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.
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20 June, 2026
William Blizard Williamson, Drink and Temperance
William Blizard Williamson seems to have been man who “made good”. He started as a tin man (the 1841 Census for Kingston upon Thames in England has him listed as “I tinman”, where the “I” could stand for “independent” of “Itinerant” – or both).
A search of Newspapers and stories handed down through the family, suggest that alcohol may have been an issue.
(more…)10 January, 2025
Surname Villett as a variant of Willett
Villett and similar (Villet, Vilette etc.) as a variation of Willett were excluded from my ongoing “Willetts in Essex” analysis. Villett and variants does often appear in discussion of Huguenot Families, and given the suggestion that the Willetts may be of Huguenot origin, it is accepted that research may have to be expanded. This post looks at the distribution of “Villett” and similar in Essex.
(more…)24 October, 2022
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…)12 July, 2021
The Family of James Keighley (1805-1888)
James Keighley was my Great Great Great Grandfather. His daughter Martha (1834-1920) married Robert Fell (1924-1910) and their eldest child, Elizabeth Fell (1856-1929) was the mother of my paternal Grandmother, Marjorie Fell Lendrum (1887-1963).
Reconstructing James’s family or families is of interest not just because he is at the time of writing the most distant Keighley relative but also because of two outstanding genealogical itches:
- The identity of “Granny’s sister and her bridesmaid” – an elderly woman standing behind Martha Fell in Robert and Martha’s Golden Wedding Photograph at Somerville, Hungerford Road, Huddersfield – the annotation written from the perspective of someone of the same generation as my Grandmother Marjorie Lendrum.
- A suspicion that the recently acquired Carte de Visite of Martha Fell shows her in mourning dress – who was she mourning?
As a “read” it is probably only of interest to Keighley, Fell and Ramsden relatives and those wanting to find out a bit more about the two posts referenced in the paragraphs above.
genealogy30 August, 2020
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…)27 May, 2017
Identifying the Fells at Huddersfield
Family of Robert & Martha Fell at Somerville, Huddersfield
I came across a photograph believed to be of the Fell Family. A count of the people was consistent with Robert Fell and his wife Martha (née Keighley) and their children and the spouses of those children.¹
Robert and Martha had eleven children – all of whom are believed to have outlived their parents. Eight of them married.
Three faces have been pasted (old fashioned scissors and paste!) into the picture* – the two characters directly behind Robert Fell and another standing at the back on the left. * Or more accurately the negative – my print is a single sheet without pastings. (more…)
