Back in 1876 Elizabeth Shaw died at 18 Red Lion Street in Wandsworth (part of London). Since 1909 Red Lion street has been called Barchard Street.
Elizabeth Shaw is your 3X great grandmother. She was born in 1801 in Chesterfield in Derbyshire which is in the east midlands part of England. Her mum and dad were George Shaw and Mary. I haven't been able to find out anything about them. Elizabeth was baptized on March 22nd 1801 at Sutton Cum Duckmanton St Mary (neat name huh?)
At age 26 she married John Glover of Castle Donington and they ran a grocer's shop on Borough Street in Castle Donington. They had six children but only three of them lived beyond babyhood. Their first two children, Alfred and Mary, died before age 2 and were gone before their 3rd child Sarah Ann was born. Their fourth child died in infancy and the their sons Shaw and William were born in 1839 and 1840 respectively. The youngest, William, is your 2X great grandfather and you'll see his church in Northumberland in a couple of weeks!
Elizabeth became a widow when John died in 1850. She continued running the shop for a while - but then sometime before 1861 she moved with her three children to 59 Rassbottom Street in Staylybridge in Ashton under Lyne which is in the county of Lancashire (north west England). Try as I might, I cannot figure out why she would move there. My best guess is something to do with the cotton or linen industry. Both sons were drapers at that point.
Her son Shaw Glover seems to have begun the trend to move north up into the North East of England by marrying a woman from there. Elizabeth and her daughter Sarah Ann began living in Newcastle sometime before 1871.
Before her son William (your great great grandfather) moved up north, Elizabeth had moved away from Newcastle to where her daughter Sarah Ann had moved: to Wandsworth in London. And it was there that she died. William was able to be there with her. She died of apoplexy (a stroke). She was 73 years old.
And then on June 4th 2003 grandma died here in Winnipeg. She was born Violet Winifred Christie in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1919. She was the sixth child for Betsy West and John Christie - both Scots. She was very much the baby of the family - her closest sibling was her brother Leslie who was nearly 9 years older than her. Her other siblings were Jack and Catherine. Two other children - Isabella and Helen - died in childhood.
Grandma's father was the foreman at the Newcastle Breweries Maltings and the family lived above there at 7 Tower Street. Grandma lived there until the time of her second marriage (to my dad) in 1946. She began school at age 5 going to the Royal Jubilee School across the road from her home and then at age 10 she attended Osborne Grammar School and at age 15 she attended Skerry's College to learn shorthand and typing. Over the years these skills held her in good stead for a number of jobs including being a legal secretary. She was a conscientious and organized worker and was appreciated by her employers.
Grandma turned 20 shortly after the start of World War II. And at that time she had already been dating Donald Dick for more than two years. Donald joined the army and was one of the soldiers evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 (you and I saw the movie). It was after this that he and grandma married but I think that his war experiences must have changed him - or what other explanation could there be for him to not want to be married or to know his daughter who was born two years later.
Grandma never moved out of her parents' home until she met my dad and they married in 1946. They met through the St. James Congregational Church in Newcastle - on an outing to the "Hoppings" - an annual event rather like the Red River Ex. Post war Britain was in a bit of a mess which included very little housing stock so Grandma and Grandda didn't get decent housing for quite a while during which time they had rooms and Alison remained with her grandparents. They moved into 56 Bell Terrace in 1950.
And it was while at 56 Bell Terrace that I was born. But before I came along grandma had lost three babies. One a full-term boy they named Ian. He was still-born. And then twins who she lost mid-term.
As of 1954 the family started the round-country treks. We left Newcastle for Diss in Norfolk in the spring of that year and until we settled at 21 Duchess Street in Whitley Bay 4 or so years later, we lived at 12 addresses which included caravans in four locations in England and Scotland. My mother rarely bothered unpacking the trunk!
All the moving around was due to my father's inability to keep a job. It must have driven my mum mad!
Things were fairly settled for grandma once we were in Whitley Bay. She worked as a legal secretary at Briggs & Co. She was involved with the church (Park Avenue Congregational) and volunteered with the Red Cross. But during this time dad was ill a lot and was often unable to work. Mum kept things together.
I believe she was mostly pleased about our move to Blyth in 1967 as it meant she had a brand new semi-detached council house with central heating and a garden. But Dad's health declined within the first few months and he died within a year of the move after which she was keen to leave Blyth and get back to Whitley Bay - which she and I did - she swapped our council house for a council flat in Monkseaton.
After my dad's death, grandma came into her own. She got a good job with the University of Newcastle - secretary in the burser's office. She got into all sorts of new activities and generally enjoyed herself. She even tried horse riding!! But after having a holiday with Alison and Bruce and the kids in 1969 she declared that she'd like to live in Canada. So that project was put into motion and she (and I) sailed from England in May 1972.
Settling into a new country in her 50's - and in those days things were quite different - probably wasn't all that easy - but in true grandma-style she got involved and kept busy. She worked as a legal secretary for Pitblado & Hoskins and then got a provincial government job at Land Titles which she loved. But she was lonely and so sought out a new relationship which resulted in her meeting Alex. Smith who she married in 1977 and shortly thereafter moved to the West Coast.
The West Coast was a good place for her to be - and she was there for 20 years only returning after Alex's death in 1999. She enjoyed the natural amenities of Vancouver and environs. She was the inveterate volunteer and kept busy and engaged. She enjoyed travelling - cruises and trips down to Reno - as well as shorter trips in B.C. and Canada.
Once she hit her late 70's she announced that she was the longest living Christie in her family. She made it to 83. She died in Winnipeg on this day in 2003.
Grandma turned 20 shortly after the start of World War II. And at that time she had already been dating Donald Dick for more than two years. Donald joined the army and was one of the soldiers evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk in 1940 (you and I saw the movie). It was after this that he and grandma married but I think that his war experiences must have changed him - or what other explanation could there be for him to not want to be married or to know his daughter who was born two years later.
Grandma never moved out of her parents' home until she met my dad and they married in 1946. They met through the St. James Congregational Church in Newcastle - on an outing to the "Hoppings" - an annual event rather like the Red River Ex. Post war Britain was in a bit of a mess which included very little housing stock so Grandma and Grandda didn't get decent housing for quite a while during which time they had rooms and Alison remained with her grandparents. They moved into 56 Bell Terrace in 1950.
And it was while at 56 Bell Terrace that I was born. But before I came along grandma had lost three babies. One a full-term boy they named Ian. He was still-born. And then twins who she lost mid-term.
As of 1954 the family started the round-country treks. We left Newcastle for Diss in Norfolk in the spring of that year and until we settled at 21 Duchess Street in Whitley Bay 4 or so years later, we lived at 12 addresses which included caravans in four locations in England and Scotland. My mother rarely bothered unpacking the trunk!
All the moving around was due to my father's inability to keep a job. It must have driven my mum mad!
Things were fairly settled for grandma once we were in Whitley Bay. She worked as a legal secretary at Briggs & Co. She was involved with the church (Park Avenue Congregational) and volunteered with the Red Cross. But during this time dad was ill a lot and was often unable to work. Mum kept things together.
I believe she was mostly pleased about our move to Blyth in 1967 as it meant she had a brand new semi-detached council house with central heating and a garden. But Dad's health declined within the first few months and he died within a year of the move after which she was keen to leave Blyth and get back to Whitley Bay - which she and I did - she swapped our council house for a council flat in Monkseaton.
After my dad's death, grandma came into her own. She got a good job with the University of Newcastle - secretary in the burser's office. She got into all sorts of new activities and generally enjoyed herself. She even tried horse riding!! But after having a holiday with Alison and Bruce and the kids in 1969 she declared that she'd like to live in Canada. So that project was put into motion and she (and I) sailed from England in May 1972.
Settling into a new country in her 50's - and in those days things were quite different - probably wasn't all that easy - but in true grandma-style she got involved and kept busy. She worked as a legal secretary for Pitblado & Hoskins and then got a provincial government job at Land Titles which she loved. But she was lonely and so sought out a new relationship which resulted in her meeting Alex. Smith who she married in 1977 and shortly thereafter moved to the West Coast.
The West Coast was a good place for her to be - and she was there for 20 years only returning after Alex's death in 1999. She enjoyed the natural amenities of Vancouver and environs. She was the inveterate volunteer and kept busy and engaged. She enjoyed travelling - cruises and trips down to Reno - as well as shorter trips in B.C. and Canada.
Once she hit her late 70's she announced that she was the longest living Christie in her family. She made it to 83. She died in Winnipeg on this day in 2003.
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| At Whitley Bay 1958 |
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