My Woodhall Ancestry
Including Blaze, Whitaker, & Priestley branches. etc.
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This is the ancestry of my paternal Grandmother, Ada Woodhall.
The earliest Woodhall ancestor I have found is George Woodall, [sic], whose son, Thomas Woodall, was born in Bedford in about 1823. Thomas married Ellen Matilda Blaize, (1824-1868), at Newark on Trent in 1844.
(Note: The family name Blaze was usually spelt without the 'i'. Also note that the spelling of Woodall becomes Woodhall later, during their son Henry's lifetime).
We divert, (so soon!), to discover Ellen's known ancestry, which goes way back to the 17thC., which I have tried to show in the tree, below.
The furthest we can go back in the Blaze tree, (the faintest ember), is in the smallest of all the old English counties - Rutland.
By the start of the 18thC, we see they have moved 10 miles NE into Lincolnshire. All very agricultural and I see nothing to tell me that they didn't live by anything but the land.
Notice that a couple of the Blazes married a Wilson. Hence the use of Wilson, (and Willson), as a given name in subsequent generations.
We know that Willson [sic] Blaze, was a Calf Dealer in 1851 in Newark on Trent in Nottinghamshire.
In 1861, still living at Newark, he is a retired cattle dealer.
When he died at Newark in 1862 his probate described him as a retired Farmer.
He was worth £4,545, equivalent to at least about half a million pounds in modern terms!
A scene that Willson Blaze would have known well. This mid 19thC watercolour depicts Newark Cattle Market, when it was located next to the Castle Gatehouse.
Willson's will was not granted probate until 1895. There must have been some complex conditions. His children's wills weren't granted probate until 1895, either. I note that 1895 was when his youngest grandchild became of age, 21 years, so this could be the key to the mystery.
Willson and Elizabeth had 10 children. One of their daughters was Ellen Matilda Blaize, mentioned above, who married Thomas Woodall at Newark on Trent in 1844. Thomas then was a whitesmith (Zinc) and signed the marriage certificate with a X.
A son, Henry Woodall, was born in Chatham Street, Newark in 1845. By 1851, Thomas, Ellen and Henry were at Barrow Upon Humber, in the North of Lincolnshire.
They were living at New Holland Square, now called Manchester Square. These were 43 houses, built in 1849-50, for workers of the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway Company, Thomas was a fireman.
Ten years later, the 1861 Census finds the family at Maltravers Street, Sheffield. Thomas is an engineer, (then meaning, I guess, someone who tends an engine). Henry, then 16, is a labourer. He appears to have been their only child.
In 1868, Ellen Woodhall died and was buried in Grave No 22, Section K, Burngreave Cemetery, Sheffield. It wasn't until 1896 that probate of her will was granted, her siblings' wills were much the same. She left £276, quite a sum, more than £25,000 in modern money. As mentioned above, probate was delayed as, I presume, that this was as a result of some conditions to her Father's will, not given probate until 1895, that caused these complications; he did leave an awful lot of money.
The next census of 1871 shows that Thomas is a Widower, an Engine Tender at an Iron Works and lodging with his son, Henry.
Henry had married Mary Walker in 1863 in Sheffield.
At his marriage, Henry spelt his surname Woodhall and this was the spelling used by his family after that, (as mentioned above).
In 1871 they were living at 29 Newhall Road, Brightside, Sheffield. Henry was a Pot Maker, (and later weigher-up, see below), in an Iron Works. He was to live all his life at various addresses in Newhall Road. They had six children, the oldest, Thomas, was born in Sheffield in 1864.
In 1884, Thomas married Charlotte Whitaker.
The tragic death of Henry Woodhall.
On the 6th of September 1887, Henry Woodhall was working as a 'weigher up' at the Don Valley Steel works, owned by Vickers & Sons at Brightside, Sheffield.
He was asked to take a message to Job Holland, the Manager of the Moulding Department. An explosion occurred there during the pouring of a large casting.
8 men died, including Holland and Henry Woodhall.
We take a break here to look at Charlotte Whitaker's ancestry.
One thing to note, is that Charlotte's Father was christened just Priestley Whitaker, it seems he started to use the forename Thomas, later.
The Whittaker (Whitaker) line:
The earliest Whittaker ancestor I've found is Edward Whitaker, who was born c.1801 in either Bacup, Lancs. or Batley, Yorks., (depending on which Census you believe).
He married Mary Ann Priestley, (b.c.1816, Hunslet), in 1830 at St. John the Baptist Church, Halifax, Yorks. He states that he is a widower and his occupation a Comber.
When their son, Priestley Whitaker was born in 1838, they were living at Black Abbey, Bradford. The approximate site of this place is now the area between White Abbey Road and Worthington Street in West Bradford. They were still there in 1841, with Edward still a Comber.
In 1851, Edward is a Woolcomber and they are living at Aspden Road, Hunslet. This area has been redeveloped, but the approximate location is at Grid Ref, SE311317.
In early 1861, possibly March, Edward died. The year before in 1860, he saw his son Priestley, (now calling himself Thomas Priestley Whitaker), married at St. Peters, Leeds to Eliza Sheldon.
The strange thing was that their local Church, St. Saviours, was just over the road from where they lived in Fawcett Street. But they chose to be married at St. Peters, (now known as Leeds Minster), half a mile away in the centre of Leeds. Fawcett St. was demolished c.1938-9 and was at what is now in the Cavalier Hill area of Leeds (Grid Ref. SE313330).
The Sheldon line:
The earliest Sheldon I can trace is William Sheldon b.c.1791, whose wife was called Elizabeth.
They had a son, John Sheldon in c.1816 who was born in Middleton and baptised 27 Oct 1816 in Rothwell, Yorks.
In 1840 they were living at Grape Street, Hunslet. William was a Warehouseman.
John married Esther Whittingham on 15 Sep 1840 at Rothwell.
Esther was born in 1817 at Holbeck, Leeds, the daughter of James Whittingham (b.c.1791), a Hatter and his wife Esther (b.c.1786). They ended up having six children, my ancestor Eliza was born c.1842.
In 1851, John and Esther are living at 75 Grape Street, Hunslet. John is a Porter.
Eliza married (Thomas) Priestley Whitaker in 1860.
Thomas and Eliza Whitaker
In 1861 we find the couple living at No.1 Glasgow Street, Hunslet. Thomas is a labourer at a Flax Mill and Eliza is a Spinner at a Flax Mill. I have been unable to find Glasgow Street on the old OS maps, but it must have been in the Old Street, Waterloo Street and Church Street triangle.
A daughter Charlotte was born, (middle child of three), on 12 Nov 1866 and baptised at St Mary the Virgin, Hunslet on 13 Sep 1867.
In the 1871 Census, Thomas is a Pin Hardener and they are living at 2 Brewery Street, Hunslet.
In 1881 they at 43 Bridge Street, Attercliffe, Sheffield, where Thomas is a Steel Wire Hardener. (However, Eliza is not there, she is still in Hunslet, working and living as a servant at a pub in Town Street. A falling out, perhaps?)
Charlotte married Thomas Woodall on 28 August, 1884 in Sheffield.
Thomas Woodhall and Charlotte Whitaker had 8 children altogether. By 1891, when their fourth child was born, Ada - my Grandmother, they were living at 66 Rotherham Street, Attercliffe, Sheffield. The census of that year says Thomas was a steel turner.
In 1901, they were at Earsham Street and Thomas was a Shot & Shell Turner.
An intriguing mystery surrounds the 1911 Census. They are living at 36 Fleet Street, Sheffield, - but appear to be calling themselves Dawson. The first names of Thomas, (an iron turner), Charlotte, Mabel, Ernest & Charles fit, as well as their ages, making it too much of a coincidence that this is not our Woodhall family.
(A big 'thank you' to Susan Franklin for this bit of detective work).
Charlotte died in 1915 at 36 Fleet Street.
Thomas died on 16 Mar 1932 at 12 Herries Road, the Firvale Infirmary. This was the Hospital where the elderly were treated. It used to be the Workhouse, (I bet they dreaded going there).
We now turn to my grandmother, Ada Woodhall.
In the 1911 Census, she was 19 and working as a cook in the village of Carlton in Lindrick, a few miles North of Worksop, Nottinghamshire. This was at Kingston House, the home of Frederick Wardle Smith, a Director of a brewing company.
On 11 March 1912, she married Percy Frederick George Bayes at the Parish Church, Brightside, Sheffield.
"If you don't know where you are going, know where you come from."
Krio proverb.
Jack Bayes here!
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