Latest Posts
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Joseph and Hannah Downing: The Oldest Couple in Essex
My grandfather, Aubrey Downing, passed away last year at the grand old age of ninety-six, and I had the privilege of giving the eulogy at his funeral. Of course, I just had to sneak a bit of family history into… Continue reading
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Catherine Downing: The life of a lunatic
Catherine was the older sister of my ancestor Henry Downing. Like many young women of her time, she went into service at a very young age. At the age of fourteen, she spent five months in Surrey Lunatic Asylum. On… Continue reading
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James Dorr: Transported to Australia
When I first read the 1819 will of the Southminster Downing patriarch Joseph, one thing stood out. Joseph had stipulated that upon his wife’s death, his capital should be divided equally amongst his children, “except my daughter, Sarah Daw [Dorr],… Continue reading
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Joseph Downing: How My Family Came To Essex
My majority of my research has centred on my mother’s family, the Downings, who lived in Southminster, Deepest Essex (and later Southend-on-Sea). This lively family were always up to mischief and rarely off the pages of the Chelmsford Chronicle. But… Continue reading
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Frank Thomas Beale: A Fallen War Hero
Frank Thomas Beale, 1889-1916 Waggoner and Soldier of Beckley, Sussex, and my great uncle. My great grandfather, Frederick, survived the war. Several of my other relatives were not so lucky. Frank Thomas Beale was my great uncle, my father’s mother’s… Continue reading
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Passchendaele100
My great grandfather, Frederick Allen Downing, survived the Battle of Passchendaele. Half a million soldiers, mostly from Great Britain, Germany, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, did not. I joined Guided Battlefield Tours for their Passchendale Centenary Tour and went to… Continue reading
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Angelina Appleton: A Victorian Bigamist
Angelina Appleton, born 1848 Bigamist of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and my 4th great aunt Angelina Appleton was baptised on 30th April 1848, the fourth child of William Appleton, gardener of Leigh-on-Sea, and his wife Elizabeth. Her older sister, Harriet, was my… Continue reading
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Henry Downing: the effect on a young family of the death of a parent
Henry Downing, 1847-1898 Painter and Decorator of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, and my great great great grandfather In the 19th century, the death of a parent could spell financial disaster for a previously comfortably-off family, like the Downings. Families needed a father… Continue reading
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Frederick Allen Downing: finding the father of an illegitimate child
Frederick was an obvious choice for a starting point for this blog. His parentage was the biggest mystery in my family tree, and at one point, I thought it an unsolvable mystery. It turned out the answer was staring me… Continue reading
Family Mystery 