ITIKWIA (I think I know who I am.......)

Last night BBC1 showed the first episode of the new series of WDYTYA (Who Do You Think You Are) and featured Una Stubbs whose grandfather, it turned out, was Ebenezer Howard, the founder of the Garden City movement.  I can now add to that information, and they didn’t mention this in the programme, that I am distantly related to a member of the movement.

Ewart Gladstone Culpin, my second cousin three times removed, was born on 3 December 1877 in Stevenage, Herts, the son of Benjamin, a currier, and Eliza (nee Matthews).  In 1881 the family was in Stevenage and moved to Hitchin by 1891.  Having been schooled at Alleyns School & Hitchin Grammar, Ewart next appears on the 1901 census in Newport, Monmouthshire, aged 23, a journalist/author.  In 1903 he married Nora Driver in Royston, Herts.  Living in Letchworth Garden City in 1909, they had moved to Ilford by 1911 – where they gave their house the name “Letchworth".  After the Great War he founded The Culpin Partnership, an architectural company.  He died on 1 December 1946 in London. 

“Who’s Who” filled in a few more details:  JP, FRIBA; Officier de l'Ordre de la Couronne de la Belgique; Grand Officer of the Crown of Roumania; Commander of Order of the Black Star of Benin; Trustee, Official Czech Refugee Trust Fund.  Work: Sec. Garden City Association 1905; Founded International Garden Cities and Town Planning Association 1907; President Societe Belge pour la reconstruction de la Belgique; Chairman, Standing Conference on London Regional Planning, 1926 -1946.  Labour candidate North Islington, 1924; Alderman, LCC,; Vice-Chm, LCC, 1934-1937; Chairman, 1938-1939; Pres. Incorporated Assoc of Architects and Surveyors, 1930; Pres. TPI, 1937-1938.  Publications: A number of booklets on Housing and Town Planning. 

And, finally, Ewart wrote the following letter which appeared in The Times on 7 August 1908: 

The Town Planning Bill

Sir,

I should be obliged if you would give publicity to the fact that the Garden City Association is prepared to arrange for speakers at meetings and conferences on the subject of town planning during the autumn and winter months.

The entire services of Mr Ebenezer Howard, well known throughout the country as the founder of the premier example of town planning, Letchworth Garden City, have been secured for this purpose and I shall be glad to receive applications from any societies, institutions or individuals interested in the matter.

It is felt that it is urgently necessary to educate the public of the country as to the importance of town planning, and so prepare the way for useful work being undertaken when the present Bill becomes law.

Yours faithfully

Ewart G Culpin

Secretary, Garden City Planning Assocation

602 Birkbeck Bank Chambers, Holborn, WC”

Looking forward to next week’s episode…….

More soon.

Double trouble

So it's Sunday and the washing's on - yes, I'm hoping for that rare thing in this British summer....a day without rain!

And in the meantime I've been going back over some old research which I did for friends a few years ago.  Many more records have come online since I last looked at this family and there should be some rich pickings ahead....hopefully.

As is my wont I went off down a random branch - much liking the idea of "flying a Kite".  Because that was their name (a small joke, sorry) and I also liked the name Gabriel.  And because the action here takes place in Dorset I was imagining a "French Lieutenant's Woman" type scenario.

And I found father and son named Gabriel; Gabriel senior served in the Dorsetshire Regiment in the Great War and died in 1915 at the age of 43.  His son died 30 years later, serving with the Royal Artillery during the Second World War.  

I know it probably happened to a lot of families but it's a first for me so I'm feeling a bit more sober now.

More soon.

It's time to re-unite......

So, exciting news - if you happen to be a descendant of Isaac Langford & Emma Quince.  We're having a Reunion (with a capital R, no less) in September.

I won't bore you with the details lest the paparazzi find us, but please get in touch if you're related to:

• Lilian Brittle, nee Langford, born 1883 in Stretham, married William in Nottingham in 1905 
• Ellen Webster, nee Langford, born 1878 in Stretham, married Ernest in Nottingham in 1900
• Freeman Langford, born 1887 in Chatteris, married Dora in Tameside in 1920

Looking forward to hearing from y'all!

More soon.

Names in a newspaper......

I *should* be editing a book about the boys of the Cambridgeshire High School for Boys who died in the two world wars but I found this note, made a couple of years ago, and felt it was time to publish the names here.

It's extracted from an article in the Cambridge Chronicle and Journal of 4th June 1859, and I've listed the Ely names.....

THE CHORAL FESTIVAL AT ELY

In our last number we stated that we should probably punish the names of those members of the various choirs of the diocese who took part in the musical services at the Choral Festival at Ely last week.  We now redeem our conditional promise by printing the following list:-

ELY CATHEDRAL

Treble: Henry Macrow, Francis Woods, Charles Ling, Thomas Wilson, George Great, Thomas Kempton, Henry Bowles, Charles Levett, Arthur Jackman, William Macrow, William Barnard, Charles Cropley, William Goldsworthy, John Raby, Richard Chappell, James Goodbody, William Henry Hope, George Morgan, Joseph Ling, Charles King, William Levitt.

Alto: Messrs Charles Ling, Jesse Skelding, George Bickley, Albert Markwell.

Tenor: Messrs John Meacham, Richard Cross, G F Jackman, Benjamin Powell, Henry Hazell.

Bass: Messrs Thomas Kempton Snr, Jabez Jackman, Frederick Helmore (master of the choristers), Thomas Kempton Jnr, Owen Yarrow, Lister Jackman.

ELY TRINITY PARISH

Treble: T Atkin, R Atkin, J Bull, F Bull, R Chapman, E Cross, T Fenn, W Layton, T Negus, x Gotobed, x Jervis, R Bonnett, E Cuttriss, H Toombs, x Cooper, x Woodroffe, Emma Askew, Betsy Fisher, Mary Ann Cuttriss, Harriet March, Sarah Ann Dalliday, Mary Cooper, Mary Ann Murray.

Alto: George Legge, Luke Cornwell, Robert Macrow, x Barber.

Tenor: Messrs Richard Toombs, William Toombs, Fyson Toombs, George Porteous, Charles Barratt, Thomas Cropley, Charles Morgan, Albert Lion, John Bull, James Greaves.

Bass: Messrs John Kempton, F Kempton, W Wilkinson, George Houghton, Albert Jackman, John Marsh, John Moore, John Toombs.

Hope it helps someone somewhere.....

More soon. 

The thrill of the chase?

A few weeks ago I treated myself to the full Ancestry subscription and have had much fun wandering digitally (i.e. with my fingers) around the world's records.

So many US databases and their census information!  Canada - I salute you for your various records.  And European stuff too.  I love that, when hunting in a Paris births index, Ancestry warned me that I'd have to search in French and that the results would also be in French!  Can't beat Ancestry for helpfulness.....

And not forgetting Australia - another country with some magnificent online records (I particularly enjoy their newspapers at http://trove.nla.gov.au/.  Their national BMD indexes are very thorough - showing parents' names at almost every opportunity.  So, in about 30 minutes, I'd extracted about 10 times as many names as I could in a similar time on UK records.

But therein lies a bit of a problem for me........ it feels a bit like shooting fish in a barrel.  That is, it's too easy, there's no real challenge in it.  Whisper it very quietly but....I was almost bored.  Perhaps next time I will have to limit myself to one small family........

Apart from that minor snag, I'm loving the freedom to follow my rellies across the Pond or around the world.  So far I've discovered only people who went of their own accord but, hey, who can tell what's going to turn up.  That's the joy of this!

More soon.

Unseen and unknown .....

Thanks to Andrew Martin's blog (http://historyrepeating.org.uk/) I remembered to go to St Ives on Monday to see the "Unseen St Ives" exhibition at the Norris Museum.  And very good it was too; I like the museum and it's always good to have a poke around but the addition of these photos made it even better.

Alas there were no Culpin relatives on show but I was entertained to read the following:

The old police station on Priory Road, c1940

Sandbags are piled up against the front of the police station during wartime.  The police station was built in 1845 and remained in use until 1973 when a new police station was built in Pig Lane.  This was felt to be an "unsuitable address" for the police station so that part of the street was renamed Broad Leas.

I'm still giggling about it.

In the meantime I am also puzzling about a branch of my Webb ancestry: their 1911 census entry indicates four children of the marriage, one alive, three having died.  So very clear.  Except that I have seven-two-five respectively.  Unfortunately there are plenty of people with the same name in that area so my chances of sorting them out online are somewhat slim - I suspect I'll need to see the  parish registers to have any chance of clearing it up!  Hey ho.....

More soon.

So this is spring......?

It's the middle of March; spring, according to the Met Office, and it's trying to snow again......ridiculous!!  So I'm staying in the warm, physically and mentally, furkling around in the Queensland BMDs online.

My maternal first cousin 4 times removed, John Eastwell, removed himself and his family to Australia in 1854.  He was born in Great Gransden, Hunts, in 1816, married Charlotte Warboys in 1839 and, with their four surviving children, they arrived in Oz on board the vessel "General Hewitt", ending up in Queensland. where they begat two further offspring.

And began a line of much begatting.......I've found thirty four grandchildren so far, from the marriages of just three of their children.  One newspaper report, from Australian Newspapers Online (http://trove.nla.gov.au/) talks about the death of one of John & Charlotte's daughters-in-law: She married Mr Joseph Eastwell, a farmer; and at the time of her death she had 11 children living, 50 grandchildren, and 10 great grandchildren, a total of 83 descendants. 

I've got a long list of marriages and deaths to input and I still haven't started on John & Charlotte's daughters!

More soon.