The Barrass Matriarch

Sarah Hempseed was baptised on 11 January 1767 at St Alban's, Earsdon. She was the daughter of William Hempseed and Catherine Ledger, and is my 5x great-grandmother.

On 7 February 1784, Sarah married Alexander Barrass at St Alban's, Earsdon when she was about seventeen years of age. Alexander was a pitman from nearby Hartley and together he and went on to have ten children.

St Alban's, Earsdon

Alexander died in January 1826, at the age of sixty-four. By that time, he and Sarah had moved to Benton Square. After Alexander's death, Sarah spent time living with her children who all lived nearby in numerous different mining villages. 

Her son William lived in Benton Square, running the Wheat Sheaf Inn with his wife. Sarah was living there when she died on 3 October 1850, twenty-four years after her husband's death. Sarah was 83-years-old, and died of Climacteric Disease; general decline or a sudden alteration in health. She was later buried alongside her husband in the family grave at St Alban's church, Earsdon, the same church where they had wed. 

The Barrass family grave,
with St Alban's church behind.

On 12 October, Sarah's name appeared in the death column of the Newcastle Guardian newspaper. The Newcastle Guardian expanded and described more of Sarah's family life, showing her to be a true matriarch:

"At Benton Square, on the 2nd inst. aged 85, much respected, Sarah, widow of the late Mr Alexander Barrass; deceased has left no less than sixty-five children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and forty-three of them attended her remains to the grave."

Although they did get Sarah's date of death incorrect, I find this entry so remarkable. I'd like to think that Sarah was a very caring and maternal woman, as the number of granddaughters named in her honour suggests. 

The 1939 Register - Update

At the stoke of midnight on 16 February, Find My Past added the 1939 Register to their subscription. No doubt, this is due to the huge backlash when Find My Past reported that the Register would only be available through purchasing credits. I for one am thankful that Find My Past have changed their minds.

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I've already solved one mystery! I knew that my great-grandmother's sister, Margaret Taylor had married Robert Gray in 1884. Together they had at least five children. Margaret and Robert are missing from the 1911, and in six years of researching I have never came close to finding them, until now. I assumed they must have died as their children could be found living around with family members. 

I knew Margaret's birthdate from her baptism record, which is great as the 1939 Register includes the nation's dates of birth - and so Margaret and Robert were easily found! The couple were living alone in Blyth, close to where they lived before they went missing. Margaret is described as "Incapacitated".

Now that the Register is included in the subscriptions, I can also attempt to find friends of the family, or even people named in family anecdotes. 

The first person I just had to find was a lady named Mrs Norah Smith. She is spoken of in my family quite a lot as she was a close friend of my maternal grandmother, who helped her deliver some of her children. Her husband was named Harry, and at one point they lived in the flat above my grandparents. 

To my surprise I found Henry and Norah Smith living at No. 2 Orange Street, Annitsford in 1939, only three doors from my great-grandparents who lived at No. 5. Harry was born in 1900, and Norah in 1908.

Another person I thought to look for was a local shop-owner known as Lancey Boward. One aunt of mine speaks quite fondly of the shop he owned and everything he sold inside. Lancey, or Lancelot Boward was living at 26 Jubilee Terrace, Annitsford with his wife, Annie. He is described as a "Sub Postmaster" and a general dealer. An annotation also tells me that he was a special constable. 

These are just a handful of the things I have found. I can't wait to see what more there is to discover from this wonderful resource.