Family heirloom

This time last year Patricia Bucknell nee Stacey, who was the mother of my 3rd cousin Liz, died at the age of 89.  I didn't know Liz until I started doing genealogy and we became acquainted via the internet.  I met up with Liz on a visit to Yorkshire a few years ago and she was good enough to show me round some places where our common ancestors lived and worked.   I didn't know about Patricia until recently so never spoke to my mother about her. According to Liz she used to visit Ravenfield where mum lived for a while and as she was only 4 years younger than mum perhaps they knew each other.

Our nearest common ancestor is our great great grandfather John Stacey.  My great grandmother Everell Stacey was the sister of Liz's great grandfather John Stacey.  Another of their siblings was Ann Stacey.  Ann married Henry Broadhead and they had a daughter called Annie who was born in 1895.  That makes Annie Broadhead my 1st cousin two times removed.

All this is lateral family history lateral family history and maybe a bit confusing.  You may wonder what all this is leading to.  In Victorian England many young ladies were brought up to be accomplished needleworkers.  It appears that Annie was one of them.  When Liz's mother died last year she had several pieces of needlework that had been made by Annie and Liz asked me if I would like one of them as she already had a few.  I was happy to accept one as a family heirloom, albeit not by one of my direct ancestors.

It is not the kind of picture I would hang on my wall  but the needlework is amazing. Such fine stitches and the colours are still very bright.  It must have taken many hours to make.  I don't think Annie would have been very old when she made it as I think they were the sort of things girls would do before they married.   Annie was married in 1920 and as far as I know she had one son.  Maybe that is why the embroideries were given to a cousin rather than passed on to a child. 

 Here are some close ups of the stitching.

Little lambs made of dozens of french knots.  She must have had a lot of patience.  It is a lovely keepsake and I will treasure it. 

Mum's Bible

My mother's Bible was a special edition which was published in 1937 for the Coronation of King George VI  and Queen Elizabeth (Queen Mother) on 12th May of that year.  Unfortunately it is rather the worse for wear with loose pages and old sellotape.  Also the spine is missing.

In the back mum has written the date of her confirmation which was on 25th April 1937. 

Also to commemorate her Confirmation she was given this little red book. 

More Bibles.

My grandmother, Edith Butler was sadly orphaned  before her first birthday when both her parents, Charles and Everil Butler, died of bronchopneumonia in 1900 and 1901; this was before the days of antibiotics. 

Edith herself also died at the age of 25 following an accident at home when her apron caught fire as she was dusting the mantelpiece. My mother was 3 at the time so did not remember her mother.  She did have her Bible and prayer book. 

Edith had written two addresses in the Bible, the first being Rose Cottage, Ravenfield which was their home address and also Leyburn Hall, which I think is where she worked in service.  It also says given her by her loving grandmother.

The next page she has written  from John 15 verses 13 & 14

Inside the back cover she has also written quotes. 

The next book I have is a Holy Communion Book which Edith received on her Confirmation in 1915 at the age of 15. 

I also have Edith's book of Common Prayer and Hymns.

I think Edith must have been very fond of this one as she had inscribed messages inside both covers.

Difficult to read but as far as I can make out it says:

 "Steal not this book for fear of shame

for here you see the owner's name

Edith Butler

For if you do the Lord will say

Where is the book you stole that day. 

Inside the back cover this one says

Edith Butler 

Ravenfield

Not to be taken away. 

This last book is not a Bible of prayer book but it is a Christian book published by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.  I think I read this book as a child but can't remember the story.  

It was given to Edith at Christmas 1908 as either a prize or Christmas gift from St James' Church, Ravenfield

 Mum has written her name inside the cover of this one. Hilda Stobart whose name is above mum's was mum's cousin.  Don't know why her name is there though. 

Family Bibles.

After my mother Kathleen Lilian died in 2011, I became custodian of the family Bibles as my brother did not want them.  There is no big family Bible with births,marriages and death recorded in it but still interesting to see the names of family members recorded in them. This gives me a bit more information about my ancestors.   I will post them on separate posts.

The first one was presented to my grandfather Herbert Tirrell at Christmas 1909 when he was attending Rivelin Tunnel Sunday School.  Herbert was born on 13th April 1894 so was 15 when he received this Bible. The name Tirrell was wrongly spelled on here but that spelling was a common alterntive. 

Herbert's father, Joseph Tirrell was a navvy working on the railways and traveled all over the country, with his family, digging railway tunnels.  I think that Joseph might have been digging the Rivelin Tunnel at this time.  It is not a railway tunnel but it was built to divert the water from the River Derwent into the Rivelin reservoir.  I think the Sunday school might have been built for the labourer's children to attend. 

More Memorabilia

Another reminder of my father, William Cox, and the second World War.  I have posted before that he was in the army and most of his service was spent in India.  He was a Quartermaster Sergeant in the Military Police.  This is his cap badge which was given to my youngest son Sam by his grandmother.

In memory of Auntie Joan.

My auntie Joan was my mother's half sister. They shared the same father.
Joan Tirrell was born on 23rd September 1928 in Wickersley near Rotherham in Yorkshire.  She was married in the summer of 1952 to Kenneth Battersby at St Alban's Church in Wickersley.  I was her bridesmaid.

Joan and Ken lived all their life in Bramley which is very close to where she was brought up.  They have a daughter Sandra who is married to Stewart and two grandchildren Lauren and Oliver.  I think this photos must have been taken in the 1950s around the time of their marriage.

I recent years both Joan and Ken had suffered from bad health, Ken had a stroke many years ago and has depended on Joan a lot.  Early last year it was decided that she wasn't well enough herself to care of him so he was moved into a care home and a few months later Joan also had to be admitted to one.  Eventually they were both able to be in the same home.  Sadly Joan passed away on 8th January 2014.  

I had a trip to Rotherham on Tuesday to attend her funeral. It was only a small one as there is no other family left and all Joan's friends have sadly died too. Her brother Walter lives in Kent and doesn't like to drive that far so he was unable to attend.  As well as Sandra and her family and a family friend, there were a couple of neighbours and some of the staff from the nursing home.  

Sandra had chosen the music for the funeral and as Joan wasn't a religious person she chose some of her favourite songs instead. Joan was an Elvis fan and also liked Westlife so the songs she chose were Always on My Mind and The Wonder of You by Elvis and You Raise me Up by Westlife which seemed very appropriate.

The photo below is of Joan's brother Walter on the left, then Joan and a friend, my mother Kathleen and Joan's husband Ken. I think it was taken in the 1970s

This one of my mother and Joan was taken in 2002 at Roche Abbey not far from where Joan lived. It is the most recent one I have of her. 

I have such fond memories of spending summer holidays in Yorkshire with my grandparents and Joan, she will be sadly missed.

Family memorabilia

This little copper kettle, which I have on display in my lounge, was given to me by my mother a few years ago.  The story that she told me about it was that when my granddad, Herbert William Tirrell, was about 4 he went shopping with his mother one day and refused to leave the shop they were in until she bought him this little copper kettle.  Once they came out of the shop, with the kettle, my granddad hit a little girl on the head with it.  

When mum was young she used to play in the garden with it using it to make mud pies.  As you can see it has certainly been knocked about a lot.

There is an antique programme on the TV at the moment so I thought I would check out my kettle.  There were quite few on different sites so must have been mass produced.  Inside the handle the word Jubilee is stamped and this means it was made in Queen Victoria's jubilee year 1897 so that fits in with what mum told me as granddad was born in 1894.  Not very clear on mine,  the makers mark is just about discernible and, according to those I found online where this is a lot clearer, it was made by a company called Matthew J Hart and Sons.   Not worth very much as they were selling online at between about £10 and £35.  Not that I would ever want to part with it.