Carolyn: While I don't want to intrude in what you seem to be making a private conversation, you have put it onto an "open" List for all to see, so here goes with my one brief comment. There is not, and never has been, such a title as "Mayor of Tyneside". Perhaps he was Mayor of some town which forms part of the general Tyneside conurbation, such as Tynemouth or Wallsend, but not of "Tyneside". I note that William Richardson's "History of the Parish of Wallsend", first published in 1923, mentions a Michael Dodd who was elected to the first Northumberland County Council in 1889 as one of three Councillors for a group of Wards in the Wallsend district. After a re-arrangement of Ward boundaries he was re-elected without opposition in 1895, for Howden and Willington Quay. He was made an Alderman on 14 March 1895, and as such did not need to stand for re-election again. It is possible this Michael Dodd was related to your Dodd family. However, as both Dodd and Dodds are very common local surnames that by no means has to follow and perhaps they are totally unrelated. On the other hand, an active interest in politics does tend to run in families to this day (even among supporters of parties opposed to the hereditary system!) so he could also be a, possibly more distant, relative. A County Alderman is not a Mayor but he undoubtedly would have been a big fish in a moderately-sized pond! Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: Carolyn Skelton via <northumbria@rootsweb.com> To: Gwyneth Watson User <cannycot@gmail.com>; northumbria <northumbria@rootsweb.com> Sent: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 19:53 Subject: Re: [NMB] Edwin DODDS Hi Gwyneth. Edwin Dodds was a very interesting person. I came across his name and information about him when researching my great great grandfather George Dodds (was mayor of Tyneside in his last years). For some reason I decided george and Edwin were probably related, but I can't remember why. I'd be interested to hear about what you learn about Edwin and his family history. Regards, Carolyn .. Please quote the minimum necessary to put your reply on context. Please introduce yourself at the top of every post. The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NORTHUMBRIA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message