Category: Watkins
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Staging a move from house painting
1920s switch from manual work
1920s switch from manual work A combination of silver screen and architecture is Cutlock & Co’s top find from a speedy trawl through the online 1921 census records, made available for free by Findmypast over the recent Remembrance Weekend. Plus some other items of interest. Thatch and bright lights The husband of great aunt Ellen (nee Neal), Henry JV Williams, appears in the 1911 census as a general decorator (and earlier as an upholsterer/paperhanger) – the same line of work as great grandfather Arthur AB Howes. » »
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Squaring the circle
Connecting from Cummins to Watkins
Connecting from Cummins to Watkins One of those “It really is a small world” moments – discovering a distant in-law cousin on my dad’s side is connected to a close cousin on mum’s. Cutlock & Co has been researching the family tree for a second cousin’s spouse for quite a while. Roy’s line goes back to William Cummins, a ‘tide waiter’ (customs officer) and later ‘Chief Collector of Customs’, born 1835 in Portsmouth. William came from a humble background, his mother Jane the housekeeper (and perhaps » »
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A tribute to Islwyn
His contribution to Knighton and beyond
His contribution to Knighton and beyond Your editor recently met Ken Harris at Malvern U3A’s family history group, after a presentation by me which mentioned in passing cousin Islwyn Watkins. Here is the resulting tribute from Ken to his old friend. A fellow South Walesian Islwyn and I were friends virtually from the time I arrived in Knighton in 1985. Both being from South Wales, we immediately struck a rapport and later, when his father arrived to live with Dwynwen, he and I struck up a » »
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Newspapers ablaze with minor family insights
Passing educational references, and an indepth story
Passing educational references, and an indepth story After some time without, getting access to the British Newspaper Archive – part of a (half price) FindMyPast Pro subscription – raises the dilemma of where to start researching. Perhaps firstly with those individuals in the tree most likely to appear in the news, and then close relatives to see if any notices, in the absence of news items, might add another angle. The approach has already led to shining some contrasting light on youthful grandparents plus an interesting » »
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Picturing the moving home front
A London to and fro in WW2
A London to and fro in WW2 The second world war was a time of upheaval for many, and this was particularly true for Cutlock & Co’s family lines. It became obvious when going through a collection of old postcards and photographs that there was a story to be told visually. Mum and Dad’s notes help to stitch them together. Out of London Being born in 1926, Dad (Arthur) was well into his grammar school life when war broke out and disrupted things. Here’s his description » »
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Islwyn’s picture puzzles
Rediscovering negatives from the fifties
Rediscovering negatives from the fifties In this article, more a side view on Islwyn Watkins’ art student days (late 1950s) {2} than deep family history. Fellow student Ed Beavis found some photographic negatives taken by Islwyn which had been tucked away, from a trip of theirs which included dropping in on relations. Most likely around/south of Bristol. Which family? These don’t seem to be Watkins faces, so are more likely to be his mother’s Hickman side. Do any of these faces look familiar to anyone? The » »