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…)9 June, 2026
Williamson Antecedents in England
This post traces my line back through my mother’s adoptive maternal line, specifically her maternal grandfather’s surname line, the Williamsons.
It was written to try and bring some order to a variety of posts concerning the Williamsons. I am organising them into two categories: purely genealogical (i.e. relationships etc.) such as this post and “stories” related to one or more Williamsons.
First I need to establish my oldest proven Williamson ancestor, stepping back a generation at a time. This post covers the ancestry in England and a later post the ancestry in Ireland.
(more…)16 April, 2024
27 December, 2022
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…)7 September, 2021
The Blizard Name
My mother’s adoptive mother’s paternal grandfather (my Grandmother’s Grandfather) was William Blizard Williamson (born Cork, Ireland 1811, died Worcester, England 1878). He had two sons: William Blizard Williamson (the younger) and George Henry Williamson – my grandmother’s father.
I have written previously about them. This post ponders the origin of the Blizard name in our family tree and whether knowing that helps identify further ancestors or the geographical origin of the Williamsons. (There is a rumour that they may have originated in England and another that they originated in Londonderry.)
This post summarises what I know about the name (not much) and what I would like to know. It is a work-in-progress both in terms of research and content editing. Suggestions are very welcome!
This post also details the genealogy of Sir William Blizard (1743-1835), a surgeon and founder of the first medical school attached to a hospital, The London Hospital. It may be that William Blizard Williamson was named after this famous person, but if anyone reading this identifies a genealogical link between the two of them … .
On the other hand, perhaps he was born during a blizzard?
(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.
genealogyJames Keighley’s 2nd wife Sarah
We know from census records that after Elizabeth Ramsden died on 26th April 1851 (aged 40, at home in Manningham), James Keighley remarried at least once. In the 1861 Census (7 April 1861) James is recorded as residing in the same house as in 1851 (1 Belle View, Manningham) with his wife Sarah, a 49 year old born in Farnley, Yorkshire. This would imply a year of birth of 1811/12.
A note in the Leeds Times of 25th October 1862 (page 8 column 5) states: “DEATHS … Bradford … On Monday, age 51, Sarah, wife of Mr. James Keighley, Belle Vue.” This death announcement would indicate a year of birth of about 1810/11 – reasonably consistent with the 1811/12 implied from the 1861 Census. No probate record has been found.
This note is about the steps taken to identify her given her 1861 Census entry and the above death announcement, in support of another note about James Keighley’s families. It is also written in the (not entirely forlorn) hope that other researchers will find this note and add their thoughts.
A marriage announcement in an on-line Newspaper archive identifies her as “Mrs. Sarah Knight, eldest daughter of the late Thos. Ingle”.
genealogy