The maternal side of my tree

It's Mother's Day again. I'm a mum myself so I get a little spoilt today by my husband and my children, but this day also makes me think of the mothers who have gone before me, who are no longer with us, my maternal ancestors.

Important Date: 28th May

Written in the Golden Text Book on this date is the name 'Bertram Thackray Lockwood' and the address '29 Albert Terrace, Burley Fields'.

Bertram or Bertie was my granduncle, the younger brother of my grandmother, Maud. The photograph left shows the two of them, probably outside their home.

Bertie was born in 1887. He died in 1891, aged 4 years old. I haven't been able to trace what caused his death but I do know that he was buried at Woodhouse Church and the ceremony was carried out by a Reverend Longbottom on 29th December. It must have been a very sad Christmas for the family that year.

Important Date: 27th May

The entry in the GTB for today reads, 'Ann Thackray died May 27th 1904'. On checking the list of Thackrays, I couldn't find an Ann with a maiden name of Thackray but I did find an Ann Mitchell who married John Thackeray. The dates of death match so this must be the right person.

Ann was my great great grandmother. She was born in either 1818 or 1822 in Leeds, Yorkshire. I have no details of her parentage or whether she had any siblings. Tracing her through the 1851 to 1901 census, she lived in the Leeds area all her life, mainly Headingley (with or cum Burley). She would have been in her eighties when she died.

In the 1891 census, Ann is listed as the head of the household 'living on own means'. She was by that time a widow, having lost her husband in 1872. Living with her were her son in law, Alfred Lockwood and her daughter Eliza. Her grandchildren, Maud (my grandma) and Bertram were also listed. She is still head of the household and living with Alfred, Eliza and Maud (Bertram died in 1891) in 1901 but she was then listed as 'paralized 15 years'.

It would seem that at least two of her children (older than Eliza) were still living in the area so I wonder if they helped Eliza to care for their mother.

It is noticeable that the surname Thackray is spelt differently on documents and census and even family records. Sometimes it becomes Thackeray and other times Thackrah. I wonder if this was down to the Yorkshire accent.

Broken Memory

For every two or three pieces of information that I find in my family history research, I come across a question or mystery. One of these mysteries is a broken up photograph among my parents' things.

The photograph was on card rather than photographic paper. There is no labelling to suggest a date, location or the names of the people in the photograph.

This is my maternal grandmother, Maud. She looks quite young so I assume this photograph was taken in the early 1900s (she was born in 1885).

I don't know the identity of these ladies. They may be friends or family members. Perhaps if I check through the old photographs I have, I can match them up with a name.

I've no idea why this photograph was broken up but the pieces had obviously been stored with care. The more I dip in to my ancestors' lives, the more I come up against brick walls and questions that seem unanswerable.

Eliza's Will

One of the recent finds was a copy of the will of Eliza Lockwood, nee Thackeray. This has proved very useful because I now have a date of death for her but it also raises a question.

According to the will, everything belonging to Eliza was left to her daughter, Maud (my grandmother). Included in Eliza's belongings was the following,

"Piece or parcel of land with the dwellinghouse thereon Number 22 Spring Grove Walk, Burley or Headingley-cum-Burley, Leeds".

Up to and including 1911, Eliza was living at 29 Albert Terrace, Kirkstall. At the time of her death, she was resident at 5 Vickers Avenue, Kirkstall which was her daughter and son-in-law's home. Can I assume that somewhere in between those dates, Eliza and her family moved to 22 Spring Grove Walk?

The frustrating thing is that I've heard the address somewhere before in my family history research. I must look through the documents I have for my mother's side of the family again. 

An Educated Woman

I always knew that my grandmother, Lydia was an English teacher. My mum was very proud of her mother and the fact that she not only held the family together but also was an educated woman in her own right.

In the box of my parents' belongings that we found recently, was a whole range of certificates that outlined my grandmother's teacher training. Looking through her certificates, it quickly becomes clear that she also trained in art, music and physical education. I assumed she taught secondary school age children but it seems from her certificates that she was qualified to teach at a primary school.

She learnt music through the Tonic Sol-Fa College. I've included one of her certificates above. Her other training was carried out through the Victoria University, Leeds and correspondence courses.

She registered as a teacher in 1919, at the age of 34 years old. She had been married to Alfred for four years by that time and her first child, Betty would be born the following year.

I have a certificate that states she worked as Assistant Mistress at St Stephen's School in Leeds until 1927. I'm unsure whether she stopped working as a teacher at that stage.

I'll have more information about Maud and some interesting photographs too very soon.

Remembering Mum

Another Mothering Sunday has come around. My husband and children are spoiling me with breakfast in bed and chocolates (not at the same time - that could get messy). All in all, it's been a relaxing day but the disadvantage of having this downtime is that it gives me the chance to think and the more I think, the more I remember that my Mum isn't here. So today, I'll not only enjoy the day in my role as mum but I'll also remember the times I had with my mother too.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll also share some new information I've found on two more mothers in my family, my two grandmothers.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mums, those still with us and those we have lost. You all have a place in our hearts.

International Women's Day 2011

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the start of International Women's Day. That's one hundred years of celebrating the achievements of women, past, present and future in all areas of life, be that social, political or economic. I've posted a more in depth discussion about the event on the Fi's Magical Writing Haven blog. There's also an Open University group for this event.

It got me thinking about the women in my own family and specifically the women alive in 1911 when International Women's Day began. Back then, to use a cliched phrase, my parents were not even twinklings in their parents' eyes.

This is Lydia Jane Whittaker, my father's mother. In 1911, she was 25.  She hadn't met Charlie Roberton who was to be her husband and wouldn't for another ten years. She lived at 16 Crescent, Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, Scotland with her parents, Robert and Jane. It seems that her four half-siblings had all moved on by then. Her occupation was a printfield worker. She and her father were very religious and part of the congregation who raised money for their church, St Mungo's to be built. She was heavily involved with her church, not only as a part of the congregation but also decorating the church with flowers and working at the Sunday school.

This is Maud Annie Lockwood, my mother's mother. In 1911, she would have been a similar age to Lydia, at 26 years old. She was also single and wouldn't marry Alfred Lodge until 1915. She was living at 29 Albert Terrace, Headingley cum Burley (later to be Kirkstall), Leeds, England with her parents, Alfred and Eliza. She qualified as a teacher in 1906 and in 1911 was working as an English teacher. I always got the impression that she came from a much more comfortable background than Lydia but that could have just been my mother wanting to make it sound like that.


What is undeniable is that both women were extremely strong and hardworking. Like their mothers before them, they were the backbones of their families. I'm very proud to name them among my ancestors. I wonder what they would think of the world in 2011.

Recently found photographs

As the title suggests, I've recently unearthed these photographs from the pile of family documents I have.

My mum is visible as the little girl at the back, sat next to her mother on the right. At the front are Betty and Ken. Alfred looks very relaxed smoking a pipe. I don't know who the woman at the back left is.

Betty at the  beach, still wearing pearls even with her swimming cossie - how stylish.

My grandad Alfred and my uncle Ken

Decisions, decisions...

I now have a decision to make. Do I concentrate on extending the branches of my family tree further back or do I look at building a richer picture of the lives of individuals in the tree?

There are certain individuals who interest me. I would love to learn more about Alfred Lockwood the musician. I'm also interested to find out more about both of my grandmothers, in particular Lydia's connection with St Mungo's in Alexandria.

I have a massive collection of documents and books which hold information on my family to go through, and a pile of photographs. All of these needs to be housed somewhere safe and in an environment that will not damage them.

My research is very much housebound, online or through the post. I have to fit it in around my family life and work. I'm sure I'm not alone in that situation.

I'll let you know what I decide.

Alfred Lockwood

This is my great grandfather, the father of my maternal grandmother, Maud Annie Lodge, nee Lockwood. He was born in 1853 in Almondbury, Yorkshire.

I have an old book of birthdays and important dates called The Golden Text Book which bears the following writing on the inside cover,

"Alfred Lockwood, Practical Pianoforte Tuner, &C., 29 Albert Terrace, Burley Leeds."

The next page  reads,

"Miss Thackrah, January 1880".

The next cover reads,

"Miss Thackray, A present from her lover, Alfred. January 1880."

The 1861 census makes it clear that Alfred's family were part of a larger household. The address is Silver Hill, Almondbury. The head of the household was a James Taylor, Merchant. It looks like Alfred and his family lived and worked on the estate of the Taylor family. Looking at the actual handwritten copy of the census, James Taylor lived at Fenay Hall.

Details from census and other documents have Alfred working as the following,

1871 - clerk
1880 - piano tuner
1881 - musician
1891 - coal merchant
1901 - limited companys secretary

He married Eliza in 1884 in Leeds, Yorkshire. He appears to have lived in Almondbury up until 1880 when he was living in Burley. From then on, he seems to have lived in Headingley with or cum Burley, Yorkshire. He died in 1906.

Maud Annie Lockwood

This is my maternal grandmother, Maud Annie Lockwood. She was born in 1885 in Leeds, West Yorkshire. Her younger brother, Bertram died as a young child so Maud was brought up as an only one.

From the way my mum and my aunt and uncle talked about her, Maud sounded like a hard working woman who looked after the rest of the family without complaining.

She worked as an English teacher so was obviously an educated woman.

As a child she lived in Headingley cum Burley before moving to Kirkstall in her twenties. She married Alfred in 1915. She lived in Kirkstall until she died in 1962, aged 77 years old.