52 Ancestors: Week 5: Sarah Banks, b.1855 in Limerick, Ireland (updated again)

Sarah Banks, daughter of Marcus Banks, married Thomas Morrissey / Morrissy at St Michael's, Limerick, Ireland in 1876. They went on to have the following children:

Mary Anne b.1877

Margaret b. 1879

John b. 1882

Esther Christina b. 1887

Patrick Joseph b. 1890

Thomas b. 1896

William b. 1898

See 1901 census here showing all the family exept Mary Ann.  Thomas and John are shown as having the occupation jarvey (?).  The family are shown at house 27 in Vizes Fields (Dock Limerick Urban No. 4, Limerick)

See 1911 census here showing Sarah, Thomas (a car driver) and William (scholar) at house 28 Vizes Fields (Limerick No. 4 Urban, Limerick).

According to LimerickLad on Rootschat Vizes Fields was named after the gentleman that owned the land between St Joseph Street and Bowman Street (where I believe Patrick Joseph Morrissey was born) on which a housing scheme of cottages was built.

Patrick joined the army and moved to India. Talking of India, the British Library have joined with Find My Past and now 2.5 million India Office Records have been published on line.  See the list here.

Update (5th February 2014)

When I was googling Vizes Field, Limerick I came across a YouTube video - Save Vizes Field. You can see the little cottages in the back ground.  It's shocking that they want to build a horrible block of flats (that do not appear to be fit for purpose anyway) on a little bit of green land.  It will ruin it :-(  

There is also a reference to Vizes Fields (see chapter 5) in Mickey Slabdabber, a Limerick Odyssey By Michael Quinlan

Update (19th February 2014)  Another good lead from my new Find My Past month subscription.  A reference to a Marcus Banks in the Irish Petty Sessions Court Registers 1828 - 1912.

20 July 1880, Marcus Banks, Defendant, Court Tarbert, County Kerry, a bootman or boatman of the city of Limerick - You the defendant on the 3rd July 1880 at Tarbert ??? Co Kerry were unlawfully drunk on the public highway.  To pay for fine two shillings + six pence + costs one shilling.

Any help on reading the occupation would be gratefully received. 

My Family Silver...

I am finally making time to do a blog post that I have been wanting to do since June 2013!

I am lucky it only took me seven months to do the blog post since the item I am blogging about took years and years in the making.  About eight, nine or ten years ago I went to a family history fair at Worcester Racecourse. There I met a lady selling 'family silver'; silver that could be engraved with your family names.  To me it was the most perfect way to display my family history.  And in a way that meant so much to me since my ancestors were silversmiths.  

I knew I wanted a silver bracelet and I knew which shape tags I wanted and the type of clasp. Back at home I tried to work out which names should appear (I have so many) and where but I couldn't figure it out. Time passed and I would come across the paperwork over the years and try again to work out how I wanted the names to appear.  

Then in 2013 I was very lucky to win online courses in genealogy and family history with Pharos Tutors through a Who Do You Think You Are? live competition in association with the Federation of Family History Societies (FFHS).  The FFHS asked if I was attending the WDYTYAL show so that I could accept the prize in person.  This, I thought, was my opportunity to finally get the bracelet I had always craved.  I contacted Esme at Family Silver to see if she was going to be at the show.  She was!  And the rest as they say is history.  Here is my beautiful family silver treasure.  I love it.

And my choice of names... Well, I was still deciding that on the coach down to London so I was cutting it very, very fine even after all those years of thinking about it.

PS I love the fact that Esme found out her ancestors were also silversmiths when she researched her family. It's all in the genes.

edit - PPS - just realised that the competition link I provided earlier has a competition to win a family silver bracelet - see here 

52 Ancestors: Week 4: Charles Bunce Lea 1837 - 1909

Charles Bunce Lea was born on 24 January 1837 according to the Register of Staff for the G. W. R Locomotive and Carriage Department.  He entered service with them on 7 July '53.

He had been christened on 5 March 1837 in Tipton, Staffordshire.  By 1841 the family had moved to Kidderminster and in 1851 were living in Lower Mitton to be more precise.  

On 11 April 1858 he married Charlotte Chance in St Martin, Worcestershire and the new family remained in Worcester through 1861, 1871 and 1881.  By 1891, however, the family had moved to Birkenhead in Cheshire where Charles remained until his death on 7 November 1909.

52 Ancestors: Week 3: Rose Evelyn Arnold b 1900 (married Niagara Falls in 1922)

Last week I was pointed to an interesting marriage via Ancestry hints.  

Rose Evelyn Arnold was born in Aston in 1900 to Walter Arnold and Rose/Rosena Thomas. Rose appears on both the 1901 and 1911 census at Mansfield Road, Aston.  

However, on the 19 December 1922 aged 22 she marries Verney Wilmot Brodie, a Presbyterian, mechanic (son of David John Brodie and Margaret Doherty (?)) at Niagara Falls, Welland, Onatario, Canada.

52 Ancestors: Week 2: Francis Arnold c.1836 - d between 1891-1901

Birmingham Daily Post

Wednesday, October 19, 1870

A TRIPLE BIRTH - THE QUEEN'S LIBERALITY. - Mr. Thomas Gilbert Charlewood begs to inform the editor of the Daily Post that he has this day received (by command of her Majesty) a Post Office order for £3., as a donation to the wife of Francis Arnold, of Colmore Place, Summer Lane, who was confined on the 6th of this month with three children at one birth.

(Francis Arnold and Elizabeth Mallet - children from one birth - John, Eleanor and Betsy).

52 Ancestors: Week 1 (catch up): Isaac Dell, plasterer of Birmingham c1744 - 1810

The oldest document I have uncovered is a £200 fire insurance policy for Isaac Dell of Birmingham, Plasterer dated 1785.

Isaac died 14 March 1810 aged 66. His place of birth is still awaiting discovery. His wife, a virtuous wife, a tender mother, a sincere Christian (according to St Philip's Church MI's) Mary (maiden name not yet known) died in November 1803 and 6 months later he married Ann Smith (a truly good woman (according to her obituary)).

Inspired: 52 ancestors in 52 weeks

As you will see from my blog I have found it difficult to

a) find something to blog about, and 

b) make the effort/find the time to blog regularly (or even intermittently).

I am hoping all that will change after having noticed a tweet about Amy Johnson Crow's challenge 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks. For the first time in forever I actually feel inspired. 

So I would like to join the challenge but I want to do it in a realistic way so I am going to amend the challenge slightly (as Amy suggests in her blog) and attempt to do 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks in 52 words (or thereabouts). I am thinking that sticking to small posts will enable me to post something each week and will help me learn to write concisely (as you can see I tend to use a lot of words to say very little). Not sure how successful I will be but I need to start somewhere and like Amy said will 'hopefully develop a regular writing habit in the process'. 

Now my only problem is to decide who to start with...