The Duff Family

Another plea from Australia, this time from Ros:

As with so many others I am delving into my past and have discovered that my mother’s paternal line stems from Alexander Duff snr from Glemsford.

He had a son Alexander who married a Caroline Deacon.

At that time he was part of his father’s Silk Manufacturing business but their relationship seems to have failed after Caroline’s death.

He remarried shortly after and Alexander snr. seems to have changed the business name from “Duff and Son” to Duff and Peacock”.

 I have managed to find a lot of documented information on the son and his children, Alex jnr died in Queensland after emigrating with his daughter Emma and her husband and kids.

This was after what appears to be a history of bankruptcy and petty theft charges with his second wife.

As I said his father appears to have cut him off.

I have also managed to find a lot on the business side of Alexander snr’s life but nothing on his wife, Easther Busby except marriage entries and the baptism entry for their son.

I found Alexander snr with Andrew Peacock in the Spital Square house owned by Duff in 1841 which gave me a rough date of birth and the Foxearth site gave me his death.

I don’t know if they had more than the one child or their parents names and places of birth.

I suppose what I am really hoping is that someone there knows something. I have noticed that you DO get postings from a Jill Duff and I guess I am clutching at any straws that come my way.

Also if anyone would like anything from me I am more than willing to share.

Any contacts via me as usual.

SC

Watkinson - a familiar Glemsford name

I really love getting emails like this that arrived from Australlia earlier this week, and am posting it in its entirety.
Thanks, Andrew.
SC

Hi,
I was just passing through the site as my Dad is visiting Glemsford around now while on holiday but I saw you had a growing list of things for the Watkinson line which we're part of.
Its a little sketchy if this helps, but what we know is:

Enoch Watkinson (mar) Mary Ann Betts - I think Enoch was also from a large family .
4 Children: Arthur, Heber, Flora or Florence & Eliza. I'm told Angel St was where they lived - but that's sketchy.

Arthur had children: Raymond, Auria, David & Martin; Heber died young-ish but without children; Flora is not known ( aside from that she worked as a lady in waiting for the viceroy of India, so unlikely had any children)
and Eliza married Cecil Claude Fenn.

Eliza & Cecil Claude had two children: Nina Mary & Jack (no middle name). They moved to Western Australia early 20th century, although Nina was born 1919 in the UK and was a toddler on the boat (Cecil had previously moved to Australia).

Nina has no children but married Leslie Alfred Hart
Jack married Violet Marjory Jones and had two children - Peter John & Leonie Anne


The interest comes from a line on the blog from Sue Yannakopoulos (http://glemsfordfamilyhistory.blogspot.com/search/label/Watkinson#5742260034904382251) who mentioned her grandmother Florence who went to India around 1919, it might always be a different Florence, but the Florence/Flora from our line went to India at that time. If its a connection, we are descended from Flora's sister Eliza - Flora is a big black hole in the info we have.

It might be nothing but we are interested in any info about the family line for the Watkinsons - Nina is the last living link we have to that family (shes 92) and Jack died a few years back. Peter John & Leonie Anne are 50/60's in age.

You can pass on our details if there is any interest, although we don't have that much info save a photo album and a 92 year old relative with a memory thats fading fast.

Kind Regards

Andrew Fenn
Kalamunda Shire
Western Australia.

So: if anyone has more to offer, please contact me at the usual address: admin@glemsford.org.uk
SC