have rather more tenuous links to our family. For instance there are 7 Vivian Priests and several more that may have links to the putative Fiddian ancestry prior to the 16th century as well as ancestors of my wife and of my previous wife with whom I had children. 155 Our Family Saga SUMMARY Besides ordained Priests there have also been several Lay Preachers, at least two Methodist Circuit Stewards and as many as ten Church Wardens over the years. As previously mentioned it is difficult to say whether our ancestors had specific beliefs, nor indeed the strength of any beliefs. My personal view of our closest and most recent ancestry is that many would have described themselves as Christian, whether Church of England or Methodist but were not necessarily regular churchgoers. Our more distant ancestry does appear to have been more religious but then more people were in those days. The fact that we have had more than the average number of Priests in the family, probably reflects nothing more than the fact that it was seen as a vocation amongst upper middle class families. As to the specific religion of choice, that does seem to be quite evenly split overall between Church of England and Wesleyan Methodism, but in general families have tended to choose one or the other. Moultons were apparently Methodist through and through, whilst Whites, Brinsdens and Brooksbanks were more inclined to be Anglican apart from some latter day Brooksbanks who were ardent Methodists. The one exception appears to be the Fiddian extended family, where members were ordained into both churches in fairly equal numbers. It is clear though that all of our Priests have been Protestant in persuasion with no members of the Roman Catholic Church. A few of those ordained reached fairly high positions; there were two Priors amongst the Anglicans and there was a Superintendent and two Presidents of Conference amongst the Methodists but that is all. If anything there was more of a leaning towards the academic side of Theology rather than a leadership role, as evidenced by their education. Overall, one third of those ordained had degrees, mostly in theology and nine were from Oxbridge Universities. Three honorary awards of Doctor of Divinity were given to individuals without other degrees. The only person to receive a Bachelor of Divinity, William Holdsworth, was the first non-Anglican to receive this degree. Several of our ordained ancestors had other occupations in addition to being Priests and so I can’t help thinking that their religion was more a way of life than a fervent conviction to preaching the gospels. There were certainly some ardent firebrands amidst our clergymen but overall I don’t think we can claim to be an especially religious family and appear to becoming even less so over the years. 156 Our Family Saga Part 9: Granny Pink’s Journey JOURNAL OF AN AMERICAN JOURNEY, 1884 By Ella Louise Fiddian [This is a certified true copy of the Journal of Ella Louise Fiddian, written on a journey through America in October and November 1884] We anchored in the harbour of San Francisco on Monday night [6th Oct] at 9.30 after a pleasant and fairly speedy voyage. It was a lovely moonlight night, so we had a good view of the Golden Gate [Strait] and the city lights in the distance but a fog soon enveloped us, so we retired for the night, quite glad to be at rest after the severe tossing of the previous night. Next morning we were up at six, had breakfast, finished our packing, were inspected by the Health officer and left in a steam tug at about eight o'clock. A very few minutes brought us to the wharf, where we had a troublesome delay owing to the Customs officials, who insisted on seeing the contents of every box. A great number of Agents were coming round asking for patronage but the popular one being Mr McKay, we promised to call on him for information later in the day. At last we got safely in the coach for the Palace Hotel, with several other passengers and the Captain. We drove through narrow, badly made roads, seeing very little but scores of Chinamen and a few women, bound evidently for the China Mail which was leaving that day. Arriving at the Hotel, which everyone has heard of, we entered a large enclosure, a sort of quadrangle, with a marble floor, upon which it was easy to slip; large exotic plants were blooming, lounges and chairs were dotted about and things looked so cool and fresh. We walked into the Office where James at once wrote our names in a book. The Manager at once pronounced the number of our room and gave the key to a porter who conducted us in an elevator to the fifth floor of the Hotel and into a beautiful room furnished most luxuriously as a combined sitting- and bed-room. We did feel thankful to have such comfort after the six foot square cabin on our ship. I had a hot bath in a room which led from our bedroom and when I was dressed, fresh and clean in things that had not been worn at sea, I felt like a new creature. We went down to lunch (only “fair” for such a place), afterwards meeting Mr Brookes, a fellow passenger and arranging for a drive together. 157 Our Family Saga We went in a comfortable carriage and pair (there being no cabs whatever in the city) and drove through some Gardens to the Cliff House and Seal Rocks, which are well worth a visit. There were hundreds of seals on these rocks, black, dark brown, light and a sort of grey. They were making a horrible noise, something between a bark and a grunt; each time they make this bark they move their heads backwards and forwards, giving a cluster of them the effect of maggots on meat (excuse the expression!). We drove through the part of the town on our return, where the principal private residences are situated; very handsome looking structures but every one built of wood. The lawns and gardens to some of these were beautiful in the extreme; for instance, a bank of emerald grass and inserted in it an anchor of dark foliage plants or some other device equally pretty. Now we drove through the Chinese Quarter, street after street filled with Chinese men, women and children. They mostly looked happy and contented, the men standing about smoking opium, the women sitting at their doors or windows with their babies and children around them. It was rather a novelty for a big carriage to pass through their streets, so we had lots of glances turned upon us and I was not sorry when we got out again into fresh-smelling streets and met European faces. We enjoyed the drive immensely, however and followed it up by going to the Opera after dinner to hear “La Mascota” which was a failure. I saw several of our passengers there also; some who had seen it in London thought it very good, so I must be difficult to please, I suppose. Had a nice little supper when we got back to the Hotel, half a dozen oysters, very large. I prefer what I have eaten in Melbourne. We were very late up in the morning and it was as much as we could do to arrange matters so as to get away by the afternoon train. We had a good deal of business to transact what with shopping, seeing Agents, Bank, getting views, etc. However we were ready. We said farewell to our fellow passengers and were soon in the Palace coach bound for the ferry boat, which conveyed us across the Harbour to our train. The ferry is a very beautifully built steamer, so pray do not imagine anything small. We were about 15 minutes in this, then got right into our train, where we are to spend two whole days and nights, travelling over 900 miles. We started at 3.00pm; a great many passengers, among them a lady, three children and a nurse, in the next section to us. We were rather annoyed by these little ones who were fearfully noisy, so we were greatly relieved when the next morning they took their departure for a branch line. I did a little of my work but it soon began to get dark. However, we passed some very pretty fields, smelling so fresh and sweet with the scent of new-mown hay. We arrived at the Sacramento River and were taken across bodily, train and all, just as we were in a very large ferry boat said to be the most powerful in the world. We had tea at Sacramento and enjoyed it very much. The steak was just beautifully tender and I had not seen a piece like it since I left home. We went on our journey and in the night passed some grand scenery but of course missed it as we were in bed. I could not sleep very well; however, I occasionally lifted the blind and by the moonlight could see hills covered with splendid pines - real giants. We were gradually ascending the mountains of Nevada and passed through several snow sheds, one forty miles long. It has been built for several years, but is added to each year and is a necessary protection for the trains in winter. 158 Our Family Saga The whole of the next day we were travelling through the American Desert, a most interesting journey but with clouds of alkaline dust so we dared not open the windows and the closeness was most oppressive. In desperation James and I went out and sat on the platform but my red cap blew off and I could not open my eyes for the dust, so we took our places again and had to bear it. We saw some beautiful snow-capped mountains, the first fall having taken place a few days previously. At several stations, too, we saw groups of Indians, some of them with faces as red as possible produced by paint. Sometimes, while we were at a station, some would run along the length of the train calling out “milk oh”. I was always ready for a draught; and fruit too was to be had in the same way. Another night in the train and about breakfast time we reached Ogden, where we changed trains for Salt Lake City, the journey occupying about one hour. We had a most exciting race when about three parts of the way there with a Mormon train - opposition of course. The lines in some places run side by side and then verge outwards again. I am sorry to add that the Mormon train got in first. We drive in a four-horse bus to our hotel, the Walker House, where we had a very fair combined room but the meals were disgraceful and the charges exorbitant. We had to pay half a dollar for every bath, which was a great swindle. We went for a beautiful drive round the city in the afternoon with our friend Mr Brookes who gave us the treat. We saw the Mormon President, John Taylor, a venerable looking old man; also the beehive houses there built by Brigham Young for his wives [Young was the 2nd President and Taylor the 3rd President of the LDS Church]. It is said that you can always tell a Mormon house by the number of doors it has, each door representing a wife. We were struck with the fine streets, all shaded with splendidly grown trees, with the grass lawns and gardens to many of the houses. The Virginia creeper grows there to perfection and is now in its richest colours. Beautiful little streams of fresh water flow down each street from the mountains which seem to stand all around the city; and this water is used by the people for irrigating their gardens. There is a Park laid out, but it is only in its infancy at present. We had a pretty drive through it, however; seeing, close by, acres of squash melon growing as feed for horses. We visited Camp Douglas, the US Military Station, situated in the hills close by. Everything was beautifully in order. The men's quarters first, then the officers'. We also saw a quiet little cemetery, which is visited one special day in the year by all the townspeople, who decorate every grave with flowers and the National flag in miniature. These remain untouched till the year has expired and are renewed then. We gathered some wild sunflowers which grow on the hills in abundance; also some red leaves of a bush of the oak family, which is scattered about in the mountains, looking perfectly scarlet from a distance. We finished off the day by buying some views and some Mormon literature; and in the evening had a little music first and then whist. We spent Saturday in going about the city on foot, shopping and getting repairs executed etc. One immense building is called the ZCMI or Zion Co-operative Mercantile Institution, with a motto over the entrance “Holiness to the Lord”. It was put up by Brigham Young in opposition to the Gentiles shops and is doing a fine business. 159 Our Family Saga We hoped to visit the Lake itself but it is sixteen miles distance from the city so we had to be satisfied with having passed it on our journey from Ogden, when it really looked beautiful, nestling in the mountains and borrowing its colours from them, except at one gap where the sun's rays had left a pale white streak; the whole scene reminding me much of a picture I have been copying called “A Norwegian Fiord”. On Sunday we attended Service at our own church in the morning and heard a loving sermon on “The Good Shepherd” by Dr Jackson, chaplain to the Forces, who related a touching incident about “Jim” a newsboy, which had many crying before he had finished. We found on our return to the hotel that several of our passengers had caught up to us, anxious to see the great Mormon gathering in the afternoon; so after vainly endeavouring to get something decent to eat, we started off. We were late so had to be content with a back seat; however, considering what an immense building we were in, we could hear fairly well. Someone was offering prayer when we went in, then a fine choir of, I suppose, 80 to 100 voices sang a hymn to the tune we have in our hymn book “Jesus, lover of my soul”. Several instruments accompanied them, besides a grand organ. The whole thing was a blessing invoked on the emblems of the Lord's supper bread and water which was then handed round to the people, every Mormon man, woman and child partaking of them. We had to pass them along the seat and James helped himself to the bread, much to my chagrin but I persuaded him not to take the water. While all this was going on two addresses were given, the last by Brigham Young Junior [later to become President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles]. These addresses seemed to be meant for those who were not Mormons but not one single argument did they bring forward that any of us could admit as such. It was simply “twaddle” such as “I believe”, “Mark you”, “the Scripture says” etc. and he concluded his remarks by saying to the Mormons “I have heard that some young men have actually descended so low as to read ‘The Tribune’”. This is the paper that opposes their religion. There was an anthem sung, a prayer offered and we escaped, glad to be out of such a place. Crowds were thronging through the doors. There must have been four thousand present, although twice that number can be seated. A great many then went on to a concert at Camp Douglas but we returned and spent a quiet evening at the hotel. Next morning we were on our way to Denver and were passing through some of the grandest scenery imaginable. We had one night only in the train this time, arriving at 11.30 the following night. We had to cross the Rocky Mountains, on this journey, so it was there we had such grand views. The Grand Canyon, the Black Canyon, etc. are gorges in the mountains through which we passed natural windings as it were to lead through to the other side. In one place the rocks are so steep that the men in marking the line had to be let down in baskets. The ropes are still to be seen hanging over the face of the cliff, which is almost touching the train as it glides along. Then, there were the streams. Oh! I never before saw such colours. The beds of some are rocky so the water goes tumbling about, rushing along because the incline is so great; and often you see beautiful little rapids and falls. I do not attempt to describe this grandeur, I only put down a word or two to remind me in years to come, if I should forget, but I do not think I ever shall. It seems photographed in my mind, every detail. I only wish I could send duplicates to my friends in Australia, who have no opportunity of seeing for themselves. During part of the journey, on the second day, an “Observation car” was attached, into which most of us got. This is similar to an ordinary car, only minus top and sides. At one little station we had to wait for a train, so were able to get a quarter of an hour's walk and picked up some pretty pieces of granite. 160 Our Family Saga We arrived at Denver very late, having vainly tried to get a sleep on the car. We drove by bus to the Windsor hotel, a first class place, where we had a very comfortable airy room in the usual style and meals all we could wish. There is one thing that strikes me in America and that is the slow ways of the waiters. No bustle or life, simply a crawl and getting the thing done by degrees. The following day I had a very bad headache, so dosed myself with “sanguinaria” and did some mending, while James had a look around and bought me some fresh smelling salts. By lunchtime I was better and able to eat pretty well, so we went for a walk round the town, which is the capital of Colorado State and a busy place. We went to the Grand Opera House in the evening to see a play “Fedora”. It is a charming building, beautifully arranged and furnished. We enjoyed the play fairly, although the end is too tragic. Fanny Davenport [famous London born Anglo-American stage actress, with her own company] took the leading character of the Princess. The next morning we went buying views of the lovely mountain scenery around and also some mineral specimens; a pair of solitaires in smoky topaz, a brooch in white amethyst and a pin of iron pyrites. After lunch we rested a while and then took a train for Broadway, a suburb which disappointed us much. We left that evening by train for Chicago at 9.45; went to bed at once and I slept well, but not James he always took the upper berth, so had the lights full on him until very late. The car was quite full, some nice little children, one lady who took no notice of her dear little baby 7 months old. Several of us were only too pleased to talk to her and amuse her, but the mother never even spoke to it. They were a family named Collier, going East for eighteen months and afterwards to Australia. We read a good deal this journey, I having bought "East Lynne" [Victorian bestseller by Ellen Wood about infidelity – not really honeymoon material!]. The dust was very bad the first day, but the next we passed through some of the finest pastoral country in the States. There were lovely “James” cattle in splendid condition, haymaking going on, orchards full of fruit and everything giving one the idea of peace and plenty. We arrived in Chicago at 3.20 pm on Saturday and came to the Palace House (where I am writing), engaged a room at five dollars per day without meals, just to see if we could manage better and we find we can. We had a dinner that first evening, however, which cost us over two dollars, but that was through a mistake of ours. It is positively surprising to me the number of dishes we naturally order. You see, the usual way is to pay so much a day for room and meals, then you can eat every course or none, it makes no difference; but we find the American plan the best. I am sorry to say we got up too late next morning for church. It was 20 minutes to 12 when we had finished our breakfast, so we read and sang hymns to ourselves. Then we went for a walk to Lake Park, all along the banks of the Michigan but not very pretty we thought. We then walked down into the city and found a good restaurant where we took lunch. None of the shops put up shutters, so people gaze in at the windows just as on ordinary days. Newsboys go about selling their papers, men stand at corners with trays of novelties or fruit; in fact we have not seen such slight notice taken of the Day of Rest anywhere. James had a bad cold and I did not feel very bright, so we stayed in all evening and rested. Next day we went round seeing the shops, Cook's agents and Mr Robertson (nephew of Mrs Gardiner of Geelong) who is in a large publishing firm here (Rand, McNally & Co) about the second largest firm in the world. We had a nice conversation with him and he gave us the names of shops worth seeing, also 161 Our Family Saga two pictures. We went into an immense place a whole block of buildings belonging to Marshall, Field & Co., Universal Providers. I noticed some fine linen goods marked cheap, and some fancy goods, but otherwise I do not think it claims to be a cheap market; if you want that make your way to “The Fair”, a whole block also, but a very different style of business. This is where all the merchants in the city have a stall, and where they send any surplus or damaged goods, and mark them down low. Little girls do the work of cash boys, their uniform being green check pinafores covering them right up; and the babel of their voices screaming out the change required is perfectly bewildering. We then found our way to what is known as the Panorama of the Siege of Paris, a gentleman having casually mentioned it to us as a place well worth seeing. We found an octagonal building, two stories high, with good porch entrance. Having paid 50 cents each for admission we walked up a spiral staircase, and found ourselves in Paris. Really I can say nothing else that would give you the idea. We were standing on the roof of a little house and all around us, as natural as though real life, were the soldiers in their different companies, forts dismantled, shells bursting, and houses on fire. There were Generals on horseback directing movements, ambulance waggons and nurses in white uniforms, men in the trenches and the River Seine winding peacefully about with the various suburbs in the distance. The picture which is hung all around the building is 60 feet in height, 400 feet in circumference, covers 2,400 sq. yards of canvas, and took eleven men ten months to execute. The chief artist is Felix Philippoteaux, who was himself with others of his fellow artists personally engaged in the siege. While we were gazing in wonder at the scene, a man came up and gave us a very interesting account of the history of the whole thing, pointing out the principal men, buildings, etc.; to make the scene more lifelike the foreground is real. Sheds, carts, tools, grass growing, sand, trees, etc. are there, and it is impossible in some places to distinguish between real and the unreal. We were very glad that our friend had mentioned it to us, or we should not have heard of it until perhaps too late; for it certainly is the most wonderful thing in art that I have ever seen. We bought at the door pamphlets containing the history which we can read at leisure. We had lunch and then took a cable car for South Park, which is only one of many that grace Chicago. We had a ride of about 4 miles, then changed cars and went another mile and a half to the entrance of the Park. I can only stay to mention that it is beautiful in the extreme. I do not expect to see any in England to surpass it. We are travelling just at the right time of the year for America - all its trees are gorgeous with their tinted leaves and the lawns are simply perfect. There are wild animals in an enclosure, an artificial lake, beautiful flowers and splendid drives. We had intended going on that evening but changed our minds and stayed another night. Unfortunately, however, the rain came down in torrents and almost spoilt our day. We went about, though, on foot, and by tram, and saw several buildings but were glad to pack up and go on the next morning to Cleveland, travelling in a most comfortable drawing room car, which contains a double row of cushioned armchairs instead of the ordinary seats, a hassock and spittoon to alternate chairs and a wide space down the centre. The scenery all along was pastoral, splendid foliage of course. The stations seemed better; a meal we had at Elkhart was really first class. We had a most tiresome delay of an hour and fifty minutes at Toledo because some train had not arrived so it was very late, 11.30 pm, when we 162 Our Family Saga reached Cleveland. Here we found a good hotel and in the morning saw to my delight snow on the ground. However, out we went, walking and tramming, the snow falling on us beautifully. We found a very pretty street, Euclid Avenue, said to be one of the finest in the States. I bought a pair of gloves for I find travelling is ruinous in this respect and James a handkerchief as he had forgotten he had a cold and sent our luggage on further. We got back in time for a hasty dinner, and then took the train for Niagara Falls, arriving at 10.30 pm. The country all along was looking quite a novelty to me, with snow in every crevice and on every roof. In some places quite thick. At Buffalo we had a delay and a change of train for the worse I am sorry to say, as two rude young men annoyed me very much by spitting close to my feet. I was obliged to change my seat once, and then, when the opposite one became vacant, one of these “rudes” took it. James did not see what was going on till I had moved, or he would certainly have put a stop to such doings. It is the one disagreeable habit of Americans, they will spit. We are now at Niagara, close to the majestic Falls, so can hear their pleasing roar, and can feel a tremble in all we touch from the concussion. It was rather startling coming to the hotel late last night. We drove in a bus from the station, which is on the American side, over the new suspension bridge into Canada - British soil once more. We stopped at a little Customs House on the bridge, and an officer came and interrogated us in the usual way: “What have you in your baggage?”, “Only clothing and personal effects”, “Very well, pass on”. He was soon satisfied, partly, I think, because he had not been expecting anyone so late and had come out in his shirt sleeves although it was snowing. We proceeded slowly along the bridge, which is 1268 feet in length and looking over in the direction of the roar we could see two white looking clouds soaring upwards. It made me feel a little nervous, I confess, to think we were crossing so near those awful rapids and all so quiet too, except the roar of the waters. Arrived at the hotel, Prospect House, where we asked for some supper but were told everything was locked up at 9 o'clock, unless crackers and cheese would do. We said anything would do so long as it was something to eat. After waiting a long time it seemed, a boy brought us a tray with crackers, butter, splendid cheese, cake and lemon squash, which we imbibed through straws. This cold weather makes one very thirsty and everything we drink has ice in it, even a glass of milk. All night we could hear the incessant roar of the Falls and our bed was shaking to such a degree, that I began to wonder whether anyone had got underneath, but I was too sleepy to wonder long, and when I got up and looked out this morning (Oct 24th) the nearness of the Falls explained it all. The sun was shining brightly, so we arranged for a drive around at once. We were surprised to find so many tourists here, mostly ladies. The first visit was to a large house right next to the Falls. We ascended a winding stair and got out on the landing to look down. It was a splendid view, and indeed filled my mind with awe and wonder. We came down and were sent to different rooms to dress for a descent now. “Margaret” took me into a room hung round with oilskins etc. and asked me to take off bonnet, gloves, cape etc., pinned my petticoat up all round me, put on a red flannel jacket, galoshes, leggings and over all a tremendous oilskin coat with a pointed hood, which she pulled over my head. I must have looked positively alarming and certainly should not have liked to appear in such costume, but two ladies joined me, and I felt consoled. I met James outside, similarly equipped, also a guide, and after being scrutinised by those tourists who would not go down, we crossed the road and began the descent, through a tower which leads down to the bottom of the cliff. The stairs were winding, and at 163 Our Family Saga every turn there is a small window through which we all looked as we followed the leader, one after another. Arriving at the bottom, you begin to feel slightly damp, but wait a bit; we follow on over the rocks until we got almost blinded by spray and perfectly saturated too. My hood was slipping back, so I lifted my hand to pull it on, when I was stopped abruptly by the guide, who told me whatever I did to keep my arms straight down, as the wet would work right up my sleeves if I did not. On we went, and were soon at the back of a silvery fall which is a little divided from the main body. The two ladies were afraid, and had stood still at the bottom of the stairs, but I saw nothing to fear. There was a firm footing, and we were only getting wet. We went on till we got behind the great Horseshoe Fall, and we tried to look up, but oh! The spray! How it dashed upon our faces! And the roar! We stood a little while gazing at the Falls and at each other, for we did look so comical wringing wet. My hair was nice and curly a few minutes ago, now cats' tails were nothing to it! When we got back to the ladies, we persuaded them to go on, and we waited while the guide took them and then ascended those terrible stairs, and crossed the road again, looking simply as if we had been rescued from drowning. We went to our dressingrooms and Margaret informed me that she had done the Princess Louise [Queen Victoria’s 4th daughter] in the same way and other notables. She also informed me that if I liked to give her anything it was the usual thing. I had no American money left, so I gave her half-a-crown, and on re-joining James found he had given the guide half a dollar, besides paying a dollar each to go down. We went on now to Clark Islands [now called Dufferin Islands] over the pretty suspension bridges called “Castor” and “Pollux”, to see the Burning Spring, which is water so charged with sulphuretted hydrogen that it burns when a lighted paper is applied. The smell was odious and the taste as bad. These springs are always disappointing I find. We paid 50 cents each for seeing this. There is a good shop attached where you can buy splendid views, canes made of pretty wood, fans of eagles' down etc. The next place to see was the Rapids. We went through a shop and into a sort of car which runs down a fearfully steep place, and lands you on the bank of the river some distance below the Falls. Here was a photographer's studio and lots of photos he had taken of visitors hung about. He was very anxious to take ours but a dollar for one copy was rather too much. Here was the spot through which Captain Matthew Webb swam successfully but it is a marvel to me how he did [Webb was the first person to swim the English Channel in 1875, but had died in 1883 trying to swim the Whirlpool Rapids]. The waves come with such violence at this bend that the spray dashes up a great height, and the water seems to be boiling, so turbulent. We stood a long time there and it was an awful sight in the strict sense of the word. We came up again in the car which is worked in a peculiar way. As one goes up the other comes down of course there are two lines. Here we bought some fine views of the Falls and Rapids and should have got some curiosities also but the prices were absurd. Some beautiful stuffed birds, arranged in fans of soft white down, were lovely but I forebore from buying them. We got into our carriage again and after going to the top of the whirlpool, but not down the descent, we returned to the hotel amid a driving snowstorm for dinner. We were afraid it would be too wet to see any more, but were anxious to visit the other side, so went across the great suspension bridge, which is so elegant in its strength that it reminded me of a spider's web and entered Prospect Point Park (50 cents each and another 50 cents each for crossing the bridge), and went down another "shoot" (I call it), along a passage and had a view of the American Falls, which are very fine, but inferior to the Horseshoe. When we ascended again, we walked out on a platform right to the edge of the Falls, it seemed as though I could be down in them, as 164 Our Family Saga we were so close. I could not stay long, and it was most bitterly cold, wraps could not keep me warm. We drove now onto Goat Island ( 50 cents again) which divides the two Falls and James went down a very steep place, out on a point very exposed looking and dangerous. I contented myself with watching him from the carriage. We passed on to Three Sisters Islands, all connected with pretty bridges and got some fine views of the upper weir. We then drove round the town itself, and returned to the hotel, oh so cold! Next day we walked about, went exploring, and encountered difficulties but surmounted them, and were ready to start off for Toronto at 1.30 pm. Not a nice journey at all, such a smell of burning India rubber in those horrid stoves gave us a headache. However, every journey comes to an end, whether pleasant or unpleasant, and so ours did. We found a comfortable hotel “The Queens” where several acquaintances have stayed. James went out to look round the city at once but I was too tired, so rested quietly until after dinner, when we both sauntered forth. We went through a market and saw splendid displays of meat and vegetables etc. then did a little shopping, and returned. Next morning, Sunday, we went to the Metropolitan Methodist Church, a noble building inside and outside, it can seat 2400 persons. Congregation good, sermon excellent, choir large but weak in ladies' voices. Sang the anthem “Bow down thine ear” (not our old one but one I have heard somewhere). The service was not quite the same order as ours, first a hymn, then prayer, reading, notices, hymn, sermon, prayer, collections, and voluntary, hymn and benedictions, all standing. The evening service was similar, although instead of a voluntary a soprano solo sang “Eve's Lamentation”, very effective. The organ is as fine as any I have heard, and played well by a gentleman. Toronto is called The City of Churches, and well deserves the name, for there are 109 churches in it, all find buildings. We saw most of the other prominent buildings including a fine University. We left for Montreal at 8.30 next morning and arrived at 8.30 pm. Nothing to see en route and I was very tired and sick. Found a splendid hotel “The Windsor”, the most elaborate I have been in yet, far more so than The Palace. James went down to supper. I had some sent up but could only eat biscuits and cheese, although a tray of delicacies also came up. The next day we visited the Bonsecours Market, a very good one, the vendors being chiefly French, and chattering away in patois. We went into the Notre-Dame Cathedral [Basilica – Roman Catholic], several praying and one woman kissing the toe of St. Peter. The altar very solid looking, but not as pretty as some I have seen. James ascended the tower to get a view, and to see the big bell (Le Gros Bourdon) weighing 24,000 lbs and measuring 8ft 7ins at the mouth. We went about the principal streets. I matched my wools and silks at a splendid fancy shop and we returned to lunch; James going out alone afterwards. Next morning we took a tram out towards Mount Royal [volcanic rising in Montreal] and walked about, getting a good view of the harbour. Found, just before starting for Quebec, that Rev John Jenkins DD, LLD lived close by, and was pastor of St. Paul's Presbyterian Church [actually Jenkins, an English born clergyman, had retired on health grounds in 1881 and had only preached occasionally since]. I felt 165 Our Family Saga annoyed and disappointed too that I had not succeeded in finding out sooner, but it was too late to think of visiting him, so I wrote a short note and enclosed our cards. We had thought he was at Toronto but we could find no trace of him there, and at Montreal James looked through some list, but his name was not even there; it was, however, on a list posted up in the hotel. We had a nice comfortable drawing-room car on to Quebec, mostly French people travelling, and at a restaurant where we had supper, the girl could not understand me in English at all. I was very tired when we arrived here, and the hotel is the worst we have been in yet. We took a “Waggon” (buggy) this afternoon and went around. There is a great deal of interest to be seen and had the weather been warmer, we should have enjoyed it more, but I have never felt anything like the cold here. It has been snowing on and off all day. Quebec is the oldest town I have visited, having been founded in 1608. Since then it has been besieged five times, including the final taking by the British in 1763. The walls and forts are solidly constructed of stone. There are five gates leading out of the city, one St. Louis, another St. John and others. Now only the archways are left, the gates having been removed. We visited the Citadel, were shown the guns and magazines and other quarters by an Artilleryman, who was sent to us by the Sentry on duty. We had a magnificent view of the harbour, Point Levi, Lower Quebec etc. The shipping is fairly extensive, the chief business being timber, or lumber, as they call it in America. The river is a mile wide here, and a mile and a half at Montreal. We drove to the Plains of Abraham [in Battlefields Park], where General Wolfe fought and died; saw a monument erected at the spot where he fell and another monument to Generals Montcalm [French] and Wolfe. This was done to cement the peace between the two Nations. Quebec abounds in charitable institutions, some Catholic, some Protestant, some nondenominational. The Parliament Houses are very fine, also the Gaol and most of the Churches. We visited the French Basilica [Notre-Dame de Quebec], a very old building, having been consecrated in 1600, since partially destroyed and rebuilt, it seats 4000 persons. Several fine paintings, notably one by Van Dyck “The Crucifixion” [now in Notre-Dame-desVictoires Church, it is a reproduction]. The altars are beautiful. We were not sorry to leave Quebec owing to the intense cold and a wretched hotel. We took the ferry across the river and almost lost my bag and rugs; the driver had carried them down from the bus and left them on the wharf, where I did not see them. After the boat had moved a porter threw them on only just in time. This was the first misfortune, to be followed by others, in that we got into the wrong train. Our tickets were by the Grand Trunk Railway and we should have crossed by a different ferry. The man who passed us there was to blame. It ended in our having to pay extra fares to Sherbrooke where we got out, to await our proper train. We went to a hotel close by, got lamb chops to eat, I feeling very sick, and retired to sleep to be called at 2.30 pm. We awoke fortunately at that exact time, for the lad did not knock at our door till three. As it was we only just got our luggage safely checked and put on. We secured a sleeping berth and I lay down just as I was, only taking off wraps and boots, James undressing. About 5.30 pm we arrived at the boundary of the States again, a station called Island Ponds. Here I heard voices outside my curtain, asking whose bag that was. I looked out and said it was mine. I was asked to open it, but somehow I could not grasp the situation at first and asked why. The coloured porter who was in charge of our car, said “This is the Hofficer, lady”. “Well, but what does he want 166 Our Family Saga with my bag”? “We're at Island Pond in the States now”. So it gradually dawned on me, and I opened my bag, satisfying the “Hofficer”, and soon dropped off to sleep again. But he had first asked if we had any luggage in the van. I said “Yes we had but it had all been passed and examined in the States three weeks ago, and we had only been in Canada a week”. He seemed only half satisfied, but went away. A long time after, it seemed, I heard voices again; “Take any passengers on from Canada?” to which the Porter replied “Yes, I guess, a lady and gent from Sherbrooke”. The Officer said “Where are they?” and was answered “Here, Sir”. Accordingly, I was once more interrogated. “What is your name?” “Mrs Fiddian”. “Of course; you have six pieces of luggage in the van, which will all have to be examined. They are off now in the Customs Shed, and the train leaves in three minutes”. He was in a great rage, so I thought I had better go out and see about it. I was there in a minute, taking bunches of keys. I quietly said “Do you wish to see my boxes?” “Yes, open them, please”. I unlocked two, leaving the uncording to them. They pushed their hands down the sides (what a pity there was not some dynamite to satisfy them!), shut them up and passed all the others without examination. I reiterated the statement as to their having been passed in the States a few days ago, and then how the man stormed! How he swore at the porter for not having told him! Oh, there was a fine row, but the conductor came along and told me to jump quickly on to the train, which I had only just time to do, landing ever so far away from our proper car, but you can always walk from one end to the other. It was so cold and the snow lay like a thick carpet all around, and was still falling. The poor porter was in a great state for fear trouble should arise, although he had spoken boldly in his own defence. So we gave him a memo saying it was not his fault at all. The fact was the officers were two different men, one being inclined to let us pass, the other to make a fuss about it. The journey was a very tedious one, lasting till 5.30 that evening, when we arrived at Boston, Massachusetts. We came to the Parker House and engaged a room on the European plan, which is, you pay so much for your room independently of meals, which you get how and when you like. It is much the nicer plan and cheaper too. On Sunday [2nd Nov] we found our way to the Park Street Congregational Church, pastor Dr John L Withrow was the senior minister. An old church (built in 1809), fine congregation, beautiful singing (one special tune by Henry Francis Lyte, which I wrote in church on a card I had in my bag), and a grand sermon on Eph. 2.4 “But God, who for his great love, wherewith he hath loved us”. I listened to every word, and thought it the most scholarly as well as heartfelt discourse I had ever been privileged to hear. During the service there were several new members admitted to the church. Their names were read out and they marched up and stood at the rail. When the pastor read a certain form he asked the congregation to rise, thereby giving their assent and welcome. One man was baptized, kneeling down and being sprinkled. The Minister afterwards gave a cordial invitation to any Christians to remain and partake of the Holy Communion. We accepted, and although not such a solemn service as we are accustomed to, yet we felt it good to be there. The people remain in the pews and elders carry the bread and wine around. We attended the same church in the evening, having looked in vain for a Methodist, the latter having a service at 5 pm instead of 8 pm which is the usual hour in most of the churches. The sermon was on 167 Our Family Saga politics, and was an able discourse, urging people to vote for the man of pure life (James Blaine) [standing in the Presidential Election on 4th Nov 1884]. The singing by a choir of four voices was exquisite. On Monday, we visited Harvard University, a group of 18 buildings all substantial and handsome, containing some old memorials. We saw from a gallery the students' dining hall, well patronised, an immense place, the walls hung with oil paintings of veteran statesmen, learned men, etc., also numerous busts. We walked through a fine library. In all the institutions of this kind we find lady clerks. One thing I noticed about the students was the absence of gowns and mortarboards. I was also struck with their extreme youth. We had lunch at a very poor place and took a tram for the Mount Auburn Cemetery, which is a truly beautiful spot. The entrance porches and gates cost I forget how many dollars, but an immense sum [$10,000, about £250,000 today]. Here are the tombs of Longfellow, Winthrop, John Adams and others of historical fame. The monuments are very beautiful, and there is a lovely little chapel containing statues of these men. One feature is the names given to the various drives and avenues such as Fern Path, Mount Crescent, Violet Avenue, etc. The large trees throw a splendid shadow, and we walked in some places almost knee deep in leaves. Great numbers of men were employed gathering these up, but it looked an endless task. I approached a group of these men to ask the name of a beautiful variegated creeper growing on the chapel, but not one of them could tell me! The next day was the great election (Nov 4th) and a showery day, so I stayed indoors the greater part, going for a walk in the afternoon down town to visit some of the old buildings; and certainly the most interesting one was the Old State House, where the Parliament used to meet when America was a British Colony, and where the remonstrance was made to the Stamp Tax later on, to the duty on tea. Washington stood and read to the people in the street below, the Declaration of Independence. We saw the very table at which the men at the time sat, and deliberated upon the great question. We also saw some relic which came over on The Mayflower, but I must pass on. Boston Common is a noble park right in the heart of the city, beautifully laid out in lawns, lakes, drives, etc., splendid statues of great men here and there. Americans seem very fond of erecting statues. There is one given by a man commemorating the discovery of ether as a balm for pain. The shops in Boston are very fine and the people dress very well. In the evening we joined the crowd to watch the results at the News Offices. Intense excitement prevailed, in which mobs of schoolboys took an active part, gathering in numbers of 20 or 30 and rushing in a body through the crowd shouting something quite unintelligible to the uninitiated, but which always ended in “Hurrah”. Nothing definite was known for two days, when it transpired that Grover Cleveland, the Democrat, was elected, much to the joy of most people, but I should have voted for Blaine, the Republican, who was only defeated by a very small majority. We left Boston next day by steamer for New York, a very pleasant trip in the finest boat I have seen yet, most elegantly fitted up, and cabins quite a decent size. We arrived at 10 am on Thursday, and after a dispute with a cabman got safely to the Grand Hotel where we have a very comfortable room for which we pay five dollars a day exclusive of meals of course. We have been about a good deal, but have no friends to see, so that it gets dull. When we go out we simply take a tram or the elevated railway and get out as near as we can make out to the point of interest we are wanting. We generally 168 Our Family Saga manage very well. We spent one day in rambling about Central Park, a lovely place, containing menagerie, museum of arts and curiosities, Cleopatra's Needle, splendid lawns and terraces, fine old trees, lakes and grottoes etc. We saw little carriages with pairs of goats attached, ready to take visitors all round; also donkeys for the children to ride. We bought some lunch and took it down by the lake to eat, enjoying it far more than we should have done in the restaurant. I do not know how the Americans can bear the stifling smell of these places. I put it down to the heating stoves which are in every nook and cranny I see. We had a look at the city on Saturday, fine buildings, large shops and high prices of course. In the afternoon we took a ferry to Brooklyn, where we visited Prospect Park, a real English site, my husband says. Here we saw fifteen tennis nets on an immense lawn, but no good play. There is a splendid suspension bridge connecting these two cities, at a cost of 17,000,000 dollars. On Sunday we attended Presbyterian Churches, in the morning by design, in the evening by mistake. However, we heard splendid sermons, very diverse in style. The morning preacher, a Dr Hitchcock, gave us a quiet intelligent interpretation of God's speaking to Job out of a whirlwind. I gathered several new thoughts from it; but later Dr Paxton was all fire, abrupt, very earnest; his thoughts seemed to crowd about too quickly for utterance. His text was “Well, Master, thou hast said the truth” (Mark). On Monday we went to see our cabin on the “Oregon” [Cunard Line, fastest liner on the Atlantic, launched 1883 and sank 1886!], for we leave America tomorrow at 1.30 pm. On the steps of the shipping office we encountered three of our old passengers. We were so thankful to see them for a few minutes not having spoken to anyone for about three weeks. They were taking passages for the following steamer which leaves tomorrow week. I think we ought to have a fair run, the last trip was made within the week. Our cabin is an inside one, unfortunately, that is, has no port, but the different in price is too much for us to think of. One advantage we have is being just at the foot of the companionway, so we shall have air and light too. The saloon is beautiful, but there is no music room. A pretty boudoir for ladies on deck, a fine smoking room and a grand promenade deck, though, ought to compensate. Of course there is a piano in the dining room. Now I come to our visit to the YMCA rooms a fine block of buildings, corner of 4th Avenue and 23rd Street. We walked in, took the elevator to the top and gradually inspected as we walked down. The upper floors are used as class rooms, lecture halls, professors' apartments. The Grand Hall is on the 2nd floor, and is a fine place galleries all round, grand organ etc., but would not hold so many as we get in Melbourne at the Annual Celebrations. On coming to the library floor we were met by a young assistant who showed us round, and was very polite in his attentions. I asked for a copy of the last report which he gave me, also a little book giving a condensed outline of the work being done. We wrote our names in the Visitors' Book before leaving. I was glad to find that the whole building is free of debt. Of course, it had been in existence for over 30 years, so ought to be. This, I think finishes America a country I am glad to have visited, but so far as I have seen, I think no more of it than before coming. The natural scenery is, of course, unrivalled, and I cannot speak too highly of it, but the cities, so noisy, so crowded with narrow streets. Such swindlers people are; and the men have such filthy habits of expectorating, no matter where, under your dress or anywhere. I often 169 Our Family Saga have felt inclined to say “Do you feel better now”? The paroxysms are sometimes very bad, and one would think it would culminate in a choke or worse. Goodbye, my American neighbours. November 11th 1884. NOTE: The above journal record was recovered from my great grandmother’s estate when she died in 1931. Although Ella (pictured right) makes no reference to it, this trip to the US and Canada must have been their honeymoon as they would have started out from Australia less than 4 weeks after their wedding. The ship they took from New York was bound for Liverpool, so it would seem she was destined for England. She and James had their first child Hilda at Cambridge in June 1885, and therefore she would have been pregnant during the journey in America. Little did she know then that her husband James would have died in less than 12 years and so leave her to bring up five of her children alone. The eldest of her children, also James, my grandad would later marry into the White family and his children would call their maternal grandmother Granny White. In order to avoid confusion Ella was given the name Granny Pink, hence the title of this Part. Ella as a young lady Ella’s husband, Judge James Paull Fiddian (apologies for poor quality) 170 Our Family Saga Part 10: A Theory of our Fiddian Origins Chapter 1 - Vivian as a Given Name in Medieval England An extensive search for the given name Vivian in the medieval era has uncovered only 49 clearly documented individuals, all but two of them in England: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 Vivian de Standon Vivian de Standon Vivian de Standon Vivian de Standon Vivian de Rossall Vivian de Rossall Vivian de Rossall Vivian de Rossall Vivian de Chetwynd Vivian de Verdon Vivian de Stoke Vivian de Fenton Vivian de Biddulph Vivian de Biddulph Vivian de Tunstall Vivian de Aston Vivian de Besford Vivian de Besford Vivian de Heysham Vivian de Heysham Vivian de Gernet Vivian de Halton Vivian de Gernet Vivian de Bolron Vivian de Caton Vivian de Molyneux Vivian de Molyneux Vivian de Wolvemore Vivian de Orshaw Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire Shropshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Staffordshire Worcestershire Worcestershire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire Lancashire 171 b. 1190 b. 1262 b. 1287 b. 1312 b. 1150 b. 1185 b. 1215 b. 1255 b. 1260 b. 1289 b. 1154 b. 1190 b. 1289 b. 1350 b. 1300 b. 1260 b. 1135 b. 1185 b. 1080 b. 1200 b. 1080 b. 1080 b. 1175 b. 1150 b. 1200 b. 1080 b. 1190 b. 1200 b. 1220 Notable family Father of 3 Father of 4 2x great-grandson of 1 Notable family Uncle of 7 Father of 8 Great-grandson of 5 Connected to de Rossalls Connected to de Standons Father in law of 1 Another name for 1 Another name for 10 Grandson of 13 Relative of de Standons Stafford Gaoler Notable family Grandson of 17 Another name for 21 2x great-grandson of 19 Another name for 19 Another name for 19 Great-grandson of 21 Relative of de Heyshams Another name for 20 Notable family 2x great-grandson of 25 Another name for 20 Connected to de Molyneuxs Our Family Saga 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 Vivian de Ribbleton Vivian de Holm Vivian de Luc Vivian de Teryngham Vivian de Rokesley John Vivian (de Rokesley) Vivian de Luca Vivian de Davenport Vivian de Thelwall Vivian de Foxwist Vivian de Gatiler Vivian de Churchfield Vivian de Fleyneburg Vivian de Penrose Vivian de Eskels Vivian de Bodelen Vivian de Wakelin Vivian Brusyng Vivian de Stuche Vivian de Palgous Lancashire Lancashire Hertfordshire Hertfordshire London London London Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire Cheshire Northamptonshire Yorkshire Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall Suffolk Sussex Wales Wales b. 1250 b. b. b. 1300 b. 1250 b. 1280 b. 1300 b. 1185 b. 1300 b. 1346 b. 1400 b. 1080 b. 1240 b. 1300 b. 1300 b. 1300 b. 1250 b. 1250 b. 1310 b. 1420 Unknown Unknown Unknown, same as 35? Unknown Notable family Son of 33 Shoreditch Apothecary Notable family Unknown Unknown Catchpole (Sheriff’s Deputy) Angevin (Anjou) family Jewish Debtor Another name for 43 Another name for 44 Another name for 42 Bailiff of Ipswich Unknown Unknown Burgess of Bala These individuals come from 24 families at most and many of them are concentrated in certain regions so we will review them in turn. It should be noted that the Vivian/Vyvyan family in Cornwall were not included in the above table as of course theirs’ is a surname and not a given name. This family were already using Vivian as a surname as early as 1174 and it remains a mystery as to whether we Fiddians are directly connected to them. By 1298 a Vivian in Cornwall had married a Peverel ancestor of my wife Tricia but that is not the sort of connection we are looking for. The Staffordshire/Shropshire Vivians Eighteen of the above Vivians were living in the Midlands, of which 16 were based in the neighbouring counties of Staffordshire and Shropshire. Most of these were related (11) or were otherwise connected (4), with the two largest clusters becoming related when the daughter of the first Vivian de Rossall married the first Vivian de Standon. Another large group of Vivians (13) was living in Lancashire at the same time, with at least 8 of them being related to each other, and interestingly they can be linked to the Midland’s Vivians via a common contact, Roger de Montgomery (‘The Poitevin’), whose two daughters also married into both our and my wife Tricia’s family trees. One daughter married an ancestor of the Chetwynd family and the other married an ancestor of the Peverel/Peperell family. The next largest cluster of 4 Vivians came from Cheshire, which separates Staffordshire and Lancashire. We will return to the Midlands Vivians at a later point in this review. 172 Our Family Saga The interconnections between leading families of the day were quite common and I have found several already (the more you look the more you seem to find). So, I have uncovered some commonality for at least 31 of the above Vivians and the remaining 18 can generally be dismissed as single or duplicate instances of the name scattered around different regions, though it is interesting to see the use of Vivian as a surname in London at the time of the first Poll Tax (see 35 above). There are another 9 Vivians who will be discussed later, all of whom were priests, but their precise birthplaces are unknown and they cannot be traced to any particular family. So after very extensive research we can find only 58 individuals using Vivian as a Christian name in Britain between 1080 and about 1480. This is a remarkably small number and would appear to be consistent with conventional wisdom about the name. It was undoubtedly introduced by the Normans after the Conquest (much like Warin) but was never widely adopted. About half of the families who took to the name used it at least twice and most of these families can be traced back to French ancestry. They were generally families of some standing and would undoubtedly have mingled in the same social circles. As a result there are numerous examples of marriage directly between the families or via another connected family. Perhaps most striking though is the apparent patronage of many of the early families by Roger the Poitevin, a powerful Norman aristocrat. The Lancashire Vivians: a) Gernet of Halton Our earliest Vivian is Vivian Gernet of Halton and Heysham born in about 1080 at Halton, Lancashire (near Lancaster). His father Ralph Gernet was born in around 1050 in Normandy and came to England in the retinue of Roger the Poitevin. Ralph has been described as a learned gentleman and so may have been a Clerk (priest) which would fit with him leaving his family who remained in Essex. Vivian was Serjeant (hereditary Forester) of the King’s Forest in Lancashire and married Emma de Villiers. His sons Roger and Brian took Halton and Heysham respectively. Roger, producing no male heirs, was succeeded by his younger brother Adam and his daughter married Richard de Molyneux. Adam’s son Benedict was High Sheriff of Lancaster and father to Annora who married Sir Adam de Molyneux. Benedict also had a son Vivian de Gernet born in 1175 but it was a middle son Sir Roger Gernet who inherited Halton and the Serjeanty. He was followed by Sir Benedict, who’s only son Roger had no heirs and so the manor passed out of the family via his daughter Joan’s marriage to William de Dacre in 1290. 173 Our Family Saga b) Gernet of Heysham Vivian’s son Brian born in 1112 held Heysham from 1140 and it passed to his son Adam when he died. In 1200 Adam was killed by Adam de Kellet, son of Orme who was Bailiff of Lonsdale, and was succeeded by Thomas his son. Thomas’ son Vivian de Heysham born in 1200 was next in line but he was also Lord of Caton and Skelmersdale, acquired from his second marriage to Godith, daughter and heir of William de Kellet. Vivian’s son Ralph sold Heysham to Randle de Dacre ending the line. c) The Molyneux Family Robert de Molineux was born in about 1000 at Moulins in France, the son of a Spanish priest and a French nun. His son William born in 1030 was a Captain and Companion to William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings. William’s son William took Sefton (near Liverpool) as his seat but was succeeded by his brother Vivian de Molyneux born in 1080. Vivian was given custody of Liverpool Castle and Cuerden manor (Chorley) plus part of Windle by Roger the Poitevin. Vivian’s grandson Robert married Beatrice de Villiers, whose son Richard married Edith de Boteller. They had sons Sir Adam de Molyneux who married Annora de Gernet and continued the line, and Vivian de Molyneux born in 1190. Two further Vivian de Molyneuxs were born in the 17th century. A descendent of the family also married a descendent of the Rokesley family from London and Kent (see below). d) The Bolron Family Vivian de Bolron born in about 1150 is the first recorded tenant of Bolron which was held by masonry meaning the holder had to provide a mason to work on the Castle of Lancaster when required. Vivian’s father Gervase (another name introduced by the Normans) was the son of Warin le Petit who was in some way connected to Roger the Poitevin and from whom the family probably acquired the right to Bolron. The Bolron family name persisted despite the line passing from Vivian’s son Ralph de Bolron to Ralph’s daughter Maude and then to Maude’s son Ralph. A couple of generations later Robert de Bolron was Mayor of Lancaster from 1338 to 1349. There appears to be some connection between the Gernet and Bolron families in the 12/13th centuries but exactly what is unclear, though it seems they were related. e) Miscellaneous Vivians The remaining two Vivians found in Lancashire remain pretty much a mystery and will not be researched further. 174 Our Family Saga The Cheshire Vivians: a) The Davenport Family This family is most unusual amongst the Vivian families in having no direct male ancestry from France. The first taking the name from their manor was Orme de Davenport born in 1086 whose grandfather was also an Orme, descended from Leofwine, Ealdorman of the Hwicce (a Kingdom in the western midlands of Mercia) and an ancestor of my wife. Orme’s son Richard was granted by charter the Chief Forestership (Serjeanty) of Leek and Macclesfield Forests from Hugh de Kevelioc, 5 th Earl of Chester. Richard’s great-grandson Vivian de Davenport was born in about 1185 and was granted the hereditary Master Serjeanty of the Peace in Macclesfield by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester. He married Beatrix de Hulme and was succeeded by their son Roger. The next three generations of Davenports were all knighted and in the 17th century two more Vivians appeared. As we will later learn this family is related to the de Rossall family from Shropshire. b) Other Vivians The remaining three Vivians from Cheshire do not appear until the 14th or 15th centuries and do not appear to be connected. Little is known about them except that one, Vivian de Gatiler was a Sheriff’s deputy. The Besford Family from Worcestershire: The first member of this family is Vivian de Besford, tenant of the Beauchamps of Elmley Castle, who was born in 1135. He married Elizabeth de Nafford and they had a son Osbert de Besford who in turn had a son Vivian de Besford born in 1185. This Vivian was succeeded by his son Sir Walter de Besford and the line continued with two MPs, a JP and another knight before a lack of male heirs saw Margery, Joan and Agnes de Besford marry, taking the manors between them and the line died out. It seems most likely that this family had Norman heritage but we cannot be sure. The Rokesleys of Kent and London: A quite remarkable family whose flame burnt most brightly though briefly in late 13th and early 14th centuries before disappearing into obscurity. They can be traced back to the Norman Mauger who acquired Roskeley (and other manors) and hence the name under the tenancy-in-chief of Bishop Odo of 175 Our Family Saga Bayeux before the latter’s disgrace. Mauger de Rokesley must have been born about 1050 in Normandy but it would be 100 years before we find a descendant Sir John de Rokesley born in 1150. Sir John accompanied King Richard I on the 3rd Crusade and was present at the siege of Acre. As well as Rokesley (Ruxley) Sir John held Orpington and several other manors in Kent. His son Richard was grandfather to Gregory de Rokesley born in about 1235 who went to London in around 1256. Though styled as a Goldsmith (probably having served his apprenticeship in this guild) he was a very successful merchant. In particular he was a Wool Exporter, selling high priced wool from the Cotswolds and Flaxley Abbey, and a wine Merchant, shipping St Emilion and other clarets from Gascony to London and even Boston plus selling them to the Royal Household, but also dealt in Corn, Fish and Cloth. One of the wealthiest men in London he found favour with first King Henry III and then particularly King Edward I. In 1265 he became an Alderman at Dowgate a position he held until his death in 1291. He was appointed King’s Butler in 1266 and was High Sheriff of London three times in 1263, 1265 and 1270. Gregory was made Lord Mayor of London in 1274, a position he held eight times in all, and in 1275 King’s Chamberlain. In 1279 he was made Keeper of the King’s Exchange and Chief Assay Master of all of the King’s Mints. His London estate extended over 12 parishes and centred on a great mansion at Cornhill but he also held 8 manors outside London. Several brothers and nephews in London were also Wine and Wool Merchants, some serving as Aldermen and two as High Sheriff of London. The next generation were enticed by the new fashion for Baltic trade and all became Corders but served only as Councillors or Assembly-men. When this business dwindled the family retreated into relative obscurity again after only two generations. A younger brother of Gregory’s was Vivian de Rokesley who had died before the family really reached their zenith, though not before producing at least three sons. The youngest of these was John de Rokesley born in about 1280 and perhaps because he shared the name with an uncle used the name John Vivian instead. He was a Corder like others of his generation and briefly an Alderman in 1320 at Dowgate, dying in 1321, though not before he had bought Dartford with his profits. In the late 14th and 15th centuries there were an Adam Vyvian, John Vyvian and William Vyvian in London who could have been descended from John Vivian de Rokesley although the Adam at least could have come from the Cornish Vivians, as an Adam Vivian, gentleman from that family was an MP in the 1420s. The William Vyvian found in 1470 does not fit with the Cornish family so perhaps he could be our missing link to the first William Fyddian. Gregory de Rokesley had sons Sir Reginald and Sir Richard de Rokesley who were more noted for their exploits outside the capital. The latter was even Seneschal (Governor) of Ponthieu and Montreuil in Picardy for a time. He married Joan de Criol extending the family estates but they had only female heirs and so the manors passed to another family when Agnes de Rokesley married Sir Thomas Poynings. Their son Lord Michael de Poynings, 1st Baron Poynings married Joan de Rokesley who had previously married Sir John Molyneux of the Lancashire family. One of the last of the de Rokesleys was apparently John, a grandson of Gregory, who was Rector of Chelsfield in 1345 and sold off some of the remaining families’ 176 Our Family Saga properties. Finally in 1347 North Cray came again into the hands of Roger de Rokesley from a junior branch but when he died without an heir that was the end of the line. The Cornish Vivians: The only remaining cluster of Vivians arose in Cornwall, but here they were already using Vivian as a surname from the end of the 12th century. Ralph Vyvian was born around 1174 but we know nothing of his ancestry though it is reasonable to assume that the family came from France at some point during or after the Conquest. The estates of these early Vivians had belonged to Robert, Count of Mortain at the time of Domesday. Robert, a half-brother of King William I had been a Companion at the Battle of Hastings and was richly rewarded holding 797 manors in 1086. Most of these were in Cornwall and so he was regarded as the Earl of Cornwall and indeed he was based there. Perhaps he rewarded a member of his retinue who had accompanied him to England with an estate near the tip of Cornwall. Robert’s other brother was Odo, Bishop of Bayeux and Earl of Kent who had given the manors of North Cray and Rokesley to Mauger at around the same time. It seems hard to believe that this could be nothing but a bizarre coincidence and so perhaps the families are connected in some way. Ralph Vyvian’s son was Sir Vyell Vyvian and he married the daughter of Count Christopher of Kildare so the family were already quite exalted. Sir Vyell’s son Sir Ralph Vyvian married into the de Ferrers family, originally from Normandy with a fine pedigree. Remarkably, besides two occasions when a Vyvian married a de Ferrers both these families have also married a Peverell ancestor of my wife and the de Ferrers family have married into four families connected to the Vivians discussed above (de Chetwynd, de Verdon, Poynings and de Stafford, the latter related to the de Standons). Whilst this does not prove a direct link between the Vivians it does indicate that they moved in the same social circles and had notable standing in society. The Vivians have remained in Cornwall and can be traced to the current day, some 25 generations, with several Knights, High Sheriffs (since the late 15th century), JPs, MPs and so far 13 Baronets. From around the mid-19th century the family have been found further afield, largely in Wales and Southern England. Priests with the given name Vivian: During the search for early Vivians it became apparent that several of these were Priests and because we cannot be certain where they came from they have largely been excluded from the previous table (one, Vivian de Stoke is duplicated since we do know his connection to other Vivians). Although not all of them held posts in England they all had English connections. 177 Our Family Saga 1. Vivian de Tracy France b.1120 Archdeacon of Orvieto, Cardinal of St Stephen 2. Vivian Tomasi Scotland b.1125 Cardinal (papal legate) 3. Vivian de Stagno Derbyshire b.1150 Archdeacon of Derby, Bishop of Coutances 4. Vivian France b.1150 Abbot of Aunay 5. Vivian de Stoke Staffordshire b.1154 Rector of Stoke, Chaplain to King John 6. Vivian London b.1200 Prior at St Bartholomew the Great 7. Vivian de Luke Berkshire b.1260 Abbot at Abingdon 8. Vivian de Blancafort Kent b.1289 Rector at Eynsford 9. Vivian de Chelewalle Staffordshire b.1300 Priest at Lichfield 10. Vivian de Offley Hertfordshire b.1300 Chaplain of Kemyton It is worthwhile to consider this seemingly miscellaneous group as it confirms much of what is said about the name Vivian. Firstly it’s origin in France, secondly it’s connection with the church (the earliest being the 5th century St Vivian, Bishop of Saintes) and thirdly that the name was generally reserved for those of fairly high status. The latter applying even to Parish Priests of the time as they usually came from the family of the Lord on the Manor. The three Vivians that have been included above who do not appear to come from England were all found in documents or publications relating to English affairs. So the name ‘de Tracy’ refers to a location in Normandy but was used by a family who came to England at the time of the Conquest (in fact Sir William de Tracy was one of the murderers of Thomas a Becket in 1170). ‘Tomasi’ is the Italian version of Thomas, and this Vivian was sent to Scotland, Ireland and England as a legate for the Pope. The final ‘foreign’ Vivian had no other name and was referred to as Abbot of Aunay, in Normandy. Apart from Vivian de Stoke whose daughter married into the de Standon family there do not seem to be any other direct connections between this group of priests and our ancestors. But given the rarity of the Vivian name, the percent who became men of the church seems remarkably high at around 17% and seems to fit with the finding of several early Fydian priests in the 15th century. So although it does not 178 Our Family Saga help with the identification of our specific ancestors it makes it extremely likely that they came from Normandy, probably arrived in England during or fairly soon after the Conquest, were of pretty high social status, had good connections with the new nobility of England at that time and might be expected to have clergymen in the family. Overall Conclusions: From all the above it remains highly likely that our Fiddian ancestors came from Normandy either in 1066 or within the next 100 years or so. On the basis that it is unlikely that a single occurrence of Vivian in a family would have been sufficient to persuade them to take the name as a surname we are really left with only about 8 possible candidate families for our forebears. From the above it would seem unlikely that the Davenport family from Cheshire could be one of these as their origins are Anglo-Saxon and only one Vivian occurred before the Fiddian name arose. That would leave the following possibilities: a) De Standon/de Rossall Family – In all there were 10 individual Vivians in these two families with the male line coming from the de Standons. The de Standon line came to an end in the 15 th century and the location was very close to the first Fiddians making this still the favoured source of our family name. b) The Cornish Vivians – Although in some ways the most obvious source it seems unlikely that a family that chose Vivian or Vyvyan as their surname in the 12th century and have kept it for over 800 years would have opted for a Fiddian branch as well. There is also an issue with the location as these Vivians mainly remained in Cornwall until after the 15th century. c) De Rokesley Family – Provides the only other documented example of the use of Vivian as a surname. However, there is really too little evidence to make a good case for this family and although the main line died out in the 14th century the Ruxley surname has persisted. d) Gernet Family – With its various branches this is an interesting family and provides several intriguing connections to our family and that of my wife but no clear evidence as a possible source of our ancestors. The surnames of Heysham, Halton, Caton and Bolron have continued without the apparent need to switch to Vivian/Fiddian. 179 Our Family Saga e) Bolron Family – Also in Lancashire and connected to the Gernet families there, but with only a single instance of an early Vivian. f) Molyneux Family – They had two early Vivians and some intriguing connections with other families but do not hold up as a likely source of Fiddian. g) Besford Family – They also had two early Vivians and a reasonable case for location but nothing else to support the argument. h) Biddulph/Verdon Family – Provides a similar case but does even better for location and yet is an unlikely source since both surnames have persisted. So despite a more rigorous examination of all the families who had used Vivian as a given name in the relevant period it remains most likely that our ancestral line passes down through the de Standon line to Normandy and before that Scandinavia. This is entirely consistent with the results of my DNA testing but cannot be completely substantiated. What makes it most intriguing is that we can find several links, through marriage, patronage and in some cases location, which suggest that all the candidate families would have been associated with each other at some time. This should not be too surprising given the social standing of the families and the relatively small population at the time. For instance in 1086 the population of Lancashire (not yet formally a county) has been estimated at between 7,000 and 11,000. There were only 268 places (manors) identified in Lancashire at that time and there would have been fewer lords as some held more than one manor. Small wonder then that many of us share ancestors from that time as the available pool for marriage with someone from a family of similar social standing would have been quite limited. Indeed on occasion the search for an appropriate partner would have had to extend beyond the hundred or county. So, even if migration between counties was still quite limited at this time there are several occasions when individuals from the landed gentry would move around the country. These would include marriage, postings within the church, service in the army, attendance at law courts (jurors and witnesses) and the royal court and finally from the early 13th century Parliament. 180 Our Family Saga Chapter 2 – Regional Phonetic Derivations from the Name Vivian Since there are other families with names similar to Fiddian it is not unreasonable to assume that they too may have originated from the families with Vivian ancestors. Indeed well-known genealogy sites all hold this view, except for the surname Fidian (and some sources of Fidgeon). Taking the 11 commonest such names and Fidian I have looked at their relative frequency as reported by a major genealogy site (this overestimates the number of individuals as it would include births, marriages and deaths) and reviewed where these events were located: Name No. Reports County Fiddian Phythian Phethean Phithian Phythean Phitheon Phetheon Vidgen Videan Vidgeon Fidgeon Fidian 2028 14373 3508 550 182 182 154 3780 2286 1692 2260 349 Worcs (30%)/Warws (25%)/Staffs (12%) Lancs (64%)/Cheshire Lancs (85%) Lancs (54%)/Cheshire (40%) Lancs (74%) Cheshire (59%) Lancs (50%)/Middlesex Kent (68%)/London/Middlesex Kent (75%) Kent (77%) Essex (23%)/Warws (18%)/Staffs/Durham Lancs (38%)/Cheshire (32%)/Warws (12%) Apart from Fiddian which arose in the West Midlands, most related names beginning with an ‘F’ or a ‘Ph’ appear to come mainly from Lancashire or Cheshire. The only real exception to this is Fidgeon which seems to have a fairly diverse origin from Essex, the Midlands and Durham. This could mean that the name Phythian, and closely related names, derives from the Vivian families in Lancashire or Cheshire. On the other hand the surnames that begin with a ‘V’ appear to derive entirely from Kent or London and its immediate environs. Though of course this does not apply to the surname Vivian itself which is more common than all the above names combined and arose in Cornwall. So, could the Vidgens etcetera be a branch of the Rokesley family? This would certainly paint a pretty complete picture of all the possible sources and the various outcomes but might be hard to prove. Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that all this has helped to make the case for the derivation of the Fiddian name. 181 Our Family Saga Fiddian - A Unique Variation: As already stated there are several variations of surnames that have derived from the Norman given name Vivian, but some of these are quite uncommon and probably reflect only phonetic misspelling by the registering clerk rather than a fixed family name. For instance Fiddian was recorded as Fyddian (10) or Fydian (4) between 1550 and 1599; Fydian (8), Fidian (3), Fidians, Phidian, Fidean, Fiddean and Fiddyan between 1600 and 1649; Fidean (4), Fidian (2), Fiddian, Fiddean, Fiddion and Fiddon between 1650 and 1699; Fiddian (13) or Fiddion between 1700 and 1749; and only spelt 100% correctly from 1750 to 1799 as Fiddian (50). Of course all variations from the Vivian name are in essence phonetic errors but at some point the affected family must have opted to take a particular version as their new family name (perhaps without realising it was an incorrect derivation). For Fiddian overall we see that following the ‘F’ which is 99% consistent for these records from the Midlands, the initial ‘i’ or ‘y’ is universal and a double ‘dd’ more dominant (77%). It is mainly in the last half of the word that we see the greatest variation until after about 1700. Remarkably Fiddian is the only name from the Midlands that apparently derives from Vivian and was first recorded there before general records began. The only other similar name in England as common as Fiddian that begins with an ‘F’ is Fidgeon. At first glance this name appears to have a more diverse origin but early records indicate that it first appeared in Hertfordshire. The apparent diversity might have arisen because it is claimed that the name derived separately from both Vivian and FitzJohn. Also deriving from FitzJohn the uncommon names Fidgin, Feedham and Fidian have a similarly mixed distribution, though the latter is found more often in Lancashire and Cheshire than elsewhere. So what of all the other names that derived from Vivian? There is of course Vivian itself, the similar but less common Vyvyan and a number of other much rarer variants which all seem to have originated in Cornwall. Even as late as 1800 these names were largely confined to the South-West of England. As for Fiddian in the Midlands, we find the initial ‘V’ to be universal in the South-West followed by an ‘i’ or less commonly a ‘y’ and then after another ‘v’ more variation in the latter part of the name. A number of other names deriving from Vivian and which are as common as Fiddian include Vidgen, Videan and Vidgeon. However, all of these are largely confined to Kent where they apparently originated. So we begin to see very definite regional differences in the way Vivian has altered. We are left with names that have also derived from Vivian but followed the route of using ‘Ph’ to begin the name. This is most commonly followed by a ‘y’ but there is one notable instance where this is an ‘e’ (see below). By far the most numerous variant is Phythian which seems to have originated in Cheshire but over time has appeared most often in Lancashire. The next commonest version is Phethean (more numerous than Fiddian) but this did not first appear in records until the 18th century, largely in Lancashire. The third commonest name was Phithian but this has now disappeared as have various other even rarer versions. So much like Fiddian in the Midlands there was probably a family whose dominant name is now Phythian but who were initially recorded as Fitheon (or Phithian) and originated near Crewe 182 Our Family Saga in Cheshire (close to the Midlands). As the family grew and then gradually migrated to Lancashire the name changed to versions with ‘Phy’ or ‘Phe’ at the beginning, which is most evident as Phythian. The middle ‘th’ thus appears to have been present from the start rather than evolving. We can summarise all these findings in a simple table of surnames that have derived from the given name Vivian: Initial Letter(s) Middle Letter(s) Commonest Version Region in England Main County V V F F Ph v dg dg dd th Vivian Vidgen Fidgeon Fiddian Phythian S-W S-E South Midlands North Cornwall Kent Hertfordshire Warwickshire Cheshire/Lancashire I strongly suspect that an expert would not be at all surprised by these regional differences in phonetics much as we find great variations in regional dialects but in any case the data speaks for itself. More than ever these findings convince me that the Fiddian family probably had its early origins in the Midlands and before that in Normandy. There is still though a more remote possibility of an early connection with Cheshire, but again from a Norman origin. Indeed from the above table it might be construed that there were at least 5 instances where families needing to acquire a surname for identification chose the given name Vivian, which was probably already used in their family, as a distinctive possibility. Such families might have been familiar with the Cornish Vivian family, particularly if they were of a similar social standing, and in any case would be aware of their own Norman heritage. Although Vivian was quite rarely used as a given name in the 12th to 14th centuries there were definite places where the name was reported in multiple occurrences and almost all of these are accounted for by the above regions where surnames that were apparently derived from that given name can be traced. So the Vivian surname of course started in Cornwall, Fiddian would be assumed to have originated in Staffordshire or Shropshire, Vidgen from the Kent/London family of de Rokesley, Fidgeon from Hertfordshire and Phythian from one of several families in Cheshire or Lancashire. Although not every family using Vivian as a given name on more than one occasion has been clearly identified the majority have and remarkably there are numerous connections running between them. It is not beyond the realms of credibility to believe that some of these families might have been aware that they were not alone in choosing their surname. 183 Our Family Saga Chapter 3 - Candidate Families in the Midlands The first Fiddian we can be confident is an ancestor of the present day Fiddians was William Fyddian, who was born in about 1530. When first identified he was living in Coleshill, Warwickshire but if he was a priest he might have come from further afield. His father would have been born in about 1495 and might have come from Warwickshire or one of the surrounding counties. During the period between 1540 and 1640, there were very few Vivians/Vyvyans in the same counties (only 6 in Shropshire and none before 1595). Also there were very few Vivians in the counties between the Midlands and the West Country (4 in Gloucestershire and one in Wiltshire, with the earliest in 1593). It therefore seems less likely that a Vivian migration from Cornwall to the Midlands accounted for the families origins in Warwickshire than that they were already there in the 15th century. Between 1540 and 1640 there were only 15 'Fiddians' in the Midlands and all but two of these are related to us (one Fiddian, 5 Fyddians, 7 Fydians and 2 unrelated Fidyans). I have searched the Midlands for any evidence of Fiddian/Vivian names between 1400 and 1540. Bearing in mind that until 1377 surnames were very uncommon, I was also looking for given names as well as any other means of identification. There were several Fydians in Worcestershire and the nearby counties of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Dorset cited between 1408 and 1474. All but one of these was named William Fydian and all were priests, but they were not the same person: • William Fydian 1408-11 Flaxley Abbey (Glouc) Priest • William Fydian 1425-7 Christ Church, Bristol Rector • William Fydian 1427-37 Upton-upon-Severn (Worc) Rector • Wilbur Fydian 1438-48 Upton-upon-Severn (Worc) Rector • William Fydian 1448 Warminster (Wiltshire) Vicar* • William Fydian 1456-9 Lyme/Halstock (Dorset) Prebend^ • William Fydian 1459-74 Chute (Wiltshire) Prebend^ * Vicar of Minster Church, he was executed in 1448 but we do not know why. ^ They are probably the same person. 184 Our Family Saga Although priests would have moved around the country to take up new positions, the above is consistent with the existence of two to six Fydians living in or adjacent to the Midlands in the 15th century. Remarkably, as we have already discussed there were also several Vivians (given name only) in Staffordshire in the 12th to 14th centuries and all of these were related. Even more remarkably this family also had estates in Warwickshire until 1460, and two of these were only 15 and 30 miles from Coleshill where we find the first Fyddian. So we have two families separated by only 35-70 years and 15 miles, sharing a very uncommon name we believe was derived from the other. Of course it may prove impossible to prove the link, and whilst I find it very compelling given all the evidence you will have to make your own conclusions. To be more confident I undertook an extensive search of the given name in Britain in the Middle Ages and found only 49 well documented individuals plus another 9 priests (see Part 10: Chapter 1 for details). As expected these all post-date the Norman invasion. Around 37% are to be found in the Midlands and remarkably most of these are related in some way, by descent, by marriage, by patronage, by friendship or by contact. Apart from the cluster in Staffordshire discussed above I have found another family in Shropshire who had Vivians in four successive generations from 1150 to 1255. They all come from a manor called Rossall (or Rosshall) near Shrewsbury and initially I believed that they might be an alternate origin for the Fiddians but it turns out that the two families are connected by marriage. It is also quite extraordinary that the first time Vivian was used in each family occurred in 1190. The time has come to look at these two families in more detail. The de Standon Family: As luck would have it the family in Staffordshire were the de Standons, who took their name from the Manor of Standon in the Parish of Standon and the Hundred of Pirehill, and about whom quite a lot is known. In 1086 the Domesday Book records the Tenant-in-Chief of Standon as Robert de Stafford but he had granted the estate to his cousin Brian de Rauceby. This Brian was in fact the first de Standon, though as was often the case he had several names. As well as Standon and Rauceby (in Lincolnshire), he held the Manors of Weston, Rudge and Levedale in Staffordshire, and Ditchford in Warwickshire, all as grants from his cousin Robert. He had been born in about 1040 at Tosny in Normandy (10 miles south of Rouen) and we will return to his ancestry in the next Chapter. Little is known about the family in England during the first 100 years or so after the Conquest but we should review what is known. Brian de Standon had at least two sons, the oldest being Ralph de Standon born in 1080 who inherited the Manor when his father died in 1101. Ralph in turn had at least two sons, 185 Our Family Saga Robert de Standon born in 1120 and Ivo de Mutton born in 1122. Ivo would die in 1184 as a monk in the Priory of St Thomas near Stafford (founded by his uncle Gerard) so could be another religious link in our past. He had three sons and his line passed through the eldest of these to Ivo’s 2x great-granddaughter Isabella de Mutton who married Sir Philip de Chetwynde in 1257, granting the manors of Mutton and Ingestre to the latter. Robert de Standon meanwhile gained the Manor of Standon in 1157 on his father’s death and he too had two sons that we know of. The oldest of these was Adam de Standon born in 1145 who gained the manor in 1185 but had died by 1199. Adam also had at least two sons, Roger de Standon born in 1172 and Sir Robert de Ditchford born in 1174. Sir Robert’s son Sir Fraricus de Ditchford lent his name to the local town which became known as Ditchford Frary, but when the latter’s son John failed to provide a male heir the manor passed back to the de Standon line where it remained until at least 1460. Roger de Standon married Philippa de Fenton when both were quite young, not uncommon in those days. Philippa was the daughter of the Rev Vivian de Stoke (also known as Vivian de Fenton or Henry Vivian), who would become Chaplain to King John and Rector of Stoke. This was the first introduction of the given name Vivian into the de Standon family but it would then be used in at least four of the next five generations. Roger and Philippa had five daughters and a son, Sir Vivian de Standon born in 1190 also sometimes referred to as Gervase Vivian (almost too good to be true!). Vivian was at one time Constable (Castellan) in Oswestry and Shrewsbury and acquired Standon when his father died in 1232 and then Fenton when his mother died in 1241. He married Roes de Rossall (more about this family later) around the time of his father’s death when she was already 30 years old, but she managed to produce three sons and a daughter. In fact I wonder if there was also a Vivian who perhaps died in infancy as her father’s name was Vivian as well, but no records could be found. Their eldest son was Sir Robert de Standon born in 1235 and we know rather more about this fellow. He was in fact too young to inherit the manor when his father died in 1250 and so was a ward of the King’s Treasurer Philip Lovel until 1256. He married a Margaret in 1260 and they had five sons, the oldest of whom was Sir Vivian de Standon born in 1262. Sir Robert accompanied Prince Edward on the Ninth Crusade to the Holy Land in 1271-2, was High Sheriff of Merionethshire in 1284, Justiciary of North Wales in 1293, Coroner of Fenton Vivian in 1298 and MP for Staffordshire in 1307. He also had the care of two wards, Isabella de Mutton and Henry de Verdon, until their majority. When Sir Robert died in 1307 he was succeeded by his son Sir Vivian de Standon who had married an Elizabeth with whom he had two sons and two daughters. His eldest son Vivian de Standon born in 1287 was a turbulent man and an active partisan of the Earl of Lancaster, when in 1318 he was accused of robbing the King’s Clerk of a large sum of money. Outlawed and likely to lose his inheritance his father disinherited him so the family would not lose their estates. He was killed in an affray with the Hastang family at Swineshead in 1319. So, when Sir Vivian died in 1327 it was his other son John de Standon who inherited but John died without issue and so the estate went to the disgraced Vivian’s son by his wife Alice, Sir Vivian de Standon born in 1312, when he reached his majority. This Sir Vivian served in King Edward III’s retinue and fought in the Battle of Crecy and the Siege of Calais. Around this time it would 186 Our Family Saga have been quite likely that the family would have needed to adopt a surname for clarity of identification with the Poll Taxes. The final (Sir) Vivian de Standon married Isabella Motelowe, whose father Henry had somehow finagled Fenton Vivian away from his grandfather, thereby regaining the manor. Their only child seems to be a son Philip de Standon born in 1350, about who little is known except that he died in 1424 in Warwickshire. We can only speculate whether he changed his name to Philip Vivian and do not know if he had any heirs, although it seems there may have been a sister Elizabeth through whom the manor may have passed out of the family. In any case Ditchford Frary in Warwickshire did remain in the family until 1460 and so it remains very plausible that we are descended from the last of the de Standons. The de Rossall Family: As promised we should also take a look at this family who are really the only other Midlands family who are candidates for our medieval ancestors. Indeed, since they are the only other family with four Vivians in their lineage and they married into the de Standon family it is very likely that we are descended from them. It does though seem more likely that we are from a maternal line rather than a paternal one. Anyway let us begin again with the first member of this family who came to England around the time of the conquest. Warin de Metz (or Warin the Bald) born in 1040 at Metz in North-Eastern France probably took part in the Battle of Hastings and settled in England thereafter. He would later become known as Warin of Shrewsbury and was the first recorded High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1066, often employed in routing the nearby Welsh. He had married Ameria, grand-daughter of Lord Roger de Montgomery, in 1065 and they had several children who all have a story to tell. The first of these was Albert Grelley born in 1066 who would become Lord of Manchester and whose ancestors via his eldest son were Barons of Manchester. Albert’s daughter Emma married Orm FitzAilward and amongst their ancestors were the de Assheton family, Lords of Ashton-under-Lyne and later Baronets of Middleton, Great Lever and Downham. Remarkably the youngest son of Orm and Emma was Richard de Davenport whose great-grandson was Vivian de Davenport of Cheshire. Albert’s second son Hugh FitzAlbert inherited Rossall from his father and his ancestors took the name de Rossall, so we will return to this branch shortly. Other children of Warin and Ameria included Fulk FitzWarin, whose son married a Peverell ancestor of my wife and whose great-grandson became outlawed and was reputedly the real-life Robin Hood; Hugh FitzWarin who was High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1102; and two daughters, one of whom married a Peverell ancestor of my wife and the other whose son married a Peverell. 187 Our Family Saga Returning to Hugh FitzAlbert who inherited the manor of Rossall, he had at least four sons the oldest of whom was Warin FitzHugh born in 1150, though from 1190 he started using the name Vivian, and taking the name of his seat later became Sir Vivian de Rossall. In addition to being knighted he was a Commissioner for collecting taxes from 1225, but otherwise we know little about him. He did though have three children that we know of, Sir Thomas de Rossall born in 1180, Vivian de Rossall born in 1190 and Roes de Rossall born in 1202. Nothing is known about the younger son Vivian but we do know that his sister Roes married Sir Vivian de Standon in about 1233, connecting these two great families. Her eldest brother Sir Thomas de Rossall was a Commissioner for collecting taxes like his father and was also Seneschal (Constable or Governor) of Oswestry Castle, in which role he arranged the 1261 truce between King Henry III and Llywelyn ap Gruffydd (King of Wales) shortly before his death. The only known child of Sir Thomas was Sir Vivian de Rossall born in 1215 who would also become Constable of Oswestry Castle and was twice referred to in records as Sir Fynyan. Sir Vivian had two sons, Sir Thomas de Rossall born in 1250 and Vivian de Rossall born in 1255. The younger Vivian had property in Yorkshire but otherwise we know little about him. Sir Thomas on the other hand attended Parliament as a Knight of the Shire, was a Justice of Oyer and Terminer for Shropshire (French term for a Judge of Assize), was Collector of Taxes and Conservator of the Peace in Herefordshire. He married twice, having two sons with his first wife Isolda, Sir Thomas de Rossall born in 1283 and the Rev William de Rossall born in 1285. William became Chaplain of Rossall Chapel in 1326 and had no children. Sir Thomas was an MP for Shropshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire and was also a Commissioner for Levies, but when he died in 1345 he left no male heirs and so Rossall manor passed out of the family. Although it would appear very likely that we can count the de Rossall family amongst our ancestors it is most probable that our connection to them is via Roes de Rossall who married into the de Standon family. It is odd that the two families started using the name Vivian at exactly the same time in 1190 but perhaps it was the influence of the Rev Vivian de Stoke, grandfather of the first Sir Vivian de Standon, who introduced the name into that family. At which point the de Rossall family, who had close links to the de Standons and may well been considering a marriage between the two leading families in the area, also started using the name. Even so Vivian appears to have been used as a name for the firstborn son in the de Standon family, whereas Thomas was perhaps more favoured in the de Rossall family with Vivian being used for second-born sons. The much longer gap between the ending of the de Rossall line and the first recorded Fyddians also favours the de Standons as our paternal ancestors. 188 Our Family Saga De Standon and de Rossall Families in the Midlands DE STANDON family Brian de Standon Lord of the Manor 1040-1101 Ralph de Standon Lord of the Manor 1080-1157 Robert de Standon Lord of the Manor 1120-1185 Adam de Standon Lord of the Manor 1145-1199 Roger de Standon Lord of the Manor 1172-1232 Sir Vivian de Standon Constable (Oswestry) 1190-1250 Sir Robert de Standon Sheriff, Justiciary, MP 1235-1307 Sir Vivian de Standon Constable (Harlech) 1262-1327 Vivian de Standon Outlaw 1287-1319 Sir Vivian de Standon In King’s Retinue 1312-1375 Philip de Standon 1350-1424 ? [Vivian > Fydian > Fyddian > Fiddian] DE ROSSALL family Warin de Metz 1040-1084 Lord of the Manor, Sheriff Albert Grelley Lord of Manchester 1066-1118 Hugh FitzAlbert Lord of Rossall 1100-1165 Sir Vivian de Rossall*^ Commissioner 1150-1233 Sir Thomas de Rossall Constable (Oswestry) 1180-1261 Sir Vivian de Rossall* Constable (Oswestry) 1215-1279 Sir Thomas de Rossall Judge, Conservator, MP 1250-1310 Sir Thomas de Rossall Commissioner, MP 1283-1345 Ameria de Montgomery 1050- Alice x x Isabella Motelowe x x - *[they both had a younger son named Vivian] x - ^[he was the father of Roes de Rossall x - - Philippa de Fenton (daughter of Vivian de Stoke) Roes de Rossall 1202-1279 Margaret Elizabeth 189 - - - - - Isolda - Our Family Saga Chapter 4 – Putative Norman Ancestors The earliest ancestor of the de Standon family and therefore putative ancestor of the Fiddian clan, that we have identified so far is Brian de Standon who was born in 1040 at Tosny a commune in Normandy. It becomes increasingly difficult to determine an exact lineage over 1000 years ago but I am quite sure that I can identify his family and trace them back to their arrival in France in about 885. The first ancestor to settle in France was named Mael Hulc Eysteinsson born in 845 in Norway. Mael means chief or prince and Hulc is a recognised given name, whilst his surname means he was the son of Eystein. Hulc was of course a Viking but we will focus here on his life from the time he came to France. He arrived on a Viking ship that was part of a fleet which besieged Paris in 885. With him was his nephew Hrolfr who would become great-great-great grandfather of William the Conqueror. Hrolfr was one of the lesser leaders of the Viking fleet but stayed behind to invade and later settle in an area of Northern France that became known as Normandy. He was accompanied by his uncle Hulc and they both married local women not long afterwards. In 911 Hrolfr launched another attack on Paris and then laid siege to Chartres. He was defeated on 20 July at the Battle of Chartes and then pledged allegiance to King Charles III in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. Hrolfr converted to Christianity, taking the baptismal name Robert and was granted lands between Epte and the sea. He became titular ruler of Normandy and was effectively the first Duke of Normandy handing over control to his son William in 927. Hulc meanwhile had married Maud and they had a son Hugh (Hugues in French) born in 890 who was known as Hugh de Calvalcamp though no such place has been identified. It has been suggested that the word could mean a ‘paddock for horses’ but this seems a rather meagre term as the name was also used for his namesake in the next generation. The second Hugh de Calvalcamp was born in 912 in Normandy and by 942 he was Archbishop of Rouen a position he held for 47 years until his death at Rouen in 989, not bad for a second generation descendant of a Viking. Of the first Hugh de Calvalcamp we know very little except that he had another son Ralph (Raoul in French) de Tosny born in 920 in Normandy. Ralph in turn had a second Ralph de Tosny born in 955 in Normandy. The commune of Tosny was thought to have been land belonging to the church which Archbishop Hugh gave to his family and which was never reclaimed by the Dukes of Normandy unlike most other lands. Hugh himself never married and so had no heirs and hence Tosny was claimed by Hugh’s brother. Ralph II de Tosny had at least two sons, one of whom was Roger de Tosny born in 990 in Normandy who would become Lord de Conches and sire several children including Robert future Baron de Stafford born in 1039. Roger had been Standard Bearer to Richard II, Duke of Normandy but refused to serve 190 Our Family Saga William I when he became Duke because the latter was a bastard. The other son of Ralph II was Robert de Tosny born in 1009 at Tosny who was selected by William I as one of several of his most trusted allies to go to England prior to the Conquest and support his cousin Edward the Confessor. He would later be rewarded for his services and by 1086 he held 131 manors in England and was titled Lord of Belvoir in Leicestershire. Robert had married Adela Osule in 1029 and had at least three sons before leaving Normandy for England. The two youngest were Brian (Brien in French) born in 1040 who would become Brian de Standon after the conquest and Alan (Edelo in French) born in 1042 who would later become Brian de Swynnerton. Brian was a 5th cousin once removed of King William I and it is most likely that he would have fought at the Battle of Hastings. His father Robert was also favoured by the King and so perhaps it was William I who persuaded Robert de Stafford to surrender some manors to Brian and Alan in possible recompense for his father’s lack of support of the King. In any case Robert and the two brothers were also cousins and so it could have been a purely family matter. Either way we can trace the de Standon family back to Normandy as part of a notable family there with very good connections. For the more sceptical reader who is unwilling to accept the de Standon family as our putative ancestors it is worth pointing out that the name Vivian, which is widely accepted as the source of the name Fiddian, is undoubtedly of Norman origin. Furthermore, all the families I have identified using the given name Vivian from 1080 to 1420 can be traced back to Normandy, even the Davenport family though in this case via a maternal line. So it would seem most reasonable to assume that our early ancestors came from Normandy, were likely to be of noble standing and probably arrived in England around the time of the Conquest. For those willing to give some credence to the saga as told so far then I would encourage you to read on. Putative Norman Ancestors: Name Position Dates Wife Hulc Eysteinsson Viking Chief 845-912 Maud Hugh de Calvalcamp Lord of Tosny 890- Haldruc de Therouanne Ralph I de Tosny Lord of Tosny 920-992 - Ralph II de Tosny Lord of Tosny 955-1024 - Robert de Tosny Lord of Belvoir 1009-1088 Adela Osule Brian de Standon Lord of Standon 1040-1101 - 191 Our Family Saga Chapter 5 – Our Links to the Vikings As we go even further back in time it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish reality from mythology although we can be reasonably certain that Hulc’s great-grandfather really existed. But we should start at the beginning since even myths may provide some elements of truth and give us some hints of our earliest ancestors. According to Norse mythology we first find Fornjot, a giant born in about 100 BC who was King of Gotland and had three sons. One of these sons was Kari (meaning ‘Wind’) Fornjotsson who was born in about 80 BC in Kvenland. His son was Frosti (meaning ‘Frost’) Karisson who in turn had a son Snaer (meaning ‘Snow’) Frostisson. Snaer’s son was Thorri (meaning ‘Winter’) Snaersson and he too was King of Kvenland. Thorri had two sons Norr and Gorr Thorrisson, the former was said to have founded Norway and became King of that land whilst Gorr ended up with all the islands and was known as the Sea King. Gorr had a son Heytir Gorrsson who became King of Kvenland and in turn had a son Sveidi Heytirsson who was Sea King and King of Norway. Sveidi had a son Halfdan Sveidisson who was born in 750. Halfdan was known as ‘The Old’ and had a son Ivar Halfdansson born in 780. Ivar was a definite person who became Jarl (Earl) of Oppland, a county of Norway and had a son Eystein Ivarsson Glumra (‘The Noisy’) born in about 810. Eystein was Jarl of Oppland and Hedmark (an adjacent county) and had at least three sons. The eldest of these was Ragnvald Eysteinsson, Jarl of More and Orkney who acquired the latter as compensation after his eldest son was killed fighting against pirate Vikings. Ragnvald had another son Hrolfr Ragnvaldsson (also known as Rollo) born in 860 who was great-great-great grandfather of King William I of England. The middle son of Eystein was Sigurd Eysteinsson and he would become 2nd Jarl of Orkney when his elder brother returned to Norway. The last son was Hulc Eysteinsson born in 845 who as we have already learnt ended up in Normandy. The results of my DNA testing are consistent with Scandinavian ancestry but our possible links to the Vikings were established before these results were known. We do of course have a least one more known link to the Vikings, via the Linklater family who can be traced back to the early 15th century on Orkney and who undoubtedly had Viking ancestry as well. But the Vikings were everywhere around one 1000 years ago, with the Danelaw including Yorkshire, Cambridge and Norfolk, and so we could have other links to them in both England and Normandy. Indeed my DNA results suggest a median of 12% of our DNA can be traced to these itinerant seafarers, so there are likely to be several sources. 192 Our Family Saga Our Earliest Ancestors According to Norse Mythology: Name ‘Nickname’ Position Dates Fornjot Giant King of Gotland 100-250 Kari Fornjotsson Wind King of Kvenland 185-240 Frosti Karisson Frost King of Kvenland 240-274 Snaer Frostisson Snow King of Kvenland 274-340 Thorri Snaersson Winter King of Kvenland 320-395 Gorr Thorrisson Sea King King of Nordic Islands 365-445 Heytir Gorrsson - King of Kvenland 425- Sveidi Heytirsson Sea King King of Norway 600- Halfdan Sveidisson The Old Earl of Oppland 750-800 Our Viking Ancestors: Name ‘Nickname’ Position Dates Halfdan Sveidisson The Old Earl of Oppland 750-800 Ivar Halfdansson - Earl of Oppland 780-824 Eystein Glumra The Noisy Earl of Oppland & Hedmark 805-870 Hulc Eysteinsson - Viking Chief 845-912 193 Our Family Saga 194 FIDDIAN FAMILY HISTORY
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