Westwood, Whatmough,

[elsiecrombie]

I was named after my paternal grandmother Elsie May Westwood and never knew anything about her except she came from Cannock Chase and moved to Lancashire. She died in before I was born.

I always hated my christian name until I started researching my ancestry. I started last July and was researching my paternal side. I spent a lot of money joining different ancestry clubs, purchasing Census records.

I was able to go back to 1815 and found my 5 x great grandfather lived in Heywood at 7 Green Lane which is just around the corner from where I work. I have seen the house.

I then started on my paternal mothers side and obtained the marriage certificate of my grandparents off my uncle. I found that my great grandfather was called Robert Westwood. So I started looking for all the Robert Westwoods from Cannock Chase. I found one on the 1901 census who had my grandmother on born in 1896 and named the other siblings. So I put out a link asking did anyone have any information.

I then looked into the area from where she came from and found the different heritage societies you can join. In November 2004 I was given a link to someone also looking for the same information of great grandfather. I contacted this person and found out our grandmothers were sisters. Since this happened I have met my new cousin twice, talk every day on the phone, have learned all about the family, area where my grandmother came from. I have reunited my grandmothers family after she left in 1916 she never went back so for me to go back to Cannock Chase and meet her sisters Grand-daughter is so special.

I have now with help from other people and my cousin, linked up with other ancestors siblings and have now got an extended family who are becoming close friends. I am now proud of my name. I have been able to found out all about my great grandparents families as well and can go back to the early 18th century.

I now drive through heywood and know all the different streets that my ancestors lived on. I have found my great grandmothers grave in heywood cemetery and discovered that there is also buried in the grave my aunt who i was named after, my great great grandmother Sarah Ashworth, two little boys and my great great aunt. I now go every week to the grave. I also discovered my maternal grandmothers grave and in this is my maternal great grandmother and grandfather. Once again through research I know about the family and who the ancestors are.

I encourage anyone to get involved in looking for your heritage. It gives a great sense of achievement when succeeding in contacting your ancestors siblings relatives. Over the past few days I have had responses to links I put out and now can link them with my ancestors.

For us to share the information we have is great. I can pass information onto them and vice versa. What was once a link is now a friend and family member. I am hoping this year to visit each link that I have made and return to Cannock Chase and look for the graves of my ancestors.

What was once just a name for me has turned out to be being able to learn all about my ancestors and given me a proud heritage. Anyone linking in with my ancestors names please contact me.

[Clive Blackaby]

Elsie,

Maybe I'm being dense, but I can't find the "Whatmough" connection in your posting.
I only ask since I have a friend with the same surname, which is unusual enough to indicate there may be a connection.

Clive

[elsiecrombie]

hi clive, elsie may westwood who came from burntwood married my grandfather harry whatmough. she came to heywood in lancashire in 1917 and got married and never went back. this is where the whatmough connection comes in to the westwoods.
the whatmoughs lived in heywood and areas for a few hundred years what i can find out. i have gone back to 1815 to my great x 4 grandfather called john whatmough he married sarah chadwick. i have the census disks for 1841 to 1901 for lancashire but just haven't had time to explore them to see if i can find john with parents.
i started finding him in 1871 but need to go back further with the discs.
i am a member of ancestry and found a lot of information from there and LDS.
i went back to burntwood in november in my grandmothers memory after contacting her family.
i also have a link i am looking for with a joseph whatmough who was a baptist preacher in london in 1901. he was born in 1852 and came from whitworth. a lady in the usa is looking for links for her husband.
i hope this information has helped.
if anyone wants to e mail me at my e mail address please do.

[Colin Moretti]

Hello

I'm interested in the WHATMOUGHs in London.

I have John Whatmough, born Rochdale in about 1819. He married Mary London LONG in Islington on 26 September 1842; Mary was born about 1820 in Newcastle. They had 2 children before they separated at some time between 1851 and 1857 and he set up with his "housekeeper", Elizabeth TARRY, born 1832, Hillesdon, Buckinghamshire. They had 5 children, one of whom was my g grandmother.

John was involved in various posts in the straw hat business, as were both Mary and Elizabeth. Indeed Mary set up business in her own right after separating from John and Elizabeth continued the business after John died in 1868.

There were lots of Whatmoughs in Rochdale, I have discovered, but I have not yet investigated that area.

Any links anyone?

Colin

[elsiecrombie]

hi if you want to e mail me we can talk about the whatmough and show you the links i have.

[wrafiq]

This is in regard to the Joseph Whatmough mentioned in elsiecrombie's post as being a Baptist Preacher in London in 1901. The date should be 1891. Both Joseph Whatmough and his wife, Sarah Ankritt Williams died shortly after the 1891 census, leaving several children, the younger ones being sent to an orphanage. I now believe that Joseph Whatmough's father was Charles Whatmough and his mother Sarah Jackson. Contact me if you want details.

[elsiecrombie]

hi wanda, sorry got my details a little wrong. should have put 1891 not 1901. my fault.