Many people consider that sex before marriage and single women becoming pregnant is a new modern thing, bought about by the promiscuous society in which we live.
But in reality the issue has been around since the dawn of man. The difference being that our ancestors either hid the issue better or the lesser media meant less attention on the subject.
Having researched my family tree back 10 generations, to the early 1700's, it has become noticeable that in nearly every generation there are cases of either children born before their parents married, or single mothers bringing up children on there own. Many of these cases show the child's place of birth being in a different town to where the mother lived, this being because the mother is sent to live with relatives during the pregnancy.
The Victorians preached alot about the sanctity of marriage, but this was mainly because they did not want their children to make the same mistakes they made. This was a very admirable thing for them to do, but does it really mean they can be portrayed has holding the morale high ground.
Personally, I believe in the sanctity of marriage and the benefits it brings to a relationship. But that does not mean that people who act differently should be chastised, and I am certainly not ashamed of my ancestors because of their actions.
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Sunday 18 January 2009
THE ATKINS ANCESTORS.
The Atkins ancestry can be traced back to THOMAS ATKINS, born c1732 in HEREEFORD.
Thomas married a ELIZABETH RAWLINGS, and they had 3 son's - THOMAS, JOHN AND WILLIAM.
The oldest son THOMAS, born c1756, married a MARIA, and they also lived in HEREFORD. Thomas and Maria had 4 children, THOMAS, WILLIAM, MARIA and JOHN.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born c1780 appears to have been the ancestor who moved out of town and into the DINMORE area, where records show he worked as an AGRICULTURAL LABOURER, along with his brother THOMAS.
WILLIAM married a MARY CASTREE, and they had at least 4 children - WILLIAM c1807, JAMES born 1810 in DINMORE, ALICE c1812, and JOSEPH born 1815 in WINSLEY HILL.
In the 1841 CENSUS the records show WILLIAM ATKINS as being in the HEREFORD INFIRMARY on census day. His wife MARY was living at WINSLEY HILL, along with 2 of there children JOSEPH and ALICE. At the same address the entry shows a THOMAS JAMES as the head of the household, along with his wife and daughter, both called MARY. Also at the same address are 4 further entries with ATKINS surnames, these are CHARLES 14, EMMA 10, MARY 7, and SARAH 4. I currently have no records to prove exactly what relationship thes 4 ATKINS people and the JAMES family have to WILLIAM and MARY ATKINS.
Also in the 1841 CENSUS under an entry for DINMORE HILL, can be found WILLIAM and MARY'S son JAMES.
JAMES ATKINS was recorded in the census as a labourer, and is shown to have a wife ELIZABETH, aged 25 and 2 children- WILLIAM born 1840 and JOSEPH born 1841.
JAMES and ELIZABETH ATKINS had 8 children altogether : -
WILLIAM, born 1840 in MARDEN, who we will follow later.
JOSEPH, born 1841, shown on the 1841 census, but not on any further records I have found.
MARY, born c1843, who in the 1861 census was recorded as being a NEEDLE WORMAN.
JAMES, born 1846, but died soon after.
ELIZABETH, born 1848.
JAMES, born 1850.
GEORGE, born 1853, no further record of GEORGE has been found, he is not on the 1861 census.
ELIZA, born 1856
All the children exept WILLIAM where born in DINMORE.
In the 1851 CENSUS it shows JAMES and ELIZABETH having moved to WINSLEY HILL.
JAMES's mother MARY is also living with them, along with THOMAS ATKINS, JAMES's uncle.
THOMAS is recorded as an AGRICULTURAL LABOURER.
Also living at the same address is : - GEORGE ATKINS, aged 25, an agricultural labourer, born in DILWYN, and shown as a nephew to JAMES.
MARY ATKINS, aged 16, born at HOPE UNDER DINMORE, and shown as a niece to JAMES.
The exact parentage of GEORGE and MARY is still under investigation.
Come the 1861 CENSUS little has changed, with the family still at WINSLEY HILL. MARY ATKINS, mother to JAMES, is no longer with them, neither are GEORGE and MARY.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born 1807, could not be found on the 1861 census. However brother JOSEPH can be found, married to a MATILDA BAYS. I have information showing that they left the county and headed north.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born 1840, married a MARY MIDDLETON and can be found on the 1871 CENSUS living at BUSKWOOD FARM DINMORE. At this time they had 4 children :-
JAMES, born 1860, before his parents married. JAMES later married an ELIZABETH and moved to LONDON.
WILLIAM, born 1865, who married a MARY STANSBURY and died in 1932.
JOSEPH, born 1863, who is my great grandfather, and we will hear more about later.
EMILY, born 1867, who was working as a servant in LEOMINSTER in 1891.
Also living at the same address are :- ELIZABETH ATKINS, mother of WILLIAM.
JAMES ATKINS, brother of WILLIAM, working as a LABOURER.
ELIZA ATKINS, sister of WILLIAM.
JOSEPH MIDDLETON, brother in law of WILLIAM, aged 28 and a LABOURER.
Come the 1881 CENSUS JOSEPH ATKINS is working as a LABOURER TO A WOODSMAN, still living at BUSKWOOD. At the time of the census WILLIAM is living at MANSELL GAMAGE with his brother JAMES. JAMES is working as a GAMEKEEPER, and is married to HANNAH. THEY have 2 children- JAMES and ELIZABETH.
The 1891 CENSUS has WILLIAM back at home in BUSKWOOD, and shows further children :-
MARY, born 1870. LEONARD GEORGE, born 1872, EDWIN, born 1874, ELIZABETH, born 1876, ARTHUR born 1879 and ALICE born 1881.
It also shows a HAROLD ATKINS, born 1888 and recorded as grandson to WILLIAM.
WILLIAM's mother ELIZABETH is also still living with them, but died in 1894, and was buried at ST. MARY'S CHURCH HOPE UNDER DINMORE.
The 1901 CENSUS shows WILLIAM and MARY having moved to UPPER PARADISE FARM in MARDEN. WILLIAM is recorded as being a FARMER, while son's WILLIAM. EDWIN and ARTHUR are recorded as FARMERS SON'S.
Daughter ALICE still lives at home, aged 19, as does daughter MARY, who is recorded as MARY EDMONDS. There are 2 entries for children of MARY :- WILLIE, aged 9 and IVY aged 1.
LEONARD GEORGE is married to MINNIE at the time of the 1901 census, and they have a daughter ELIZABETH.
JOSEPH ATKINS married a CHARLOTTE EVANS in 1898, and at the time of the 1901 CENSUS was living at KIPPERKNOWLE COTTAGES, ( believed to be part of the DINMORE MANOR ESTATE ). JOSEPH and CHARLOTTE had 4 children :- JOSEPH H born 1898, WILLIAM JAMES born 1900, MARY SUSANAH born 1903 ( who was my grandmother), and ELIZABETH.
The 1901 CENSUS shows JOSEPH has having changed work and become a BUTCHER, working from home.
The family moved to BUSKWOOD FARM DINMORE, around 1902 and it was here CHARLOTTE died in 1930, followed by JOSEPH in 1933.
WILLIAM and MARY ATKINS also both died while living at BUSKWOOD in 1914, 11 months apart.
This brings the ATKINS family up to date, although there is still information out there I would to find out, and so this may be updated one day.
Thomas married a ELIZABETH RAWLINGS, and they had 3 son's - THOMAS, JOHN AND WILLIAM.
The oldest son THOMAS, born c1756, married a MARIA, and they also lived in HEREFORD. Thomas and Maria had 4 children, THOMAS, WILLIAM, MARIA and JOHN.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born c1780 appears to have been the ancestor who moved out of town and into the DINMORE area, where records show he worked as an AGRICULTURAL LABOURER, along with his brother THOMAS.
WILLIAM married a MARY CASTREE, and they had at least 4 children - WILLIAM c1807, JAMES born 1810 in DINMORE, ALICE c1812, and JOSEPH born 1815 in WINSLEY HILL.
In the 1841 CENSUS the records show WILLIAM ATKINS as being in the HEREFORD INFIRMARY on census day. His wife MARY was living at WINSLEY HILL, along with 2 of there children JOSEPH and ALICE. At the same address the entry shows a THOMAS JAMES as the head of the household, along with his wife and daughter, both called MARY. Also at the same address are 4 further entries with ATKINS surnames, these are CHARLES 14, EMMA 10, MARY 7, and SARAH 4. I currently have no records to prove exactly what relationship thes 4 ATKINS people and the JAMES family have to WILLIAM and MARY ATKINS.
Also in the 1841 CENSUS under an entry for DINMORE HILL, can be found WILLIAM and MARY'S son JAMES.
JAMES ATKINS was recorded in the census as a labourer, and is shown to have a wife ELIZABETH, aged 25 and 2 children- WILLIAM born 1840 and JOSEPH born 1841.
JAMES and ELIZABETH ATKINS had 8 children altogether : -
WILLIAM, born 1840 in MARDEN, who we will follow later.
JOSEPH, born 1841, shown on the 1841 census, but not on any further records I have found.
MARY, born c1843, who in the 1861 census was recorded as being a NEEDLE WORMAN.
JAMES, born 1846, but died soon after.
ELIZABETH, born 1848.
JAMES, born 1850.
GEORGE, born 1853, no further record of GEORGE has been found, he is not on the 1861 census.
ELIZA, born 1856
All the children exept WILLIAM where born in DINMORE.
In the 1851 CENSUS it shows JAMES and ELIZABETH having moved to WINSLEY HILL.
JAMES's mother MARY is also living with them, along with THOMAS ATKINS, JAMES's uncle.
THOMAS is recorded as an AGRICULTURAL LABOURER.
Also living at the same address is : - GEORGE ATKINS, aged 25, an agricultural labourer, born in DILWYN, and shown as a nephew to JAMES.
MARY ATKINS, aged 16, born at HOPE UNDER DINMORE, and shown as a niece to JAMES.
The exact parentage of GEORGE and MARY is still under investigation.
Come the 1861 CENSUS little has changed, with the family still at WINSLEY HILL. MARY ATKINS, mother to JAMES, is no longer with them, neither are GEORGE and MARY.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born 1807, could not be found on the 1861 census. However brother JOSEPH can be found, married to a MATILDA BAYS. I have information showing that they left the county and headed north.
WILLIAM ATKINS, born 1840, married a MARY MIDDLETON and can be found on the 1871 CENSUS living at BUSKWOOD FARM DINMORE. At this time they had 4 children :-
JAMES, born 1860, before his parents married. JAMES later married an ELIZABETH and moved to LONDON.
WILLIAM, born 1865, who married a MARY STANSBURY and died in 1932.
JOSEPH, born 1863, who is my great grandfather, and we will hear more about later.
EMILY, born 1867, who was working as a servant in LEOMINSTER in 1891.
Also living at the same address are :- ELIZABETH ATKINS, mother of WILLIAM.
JAMES ATKINS, brother of WILLIAM, working as a LABOURER.
ELIZA ATKINS, sister of WILLIAM.
JOSEPH MIDDLETON, brother in law of WILLIAM, aged 28 and a LABOURER.
Come the 1881 CENSUS JOSEPH ATKINS is working as a LABOURER TO A WOODSMAN, still living at BUSKWOOD. At the time of the census WILLIAM is living at MANSELL GAMAGE with his brother JAMES. JAMES is working as a GAMEKEEPER, and is married to HANNAH. THEY have 2 children- JAMES and ELIZABETH.
The 1891 CENSUS has WILLIAM back at home in BUSKWOOD, and shows further children :-
MARY, born 1870. LEONARD GEORGE, born 1872, EDWIN, born 1874, ELIZABETH, born 1876, ARTHUR born 1879 and ALICE born 1881.
It also shows a HAROLD ATKINS, born 1888 and recorded as grandson to WILLIAM.
WILLIAM's mother ELIZABETH is also still living with them, but died in 1894, and was buried at ST. MARY'S CHURCH HOPE UNDER DINMORE.
The 1901 CENSUS shows WILLIAM and MARY having moved to UPPER PARADISE FARM in MARDEN. WILLIAM is recorded as being a FARMER, while son's WILLIAM. EDWIN and ARTHUR are recorded as FARMERS SON'S.
Daughter ALICE still lives at home, aged 19, as does daughter MARY, who is recorded as MARY EDMONDS. There are 2 entries for children of MARY :- WILLIE, aged 9 and IVY aged 1.
LEONARD GEORGE is married to MINNIE at the time of the 1901 census, and they have a daughter ELIZABETH.
JOSEPH ATKINS married a CHARLOTTE EVANS in 1898, and at the time of the 1901 CENSUS was living at KIPPERKNOWLE COTTAGES, ( believed to be part of the DINMORE MANOR ESTATE ). JOSEPH and CHARLOTTE had 4 children :- JOSEPH H born 1898, WILLIAM JAMES born 1900, MARY SUSANAH born 1903 ( who was my grandmother), and ELIZABETH.
The 1901 CENSUS shows JOSEPH has having changed work and become a BUTCHER, working from home.
The family moved to BUSKWOOD FARM DINMORE, around 1902 and it was here CHARLOTTE died in 1930, followed by JOSEPH in 1933.
WILLIAM and MARY ATKINS also both died while living at BUSKWOOD in 1914, 11 months apart.
This brings the ATKINS family up to date, although there is still information out there I would to find out, and so this may be updated one day.
Wednesday 7 January 2009
HOPE UNDER DINMORE
The first area I have chosen to cover for Herefordshire History is Hope Under Dinmore. This is not only due to the fact that I was born in the locality, although only living there for 6 years, but it was the home to my grandparents Wilfred and Mary Archer for over 40 years and Mary's ancestors lived in this area for many generations.
Hope Under Dinmore is set in glorious countryside between the city of Hereford and the market town of Leominster, alongside the A49 trunk road. Although a small village in numbers, it covers a large area.
Buskwood Farm was the home to 3 generations of Atkins ancestors, while Wilfred and Mary Archer lived there from early 1920's, Mary's parents and grandparents had also lived there. The farm consists of a number of small holdings and is situated on the edge of Dinmore Hill, alongside Queenswood Country Park.
Dinmore Hill is a dominating landmark of the area and on the top of it stands Queenswood Country Park. The park covers 170 acres, of which 110 acres is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, being of semi-natural ancient woodland and supporting a wide range of wildlife. 60 Acres are managed as an award winning arboretum with over 800 specimen tress and shrubs from across the globe. The park is open to the public all year around and from the view point can be seen panoramic views from the Malvern Hills in the east to the Black Mountains in the west.
Hampton Court Estate is also a main attraction in the village, at one time believed to cover 60,000 acres. The castle and grounds can be found off the A417, near the junction with the A49 , and date back to the 15th century. It was originally granted by Henry IV to Sir Rowland Lenthall, but probably best known as the home of the prominent Conningsby family, who lived there from 1510 until 1912.
Although the castle is now closed to the public, the gardens are a major attraction.
Original Victorian garden walls enclose stunning new flower gardens divided by canals, island pavilions and pleached avenues. The kitchen garden is an ornamental garden of fruit and vegetables. It is managed organically, supplying produce to the Orangery Restaurant for its seasonal menu.
There is a maze of a thousand yews with a gothic tower at its centre. Climb to the top for a panoramic view of the gardens or descend underground to a tunnel that leads to a waterfall in the sunken garden. Beautiful herbaceous borders stretch out from a one hundred and fifty year old wisteria tunnel that leads to vast lawns and ancient trees beside the castle. Beyond the lawns are riverside and woodland walks.
St. Mary's church stands alongside the A49 at the north side of dinmore hill, while on the south side stands Dinmore Manor, a beautiful old manor house and gardens. Unfortunately Dinmore Manor is no longer open to the public.
Hope Under Dinmore is set in glorious countryside between the city of Hereford and the market town of Leominster, alongside the A49 trunk road. Although a small village in numbers, it covers a large area.
Buskwood Farm was the home to 3 generations of Atkins ancestors, while Wilfred and Mary Archer lived there from early 1920's, Mary's parents and grandparents had also lived there. The farm consists of a number of small holdings and is situated on the edge of Dinmore Hill, alongside Queenswood Country Park.
Dinmore Hill is a dominating landmark of the area and on the top of it stands Queenswood Country Park. The park covers 170 acres, of which 110 acres is a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest, being of semi-natural ancient woodland and supporting a wide range of wildlife. 60 Acres are managed as an award winning arboretum with over 800 specimen tress and shrubs from across the globe. The park is open to the public all year around and from the view point can be seen panoramic views from the Malvern Hills in the east to the Black Mountains in the west.
Hampton Court Estate is also a main attraction in the village, at one time believed to cover 60,000 acres. The castle and grounds can be found off the A417, near the junction with the A49 , and date back to the 15th century. It was originally granted by Henry IV to Sir Rowland Lenthall, but probably best known as the home of the prominent Conningsby family, who lived there from 1510 until 1912.
Although the castle is now closed to the public, the gardens are a major attraction.
Original Victorian garden walls enclose stunning new flower gardens divided by canals, island pavilions and pleached avenues. The kitchen garden is an ornamental garden of fruit and vegetables. It is managed organically, supplying produce to the Orangery Restaurant for its seasonal menu.
There is a maze of a thousand yews with a gothic tower at its centre. Climb to the top for a panoramic view of the gardens or descend underground to a tunnel that leads to a waterfall in the sunken garden. Beautiful herbaceous borders stretch out from a one hundred and fifty year old wisteria tunnel that leads to vast lawns and ancient trees beside the castle. Beyond the lawns are riverside and woodland walks.
St. Mary's church stands alongside the A49 at the north side of dinmore hill, while on the south side stands Dinmore Manor, a beautiful old manor house and gardens. Unfortunately Dinmore Manor is no longer open to the public.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
