By This Misfortune

Last year I wrote a blog post on my 4x great-grandmother, Martha Robinson. Martha suffered multiple tragedies in her life, and it was important for me to document the key points in her life. 

Last week I discovered yet more about my resilient ancestress, and thought I'd update my blog accordingly. 

To Summarise

• Martha was born in 1783 at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, to George and Jane Robinson (née Simpson).
• Lost her father, three brothers and nephews to the sea one fateful day in January 1808.
• Martha moved down the coast to Cullercoats when she married a fisherman named John Armstrong, at Tynemouth in January 1810. 
• In April 1810, John Armstrong drowned at sea, after marrying Martha only three months before. In a cruel twist, Martha discovered she was pregnant soon after.
• Martha returned to Newbiggin shortly after. There she gave birth to her son, George John Armstrong, in November 1810. 
• Martha married John Renner, my 4x great-grandfather, in August 1817. John Renner was the elder brother of her sister-in-law, Ann Renner Robinson.
• Martha and John Renner had three children; Ann in 1818 (my 3x great-grandmother), Edward in 1821 and Johnny in 1822. 
• John Renner died in May 1847, and Martha's son Edward died in May 1854. 
• Martha's youngest son, Johnny, drowned just off Newbiggin's Church Point in December 1861.
• Martha died in January 1867 of old age. 

Last week I found that Martha applied to receive some relief from The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond, when she was widowed for the first time in 1810. The Corporation is now known just as Trinity House. Trinity House was responsible for distributing charitable funds to sailors, pilots and fishermen who had fallen on hard times, but also their widows and children, should they have any. 

***

It reads:

To the Honourable the Master, Wardens, and Assistants of the CORPORATION of TRINITY-HOUSE, of Deptford Strond.

The humble Petition of Martha Armstrong of Cullercoats in the Parish of Tynemouth, in the County of Northumberland, aged 28 years, and Widow of the late John Armstrong, Fisherman, humbly

Sheweth

THAT your Petitioner's Husband the late John Armstrong was bred and served as a Fisherman at Cullercoats many years. He and many more went off in cobles on the 6th of April last, when a violent storm arose and a Life-Boat was employed to save the People, and the Crews of the other Boats in company, but by the violence of the Waves the said Life-Boat was dashed in Pieces, when your Petitioner's Husband and many more perished! By this Misfortune, your Petitioner is left a Widow and is pregnant. 

That your Petitioner is not now able to Support her self without the Charity of this CORPORATION, having no Pension or Relief from any other Public Charity or Company whatsoever.

Your Petitioner, therefore, most humbly prays that she may he admitted a Pensioner to this CORPORATION at the usual Allowance. 

***

The document is dated 4 May 1810, just short of a month following the death of Martha's husband, so the situation must have been pretty dire. 

My next task is to try and find out how much the "usual allowance" was, and how long Trinity House supported Martha and her son for. I can only assume that the payments stopped when Martha married John Renner in 1817. 

Lady of Sorrow

On 16 March 1783 my 4x great-grandmother, Martha Robinson was baptised at St. Mary the Virgin Church, Woodhorn, the daughter of George Robinson and Jane Simpson. The Robinson family were natives of the nearby Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

Martha's baptism entry.
Notice the spelling of Robinson.

The Robinsons were the victims of a fishing disaster on 14 January 1808. Martha, only in her mid-20s lost her father and older brother both named George, as well as other male relatives. All hands were lost in Blyth harbour during a storm.

Martha went on to marry John Armstrong, a fisherman like the rest of her family, however he was from Cullercoats a village further down the coast. 

Martha and John's marriage entry at Christchurch, Tynemouth.
From the Durham Bishop's Transcripts.

Only three months after marrying John, he died at sea on 7 April 1810 along with his father and brothers. The loss of life was well-documented and is quite a sad story. The Cullercoats fishermen were caught up in a storm, and so the lifeboat was called for. As Cullercoats did not have its own, the lifeboat came from Blyth. The lifeboat managed to reach the fishing cobles, but on the return journey was hit by a "high and ridgy wave." The lifeboat was hit yet again, causing her to strike the land and almost split entirely in two. There were only two survivors.

John's body was eventually found in August, and he could finally be laid to rest at St Alban's, Earsdon. To add to the tale, Martha was pregnant. 

She gave birth on 10 November 1810 to a boy. He was named George John Armstrong, after his two deceased grandfathers, and his late father. 

George John Armstrong's baptism.
From the Durham Bishop's Transcripts.

Martha went on to marry John Renner on 17 August 1817. Not surprisingly, this second John was also a fisherman. John Renner was also a Newbiggin freeholder, with some small parcels of land on Newbiggin Moor and in the east end of the village. 

The marriage entry of John Renner and Martha Armstrong at Woodhorn.
From the Durham Bishop's Transcripts.

Martha and John went on to have three children; Ann, Edward and John (known as Johnny). To complicate things, Martha's first son George John Armstrong dropped the 'George' from his name - meaning Martha had three Johns in her life, her husband and two sons! Her firstborn John Armstrong went on to marry a woman named Elizabeth Brown. Her daughter Ann married Adam Storey, but her two youngest sons remained bachelors.

John Renner died in 1847 at the age of 76. Martha's son Edward closely followed in 1854 aged only 33. Around this time Martha opened up her house, and started taking in lodgers. 

Disaster seemed to follow Martha and in December 1861 she lost her youngest son, Johnny Renner at sea just past the famous Newbiggin Church Point. Johnny was aged only 39 years old, and "left a widowed mother to mourn his untimely end" - as was reported in a newspaper at the time.

St. Bartholomew's Church, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.
Johnny Renner lost his life just past here.

"It is impossible to realise the intense excitement which pervaded the entire community and great commiseration is felt for old Martha Renner, who, bordering on the 76th year of her pilgrimage, is thus deprived of her earthly stay."

- From the Morpeth Herald, dated 21 December 1861, on the death of Johnny Renner.

The Renner family grave
at St. Bartholomew's, Newbiggin-by-the-Sea.

Martha Renner died on 9 January 1867. Her legacy lived on, with two granddaughters being named after her and also a later great, great granddaughter. Martha was the maternal grandmother of Adam Storey, the Grand Old Man.

Update: A blog post on Martha's Trinity House records.

A Grand Old Man

Thus far, I haven't any famous people in my family history. No fantastic innovators or celebrities. The closest I have is my 2x great-grandfather, old Adam Storey of Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. 

Adam Storey BEM
1853 - 1951

Adam Storey was born on 11 September 1853 at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea, Northumberland, England. His father was also named Adam who was originally from Cresswell, a seaside village farther up the coast, and his mother was Ann Renner, the daughter of a local fisherman and freeholder.

He had five siblings, John (who died in infancy), a second John, Ann Jane, Edward R., and Martha. In the year after Adam was born, his mother's brother, Edward Renner died, and in 1861 his only other maternal uncle, Johnny Renner drowned at sea, just off Newbiggin's Church Point.

Newbiggin's Church Point.

His maternal grandmother, Martha Renner, was no stranger to the dangers of the sea. Her own family, the Robinsons had suffered in a fishing disaster in 1808, in which Martha's father and brother died. Martha's first husband, John Armstrong, also died at sea a few years later.

The Renners were a wealthy family for the time with Adam's grandfather, John Renner owning a piece of land in the east of the village. Due to the loss of the Renner heirs, this land was inherited by the Storeys who later built and lived in what became known as Storeys Buildings.

Adam's father went to Australia for a short time in 1862, with a local member of the gentry, William John Pearson Watson of North Seaton Hall. They went in search of gold, it is believed. If this was the case, they certainly didn't hit the jackpot, as when Adam's father died in 1876, he left "under £200".

As a young man, Adam aspired to become a solicitor, and it was only when his intended office closed, that he went off and followed in the footsteps as his ancestors, and became a fisherman. When the fishing trade worsened, he became a coal miner for some time. 

It was around this time that Adam met and married Jane Mavin, at St Mary's Church, Woodhorn. Jane was from Widdrington, but her family had recently moved to Newbiggin. 

St Mary's Church, Woodhorn.

Adam and Jane's first child, Jane Ann, sadly died aged only two days old. They went on to have six more children; Margaret Ann (Meggie), Adam (Eddie), Robert Mavin, Mary (May) Gladstone Renner and lastly Eva Jane.

Adam's mother Ann died in 1885, and for a while, he and his siblings attempted to rent out their mother's home, Sandridge House. Adam's elder brother John later moved into the house. In 1890, Adam's sister Ann Jane died. In her will, she left him their late mother's china tea set.

Adam did return to the fishing trade, and around the turn of the century he went into partnership with Dick Oram and became a fish auctioneer on Newbiggin sands. His son Gladstone would often help at the auctions. Around this time, Storeys Buildings formerly became known as Sandridge.

In 1911, Eddie went off to Canada and from there travelled to the USA, to visit some of his maternal cousins. Eddie soon returned but then went off to Australia in 1913, this time with his younger brother Robert in tow. 

During the First World War, Eddie and Robert enlisted in the Australia Imperial Force. Gladstone, on the other hand, joined the Royal Naval Division. Unfortunately, Gladstone was shot and injured at Gallipoli, but thankfully the three brothers survived the war. Eddie and Robert both returned to Newbiggin when the war had ended.

Eddie and Robert returned to Australia in 1920, now accompanied with their new wives. They were soon followed by their youngest sister, Eva who migrated along with her husband, a footballer named Ralph Shields. Meggie, May and Gladstone remained in Newbiggin, where the latter went on to open a bakery with his wife, Louisa. The bakery was originally on one side of Front Street, but later moved to White House Corner, which for some time was known as Storey's Bakery.

Adam felt great sorrow in 1931 when his beloved wife, Jane Mavin passed away.

In 1934, Adam's son Robert and his family returned to Newbiggin from Australia. Robert, a master bricklayer soon got to work and set up his own business. The following year he built four houses opposite Adam's home at Sandridge - naming them New Sandridge.

As well as being a fisherman, coal miner and fish auctioneer, Adam also acted as signaller for eighteen years at Newbiggin's branch of the R.N.L.I., and for over thirty years he served as secretary to the Newbiggin Freeholders. He was first initiated into the Freeholders at the age of twenty-one, and in total attended seventy-five ceremonies of the Riding of the Bounds. He missed only one in the 1880s, when he was out fishing at sea.

Adam was a life-long Wesleyan Methodist and brought up his family in the same faith. He donated both time and money to his local chapel, and was honoured with a window being named after him there. 

When a new street was built in Newbiggin, Adam was again commemorated when the street was named 'Storey Crescent' after him. Also in his diary, was the Keswick Convention which he attended every year, and he was also a superintendent of the Juvenile Order of the Rechabites. Adam regularly attended Northumberland Sea Fisheries Board meetings. Amidst all of this, Adam was a member of the Newbiggin Co-operative Management Committee for many years. 

Adam had a number of great friends, including Lord Runciman and Councillor Robert Wilkinson, the latter of which was a former Mayor of Morpeth. Before emigrating to Canada, Cllr. Wilkinson entrusted his sword and muzzle-loading rifle to Adam.

Due to his advanced age, and generosity he showed to others, Adam was awarded the title of Grand Old Man of Newbiggin, by the people and media of the area. Although his hoped to reach his hundredth birthday, Adam Storey died on 30 May 1951, aged 97-years-old. 

The Storey family grave.

A week following his death, Adam's named appeared in the Birthday Honours List, having been awarded the British Empire Medal (BEM) for his longtime support of the R.N.L.I., and in recognition of his work with the Northumberland Fisheries Board.

Old Adam was a very well-liked figure, and particularly took an interest in the lives of the youth in both his family and wider community. He would often be seen walking down Newbiggin Front Street, accompanied by his faithful dog, his walking stick and his usual peaked cap and reefer.