Just the one . . .

So, here we are, it's next week. And I've only got the one anniversary: my great-great-great-aunt, Sarah Ann Whatford Culpin, daughter of Charles Culpin and his second wife Sarah Whatford, she was born today in 1850 in St Ives.

At the time the family was living in Cromwell Place in the small market town but by 1871, after the death of her father, Sarah and her mother had moved to Priory Road. Both were listed as annuitants.

And then she goes to London. Why? No idea, but she plainly found something to interest her as she married Christopher Stuart Toll in Islington on 24th June 1875. Mr Toll was a Stevenage boy and they seemed to return to the Hertfordshire town as Sarah sadly died there, at the age of just 26, in 1877. There were no children of the marriage.

Persistent as I am, I have found Chris Toll in 1901; still in Stevenage, he was listed as a Relieving Officer. Any clues??

More soon.

Festive Anniversaries

Sorry for the gap; you know what it's like . . . . . .

So, all festive'd up and almost ready to go, let's say happy birthday (155 today) to my second cousin, four times removed, Ellen Street. Born in Old Warden, near Biggleswade, she was the daughter of Thomas and Rebecca (nee Pates) and grew up in the village. By the age of sixteen she was, in common with many of her ilk, a straw plaiter (presumably this was something to do with the hat industry around Luton etc . . . . ?) and, in 1877, she married William Levitt.

Ellen & William had just the one daughter (Maud), born soon after the wedding (no, not that soon . . . ) and the family had moved to Kempston by 1891. I last "saw" them there in the 1901 census, when William was a brickie's labourer and no-one else in the household was gainfully employed.

The only other notable event today was the marriage, in 1856, of Martha Bullard (third cousin, three times removed) to John Foster, in Godmanchester. In 1891 John was working at Jesus College, Cambridge, as a "Gipp" (college servant) and they went on to have seven children.

John died at the age of 50, in 1878, and Martha became a Lodging House Keeper in Malcolm Street (off Jesus Lane) in Cambridge. Te only person I've managed to follow past 1891 is oldest daughter Agnes (born 1857) who went on to marry Alfred Broom and produce four sons - all before 1901, when the Brooms were living in Chesterton.

And that's it for this week, so I'll wish you a Merry Christmas and I'll be back after the weekend.

Mind the gap

Morning!

Just to say that I haven't forgotten you, my faithful follower . . . I've been away. But now I'm back and I'll try to put something up later today.

More soon.

Rotten Writing

Had to share this one . . . . . .

Earlier in the day I was searching for Freemans in the 1911 census, as you do. And I opened up one image, glanced over it and then saved it.

And then zoomed in . . . and in . . . until I could clearly see the entry "Freak Freeman". Honest! And it was written by his father. Charming, I thought!

Even knowing that the boy's name was Frederick, it took me ages to work out, with the aid of the built-in magnifier, that it actually said "Fredk".

Once I'd stopped giggling, I submitted the correction!

More soon.

Young Tom

A brief entry today . . . . who said "hooray"?

Tom Culpin, my great-great-uncle was born in 1879 in St Ives, the fifth son (& eighth child) of Millice Campbell & Naomi (nee Fordham) and lived with the family in The Quadrant in the town until his premature, and so far unexplained (to me) death at the age of 17 years.

He's buried, together with his brother Arthur, in Broadleas Cemetery, with the following headstone: "In loving memory of Tom, the son of Millice & Naomi Culpin, who entered into rest December 13 1896 aged 17 years. Also Arthur Culpin who entered into rest January 20 1903 aged 39 years".

So, what have we learned from this? Well, not much, obviously, except that I really ought to get hold of Tom's death certificate to work out why he died so young. I think I've looked in the Hunts Post to see if there was anything in there but I'm not sure; so may be worth my while having a look there first, in case I can save some money!

More soon.

Fiery Furnace Alert

Today's notable anniversary is the marriage of my gt-gt-gt-gt-gt-uncle William Bullard to Sarah Boden, at St Mary, Hitchin in 1769. The only other info I had about the pair was a note referenced to my Canadian cousin Jan which said "basketmaker who lived in Hitchin and had eleven children".

So, never one to be daunted by a challenge, I started to investigate the Bullards of Hitchin and, sure enough, William and Sarah had eleven children, born between 1770 and 1793. So far I have also found twelve grandchildren, seven great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.

However the greatest of my finds is, as you might guess, related to today's title.

William & Sarah's oldest son, William, married Elizabeth Leonard, also at St Mary, Hitchin, on 1st July 1792 and they had ten children (must be something in the water). It was their daughter Maria who made my day . . . . . when she married Abednego Day. Cracking name, I thought, and carried on regardless, searching the IGI for Days (searching, that is, for children with the surname Day, not . . . . !).

And then it occurred to me that I'd seen another pair of cracking names . . . . and I investigated further. William Day and his wife Judith had ten children between 1782 and 1805 including, in 1792, Shadrach, in 1794 - Meshach and, in 1801, Abednego.

Lucky they had another boy really or they could have ended up with Shadrach, Meshach and Ann. Doesn't trip off the tongue quite so well, does it.

Made me smile on a soggy day!

More soon.

What is it about London???

Just the one anniversary today, the marriage of George Pates and Mary Ann Huckle in Biggleswade in 1875. George, my first cousin three times removed, was the son of Samuel & Eliza (nee Bland) and was brought up in the small market town.

George & Mary Ann produced nine children between 1876 and 1897 and were living in Potton Road in 1911. This census has more information that its predecessors, giving the number of rooms in the residence - the instruction being to "Count the kitchen as a room but do not count scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathroom . . . .". We also get the number of years the head of the household and his wife have been married and the number of children: born to the marriage, still living and died.

In this case, G&A lived in a dwelling of five rooms, had been married for 35 years and the children count was 9:7:2. This rather suggests that I haven't yet discovered that two of their children died before 1911 . . . . . work to do there, methinks.

The reason for the title of today's entry? Well, three of the children went to the great metropolis. Frederick (born 1880) was a tram conductor in Islington in 1901; in the same year Minnie was in service in Tottenham and Albert moved to Holloway to become a newspaper vendor (aged 16) in 1911. He was living with his brother Frederick, who had progressed to the lofty heights of Ticket Inspector by this time. Oh, and EIGHT rooms. Not bad, eh?

More soon.

Double trouble?

Today's offering starts with a double wedding. OK, so it's probably not terribly rare but there aren't many in my database.

Two of my g-g-g-g-aunts got married today in Elton, Hunts, in 1822. Not to each other, obviously; Mary Culpin, the elder sister, tied the knot with Thomas Mears, and Elizabeth, the younger by one year, married Robert Webb. Interestingly, Thomas was one of Elizabeth & Robert's witnesses (well, I thought it was interesting as there was no reciprocal witnessing).

If any reader wishes to mentally "place" the Culpin girls, they were the daughters of Richard & Mary (nee Hayes) and sisters to Charles who married Catherine Watts. You can probably tell by my waffling that I don't know a lot else about these two couples . . . . so I'll put them on THE list.

Come a few miles south with me now to the village of Old Warden in Bedfordshire and the wedding of my 2nd cousin 4 times removed to Jesse Vintner in 1866. Ann Street, for t'was she, was the daughter of Thomas & Rebecca (nee Pates) and she and Jesse (whose surname also appeared as Vintiner in later records) went on to have four children.

Ann & Jesse remained in Old Warden and so far I have tracked their children only as far as the nearby village of Northill. Mind you, having said that, I did find their oldest daughter Flora in the infirmary in Bedford in the 1891 census but I'd guess that wasn't her choice!

More soon.

Once upon a time . . . .

Today's entry will be short and, hopefully, sweet. The only anniversary I could find is the marriage of Marie Culpin and Robert Fletcher.

They were joined in matrimony in King's Cliffe, Northants, today in 1640. That's two years before the start of the civil war which left Ollie C in charge. But I digress, as usual . . . . . . Marie and Robert had three children (that I know of) and lost two of them in childhood.

And that's all I know about them, but I simply had to write about Marie because, according to my computer, she's my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great aunt.

Phew! That was a long time ago.

More soon.

Two places at one time

Today is a special today, as we all know. The 91st anniversary of the Armistice which finally brought the Great War to a close. I paid my respects at the War Memorial.

But I should have been at a funeral. And I feel bad about missing it, but public transport conspired against me. So let me briefly tell you about my Auntie Betty, who passed away at the end of October. She was a dynamo - always seeming to be on the move. Wicked sense of humour. Always remembered my birthday (and how many candles I was due to blow out). She didn't stop when she retired, just went to classes - including computer classes. A classic silver surfer, my auntie Betty, and we will miss her.

Sooooo, that was the most important thing to me today but I will also delve into my database for someone from the past. This one, from the "spares" pile, is the marriage of John Everett and Ruth Constable. They tied the knot at St James's Church, Stretham, in 1851. No relation to me, but the great-great-great-grandparents of my 2nd cousin Bob, they had one son and one daughter and lived in the village for the rest of their lives.

Their daughter Rebecca went on to marry Thompson Sindall; six children here, one of whom married my great-uncle John Langford. See, there was a link but as you can tell it's very indirect.

I have a whole file, about 700 people, devoted to the village of Stretham. This is not because I'm some sort of genealogical kleptomaniac but because my Langfords come from there and, my word, there's been some inter-marrying between families. The Langfords marry the Murfitts, Constables, Gotobeds (lovely fen surname), Sindalls and Dimocks. And then they all marry back again! Confusing just doesn't cover it.

More soon.

Update

This time last year I mentioned a few of my ancestors who served and today I thought I'd tell you what I've found out about them since.

Grandad FWP was listed as William in the 1911 census and worked as a general labourer. John Langford and his wife Harriett had a child that neither my 2nd cousin Bob nor I can identify; it's great having the 1911 census but it's causing as many problems as it's solving!

Freeman Langford, like his brother William before him, was a regular soldier and was serving in Lucknow in 1911 - that'll be where he caught malaria. His youngest brother Ben was a brickie's labourer and living with his aunt in Nutholt Lane, Ely, in 1911.

I found two new soldiers this year: the first courtesy of Ancestors magazine. Harry Culpin (5th cousin 3xremoved) was serving in Bloomfontein and his family was out there too. And Alfred Staden (1st cousin 3xremoved) was another regular, in the RAMC at Aldershot.

Yesterday I was selling poppies in town, carefully positioning myself in the sun moving, like a cat, with the rays. I'd like to think that my presence put off the daily gathering of the Special Brew University.

One of my customers, during the 90 or so minutes I stood there, was an old gent who told me that he'd served during the war; so I asked him where . . . . he was a 19-year-old Lieutenant in charge of one of the landing craft on D-Day.

Anyone who knows me will be aware that I am not often stuck for words. I was yesterday. All I could think to say was "Thank you".

When you go home, tell them of us and say: For your tomorrow, we gave our today.

The easy way or the hard way?

Let's start with three-times-great-grandpa Charles Culpin, born today in 1811 in St Ives, son of Charles & Catherine (nee Sutton). Regular readers will be unsurprised that he became a blacksmith; he married Sophia Kington, of Great Gransden, at All Saints, St Ives, on 26 March 1834 and they begat four children, in Hemingford Abbots, before Sophia died in May 1844. Then, with the aforementioned four children to look after, Charles sought a new bride and, late the following year, he married Sarah Whatford in St Ives.

Three more children arrived over the next eight years, all easily identified by their mother's maiden name amongst their christian names - don't you just love it when they do that! Charles died on 4 May 1869 and was buried in Broadleas cemetery, with the following headstone: Thy Will be done. Sacred to the memory of Charles Culpin who departed this life May 4th 1869 in the 58th year of his age. The sweet remembrance of the just shall flourish where he sleeps in the dust.

Slightly more distant, in "relative" terms, was James Moore, my g-g-g-g-grandfather, who married Elizabeth Warnes today at St Mary, Wymondham (the Norfolk one). Eleven children became of this union and the family was in Carrow Road, Thorpe, near Norwich, in 1851 (excluding their daughter Ann, my 3xgt grandmother, who had just married and was living in Thorpe Road, Blofield - presumably just up the road).

James was a Maltster's man (I have only a loose idea of what that is) and at least two of his sons took up the same profession. I need to do some more research into this particular branch - I suspect I was put off earlier by the sheer number of Moores in Norfolk, but I shall not be beaten!!

And finally: you might need to sit down for this one. This is the "hard way" of the title - Francis Langford married Mary Murfitt today in Stretham in 1860 and thereby complicated my family tree no end. Mary is related to me in her own right and Francis is related three times: Mary is my first cousin three times removed; Francis is "husband of . . . . " plus my third cousin twice removed and my eighth cousin three times removed. I'll repeat that last one: eighth cousin three times removed!

Francis & Mary lived in Berry Green, Stretham, until his death in 1897 but their children (nine of them) gradually moved away as they grew up; three to Sheffield and four to London (youngest son Isaac died in infancy). Even then there were no local jobs for the children!

More soon.

Sisters . . . .

So, another new month and some more anniversaries. Today in Biggleswade in 1772 Ann Pates, my g-g-g-g-g-aunt (that's five greats) married William Sexton. And . . . . that's about it. William appears to have died two years later and Ann in 1786. Not much there to get my teeth into.

Moving on, Emily Langford married John Henry Bairstow today in 1876 at St Mary's, Ely. Two children were begat before Emily died at the age of 32. However, as seems to keep happening in my family, there was someone to take her place - the year after her death, her sister Rebecca married John in Hull. It's head-count time again! John & Rebecca went on to have five children before John's death in 1901.

Rebecca then seems to take over the business - she's listed as butcher in both the 1901 and 1911 census, as are her nephews John & William (Emily's sons). Interestingly, the 1911 census form was completed by John, rather than Rebecca . . . . well, I think the head of the household should fill it in . . . . although I suppose it's possible that Rebecca couldn't write but she was a farmer's daughter and I'd have thought he'd make sure she could read and write.

But then, what do I know?

More soon.

And they said it would never last

All together now: Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday Rambling Genes, happy birthday to you!!!!! Yep, my little blog is officially one year old today . . . . . and still going.

So I thought I'd treat it to a bit of TLC and actually take some notice of some of the ramblings. Over the last year I've written "To do" list on a number of occasions, so I've just been through the entire thing and picked out what I said I'd follow up on.

The only thing I can confidently say I did was to find the definition of "Pig Jobber" so, although I have the list, I don't think I'll repeat the things I haven't done!

A quick sort through my database produced 101 infants who, sadly, only lived for one year (the criteria here being that they were born one year and died the next) and, not unconnected with this statistic, there were five ladies who died within one year of their marriage: three Elizabeth Culpins (nee Bishell, Taylor and Aspital in chronological order), Anne Johnson (nee Langford) and Susan Staden (nee Hutton).

Other than that, I can't find any further "one year" useless facts.

More soon.

Virtual repeat

Today's first anniversary is the marriage in 1857 of Martha Flavell to her brother's wife's brother. My regular readers will be able to cast their minds back to yesterday when Martha's brother Joseph married Emma Leach . . . . . so it will come as no surprise when I say that Martha became Mrs Leach, the wife of Charles, in Landbeach.

Their marriage had many similarities with Joseph and Emma's so I will not bore you with the details. Chas was, at one point, a copralite digger; and the two of them produced eight children.

Moving on, join me in a quick chorus of Happy Birthday to Ada Culpin. She was born in 1882 to John & Susan (nee Glover) in the small fen village of Manea and remained there at least until her marriage to George Few in 1904.

And finally, meet Alfred William White Mackie, born today in 1877 in Dundee, who married Cecilia Annie Staden (daughter of John Thomas & Annie Marie (nee Erswell)) in Dundee in 1941. According to The Times, he entered the Indian Civil Service in 1900 and after much district service, was appointed Settlement Commissioner and Director of Land Records, Bombay, in 1924. He retired in 1936, having been a revenue commissioner for the previous five years.

Unusually for someone in my family database, Alfred Mackie made it into Who was Who as well!

More soon.

It's all happening in Chesterton

Today's anniversary is the marriage of Joseph Flavell and Emma Leach in 1863 in Landbeach. Joseph was my 2nd cousin, 4 times removed and Emma was his sister's husband's sister (sister's sister-in-law didn't sound any less complicated!) so I think we can probably guess where they met. Their marriage, with the ten children they had over the next 28 years, then became a merry-go-round of the Chesterton registration district.

Joseph was a farm worker, which presumably meant that he went where the work was, so we shouldn't really be surprised to find him in Fen Ditton in 1871 (cow man), then Landbeach ten years later (horse keeper). Waterbeach was next (1891) where he was an ag lab (fewer legs to count, I guess) and finally, in 1901, he's graduated to Farm foreman and they're in Histon.

Ooops, I think I missed out a brief stop in Stow-cum-Quy in 1877, where Joseph & Emma's sixth child Frederick was born!

A quick bit of research this afternoon found spouses for sons Herbert and Benjamin and for daughter Janetta. This lady married George Branch and, wait for it, they did indeed "branch" out by moving to Little Shelford - not just the other side of Cambridge but, heaven forfend, outside the Chesterton district!

More soon.

Three and one

Happy birthday to Samuel Rowland Robb, my g-g-uncle, who was born today in 1864 in St Ives, the seventh of fourteen children of George & Ann (nee Rowland). By the age of 16, young Sam had started to work in the family firm of ropemakers and, in 1892, he married Sophia Culpin, as reported in my entry of 24th June.

In 1928, the Hunts Post had the following article, under the headline "The New Mayor of St Ives, Head of a Century-old Business, Coun. Robb's Public Service":-

Coun. Samuel Robb, senior partner in the firm of S. Robb and Son, of East Street, St Ives, has been chosen as Mayor of St Ives for the ensuing twelve months, and the selection will meet with general approval. The rope and sack business to which he succeeded several years ago is one of the oldest businesses in St Ives. It was established by Mr Robb's grandfather a century and a quarter back, and has been handed down from father to son. The present head of the firm has his son in partnership with him. The business of harness makers and sports goods dealers is also carried on by Messr Robb and Sons in Crown Street.
The Mayor-elect first became a member of the Town council four years ago, filling the vacancy caused by the elevation of Coun. Joseph Radford to the Aldermanic bench. Twelve months afterwards he fought a contested election and was returned as head of the poll. As chairman of the Housing Committee of the Town Council he has done some useful work. Mr Robb is a manager of the council schools and is chairman of the Ratepayers Association. Seeing that about half the members of the Town Council are elected representatives of the Ratepayers Association, it is only fitting that one of their members should fill the high position of Mayor. A Nonconformist in religion, Mr Robb attends the Free Church. In politics he styles himself as an independent. Mrs Robb is also a native of St Ives.

Sam & Sophia had two children; Jessie, who sadly died in infancy, and George William, aka Bill, who followed his father into local politics and also held the position of Mayor of St Ives. Sophia died in 1934 and Sam in 1941; both achieved a decent write-up in the Hunts Post.

Moving on, a brief mention of a few wedding anniversaries:- Susannah Bullard (1st cousin, 5 times removed) married Richard Brown today in Godmanchester in 1825, and Sarah Culpin (3rd cousin, 5 times removed) married Robert Hill today in King's Cliffe, Northants, in 1831.

And, finally, Ann Langford married James Ellger today in 1836 in Stretham, and went on to have ten children with him, all born in the nearby village of Haddenham. I was surprised when I asked the pc to tell me how she was related to me as the answer came back in the plural. It's not unusual, in my database, for someone to be related to me twice - any amount of inter-marrying, so there must be a number of villages missing their idiot - but I thought I knew who they all were. So, here's Ann - my 2nd cousin, three times removed (the one I expected) and also my 7th cousin, 4 times removed. This one gives our mutual ancestor as Richard Langford, born circa 1556! That's a long way back - I really ought to check it.

More soon.

Masses of matrimony

A bumper issue today - eight weddings and two birthdays, so we'd better just pitch in . . . .

Starting yesterday, let's wish happy 225th wedding anniversary to John Bullard & Ann Cole who married in Kimbolton in 1784. John was from a family of basketmakers and continued the tradition in Godmanchester. When he wasn't busy doing that, he and Ann found the time to produce ten children - the last one of whom they named "Jubilee". I'm slightly puzzled about this as I can't think of a historical jubilee in 1809, the year of her birth. Any offers?

Moving on, to John's niece Mary Ann Bullard who tied the knot twelve years later . . . . somewhere near. Could have been Pidley (centre of the universe) or Earith or . . . . . ! Guess I need to look it up when I'm doing more research into Mary Ann and her husband John Martin.

And then there's Wallace Goodwin Culpin and Annie Inwood Coubrough, who married at the Baptist Church in Hitchin in 1897. Wallace, unusually for a Culpin male, was neither blacksmith nor currier - but he sold boots instead! He & Annie had one daughter, Dorothy and, interestingly, had a one-year old child, Percy Matthews, living with them in 1901 together with a young domestic nurse. But he's not there in 1911 when Wallace, Annie & Dorothy are still living in Stevenage. Sadly Wallace died the following year; Annie & Dorothy emigrated to Canada, sailing on the "Victorian" from Liverpool to Montreal on 23rd May 1913, accompanied by Wallace's brother in law, Frederick Longney. The latter's wife, Charlotte, and their one surviving child Graham, joined them in Canada four months later.

Next up it's John Bigley & Mary Smith who were joined in matrimony at the church of St Nicholas in Great Yarmouth 202 years ago today. Mary was a Chatteris girl and that's where they brought up their ten children. In the interests of not going on ad nauseam, I refer you back to my 29th January entry if you wish to learn more about them!

Which leaves me free to move on to John Sparkes & Mary Freeman, whose wedding took place today at St Mary, Tuddenham in 1818, and stayed in the village for the rest of their lives. Just the seven children from this union.

Three more to go: Isaac Moore & Mary Culpin got hitched today in 1827 in Aldwinckle (Northants) and appear to have resolutely avoided the official record-keepers until their deaths. However, they cannot hide from me . . . . . !

Nearly done: meet Frederick William Hawkins and his bride Mary Peach, who married in Sundon (Beds) in 1891. I have found him in the 1901 census but not her so I need to do some more work there.

And finally, and closest to home, the marriage of Henry Cross and Mary Ann Culpin, today, in Little Downham near Ely, in 1892. Four children later, they seem to have moved three miles up the road to Littleport by 1901 . . . and nothing since. Guess which list they're going on!

I did promise you two birthdays so a quick chorus of happy birthday to John Wiltshire, who would have been 201 today, and to Hannah Sparkes, 127 today.

Phew! A quick sum up - eight marriages, producing 32 children; two birthdays; two emigrations and a lot to go on the "To Do" list.

More soon.

Burglariously

No, I haven't found any more criminal ancestors; today's entry is about the wife of PC Burglariously (see my 29th January entry for the explanation of the word - I didn't make it up!).

Selina Garland was her name and she married the aforementioned officer of the law, Richard Markham Culpin. Born yesterday (sorry to be late) in Bolton upon Dearne, Yorks, to Thomas & Ann, Selina was the sixth of their nine children and the family was in Attercliffe cum Darnell, still in Yorkshire, by the 1851 census.

Ten years on and she has, of course, left home; she appears in Headingley, part of Leeds now, as a nurse - which, as she is a servant in a private home, I assume is a child's nurse or something similar. I don't mean to do her down but there is no evidence that she is an official qualified nurse.

Although . . . . her next appearance in the public records, in the 1871 census, is as the assistant matron in "an Union", whilst living with her sister (& her husband) in Kingston upon Hull. And what do I know about Hull? Well, old family friends lived there when I was little and they told stories of Hull's own independent telephone network . . . . and my godson is studying there now. That is to say, he's a student there - I couldn't possibly assume he's working at this precise moment!

I digress again: back to Selina. In 1876 she & Richard (Culpin, for anyone who's lost the will to live in the midst of my ramblings) married at Baron St Martin, near Stamford (Lincs) and then moved to Skegness to become a lodging house keeper and his wife. They were there until at least 1891, before Richard died in the Belper (Derbyshire) district in 1895; sadly Selina died only 18 months later, on 27 December 1896, in the same district.

More soon.

Multi-use?

So, it's October already and the nights are drawing in . . . . .

And today's offering is another 150th wedding anniversary:

Charles O'Connell Culpin, last mentioned back in May on his birthday, was my g-g-grandfather's brother and he married Ellen Berridge today in 1859 in the small Huntingdonshire village of Brampton. She (Ellen) was born in Sawtry in 1826 and was in service in 1841 (in Ramsey) and also in 1851 (Brampton). Chas, as my regular readers might guess, was a blacksmith.

Five children came about from this marriage; sadly only two made it to adulthood - Ellen, born 1860) who went on to marry George Dellar, and Annie (1866-1950). Margaret Jane was born in 1862 and died in 1878; Joseph was born in 1863 and died the following year, and Charles, born a month after Joseph's death, died late in 1865.

I was going to say that the latter three children were all buried with their father, who died in 1867 but . . . . . . well, they weren't. The inscription reads: "Thy Will be done. In memory of Charles O'Connell Culpin who died September 23 1867 in the 33rd year of his age. Also Joseph Culpin, his son, who died October 25 1864, aged 11 months. Also Margaret Jane Culpin, who died August 30 1878 aged 16 years. Asleep in Jesus." This rather suggests that Charles was buried with his son. No sign of Charles, though, I wonder what happened to him?

In a similar economy of space (or gravestone) Ellen, her daughter Ellen and husband George Dellar, appear together in Broadleas:- "In loving memory of Ellen Mary, the dearly loved wife of George Dellar, who died April 27th 1916 aged 55 years. Safe home where evening shadows fall, where Thou, eternal light of light, art Lord of all. Also Ellen Culpin, mother of the above, who fell asleep January 3rd 1920 in her 94th year. At rest. Also of George Dellar who entered in rest February 6th 1939 aged 75 years. Rest in peace."

Incidentally, a story about Annie Louisa, the youngest daughter of Chas and Ellen, is that she went to live with her niece and family in the 1930s. Her great-nephew has recollections of her at Somersham, helping with the children, and living at a chemist shop opposite the Chapel in the High Street. Annie, too, is buried in Broadleas (Cemetery, at St Ives) under the following inscription: "In loving memory of Annie Louisa Culpin who died June 1st 1950 aged 83 years. Love never faileth."

Now I shall go off and consider what on earth happened to Charles Joseph Culpin . . . . most puzzling.

More soon.

Grandma's birthday

As you may have gathered from the title, today was my grandmother's birthday. She was born in the village of Stretham, Cambs, in 1889, the youngest daughter (and seventh of eight children) of Isaac & Emma and christened at St James' church in July the following year.

Sadly, Emma died in 1895 and Isaac could not look after the children so the two oldest daughters were sent to Nottingham (hopefully to relatives, although I have no way of knowing!) and the three younger children went to live with Isaac's sister in Ely. I have always assumed that the two oldest boys were sort of left in Stretham to make their own way, as ag labs or whatever. Certainly, son number two joined the army as a regular at some point - possibly then, he would have been about 16.

In 1896, my grandmother and her two brothers were enrolled at the Infants School in Market Street in Ely (now the Citizens Advice Bureau) and they are all living with their aunt's family in Nutholt Lane in the 1901 census.

Family legend has it that grandma worked in Worthing at some point and the 1911 was able to confirm this! If only all family legends worked out that simply, eh! She was, indeed, at the Dolling Memorial Home in Worthing, as a domestic housemaid. After this, she moved to Biggleswade and, still in service, became the cook for the Maythorn family in the small market town.

And then . . . . . she met my grandfather (which is more than I did). They lived in St John's Street in Biggleswade until his death in 1957, with grandma moving to Back Street at some point in the early 1970s, I think.

Just 18 months short of her telegram from the Queen, grandma died in Biggleswade in 1988 and was buried alongside her husband in the town cemetery, on one of the coldest days in Christendom. I add the last bit because I was there and it was snowing.

More soon.

Pause for celebrations . . .

I'm back, so let's get stuck in to today's birthdays. Two in number, both are my second cousins; one is twice removed and one thrice.

Wilfred James Pates, he of the twice-removed, was born today in Biggleswade in 1898. The youngest of the seven children of Samuel and Mary, nee Thompson, he appeared in the 1901 census with the family in Newton, Biggleswade. And I have only found him once more - when he died in 1991.

I'm sure he appeared in the 1911 census but I haven't allocated the funds to check yet - I am, tho, thinking of the subscription being offered by FindMyPast. Bit cheeky of them not to allow it within their existing packages but, hey, I'm sure they had to pay through the nose to get it and their census-only sub looks to be good value!

End of FMP advert, let's also wish Happy Birthday to thrice-removed Francis de Montfort Culpin. Born today in Wandsworth, seventh of the eight children of George Francis and Florence Sarah (nee Culpin), he appears in the next two censuses with the family in St Albans. He was probably just too young to fight in the Great War, and he married Ada Worsfold in Willesden in 1922. The only other thing I know is that he died in Lambeth in 1987.

And then, because you deserve a long ramble today to make up for my absence, there's the marriage of my g-g-g-g-grandparents; John Fordham and Mary Taylor, for 't'is they, married today in 1803 at St James, Hemingford Grey. Variously an ag lab and a shopkeeper, John died sometime in the late 1840s, after he and Mary had begat (begotten?) five children. That is, five sons - John, George, Richard, Robert and John. As you will guess, the first John must have died young - although there is a gap of ten years between the first John and his brother George. Makes you wonder . . . . ?

The family appears to have remained in Hemingford Grey - now quite an exclusive village - throughout its collective lifetime, spawning between them quite a large number of offspring, predominantly male. Must be something in the water!

Right, I think you've concentrated enough for today. I'll try not to leave such a large gap next time.

More soon.

North of the Border

Yet again, I need to put my head above the parapet and announce that "I'm still here" . . . . .

I've been in Scotland, you see, enjoying myself and quite unable to write anything genealogy-related during the last few days.

However, I did take the time to nip in to the Scotland's People place in Edinburgh for one of their "taster" sessions. Beautiful building, just opposite North Bridge and out the front is a massive statue of the Duke of Wellington on his 'orse. Worth a trip again, when I'm next up there, to search out my Scots ancestors - go back to about the beginning of the 19th century first and, oh look, there's a grandmother (with lots of greats) from Leith!

So, I'll be back with more soon, after I've finished the proof-reading, the music syllabus and other assorted things awaiting my attention . . . . oh, and I've got to put a website together too. Give me until the weekend and I should be fine!!

Two times two squared times seven

So, having un-installed a certain internet security product (no names, no pack drill), my computer is now able to talk to the w.w.world again. No big 'ammer this time, just a sneaking suspicion which solidified into fact and then some swift action - ptcha!!

The title of today's entry? Read on as I introduce you to today's birthday girl . . .

Annie Beasley, the oldest of the seven children of William & Emma (nee Billington) was my second cousin twice removed and was born today in 1871 in Ampthill(Beds). However, within a few years, the growing family had decamped to Staffordshire with their Station Master father.

I don't know much about Annie - she was living with the family in Aldridge, Staffs, at both the 1881 and 1891 cenuses - but, as yet, any further info on her eludes me.

Ernest Albert Pates was also born today, also in Bedfordshire and was also my second cousin twice removed. The second of the seven children of Samuel & Mary (nee Thompson) he came into the world in Biggleswade in 1883 and lived in the small market town until at least 1911. One of a long line of ag labs, he married Fanny Wright in 1911 and they begat two sons. Their younger son Cyril lost his life in Burma in the Second World War.

So, two similar sets of statistics but Annie stands out because she's related to me twice; so she's also my third cousin three times removed - meaning she's related through her parents and through her maternal grandparents. I think she's on my website so you could look there to see what I mean.

More soon.

Checking In

Just to say that I am still here . . . . but my computer is playing games with me again. I will be applying the big hammer shortly and hope to be back properly later in the weekend!

More soon.

It was 150 years ago today . . .

No birthdays today but a wedding anniversary. I wonder what you get for 150 years?

Seriously, tho, Samuel Cherry married Ann Meeks today in 1859 in Biggleswade, Beds. He was the sixth of the thirteen children of John & Ann (nee Pair) and the union went on to produce at least six children - three girls and three boys - before 1875.

Samuel, my first cousin four times removed on my maternal side, was a labourer, in common with so many in my family and the family appeared to stay in Biggleswade, other than Samuel's appearance in the 1891 census in Ealing. Why? He is listed as the lodger of another Biggleswade family and is down as a general labourer. Given that he is also listed as married, Mrs Cherry is probably still in Biggleswade . . . . but she eludes me at present.

Their two older girls have already achieved "general servant domestic" status by 1881 and oldest son Charles is a market gardener's labourer.

And that's where my research on them ends. Bit sparse, I agree, and I will add to them as soon as I can.

But . . . . I have a very good book on the go at present and may just be distracted for a few days.

Today's title, with apologies to the Fab Four, is a variation on a certain well-known album - I think their version was something to do with teaching the band to play??

More soon.

Across the sea?

A puzzle for one of today's entries: how do you get into America without attracting the notice of the record keepers? Stay tuned for the story . . . .

John James Bullard, my 3rd cousin three times removed, married Louisa Beldain Curtis today in 1875 in Edinburgh. Not sure why Edinburgh, even though it is a beautiful place, because John was born in St Ives and Louisa in Swavesey (Cambs). They then moved quite quickly southwards again, to Manchester where their first son John Curtis was born in 1877; then back to the home town (St Ives) for the birth of their other children.

You wouldn't know but I slowed down considerably when typing that last sentence. Because they had five further children after John Curtis and my records say "St Ives" for all of them. Which would be quite a trick . . . .

You see John, his brother Charles, and John's sons (Harry) Ernest, Jack (John C) and Percy all emigrated on the vessel Scythia to the US of A, arriving at Ellis Island on 5 March 1885. The information I found states that their ultimate destination was Canada.

Well, they didn't quite get there for the 1900 US Census has them in Lewiston, Montana, where John snr is a dealer in musical instruments, Percy is a compositor and Ernest is a harness marker.

And so are his wife Louisa and the three youngest children Arthur, Gilbert and Nellie! How did they get there? I've checked the Ellis Island site and also the outgoing passenger lists on Find My Past. Nothing.

Plus, if these three were born in St Ives, where are the birth registrations, eh? Hiding from me, I reckon. Wonder if the family ever got to Canada??

Moving on (ho ho) to today's birthday girl Agnes Mary Sparkes . . . my 3rd cousin 4 times removed was born in the small village of Tuddenham St Mary in 1851 and christened there four weeks later. Between July & September 1870 she married William Mace in the village and they begat a further three children.

Ah, now, were you paying attention? Of course you were - I said "a further three"; I omitted to mention their first child. He's already had a mention on his birthday (21st February 1870) and was christened Arthur John Mace Sparkes. The clue to his father lies, methinks, in his final christian name! Of course their marriage legitimised his birth and he was known in the 1871 census and thereafter as John Sparkes Mace.

Back to his mother - she sadly died in the village in 1883 at the age of 32, soon after the death of their youngest child Emma Elizabeth at the age of just 2.

William remained in the village, at least until 1901; daughter Laura married George Rumbelow in 1897 and produced at least three children - the oldest of whom died in the Great War.

More soon.

Four across & one down

Today would have been my maths teacher's birthday.

How do I know that? Was I such a swot that I knew my teachers' birthdays?

Well, no, although I did quite like this lady. Angela Mary Covey-Crump (nee Ayres) was born today in 1912 and married Leo, the son of William & Hilda (nee Porter) in Plymouth in 1941. I don't have many other details, save that Mrs Covey-Crump (she was my teacher - how can I call her by her christian name?) died in 2005.

My favorite memory of her? Well, I have two: firstly, that she trusted me, above all the others in the class (yep, I was that good at maths), to have the text book with the answers in the back. And, secondly, her habit was to write the homework questions on the board and it wasn't terribly difficult to distract her momentarily . . . . and then get her to answer what she'd written on the board!

The title? Well, Mrs C-C was the wife of my fourth cousin once removed.

More soon.

What a day . . . . !

Just two birthdays today so meet my Auntie Katie.

Well, ok, she wasn't exactly my aunt; strictly speaking she was my mother's cousin & therefore my first cousin once removed. Anyway, she was born today in 1911 in Stretham (Cambs), the fourth of the six children of John Langford & Harriet (nee Sindall). Sadly both her parents died within two years of each other (1920 & 1918 respectively), so the four youngest children (all girls) were sent to live with relatives.

Although the boys, the two oldest children, were only 16 and 14 when their father died I have always assumed that they stayed in the village. But I digress . . . .

Katie went to stay with Aunt Kate (my grandmother) in Biggleswade and stayed with the family (or thereabouts) until she married Harry Marshall in Digswell (Welwyn) in 1935, with my grandfather as one of the witnesses.

Together she & Harry had five children and they eventually settled near Mortimer in Berkshire, where Harry died in 1968. Katie then became a "Ten Pound Pom" and joined her oldest daughter in southern Australia. And there she stayed until her death in 2003.

Oh, and one other birthday today . . . . . mine!

More soon.

Ooooops

The more observant of you will have noticed a touch of digital-dyslexia in my last entry . . . .

Obviously I meant that Joseph died in the Tower Hospital in Ely (and I didn't really mean to put a "b" in "in").

I was going to say that I have no idea where George came from - but, actually, I do. George Langford was a grandson of Joseph's parents, living with them in the 1881 census, and I had tentatively assumed (there's that word again) that he was Joseph's son. I guess now would be a good time to see what I can find out about him!

The excitement, of having a computer talking to the internet again, obviously got to me. I shall now go and re-read the book about "concentration"!

More soon.

I hate computers

I've spent the last few days glowering at this pc, trying to shame it into working properly again. Having realised, belatedly, that this approach wasn't working, I took a metaphorical hammer to it earlier this evening and, hey presto, it's working. Yippeeeeeeeeee!!

No anniversaries today so let's go back to yesterday, to the birthday of my great-great-uncle. Joseph Langford was born in 1860 in Stretham, the son of John Freeman Langford & Charlotte (nee Bigley) and was christened at the Parish Church (St James') on 16th September that year.

In the next four census returns he managed to be in four different places in the village - Back Street, East Street, High Street & Short Street - before he married Martha Cross (in 1898) and popped up in Broad Street, Ely in 1901, together with step-son William Cross & daughter Charlotte (and Martha, of course).

Martha died in 1923, when the family was living in Back Lane, Ely and George died ibn the Tower Hospital, Ely, formerly the Workhouse, in 1941.

Short & sweet. Don't want to overstretch the computer!

More soon.

All Cambridge today . .

There is only one anniversary today so let's celebrate the brief life of Lucy Wolf, my second cousin four times removed.

She was born today in Girton (Cambs), the daughter of Thomas & Elizabeth (nee Flavel) and was christened at the age of just 22 days. In my experience this is usually a clue that the child is not expected to live very long and, sadly, this was the case with Lucy, who died in October that year.

So, let's move back a day, to the marriage of Lucy's cousin James to Elizabeth Radford at St Andrew the Less in Cambridge in 1852. James was the son of Thomas & Ann (nee Hudson) and grew up in Gloucester Place, Cambridge. As an adult he worked as a labourer on the Eastern Counties Railway and died in November 1861.

He and Elizabeth lived in Staffordshire Street (still near the railway) and they had four children. The first, Elizabeth, died at the age of three but her three brothers Frederick, Arthur & James all grew to be men. Frederick appears to morph into a blacksmith by the age of 44; James, at the age of 19, was a bath attendant . . . . . the mind boggles!

The final view of the family was in the 1901 census - still in Staffordshire Street; Elizabeth was the head of the household, a 68 year old widow, and Frederick was also living there.

More soon.

Re-introducing . . .

Another day with no anniversaries so I thought I'd borrow from today & yesterday, as it were, to expand upon a family we've already met.

By a remarkable coincidence my great-great-grandfather George Staden (1843-1928), who married twice, did so within two days. Plainly, these events were separated by more than just a couple of days - twelve years, in fact - but it struck me as quite odd that both weddings should take place in August.

Having said that, though, maybe his wives were both born in August . . . . 'scuse me while I check . . . . . No, not the first one but maybe the second. Equally, the ladies in question were sisters so maybe it's a family thing. And, I've also just checked - I don't think there was any particular need to hurry, if you get my meaning. So . . . just a coincidence then.

But we don't believe in coincidence!

What else can I tell you that you don't already know? Well, I haven't made much mention of George & Sarah's oldest son Carter:- born in St Ives in 1869, he moved to London and married Kate Burrows in Hampstead in 1925. He died in Peterborough in 1939.

Then there's John Thomas, born in 1870. He became a draper's assistant, being found in Buckingham Palace Road in 1891 and Leamington Priors in 1901. He married Edith Daniels in 1903 and by 1911 he, Edith & their young son Charles, were in Wimbledon. Charles, by the way, brought a bit of respectability to my whole database by becoming a Methodist Minister!

The other three children (Eleanor, George & Fanny) have already had a decent mention in this blog so I won't bore you with them.

George senior & Fanny (first wife's younger sister, remember) married in Islington and then lived in St Ives (Hunts not Cornwall) until George died in 1928. One excellent thing is that they left some superbly detailed Wills, so that's been useful!

More soon.

Quite short & not terribly sweet . . . .

Three anniversaries in the diary today - starting with the most recent.

Happy birthday to Herbert Frank Culpin, oldest child of Herbert Miall & Kate (nee Norton), born in Stevenage in 1897. I don't know much about him really; the family was still in Stevenage in 1901 and had moved to Hitchin by 1911, when he is listed as Frank. And finally . . . he married Eleanor Day in 1924.

Even shorter . . . Happy birthday also to Rebecca Wing, third of the nine children of William & Emma (nee Bigley), born today in Chatteris in 1865. In 1881 Rebecca is to be found in the North Witchford Union workhouse as a 15 year old scholar and then she joined her mother in Nottingham, where she married James Langham in 1887. I haven't found any children of this marriage before Rebecca's death in early 1890 at the age of 25.

And now for the shortest-lived marriage in my file:- today in 1890 John Henry Staden, my 1st cousin three times removed, married Susan Hutton in Cambridge. As with Rebecca above, I can find no children, and Susan died in January 1891.

Not a very informative day really, and quite depressing in its way. As before, though, doing this blog encouraged me to find out more about Rebecca Wing - even though there was little more to find. It's quite a useful exercise to keep the database as up to date as possible!!

Onwards to the Blaydon family who caught my eye as I was furkling around this morning.

More soon.

Another cracking article

Mind the gap . . . .

Sorry, been away for a few days. And while I was travelling, I was idly perusing the latest edition of "Ancestors" magazine . . . there was a superb, nay cracking, article by Dave Annal about accounting for people abroad in the census . . . and he quoted an example of a soldier in the 1911 census. In South Africa.

And his name was Harry Culpin! Obviously, because of copyright issues, I can't quote from the article but suffice to say it gave me some very useful info about this 'ere Harry. He married Benedicta Rhydderch in Colchester and they begat six children. Their first, Joe Rhydderch Culpin, was easy to find but he died at age 1. Four other children appeared on the census return but there is still one missing. The census info gave me the 6 children, 4 still alive but I have no idea who the other child is . . . . !

A-n-d I have since been able to link Harry and co into the main family file; my investigations suggest that Harry is the son of John & Elizabeth. John, born in Ailsworth, Northants, circa 1843, was also the son of John & Elizabeth but I do know that his mother was Elizabeth Dunton.

So, I've been able to move another nine people, plus Harry's family, out of the stray Culpin file and I am a pretty happy bunny!

Lucky, or what?

More soon.

Removed Cousins

I forgot to point you at a cracking article from Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter which explains the intricacies of "Cousin twice removed" etc.

Just go to:

http://blog.eogn.com/eastmans_online_genealogy/2009/07/what-is-second-cousin-once-removed.html

Enjoy!

One L or two . . . ?

Today's tale is of my 2nd cousin, 4 times removed; Ishmael Flavel was the youngest of the eight children of John & Elizabeth (nee Wakefield) and he grew up in the Cambridgeshire village of Landbeach. Where, today in 1867, he married Harriet Barker in the parish church.

With such a superb first name, you would think he'd be easy to find - but no, Ishmael lends itself to too many different spellings . . . . as does his surname.

I first saw this branch of the family with the spelling I've already used - that is, one L. But there is a major antipodean branch (Ishmael's uncle William took his family to Oz in 1855) who spell their surname with two Ls.

Not for the first time, I digress . . . back to Ish & Haz. They had eight children in the next eighteen years, mostly in Landbeach but they did have a brief stay out in the Fens - third child Lily was born in Chatteris, Charles in Mepal and the 1881 census finds them in March (the small town) where Lesha & Frederick had been born in the previous three years.

At this point Ishmael was listed as a police constable but by the next year, and the birth of Ellen, they seem to be back in Landbeach and Ishmael was a labourer by 1891. Interestingly, their address in both 1891 and 1901 is "Webb's Yard, Landbeach" - can only be named after the family to which they, and I, are related!!

Their oldest son John, born 1870, made a break for freedom - I found him in Hackney in 1891 with his wife Florence, daughter Ivy and his brother Frederick. However, I discovered that Florence died in 1907 in the Chesterton registration district even though John was in Edmonton in 1911 with both daughters (Myrtle was with an aunt in 1901) . . . . who subsequently married back in this area.

Maybe I should have called this episode "Here & Back Again" !!

More soon.

East to West in 10 years

Nary a one. Nope, not one anniversary today. So I've had to delve into the depths of my stray Culpin file again . . . . . .

Let me introduce you to Biddy Culpin, daughter of Richard & Maria (nee Gostelow); she married yesterday. In Spalding. In 1832. To James Smith - honestly, could she have picked someone with a more . . . ahem, common name. I guess it could just about have been worse - he could have been John.

Seriously, tho', Biddy was born in 1812 in Spalding and her husband James was born five years previously in Sibsey (also in Lincs, according to Mr Phillimore). They appear to have produced seven children, all girls, between 1834 and 1850, all but the youngest two born in the county. In 1851 I found the family, after an amazingly long & inventive search, in Birkenhead - the other side of the country - where Emily & Elizabeth were born.

Interestingly, Biddy (who was christened thus) appears twice in the census as Bridget; they also named their third daughter Bridget, not Biddy.

By 1861, James & Biddy were back in Spalding, after their Cheshire sojourn, and James is a corn & coal porter. And that's as far as I have found them but I think more delving may take longer than a few minutes to produce results!!

More soon.

Putting the pieces together

Sorry for the gap between entries - I've been continuing with my stray Staden file. And, my word, it is so like a jigsaw puzzle . . . without the picture on the lid. I think I've joined all my Southampton Stadens together (with each other, that is, not with the main file - I should be so lucky) and now I've started on the Derbyshire branch.

With hindsight, I should have written their details on small cards and shuffled them around on the floor; it would probably have been so much easier! My task is not helped by the fact that I don't really know which village belongs in Derbyshire or Cheshire or Staffordshire or Warwickshire, or any of the other surrounding counties. So in that respect I'm sort of working in the dark. I know I could consult my friend Phillimore - his Parish Atlas was a birthday gift a couple of years ago and it's wonderful - but sometimes you get so caught up in what's going on that it's difficult to break a train of thought.

Whatever, as the yoof of today say, I'm doing quite well with the strays and, despite my grumblings, I have made significant progress this week.

So, today's anniversary is the marriage of Isaac Murfitt and Louisa Bates, who tied the knot 141 years ago at Holy Trinity in Ely. Isaac was my 1st cousin three times removed, the son of Isaac and Alice (nee Langford, who was my great-great-aunt), and one of eleven children! Born and brought up in Stretham, I can only assume that he met Louisa (a native of Loddington in Northants) in Ely; certainly she was living in Back Hill at the time of their marriage. He was a tailor who, by 1891, had moved to Fore Hill in Ely, presumably with his own shop - Fore Hill being part of the "commercial centre" of Ely. By 1901 he was also the curator of the Conservative Club.

Isaac & Louisa had three children: Rose, born 1869, who married Fred Reeder in 1894 and moved with him to the Doncaster area; Gertrude, born 1873, who married in the Doncaster area in 1896 . . . . to either James Bailey or John Lister, but I can't decide which! And, finally, Reginald, born 1878, who sadly only lived for three years.

Final sight, as it were, of any of them to date is Louisa, who died in 1915 and is buried in the main City Cemetery in Ely. This cemetery, I discovered, is on Prickwillow Road and lies on a hill (well, it is, for the Fens area!) and, in the pouring rain, it can get awfully wet in there - a few years ago I went a-wandering around there in the aforementioned weather condition and got soaked right up to the knees.

The perils of genealogy that they don't tell you about . . . . !

More soon.

Wanderings.

So, there I was yesterday, wandering around Midsummer Common in Cambridge. Not purely on a whim, you understand, but accompanied by 3,699 other women & girls, all of us taking part in the Race for Life.

It was raining when we started and it threw it down after we finished but the sun came out for the majority of our perambulating. Lots of people to cheer us on and I finished in about 50 minutes, slightly slower (well, alright, a lot slower) than my niece Lucy who upheld family honour by running the whole thing! My other niece Sam took part in Coventry earlier in the year and also ran the race. Honestly, what is it with the younger generation - so full of energy!!! Well done to both of them, Pamela would be proud!

And today . . . . being somewhat uncomfortable after 5km on uneven ground, I moved my focus from stray Culpins to stray Stadens. I think I said earlier in the year that I am determined to link "my" Stadens, who I have traced back to London/Kent, to the Derbyshire branch or the Southampton branch. So I've started on the Southampton lot and hope to be able to report some progress soon.

Onwards, for the moment, to a bit more Staden-contemplation!

More soon.