Oh, Nora, you did make me cry! Thanks for sharing that very touching story. Kind regards, Lynne Nora Kevan <kevanna@tadaust.org.au> wrote: > > > >I hope my contribution is not considered too long. > >I remember my paternal grandmother as a little woman who was a bit absent minded. She would look for her glasses until someone noticed she had tipped them up onto the top of her head. I lived with her and my grandfather and two unmarried aunts from the age of 7 when my mother died until 14 when my father married again >.. She wasn’t a very good cook ,and I was always glad when one of the aunts did the cooking But she was a wonderful organiser. All her children had household chores, even the boys. > >Her name was Sarah Allerton, born 16 Jun 1871 , the youngest of six daughters of James Allerton and Ellen Guy. She was only six months old when her father died. On 31 Mar 1891 She married Richard Edwards b. 23 Jan 1870 at St. Marys, Walton on the Hill. They had nine children between 1891 and 1911. She died 22 Nov 1944. > >Although just a small woman with an elementary school education she was well respected and obeyed by all her family. I always think of her as a woman ahead of her time. When she left school. , she had a position as cashier at Criers a high class grocers in Bootle. She met Richard when he was employed as a delivery van driver with the same firm and married him secretly a few months before her 21 birthday. Her widowed mother was a formidable person so Richard and she went back to their respective homes and did not own up to their marriage for six months. > >She was intelligent and of an independent mind. When women got the vote she made no secret of the fact that she would vote Labour in opposition to her husband who was a staunch Conservative and at different times of her life she was Secretary, Treasurer and President of the local branch of the Women’s Cooperative Movement. In the 1930s she was a Delegate to a couple of International Cooperative Conferences. She was also prominent in local church organisations . > >Having had to help her mother search for bring home and nurse an alcoholic step-father, she made a rule that no alcohol was allowed in her house. Although in later life , when visiting her married daughters she would turn a blind eye to a small amount of beer and a bottle of port for the ladies at Xmas and the New Year. > >Just before she died my aunt wrote telling me of her illness and I got leave from the Waaf to visit her. It was a long cross country journey from a remote airfield in Cornwall to an even more remote village in Denbighshire and no one knew I was coming. When after travelling all night I knocked on the cottage door my aunt was startled to see me She said my grandmother had died 20 minutes ago, (at about the time I had got off the bus) and the last thing she had said was “Nora’s coming” > >I am rather a sceptic about psychic matters but I like to think that her last thought was of me. > >Nora Kevan >

Dear Lynne and Sally. Thank you for your kind words. When we emigrated to Australia we were sponsored by the aunts mentioned in my story. They both got married late in life and both lived to their 90s. , Like me, they both lost their sight in old age. One of them Martha lived to be 93 and almost till the day she died she would write write her memories down for me in Texta crayons. She remembers her mother telling her many details of her life. One was that my grandmother Sarah told her she remembered her mother Ellen Guy walking with her and her five sisters across the fields from Virginia St. Bootle to visit their grandmother Mary Ann Guy nee Wilcock at Lark Hill Lane Mansions where she and her husband were caretaker and gardener. Ellen used to bake a Simmel Cake and the little girls would pick wild flowers along the way to give to their grandmother. This would be in the 1870s as Mary Ann Wilcock died in 1879 and her husband James Guy in 1884. By the way does anyone know what a Simmel cake is? My aunt thought it was a spicy cake with a layer of marzipan on top. Regards, Nora. -----Original Message----- From: Lynne Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 8:41 AM To: eng-liverpool@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ENG-LIV] Liverpool Mothers Oh, Nora, you did make me cry! Thanks for sharing that very touching story. Kind regards, Lynne Nora Kevan <kevanna@tadaust.org.au> wrote: > > > >I hope my contribution is not considered too long. > >I remember my paternal grandmother as a little woman who was a bit absent >minded. She would look for her glasses until someone noticed she had tipped >them up onto the top of her head. I lived with her and my grandfather and >two unmarried aunts from the age of 7 when my mother died until 14 when my >father married again >.. She wasn’t a very good cook ,and I was always glad when one of the aunts >did the cooking But she was a wonderful organiser. All her children had >household chores, even the boys. > >Her name was Sarah Allerton, born 16 Jun 1871 , the youngest of six >daughters of James Allerton and Ellen Guy. She was only six months old when >her father died. On 31 Mar 1891 She married Richard Edwards b. 23 Jan 1870 >at St. Marys, Walton on the Hill. They had nine children between 1891 and >1911. She died 22 Nov 1944. > --- This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. http://www.avast.com

Hello Nora, A Simnel cake is a fruit cake (a bit like a Christmas cake but made for Easter), with a layer of marzipan in the middle. Maria On 31/03/2014 01:40, Nora Kevan wrote: > Dear Lynne and Sally. Thank you for your kind words. > > When we emigrated to Australia we were sponsored by the aunts mentioned > in my story. They both got married late in life and both lived to their > 90s. , Like me, they both lost their sight in old age. One of them Martha > lived to be 93 and almost till the day she died she would write write her > memories down for me in Texta crayons. > She remembers her mother telling her many details of her life. > One was that my grandmother Sarah told her she remembered her mother Ellen > Guy walking with her and her five sisters across the fields from Virginia > St. Bootle to visit their grandmother Mary Ann Guy nee Wilcock at > Lark Hill Lane Mansions where she and her husband were caretaker and > gardener. Ellen used to bake a Simmel Cake and the little girls would pick > wild flowers along the way to give to their grandmother. This would be in > the 1870s as Mary Ann Wilcock died in 1879 and her husband James Guy in > 1884. > > By the way does anyone know what a Simmel cake is? My aunt thought it was a > spicy cake with a layer of marzipan on top. > > Regards, Nora. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Lynne > Sent: Monday, March 31, 2014 8:41 AM > To: eng-liverpool@rootsweb.com > Subject: Re: [ENG-LIV] Liverpool Mothers > > Oh, Nora, you did make me cry! > > Thanks for sharing that very touching story. > > Kind regards, > Lynne > > > Nora Kevan <kevanna@tadaust.org.au> wrote: >> >> >> I hope my contribution is not considered too long. >> >> I remember my paternal grandmother as a little woman who was a bit absent >> minded. She would look for her glasses until someone noticed she had tipped >> them up onto the top of her head. I lived with her and my grandfather and >> two unmarried aunts from the age of 7 when my mother died until 14 when my >> father married again >> .. She wasn’t a very good cook ,and I was always glad when one of the aunts >> did the cooking But she was a wonderful organiser. All her children had >> household chores, even the boys. >> >> Her name was Sarah Allerton, born 16 Jun 1871 , the youngest of six >> daughters of James Allerton and Ellen Guy. She was only six months old when >> her father died. On 31 Mar 1891 She married Richard Edwards b. 23 Jan 1870 >> at St. Marys, Walton on the Hill. They had nine children between 1891 and >> 1911. She died 22 Nov 1944. >> > > --- > This email is free from viruses and malware because avast! Antivirus protection is active. > http://www.avast.com > > > ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ > > Admin Message - List guidelines: > http://freespace.virgin.net/genealogical.collections/AdminMessage.htm > > The list admin can be contacted at > Eng-Liverpool-admin@rootsweb.com > > Buy or sell family research items on the GEN-MAT-UKI mailing list. No fees! > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to ENG-LIVERPOOL-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message