COMPLETE Gibbs/Walsh/Worthington/Hodkinson links.

[YorksClare]

Hi All

I am Clare, and I have been trying to continue some genealogy that my grandmother started some 30 years ago. Sadly she died 17 years ago so I cannot ask her anymore for connections or recollections to name the random unknown people in photos, or explain how certain links meet. So I may have to start asking complicated questions about how to reconnect the dots!

I have to try to find out the point where my great-grandfather, James Gibbs born 1877, relates to a Robert Gibbs who moved to Canada in 1912 aged about 24. I cannot even find convincing entries that match what I know for sure of the family in the 1881 or 1891 census data stored in the LDS records. All I have found is that James was living in Bradford, West Yorkshire, in 1911. I even know the address, and that there was another James Gibbs living with his family in the same street. I have yet to discover whether they were related or not.

So you can see I have a lot of work to do!

All in all, I am looking at four family names. Walshes based in Kilkenny in Ireland (I know - find a Smith in London!) at around the 1840-1890 period, Worthington last known in Kerry in Ireland around the same time, Gibbs that help me link the conundrum above, and any Hodkinsons in Kendal/Cumbriad in general, Lancashire or Wales. I think I have the pertinent ones in Wales, but linking them is the key bit. There are three strangers in a photo from my parents' wedding, and I have to get the names sorted out beyond "Aunt Susie" or "Great Uncle George" sort of thing, before all the people who genuinely know which is which pass on...

Once Bradford Central Library is back up to proper research capacity, I will be able to get stuck into this a bit more, and hopefully help others whose searches draw them this way. Please let me know!

[grangers14]

Thats kind to offer help There is an area Look ups offers
viewforum.php?f=7

Perhaps you can add a post in there?

Jo

[grangers14]

Do you know if Robert was married when he went to Canada?

Theres this, a bit older but...
He married an Ada Dunning in Guisborough

1911. 11 Snowdey St, Eston RSO? North Riding Yorkshire
Robert Gibbs, head, 31, Locomotive Fireman, Everton
Ada Gibbs, wife, 27, Married 1 yaer, 1 child, Guisborough
Jack Dunning Gibbs, son, 5? months, Eston
Florence May Langley, Niece, 9, Guisborough

1916 11th Street, Camp Hughes, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Gibbs Robert, head, 36, England, 1912, Plasterer
Ada, wife, 30, England, 1912
Jack D, son, 5, England, 1912
George A, son, 3, England
Everil? M, daur, 2
Harry Gibbs, C, Camp Hughes, Brother, 33, England, 1909, Boiler maker

[grangers14]

Is this your James? If it is then may be Robert is his brother?

1881. 32 Dykes Street, Everton
James Gibbs, head, 31, plasterer, Liverpool
Mary, wife, 27, Birkenhead
James, son, 4, Yorkshire
Robert, son, 1, Liverpool

1891. Northrop? Square, Bradford
James Gibbs, head, 39, Plaster, liverpool
Mary, wife, 37, Liverpool
James, son, 14, fish boy, Bradford
Robert, son, 11, Liverpool
Henry, son, 9, Liverpool
William H, son, 7, Liverpool
Joseph, son, 3, Bradford
George, son, 8? months, Bradford
John Burns, wifes brother, 22, Mason labourer, Birkenhead


1901. 112 Picton Street, Bradford
James Gibbs, head, 51, Journey man Plasterer, Liverpool
Mary, wife, 46, Birkenhead
Robert, son, 21, Journey man plasterer, Liverpool
Harry, son, 19, railway engine cleaner, Liverpool
William, son, 17, Butchers assistant, Liverpool
Joseph, son, 12, errand boy,
George, son, 10,
Susannah, daur, 8,
Mary, daur, 4,
All others born Bradford

[YorksClare]

Well, what a fast response! Thank you grangers14.

The connection of Robert Gibbs with Ada Dunning is correct, but I didn't know his occupation before - it is so interesting to get more background. Jack was born just before they emigrated, and that does match up with Grandma's information, so that is great news. Finding Henry also might help me clear up another string of cousins that my Grandma researched, but which were equally adrift!

I'll have to see whether I can make sense of the other information against the chart - the James Gibbs I knew of as my great-grandad was a grocer's carter, so starting out as a fish boy is highly likely, and I had gone backwards from the Canadian cousins to Liverpool. I just hadn't got as far back from the Bradford connection. I think searching late in the evening and with two great-grandfathers called James, I might have been mixing them up...

I think that James the younger might have been living at 206 Picton Street, with his wife. If he has children called Joseph, Henry and Margaret by the 1911 census, we're cooking on gas. I did find them using the library, but forgot to fully document my sources properly. When it reopens I have a lot of re-researching to do!

[grangers14]

I think Henry in 1891 is Harry in other census, Roberts brother.

James Jr
1901. 206 Picton Street, Bradford
James Gibbs, head, 24, Grocers Carter, Bradford
Mary, wife, 22, Scampston

1911. 94 Picton Street
James Gibbs, head, 34, Carter,
Mary, wife, 32, married 11 years 4 children all living, Charwoman, Scampston?
Elizabeth, daur, 9
Joseph William, son, 7,
Harry, son, 6
Margaret, daur, 2
All others born Bradford

James Sr was at 112 Picton Street, census is in previous message. You got a bonus too with Marys brother living with them John Burns in 1891.

Free BMD
Marriages Jun 1875
Burns Mary Bradford Y. 9b 271
GIBBS James Bradford, Y. 9b 271

[peterd]

poss 1871

1871 smallett st ?, West derby, liverpool

John Sharp 35
Sarah Sharp 28
William Sharp 5
Thomas Sharp 1
James Gibbs 20 lodger plasterer liverpool
Eva Mogridge 29

[peterd]

1891. Northrop? Square, Bradford

James Gibbs, head, 39, Plaster, liverpool
Mary, wife, 37, Liverpool
James, son, 14, fish boy, Bradford
Robert, son, 11, Liverpool
Henry, son, 9, Liverpool
William H, son, 7, Liverpool
Joseph, son, 3, Bradford
George, son, 8? months, Bradford
John Burns, wifes brother, 22, Mason labourer, Birkenhead


1901. 112 Picton Street, Bradford

James Gibbs, head, 51, Journey man Plasterer, Liverpool
Mary, wife, 46, Birkenhead
Robert, son, 21, Journey man plasterer, Liverpool
Harry, son, 19, railway engine cleaner, Liverpool
William, son, 17, Butchers assistant, Liverpool
Joseph, son, 12, errand boy,
George, son, 10,
Susannah, daur, 8,
Mary, daur, 4,
All others born Bradford

1911. 94 Picton Street

James Gibbs, head, 34, Carter,
Mary, wife, 32, married 11 years 4 children all living, Charwoman, Scampston?
Elizabeth, daur, 9
Joseph William, son, 7,
Harry, son, 6
Margaret, daur, 2
All others born Bradford


as jo says, father


1911; 112 Picton St Bradford Yorks

James Gibbs 60 Plasterer liverpool
Mary Gibbs 56 (married 36 years, 14 born 8 living 6 died) birkenhead
Mary Gibbs 14 dry cleaner assistant
Susannah Gibbs 18 drawer ?
Joseph Gibbs 22 wheelwright
George Gibbs 20 teacher
rest bradford

[YorksClare]

Thanks All! I certainly have a lot of work to do typing this all into my GRAMPS chart - so if I seem quiet, you know what I'm doing with my evenings... But after several unsuccessful nights of trying out different approaches to the search, no doubt to an extent at cross-purposes, that is a job I will really enjoy.

Finding Henry, the great-great uncle who went with Robert to Canada, has probably tied in the second set of loose cousins I had from Grandma's recollection, too. The occupations are extremely interesting, and they give a gratifying insight into where my interest in engineering, which I share with my father and sister, may have originated. Also, my partner's grandfather (maybe even both grandfathers) were in the railways, and the faint possibility that some of our predecessors might have met up by some freak of history is tantalising!

I am only starting out on this search, and already I have such a wealth of leads to follow up. I'm humbled by the ready help and interest you have shown. I hope to return the favour. If anyone finds that their ancestors were linked to any of mine, or they need a bit of a boost and I can help. please let me know.

I'm off to update my family tree!

BTW - I love the sig, Peter "A person should have an opinion on everything, It becomes tact whether you reveal that opinion or not."

[peterd]

only thing is i aint got much tact

[YorksClare]

I had just been in a situation where I couldn't be tactful, there was no other way out of the problem, so I found it rather striking to see your sig last night!

It's a bit like that other phrase - "Patience is a virtue". Some famous wit added something to the effect that they never claimed to be virtuous.

Well, I typed up as much as I could last night. The occupations listed were fascinating. I still want to know what Great Aunt Susannah was doing at 18 - a "drawer" as I found out from here http://www.worldthroughthelens.com/fami ... ations.php was someone working in the coal mines hauling the bins in and out of the mine. Seems a tad unlikely for a Bradford lass? More likely to be a mill-related occupation than mines as they were further out toward Leeds and Wakefield. This may require a visit to a local museum - http://www.bradfordmuseums.org/venues/i ... /index.php - to see if they know more.

And I would like to know where some of those people were employed, if that were possible. I might have to pester the Council to reopen the archives at the library... I did see an old trade directory there when researching great-grandad James Walsh, of Bilton Place Bradford. After quitting the British Army sometime around 1905 he worked as a Dyers Time Keeper, but as there were so many mills and dyers within spitting distance of his front door, it wasn't much help!

[rockyfowler]

On the 1911 Census she was Drawer Worsted Spinners Worker

Found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worsted

[YorksClare]

Good grief! That's what the Industrial Museum was before it was turned into the museum - a worsted cloth weaving factory! It's unlikely that she was there, but at least it gets her out of the mines I will have to see if there is any kind of mill diary or roll call, or something, that might be useful to find out where she worked. Worsted is tightly woven and strong cloth, but blummin' heavy, so it will not have been an easy occupation.

There was (and still is) a big mill at the top of their road, but given that we're talking about Bradford, there were probably several within a few paces of their front door, much like the dye works only about a quarter of a mile away where my grandfather grew up. I have to go rootling around in some books and maps somewhere to satisfy this curiosity now, and try to grill my Dad for as much as he can recollect of his family.

[peterd]

Good grief! That's what the Industrial Museum was before it was turned into the museum - a worsted cloth weaving factory! It's unlikely that she was there, but at least it gets her out of the mines I will have to see if there is any kind of mill diary or roll call, or something, that might be useful to find out where she worked. Worsted is tightly woven and strong cloth, but blummin' heavy, so it will not have been an easy occupation.

There was (and still is) a big mill at the top of their road, but given that we're talking about Bradford, there were probably several within a few paces of their front door, much like the dye works only about a quarter of a mile away where my grandfather grew up. I have to go rootling around in some books and maps somewhere to satisfy this curiosity now, and try to grill my Dad for as much as he can recollect of his family.

when you grill your dad take a digital recorder of some discription and get him to dictate thing that he remembers then you will always have a personal record of your family history and instant access to them rather trying to remember it all

[grangers14]

If there was "Like" as in facebook, I would Peters reply.
Its just remembering to do it
My Nan told me so many stories and I so wish I recorded them!
But time run out... but we did share some good laughs and shared some tears.