Pam Bates asked (Sep 16th 2015) …
I live in far western Canada, and am related to a good many of the Old Ilkeston families through both grandparents born there, with surnames in their trees including: Beardsley, Beaumont, Birch, Goddard, Brown, Skeavington, Wagstaff, Shardlowe, Daykin, Rawdin, Gregory, Burgin-Richardson, etc. etc.; some of these relations are on both my grandparents’ trees!
My question regards photos … photos … if I were to send a couple photos are you able to post them? I’d be interested in seeing others’ old family photographs as well if provided to view. I have one of my great-grandparents Amos and Sarah (nee Birch) Beardsley sitting in front of their house on (South Street) in one of the first Austin 7’s!
Dave replied (Sep 16th 2015) …
So nice to hear from you, What a wealth of good old solid Ilkestonians you are connected to !!
re the photos .. I would certainly wholeheartedly welcome any photos, illustrations, pictures, etc from any source (being wary of copyright of course).
The one of Amos and Sarah sounds fascinating and if you send it to me I will do my best.
Thank you so much for this offer.
Pam replied (Sep 16th 2015) …
Here’s the one photo of Amos and Sarah Beardsley, taken for an ad for the Austin 7 with this following caption:
“FOR THE OLD FOLKS
Old folks have no difficulty in getting about with an “Austin Seven”. The owner and driver of the car shown above is over eighty years of age, and gets heaps of pleasure out of his car. The provision of a door for each appealed very strongly to this gentleman and his wife. This photograph was taken at their diamond wedding.”
I calculate the year would be 1923 as Amos and Sarah married 20 October 1863 at Christ Church, Cotmanhay. As mentioned, I believe this photo was taken outside their home on South Street. Perhaps the home is still there?
I possess a letter written by a dear Beardsley cousin of my mother’s (now both deceased) in 1976, in which he mentions, in addition to the Austin 7 brochure for which I should give him credit:
“When a boy I used to see my grandfather Amos and grandmother probably every year… They were both very fierce Victorian personalities and I stood in awe of them.”
I understand Beardsley was a common name in Ilkeston and area. To avoid any confusion:
Amos was son of Jonathon Beardsley/Catherine nee Skeavington. His elder brother was Solomon, whose photo is in one of the articles.
Sarah nee Birch was daughter of John Birch and Sarah Wagstaff. One of Sarah’s sisters was Mary, married to Thomas Ebbern.
Amos and Sarah are my great-grandparents; their son Amos (Jr.) and his wife Maud Gertrude nee Beaumont are my mother’s parents.
I’ll follow with individual photos of Amos and Sarah also.
According to the burial records listed previously on your site commencing 1864 there is no mention of John Albert, but seven more Beardsley children from 1868 to 1880. Is this initial burial entry in 1864 missing from the records??
b) he was buried at Stanton Road but the burial is missing from the records. This would be an error on the part of those keeping the accounts …. as you can see all the burials were numbered and there is no break in the numbers for 1864.
The actual gravestone was most probably made after the deaths of all the children listed on it .. ie post 1878. It is more of a remembrance stone and so wouldn’t necessarily mark the site of John Albert’s resting place.