27
May
2019

Thomas Dolman of Seisdon

Thomas Dolman was baptized in All Saints, Trysull on 8 Sep 1611 and was one of a group of minor Staffordshire Gentry and Mercers who supported Parliament in the Civil War. He served on the Parliamentary Committee at Stafford in 1643 and worked closely with William Bendy. Continue reading →
Last updated on 29 May 2019 by JJ Morgan
17
May
2019

William Pynson of Wolverhampton

William Pynson of Wolverhampton left a will with probate in 1670. He was an attorney and is connected to a number of the families discussed on this site. His will is particularly interesting as it names so many of his relatives. Continue reading →
Last updated on 28 May 2019 by JJ Morgan
07
May
2019

Ann Cookes of West Bromwich

Ann Cookes, a widow of West Bromwich, left a will in 1645 that lists a large number of bequests that cover important family lines discussed on this site. She was evidently childless but the list of legacies indicates that she was a close relation to the Darby and Finch families. She is very likely the widow of Henry Cookes of Handsworth, who left a will in 1642, and the marriage date would appear to be before 1607. Continue reading →
Last updated on 10 May 2019 by JJ Morgan
21
Apr
2019

Thomas Bradley of the Wood, Sedgley

In Dugdale’s 1663 Visitation of Staffordshire  the Bradley family (disclaimed 1664) is traced back to a Thomas Bradley of Baggeridge Forest (‘The Wood’) in Sedgley, Staffordshire. Later on, this Bradley family are simply all described as of ‘the Wood’ in Sedgley. Continue reading →
Last updated on 1 May 2019 by JJ Morgan
20
Mar
2019

Thomas Elwall of Ettingshall, Sedgley

Thomas Elwall, yeoman of Ettingshall, died in early 1716 leaving a will written in 1712. Here he lists his four children as Thomas Elwall, Edward Elwall, Elizabeth Gibbens and Mary Elwall. The following sequence of baptisms can be found in the All Saints, Sedgley Parish register viz. Thomas (bap 21 Aug 1673), Edward (bap 9 Nov 1676), Elizabeth (No Baptism found), Mary (bap 22 Oct 1670) Continue reading →
Last updated on 28 March 2019 by JJ Morgan
03
Mar
2019

John Shaw of Kingswinford, 1606-1674

This article is designed to disambiguate some of the ‘John Shaws’ alive in Dudley and the surrounding areas in the early Seventeenth Century. It focuses on the John Shaw, who Richard Shaw describes as his ‘natural son’ in his 1657 will and is also described as his ‘natural brother’ in the 1646 will of Richard Shaw, the younger. His position amongst Richard Shaw’s children is a little enigmatic. Continue reading →
Last updated on 10 May 2019 by JJ Morgan
05
Feb
2019

Chester Racecard, 1766

This early Racecard comes from the archive of the Evans family, later of the Red Lion Inn, Wolverhampton. It may have belonged to John Evans. It is evidence of an early interest in horses and a foretaste for the extensive stable kept by the Evans family in Wolverhampton. Later the family were certainly keen sportsmen, but they also required the stable for the major Coaching Inn running the stages from Wednesbury to the Red Lion and on out to Albrighton. Continue reading →
Last updated on 5 February 2019 by E Morgan
31
Jan
2019

Joyce Rugeley of Moor Hall

Joyce Rugeley must have been born about 1480 and was descended from the Rugeley family of Dunton in Warwickshire. The Rugeley ancestry is somewhat erratically recorded in the contemporary Heraldic Visitations of Warwickshire of 1619 and it is not altogether clear exactly where she fits in. She died and left a will in 1553.  Importantly she married twice and was widowed twice. Her two husbands were wealthy and extremely well connected. This kind of widowhood was in reality the only way a woman in Tudor times could gain important independent social status. Continue reading →
Last updated on 31 January 2019 by JJ Morgan
16
Jan
2019

Molly uncovers the news of her brother’s death

Captain Charles Wilmot Evans of the 6th South Staffordshires was killed on 1 Jul 1916 on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. At the time, his sister Molly Evans was working at the No 2 General hospital in Le Havre. Below are extracts from her diary that chronicle how she found out the news and how it affected those around her. It contrasts with the account of this very same episode narrated in Alan MacDonald’s Book, “Lack of Offensive Spirit” which is based on the records of her letters to the War Office. Continue reading →
Last updated on 28 January 2019 by JJ Morgan
07
Jan
2019

Marriage proposal in Boulogne, 17 Mar 1918

Molly Evans had been working in the Queen Alexandra Hospital in Dunkirk from Sep 1917 and had returned to England on 28 Feb 1918 for two weeks leave to her parents in Hagley, Worcestershire. According to her diary, the two weeks after her return to France, were the most memorable experiences of her life. Molly writes extensively about the bombardment and evacuation of the hospital on the night of 23 Mar 1918, but the whole week of her return to the hospital covered the full range and intensity of experiences of being in a war. Continue reading →
Last updated on 8 January 2019 by JJ Morgan
06
Jan
2019

The Grosvenor Family of Broome House

George William Grosvenor, the head of Woodward Grosvenor & Co, Kidderminster Carpet Manufacturers, and his family lived in Broome House in Broome to the West of Hagley from about 1875 to 1899. He was a JP, Deputy Lieutenant and in 1897 High Sheriff of Worcestershire. Broome House was sold in 1904 for £6500 and the family then moved first to Elmley House in Blakedown and finally to Park House, Hagley, where he died in 1923. The four children feature in some of the photos and correspondence held by the Downing and Evans family of Hagley. Continue reading →
Last updated on 8 January 2019 by JJ Morgan
30
Dec
2018

The Hatton Family of Hagley House

The family of George Hatton moved into Hagley House in about 1912. Hagley House was a large Georgian building on the corner of the Birmingham and Stourbridge Roads. The previous occupant recorded in the 1911 census was Henrietta Moore, the grandmother of Hal Barlow. Henrietta’s husband Joseph Moore, a brick manufacturer, had died there in 1901. Continue reading →
Last updated on 8 January 2019 by JJ Morgan