EZARD Family Research

[thewideeyedowl]

My EZARD line came originally from the East Riding of Yorkshire. William Ezard, 1812-c1884, was a joiner. FreeReg shows that he was baptised the day he was born (19 April 1812), at St Cuthbert's, Burton Fleming (North Burton). He married Hannah RO(W)LING and they had nine children - five daughters and four sons. I am a direct descendant of the eldest son, Joseph; his life is well documented, so he is not the subject of this post. Information on the others is scanty, but it seems that two of them went to Australia.
The info below is from a photocopy of handwritten notes made from a family bible by a descendant of Mary Jane Ezard, probably several decades ago.

The children of William and Hannah EZARD:
1. Mary Jane Ezard, 1840/1-1881, m Thomas HUME, as his second wife. They had five children three girls, and then twins James and Thomas. James died in infancy, but the line continued through Thomas.
2. Bessy Ezard, 1843- No further info
3. Eliza Ezard, 1846- No further info
4. Emma Ezard, 1848- No further info
5. Joseph Ezard, 1850-1926
6. Annie Ezard, 1852- 'went to Australia'
7. William Ezard, 1855- 'father of Harold, Moss, and Joyce'
8. Arthur Ezard, 1857- 'travelled to Australia. Did not marry.'
9. Herbert Rowling Ezard, 1865- 'builder of cottage-style properties in Manchester. Retired to Bishopham, Blackpool.'

The Ezards were carpenters and joiners, who became builders. An entry in the London Gazette in 1867, shows that William Ezard of Filey went bankrupt in 1867. It looks as if that was the trigger for the family to cross the Pennines. By the 1871 census they are living in Bradford, Lancashire. (This is near Didsbury and now part of Greater Manchester.) At some stage, many (most?) of the family moved to the Wirral peninsula. Joseph, my great-grandfather,was a Master Builder and built many of the big houses in Hoylake and West Kirby.

In 1882 there was a second Ezard bankruptcy, involving a William and his co-partner Arthur, who traded as W & A Ezard. I had, perhaps wrongly, assumed that this was father William and his son Arthur; but perhaps it was the brothers William and Arthur? I just do not know. But might this have been the trigger for Arthur, who would then have been about 25, to travel to Australia?

At some stage, the Ezards became Wesleyan Methodists, which is probably why I have not been able to find them in FreeReg. (I do not have access to any Non-Conformist records.)

Several years ago there was an earlier thread involving Ezards from Filey. It centred on a George and Albert Ezard, who had emigrated to the USA. It seems to have been abandoned, but can be viewed here: https://www.british-genealogy.com/for...ighlight=Ezard

I do not have a George or an Albert anywhere in my line, but perhaps they were in some way related to a brother of father William above? Anyway, it seems sense to tidy all this up into a single thread.

A pre-Thank You for your help! As this is BritGen, I know we will get somewhere .

Swooping off...

Wideeyed Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Further research and some recently-unearthed snaps from the 1950s enable more info to be pieced together about the family of my Great-great Uncle William, who was a carpenter and joiner, like so many of his family.

He married Dinah HAYHURST, in about 1880, and they had three children:
Arthur Hayhurst Ezard b1881
Ethel Anne Ezard b1884
Harold Ezard b1887

William died aged 50 in 1905.

His son Arthur Hayhurst Ezard was a driver in the Army Service Corps during WW1.

I have small snaps of a son and a grandson of Arthur Hayhurst Ezard.

If anyone has or needs further info, please pm me. (Forum AUP precludes the naming of living/potentially living people.)

Thank you

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

On reviewing my (not always decipherable !) handwritten notes, I realised that I had made a slip with names.

The daughter of William and Dinah Ezard was called Edith Anne Ezard. She was born in Hoylake on 1 December 1882. She married Joseph Edge FARRELL in 1907 and they had a son, Eric. Joseph died in 1917 and Edith in 1918. (I have sources for each of those events.)

It looks as if Edith might have had a twin sister 'Hannah Louisa Ezard', whose birth is recorded immediately below hers in the GRO entry. Sadly, this little girl died at the age of four in the early months of 1887.

The Ethel Ezard in the above post was the daughter of a George Ezard. Born in 1886, she too wed in 1907. Her husband was William Goodwin. At some stage Ethel and family went to Australia and seem to have made a new life there. She died in Australia aged 96 years in 1982. I am not researching that (George/Ethel) line further, but I do know that there are Ezards in Australia and that there is a restaurant called 'Ezards' in Melbourne(??). Perhaps they're descended through the George line, if one of his sons also went to Oz? If that is the case, they are only distant cousins of 'my' Ezards.

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Dinah was born in Lancashire on 17 January 1860, the daughter of Oliver and Anne HAYHURST. Her father was an engineer. In 1880, she married William Ezard (see above). William died aged 50, in 1905, and Dinah just two years later, aged 47. The three (surviving) children of the marriage were Arthur Hayhurst, Edith Anne, and Harold. She was buried at Hoose, Cheshire, on 29 May 1907. (I have references for all of these events.)

It looks as if descendants of the older son still live in the Wirral.

I am adding these notes, as and when, for anyone who might find them useful if researching 'Ezard'.

Hope it might one day help someone out there.

Owl

[thewideeyedowl]

Though the info on this man is scant, I have been able to piece together a little of his life. Like so many male Ezards, he was a carpenter and joiner. It looks as if he went into partnership with his older brother William Ezard 1855-1905 (see # ) but their carpentry and joinery business was unsuccessful and the brothers went bankrupt in 1882.

In early1882 he had married - his wife was either Charlotte Mason or Ellen Coy and in 9th November their daughter Hannah Louisa was born. (She was not Edith's twin, as speculated in #3). The little girl died aged four in 1887, possibly from a childhood illness; I have noted that of the ten deaths on that GRO page, seven are for children of four or under, so perhaps an epidemic (measles, diphtheria, scarlet fever, whooping cough???) swept through the area.

I cannot find Arthur in 1891, 1901, or 1911 censuses, nor can I find any evidence that he did 'travel to Australia'. He was certainly in England in 1919 (dated photo found) and he was one of the mourners at the funeral of his sister-in-law Jane Elizabeth Ezard in May 1925 (newspaper report).

The death of 'Arthur Ezard, aged 78, Wirral, 1935' fits with his known birth date and the place he lived. But it does not prove that it is him!

If anyone has any further info, please post here. The intention, now, is that this thread becomes a useful starting point for anyone researching the Ezard family that originated in Filey. Thanks.

Owl

[fromwirral]

Dear Owl

I am a direct descendant of Arthur Hayhurst Ezard and can fill in more, and would like to learn more. I also have a cousin who has done quite a lot of research and will ask him if he would like to post it. More soon....

fromwirral

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi 'From Wirral' and a very warm welcome to Brit Gen - and most particularly from me, another direct descendant of William Ezard 1812-1886.

Is your post a breakthrough I have been waiting for? I have only names of/from some of the line from Arthur Hayhurst EZARD and also two family snaps from the 1950s, which were recently passed to me. The snaps were taken by a descendant of Mary Jane EZARD 1840/41-1881. I have had to do a lot of guessing, I am afraid, but have discovered the lighting shop in West Kirby that bears the Ezard name.

Plus, West Kirby Museum has shown great interest in the Ezard family for two reasons: i) they are researching builders in the area and ii) collating as much info as possible about the WK men who served in WW1. My line ticks both boxes, and I think yours would too.

Owl

[almach]

I cannot find Arthur in 1891, 1901, or 1911 censuses, nor can I find any evidence that he did 'travel to Australia'. He was certainly in England in 1919 (dated photo found)

Could this be your chap, Owl?

Courtesy of Ancestry's 'UK, Incoming Passenger Lists, 1878-1960'

Name: Arthur Izard
Birth Date: abt 1858
Age: 61
Port of Departure: Barcelona, Spain
Arrival Date: 19 Apr 1919
Port of Arrival: London, England
Ship Name: Artilla
Last country of residence Australia.

[thewideeyedowl]

Hi Almach

Thank you for finding this Arthur for me. I won't rule him out altogether, because vowel sounds are so fluid. However, there are two distinct names - EZARD, strong in the East Riding of Yorkshire, and IZARD/ISARD, which are strong in the South East of England (Sussex and Kent in particular).

I am currently researching the origins of EZARD pronounced Ee-zard, as one of the preliminaries to - hopefully(!) - undertaking a One-Name Study into the name. Everything points to origins on the north western seaboard of Holland/Germany/Denmark (very approximately the area known as Friesland). The name could thus have been brought to Yorkshire by Anglo-Saxon settlers. I need to look into this more deeply, of course, but there are several pointers and I can provide refs if needed.

ISARD/IZARD, however, is a name that is probably of French origin - the Pyreeanean region has been mentioned. ISARD is pronounced Is-ard, and IZARD is pronounced I-zard. There is an ISARD One-Name Study, which can be checked here: https://www.jimmys.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/. There is lots of useful info on this site, and it also brings in some other names too. The owner and I are in contact because some aspects of research will overlap, and we may well meet a few centuries ago.

So, as ever with these researches, just because a name looks right does not mean that it is right. Certainly makes for fun-researching!

Owl

[almach]

Hi Owl,

There is this for you to ponder over, original lists him as a carpenter.

Courtesy of Ancestry: Arthur Ezard in the Australia, Electoral Rolls, 1903-1980

Name: Arthur Ezard
Gender: Male
Electoral Year: 1908
Subdistrict: Cairns
State: Queensland
District: Herbert
Country: Australia