52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 17 - Document

My family were not great keepers of paperwork, in complete contrast to my husband’s family who kept everything! 

I have very few documents, just birth and marriage certificates back to grandparents, a few bills for funerals, a couple of memorial cards, some wedding invitations, and some baptism certificates.  Meagre pickings for a family historian.

One day I will transcribe and catalogue all my husband’s family archive, but for this week’s #52ancestors challenge I am going to highlight the oldest document I have relating to my Nickels ancestors and write a biography about the ancestor to whom it belonged, Alfred John Nickels, my great-grandfather.

The document is a vellum¹ Apprenticeship Indenture from 1863.

Vellum is very durable and most of the legal documents prepared from pre 1066 still extant are written on vellum sheets, so too are illuminated devotional manuscripts, Acts of Parliament and such well known historical items such as Magna Carta and the Mappa Mundi. 

This Indenture Witnesseth That Alfred Nickles Son of Charles

Nickles of Orford in the County of Suffolk Mariner (with the approbation and Consent

Of his said Father testified by his executing these presents

Doth put himself Apprentice to Thomas Fairhead of Orford aforesaid Plumber Glazier and Painter

To learn is Art and with him after the Manner of an Apprentice to serve from the fourteenth day of April 1863

Now last past

Unto the full End and Term of Seven Years from thence next following to be fully complete and ended During

Which Term the said Apprentice his Master faithfully shall serve his secrets keep his awful command every

Where gladly do he shall do no damage to his said Master nor see to be done to others but to his Power shall tell

Or forthwith give warning to his said Master of the same he shall not waste the Goods of his said Master

Nor lend them unlawfully to any he shall not commit fornication nor contract Matrimony within the said Term

Shall not play at Cards or Dice Tables or any other unlawful Games whereby his said Master may have any loss

With his own goods or others during the said Term without Licence of his said Master he shall neither buy

Nor sell he shall not haunt Taverns or Playhouses nor absent himself from his said Masters service day

Or night unlawfully But in all things as a faithful Apprentice he shall behave himself towards his said Master

And all his during the said Term And the said Thomas Fairhead in consideration of the Work and Labour of the said Apprentice

Hereby agrees to pay or cause to be paid to the said Apprentice three shillings per week for the first Year, four shillings per Week for the second Year four shillings per Week for the

Third year, Five shillings per Week for the fourth year, Six Shillings per Week for the fifth Year, seven Shillings per Week for the sixth Year And eight shillings per

Week for the Seventh and last Year of the Term.

H is said Apprentice in the Art of the Plumber Glazier and Painter which he useth by the best means

That he can shall teach and Instruct, or cause to be taught and instructed Finding unto the said Apprentice sufficient [crossed out section]

Tools for his use and employment [crossed our section] during the said Term . And the said

Charles Nickles Agrees for himself His Executors or Administrators to find the Apprentice with sufficient Meat, Drink, Cloathing

Washing, Mending, Making and Lodging.  Also a Surgeon where necessary during the said Term.

And for the true performance of all and every the said Covenants and Agreements either of the said Parties bindeth himself unto the

Other by these presents In Witness whereof the Parties above named to these Indentures interchangeably have put their Hands and Seals

The Twenty Second day of June and in the twenty seventh Year of the Reign of our Sovereign

Lady Queen Victoria by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland QUEEN Defender of the Faith

And in the Year of Our Lord One Thousand Eight Hundred and sixty three

The Amount of Money or the value of any other matter or thing given or agreed to be                           Alfred Nickels

Given with the Apprentice by way of Premium must be truly inserted in words at length 

Otherwise the Indenture will be void and double such amount or value forfeited

Signed Seal’d and delivered in the presence of                                             Charles Nickels

William Stephen                                                                                            Thomas Fairhead

 

The Indenture gives useful information about the parentage of Alfred Nickels, the duration of the Apprenticeship, and who his Master was.  It also lists the things he could and couldn’t do whilst bound as an Apprentice and what wages he would receive each year.  

Thomas Fairhead was also Alfred’s Uncle as well as his Master.  Thomas’ wife was Charles Nickels sister Emma.

On the outside of the document is the following declaration. 

Date June 22 1863

===============

Indenture of

Apprenticeship

Of Alfred Nickels

With

Thomas Fairhead

For Seven Years

From 14^th April 1863

======================

 Expired 14^th April 1870

 

This note gives us the main dates of the Apprenticeship, started on 22 June 1863 and expired on 14 April 1870, a term of 7 years learning the Art of a Plumber, Glazier and Painter.

For many years it was folded up in an old envelope but more recently I have flattened it out so it is now just folded in half.

So, who was Alfred John Nickels.

Alfred John was the fourth son of Charles and Betsey Nickels from Orford in Suffolk.  He was baptised at St Bartholomew’s Church, Orford on 23 June 1850.²  His father Charles was described as a Mariner.

The first UK Census that Alfred appears in is that of 1851.

1851 Census - 23 Orford, Suffolk

Elizabeth Nickoles            Head     Mar        30           Dressmaker                        Suffolk, Orford

George        “                     Son                        7           Scholar                               Suffolk, Orford

William       “                     Son                        6          Scholar                                Suffolk, Orford

Edward      “                      Son                        3                                                       Suffolk, Orford

Alfred         “                     Son                        2                                                       Suffolk, Orford

Elizabeth Burwood          Visitor                   37           Washerwoman                    Suffolk, Orford

 

Orford at this point in time was a small town but it had once been a considerable Port with the still impressive remains of the Castle  -   https://www.orford.org.uk/heritage/the-early-history/

The family are still living in Orford in 1861

1861 Census – 7 Raydon Road, Orford

Betsey Nickels                   Head     Mar        41           Sailor’s Wife                       Suffolk, Orford

George Nickels                  Son        Unm      17           Jn Painter                            Suffolk, Orford

William Nickels                 Son                        15                                                     Suffolk, Orford

Edward Nickels                 Son                        13                                                      Suffolk, Orford

Alfred Nickels                    Son                        11                                                     Suffolk, Orford

Arthur Nickels                    Son                        7                                                       Suffolk, Orford

Louisa Nickels                    Dau                        5                                                       Suffolk, Orford

John Nickels                       Son                        3                                                         S   uffolk, Orford

 

The missing sibling, Elizabeth, is also in Orford on census night with her grandmother, Betsey’s mother.

1861 Census – 12 Raydon Road, Orford

Elizabeth Hunt                   Head     W            67       Formerly house servant       Suffolk, Gedgrave

Elizabeth Nickels              Visitor   Unm         9        Scholar                                 Suffolk, Orford

 

From the Apprenticeship Indenture we can presume that Alfred remained living at home whilst undertaking his Apprenticeship from 1863 until 14 April 1870.  Sometime between April 1870 and the next Census Alfred seems to have left Orford and headed to London in search of work.  There would have been more opportunity for a useful sort of chap like a trained Plumber, Glazier and Painter with new developments being built in the Metropolis.

1871 Census – 9 Clarendon Street, Westminster – a house of multiple occupation.

Thomas Shave                   Head     Mar        40           Bricklayer                         Suffolk, Orford

Sarah Ann    “                     Wife      Mar        39                                                    Suffolk, Baylham

Ellen      “                           Dau                        14                                                   Middx, Pinner

Willm     “                          Son                        12                                                    Middx, Pinner

Geo       “                            Son                        8                                                     Middx, Pinner

Mary     “                             Dau                        4                                                    Middx, Pinner

Willm Nicholls                  Boarder                  25           Carpenter                         Suffolk, Orford

Alfred Nicholls                  Boarder                 21           Plumber                            Suffolk, Orford

 

Interestingly the man with whom Alfred and his elder brother William were boarding was also a native of Orford.  All three working age men have a skill which could be used in the building trade, a bricklayer, a carpenter and a plumber.

In 1874 Alfred John got married.  As has been noted in an earlier blog, his wife Lizzie was a little older that Alfred and a widow at the time of their marriage. 

St Stephen’s Church, Walworth, Surrey

May 3^rd    Alfred John Nickels       25 Bachelor  Plumber     Albany Road     Charles Nickels  Mariner

1874         Lizzie Mountjoy            30  Widow                      Albany Road      James Dominy  Deceased

Signed: Alfred John Nickels                  Witnesses: James Sturney Harsom

                Lizzie Mountjoy                                                Mary Ann Harsom

 

Eldest daughter Bessie was born in September 1874 so looking at the dates this was a ‘shotgun’ marriage.

By 1881 the family is resident in Walworth in Surrey which nowadays is really South London.

1881 Census - 121 Hill Street, Newington St Mary, Walworth

Alfred Nickels                    Head     Mar        32           Plumber                           Suffolk, Orford

Lizzie Nickels                    Wife      Mar        37                                                    Dorset, Poole

Bessie                                  Dau                        6         Scholar                              Surrey, Newington

Kate                                     Dau                        5         Scholar                              Surrey, Newington

Alfred                                 Son                        1                                                     Surrey, Newington

Mary Mountjoy                Visitor   Unm      18           Dressmaker                          Dorset, Poole

 

1891 Census – 121 Hill Street, Newington St Mary, London

Alfred J. Nickels                Head     Mar        41           Plumber                              Suffolk

Elizabeth  “                        Wife      Mar        46                                                       Dorsetshire

Kate           “                       Dau                     16                                                       London, Walworth

Alfred       “                       Son                       11                                                       London, Walworth

Mary Mountjoy                Visitor                   25                                                        London, Walworth

Gertrude “                                                        5                                                        London, Walworth

 

You may wonder where Alfred John’s eldest daughter Bessie is – I found her living with her grandparents, Charles and Betsey Nickels, at The Green Man in Tunstall, Suffolk.  Charles and Betsey ran the ‘pub, with Bessie aged 16 being described as a Barmaid.  There is a long line of Nickels relations who were Publicans, but that is another story.

Alfred appears in the Electoral Register for 121 Hillingdon Street, Newington, London in 1898 ³, so we can be sure that he was still living in London at this date. 

By 1899 Alfred seems to have moved county again as he is shown as the Licensee of The Willian Arms pub in Willian, Hertfordshire which he continued to be until 1903, when this Pub was renamed The Fox.  He also ran a courier service (horse and cart) from Willian to Hitchin on market days.

Hertfordshire Names Online   via www.hertfordshire.gov.uk⁴

The Fox at Willian 

After 1903, with the building of the Garden City of Letchworth, Alfred John and Elizabeth seem to have moved to Walsworth, near Hitchin, Hertfordshire.

His daughter Bessie was married at All Saints, Willian in 1905, so there was still a connection with the parish of Willian.

In the 1911 Census Alfred and Elizabeth were living in Walsworth

1911 Census – 5 Walsworth Villas, Walsworth, Hertfordshire

Alfred Nickels    Head     61           Mar        Plumber     Weston & Co, Letchworth   Orford, Suffolk    

Lizzie Nickels     Wife     66           Mar        36 3 2 1                                                   Dorset, Poole

Dwelling House with 5 rooms                                     Signed: Alfred John Nickels

                                                                                                  5 Walsworth Villas

Weston & Co were one of the companies who built Letchworth.

Some of my elderly relations could remember Alfred John as a jovial chap but much afflicted with gout in his later years.  Cousin May could remember visiting her grandparents in the house in Walsworth.  

On one memorable occasion which stuck in her memory she visited her granddad and asked him where her granny was.  He said she was out but would be back soon.  May duly revisited later on to find granddad still sitting in his fireside chair with his gouty foot on a stool, but, there was now a pool of water on the floor, but still no granny to be seen.  May asked where she was and was told that granny was back but wasn’t feeling too well and had gone to bed.  Truth be told that granny had been to the Sailor Boy pub, just across the river in Walsworth and being ‘three sheets to the wind’ had fallen in the river on her way home.  Granddad obviously couldn’t tell May her granny was a little worse for wear, but the story somehow filtered out.  Knowing our family, they probably had a good laugh at granny’s expense.

Alfred John died in April 1913 and is buried at the council cemetery in Hitchin in an unmarked grave⁵.

But we do have a precious photograph of him, he’s the man in the centre.  We don’t know who the two other men are, but I wonder if they could be Alfred’s two younger brothers, Arthur and John?

NOTES

1.    1. 'Vellum is prepared animal skin or "membrane", typically used as a material for writing on. Parchment is another term for this material, and if vellum is distinguished from this, it is by its being made from calfskin, as opposed to that from other animals, or otherwise being of higher quality. Vellum is prepared for writing or printing on, to produce single pages, scrolls, codices, or books. The word is borrowed from Old French vélin 'calfskin', from the Latin word vitulinum 'made from calf'.’ from  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vellum [last accessed 24/4/2022]
2.       1850 Jun 23 Alfred John s. of Charles and Betsey Nickels baptised. Mariner. Orford Parish Register transcript.
3.       Class: RG11; Piece: 540; Folio: 108; Page: 18; GSU roll: 1341122 via Ancestry.com [last accessed 24/4/2022]
4.       https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/libraries-and-archives/hertfordshire-archives-and-local-studies/hertfordshire-archives-and-local-studies.aspx
5.       Buried 3 May 1913 at Standhill Road Cemetery, Hitchin - Grave No N.E. 379.  Cemetery Registers transcript.

 

52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 16 - Negatives

For the #52ancestors challenge this week the topic is Negatives.  

My first thought was the piles of photographic negatives which I am sure most of us have in our homes.  We've even got a few glass negatives dating from the 1930's - 1940's, as well as early thicker film negative images,  strips of negatives in plastic sleeves in wallets with the prints and even some from a now defunct Kodak Disk camera. Over the years we have even had some original photographs taken to a photographic shop for a negative to be produced for it.  This was of course  before the advent of scanners and mobile phone cameras.  Today we can easily make digital copies of our treasured family photographs and can share these with the wider family, or copy precious images of ancestors which are owned by your relations.

My second thought however was those negative searches which family historians and genealogists accrue when trying to find the illusive birth, baptism, marriage, death, or burial for a family member.

The discovery of a baptism in a parish for a person with the same name that you are looking for at about the right date cannot by itself be assumed to have solved the issue of an ancestor’s baptism or parentage.   There may be multiple people with the same names in a locality..  Ideally a search in the registers of Anglican and nonconformist churches and chapels within a fifteen-mile radius of the supposed parish should be searched.  An indicated parish, from evidence of census return or other parish register entry, can be the parish in which the family was living at a given date or the parish stated to have been the place of birth.  Family historians in the UK will be familiar with differences in birthplaces stated in the successive census’ in the 19^th century.   The county might be correct, but not necessarily the town or village.  Some people just did not know where or when they were born or were not sure.  Ages can also a tad 'elastic' so if you can't find someone try widening the search to five or more years either side of the supposed birth, marriage or death date.

If you do find a likely entry in a parish register, try, and discover if that person died young, unmarried or married a different spouse which can eliminate him or her from being your ancestor.  From a parish register entry it may be noted if someone is a widow or widower which can also narrow down a search.  Only if the entry you have found fails to disprove the identification can you conclude that you have found the right candidate.  If the entry you have found is unconfirmed, try and disprove it by using other documentary evidence.

Not everyone in your family tree will be in the place you think they should be for a life event.   

Family stories can be ‘embroidered’ over the years and facts become mangled so that following up on a supposed ‘fact’ can sometimes lead you to a brick wall or off down a rabbit hole. 

Start with what you do know about the relative in question and can prove to be true from documentary sources such as UK Census records, GRO BMD entries, parish register entries and wills, with added information from gravestones, military records and a myriad of other online datasets and printed sources. 

But do beware of online family trees – many are full of unsubstantiated data which has not been proved by evidence of documentary sources.  Just because a person of the right name is born in the right parish doesn’t necessarily mean that it is your ancestor – you need to check that he or she did not die young, or that there are several children with the same name in the same parish, born in a 5-year search period.  Children can be baptised as babies, and as young children in a ‘job lot’ with siblings – sometimes the parish clerk will usefully give a date of birth alongside a baptism so this evidence can tie up with a death date, MI or marriage entry, together with proof of parentage.  Kill them off if you can to narrow down the possible candidates.

If you search for a person in a parish you think they were born in and come up with a blank, widen your search to parishes nearby, it might bear fruit.  Looking at a map of the locality is useful.  If you have the address of your ancestor from a census return, it may be that where your ancestor lived was nearer the parish church of the neighbouring parish, so they worshipped there instead of in the main parish church of the town or village where they lived.

If your ancestor was the eldest in a family, check the parish where the parents of the mother lived, she may have gone home for the birth of her first child, with subsequent children being born in the parish in which the young family lived. 

Many agricultural workers in the UK moved about seasonally in search of work, so children could be baptised in the parish of residence at the time, not always the original parish of the father. 

With my own Hertfordshire maternal line although most families lived in Hitchin, there are tentacles of the wider family in Kings Walden, St Pauls Walden, Offley, St Ippollitts, Preston, Willian, Baldock, Stevenage (well before the new town), Wymondley, Wheathampstead, Redbourn, South Mimms and into Bedfordshire with Luton, Southill, Biggleswade and Arlesey, and further afield into London and Yorkshire in the 19^th century with the advent of the railways. 

From: The Phillimore Atlas and Index of Parish Registers

The parishes of wives, if different, can often spread your family wider than the originating parish.  Marriages can take place in the parish of the bride, or if by Licence in a parish in a different place altogether, but one which may have a family connection a few generations further back.

Sometimes, children were not baptised, people did not marry but you can be certain that they died, somewhere.  Not all our ancestors will leave all the records that you hope they do.  Not everyone made a Will; not everyone has a gravestone.  The clues we find in census returns and parish register entries can lead us to other possibilities when searching for life events and widening the search from the known to the less sure can lead you to the treasure, or more even more questions.

The thrill of the chase is why we do our genealogy starting with our immediate family and inevitably widening our research to include families connected by marriage, siblings and their descendants and of course trying to go back that one step further.

52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 15 - How do you spell that?

 

How do you spell that?  This phrase has an almost daily occurrence for us, especially so when you speak to anyone on the telephone. 

Although spelt as it is said, our surname of Tunesi can flummox some people.  Pronounced ‘Chew-nasey’, our surname is of Italian origin although my husband’s family have been in England since the 1860s.   Just about everyone with this surname in the UK is descended from Felippo Tunesi who came from the Como region of Italy and first appears in the UK 1861 census.  His brother Carlo too, but he did not settle in the UK but went further afield to the USA.  We have a One-Name study for this surname registered with the Guild of One-Name Studies - https://one-name.org, with occurrences found in Argentina, Switzerland, France as well as Italy and the UK as well as other English-speaking countries. 

With my own maiden name of Nickels, we have a similar problem.  An unusual spelling of a common surname, it has had many incarnations over the centuries.

Spelling of names was a bit hit-and-miss earlier that the mid to late nineteenth century.  Often a name was ‘spelt as it was spoke’.  Therefore, for example, if your ancestor moved from a rural area where there would have been a local accent, to a metropolitan area like London, the parish clerk would have written the name down as he heard it, accent, and all.  Top tip – if you can’t find your ancestor in a census try saying out loud the surname with the local accent to see if you can come upon an alternative phonetic spelling that might bear fruit. 

But, back to my Nickels’.  The family originated in Suffolk, in the eastern part of the UK.  A region which still has a distinct accent, especially in rural areas.  I’ve been researching my Nickels family, and many others of the same name in the county since the 1980s and have a trusty old fashioned card index for the entries from GRO BMD indices, parish registers, subsidy rolls, wills, monumental inscriptions, and other documentary sources. 

As you can imagine there have been many different spellings of the Nickels surname over the centuries. 

There’s Niccols, Nichells, Nicholas, Nichol, Nichole, Nicoll, Nicolle, Nicols, Nicolls, Nichell, Nicholl, Nicholds, Nicholz,  Nicholes, Nichols, Nicholls, Nickalls, Nickels, Nickhols, Nickholds, Nickols, Nickolls,  Nickoulds, Nicols, Nycholle, Nycolls

On one memorable occasion my dad even had a letter addressed to him as ‘Mr A. Nickers’.  A good laugh was had by all.

There are also several spellings of Moules (Mole, Moles) and Dominy (Dominie, Dominey) and my husband’s Whenmouth’s (Wenmouth, Wenmoth). 

Don’t be tied up with a particular spelling of your surname.  As you go back further in time with your family history research spelling becomes phonetic and at the whim of the clerk who was filling in the baptism, marriage, burial or will.  On occasion there is a difference in the spelling of a surname within the same document.

52 Ancestors Challenge - Week 14 - Check it out

 

With this week’s #52ancestors theme I recommend checking out Family History Societies and give some examples of useful websites for Family History Societies, One-Name studies and highlight two Societies that we are involved with on a voluntary basis.  There are many Societies all over the world who specialise in local history and family history which often overlap, where our families lived and what was happening there at a point in time is important in the study of your family history. 

A UK based society is the Family History Federation - https://www.familyhistoryfederation.com/

The FHF was formed in 1974 and granted charitable status in.  It represents the interests of their members and family history generally.  It regularly liaises with government bodies and archives and strives to initiate and maintain links with other relevant organisations. It also focuses on issues such as the preservation, security, and accessibility of archival material.

‘The aim of the Federation is to be the vehicle for co-operation between the various disciplines associated with family history e.g., Family history societies, U3A family history groups, Scottish Association of Family History Societies and other Organisations associated with Family History and kindred studies.’

Within the membership of the FHF there are also single name study Societies and Groups.

Like a family history society, but with different emphasis, is the Guild of One-Name Studies, the GOONS - https://one-name.org/

‘A One-Name Study (ONS) is a project researching all occurrences of a surname, as opposed to a particular pedigree (ancestors of one person) or descendancy (descendants of one person or couple).

One-name studies can concentrate on the geographical distribution of the surname and the changes in that distribution over the centuries or it may attempt to reconstruct the genealogy of the lines bearing the surname.    Some one-names run an associated DNA surname project to assist with the analysis of origins.

Most counties in the UK, and many abroad too, have a dedicated family history society.  Many were started in the 1970s - 1980s and have evolved over the years from a small local group to a Society with worldwide membership.  The emphasis is usually ancestry from the county but there is always a welcome for anyone living in the county who is interested in family history.  Most have physical meetings and over the Covid-19 lockdown have developed an online talks programme and increased the use of social media platforms.

One which we are involved with is the Hertfordshire Family History Society - https://www.hertsfhs.org.uk/

We are now getting back to our monthly member meetings on the county.  The meetings incorporate our talks programme (virtual and physical) and there is also a bookstall, exchange journals and a helpdesk manned by our volunteers.  The Society has over the years produced some useful publications.   

The Society has transcribed Monumental Inscriptions in churchyards in the county since the 1980s and have also indexed the Militia Ballot Lists (an earlier version of a census for a parish) and published books and digital resources available on CD-ROM or Flash Drive.

Printed books include Hertfordshire Transportees, Fleet Marriages of Hertfordshire People to 1754, Hertfordshire Settlement Certificates, Hertfordshire Removal Orders, Hertfordshire Examinations as to Settlement, Non-conformity in Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire Places, Hertfordshire Obituaries 1801–1837 (from Gentleman’s Magazine), Baptist Church Books 1675–1810 and many more.

CDs and Flash drives include Hertfordshire Burial Index 1800–1851, Hertfordshire 1851 Census, Hertfordshire Militia Ballot Lists, Hertfordshire Marriage Links 1538–1837 and Hertfordshire Old Poor Law Records (a compilation of the Settlements, Removals and Examinations volumes listed above).

Another Society we are involved with is The Heraldry Society - https://www.theheraldrysociety.com/

This Society exists to increase and extend interest in and knowledge of heraldry, armory, chivalry, genealogy, and allied subjects.  Our membership is worldwide. 

Heraldry is a subject that can be approached from many different angles - historical, genealogical, via artforms, memorials and tombs in churches.  To find a coat of arms with many quarters (different coats of arms) on an unidentified tomb can provide the means to identify to whom the tomb belongs.  A fascinating subject. 

This Society also has a vibrant online talks programme, social events, publications, an online shop, and research Library.  It is active on social media and has an excellent website.

52 Ancestors challenge - Week 13 - Sisters

 

I have no siblings.  With our family the boys seem to have girls, whilst the girls seem to have boys.  There is now only one paternal male cousin bearing the Nickels surname so our branch will die out within the next generation.  

Amongst my cousins most of us were only children, or with one other sibling, a far cry from earlier generations where it was usual to have huge families of 8 – 12 children, some of whom did not survive infancy.

One paternal uncle had four children, three girls, one boy.  The girls were very close in age and were very close.  The two remaining sisters are now in their eighties.  However, another paternal uncle had two girls, but there was a significant age difference and by all accounts they were like chalk and cheese. 

My Mum had 4 sisters, three older and one younger.  With only one boy in the Morgan family, all the girls slept in the same big room on the top floor of their early Victorian terraced house in Hitchin.  Mum could remember ‘topping and tailing’ with her elder sister Babs and younger sister Jean. 

Vi, Son and Cis in about 1916

Babs, Jean and Eva about 1930

The two eldest sisters. Vi and Cis, were very close in age, only 11 months between them, with Babs being 6 years older than Mum and Jean being 3 years younger.

Although we regularly visited ‘the Aunties’ Vi, Cis and Babs, who all lived in Hitchin, my earliest memories involve my Auntie Jean. Mum visited her younger sister weekly, with me in tow, so we were very close and got on well.  Mum was godmother to Jean’s daughter; Jean’s daughter is my godmother and I am godmother to Jean’s daughter’s daughter- a lovely family connection over the generations.

My Dad had two full sisters and one half-sister, and 4 brothers.  

Nellie, Bella & Vi in the mid 1930s

Bella, Vi & Nellie in the mid 1970s, with me

His elder sister, Vi, really brought up the family when their mother and stepmother died young.  Vi was the only mother figure my dad could really remember.  The sisters, Vi, Nellie and Bella, were close even though they lived apart from each other after they married.  Vi moved to Newhaven in Sussex when she married, Nellie stayed in Hertfordshire whilst Bella lived in London, Cambridgeshire, and Hertfordshire with her family. 

Further back in time in my grandparent’s generation, my maternal grandmother had one brother, as did my maternal grandfather.  Unusual for the late Victorian era.

On my paternal side, my grandfather had two full sisters, and one half-sister.  He was close to his sister Bessie, as they kept in touch when she married and moved to Suffolk, but of his sister Kate we don’t know so much.  Kate died when she was a teenager, so we have no knowledge of how close he was with her.

My dad could remember visiting Auntie Bessie and her family in Leiston right up to the 1950s and I remember visiting Bessie’s daughter Marge and her husband in Leiston in the 1980s. 

Bessie and her husband Jim had three daughters. 

Auntie Bessie and her family

Marge, the eldest stayed in Suffolk, and did the middle sister Dorrie.  My Dad and his siblings could remember visiting them often, whilst the younger sister Kath supposedly ‘died young’.  However, I have recently discovered that she moved to London as she is there in the 1939 Register living with a married man – maybe a case of smoke and mirrors.  Intriguing – I shall have to find out more!

Granddad Nickels’ other half-sister, Polly, was considerably older than him, so much so that her illegitimate daughter, Gert, was brought up with granddad and his two elder sisters as another younger sister. 

My paternal grandmother, Alice, was one of ten children, and she had five sisters, Jenny, Nellie, Ada, Rose, and Daisy.  These sisters all lived in London and kept in touch with Alice’s family over the years.  My Dad could remember Auntie Jenny visiting them and them visiting the family in South London.  In the 1980s Auntie’s Rose, Daisy and Ada were still alive and I was lucky enough to meet Auntie Ada.  

My grandmother, Alice, with eldest son Alf, about 1902

Auntie Jenny with her daughters and granddaughter

Auntie Nellie and her husband Sid

Auntie Rose

'Sutch Sisters' - maybe Daisy & Rose

Auntie Ada in the 1980s

Further back in my research, where we have no photographs, it is clear from looking at census records that the sisterly support network was important.  I have instances in the Dominey and Cotton families where a sister took in the offspring of another sister to board with their family so that the single or widowed sister could work, usually in service.  They would have been unable to lodge their child with their employer.  Families often visited each other using public transport networks.  Many sisters lived near to each other, but it was not always the case.  Those further afield visited occasionally, but in Victorian and Edwardian times usually exchanged letters on a regular basis.  I can still remember my dad’s sister who lived further afield writing to my Mum.  Nowadays we occasionally venture to the South Coast, but I keep in touch via Facebook with one of my cousin’s sons in law who keeps us abreast of news from that branch of the family.

Sisters and their continuing contact over their lives have often been the glue within a wider family network and once they are no longer with us, it is sometimes a time where the younger members drift apart.   Nowadays I keep in touch with my cousins and their children (and sometimes grandchildren) via Facebook, with the occasional face to face meet up at christenings, weddings and of course, funerals.