G5 Grandparents

Thomas Roades Showell was born in 1736 in Yardley, to the east of Birmingham, and died in 1786, aged 49. He left a neat copper-plate written will, in which he describes himself as a victualler. At his death, he owned a number of properties and was most notably the proprietor and licensee of the Talbot Pub in Yardley. Continue reading →

Anna Maria Onions of Oldbury is recorded as being buried, aged 55, at All Saints, West Bromwich on 27 Nov 1816. This is contradicted by the Cheshire Bible that records her date of death (not burial) as 27 Nov 1817. Continue reading →

William Breakspear was buried in Chipping Norton on 30 Nov 1838. His age is recorded as 91. He was the father of John Breakspear who predeceased him by eight months. Continue reading →

Joseph Warmington was baptized in St Peter’s Hook Norton on 8 Apr 1737, the youngest son of John Warmington and Patience Beale. It is possible to trace a few events in his life but it is patchy and speculative for two reasons. Firstly he seems to have moved around a fair amount and secondly his family were almost certainly baptized in Baptist churches where the records have not been traced. Continue reading →

John Hartill was a relatively wealthy merchant and tradesman in Dudley (c1735-1812). It is not clear when and where he was born, but there is good reason to believe he is descended from one of the many Hartill families of nearby Willenhall. Continue reading →

Edward Bagnall was baptized at St Leonard’s, Broseley in Shropshire on 22 Mar 1761. He was the third of four sons of John Bagnall and Margaret Dixon. John Bagnall is described as a mining engineer, significant because Broseley was at the very heart of the Industrial Revolution, just a mile or so from Coalbrookdale and the famous Ironbridge, built in 1779. Continue reading →

James Shaw was born approximately in 1710 in Dudley Worcestershire. He was to become a well respected attorney working for a succession of the Dudley and Ward families of Dudley Castle.  He also worked for and had a strong friendship with Samuel Hellier, a prominent member of the Staffordshire gentry. Samuel Hellier was a renowned collector especially of Musical Instruments. Continue reading →