#On This Day 25th December

On this day .!!!   .....  I thought I would share a few more memories of mine but relating to Christmas other than memories that I have mentioned last year which you can find here.

https://sussexheritage.blogspot.com/2023/12/advent-calendar-day-24.html

https://sussexheritage.blogspot.com/2023/12/advent-calendar-day-20.html

We always had christmas crackers at the tea table on Christmas Day.  I know a lot of families had them with their lunch. Our crackers used to be wrapped in coloured crepe paper and had a snap inside so that you pulled the cracker with a partner and when it went "bang" (like cap pistols used to ....oh another memory!!) the paper tore and out would fall a small present like a jumping frog or a cellophane fish that would curl in your hand, a coloured paper hat and a joke.  We loved the jokes as kids but I am sure the adults must have inwardly groaned at the same jokes year after year, as we do now!!

Boxing Day meeting at Battle Abbey.  You might find this offensive/cruel but it was part of normal life in the 50's and 60's.  The huntsman dressed up in their red jackets and the fox hounds at the horse's feet were quite a sight as they came through the archway. 

A Boxing Day meet of local huntsman (ai generated)

Crepe paper paper chains were twisted and hung in our dining room and living room.  It went from the corners to the central ceiling rose and then across to the other corner.  Then the two remaining sides were done to match.  We also had opened out folded decorations in the shape of  bell and a star.  We had other styles too in the 1950s

           

We always had a live Christmas Tree that was planted in a bucket of soil that we kept damp.  We would drape red or green crepe paper round the bucket and then put a bow round using the opposite colour to the bucket.  There were quite a few ornaments we weren't allow to hang as children because they were old and made of glass and woud have broken if they had been dropped.

Finally a memory from my late teens in the late '60's, when we were living in Radlett and I rang bells in the parish church.  I joined in with other bell ringers to go round carolling with handbells.  We called at Una Stubbs' house and given mince pies each.  We got quite a few mince pies by the end of that night!!!

#On This Day 24th December

Today we have the remarkable coincidence that Zebulon Clark, my 5x great grandfather and Zebulon Clarke 4x great grandfather - father and son - were both buried on the same day and in the same place, Icklesham, Sussex, England.  One in 1780 and the other in 1828.  To save any confusion I am just going to write about my 4x great grandfather buried in 1828.

There were several events in 1828 that are worth noting but I doubt any of them affected Zebulon's life in Sussex.

The Duke of Wellington succeeds Lord Goderich as Prime Minister.

Royal Free Hospital, established as the London General Institution for the Gratuitous Care of Malignant Diseases by surgeon William Marsden, opens.  He also founded the Free Cancer Hospital in 1851.

London Zoo opens in Regent's Park.

William Howley elected as Archbishop of Canterbury in succession to Charles Manners-Sutton.

St Katharine Docks opened in London. It lies just south of the Tower of London on the north bank of the River Thames.

 Mary Anning discovers Britain's first pterosaur fossil at Lyme Regis on the south coast.

Zebulon Clark was born in 1777 in Icklesham, Sussex, England, to Zebulon Clarke (1751, buried in 1780) and Eleanor Griffin (born 1746). He was baptized in Icklesham on January 5, 1777. Zebulon married Sarah Bates in Icklesham on April 11, 1799, and they had eight children. After Sarah's death in 1814, Zebulon remarried Mary Simmons in Icklesham on September 16, 1816. Together, they had seven children, including another son named Zebulon. Zebulon Clark passed away in 1828 and was buried on December 24, 1828, in Icklesham.

I am descended from Zebulon and Sarah's youngest son, Henry, born in 1812. 

Looking back through history, December 24 has seen several significant events:

1166: The birth of King John, youngest son of Henry II, who was forced by the barons to sign the Magna Carta.

1650: Edinburgh Castle surrendered to troops commanded by Oliver Cromwell.

1814: The War of 1812 between the US and Britain ended with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent.

1818: The first performance of "Silent Night" took place in the Nikolauskirche in Oberndorf, Austria.

1914: World War I saw the beginning of the "Christmas truce."

1939: During World War II, Pope Pius XII made a Christmas Eve appeal for peace

Militia List 1812 - Line 51 is Zebulon's entry

#On This Day 23rd December

Today, we take a look at the story of James Clark and Annie Gardner, who married on this day in 1905, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire.  James is my great great uncle.

A range of events that happened in England in that year.

The Natural History Museum in London: The unveiling of "Dippy," an exact replica of the skeleton of the Diplodocus carnegii dinosaur, became a popular exhibit.

Cadbury Dairy Milk: The iconic chocolate bar was first produced in Bournville.

Literary Milestone: E. Nesbit wrote the well-known book, 'The Railway Children,' which became a classic in children's literature.

James Eldridge, son of William Eldridge (1843-1868) and Caroline Poile (1847-1927), was born on October 21, 1866, in Bodiam, Sussex, England. He was baptized in Bodiam on February 3, 1867. James was one of three children. He married Annie Gardner in Berkeley, Gloucestershire, on December 23, 1905. The marriage was witnessed by Alfred Gardner and Rose Gardner. After their marriage, James and Annie moved to Sussex. My research shows that they had one girl and four boys, born between 1906 and 1919: Rose, Alfred, Arthur, and Richard.

I have done little research on Annie, although I have found that she was born in 1872. It's intriguing to think about how James met and married someone from Gloucestershire. James died in Sussex in 1950, and I believe Annie died nine years later.

James had a younger sister, my great-grandmother, Ellen Eldridge, who married George Clark. Their daughter, my grandmother, was named Rose Ellen. This makes me wonder if James and Annie's daughter was named after the wedding witness Rose Gardner or after James' niece, my grandmother, Rose Ellen.

There were several noteworthy events in England on this day:

1815: Jane Austen's novel "Emma" was published in London.  It is quite likely that Annie would have read this novel.

1888: The birth of J. Arthur Rank, a film magnate from Hull who founded the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.  I am sure they will have watched a film produced by the Rank Organisation.

1922: The BBC began daily radio newscasts, a significant development in broadcast journalism.  Most people listened to the radio news until television became the favourite media later in the century.

1937: The first flight of the Vickers Wellington bomber, widely used as a night bomber in the early years of the Second World War.  The war would have made a big impact on James and Annie's lives and living in the South East would have seen and heard many planes flying overhead during the war.

Vickers Wellington Bomber

#On This Day 22nd December

On this day, we are reflecting on Emily Clark, my great-great-aunt, who was buried in Rye on December 22, 1876. Her story is somewhat short, as was her life.

The year Emily was born and died saw several major events:

March 7: Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for the telephone in the United States and made the first phone call on March 10.

May 1: The Settle-Carlisle Railway opened to passenger traffic, marking a significant development in transportation.

July 14: The British battleship HMS Thunderer experienced a boiler explosion during a full-power sea trial near Portsmouth, England, resulting in the deaths of 45 sailors and injuries to 40 others.

She was born in 1876 in Rye, Sussex, England, to Richard Douch Clark (1842-1905) and Margaret Anne Hoad (c. 1837-1907). She was baptized on October 9, 1876, and tragically passed away 2 months later. Emily was the twelfth of fourteen children in her family and had a twin brother named Ernest, who also died in 1876 and was buried on December 28. It's heartbreaking to think of the grief their parents must have felt losing both twins during the Christmas season. They named another daughter Emily, born in December 1877, and another son Ernest, born in May 1879.  It was quite common then to name the next child by the name of the one that has just died but it makes searching information on ancestors a challenge of not muddling records between the two.

Throughout history, December 22 has seen several notable events:

1880: The death of George Eliot (real name Mary Anne Evans), a leading novelist and poet of the Victorian era.

1919: The Government of Ireland Act of Power (Home Rule for Ireland) was signed by King George V, dividing Ireland into two parts, each with its own parliament.

1943: The children's writer Beatrix Potter passed away. Her house at Hill Top, Sawrey, is open to the public today.

It is obvious that Emily never had the chance to witness these events or read the works of these famous authors. Nonetheless, she is part of our family history.

Burial of Emily and Ernest Clark in Rye, Sussex

#On This Day - 21st December

On this "special day", I want to introduce you to one of my favorite ancestors, partly because her name is my middle name but also because as a child during the Christmas season, I always thought everyone saying "Merry Christmas" to me was actually saying "Mary Christmas!" So, without further ado, meet Mary Christmas who was baptised on this day in 1688!

Mary's  life was during a fascinating period in history, known as the Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689. This was a time when the reigning king, James II, was replaced by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. This significant event marked the keystone of Whig history in Britain, as it opposed a Catholic succession.

Mary Christmas, my 7x great-grandmother, was born around 1688. She was the daughter of John Christmas (born 1664) and Mary Morris (born c. 1664). Mary was baptized in Dallington, Sussex, England, on December 21, 1688. She married Thomas Sinden in Dallington on May 2, 1714. Together, they had six children that I've discovered so far, four boys and two girls, born between 1715 and 1730.

Looking back through history, several significant events occurred on this day:

1135: The crowning of King Stephen. After King Henry I died without legitimate heirs, his eldest daughter Matilda was named his heir. However, Stephen of Blois, Matilda's cousin, invaded England and had himself crowned in a coup d'état. This period of conflict became known as The Anarchy.

1715: The English pretender to the throne, James III, landed at Peterhead.

1882: Thomas Edison created the first string of Christmas tree lights.

 it's unlikely that these events had a direct impact on Mary Christmas' personal life. The crowning of King Stephen and the Glorious Revolution were significant events though that shaped the political landscape of England, while Edison's invention of Christmas tree lights adds a festive touch to her story I have shared today.

#On This Day 20th December

 John Wickes great 6x great uncle, was baptised on this day in 1719.

In the same year:

Jan 5 Britain, Hannover, Saxony-Poland and Austria sign anti-Prussian Russian pact

Apr 25 Daniel Defoe publishes "Robinson Crusoe", regarded as the 1st English novel.  

Jun 10 Jacobite Rising: Battle of Glen Shiel - Jacobite army defeated by British forces

While these events likely didn't have a direct impact on John's personal life, they provide a glimpse into the broader historical context of the time.

John Wickes, son of Richard Wickes (1685, bur.1753) and Barbara Wimble (c. 1690, bur.1727), was born c. 1719 in Brightling, Sussex, England. He was baptised in Brightling on 20 Dec 1719.

On this day in history:

On this day throughout history, several other significant events occurred:

1745: Bonnie Prince Charlie's Jacobite army reached the River Esk in North Yorkshire, far north of John's home in Sussex.

1780: Britain declared war on Holland.

1812: Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published "Grimm's Fairy Tales" or "Children's and Household Tales" for the first time.

1879: Thomas Edison privately demonstrated his incandescent light bulb at Menlo Park, New Jersey.

It is through a Barbara Wickes that I am related to one of my best genealogy friends who I met quite by chance.  She lives in Lewes and I visit her.  You can see my connection via John and Barbara here.

John's link to me through my great grandmother, Ellen.