Hi Mo,

I've detailed what I know about my branch of the Hill family in Springthorpe. Any additional information or insights would be much appreciated. For example does the changing of of the name of High St to Hill Road have anything to do with my family? Anyway, this is what I know:

My great-great-great grandfather was Robert Hill born 1804 in Saxby and he was married to Ann born 1806 in Heapham.  I've no idea whether Robert's family originally hailed from Springthorpe but in 1841 and 1851 they are listed as notable landowners with 95 acres and three servants. Robert appears to have died between 1851-61(?). We think that Robert was buried at the Church with daughter Elizabeth (plot 162) who died aged 11 in 1838. After Robert's death they moved to 62 Old School Lane, High St and then 24 School House in Springthorpe. Ann was still alive in 1871 though we don't know when she died. They had five children; Mary, Jane, Susannah, George, Elizabeth and my great-great grandfather John Lacey Hill born in 1832. We guess that both the Lacey and Rowland (see below) names came from Ann.

My great-great grandfather John Lacey Hill married a Louisa Wilson in 1854 at the Church In Springthorpe and was recorded living at Old School Lane in 1861. He is listed as first a farmer, then a labourer but died young (falling off a cart!) in 1861. Not before they'd had Rowland, John Lacey (jr)- my great-grand father, Louisa (jr) and Mark. Louisa remarried a William Ranby (also at Springthorpe ) and moved to 25 Corringham Scraggs in 1869, although he too died and she remarried for a second time to Richard Parker. Parker was a railway clerk and moved the family to my home town of Manchester in the 1880's. Thus started a line of John and Rowland Lacey Hill's who all worked on the railway! 

As I say, any information at all would be much appreciated!

Thanks

Rowland Hill

Just had an e-mail from my sister who has also come up with some detail on this side of the family with another Strawson and an Anyan link. See below:

Robert Lacey's (died 1893in Heaon Chapel) father was George Hill - John Lacey Hill's brother and also a son
of Robert & Ann Hill.

George Hill married Eliza(beth) Strawson on 21st February!!!!!!!1867.
They had children as follows:
Robert Lacey Hill b 1867
William Strawson Hill b 1869
John George Hill b 1874 d 27/05 1914 in Leeds
Betsy Ann b 1872 d 3/3/1883
Harry Hill b 1874
Charles Hill b1876

Eliza Strawson's parents are William Strawson 1814-1868 and Mary Anyan!!
1817-1896.

I'd be more than happy to draft a chapter on the Hill's for the website. As I've said we we're clearly an unadventurous lot when it came to names which makes links easy to make but gets confusing with dates. 

Thanks
 

Rowland

My name is Carolyn MacGillivray but before my marriage, I was Carolyn Anyan and I have been researching the Anyan family history for the past year.  I've found the Springthorpe village website very interesting because some of my forebears lived in or nearby the village and are buried in the churchyard.

My great great great grandparents, William and Sarah Anyan, are buried there and I was wondering if anyone in Springthorpe had any information on them because so far I've found them very difficult to research, e.g. when and where they were married.  From census and parish records, I know that William was born in Clixby around 1773/74, the son of William and Elizabeth Anyan.  However, I've discovered very little about Sarah other than she was born around 1786 in Thornton Lincs according to the 1851 census.

Also buried in the churchyard is their son, John Anyan (my great great grandfather) together with his wife, Maria who was a Strawson.  When I visited the churchyard a couple of months ago I noticed that there was a smaller partially sunken grave next to theirs with the inscription "In loving memory of John" and I was wondering if anyone knew anything about this grave.

For information, this is how I fit into the Anyan family tree.  One of John and Maria Anyan's sons was George Henry Anyan (my great grandfather) who had a grocer's shop in Church Street, Gainsborough.  This was later run by my grandfather, John George Anyan, who retired to Bournemouth in the early 1940s.  The business was sold in the 1960s and consequently our links with Gainsborough ended.  My father, Derek, was born in Gainsborough but he died in 2000 so that I am now the last of this branch of the Anyans.

I hope you don't mind my emailing you, but I should be very interested to hear if you have any information on the Anyans in Springthorpe churchyard.

With many thanks,

Carolyn MacGillivray

Maureen

Many thanks for your email.  I'm thrilled to have this information because I've spent hours searching for the Anyan/Newton marriage and these dates fit in with the birth of their first son, John, in 1810.  He died in 1811 and their second son, also John (my gt gt grandfather), was born in 1812.

Sarah Newton's baptism could be my gt gt gt grandmother's although just to confuse things, I've come across another Sarah Newton baptised on 14 Aug 1785 in Thornton le Moor which I see is just down the road from South Kelsey.  I'll have to do some research to see if the two are related and which one could be mine.

Once again, thank you so much for your help.

Kind regards
Carolyn
 

Dear Webmaster

I visited your web site with great interest.  I am from South Australia and am a first generation Australian.  All my family came from Lincolnshire.  I have been collecting information about my family tree and history since the age of 9.  I have copies of photographs and information from my grandmother, now deceased.  My great great grandparents, James Blades and Angelina Lidgett lived in Springthorpe at what my grandmother knew as Pond House, however this is not the same house as on your website.  It is in fact the house which you refer to as Whitehouse Farm.  My great great grandfather ran the farm and this was passed on to his son Fred.  I have a photo of the entire family gathered for my great great grandparents 5oth wedding anniversary in approx 1903, taken outside the front of the house, and also another including the pond, with my great great grandparents, Fred and his wife, and my great grandmother.  The family belonged to the Primitive Methodist Chapel when my great grandmother was a girl.

I am wondering if you are able to shed any light on this, and maybe exchange some further information.

I also found that some of my relatives are buried in the churchyard of St George and St Lawrence, but am not sure how many of these belong to my family tree.  Is there some way that I may be able to get further information on the gravestones?  Also is there any information available on the Primitive Methodist Chapel?

My grandmother lived in nearby Heapham at Clematis House with her family when she was a girl, and later they moved to Gainsborough.  I believe they were regular visitors to Pond House.

I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Yours sincerely
Sally Chapman

Hi Maureen

Hello, how are you?  We have just recovered from an unbearably hot fortnight with temperatures in the high 30's (degrees celsius) and it still hasn't rained for at least a couple of months.  It has been too hot to even consider sitting at the computer!!

Today I have been reading your book about the Springthorpe School.  Its great to get the details and find out what it was like.  I was really interested to read the accounts from former pupils, especially the Lidgett girls, Vera (now Mrs Smithson) and Evelyn (now Mrs Streets), who would have been my Grandmother's cousins.  I am wondering if either of them are still alive and if it would be possible to contact them?  They both mention going for lunch at their Aunt Emma's - the white house by the pond!  Emma was Fred Lidgett's second wife, and as I mentioned before Fred took over the farm from my great great grandfather James Blades Lidgett.  I don't know if they have ever seen the anniversary photo which I sent you, but if they are still alive it might be good to see if they know anyone on it.

I have also found that my great grandmother Lavinia Lidgett and two of her brothers, Harry and Albert (Vera and Evelyn's father) all attended the school in 1881.  Also Rosa Clifton in 1888, the eldest daughter of Angelina Lidgett (Lavinia's eldest sister) - Rosa was only 4 years of age at the time.

I also have another question for you - I hope you don't mind?  During my research I have found that Fred's eldest son, Archie Fred Lidgett (who we knew was killed in WWI) emigrated to Australia as an unassisted passenger in 1914 on the ship Commonwealth.  He hadn't been here all that long of course before he found himself enlisting (1915) and being sent to France.  He was killed in the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 (on his first day out!) in what is now acknowledged as one of the biggest mess ups of the war.  This is the same area as they found approximately 400 bodies in mass graves just recently (end of 2007 - it was in the news).  He has a commemorative plaque both in France and here in Australia, at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.  I am wondering if he is also listed on the Roll of Honour in the Springthorpe Church - I believe there are 3 rolls, and also one which was moved there from the Primitive Methodist Chapel? I was wondering if his father would have had him added?

I hope all is going well with your own teaching and research and I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers
Sally :o)

N.B. Archie Fred Lidgett now has a PDF file on the website