24 June, 2026
Williamson: The American Civil War
There is a family story (see comment on another post) about George Henry Williamson (b ~1845) having fought on possibly the Confederate side in the American Civil War [1861–1865]. It is believed he ran off as a very young man to America to fight. If true, we might guess that he was drawn into this escapade with his cousin Thomas, although given Thomas was born in New Jersey it is possibly surprising that they fought on the Confederate side.
(more…)
15 September, 2021
Williamson: Current Research
Currently a number of events have brought my focus back to the Williamson Family – my maternal grandmother’s family (through my mother’s adoption).
The purpose of this post is to summarise the current areas of research and what is being done (September 2021) in order to help others and via search engines to catch the attention of people currently unknown to me who may be researching the same family.
Currently we know of the Williamsons in Cork in the first half of the 19th Century, later emerging in Worcester in England in the 1861 Census. That same census indicates that there was a branch of the family in New Jersey United States.
(more…)1 April, 2018
Williamson Antecedents in Ireland
This post was formerly titled William Blizard Williamson “of Cork” and was significantly editted in 2026.
One of my brick walls has been William Blizard Williamson, his family and their ancestry;
- His wife Elizabeth (maiden name unknown) and,
- His sons William Blizard and George Henry.
The younger son, George Henry was the father of Elizabeth Ann Willett who with her husband Everard William Willett adopted my mother, which makes William Blizard Williamson (senior) my Great Great Grandfather (by adoption).
Another post, Williamson Antecedents in England, now details the above genealogy. This post now deals with ancestry in Ireland.
This posts summarises what is and is not known about this family and what can be done to break down this brick wall. Essentially we know little about their Irish life or of their ancestors in Ireland.
(more…)23 February, 2012
Thomas Williamson in the United States
The 1861 Census for England and Wales shows a Thomas Williamson born 1845 in New Jersey, United States. He is listed as a Tinplate Worker staying in Worcester (England) with his uncle William Blizard Williamson. This would imply that Thomas (and his mother and possibly his father) would have been in New Jersey around 1845.
The purpose of this post is to identify this Thomas Williamson and his family.
(more…)21 December, 2010
Research Note: Google Ngrams
(This post is more in the nature of a genealogy diary entry or research note discussing a potential line of interesting research.)
Google in their attempt to “capture all information”, have been digitalising huge numbers of mainly out of copyright books (more than 5.2 million). Now they have introduced a tool to try and analyse this corpus of data: Google NGrams. This allows you to graph by date of publication the occurrence of a word (or even selection of words).
So for a genealogist, the logical thing to do is ego-surf – stick your own surname in the tool and see what comes out. (more…)
18 August, 2010
Potential Ancestral Links to Groups of Overseas Faulders
The Faulder surname appears in various parts of the world:
- Canadian Faulders (mainly in Ontario and Alberta)
- American (United States of) Faulders (mainly in Ohio – linking back to Sebergham in Cumberland – and Pennsylvania)
- Canadian citizen, Joseph Stanley Faulder
executed in Texas - Australian Faulders (mainly in New South Wales – again linking back to Cumberland)
- New Zealand Faulders
(based on BMD data)
Review of World War One records in the above countries is currently revealing more information.
The family links with the Woollen trade in Yorkshire, especially Huddersfield
There are various members of the family who have been involved in various aspects of the textile industry, most notably with the Woollen Industry in Yorkshire in particular the firm of Stothart & Faulder in John William Street, Huddersfield
. (more…)
17 August, 2010
The whereabouts of Joseph Sewell and Emily Faulder at the time of the 1891 census.
Joseph Sewell and Emily Faulder do not appear to be in the 1891 census. It may be that they were abroad (possibly together on business). (more…)
The life and death of Harold Faulder (killed in action Ypres 26 April 1918)
Harold Faulder, 3rd Battalion, York and Lancaster Regiment
- Eldest son of Joseph Sewell Faulder & Emily Story. My paternal Grandfather.
- He returned from the United States (where he was working) to enlist via the Inns of Court Officer Training Corps.
- He initially served in England with the 3rd Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment.
- Later he served in France with the 14th Battalion of the same regiment (The 2nd Barnsley Pals), when he was acting commanding officer in the final weeks of its existence before it was disbanded.
- He was killed in action near Ypres four days after joining the 1/4th battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment and has no known grave.
- He was mentioned in despatches twice, but details are currently unknown.
- There is some dispute over his rank at his death.
- His only child, my father, was born 10 weeks after his death.
The Life of Harold Faulder (large file!)
The Final Hours of the life of Harold Faulder
Commonwealth War Graves Commission record
