• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

EVERY FAMILY HISTORIAN'S DREAM

S

sylviasayers

master brummie
I recently found another branch of the family who came from Fillongley
and another village Astley (which I'd never heard of) about two miles apart, so we went off to take some photos this morning, and luckily both churches were open so we could take interior shots too.

When we got to Astley, a lady was cleaning in the church and I told her my ancestor was christened there in 1756 and gave the name, whereupon another lady on hearing the name Swinnerton came over and said she had got a file on the family and she had brought it with her, it was amazing someone else had already compiled the family history and she is going to photocopy it for me to collect in a few days time. It wasn't her family but I think she is a local history buff. I can't wait to read it thoroughly but how lucky can you get. I only found this part of the family about 3 weeks ago, naturally I shall pay her for her trouble and take her some flowers, but I'm so excited about it. Wonder what the chances are of that happening again.
 
Sylvia thats smashing isn't it. It happens but never to me :-\ it's all a hard slog. My wife however has had several good contacts with her side of the family. We visited Cropthorne in Worcestershire after talking for many moons with the man doing a one name study who helped us tremendously with the Tarplee family name. We arrived in Cropthorne very early on a lovely summer Sunday two years ago and the first stop for us was the village church, and churchyard. We were presented with a chocolate box image, its a very lovely place, and started to look over the churchyard, so many stones with Brendas family name. An older man approached me, and asked me why I was staring at a particular stone, and why had I photographed it. I told him the headstone belonged to Crpl Tarplee a hero of the Boar War and survivor of the Seige of Ladysmith. I also let him know he was part of mt wifes family tree.... He smiled at me and said he was also related to Daniel Tarplee and that he was a cousin of my wife a few times removed. I exitedly called my wife and they exchanged address etc. Since then this gentleman has sent us handwritten accounts and a tree he has researched. We also received a book from him of a photographic account of the village during the late 1800's It's fantasic and has many references to the Tarplees, and a few pictures of Brendas ancestors. I drool over it. I hope you continue to have good luck in your search.
 
Sylvia, that's so great that you met this lady and also Rod meeting that gentleman and
both obtaining really meaningful information plus the fact that you have made friends also. Sylvia did you know that there was a super Greengrocers on Stockland Green for many years before WW2 and for a couple of decades after, owned by the Swinnerton family. Do you think they may be related to you?

A couple of years ago my brother and I went to a lovely village in the Cotswold's called
Ascott-under-Wychwood. The wife of a relative on my Father's side was researching the name Venville, which is my maiden name. This was before computers were
around. This lady took time to travel to places to research this rather rare name.
Ascott-under-Wychwood was very prominent in the 26 page document this lady sent to
my brother. It was wonderful to drive around the area which is little changed apparently and also visit the Parish Church. The gravestones are very hard to read due to the type of stone used to make them and many of them are no longer there.

I put a message several years ago on the Oxford family history site and also Gloucester, since the boundaries of the counties were changed some time ago and genealogical info could be in either area. In the last two months I have received e-mails from two people who basically are related to me through various family members. I have been able to send them the 26 page document. It certainly is frustrating at times searching for your
family connections but with the internet it has been so much easier.
document which contains the known origins of the name from Devon.
The Venville's lived in Ascott for at least two centuries and it was great to finally
have a lead on the family. I just wish my parents had been able to see this place.
 
mine luck came via an advert in a geneology magazine asking about the same names I was researching, so of I wrote and heard nothing for quite some time then a couple of months later the postman knocked on the door with a parcel addressed to Cousin John this lady from Canada turned out to be a long lost cousin when the family had split up in the 1870's part stayed in Birmingham and part moved to Northampton so here i was with photographs and certificates and lot's of info, we have met twice now and another meeting this year. you never know what's just around the corner, so keep at it
 
Such a lovely story Sylvia.

Ian Swinnerton is a well known man in the BMSGH, is he a distant relation? His company used, in the very early days.to print the Society Magazine.

I found a distant cousin through writing to a lady with a connection to our family by marriage, she in turn put me in touch with her. My grandfather and her gt grandmother were brother and sister. Their parents, Thomas and Maria Horton had fallen in love when Maria was married to another man, with whom she had a son. She left her husband and her son went to live with his grandmother, while a pregnant Maria lodged with relatives of my grandfathers. The baby she carried was my new found cousin's gt.grandmother, and we needed to prove that the child was grandfathers and not Maria's husbands. The birth certificate we eventually found proved that, yes we were cousins, and Thomas and Maria had married shortly before her birth. The day Linda got the birth certificate I had an emaill headed 'Hooray I am a Horton.'

Finding my cousin put a lot of flesh on bones for me, from stories mom had told me,  but she didn't know Thomas and Maria's story.

We had a fun year writiing of our ancestores, and our own, lives. 
 
Not quite the same kind story as at the time none of my family was into family history.

My late father was taken home at birth by his maternal uncle ,his mother having died giving birth to him and his father rejecting him.His uncle and aunt later adopted him,he called them Mom and Dad but knew of his origins.
Years later in his 30s and in his job as a policeman he was sent to East birmingham hospital to take statements from the nurses about a night prowler.One of the nurses remarked on his accent he told herthat it was potteries but that he came from the outskirts in Cheadle.
she said that her mother had a brother who she had lost touch with over 30 years ago who married a cheadle woman.After exchanging surnames it turned out that the nurses mother was the sister of dads biological father.
Dad went to meet his aunt and her family,the family likeness of him and his cousins was remarkable.
He often commented that it must have been fate because several constables had been allocated to the job so he could have interviewed any of the nurses but he chose his cousin.
 
Lovely stories from everyone, I don't know much about the Swinnertons as yet, but my g.g. grandmother was Elizabeth Swinnerton born 3rd July 1812 and christened in Edgbaston, her father Joseph and mother Ann, I don't know when Joseph came to Birmingham, but when I get the family history I might find out. There wer two letters in the file from different branches who were researching the Swinnertons, one from Walsall and one from Kingshurst, Birmingham, when I have read through I will try and contact them and see where we go from there. There was an extract from a will so there was a little money -one of the ancestors was a farmer and left ONE SHILLING each to his children saying he had already provided for them. I only found this branch last month so don't know much at this stage.
 
Update, I went over to Astley today and collected the family history on the Swinnertons, I have read through it once but it will take time to digest, it seems they were a farming family of substance in the area, and it is recorded that around 1674 some of the ancestors worked as blacksmiths and clockmakers in Newcastle under Lyme. Fame at last!!

I have to go to Birmingham Reference Library now to check my g.g. grandmothers christening records and her parents marraige, and try to find out what they were doing in Birmingham around 1811, as from what I have read "John the eldest was not appointed Executor of his father's will, but his brother .....John we can presume was a less reliable man, perhaps a bit of a spendthrift with a weakness for beer or horses" for this John left no Will and does not appear to have provided for his children as his brotherss did, neither had he used his father's provision to set up as a farmer as his brothers did". Ha well seems I'm descended from the black sheep of the family.
 
ROD... I have that same book I think - the Cropthorne Camera of Minnie Holland.

My great great grandmother - Patience Lovesey is pictured in it... I think with one of your rellies - Caroline Tarplee (might be wrong there as thinking off the top of my head!). :idiot2:

We also go to the walkabout every year and see the cottages where they were pictured. My Patience used to live in one of them; we have a few photo's and postcards of the cottages and village.

Jan
 
My ex father in law was FREDERICK HORACE SWINNERTON. Born approx 1914 Married to Florence SADLER. They both came from Aston

There is a mention of a greengrocers at Stockland Green in one of the these replies.

My ex Brother in Law DOUGLAS SWINNERTON WORK FOR gRIFFINS GREENGROCERS IN NEWTOWN ROW. aston

iF YOU WANT ME TO ASK MY EX HUSBAND ABOUT HIS swINNERTONS PLEASE LET ME KNOW
 
Syliva you might be interested in Susan K Moore's book Bare Bottoms & Stinging Nettles. The author has collected photographs & accounts of rlife in rural Warwickshire. There are about 16 pages on Filongley alone. I cannot remember if the other place you mentioned was Arley, but there are about 16 pages on this village.
I find Susan Moore's book fascinating and enjoy the fascinating glimpses into Warwickshire life.
The book is vailable from Warwickshire Libraries. I bought mine by post from Athersone, where the local studies librarian is immensely helpfull.
 
Congratulations on you find! As you say you never know when another piece of your family will appear, only last week I was contacted by a relative who had been sent three pictures of distant relatives by someone else doing our family tree.
 
Bordesley Exile, about two or three years ago Susan Moore gave a talk about her book at Shard End Local History Book, she was very amusing and it was so interesting, if I had known of my family connection with Fillongley and Astley at the time I would have bought it. I will keep a look out for it and treat myself.
 
This was a lucky find for me. MY 4x great grandfather was Martin Zipfel who came to Birmingham about 1810 he married Maria Woller at St Martins in 1818 after her death he then married Ann Sprason in 1823 they had four children Mary Ann, Agatha (my 3x gt gran) John and Thomas. Martin was a clockmaker and according to trade directories had a shop in Chapel St. Martin died in 1834 aged 50 and was buried at St Martins. I have tried to find out where he came from as I presumed it was Germany. One day I put Zipfel into the search engine on ebay. I couldn't believe it when a book came up called Zipfel and Sons a family of Norwich Clock and Watchmakers. I put a bid on and was devastated to be outbid at the close of the auction. I then started a search and found a copy held by a man who collected clocks I managed to buy the copy at a third of the price of the one on ebay. The booklet mentions the 'Birmingham Zipfel's' although I now have a lot more info on them. I then found out where the family came from in Germany and it seems Martin was the only one to come to Birmingham. It was a lovely find and filled in a lot of gaps. Sadly I have never been able to find the author Alan Zipfel. The book was published in 1987.
 
Well they say never give up! I have just managed to make contact with the author of the book below. Now this should be an interesting time for me as I know very little about my Zipfell's wider family in Birmingham.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top