Tag Archives: File Cutter

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

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

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

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.

Rosa Ashforth 1874: Birth Certificate

Published: November 3, 2007    Last modified: October 14, 2017

Certificates

At long last I seem to have found a maiden surname for the spouse of William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899. I have received from Sheffield Register Office the birth certificate for Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased.

Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased was born on the 23rd of February, 1874 at 83 Duncombe Street, Nether Hallam, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England. Her father is William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and her mother Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943.

My notes show I have a baptism record for Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased:

Ashforth, Rosie (adult) (of 172 Cuthbert Bank Rd).
Baptised December 5, 1888, by AH Rhodes at St John the Baptist Church, Owlerton.
Parents name(s) are Helena; William (File-cutter).

Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased is recorded as an adult. It would appear both William Henry ASHFORTH 1873-1926 and Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased were born before their parents were married.

This probably explains why Rosa was nearly 15 years of age when she was baptised.

My notes show a marriage in 1876 for William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943. I will submit a request to Sheffield Register Office for this marriage certificate.

Notes:
The Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

Updates:
2007-11-25 I have transcribed the birth certificate of Rosa ASHFORTH 1874-Deceased. To view her birth certificate please click here.

Emily Bellamy (née Emily Ellis 1883-1978)

Published: September 3, 2007    Last modified: November 20, 2016

[PiwigoPress id=994 lnktype='albumpicture' opntype='_self' size='me' url='https://familyhistoryjournal.com/gallery']

Emily Bellamy (née Emily Ellis 1883-1978)

Another photograph from the family collection, identified by my mother.

This photograph has a date stamp on the reverse of "23 Apr 1", exasperatingly the year falls off the edge of the photograph! Did photographic studios purposely do this knowing it would drive future researchers insane!

Emily BELLAMY (née Emily ELLIS 1883-1978) was my last surviving maternal great grandparent. She was born on the 23rd of July, 1883 and lived well into her nineties, passing away on the 2nd of October, 1978 at Middlewood Hospital, Sheffield.

My records show George Albert BELLAMY 1880-Deceased, a bachelor, age 21 and a 'File Cutter' by profession, residing at Quality Road, Sheffield, Yorkshire, married Emily ELLIS 1883-1978, on the 6th of October, 1901. The marriage ceremony was conducted by H A Goodwin after the reading of Banns at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton, Sheffield.

George's father is recorded as Joseph BELLAMY 1857-Deceased and his father's profession that of 'File Cutter'. The Witnesses were Frank ELLIS and Mabel Louise ELLIS.

Notes:
Frank ELLIS is most likely the uncle of Emily BELLAMY (née Emily ELLIS 1883-1978), since I have found a marriage record for a Frank ELLIS and a Mabel Louise HUMPHRIES in 1899.

On the same day that Frank ELLIS and Mabel Louise HUMPHRIES were married, I have found a record of marriage between one John Arthur BELLAMY and one Elizabeth SHELDON. Neither of these individuals feature in my GEDCOM so this is probably worth researching at a later date.

Read about the former Middlewood Hospital and the redevelopment of the site it occupied.

Old Comments:

Emily Bellamy
Submitted by Lyndsey Bellamy on Wed, 2012-02-22 19:57

Hi Im Thomas Bellamy's daughter Just googling some family names and came up with the picture of my grandmother Im sorry but there's no clues to who you are Can you tell me a little about yourself? Is there any more pictures?

Alice Ward (née Alice Ashforth 1891-Deceased)

Published: September 2, 2007    Last modified: January 12, 2017

[PiwigoPress id=995 lnktype='albumpicture' opntype='_self' size='me' url='https://familyhistoryjournal.com/gallery']

Alice Ward (née Alice Ashforth 1891-Deceased)

Finally after many months of 'going to' I actually did take some of the family photographs (mainly from the ASHFORTH line) back to my mother for identification. Over the next few weeks I will scan the originals and add them to my gallery.

My mother identified this photograph of my great grand aunt Alice WARD (née Alice ASHFORTH 1891-Deceased), daughter of William Henry ASHFORTH 1851-1899 and Ellen ASHFORTH (née Ellen TOMLINSON 1855-1943).

My records show Alice WARD (née Alice ASHFORTH 1891-Deceased) was born in the year 1891 at Cuthbert Bank Road, Sheffield, Yorkshire. She was baptised on the 7th of October, 1891, by D. Hughes at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton, Sheffield. Her parents are named as Ellen and William. William's profession being that of a 'File Cutter'.

Updates:
2007-11-03 Further research shows that Ellen ASHFORTH's maiden name was in fact TOMLINSON not PASLEY. To read this update please click here.

Mary Jane Flowers 1866-Deceased and Arthur Marsden 1858-Deceased: Marriage

Published: April 4, 2007    Last modified: January 12, 2017

During research of my ASHFORTH line I stumbled across a record of marriage for my great grand aunt Mary Jane MARSDEN (née Mary Jane FLOWERS 1866-Deceased), sister of my great grandmother Florence ASHFORTH (née Florence FLOWERS 1876-1973), to one Arthur MARSDEN 1858-Deceased.

They were married at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton, Sheffield, the church where I was baptised and many of my ancestors were baptised and married.

Mary Jane MARSDEN (née Mary Jane FLOWERS 1866-Deceased) is recorded as being 20 years of age and residing at 69 Capel Street, Sheffield. Arthur MARSDEN 1858-Deceased is recorded as being 28 years of age residing at the same address. The marriage took place on the 1st of January 1887 with Herbert WILD and Florence WATSON acting as witnesses.

Occupations:
Arthur MARSDEN - file cutter.
George FLOWERS 1839-1891 - (Mary Jane's father) - file lighter.
William MARSDEN (Arthur's father) - cutler.

Notes:
Herbert WILD married Elizabeth WILD (née Elizabeth FLOWERS 1867-Deceased), the sister of Mary Jane MARSDEN (née Mary Jane FLOWERS 1866-Deceased) and my great grandmother Florence ASHFORTH (née Florence FLOWERS 1876-1973) on the 14th of October, 1888 at the Church of Saint John the Baptist, Owlerton, Sheffield.

Joseph Bellamy and Mary Ann Turner: Marriage Certificate

Published: January 25, 2007    Last modified: May 22, 2022

Here are the details from the Marriage Certificate of Joseph BELLAMY 1857-Deceased and Mary Ann BELLAMY (née Mary Ann TURNER 1861-Deceased).

Marriage Certificate
Registration District: Sheffield
Date: 1879
Marriage solemnized at: St Stephens Church in the Parish of St Stephens, Sheffield in the County of York
No.: 329
When Married: December 1st 1879
Name and Surname: Joseph Bellamy, Mary Ann Turner
Age: 23, 20
Condition: Batchelor, Spinster
Rank or Profession: File Cutter, _____
Residence at the time of Marriage: Bond Street, Bellefield Lane
Father's Name and Surname: William Bellamy, Edwin Turner
Rank or Profession of Father: File Cutter, Spring Knife Cutler
Married in the: Church of St Stephen according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church, by____or
after Banns by me J N? Scholefield
This marriage was solemnised between us: Joseph Bellamy his X mark, Mary Ann Turner her X mark
in the Presence of us, George Frost, Mary Ann Whitham her X mark

Visit the website for the Church of Saint Stephen, Netherthorpe, Sheffield.

Photograph 1 of Church of Saint Stephen, Netherthorpe - GENUKI
Photograph 2 of Church of Saint Stephen, Netherthorpe - GENUKI

So now I can confirm Joseph BELLAMY 1857-Deceased's father as one William BELLAMY 1824-Deceased and Mary Ann BELLAMY (née Mary Ann TURNER 1861-Deceased)'s father as one Edwin TURNER 1827-Deceased. It also provides me with 2 hitherto unknown addresses.

Of further interest are the two witness names of George FROST and Mary Ann WHITHAM. Are they family or friends?