Herbert Martin (40572) enlisted as a Private of the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment.
He was tragically killed on his way home towards the end of the First World War in a train accident in France.
His name is featured on the Little Downham war memorial and was until recently also on a stone in the cemetery, along with his sister Emma and her husband John William Goodge.
Herbert is named in the Cambridge Regiment’s instalment in St. George’s Chapel in Ely Cathedral, where it lists the names of the brave who died during the two world wars.
Hallowe’en Special: Could the dead help you grow your family tree by contacting you from beyond the grave?
So, as nights draw in on Hallowe’en, people will be telling ghost stories by candlelight in a bid to frighten others, but perhaps the spirit world may have much more to offer to family historians?
A group of people performing a séance.
Ghostly figures of Anne Boleyn and Mary, Queen of Scots are almost common sights through-out the country, appearing in all manner of stately homes and castles. These women must be busier in death than they were in life.
However, amongst all these claims of other-worldly connections with those from beyond the grave, it makes me wonder – has anyone ever managed to further their family tree by participating in a séance or by enlisting the help of a Medium?
Perhaps that sounds like a stupid question? But when there’s so many claims that spirits communicate with the living in various ways, why shouldn’t some of these encounters involve a topic of conversation?
‘Reuniting’
Pat Peacock - Spiritualist Medium and Genealogist
As a Spiritualist Medium for more than 30 years, and a Genealogist for over 20 years,Pat Peacock from West Sussex has found that the two areas have often complimented each other.
“Sometimes I think I should call myself a ‘Reunionist’ as I am able to connect people with their loved ones in the Spirit World and reunite them with family members on the Earth.” – Pat Peacock
Pat who is President at Chichester Christian Spiritualist Church, explains that she has been contacted by many people who are trying to research their family tree or to find a family member who has disappeared;
“…[They] tell me that they have consulted a Medium or Psychic who has given them some information. They usually say that I may find them strange asking me to check information obtained in this way and I respond by saying I am a Medium myself.”
Pat, as an experienced genealogist knows that consulting vital records is crucial, but does go on to say that “The information they have been given is mostly accurate and has resulted in further information being found through genealogy research.”
Perhaps this suggests that a medium or séance could be on par with oral interviews – scattered with truths and opinions, but useful for leading the researcher towards vital clues?
A Familiar Visitor
Sally Holmes, a Spiritual Sensitive from Cambridgeshire, recalls an encounter that briefly re-connected some of her family members:
“Many years ago one of my cousins ran to her mum telling her to get ‘the man with the dark eyes and the hat’ away from her. She never knew my mum’s grandad, but it was him that she was describing. He was blind and wore dark glasses, and he used to sit in the very same chair. We can only conclude that he was there watching over her.. just as he would have done if he was alive.” – Sally Holmes
This encounter was shocking at first for the youngster, but the feeling that a late relative was present in their lives became somewhat comforting in hindsight.
Was it really who they thought it was, or did luck simply turn up a description that stirred up a match for an identity and associated memories of a long-gone relative?
Walking through brick walls.
The 'brown lady' of Raynham Hall, Norfolk.
If there really are visitations from the spirit world, why do they rarely help to solve our family puzzles? Couldn’t they just give a hint where someone was born or where that great aunt moved to?
Maybe as Pat suggests, they do sometimes provide some pieces of information that can be corroborated with historical documents, leading a genealogist into new lines of research.
So, when you next hit that genealogical ‘brick wall’ and can’t find that elusive relative, just take a look over your shoulder.
Perhaps there is someone who could help you after all?
This large mound in the city cemetery at Ely, Cambridgeshire is believed to be the mass grave for many people who died during an epidemic. It may have been something like cholera, which swept through the city numerous times through history.
The mound certainly seems to be man-made, and has an almost ‘ceremonially’ placed tree on top.
Information about the CROSS family from Ely, Cambridgeshire and their impact on the city, and travels to Australia.
Four centuries living in Ely, the Cross family is also one of the largest and most far-reaching.
With one of the earliest mentions of the family being a baptism in 1669 at Ely’s Holy Trinity Church, the Cross family went on to rapidly grow in to one of the largest families I have researched.
A growing family
My most recent Cross ancestor was my Great Great Grandmother, Mary Ann Cross who was born in ‘Buggs Hill’ (Cambridge Road), Ely in 1870, as the daughter of George Cross and his wife Sabina Steadman “Vine” Taylor. Following on with her parents’ business skills, she opened a shop on the corner of Barton Road and Cambridge Road in Ely which she traded from until her death in the 1950s. The shop closed in the 1980s and is now a private house.
Whilst Mary Ann was just the only one of George and “Vine”‘s two children to survive into adulthood, her father was one of 12 children. His father Jacob Cross, was in turn one of 11 children, and his father Philip Cross was one of around 15 children! As you can imagine, the potential for descendants from all of these children from the 3 generations is high and resulted in a large Cross population in and around Ely during the 1800s.
Finding a new life
For some though, Ely was perhaps too small with all these relatives around in the mid 1800s. Cross family groups like that of (another) George Cross and his wife Julia decided to start afresh in Australia. In 1855 they emigrated, following their older son Matthew who had already gone there to mine for gold. Julia was literate and a great letter writer, and a book of letters that she wrote to her mother back in England has been compiled and is now sold at Ely Museum.
Descendants of the Australian Cross families are many, but one – Pamela Phyllis McClymont – decided to set up the ‘Cross Family History Society’. Sadly Pam died several years ago, but she was pleased to pass a lot of information on about the family, including her own book ‘Who’s Who: Cross Family (Volume One, 1997)’ which details no less than 372 descendants from that 1669 baptism.
The Museum and the Tea Shop
One of the Ely’s Cross residents, Frederick Vernon Cross (known as just Vernon Cross) took on his father’s thriving bakery business on Forehill in the centre of the city. He transformed the business from being just a bakery into what is seen as Ely’s first tea shop, running regular advertisements in newspapers for delicious cakes and tea.
Part of the shop also became a space for Vernon to display the artefacts that he had found with his father at nearby Roswell Pits. These included many fossils and bones and his growing collection had begun to dominate the shop. On Vernon’s death in 1976, his private collection was saved by the then recently founded Ely Museum Trust. Today, the museum marks Vernon’s contribution to the collection with ‘The Vernon Cross Meeting Room’. Vernon also published an autobiography titled ‘Cross Words’, detailing his family, childhood, the bakery and his time at war.
The shop is now part of The Royal Standard public house, but if you go in, you’ll find that there are photographs on the wall of the old shop and even one of the shop signs is hanging on the wall as a nod to its history.
The Newman family of Cambridgeshire are this week’s Geneabloggers topic for ‘Surname Saturday’ – a story of illegitimacy, windmills and dinosaur poop.
A killer windmill, illegitimacy and dinosaur poop all play a part in shaping my paternal Newman family of Cambridgeshire.
Alfred and Harriet Newman
My earliest known ancestor (so far) was John Newman, the husband of Hannah (née Squire). They lived in and were married in Fenstanton, Huntingdonshire (as it was then in 1750). There’s no record of any earlier Newmans before this date and after parenting my ancestor Philip in 1760, there doesn’t seem to be another mention of them again.
When Philip reached 19yrs old he marries Lydia Ingle in Haddenham, Cambridgeshire in 1779 and they begin a family together. However, after their sons Thomas and Philip are born, baby Philip and Lydia die – both being buried on the same day in Somersham. This appears to leave Philip (senior) with his young son Thomas.
In September 1785, Philip re-marries, to Elizabeth Whitehead of Haddenham. The couple soon grow their family – having six children, although sadly their first (William) and fourth and fifth (Robert and James) children do not survive infancy. This leaves two daughters (Ann and Rebecca) and William.
The Windmill
In 1809 tragedy struck as Philip, working as a Miller at the mill of William and Robert Pate of Haddenham on 20th July 1809 “was caught in the works of his mill, and unfortunately killed” – as reported by the Cambridge Chronicle, dated 22nd July 1809. Philip was promptly buried the following day at Haddenham parish church where the register notes him as being both a miller and a baker. He was 49 years old.
The mill (known most recently as ‘Neville’s Mill’) no longer stands, although the windmill (The Great Mill) opposite the site is still standing and is being lovingly restored – well worth a visit to see what working in a mill may have been like.
Elias Dann
Having lost her father to the horrific sounding windmill accident at the age of about 5yrs, Rebecca Newman gave birth to a son Charles Newman in Somersham at only about 16 years of age. Whilst she was not married, parish records name an ‘Elias Dann’ as the father.
Rebecca does not go on to marry Elias, as it would seem that Elias may have already been living with his wife in nearby Wilburton. Being a fatherless teenage single mother must have been excruciatingly difficult for Rebecca in the 1820s. However, by 1826 she had married John Seymore of Haddenham and bore him two daughters.
It appears that illegitimate Charles Newman was fully aware of who his father was, as he names him when he marries Emma Levitt at Swaffham Bulbeck, Cambridgeshire in 1847. The couple also name their youngest son ‘Elias Newman’. The couple remain in the village, with Charles becoming a blacksmith, and have six children.
Coprolites
Coprolites (fossilised animal dung) were found to be excellent sources of fertilizer in the 1840s. Digging them soon became big business in the fens during the mid 19th century, although it began to decrease by the 1880s. Massive manual labour forces were needed to trace and dig out the seams of dung (you can even buy them today on ebay!) and my Newman relatives briefly became part of the workforce.
The 1871 census lists Alfred Newman (the son of blacksmith Charles Newman and Emma Levitt), along with his brother Charles as a ‘Coprolite Digger’. By the time of the next census though, the industry has downsized and neither are digging for dung.
In 1877, Alfred Newman marries Harriet Cooper in Ely, Cambridgeshire. It is here where the Newman family has reached today – with many descendants of their large family still in the city and surrounding villages.
The Newman family faced terrible tragedies, but they have survived.
The Burnell family moved from Somerset to London, on to Bedfordshire and then on to Cambridgeshire.
Travelling around 300 miles, the Burnell family went from Devon to Somerset to Middlesex to Bedfordshire and on to Cambridgeshire.
When looking back at the families in my ancestry, few are more travelled (so far) as the Burnell family. The family have covered 5 counties in just over 200 years. That doesn’t sound like such an achievement by modern day standards, but in the 18th and 19th centuries, this was a journey. It was a journey for work – a journey for survival.
Back in the 1790s, the family was living in Combe Florey, Somerset. Robert Burnell and his wife Martha (née Evans – a Welsh connection?) were married in the parish in January 1816. It appears that Robert had come from Morebath, Devon, whilst Martha was a resident of the parish.
The couple had at least four children, with Samuel as the oldest – born just 2 months after his parents’ wedding. I have no record of what became of Samuel’s three sisters: Caroline, Mary and Maria – although each are born years apart, suggesting that perhaps there were more siblings.
Samuel Burnell married Mary (neé Babbidge) at Combe Florey on Christmas Day in 1839 (both illiterate) and together they bore a total of 12 children, including my Gt Gt Grandfather George Burnell in 1850. By 1861, Samuel is noted as a ‘road contractor’ and the family (by then almost complete) are living in poor houses.
The road to Middlesex
Their son and my ancestor, George, went off to work in what was then Middlesex, but is now absorbed by Greater London. In 1880 he married Miss Mary Ann Barker of Barkway, Hertfordshire. They married in All Saint’s Church, St John’s Wood on 9th May 1880, both naming residence as ’46 Abbey Road’ – a road that would find fame around 80 years later. In 1885, my Great Grandmother Daisy Burnell was born in the Stables in Abercorn Place, London – an area that Charles Booth categorised in the two highest categories (‘Middle class well-to-do’ and ‘Upper-middle and Upper classes. Wealthy’) of his Poverty Classification system.
However, whilst this sounds like the family may have hit wealth in this part of London, they were undoubtedly servants to the wealthiest people of London.
A new start in Bedfordshire
By 1889, the couple and their four children left for Dunstable, where George became the landlord for ‘The Royal Oak’ in Church Street, Dunstable in Bedfordshire. Sadly, George died soon after in June 1891, leaving his pregnant widow with a young family and £75 13s 4d (worth today at about £4,500).
Seeking Hope in Cambridgeshire
Seeking to make ends meet, a pregnant Mary took her young mourning family off to Littleport, Cambridgeshire. Here they made a new start in the company of The Hope Brothers – a clothing manufacturing business.
Mary later re-married to James Smith, and appears to have died in 1929.
