My 3x great grandparents, Andrew Oliver, resident of Choppington, and Margaret Watson, resident of Morpeth, were married 30 May 1840 at Morpeth parish church in Northumberland. Their marriage certificate shows Andrew’s profession as husbandman, but I know that later on he worked and died in the mines. Their fathers are Thomas Oliver and William Watson who are also shown as husbandmen. The certificate shows them both to be “of age” which was not very helpful.
Granda George Crackett – taken in the yard at Church St.
My paternal grandfather George Crackett was born 26 May 1890 at Choppington in Northumberland. George’s parents Leonard Crackett and Mary née Parkinson baptized him in the Primitive Methodist Church on 18th June 1890. In 1915 he married Ellenor Turner of Amble, my grandmother, and they spent the whole of their married lives there. They had three children, my Dad George William, Sydney and Evelyn.
Crackett: Granda George and 3 of his sisters
This second photograph shows Granda George as a young lad with three of his six sisters (Elizabeth, Nellie, Bella, Dorothy Ann, Jane and Mamie). He also had 3 older brothers (Jack, Will and Len). I am guessing he may have been about 10 at the time the picture was taken.
My granda died in 1978 at the age of 88, having outlived granny by a couple of years. He was a keen gardener and man of few words. I remember when I was 11 having to do a little family tree as homework from school. I asked him what his mother’s name was and he answered “Mam”. Fortunately, my granny knew that her mother-in-law had been called Mary so I was not stuck with a complete blank.
I have now concluded that great great grandfather William Cracket died in Choppington, Northumberland in 1880. For more information see my Crackett/Cracket page.
(This is a catch-up post for Wednesday 11 April when I missed my postaday)
I have now begun to develop the Thornton page under My Family. The first Thornton in my pedigree is Margaret Jane Thornton born in 1871 in Choppington, Northumberland. I have traced the family further back to Newburn and Hartburn. Margaret Jane Thornton is my matrilineal great grandmother.
My great great grandfather William Cracket died on 21 March 1880 at Choppington in Northumberland. Cause of death was registered as old age. He was about 70 at the time, but I have no definite date of birth for him, although I am reasonably certain that he was born in Kyloe. It was tricky finding the correct death record as there were several namesakes of a similar age in the same area. William’s death informant was George Douglas, stepson, which is consistent with the 1871 census showing William living with a Mary Douglass after my great great grandmother Elisabeth Cracket (née Tait) died in 1862. I have no evidence that William and Mary ever married.
