The research and history of my own family
I’ve recently been able to add to the history of my family at the farm in Pilsley, Derbyshire thanks to the release of the 1921 Census by Find My Past. Anthony Hays had bought the farm in 1909 and in the 1911 Census he is living there with his second wife Jane (nee Taylor) and his five children. Anthony is 41, a coal miner and … Continue reading An Update …
Part IPart IIPart IIIPart IV John and William Richardson sailed for Bermuda on 23rd April 1844 on the prison hulk Thames. The voyage would have taken about a month and they would be joining other prison hulks already moored there. Transportation to Bermuda began in 1824 with the arrival of the Antelope, followed by the Dromedary, Coromandel and Weymouth. US independence in 1776-1783 meant that Britain … Continue reading Black Sheep Sunday – Yorkshire Sheep Rustlers Part V
The last time we met John & William Richardson, they had admitted their guilt to the York Assizes and were on their way to Millbank prison in London to await transportation for ten years. Following their stay in Millbank they were moved to the prison hulk York moored off the Portsmouth coast. I found a record of them there on Ancestry. The register notes they … Continue reading Black Sheep Sunday – Yorkshire Sheep Rustlers part IV
Part IPart II So John and William found themselves in York Castle prison, charged with two counts of sheep theft. On 23rd of December 1843, the York Herald reported that they had pleaded guilty to both counts and William also admitted to having stolen a bay gelding from Robert Williamson the previous September. Since 1742 theft of sheep and cattle had been a capital offence, … Continue reading Black Sheep Sunday – Yorkshire Sheep Rustling Part III
Part I William and John Richardson’s freedom following their discharge by the York magistrates was short-lived. The following Saturday a warrant was issued for their arrest; evidence had been discovered of further sheep thefts carried out by the brothers. John was arrested at a farmhouse in Wheldrake, while William had arrived at the Station House of his own accord. They appeared before the magistrate, Mr. … Continue reading Black Sheep Sunday – Yorkshire Sheep Rustling Part II
I was fortunate that my previous place of employment had access to the British Library’s online newspaper archive. One quiet lunchtime I decided to put ‘Liverton’ and ‘Richardson’ in as search terms and see if there was any mention of this family and place in the papers. To my surprise the search returned a series of news reports on two Richardson brothers who had been … Continue reading Black Sheep Sunday – Yorkshire Sheep Rustling. Part I
Another post in my series on people who have been connected to my late father-in-law’s farm In Pilsley, Derbyshire. Emanuel was born on the 28th January 1907 in Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire to parents Anthony and Jane (née Taylor).1 He had three half-siblings from Anthony’s first marriage to Rachel Flint; Hannah, Sarah Ellen and William Anthony. At the time of his birth, he had one older full … Continue reading Emanuel Taylor Hays (1907-1972)
A blog post in the series of people who are or were connected to my late father-in-law’s farm in Pilsley, Derbyshire. James Melrose held two fields in trust between 1902 and 1920 following the death of his brother-in-law, William Thorpe. James was born in Derby in 1847 to parents James and Margaret (nee Hardman).1 In 1851 James is 3 and living with his parents and … Continue reading James Melrose (1847 – 1927)
A blog post in a my series looking at the people and families that share a connection with my late-father-in-law’s farm in Pilsley, Derbyshire Matilda inherited the land and property (marked in red below) from her father Thomas Coope following his death in 1879. Matilda was baptised on the 26th November 1820 in North Wingfield to single woman Elizabeth Cutts. Her middle name being Coope … Continue reading Matilda Coope Cutts (c1820-1898)
Following on from my discoveries I’ve made with my father-in-law’s farm & its land, I’ve been looking at the family history of some of its owners. Thomas Coope owned the left hand side of the field that is still in our family – the smallest field on the map below. The larger field also formed part of the farm holdings later on. I found Thomas’s … Continue reading Thomas Coope (1796-1879)
Caroline's Chronicles 