David Ritchie Masterton Oswald

David was the second husband of my two times great grandmother, Eleanor Isabella Coxhead.  He was born in Wemyss, Fife, Scotland on the 18th April 1914 to James Oswald and Janet Reid Ritchie Masterton.

His parents had both previously been married to others.  James Oswald, the son of James Oswald and Margaret Paterson had been married to an Elizabeth Tweeddale, and Janet Reid Ritchie Masterton, the daughter of Robert Masterton and Ann Ritchie Hill, had been married to a James Doddes Picken.

It was quite a surprise to find the marriage in Edinburgh when we visited some years ago, as we were looking for a possible marriage for Eleanor’s daughter, Frances Eleanor Chapman.  At that time we had no idea that Eleanor’s first husband, Henry Chapman, had died in 1928 in Rotterdam.

David R M Oswald and Eleanor I Chapman nee Coxhead married at the Nicolson Street Church of Scotland church in Edinburgh on the 26th July 1935.  The service was carried out by William Galbraith Taylor, minister.  The witnesses were Malcolm Mattocks of 321 West Port, and Elizabeth Lewis of 55 Home Street.

At the time of the marriage, David was a railway porter aged 21 of 12 Grange Court, Edinburgh, and Eleanor, a widow, aged 56 of 12 Beaumont Place, Edinburgh.  Although her age is listed as 49 on the marriage certificate.  She must have looked young for her age.

Apparently David wasn’t living with my grandmother, Beatrice, and her grandmother, Eleanor Isabella at the time of the 1939 national register at 2A Greenside Place, he had possibly signed up for military service by that time.  The next thing we hear of him is from a newspaper clipping from 1946:

From the Tuesday 8th January 1946 edition of the Lancashire Evening Post

This would tie in with him not appearing on the electoral register at 114 Miles Street, Preston with Eleanor Isabella for a couple of years.

Eleanor Isabella Oswald died on the 7th January 1951 of 114 Miles Street, Preston;  and was buried with her parents, John and Mary Coxhead (nee Holmes) at Preston Cemetery.

By October 1951, David was living at Bath Street in Newton Heath, close to Manchester.  On the 3rd October 1951, he married a Clara Davidson (maiden name Jackson), a raincoat machinist, also at that time widowed, daughter of Joseph Jackson at Manchester Register Office. The witnesses were J Jackson and J Mellor.

At some point David and Clara moved upto Scotland, and were living in Bonnyrigg.

David Ritchie Masterton Oswald died in 2009, aged 94.

If you know of David or any of the other people mentioned above, i’d be pleased to hear from you.  Please click here to get in touch.

 

Bootle (Near Liverpool)

The Bootle area played an important part in my mum’s early years.  It’s situated in the north west of England, close to Liverpool, and other nearby places include Seaforth, Litherland, Thornton and Crosby, as you can see from the map.

Donald Lewis, the son of Joseph Lewis and Esther Simpson, was born on the 21st July 1925.

He married Susan Waters, the daughter of John Henry Waters and Mary Brown at the registry office in Bootle on the 7th June 1947.

Donald and Susan adopted mum in 1953 and lived at 18 Browne Street, Bootle with people the adoption papers describe as “two adult female cousins of the female applicant”.  (Mum remembers them by the surname of Kelly, as “aunties”)

However, Donald and Susan’s marriage didn’t last, Susan got together with a man called Albert Ormrod, moving to St Helens.  Mum apparently lived at 18 Bailey Drive, Bootle with Donald, and his parents, Joseph and Esther until about 1957.

Mum can remember living with the Lewis family at Bailey Drive, and walking to school.  We think it was probably “Roberts School” that she would have gone to while living there.

Joseph, Esther and Donald are listed living at 18 Bailey Drive, Bootle on the 1939 National Register.  Joseph was a linotype operator, Esther’s occupation is listed as “unpaid domestic duties”.

There is some sort of note with the adoption papers which looks like it shows that Donald was seeking custody of mum in the October of 1956.  Mum’s birth mother, Beatrice (or Betty) Maddern (nee Chapman) had only died that January.

Beatrice/Betty lived at 31 Pembroke Road, Bootle for a short time between about 1952 and 1953, with a Catherine Healy, and lots of other people.

On the 1939 National register at 16 Pembroke Road, Bootle are James (a dock labourer), Catherine and Mary Healy (notes that she went on to marry someone called Lamb), George E Flynn (hammerman in shipyard), James O’Brien (builder’s labourer), Thomas Duffy (ARP shelter erector), John Hughes (dock labourer) and George (ship’s steward) and Ada Prentice.  A few of those other names seem familiar to the ones who were living at 31 Pembroke Road, Bootle in the early 1950s.

There’s always been a bit of a mystery as to why Beatrice headed for Liverpool, and then  Bootle.  Was there other family in the area?  I haven’t been able to find any sort of connection.  Mum’s adopted mother knew about things that happened after the adoption, is that unusual?  There doesn’t seem to be any obvious link between the Chapman, Waters and/or Lewis families looking at the family tree.  Could it be the case that mum’s adopted mother knew about Beatrice’s death, and all of Beatrice’s children, as they’d been keeping in contact?

If you remember Donald, Joseph and Esther, the Kelly sisters who lived at Browne Street, or Beatrice then please do get in touch if you’d like to via this link.

Interesting/Useful links related to the Bootle area (Some relate to the wider area) include :

History of Bootle from Historic Liverpool

Bootle Times

The City of Liverpool Online Parish Clerks

Liverpool Archives

Lancashire Archives

HistoPic – Historic pictures of Liverpool