Bradfield Archives

Published: September 12, 2010    Last modified: February 4, 2017
Bradfield Parish Council Offices Home of Bradfield Archives

Bradfield Parish Council Offices: Home of Bradfield Archives

Currently I have traced my ASHFORTH line back to the birth of one George ASHFORTH 1814-Deceased at Bradfield circa 1814. I have little concrete evidence to support this entry in my GEDCOM so I need to travel to Low Bradfield, Sheffield, South Yorkshire in order to visit Bradfield Archives, the archives being held in Bradfield Parish Council Offices, Mill Lee Road, Low Bradfield.

Low Bradfield is only 5 miles from Owlerton, Sheffield, the place where I was born. Incredibly this village has managed to avoid being 'swallowed up' by an expanding city and is almost as I remember it as a child. The most noticeable change being the replacement of the wonderful corrugated iron roofed village hall with a more modern building. A great pity though I suppose it eventually became necessary.

While checking the archive opening times on the Friends of Bradfield Archives website I noticed two upcoming events which I would like to attend:

  1. Tuesday, 12th October 2010 - History Workshops
  2. Sunday, 24th October 2010 - Family & Local History Day

Certainly the second event which will be attended by several local history groups and societies, may be very useful in my research of the ASHFORTH line, since many ASHFORTH families originate from this parish.

Notes:
I am not sure what has happened to the Bradfield Parish Council website since the link from the Bradfield Archives is broken and other links are being redirected to what looks like cyber squatters.

Updates:
2010-11-13 I did make time to attend the Family and Local History Day at Bradfield Village Hall. To read about my visit to the Family and Local History Day, Bradfield Village Hall please click here.

2015-03-04 The Bradfield Archives website seems to be fully functional now.

Samuel Tomlinson 1826-1854 and Rhoda Ridal 1826-Deceased

Published: September 11, 2010    Last modified: May 22, 2022

Certificates

In this article I mentioned a suggestion by KW that I was possibly following an incorrect line in my search for ancestors of Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). In a number of emails KW provided data outlining an alternative line through one Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and one Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased. I agreed that this seemed much more plausible than the line I was following through William and Rebecca NEWBOULD.

To read my earlier article regarding William and Rebecca NEWBOULD please click here.

Eighteen months later I have picked up on this again. Re-studying all the data KW provided I decided to explore some of these lines of research with regard to Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased.

Now one of the problems I have had with Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) is her constantly changing forename. Ellen, Eleanor, Ellenor and Helena have all appeared in various documents, yet as my mother recalls the family knew her as Leah. A further problem is that of never having found a birth or baptism record for Ellen, though I would expect her date of birth to be circa 1855. Many hours of searching has never provided enough concrete evidence to warrant requesting a birth certificate.

Searching the census for Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) (including all of Ellen's likely forenames) eventually lead to the household of William and Rebecca NEWBOULD at Totley, Sheffield, Derbyshire. Now this area of Sheffield is not one I would ever associate with my line of ASHFORTHs. So I was always a little sceptical about this research and never really took it much further. This scepticism increased when I received a copy of the marriage certificate for my gg grand parents William Henry ASHFORTH 1873-1926 and Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). This records Ellen's father as Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 which of course adds more doubt to my research.

Some time later I was contacted by KW whose research also included a need to find the ancestors of Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). KW was also sceptical about the line I was following and suggested an alternative line of Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased. Eventually KW emailed an outline of the reasoning for this alternative line, though I must admit at the time I was not totally convinced, I think partly due to Samuel and Rhoda having married at Rotherham, another location which had never figured in my ASHFORTH research.

I noted KW's research, intending to eventually get along to the archives in Sheffield and examine the parish records. Unfortunately at the time I was very busy with research into my Jacklin line and life in general, and finding it difficult switching from one line of research to another (my brain seems not to cope with interchanging sets of names, dates and places), I never did make the time and it got placed on the back burner.

So back to the present and having considered all of KW's research I agree that the line of Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854 and Rhoda RIDAL 1826-Deceased is almost certainly correct and will update my GEDCOM to reflect this. I will gradually go through this journal and add updates to my previous articles. I will also try and book some time at the archives office in Sheffield.

Updates:
2010-10-09 My mother is convinced Eleanor was in her early nineties when she died. I expected her date of birth to be 1855 give or take a couple of years but searching earlier than 1855 may produce results.

Eleanor 'Ellen' Ashforth (née Ellen Tomlinson 1855-1943): Death

Published: September 9, 2010    Last modified: November 18, 2016

[PiwigoPress id=842 lnktype='albumpicture' opntype='_self' size='me' url='https://familyhistoryjournal.com/gallery']

Ellen Ashforth (née Ellen Tomlinson 1855-1943)

I may have mentioned this before; taking some time out from family history has the advantage that in the intervening period many of the online databases will have been updated with additional data.

With this in mind and in order to substantiate some of the data I have collected regarding my gg grandmother Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) I carried out a search for 'ASHFORTH' 'Deaths' 'Post 1900'. Sure enough the search returned a death for one Eleanor ASHFORTH at Sheffield during the September quarter of 1943.

I have a tentative date of birth for Eleanor / Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943 of 1855 and since according to my searches she died in 1943 age 87 then the dates are what I would expect.

In previous articles I have discussed the issue of Ellen's name. My mother recalls the family always calling her Leah so the results of my latest search would seem to substantiate this.

I am optimistic that this will be the correct Eleanor ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) so I have requested from Sheffield Register Office a copy of her death certificate.

Updates:
2016-11-10 I received and transcribed the death certificate of Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943). To view my transcription please click here.

Thomas Marsden Landers: Perseverance pays off

Published: January 24, 2010    Last modified: November 18, 2016

While researching the previous article I re-examined the marriage certificate for William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943. I had been unable to fully decipher the witnesses' names, yet I am aware sometimes knowing the names of witnesses can provide a breakthrough in research brickwalls. With this in mind I took another look at the witnesses' names:

This marriage was solemnized between us: William Ashforth, Ellen Tomlinson her X mark
in the Presence of us, Thomas Mars??? Sanders, Sarah H??????? her X mark

I have always been convinced Thomas Mars??? Sanders is in fact Thomas Marsden Sanders. With this in mind and realising Thomas Marsden would not occur very frequently I ran a few searches. Eventually I found for the Sheffield region a single birth and a single marriage for one Thomas Marsden Landers. This is almost certainly one of the witnesses at William and Ellen's marriage.

Thomas Marsden Landers born abt. 1839
Thomas Marsden Landers marriage abt. 1860

Knowing the England and Wales Census 1861 records Sarah TOMLINSON age 15 together with Ellenor TOMLINSON age 5 in the household of Rhona TOMLINSON, then if I could only decipher the name of the second witness Sarah H???????, this too could help with my research. Was Sarah TOMLINSON a witness at her younger sister's marriage? If so, could this be Sarah's married name? All very frustrating!

Whether or not this all leads somewhere remains to be seen.

Ellen Ashforth (née Ellen Tomlinson 1855-1943): A brick wall

Published: January 24, 2010    Last modified: January 12, 2017

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Ellen Ashforth (née Ellen Tomlinson 1855-1943)

My gg grandmother Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) is at this moment the family history proverbial 'brick wall'. A quick scan of the 1841, 1851 and 1861 England and Wales censuses for the Sheffield region reveal little more than I know already. According to my mother her grandmother Ellen lived into her nineties and so probably died in the early 1940's. My mother knew her as Leah, yet in various documents she is also known as Eleanor, Ellenor and Helena.

Before I obtained her marriage certificate I carried out some rudimentary research documented in this article, this seemed to indicate her father's name would be William TOMLINSON. When I received her marriage certificate I was surprised, as expressed in this article, to see that her father's name was Samuel TOMLINSON 1826-1854. At the time I didn't give this too much thought since my paternal grandmother's marriage certificate gives her father's name as George DIXON when quite clearly it was Samuel DIXON. It was only when, in 2009, I was contacted by KW in response to this article regarding Clara ASHFORTH 1895-1932 and Jessie RENWICK 1908-1982 that I took a more in-depth look at the facts.

Though conjecture never seems to be far away when researching Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) KW puts forward a strong case for following another line of research and having spent some time considering his reasoning, I believe, unless we make some major discovery, this line (as put forward by KW) is the more likely to be correct.

The marriage certificate for William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943 records:

Registration District: Sheffield
Date: 1876
Marriage solemnized at: St Stephens Church in the Parish of St Stephen, Sheffield in the County of York
No.: 191
When Married: 15th January
Name and Surname: William Ashforth, Ellen Tomlinson Age: 24, 21
Condition: Batchelor, Spinster
Rank or Profession: File Cutter, _____
Residence at the time of Marriage: Bellefield St, Hammond St
Father's Name and Surname: George Ashforth, Samuel Tomlinson
Rank or Profession of Father: File Cutter, Sawmaker
Married in the: Church of St Stephen according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church, by____or after Banns by me ????
This marriage was solemnized between us: William Ashforth, Ellen Tomlinson her X mark in the Presence of us, Thomas Mars??? Sanders, Sarah H??????? her X mark

This would suggest Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943 was born about 1855 and at the time of the England and Wales Census 1861 would be about 6 years of age. Ellen's father should be Samuel TOMLINSON, a saw maker by occupation.

During this period almost all of my ASHFORTH line resided in an area west of Saint Phillips Road, Sheffield and as far as Burton Street and Cuthbert Bank Road. Thus I have always been apprehensive regarding Norton as Ellen's place of birth, even though Norton falls under the administrative region of Ecclesall Bierlow. The following tables transcribed by me from the England and Wales Census 1861 outline this issue:

FHJ Ref: 016
Census: England and Wales Census 1861
Place: Norton, Derbyshire, England
Household: William Tomlinson

SURNAMEFIRST NAME(S)RELSTATUSAGEOCCUPATIONWHERE BORNREMARKS
TomlinsonWilliam HeadMarried43Derbyshire, Dronfield
TomlinsonRebeccaWifeMarried41Derbyshire, Totley
TomlinsonElizabethDaughter12Derbyshire, Norton
TomlinsonWilliamSon9Derbyshire, Norton
TomlinsonEllenDaughter7Derbyshire, Norton
TomlinsonJosephSon3Derbyshire, Norton
TomlinsonJaneDaughter1Derbyshire, Norton
NewboldJohnBoarder71Derbyshire, Holmesfield

To view this table full width please click here.

FHJ Ref: 017
Census: England and Wales Census 1861
Place: Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Household: Rhoda Tomlinson

SURNAMEFIRST NAME(S)RELSTATUSSEXAGEOCCUPATIONWHERE BORNREMARKS
TomlinsonRhodaHeadWidowMale34Sheffield, Yorkshire
TomlinsonSarah AnnDaughterFemale15Sheffield, Yorkshire
TomlinsonFanny DaughterFemale14Sheffield, Yorkshire
TomlinsonAnneDaughterFemale11Sheffield, Yorkshire
TomlinsonJane DaughterFemale9Sheffield, Yorkshire
TomlinsonEllenor DaughterFemale5Sheffield, Yorkshire

To view this table full width please click here.

With reference to William and Ellen's marriage certificate the only census data that 'fits' is the names Ellen and Ellenor and the ages 7 and 5. If names are anything to go by then I am inclined to favour Ellenor, my reasoning for this is Ellen's mother-in-law was Leah ASHFORTH (née Leah WEBB) 1816-1901 and my mother's name is a variant of Leonora and as I have stated before my mother always refers to Ellen as Leah. I think the way forward is to take a chance on some more certificates, the problem is knowing which ones. I think an educated guess is in order.

Updates:
2010-01-24 Regarding the Marriage Certificate for William Henry ASHFORTH and Ellen TOMLINSON. After some online research I am certain 'Thomas Mars??? Sanders is in fact Thomas Marsden Landers. Please click here to read more.

Albert Allen Barlow: Casualty 902875

Published: January 21, 2010    Last modified: November 18, 2016

Albert Allen BARLOW 1898-1918 was the son of Henry BARLOW 1870-1959 and Harriett BARLOW (née Harriet ALLEN 1877-1958), sister of my great grandmother Ziller JACKLIN (née Ziller ALLEN 1858-1949).

Albert Allen BARLOW 1898-1918 was born at Elkesley, Nottinghamshire; Harriett and Ziller were born at Little Gringley, Nottinghamshire.

Name: Barlow, Albert Allen
Initials: A A
Nationality: United Kingdom
Rank: Private
Regiment/Service: Sherwood Foresters (Notts and Derby Regiment)
Unit Text: 2nd/5th Bn.
Age: 20
Date of Death: 16/04/1918
Service No: 77632
Additional information: Son of Henry and Harriett Barlow, of 48, Warren Terrace, Shirebrook, Mansfield.
Casualty Type: Commonwealth War Dead
Grave/Memorial Reference: IX. C. 13.
Cemetery: Niederzwehren Cemetery

To view the details on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website please click here.

Group photograph with Elizabeth Wild (née Elizabeth Flowers 1867-Deceased)

Published: January 15, 2010    Last modified: November 10, 2016

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Front row, far right, seated: Elizabeth Wild (née Elizabeth Flowers 1867-Deceased)

Most old family photographs have been kept for a reason, often because they include a family member or two. Despite having looked on numerous occasions at this photograph I did not make a connection. Then the penny finally dropped, the lady, seated front row, far right, is my great grand aunt Elizabeth Wild (née Elizabeth FLOWERS 1867-Deceased). I believe this photograph was probably taken at either Burton Street or Cuthbert Bank Road, Hillsborough, Sheffield.

Frank Stuart Ashforth 1892-1918: Yet another casualty of war

Published: January 12, 2010    Last modified: October 14, 2017

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Frank Stuart Ashforth 1892-1918

My mother identified this photograph as Frank Stuart ASHFORTH 1892-1918. Frank was an uncle to William Henry ASHFORTH 1896-1916, my grandfather Ernest ASHFORTH 1905-1990's brother. William Henry ASHFORTH 1896-1916 was killed in action, 1916, France, during World War I.

Rank: Private
Service No: 15858
Date of Death: 22/03/1918
Regiment/Service: Yorkshire Regiment 13th Bn.
Panel Reference: Bay 5.
Memorial: ARRAS MEMORIAL
Additional Information: Son of Mrs. E. Ashforth, of 42, Burton St., Hillsborough, Sheffield.

The reverse of this photograph / post card reveals it was sent from Frank Stuart ASHFORTH 1892-1918 to his nephew and my great uncle William Henry ASHFORTH 1896-1916.

[PiwigoPress id=858 lnktype='albumpicture' opntype='_self' size='2s' url='https://familyhistoryjournal.com/gallery']

To view my previous post regarding William Henry ASHFORTH 1896-1916 please click here.

What I hadn't realised was that Frank also died in action in France during World War 1. I was searching on the name "Frank Ashforth" when I came across an entry on a 'pay to view' military genealogy website. The entry was simply:

'Soldiers Died in the Great War 1914 to 1919', Frank Ashforth, Hillsborough, Sheffield.

Not wishing to subscribe I merely checked the Commonwealth War Grave Commission website and quickly located a Frank ASHFORTH of 42 Burton Street, Hillsborough, Sheffield.

During this period the Renwicks lived at 41 Burton Street and Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943) lived at 42 Burton Street, her husband William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 having passed away in 1899. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission database confirms Ellen ASHFORTH's name and address under the heading 'Additional information':

Son of Mrs. E. Ashforth, of 42, Burton St., Hillsborough, Sheffield.

To view the Commonwealth War Graves Commission entry for Frank Stuart ASHFORTH 1892-1918 please click here.

To read about the Arras Memorial please click here.

Updates:
2010-09-14 I visited the Faubourg d'Amiens Cemetery and the Arras Memorial at Arras, France during June 2010. I will eventually post an article and an album of photographs.

Private William Henry Ashforth 1896-1916: Missing of the Somme, Thiepval Memorial

Published: February 11, 2009    Last modified: January 12, 2017

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Private William Henry Ashforth
Killed in action, July 10th 1916

A very poignant photograph.

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The message on the reverse side of this photograph reads:

Pte W. H. Ashforth 13699
11 West York Reg
Killed in action, July 10th 1916
To be returned to
173 Cuthbert Bank Road
Sheffield

This is one of the possessions of William Henry ASHFORTH 1896-1916 to be returned to the family: another is a 5 pack of Woodbine cigarettes.

Private William Henry Ashforth together with 72090 other identified casualties are commemorated at the Thiepval Memorial, France.
To view the Casualty Details and Certificate at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website please click here.
To read more about the Thiepval Memorial, Somme, France please click here.
To read about The CAF Thiepval Project and Visitor Centre at Thiepval, Somme, France please click here.

Updates:
2010-09-14: I visited the Thiepval Memorial to the 'Missing of the Somme' at Thiepval, Picardie, France during June 2010. I will eventually post an article and an album of photographs.

Ernest Ashforth 1905-1990 and Emily Ashforth (née Emily Bellamy 1903-1992)

Published: February 10, 2009    Last modified: January 12, 2017

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Emily Ashforth (née Emily Bellamy 1903-1992) and Ernest Ashforth 1905-1990

In this photograph my grandfather Ernest ASHFORTH 1905-1990 is in his element: in a pub, with a pint of beer and no doubt in his pocket a still smouldering pipe. My grandmother Emily ASHFORTH (née Emily BELLAMY 1903-1992) is wearing one of her fur coats, from her collection of fur coats, perhaps with just a whiff of mothball.

Shortly after Ernest died I recall driving to Emily's flat in Langsett Close, Hillsborough, Sheffield in order to take her for a day out in Derbyshire. In the early nineties fur coats had moved into the realm of not being 'politically correct' though I doubt Emily was even aware of the term. Long before she opened the flat door I could smell the mothballs. On opening the door, there she stood, resplendent in fur coat and carpet slippers.

No point arguing, carpet slippers are comfortable and she is not changing into shoes!

Unperturbed I helped her into the car and we drove off towards Derbyshire. Soon we were sat in a tea shop at the village of Tideswell. Within minutes Emily was chatting with a captive audience of tourists, so it was only a matter of time before she was in full flow, recounting in full, gory details of her long list of 'surgical operations'. By this time Emily had poured some tea into her saucer and in between tales of life and death at the hands of the surgeons, was slurping loudly, as is the way in Sheffield.