Airedale & Wharfedale Family History Society
Finding New Routes to Trace Your Old Roots
The four people left to right are:
Jack Whitaker, died 26th January 1915 aged 79.
Martha Dean (nee Hogarth) died 26th January 1940 aged 84
Thomas Dean, husband of Martha, farmer of Gibside, (son of Jonathan Dean and his wife Jane nee Cooper) died 11th February 1929 aged 74.
Ethel Dean, (daughter of Jonathan and Jane) married George Stirk, died 2nd January 1983 aged 94.
From the Hodgson Collection at Skipton Local Studies Library
Left to right back row: Kathleen Buckley, Annie Lee, Alice Nutter, Sally Nutter, Ena Cummins, Wilfred Whittaker, Peggy Beck, Sidney Kirk, Tommy Clark, Tom Millward, Edith Naylor, not recorded, Annie Hirst.
Front Row: not recorded, George Margate, Billie Stell (whose family owned the mill) not recorded, Carrie Clark,
From the Hodgson Collection at Skipton Local Studies Library
Cononley National School around 1907/1908 just prior to the closure of the church school.
Back row left to right: Alan Holmes, Fred Lee, Alfred Thompson, Leonard Marsden, Willie Cooper, Bob Walker, Tom Hurtley, not recorded, George Rushworth, John Holdsworth (headmaster),
Centre row left to right: Elsie Buckley, Audrey Metcalfe, Dorothy Barker, Jessie Parkinson, Grace Wetherall, Hilda Midgley, Hilda Speak, Lily Whitaker, Lillian Cooper, Lily Town, Alice Holdsworth,
Front row left to right: Edna Metcalfe, Elsie Hey, Jennie Bird, Susan Fielding, Rebecca Rushworth, Lizzie Firth, Mary Barrett, Winnie Beech,
From the Hodgson Collection at Skipton Local Studies Library
by Stanley Merridew
Friendly Societies are mutual aid organisations designed to help people protect themselves against hardship. Their emergence can, in some cases be traced back to the seventeenth century. However, the onset of the French Revolution and industrialisation, meant that the government became very nervous of groupings of the working classes. One could also argue they were brought about by the factory system. Many families had moved away from their traditional occupations and the support of the estate village and craft industries and were suddenly working at the behest of the industrialists. The Gilbert Act of 1782, introducing a more regimented system of workhouses must also have created some concerns among the less well-off. Often it was a case of work or enter the poorhouse. Living in towns and cities the accommodation frequently came without gardens in which to produce their own food. All industries were liable to trade fluctuations which could cause seasonal unemployment. The operatives were also using unfamiliar machinery with little or no protection and many accidents occurred.
Read Moreby Stanley Merridew
Have you ever wondered what happened to medals awarded to members of your family for serving in the Armed Forces during World War 2? They could have been sold or now be in the possession of another relative. There is also the possibility they were never claimed.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
After seeing this illustration and the following article about a former local company I set about researching their origins.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
In tracing your ancestry obviously a grasp of history, historical dates and facts can be useful but it is worth taking into consideration that geography, economic geography in particular, plays just as an important part in our research. Some researchers are fortunate in finding a family stayed in one parish for generations but they are in the minority. For the majority our forebears flitted from place to place leaving no apparent trail.
Read MoreBy Stanley Merridew
Whilst on a visit to The National Archives I overheard a conversation regarding probate. A researcher was saying that their ancestors had not left any wills as they had searched the index at TNA without success. I didn’t get the chance to put my oar in before they had moved on. When searching any index the researcher needs to be aware of the extent of the index and in particular what is doesn’t contain. Wills and probate are possibly the most complex of the subject matter we tackle as family historians and without some understanding success will be limited.
Read MoreBy: Stanley Merridew
Addingham, along with most Wharfedale villages was visited by travelling Methodist preachers from the middle of the eighteenth century.
Grimshaw, Colbeck, Maskew and John Wesley
all preached in the village. One of
those converted at the time was Thomas Lee. Born in Silsden, he served an apprenticeship
in Addingham and became one of Wesley’s travelling band of preachers.