Hi
I was speaking to an old friend on Saturday night about family history etc, and he asked if I could find out anything on his family as he never knew his grandparents. All I had to go on was his Dad's death, so yesterday after I came back from the Bracknell FH fair I made a start.
I found his Dad's death (2000) which lead to his birth (1917) which showed mothers maiden name. I found his grandparents marriage in 1916, which of course led me straight to the 1901 census, which showed his g-grandfather (Arthur Ashall) being born in America.
Now heres a weird thing, his g-g-grandfather married in 1864 in Sheffield, then went to America, must have been 1864/65 time, as their first child Matilda was born in 1866 in Black Rock, Nevada. The other children were born as follows -
Arthur (his g-granddad) b1867, Black Rock, Nevada
Matthew b1869 Toledo, Ohio
Hannah b1872 Buffalo, New York
Charlotte b1874, Providence, Rhode Island, New York
Hugh b1877, Sabrina b1880 and Louisa b1881 were all born in Wharncliffe Side, Sheffield, Yorkshire.
In the 1881 census, the family are all living in Bradfield, Sheffield.
RG11/4619 folio 61 page 7
Now what would make a File Cutter in the 1860's, move from Sheffield, right across the USA, to the blistering heat of the Nevada desert? Then make their way back home again?
I have been googling all afternoon, and seen they had silver mines in Black Rock at that time, also they were building the railway and blasting through a mountain then, although they seemed to be using just Chinese people for labouring.
What an adventure! I have had visions of 'How the West was Won' with them all in a long wagon train, and shouts of 'Injuns'. It must have been a very dangerous journey, the sea crossing alone, then the journey across America.
1864 to 1874 was still quite early on in the cowboy days wasn't it. Also is 3 years about the right timescale for such an epic trip?
I don't know what port they sailed from.. probably Liverpool, via Ireland? I don't know where they entered America... again probably New York, I have searched the Ellis Island site but 1864/66 is too early for their records.
It just seems so strange that they came back to England... how did they afford it, with an extra 5 passages to pay for, maybe he did go for the mines, and found some silver?
Do you think that as maybe he was a metalworker, he may have mined the silver in Black Rock? I know Sheffield had huge metalworks factories in the 1860's.
My friend is over the moon with all this info. He text me saying 'Howdy ma'am' and told me he now needs to buy a stetson!
If anyone reading this has the full Ancestry sub, as I only have the UK one, could they do a search on Matthew and Emma Ashall please, as I would love to find a trace of them in America.
Sandra
I was speaking to an old friend on Saturday night about family history etc, and he asked if I could find out anything on his family as he never knew his grandparents. All I had to go on was his Dad's death, so yesterday after I came back from the Bracknell FH fair I made a start.
I found his Dad's death (2000) which lead to his birth (1917) which showed mothers maiden name. I found his grandparents marriage in 1916, which of course led me straight to the 1901 census, which showed his g-grandfather (Arthur Ashall) being born in America.
Now heres a weird thing, his g-g-grandfather married in 1864 in Sheffield, then went to America, must have been 1864/65 time, as their first child Matilda was born in 1866 in Black Rock, Nevada. The other children were born as follows -
Arthur (his g-granddad) b1867, Black Rock, Nevada
Matthew b1869 Toledo, Ohio
Hannah b1872 Buffalo, New York
Charlotte b1874, Providence, Rhode Island, New York
Hugh b1877, Sabrina b1880 and Louisa b1881 were all born in Wharncliffe Side, Sheffield, Yorkshire.
In the 1881 census, the family are all living in Bradfield, Sheffield.
RG11/4619 folio 61 page 7
Now what would make a File Cutter in the 1860's, move from Sheffield, right across the USA, to the blistering heat of the Nevada desert? Then make their way back home again?
I have been googling all afternoon, and seen they had silver mines in Black Rock at that time, also they were building the railway and blasting through a mountain then, although they seemed to be using just Chinese people for labouring.
What an adventure! I have had visions of 'How the West was Won' with them all in a long wagon train, and shouts of 'Injuns'. It must have been a very dangerous journey, the sea crossing alone, then the journey across America.
1864 to 1874 was still quite early on in the cowboy days wasn't it. Also is 3 years about the right timescale for such an epic trip?
I don't know what port they sailed from.. probably Liverpool, via Ireland? I don't know where they entered America... again probably New York, I have searched the Ellis Island site but 1864/66 is too early for their records.
It just seems so strange that they came back to England... how did they afford it, with an extra 5 passages to pay for, maybe he did go for the mines, and found some silver?
Do you think that as maybe he was a metalworker, he may have mined the silver in Black Rock? I know Sheffield had huge metalworks factories in the 1860's.
My friend is over the moon with all this info. He text me saying 'Howdy ma'am' and told me he now needs to buy a stetson!
If anyone reading this has the full Ancestry sub, as I only have the UK one, could they do a search on Matthew and Emma Ashall please, as I would love to find a trace of them in America.
Sandra
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