My Ancestors Stories

Our latest Blogging challenge was to have a Christmas theme...so what could I write about?  Something that came to mind was the number of December weddings we seemed to have so thought I'd provide a little snapshot of some of my ancestors who married at Christmas time. Many I've written about before so I have included a link to those earlier stories for more information.  During the 18th and 19th centuries, getting married on Christmas Day itself was a popular tradition in Britain, with churches holding festive nuptials every 25 December. Whilst it sounds romantic, Christmas weddings usually occurred out of necessity as Christmas and Boxing Day were often the only days of the year that young working-class couples were guaranteed to get off work. In the 1800s, most people worked six days a week and didn't get paid when they didn't work. It was only with the rise of the trade unions in the 20th century that working conditions and employee rights started to improve and the...

The opportunity to present on the subject of “Money and property matters” at a SAG Hang Out during COVD-19 prompted me to document the story of my 2 x great grandfather, Robert Cornelius Hails. Southwick, Durham, England Early Life Robert was born on 9 November 1855 in Southwick, County Durham, the fifth child of Robert Hails, a shipwright and Mary Ann McKenzie, who had married in Sunderland in 1849. Birth Certificate - Robert Hails - 1855 Sadly, four of his brothers died in infancy and his mother Mary Ann passed away on 12 November 1860 in Sunderland, as a result of complications following the birth of a daughter, Ann. Death Certificate - Mary Hailes -  1860 In 1861 Robert was living at 24 Cottage Row, East Murton with his father, Robert, now described as a joiner, brother John, aged 11, a coal miner, and sister, Annie, aged 2. Also living with the family was his maternal aunt, Ann, who was recorded as his father’s wife. 1861 Census - East Murton, Durham, ...