Church of St James, Great Ellingham Baptism at St James On the 28th August 1892, Great Ellingham schoolmaster John Field and his wife Annis took their infant son, Alfred Harold, to the Parish Church for baptism. Great Ellingham Board Schools and School House. Author’s Collection Early Life at The School House Alfred Harold Field was…
Category: Emigration
Walter Utting sells Fir Cottage to the Revd James Toll
Fir Cottage is a delightful cottage on the western side and at the southern part of Long Street. It was built between 1857 and 1861. The green arrow indicates the position of Fir Cottage at the southern end of Long Street. Extract from O.S. Map c.1945. Courtesy Ray & Maureen Beales In recent years, Fir…
The ‘Making’ of William Clarke at the Reformatory School at Buxton
I was delighted to be contacted by a descendant of one of the Clarke families who lived in Great Ellingham from at least 1800 to 1902. Angela McCleery has studied the Clarke family for a number of years. She he is able to provide more information about William Clarke following his misdemeanour in the village…
‘Black Sheep’ in the Family
I am sure that many of us will find a few ‘black sheep’ amongst our ancestors. These ‘black sheep’ are usually individuals who are seen as troublemakers, failures or just people who do not fit in with the rest of the family. They may also bring disgrace or disrepute upon the family and, in consequence,…
A Mother’s Plea not to send her Son to ‘the Front’
Chequers Lane, Great Ellingham. Robert Beales and his family lived in one of the houses shown in the postcard. Courtesy of Carol Ewin Shoemaker Robert Beales & his Family in Chequers Lane Just over three years before the start of the Great War in 1914, shoemaker Robert Beales, his wife Ellen and seven of their…
Elizabeth Terrington gains free travel to Van Diemen’s Land
As a result of the reformation of the Poor Law in 1834, the administration of parishes transferred from the parish to a local district Poor Law Union. Consequently, Great Ellingham came under the Wayland Poor Law Union with an elected Board of Guardians. Wayland Union Workhouse. Courtesy of Liz Barrett The Minutes of a meeting…
Ellis Clarke’s Successful Emigration from Rocklands to Tasmania
Ellis Clarke’s Railway Coffee Palace in Ulverstone, Tasmania. Ellis’s son Stephen and his wife Louisa are in the ‘buggy’. Courtesy of Kim O’Brien Death some 10,500 miles from his native home of Rocklands Ellis Clarke died in August 1903 at his home at the Railway Coffee Palace in Ulverstone, Tasmania. He was born in Rockland…
Charles & Jane Clarke – Sponsored Passage from Rocklands to Tasmania
By the time that Charles and Jane Clarke secured sponsorship for their emigration to Tasmania in 1855, they likely knew what to expect ‘on the other side of the world’. Charles’s eldest brother Robert and his wife and family had emigrated to South Australia the previous year. Although this was a time before the telephone…
From Rocklands to South Australia – the Clarke & Barham Families
Passenger Ship Bound for Australia The emigrant passenger ship the Joseph Rowan left Liverpool on the 21st March, 1854, with around 376 ‘government passengers’ bound for South Australia. The passage for these emigrants may well have been covered by one of the assisted-government schemes. The Australian colonial governments particularly wanted skilled labourers and single women….
Sarah Thompson Reeder 1874-1951
Sampler stitched by 12 year old Sarah Thompson Reeder in 1886. Photograph courtesy of Rosemary Jones In 1886, 12 year old Sarah Thompson demonstrated her needlework skills by stitching a sampler at her school in Great Ellingham. By the time the girls at the Board School finished their education, most (if not all) of the…