Interesting ancestor plus a 1795 weather report for Alrewas, Staffs

[Merry]

I've not done any research for my tree for ages, but this morning I've had the chance to sit down for a while and have a go at some of my Staffs relations.

First I discovered my 3xg-grandmother's name, (she had been Elizabeth X for about five years!!), but is now Elizabeth Lakin nee Gildart and she has a baptism, marriage and burial entry, so nice and tidy. Interestingly, though she was buried at Alrewas, Staffs in 1845 she died in Bradford, Yorks. I've yet to work out what she was doing there!

Next I started on her father, James Gildart - He seems to have been buried in 1793 at Alrewas and his burial entry states:

May 20th Mr James Gildart, butcher of Alrewas. Aged 52 years. He weighed 26 stone and 8lbs when living.

I guess that was pretty unusual - did he eat all the meat???!

The following page has some interesting info (I only saw it because I couldn't find James' burial when I looked the first time!

NB A very severe winter. A great Frost and Snow began Dec 22nd 1794 which with some intermissions continued till Feb 19th 1795 which was 7 weeks and one day. On Monday Jan 26th 1795 Farenheit's (sic) thermometer was at Freezing Point viz 32°. The Rivers Trent and Tame were frozen over and the Corn Mills unable to grind. Wheat sold at 9s per Strike. A Great Flood succeeded upon the thaw and on Tuesday February 10th Great Damage was done by the Ice and Waters to several Bridges viz Kings Bridge and the Bridge next to the Swan Inn at Whichnor on the Turnpike Road leading to Burton upon Trent, as also to Risley Bridge, Tamworth Bridge etc etc. The Inundation was so great upon the Rivers Trent and Tame that the oldest People then living never saw the like. Great Part of the Sprink Planks were washed away.
John Edmonds, Curate.

I presume his thermometer was inside the house?!

I wonder if John Edmonds wrote any more interesting snippets?

Should anyone want to trawl (!) the PR is on FMP - I started from James Gildart buried 1793.

[Olde Crone]

Merry

In the days when I used to go to Records offices and trawl through PRs, I was almost always sidetracked by the Vicar's (or clerk's) comments about this and that. One register had a veritable book at the back of it, a diary of happenings in the village, the weather, the crops, visitors and some quite scurrilous gossip.

As for your 26 stone man - I suppose people had eating disorders back then too, but not everyone was in a position to indulge their disorder. A butcher was very well placed!

OC

[Merry]

Maybe Mrs Gildart wasn't given so much to eat as she lived on about another 35 years!

Oh, I see FMP has an article about Mr Edmonds:

http://search.findmypast.co.uk/search-world-records/staffordshire-baptisms

For those with a sub, click at the bottom: Alrewas, All Saints register: a parish newsletter

[Olde Crone]

One of my ancestors was in the burial register with the marginal comment "A very tall man". This drives me mad - was he 5ft 10 or 7 ft?

I also had the rather unworthy picture in my mind of the local carpenter/undertaker surveying the corpse and sucking his teeth (undertaker not corpse) and saying "I'll have to make him a coffin, I've got nothing in stock to fit him he's that tall".

OC

[Merry]

And charging extra for it!

My mother had a boyfriend who was 6'8". His best friend was only about 5'4". They both used the same tailor and the tall man had to pay extra but the shorter man didn't get a rebate!

[Margaret in Burton]

* begs Merry's forgiveness as I haven't been to Lichfield yet*.


The River Trent regularly froze over until the early 20th century. There are loads of photographs on the internet of people ice skating on the Trent at Burton.

[vita]

G/g/g/ Uncle Alfred, an 1858 settler in NZ, is described by a fellow worker as "a regular

cockney, desperate as regards his h's."

Love that!

[Nell]

Merry

That's very interesting and shows the challenges we face with the weather aren't new! I have found in a Cornish register a note about a tree that had been planted as a replacement for one that had died after a very long time. These little snippets are so useful. I've not found any references to physical aspects of any of my ancestors in burial registers, but I did find one who "died suddenly" with no further details!