cant answer the question directly but this caught my attention because of a company here in Edinburgh. Croalls had several branches and were 'postmasters' as late as 1881. This doesnt mean they ran a post office of course, but that they were involved in the business of posting - hiring horses between the stages of the journey on the better kept roads ie the main routes. The idea of the 'post' for a mail service comes from this, because this is how the mails were transmitted up and down the country. Croalls were carriage makers as well, and by the late 19th C were running an extensive coach hire business - hiring out hearses etc among other things. They also went into the motor trade, a business that still exists. So I am guessing that the Oxton carriage company had a similar history of vehicle hire leading to a funeral business. Here in Scotland you still see joiner/undertaker businesses - perhaps there is also a connection between making or repairing the structure of carriages and knocking out the odd coffin. Judy ---------- >From: "dot rochard" <[email protected]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: [BKHD-Wirral] Oxton Carriage Co >Date: 08, Wed Dec, 2004, 5:27 pm > > Can anyone give me the name of the owner/ proprietor of the Oxton Carriage > Company - a funeral directors in 1940s > Thanks > Dot > > > ==== BIRKENHEAD Mailing List ==== > Our list Web site with links useful for Wirral genealogy > http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~liverpool/BIRKENHEAD-WIRRAL.html > > ============================== > View and search Historical Newspapers. Read about your ancestors, find > marriage announcements and more. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13969/rd.ashx >