Updates to this Website

Sorry I don’t update this website very often, however all the information contained within it doesn’t really go out of it date does it?
So enjoy the site and contact me if you want any more information.

Arthur Fowler

Whilst browsing through the archives on the Ancestry website, I came across some records relating to my great grandfather Arthur Fowler and the part he played in the Great War.

Arthur was born in 1884 in Bangor, Newtonards, County Down, Ireland. He enlisted in the Royal Engineers in 1915, serving in France and Belgium, where he was killed in action 11 Apr 1918 at Estaires. This was part of the Battle of Lys Offensive in Flanders

You can view his memorial entry here on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.

Here is Arthurs signed enlistment form from 1915,  the form confirming his award of the Victory Medal and his entry in the Ireland Memorial Record :

Arthur left behind a wife Julia and 6 children Cissy, Frank, Katherine, Ruby, Agnes and Julia my grandmother.

Updated Single Page Trees

I’ve uploaded some updated A3 size single page pdf tree diagrams.

You can find them here :

• Heads branch
• Hunt branch
• Baker branch
• Forster branch
• Melton branch
• Peacock Branch

Family Tree Update 16 Feb 2009

Click here for the latest Family Tree.

At long last another update!

The tree now has 1052 people from 264 families, thats 200 new people since last time!

You’ll notice that I’ve also changed the format, it’s now easier to update, should be more readable and includes photos where I have them!

Here’s an example of William Hunt’s page showing the photos. You should be able to move around by clicking on the names in the graphical tree.

I’m sorry I haven’t updated the A4 printable layouts, they are just too time consuming to create. However if you would like a personal ancestry tree created then please just let me know.

Thanks! enjoy the update

Tree Update 15th March 2008

Click here for the latest Family Tree.

At long last another update! and its a big one! The tree now has 854 people from 225 families, thats an additional 190 people since last time! Take a look, some of the entries now go back to the early 1600′s.  

The printable layouts have now been split into 9 pages and are available by clicking on the links below

• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Baker branch
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Forster branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Heads branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Hunt branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Hunt branch 2 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Clarke branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Melton branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Peacock branch 
• Download an A4 size pdf file of the Duggan branch

sorry for the long delay since last time, enjoy the update!

Ethel Baker

This is a photo of Ethel Baker (1894-1925) kindly provided by her grandson Alan.

Ethel was the twin sister of my great grandfather James Baker (1894-1976).

Baker and Anderson new photos

Many thanks to Mabel Scott (nee Baker) for letting me have copies of photos of some Baker and Anderson relatives.

The photo on the left is of my greatx2 grandfather Edward Baker (1853-?), an upholsterer by trade who lived in the Westgate area of Newcastle and was married to Margaret Irving Little in 1876.

The photo on the right is of my greatx2 grandmother Rachel Hannah Anderson (nee Hart) (1864-?), she was originally from Carlisle but moved to Monkwearmouth where she eventually met and married Alexander Anderson (1866-?). Her daughter Jane Cousins Anderson married one of Edward Baker’s sons, my great grandfather James Baker. Sitting on her knee is Kenny Young her grandson by her daughter Elizabeth.

This photo shows Edward Baker (1881-?), his wife Bartie and one of their children, possibly Nora or Ada. Edward was the oldest son of Edward Baker (1853-?) and brother to my great grandfather James Baker.

You can view more photos of the Anderson Family by clicking here, and the Baker Family is here.

You can view the Family Tree of the Baker/Anderson line by clicking here.

Newcastle – The Castle

I spend a lot of time researching and reading about the history of Newcastle and the Tyne, after all it’s where most of my more recent ancestors came from. However I find that from a historic perspective the area doesn’t really get as much coverage as it deserves. I’ve therefore decided to start publishing a few snippets and links that will hopefully interest you.

First the Castle.

Newcastle’s name derives from the Norman Castle whose foundations were first laid down around 1080 by Robert Curthose, son of William the Conqueror. Although it’s difficult to see today due to the modern buildings, the site of the castle is actually very strong with steep banks on three sides.

The original castle was just an earth and wood motte and bailey, but it was improved over the years, and the currently visible keep was completed in 1177. It has had a varied history and was last used for military purposes during the civil war in 1644, however it’s direct military purpose was somewhat diminished after the building of the extensive city walls around 1280.

An excellent virtual tour of the castle keep can be found here, and other interesting links are here with a lot of pictures here.

Hope you enjoy them.

Surname Census Distribution

A lot of people have contacted me and asked how I created the census distribution diagrams on this website. Well the truth is I didn’t!They are actually created by a very handy website from the National Trust which you can find here.The website compares surname distributions between the 1881 and 1998 UK census’, and also provides some handy tabular data about frequency, ethnicity and geographic location of the surname in your search.Enter your own surname and try it out, you may be surprised how good it is at predicting where your family name originated from.UK only I’m afraid though.National Trust Names Website

Gannin’ alang the Scotswood Road

Here’s a nugget of historical information for you. Most people are familiar with the Geordie anthem ‘Blaydon Races‘ but I bet not many people can claim a link to it, even if it is a bit tenuous.

Here’s the second verse…

We flew past Airmstrang’s factory
and up to the ‘Robin Adair‘
Just gannin’ doon te the railway bridge,
the bus wheel flew off there.
The lasses lost their crinolines off,
an’ the veils that hide their faces.
An’ aw got two black eyes an’ a broken nose
in ga’n te Blaydon Races

Well, my great grandfather William Heads (1859-?) lived in a house marked on the 1861 census as No.7 Robin Adair public house, Scotswood Road. It is possible that the pub had rented rooms, however it is more likely that there was a row of unnamed houses next to the pub, quite a lot of streets didn’t seem to have official names in those days.

The famous ‘Blaydon Races‘ song was first performed by George Ridley on 5th June 1862. He performed it at the Wheatsheaf Inn in Newcastle’s Cloth Market which was owned by a gentleman called Bambra (the name the pub holds today). As the first line of the song points out, the date of the event was the 9th June, so it is historically assumed that George was writing about the previous year’s race event – the year of the 1861 census.

I wonder if little William Heads, his father Christopher and mother Jane actually saw the bus wheel fly off?

Oh, and would you believe that little William Heads grew up and married Mary Ann Ridley, thats her on the far right of the website banner! (no link proved though….yet!)

update : go here and click on the 2nd link for a nice downloadable brochure on the history of the Blaydon Races song including all the verses!