England, Here I come!!!!

England, Here I Come!!


The Date: Sunday, January 7, 2018
The Time: 8:17 p.m.
Confirmation #: ASJLID

The moment when I clicked on the confirm button on my laptop to book my flight to London England was a dream come true.  A e-mail arrives with Confirmation Number and Info.
Now the panic set in.... "What have I done".
I can't do this, travel to England by myself for 22 days. I have to Cancel right away!
OK! OK! Take a deeeeeep breath, relax, you can do this.
NO I can't, YES you can, No I can't, Yeeeees you can!!!


Fast forward a year, March 15th, 2019.

Have you ever had that moment when you were sure you had thought every thing through and went ahead and booked a trip and then once you push the Confirm button you begin to second guess your self.

Well I  second guessed myself.   I'd been picturing this day for many years and finally I was going to get to take my dream (Bucket List) trip from April 24 to May 17th, 2018.

Now for those that don't know me, I do not travel well with out having a defined plan and Itinerary. So of course I had an idea of where and what I wanted to see but was the who I wanted to see, going to want to see a total stranger from Canada.

Several years ago I had published a book titled "Pott Family Journey, Before and After 1892" which was a culmination of years of research on my Great Great Grandfather John Pott, his ancestors and descendants. All the research was completed and well documented and all I had to do was come up with a trip itinerary. A itinerary of which places to visit and incorporate visits with extended relatives that resided in those areas. Sounds quite simple, right?
I had 107 days from clicking on the confirm button to board a plane to Toronto and then go on to Gatwick airport in London, England. That's how many days I had to come up with a full proof plan on maximizing every waking moment from the time of clicking confirm to boarding that plane.

First step was to tell family that I actually  pulled the trigger and booked the flight. I had talked a long story about going one day, therefore, were friends and family going to believe me when I told them that I booked. To my delight everyone was thrilled that I was going and offered to help in any way they could. They offered up their choice of tourist attractions that I should visit and which hotels I should stay in and which trains and planes I should take to get around. The only problem was none of their suggestions were even remotely close to places I wanted to go and the people I wanted to see. Don't get me wrong I appreciated their offers but this was a very different type of trip . It was a pilgrimage, not a typical vacation that people think of when going to Europe.
There was a word I had not used before and it excited me, not only was I going to England but I was going to EUROPE! Sounds so much more glamorous and regal!
Okay, bring the nose down a little, I'm not the first person nor will I be the last person to go to England, or Europe. 

Now the excitement was building, but the panic was still there, now I only had 106 days to plan. 
Long story (104 days in total) made short, the planning continued to take shape as I prioritized my wants, needs, likes and can’t miss out on items. I would have 21 days on the ground traveling the ancestral country of my moms parents and Grandparents.I would also be taking a journey into Belgium and France to follow the footsteps of my dad’s father John Badgley who served in the Great War WW1. I had given my self 11 days to travel the country side of England and visit with distant family, 3 days relocation travel,  2 days in Belgium, 3 days in France and 2 days back in London before flying home. 

The plan was to fly from Winnipeg to Toronto and then on to Gatwick International airport. From there I would board a train to Derby England. I would arrive mid afternoon in Derby and from that point on each day was planned out to where, what or who I would see each hour based on a 18 hour day. I only need 6 hours sleep at the most, but I new that I needed to stop and eat 😂. 

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

daily notes

22nd

23rd

APRIL

24th

25th

26th

27th

28th

daily notes

Travel day Leave 3:45 p.m.

Travel / Derby 1/2 day

Derby

Derby

Derby

29th

30th

MAY

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

5th

daily notes

Derby

Derby

Travel / Yoxall 1/2 day

Yoxall Area

Yoxall Area

Yoxall Area

Yoxall Area

6th

7th

8th

9th

10th

11th

12th

daily notes

Travel / Full Day

Poperinge Belgium

Poperinge Belgium

Travel  1/2 day

Aubigny-en-artois France

Aubigny-en-artois France

Aubigny-en-artois France

13th

14th

15th

16th

17th

18th

20th

daily notes

Travel / Full Day

London

London

Depart 1:25 Arrive 7:45 p.m.

daily notes

Mary Mary quite contrary!

All Families have skeletons in the closet !

It's not uncommon to watch a mystery documentary or movie and inevitably some one has a family skeleton that is revealed from their past.  Sometimes the family secrets are shared or eventually come out but then there are times when the truth is twisted or whitewashed to make the situation less embarrassing for the time period that it took place.
So is the case in our family.  The characters in this story are Ann Fletcher Pott better known as Aunt Ann, Mary Ellen Dawson - my Grandmother and Unknown Child and a old newspaper obit for a Fanny Dawson (infant). 



Ann (Fletcher) Pott wife of
Francis Pott brother to Thomas.

Mary Ellen (Dawson) Pott
Circa: 1910

The story has it that my grandmother came to Canada in 1910 to be the caregiver for her Aunt Ann that had come to Canada a few years earlier and was now widowed. For over a hundred years no one questioned the story, and why would we?

As hinted at earlier, the whitewash fades and at some point inquiring minds will ask the question why would a young single British girl come to a wild and strange country like Canada? My Mom had once told me that her mother had been ready to marry a man and she was expecting a child with this man out of wedlock. The child died at birth and the marriage was called off and she came to Canada.
So I asked a distant cousin , who still lives in England, if there was any truth to this story? She told me that there was once  a story shared by her mother also that my Grandmother had been ready to marry a man whom she was expecting a child  but when the child passed the marriage was called off and Mary left for Canada.

I can only imagine how hard Mary found it to leave all her family behind never to see them again except in photo's as she never returned to England to visit.
The only connection that she had to family when she came to Canada was through Ann (Fletcher) Pott the wife of Georges uncle, Frank Pott. Ann was a half sister to Mary Ellen's grandmother, (Mary Ellen's mom's mom) so one could say she was a Great Aunt and through Mary's marriage to George Pott, Ann became her aunt.
Are you confused don't worry so was I? Lets just say she was related. The point of this was to point out that Ann was the only person remotely close to family for Mary Ellen when she came to Canada. 

The white wash portion or unclear part of the story indicated that the child was born and passed  away shortly after birth and then the marriage was called off and my Grandmothers parents sent her to Canada to get her away from the embarrassment and the pain of loosing this child.

Seems all logical and made sense for the time period that we were dealing with but some things still didn't add up. First off, what was the child's name, when was it born, who was the father, and when did it pass away. Obviously this all happened prior to my grandmother coming to Canada, so the story went, so off I went to dig for the answers.
Now no one else had heard this story except myself and one other cousin (at least that would admit they were told) so there really was nothing to substantiate the story or give us a lead.
First puzzle piece- Grandmother had come to Canada in 1910 but was that days, weeks or months after the child had been born and passed.
A quick search of the BMD files for Derbyshire presented an answer with a potential birth of a child with the same mothers name as my grandmother.
Second puzzle piece was to find a death registration from the time the child was born to the time Marry Ellen left for Canada.
Sounds pretty easy I thought. I searched the BMD files for Derbyshire once again and WHAT?
There were no records to be found, so I searched surrounding counties thinking perhaps that she was staying with family at the time the child passed away. Still no record. Now what?
Well first I thought that since we did not know the whole truth maybe the child did not die and was left behind with family. Again, seems logical!

Next step, search the 1911 Census records for a child that would be no more than a year old living with Mary's family. No luck, along with several on line chatters we were not able to find the child.
My first thought was that the child had passed away prior to the census but one of my fellow researchers indicated that if the child was born out of wed lock that he/she may not have been included by the family on the census reporting.

Ok, expand the search from 1911 thru to 1916. Bingo found a child that correlated with the time line of the birth. So maybe she was not included on the census in 1911 but was this the child or did she die before 1911 and the registration is missing.

Only one way to get more info and that was to send away for the actual copies of the birth record and the possible death record of the child that matches the time line of our story.
Tick- Tock, Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock!!
Well a couple months later the first certificate comes. Its the birth record and yes it clearly is a perfect match. Mary Ellen Dawson listed as mother to a child by the name of Fanny Dawson born September 29, 1909, no father listed.
Fanny Elizabeth Dawson born 29, September, 1909 to Mary Ellen Dawson (Verified with certificate)- Domestic servant (Unwed) living at 14 Trent St.  Alvaston Derby.
The Address matched the address where Mary's parents were living in the 1901 census and the 1911 census. So the child must have died prior to 1911 or why would the child not be listed with Mary's parents?

The waiting continues and finally the second envelope arrives with the death record of the mystery child. The record is a match, the child is Fanny Elizabeth Dawson passed away on 7 August, 1912 (Verified with certificate) witness to event is listed a Maria Jordan "Grandmother" living at Field lane, Alvaston, Derby.

Now we have a match for the newspaper clipping for the mystery Fanny Elizabeth Dawson death announcement that I found among the papers my mom had kept belonging to her mom Mary Ellen!

This explains why the child was not listed on the 1911 census with Mary's parents but why was the child with this family at the time of death and not listed on the census with them?

Now the plot has thickened and I call on my online Roots Chat Group for assistance.
Here is what I posted on line:

"Here is all I have:"

Fanny Elizabeth Dawson born 29, September, 1909 to Mary Ellen Dawson
- Domestic servant (Unwed) living at 14 Trent S.t Alvaston Derby
- Birth certificate verifies this.

Mary Ellen Dawson came to Canada in  1910 and left the child behind.
(at this point I'm thinking with the father and his family)

Fanny Elizabeth Dawson passed away on 7 August, 1912 (Verified with certificate) witness to event is listed a Maria Jordan Grandmother living at Field lane, Alvaston, Derby.

My grandmother kept a obit announcement for this Child and we never new who it was. Now we do!

Here is the response I got from the Chatters!

"Found a newspaper article from Derby telegraph Feb 8, 1910 listing a Derby Borough court date for a Mary Ellen Dawson and a James Jordan-a laborer -Eden St."

Aha!! Bingo....
Derby Daily Telegraph 8 Feb 1910
Police News
Derby Borough Court
Maintenance - James Jordan, labourer, Eden Street, appeared on a warrant for non-payment of £3 3s being 18 weeks arrears under an affiliation order made Nov 30 to Mary Ellen Dawson. The case was adjourned for 4 weeks so that they might come to some arrangement. 

Derby Daily Telegraph 13 August 1910
Derby Borough Court
To Gail for a Month
Thomas Jordan labourer Eden St was charged on a warrant of being 26 weeks in arrears of a maintenance order of 3s 6d a week on behalf of his illegitimate child, his full indebtedness being £4 11s. It was stated that the man had made no payment since the order was granted and he was sent to prison for a month his excuse being that he had been ill and out of work.

This means the maintenance order was granted in Feb 1910 some months after Fanny was born. But the maintenance order may have been the 'arrangement' come to in Feb 1910 after the previous court case.

This case against Thomas must have been shortly before Mary Ellen Dawson emigrated. I wonder if the address of the person who brought the case might give a clue as to where Fanny was in 1911? I wonder if the Derby Court records are available?

Posting this as the address is 7 Field Lane Alveston
Thomas' sister Sarah Ellen Jordan was married to Harry Roe

Harry Roe Enlistment Age:   30
Marriage Date:   15 Jun 1907 Boulton Church Boulton
Document Year:   1914
Residence Place:   7 Field Lane, Alveston Derby
Regimental Number:   55342 Regiment Name:   Royal Engineers
Number of Images:   29
Form Title:   Short Service Attestation
Next of Kin Sarah Ellen address 7 Field Lane Alveston
Children Lily born 31 Oct 1907
Violet Maria 25 Jun 1910
Marry 10 March 1913

Baptism of Thomas Jordan

Name	Thomas Jordan
Event Type	Christening
Event Date	18 Jul 1886
Event Place	St James, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England
Gender	Male
Father's Name	William Jordan
Mother's Name	Maria

ADDED: and possibly his death from BMD records
Jun 1913 
Jordan    Thomas    age 27    Shardlow    7b   541

Now we have a much clearer picture of the events and time line of the birth and death of this child that Mary Ellen left behind with her parents and or the fathers parents. We can assume that Thomas was the child's father but we will never know for sure nor will we know who the child was living with after Mary came to Canada in 1910.

How the generations looked!

Not much to say about this page other than this is a collection of pictures of my great grandparents, Grandparents, parents and other relatives. Just so that there is a digital copy saved somewhere out there other than up in the cloud.

John Pott





Thomas & Maria Pott and Family

This picture could have been taken about 1889, as the youngest child Sara was christened on Jan. 27^th 1889. Most of the family are seen wearing a corsage on their lapels indicating that it was a special occasion.

Pictured from Left to Right,

Alice, John, Elizabeth, Jane, Maria holding Sara, Francis, Thomas holding George, Thomas, Mary.

The gentleman holding the horse is likely Thomas Mewis according to 1891 Census.




Thomas & Maria (Matkin) Pott




Thomas & Maria Pott outside original cabin



George & Mary (Dawson) Pott





Marget (Pott) Badgley

WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF !

WHY DO WE KEEP STUFF!

 

I recently had to go to the bank to look for something in my safety deposit box. Now, I had not been in it for some time and when I opened it I remembered that the last time I was in this position I asked my self "WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF"? So here I was asking my self the same thing again. To add to the conundrum,  I could not find what I was looking for either.

There was so much STUFF that there was no more room to put any thing else in the box!



So instead of just closing the box and handing it back to the teller I decided to empty it and take every thing home to sort through it.

Now keep in mind I have had this box for nearly 35 years. What little treasures had we put into this 2" x 4" x 24" plastic box? 

 

 

 

 

Here is what I found:

My Birth certificate intact and over a half a century old,

Baptism record for our son Nickolas, along with some very old chocolate cigars to share with him at a later date. They look pretty scary!

Receipt for the down payment on our house we purchased in 1992.

several items tucked inside of the envelope with the receipt,

Receipts for the fridge and stove we purchased from Eatons in 1992.

I just bought a new Fridge about two months ago and paid a lot less then than now.

Receipts for Linda's wedding and engagement rings and other jewelry.

receipt for a piano we bought from friends.

Baptism records for Linda and a booklet given to her when she was born.

Clippings of the kids hair from their first hair cuts,

immunization records,

and the list goes on.

As I sifted thru all the pieces of paper, I reminisced of going through a box of my Grandparents belongings and how it told a story about their life journey and some of the less important events that took place in their lives but were important enough for them to keep the paperwork.

So in true style I threw a few pieces of papers out (mostly envelopes) but kept most of it to put back into the box so when my children look through the same papers they will see a few less important life events that took place in Linda and my lives, leaving them to wonder "WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF!"



 

Heirlooms from the past.

Family Heirlooms

The caregiver of these beautifully framed Postcards had this to say about them, "These are postcards sent by Horace and Edmund Pott to their mother, Maria Pott while enlisted during World War I, how cool is this?! They are silk embroidered, matted, and framed YEARS ago. Some staining, aging, yellowing from the years, but otherwise unharmed.

   

  

I've written about this piece of furniture in a previous post (Stop the Presses!!!!) but felt it was note worthy to also mention it in this posting as it really is a heirloom. This Dresser was once owned by Maria and Thomas Pott and dates back to 1898. It was then passed on to George and Mary Pott and then onto Marget (Pott) Badgley and on to me. One day I hope one of my children will appreciate the history of this piece and treasure it as much as I do.

 

This portrait is also mentioned in my very first posting but not pictured in its original frame and condition. As you can see this portrait is also been through a few closets and damp conditions but has weathered fairly well for being over a hundred years old (circa: 1870-1880).

If I come across any further heirlooms I'll post a picture of them.

Life continues to change!

Well I'm back

Don't think any one really missed me but just in case I'm back and attempting to post some further data.

Let me first tell you why my last post was in April of last year. Shortly after posting my last topic my wife's chronic lung condition took a turn for the worse. To the point that she was hospitalized for nearly three weeks before being released to go home.
That was the good news , however, the bad news was that she was placed on to the National Lung Transplant list. I'm sad to report a donor did not come available and on Dec. 8th her battle came to a quick and pain free end.
Its taken me some time to adjust to not having her around and it will be even a bigger challenge going forward. So today I've decided that it would be okay just to share a little about the person that had supported me for almost 32 years doing what I enjoy as a hobby and that is ancestry research.

Linda was not a person to dwell in or on the past but she did have an appreciation for the history and stories that relatives shared with me and in turn that I shared with her and our children. She was a very private person so to continue to honor her I will be very selective in what I post in my blog.

She was born on January 12, 1960 in Winkler Manitoba to Peter and Nettie (Nickel) Kehler. She was the second of five children, with two sisters and 2 brothers. Linda grew up on Jessie Ave in the Fort Rouge area of Winnipeg first living at 600 Jessie Ave and later moving across the street to 597 Jessie.
At 600 Jessie Ave. there where many people that boarded with them and she had an appreciation for extended family.

Upon reaching school age she would begin her educational journey in 1965 attending Gladstone School for afternoon Kindergarten classes with Miss Slaughter and the class consisted of 22 students.

                   Linda
   
Linda attended Gladstone School for grades K thru 6, Grades 7 thru 9 were at Earl Gray and Grades 10 thru 12 at Kelvin high school.
During this time, along with her younger brother they caught the German measles.  Unfortunately it turned into Pneumonia and progressed into long term lung infections.

(More to come to this post)

Allllllllllllllllllll Aboard!!!

I've mentioned in previous posts that many of our past relatives such as Thomas and Maria and some of their children made trips back to England by ship. Their journey often started with them leaving their homes from Roseau River by horse and buggy and going to Dominion city where they would board the train to Winnipeg, and then continue on to Montreal or Halifax to board their ship.

I started to reminisce that when I was a little gaffer we would travel to Dominion city to do our weekly shopping and drive by the old train station, and on occasion we would get to walk around the station.

Now as a 3 or 4 year old the building seemed so big and almost scary because of the people that hung around the station. I think back now and those scary people were our ancestors and that this was their version of today's modern monorail systems.

I would compare their experiences at the train station to our travels through airports, with all the hustle and bustle of arriving in a new land or saying farewell to family members not knowing when you would see them again.

All of those rail lines and train stations are now gone. Just a distant memory for some of us that are old enough to remember as children running up and down the deck with visions of the steam engines rolling up and hearing the Ding, Ding, Ding, of the old train bell.

I came across this picture of the train station that was moved from Dominion City and it brought back a flood of memories, all good.

Lichfield Workhouse

Continuing with more post cards and old pictures, I was sent this snap shot of an old post card. This is the location where Sarah Ellen Crossley (Toon / Fletcher) Dawson and her mother Hannah Crossley were both born. They were the mother and grandmother of my grandmother Mary Ellen (Dawson) Pott.

LICHFIELD WORKHOUSE

Birthplace of Hannah and Sarah Ellen Crossley

Photographs

A- Main Building

A – Main building. The centre 3-story section is the Masters domain. The 2 storey wings on either side are the separated accommodation for the paupers, females one side, males the other.

B- Centre block

B – Centre of the main building, the masters’ domain viewed from the road through the entrance archway.

C– Right hand dormitory of the main building.

C- Dormitory

D & F – Entrance gateway from the road with the single storey boardroom and office on the left and the chapel on the right.

D- Main Entrance

 

F- Main Entrance

E–  Left of the entrance building, the Boardroom and office. The main building can be seen to the rear of the entrance building across the courtyard. To the left you can see some of one of the dormitories and over the top, in the centre the tower over the 3-storey masters domain.  

 History



The two buildings took nearly two years to build and were opened on May 8, 1840. Able-bodied paupers were used in its construction and the specifications stipulated "bricks to be made from clay dug from the foundations". The only bricks purchased were the blue bricks used in the diaper (cris-cross) decoration to be seen on the front and sides of the main buildings.

The workhouse comprised of two main buildings. The entrance to the main building was through a two-story archway (now under a preservation order). On either side of this archway were single story wings, the one to the northeast housing a Chapel and the one to the southeast housing a Board Room and offices.

The archway was gated and the whole of the Institution and land was enclosed behind a brick wall and surmounted at intervals by spikes. The windows were distinctive, being fashioned with mullions and transoms.

Through the archway and across a courtyard stood the main building. Here again the same pattern was followed, but this time with two-storey wings flanking a three-storey central building which was the Masters’ domain. The front door of the Master’s house had a stone porch and an ornamental cupola occupied the centre of the roof. The wings of the house provided accommodation on one side for female and on the other for male paupers, both sexes being firmly separated by the Master’s house and dividing walls across the courtyard. A single storey dining hall was sited at the rear of the Master’s house and the whole building had many gables, typical of buildings at that time.

It is assumed that the buildings were over old foundations of the previous Parish Workhouse but no written evidence has been found to substantiate this.

The paupers had to work hard, rising at 5.45 a.m. their days work beginning at 7.00 a.m. until 12.00 p.m., an hour’s break and starting again at 1.00 p.m. finishing at 6.00 p.m. Bedtime was at the early time of 8.00 p.m. The men picked Oakum and broke stones, whilst the women carried out work appropriate to their physical capacity.

Adequate, though Spartan, sanitary arrangements were made, night closets being provided. However these closets were locked first thing in the morning and opened late at night by the Master or the Guardian.

No tea. Tea was a luxury item.

The female paupers had one toilet in their wing and another by the entrance gate to the hospital. This outside toilet had no door and no privacy was afforded. When the women needed a bath they had to go outside their own wing and behind the Master’s house to the end of the male wing where a bathroom had been provided. Stipulations were that all the paupers should be kept clean and provided with a change of clothing once a week.

In spite of these rigorous conditions paupers were probably much better off within the Province of the Workhouse than those people living in hovels in the city and surrounding villages who had no conveniences and no, or very meagre, financial means. The workhouse paupers were provided with food, warmth and shelter.

The buildings today are part of St, Michael’s Hospital in Lichfield run by The National Health service. It caters for about 140 patients, mainly Senior Citizens. This extract was from a history of the workhouse written by E.J. Leighfield, based on the reading of the journals of the patrons which were kept at the hospital until they were given to The Lichfield Local studies Center for safe keeping were I have actually read some journals during this period in my search for information on both Hannah and Sarah Ellen Crossley, both born at the workhouse.