Hi I wonder if anyone can help me I have a WILLIAM MOODY D.O.B. ABT 1820 EBCHESTER married to MARY ANN D.O.B ABT 1840 EBCHESTER I would like to find out when they got married thier first child was JOSEPH D.O.B. ABT 1863 NEWLAND I am also trying to out who WILLIAM parents were. Hoping that some one will be able to give me some information. Thank you Jan

There is a baptism of William Moody in Ebchester St. Ebba 2 Jan 1818 s/o John and Jane Moody. There is a marriage registered of William Moody and Mary Ann McGurk 1862 Dec ¼ Durham 10a 446 Janis

Hi Pat I am not sure if your question has been answered but if not try http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ Enter co-ordinates Grid Ref: 426507,564307 That I think is the place you are looking for, using Geoffs description, perhaps you could confirm?. Best wishes Nivard Ovington, in Cornwall (UK) > After saying how much the O/S maps have helped I am stuck. I am looking > for > Ballast Hills near Newcastle upon Tyne, while looking for somewhere else I > have spotted this twice, now of course when I really want to find Ballast > Hills it has gone into hiding! Can anyone give me the map coordinates > please, > so I can look again on the old maps website <snip> > East of the Ouseburn one is in Byker, so I suppose the Ballast Hills > were also part of Byker. It may not be marked as "Ballast Hills" on some > maps, > especially not on modern ones, but the Godfrey maps, which have been > mentioned, will probably do so, as they are based on the OS 2nd edition > of the 1890s, > not all that long after the end of the "ballast-dumping" period. > > Geoff Nicholson

Hello again, After saying how much the O/S maps have helped I am stuck. I am looking for Ballast Hills near Newcastle upon Tyne, while looking for somewhere else I have spotted this twice, now of course when I really want to find Ballast Hills it has gone into hiding! Can anyone give me the map coordinates please, so I can look again on the old maps website Thanks Pat

In a message dated 03/03/2007 22:29:27 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: After saying how much the O/S maps have helped I am stuck. I am looking for Ballast Hills near Newcastle upon Tyne, while looking for somewhere else I have spotted this twice, now of course when I really want to find Ballast Hills it has gone into hiding! Can anyone give me the map coordinates please, so I can look again on the old maps website Pat: There were several Ballast Hills - ie places where colliers returning "empty" for another load of coal would dump their ballast, both on the Tyne and on the Wear. The main one on Tyneside, both as an address and, because of its use as a nonconformist burial ground, making it a place family historians should have heard of, was on the east side of the lower Ouseburn valley, about a mile east of the centre of Newcastle and only about 1/4 mile or thereabouts north of the confluence of the Ouseburn and the Tyne. I don't know the National Grid co-ordinates, nor the latitude and longtitude, but the lower Ouseburn should stand out on any local map. Another way of looking at it is to say it is about half-way between Byker (railway) bridge and the Tyne. A more specific location would be to say it is between the old Domestos factory and the Ouseburn Schools. East of the Ouseburn one is in Byker, so I suppose the Ballast Hills were also part of Byker. It may not be marked as "Ballast Hills" on some maps, especially not on modern ones, but the Godfrey maps, which have been mentioned, will probably do so, as they are based on the OS 2nd edition of the 1890s, not all that long after the end of the "ballast-dumping" period. Geoff Nicholson

In a message dated 03/03/2007 19:38:10 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Thanks for your description of some of the highlights of Northumberland and Co Durham. I certainly hope to visit someday, but in the meantime, are there some good general histories, local authors, historical novels, even movies which pertain to are set in the area that you can recommend? Mike: Your request is so wide that I cannot be specific. There are a vast number of books on all aspects of the NE of England. However, if you Google for the Northumbria Tourist Board (it may be Northumberland Tourist Board) you may find their videos of the region for sale, as well as books recommended. You could also try Amazon. I am always reluctant to recommend works of fiction as no matter how well they give the background, they are always selective as to what fits their plot - and sometimes the author has another agenda anyway. Several major movies have been based in the NE. Well-known ones over the past few years have included one about Queen Elizabeth I (I happened to run into them shooting it near Alnwick Abbey when out walking in Hulne Park about ten years ago): other scenes were shot on the coast and in Durham Cathedral, which was supposed to be a Royal Palace. Alnwick Castle was used for one of the Harry Potter series. The best-known local novelist these days is probably still the late Catherine Cookson. Some of her books are set in "anonymous" places in the countryside but some are definitely set in industrial Tyneside - Newcastle or South Shields being favourites. Many of those are partly autobiographical in that they deal with a girl, born into unpromising circumstances, who somehow managed s to "make good". I have seen videos of them for sale and some of them were shown on TV a few years ago. There might be a few general books on local history available from the NDFHS (see _www.ndfhs.org.uk_ (http://www.ndfhs.org.uk) ), though most of what they have are really monographs on particular towns or villages or on specific industries etc. Geoff Nicholson

In a message dated 03/03/2007 22:30:16 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I am looking for Ballast Hills near Newcastle upon Tyne, _________________________________________________________ It is to the East of where the Ouse Burn enters the Tyne. If you put Byker Bank into http://www.streetmap.co.uk/ you will get a map of the area. You can also see old maps of the area using http://www.tomorrows-history.com/ The nearest church seems to have been St. Anne's Chapel. Regards Stan Mapstone

Hello, Elizabeth ROBINSON nee JOHNSON is mentioned in the census 1851 West Tanfield, H.O.107-2281, 552 p4, household 20. I can't decipher the place of birth. Can any one help? Thank you from Andrew in Australia

Geoff or anyone, Thanks for your description of some of the highlights of Northumberland and Co Durham. I certainly hope to visit someday, but in the meantime, are there some good general histories, local authors, historical novels, even movies which pertain to are set in the area that you can recommend? Thanks, Mike [email protected] wrote: In a message dated 26/02/2007 13:34:14 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I can see I need to find a map of the area !! That is absoutely essential to ALL who are researching familes from NE England! Although Northumberland and Co Durham together occupy an area which is small by Australian and by US standards (Berwick to Darlington is about 90/100 miles), there are lots of different geographical types within it, from the industrial conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside to the Pennine Dales, Cheviot Hills and Keilder forest of the west and from the beautiful north Northumbrian coast (Holy Island, The Farne Islands, etc), to the rapidly-recovering former industrialised coast of much of Co Durham, the whole linked by pleasant, sometimes lush, agricultural land. Newcastle is the "regional capital", and has been so for centuries, being boosted by its strategic position for the export of coal from much of the (now closed and with its remains largely removed) coalfield, and as the centre of shipbuilding and other heavy engineering industries, but other towns are also important - Sunderland, for instance, in many ways a "mini Newcastle-on-Wear", and Durham City, with its magnificent Cathedral, enhanced by its wonderful setting above the river. The villages each have their own character. Take Bellingham and Billingham, for instance. Bellingham is still very rural, in the middle of North Tynedale. At one time on the edge of "Border Reiving Country", tourists probably know it best these days as a place to pass through when on the way to Keilder Water. Bellingham is a close-set place, full of ancient (or ancient-looking) local stone cottages, its brief flirtation with the iron industry now long gone and almost forgotten. Billingham, on the other hand is now absorbed into the built-up area of Tees-side, something hastened when the chemical industry (ICI) came there in the early/mid 20th century. Now that the vast single-firm empire of ICI has been split up into smaller pieces and the whole industry has widened its scope in several different ways, perhaps I may be forgiven for saying that I think the economy of Billingham is now healthier than formerly. But there again, I'm a Tynesider and while I am reasonably fmailiar with Bellingham, Billingham is still rather "down south" to me! The best, and easiest to find, of the old maps are the modern "Godfrey editions", being the 25" 2nd edition Ordnance Survey maps reduced to roughly 15" to a mile. Godfrey also publishes some 1st ediiton 1" maps, each of which covers a larger district then the main series, but you would still need a dozen or so to cover Northumberland and Co Durham. Local Libraries and County Record Offices will probably be happy to sell you A5 photocopies of original OS maps of their districts, but you would need to think carefully about which scal you wanted and where you wanted the map to be centred upon. I recommend a general modern map of the whole NE region, plus a 6" map centred upon any particular town or village (Bellingham/Billingham/Durham City) which interests you. If you are interested in any particular Northumberland village try Googling for the award-wiinning "Northumberland Communities" web site. It covers most Northumberland villages, including Bellingham, and for each one there are sections on Maps, Plans, MSS, Printed Material, Photographs, etc, giving you half a dozen or so images for each category. As a last parting shot to anyone who does not think of the NE of England as a beautiful place, consider this. What other region has a National Park (the Northumberland National Park) with a National Forest Park (Keilder) within it and with the largest man-made lake in Europe (Keilder Water) within that? We also have two World Heritage Sites (Hadrian's Wall, itself the largest Ancient monument in Britain, and the Peninsula in Durham City, covering the area around Palace Green, with the Cathedral and the Castle), a World Wildlife Heritage site (I may have got the title wrong for that one) covering the coast around Holy Island, Budle Bay and The Farnes) and two "Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty" (The North Pennines and the Northumberland Coast). They are only the officially recognised places - anyone who lives here will tell you there are as many other sites which are just as good as, if not better than, those! All these points affected the lives of our ancestors, so it is essential we do our best to understand them if we are ever to understand our ancestors, and thus become true Family Historians and not just genealogists. Geoff Nicholson ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message --------------------------------- Everyone is raving about the all-new Yahoo! Mail beta. --------------------------------- No need to miss a message. Get email on-the-go with Yahoo! Mail for Mobile. Get started.

Hello there, I couldn't agree more with Geoff with regard to maps. With the help of Geoff and Stan I managed to find two places of interest connected with my Mother's ancestors and for the past two weeks have been tracing movements of earlier Gateshead and Darlington ancestors with the help of O/S maps. In doing so I have also learnt some social history, including housing conditions availability of work and why my Grandfather Brown uprooted his family from Gateshead to Darlington. He was a worker in the railway workshops in Gateshead these relocated to Darlington, he followed the work. quite simple really. It certainly adds flesh to the bones and helps to tell our ancestor story rather than just the life events. Happy hunting Pat

Hi I wonder if anyone could help me I have a BENJAMIN MOODY D.O.B. ABT 1869 in MEDOMSLEY married to BARBARA on the 18 FEB1888 in GATESHEAD I can find them on the 1891 census with children ROBERT W D.O.B. ABT 1889 ELIZABETH M D.O.B. ABT 1890 but I cannot find them anywhere on the 1901 census. Any help to find them will be much appreciated. Jan

Jan, On Census 1901 at page 4667-72-63. Still in Medomsley (Ancestry has them on index as MADDY) Michael Dixon

In a message dated 26/02/2007 13:34:14 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I can see I need to find a map of the area !! That is absoutely essential to ALL who are researching familes from NE England! Although Northumberland and Co Durham together occupy an area which is small by Australian and by US standards (Berwick to Darlington is about 90/100 miles), there are lots of different geographical types within it, from the industrial conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside to the Pennine Dales, Cheviot Hills and Keilder forest of the west and from the beautiful north Northumbrian coast (Holy Island, The Farne Islands, etc), to the rapidly-recovering former industrialised coast of much of Co Durham, the whole linked by pleasant, sometimes lush, agricultural land. Newcastle is the "regional capital", and has been so for centuries, being boosted by its strategic position for the export of coal from much of the (now closed and with its remains largely removed) coalfield, and as the centre of shipbuilding and other heavy engineering industries, but other towns are also important - Sunderland, for instance, in many ways a "mini Newcastle-on-Wear", and Durham City, with its magnificent Cathedral, enhanced by its wonderful setting above the river. The villages each have their own character. Take Bellingham and Billingham, for instance. Bellingham is still very rural, in the middle of North Tynedale. At one time on the edge of "Border Reiving Country", tourists probably know it best these days as a place to pass through when on the way to Keilder Water. Bellingham is a close-set place, full of ancient (or ancient-looking) local stone cottages, its brief flirtation with the iron industry now long gone and almost forgotten. Billingham, on the other hand is now absorbed into the built-up area of Tees-side, something hastened when the chemical industry (ICI) came there in the early/mid 20th century. Now that the vast single-firm empire of ICI has been split up into smaller pieces and the whole industry has widened its scope in several different ways, perhaps I may be forgiven for saying that I think the economy of Billingham is now healthier than formerly. But there again, I'm a Tynesider and while I am reasonably fmailiar with Bellingham, Billingham is still rather "down south" to me! The best, and easiest to find, of the old maps are the modern "Godfrey editions", being the 25" 2nd edition Ordnance Survey maps reduced to roughly 15" to a mile. Godfrey also publishes some 1st ediiton 1" maps, each of which covers a larger district then the main series, but you would still need a dozen or so to cover Northumberland and Co Durham. Local Libraries and County Record Offices will probably be happy to sell you A5 photocopies of original OS maps of their districts, but you would need to think carefully about which scal you wanted and where you wanted the map to be centred upon. I recommend a general modern map of the whole NE region, plus a 6" map centred upon any particular town or village (Bellingham/Billingham/Durham City) which interests you. If you are interested in any particular Northumberland village try Googling for the award-wiinning "Northumberland Communities" web site. It covers most Northumberland villages, including Bellingham, and for each one there are sections on Maps, Plans, MSS, Printed Material, Photographs, etc, giving you half a dozen or so images for each category. As a last parting shot to anyone who does not think of the NE of England as a beautiful place, consider this. What other region has a National Park (the Northumberland National Park) with a National Forest Park (Keilder) within it and with the largest man-made lake in Europe (Keilder Water) within that? We also have two World Heritage Sites (Hadrian's Wall, itself the largest Ancient monument in Britain, and the Peninsula in Durham City, covering the area around Palace Green, with the Cathedral and the Castle), a World Wildlife Heritage site (I may have got the title wrong for that one) covering the coast around Holy Island, Budle Bay and The Farnes) and two "Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty" (The North Pennines and the Northumberland Coast). They are only the officially recognised places - anyone who lives here will tell you there are as many other sites which are just as good as, if not better than, those! All these points affected the lives of our ancestors, so it is essential we do our best to understand them if we are ever to understand our ancestors, and thus become true Family Historians and not just genealogists. Geoff Nicholson

In a message dated 25/02/2007 16:01:40 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Esther is shown as b Northumberland (Billingham) Billingham is in Co Durham. When Northumberland is mentioned it is usually Bellingham that is intended. Billingham, Co Durham, has a hard "g", whereas Bellingham, Northumberland, has a soft "g" ("Bellin-jam"). From past experience I usually associate the surname Pounder with SE Co Durham, especially with the Hartlepool district in general. Billingham seems to fit well enough with that, but if it really is Northumberland that is specified then Edward, from SE Co Durham must have somehow met up with Esther from Bellingham - perhaps on Tyneside or perhaps in Durham City. Geoff Nicholson

Hello there, Does anyone have access to the Parish Records for St Johns Parish Newcastle on Tyne. I am trying to confirm I have found my great great grandparents. William and Margaret BROWN to properly confirm this I would like a check made of the Parish Records for their marriage on the 14th November 1830, it would help if it showed William's occupation as Mariner! Now I know I could get the records on film from LDS we have this thing " the tyranny of distance" here in Australia!!;) Any help appreciated Pat

Hi Folks Looking for info on Edward and Esther Pounder shown in the 1891 census for Durham .. 2 children William E age 6 and Mary I or J age 4 . both ch b Durham city as was Edward. Esther is shown as b Northumberland (Billingham) also listed as a visitor was an Isabella Wilkinson Northumberland. William Edward joined the RN in 1904 and was married in Halifax NS to Gladys Horne in 1912 . I believe Mary moved to the States. Any help with this family would be appreciated. Thanks. Pat ---- Canada

In a message dated 25/02/2007 10:38:53 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Does anyone have access to the Parish Records for St Johns Parish Newcastle on Tyne. I am trying to confirm I have found my great great grandparents. William and Margaret BROWN to properly confirm this I would like a check made of the Parish Records for their marriage on the 14th November 1830, it would help if it showed William's occupation as Mariner! According to my own database there was a marriage at Newcastle St John in 1830 between a William Brown and a Margaret Clark. I do not have any more details. However, I have to say that before the introduction of civil registration in 1837 the forms used to record marriages were of the type introduced in 1754, and they do not (normally) mention occupations. They do not normally mention the names of parents, either. Your best bet would be if this wedding was one of the less than 10% which were conducted by Licence, instead of, as was more usual, after the calling of Banns. In that case you would be able to check the marriage Bond which had to be entered into before a Licence to marry could be granted, and that should give occupations (but still not parents unless one of the parties was under 21). Geoff Nicholson

Hiya I am searching for ancestors or descendants of my 3rd Great Grandfather Anthony CROSBY born in Norton Durham in 1805. He married Dorothy Carter and they had 5 children: Eleanor b 1832 John Anthony b 1834 George Crowe b 1836 Anthony b 1838 Dorothy Carter b 1846 Anthony my 2nd Great Grandfather married Susannah Rose STENNING in Betchworth Surrey in 1867. I am interested in both tracing the CROSBY's back but would alos like to trace the family forward too. Regards Kenny

In a message dated 23/02/2007 06:36:42 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: I have an ancestor on the 1851 census who says he was born in Cornwell or Canwell,Gateshead,Durham. The writing on the image is a bit feint and I cannot find anything like that name on the map and I am hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction. Ann: The only obvious C-----well place name within Gateshead is Coldwell Lane, leading from Felling Square to Windy Nook, in the eastern suburbs of Gateshead. A few miles west are Chopwell (in Gateshead since 1974) and Croniwell (an old name applying to a district near Hamsterley Colliery in the Derwent valley). To the east, there is a Caldwell in South Shields (Westoe). However, I would guess that Coldwell Lane is the district you should be looking at. Geoff Nicholson

I have an ancestor on the 1851 census who says he was born in Cornwell or Canwell,Gateshead,Durham. The writing on the image is a bit feint and I cannot find anything like that name on the map and I am hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction. Many thanks Ann