Seed Family History

JIMMY SEED HISTORY – ANCESTORS AND FAMILIES

This file covers censuses from the first (1841) to the latest online (1911). It deals in turn with the four families that led to Jimmy Seed – that of Edward Hall (b 1781), John Seed (b 1802), John Hall (b 1811), Alexander Seed (b 1831), John Cameron (b 1824) and Anthony Hall Seed (b 1855).

FAMILY A – EDWARD HALL

Edward Hall married Isabella (?) in about 1810. Their first child, John, was born about this time but had left home when the first census was taken. For John, see Family C.

1841 census for Windy Nook, Heworth, Durham

Head Edward Hall, 50, quarryman
Wife Isabella, 50
Daughter Jane, 20
Daughter Martha, 15
Daughter Mary, 1

Daughter Martha married a coalminer called John Dodd (or Dodds – the names seem to be interchangeable) at Gateshead on 16 February 1851 – just a few weeks before the 1851 census, taken on the night of 30/31 March.

1851 census for Square Houses, Heworth

Head             Edward Hall, 66, grindstone quarryman
Wife              Isabella, 64
Daughter       Martha Dodds, 25, seamstress
Son in law     John Dodds, 27, coalminer

Daughter Jane may have left home, probably to get married: there are several candidates in the marriage records. However, the absence of Mary is ominous.

Isabella died before the next census and Edward moved in with his son John. See later under Family C. But first we can follow the fortunes of daughter Martha and her husband John Dodd (s). They prove to be a very successful Victorian family…

1861 census for Windy Nook, Heworth

Head                  John Dodd, 37, coal miner
Wife                   Martha, 35
Son                     Edward, 9
Daughter             Mary Jane, 5
Daughter             Ann, 1 (but see next census)

1871 census for 6 Ryhope Street, Ryhope Colliery, Durham

Head                   John Dodds, 47, miner
Wife                    Martha, 45
Daughter             Mary Jane, 15
Son                      Martin, 11 (presumably born after previous census)
Daughter             Ann, 5 (this makes no sense and is obviously an error)

There is no sign of son Edward: he would be 19 and has perhaps married and left home.

1881 census for 6 Ryhope Street, as above

Head                  John Dodd, 57, deputy overman
Wife                  Martha, 55
Son                    Martin, 21, ‘engine-plane man’ (in colliery?)
Daughter           Ann, 15

Ann and Martin both left home before the next census: see later for their family lives…

1891 census for 7 Blind (?) Street, Bishopswearmouth, Durham

Head                  John Dodds, 67, coalminer
Wife                   Martha, 65
Daughter            Annie (Dodds) Foster

Before the next census Martha Dodds dies, and John moves in with his daughter, now called Annie, who has married a miner called John Foster (marriage not traced in records).


1901 census for 7 West Row, (district?), South Shields

Head                 John R Foster, 35, coalminer
Wife                 Annie, 35
Son                   Edward, 13 – despite which he, too, is a coalminer
Son                   Anthony, 10
Daughter           Mary R, 3
Daughter           Annie, 3 months
Father in law     John Dodd, 77, retired coalminer


1911 census for 24 East View, Hylton Colliery, Durham

Head                  John R Foster, 45, coalminer, deputy
Wife                  Annie, 45
Son                  Edward, 23, coalminer, hewer
Son                  Anthony, 20, colliery labour (above ground)
Daughter          Martha, 17, dressmaker
Daughter          Mary, 13
Daughter          Annie, 10
Son                  John, 8
Daughter          Ivy, 4
Son                  George, 6 months

Martin Dodds

Martin has married a woman called Frances Auld (not traced in marriage records).


1891 census for 28 Burdon Street, Ryhope Colliery, Durham

Head                  Martin Dodds, 31, coalminer
Wife                  Frances, 28,
Son                   Edward, 4
Son                   William, 3

Shortly after this, Martin goes into the pub trade…


1901 census for Foresters Arms Tavern***, Ryhope Street South, Ryhope Colliery

Head                  Martin Dodds, 41, publican
Wife                  Frances, 39
Son                    Edward, 14, pupil-teacher in local school
Son                    William, 13

***There is still a Foresters Arms in Ryhope (presumably this one). It even has its own Facebook page!

Ten years later Martin’s family has become very successful…


1911 census for 96 Ryhope Street, Ryhope Colliery, Sunderland

(A note says the census has been completed by Edward Dodd for Martin Dodd)

Head                  Martin Dodd, 51, Innkeeper
Wife                  Frances, 48, ‘assistant in the business’ (presumably the pub)
Son                   Edward, 24, assistant certificate teacher for the County Council
Son                   William Auld (Dodd), 23, draper-salesman
Daughter          Margaret Auld (Dodd), 18
Son                   John Dodd, 15, boot and shoe salesman
Mother in law   Margaret Auld, 74, widow

THAT IS THE FINAL ENTRY FOR FAMILY A

FAMILY B – JOHN SEED

Scottish marriage records show that on 6 December 1822 in Old Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, a papermaker called John Seed, born 1802, married Isabella McColl, born c1798. By the first UK census they are living in Durham with their four sons…

1841 census for Neville’s Croft, Crossgate, Durham

Head John Seed, 40, ‘paper m.j.’ (sic)
Wife Isabella, 46
Son Robert, 15
Son James, 14
Son Alexander, 10
Son William, 8


1851 census, district as above

Head John Seed, 49, journeyman papermaker
Wife Isabella, 53
Son Alexander, 20, apprentice papermaker
Son William, 18, whitesmith

John Seed dies in 1860. Isabella survives him by 18 years.


1861 census for Cutlers Hall Road, Benfieldside, Durham

Head Isabella Seed, 52 (could she be lying about her age?), ‘proprietor of houses’
Grandson Anthony Hall Seed, 5 (see Family D)


1871 census for Crossgate, Durham

Head Isabella Seed, 62 (also obviously wrong – she’s at it again!), seamstress
Isabella dies in 1878 aged 83.

Her son Alexander Hall takes the record forward. He marries a woman called Isabella Seed – and she is part of Family D. But first…


FAMILY C – JOHN HALL

John Hall, son of Edward Hall (Family A) was born about 1811 and followed his father into the quarry at Windy Nook. In the early 1830s he married a woman called Isabella. A possible candidate is Isabella Dove, who married a John Hall on 23 December 1832 – but in Knaresborough. They quickly began to raise a large family…


1841 census for Windy Nook, Heworth, Durham

Head John Hall, 30, quarryman
Wife Isabella, 30
Daughter Margaret, 10
Son John, 7
Daughter Isabella, 5 (she reappears in Family D)
Son Edward, 1


1851 census for Square Houses, Heworth, Durham

Head John Hall, 41, grindstone quarryman
Wife Isabella
Son John, 17, grindstone quarryman
Daughter Isabella, 15
Son Edward, 11 (who despite his age is also a grindstone quarryman)
Son Jabez, 8
Son George, 7
Daughter Elizabeth, 5
Daughter Martha, 1

As mentioned under Family A, John’s father Edward is a widower by about 1860 and now lives with John, who has had a promotion and taken all his sons into the business...


1861 census for Hall Cottage, Windy Nook, Heworth

Head John Hall, 52, overlooker of quarries
Wife Isabella, 53
Father Edward Hall, 78 – but still a grindstone quarryman
Son Edward, 20 )
Son Jabez, 18 ) all grindstone quarrymen
Son George, 16 )
Daughter Elizabeth, 13

Sadly there is no sign of little Martha, daughter Isabella has left home to start Family D, and soon all the other children will leave…


1871 census for Shakespeare Terrace, Charlton, Ellingham, Durham

Head John Hall, 64, mason
Wife Isabella, 62

John Hall himself dies before the next census, and Isabella falls on hard times…


1881 census for Gibson’s almshouses, Bishopswearmouth, Durham

Resident Isabella Hall, 73

In due course we can follow her daughter Isabella into Family D. But first we can track down some of her sons…

Sons of John and Isabella Hall

Edward Hall (b c 1840)

There are a number of Edward Halls in the record but none that matches this man.

Jabez Hall (b c 1843)

Despite his unusual name, there is no sign of him in marriage records.


1871 census for High Heworth Road, Heworth, Durham

Head Jabez Hall, 28, quarryman
Wife Margaret, 24


1881 census for Rogerson Cottage, Heworth

Head Jabez Hall, 38, quarryman
Wife Margaret, 34
Son John, 8
Daughter Mary Lawson, 2 (Lawson could be Margaret’s maiden name)


1891 census for 145 Forsters Cottages, Heworth

Head Jabez, 48, quarryman
Wife Margaret, 44
Son John, 18, quarryman
Daughter Mary Lawson, 12


1901 census for Union Street, Heworth

Head Jabez Hall, 58, quarryman
Wife Margaret, 54
Granddaughter Margaret, 9

Jabez probably died before the next census. A likely candidate is a Jabez Hall, born 1843, died 1911 – in Coventry.


George Hall (b c 1844)

There are a number of George Halls in the record but none that matches this man.



FAMILY D


This brings together Alexander Seed, born in Cromford, Derbyshire in 1831 to John and Isabella Seed (Family B), and Isabella Hall, born in Windy Nook, Durham in 1835 to John and Isabella Hall (Family C). They are married in the spring of 1854 and their son Anthony Hall Seed is born about a year later.


1861 census for Cutlers Hall Road, Benfieldside, Durham

Head Alexander Seed, 28, papermaker
Wife Isabella, 25
Daughter Ann J, 3
Daughter Mary Jane, 10 months

Note: as mentioned in Family B, their son Anthony H Seed is living next door with his grandmother, Isabella Hall.


1871 census for Bridge Hill and Shotley Grove, Durham

Head Alexander Seed, 37, foreman in paper mill
Wife Isabella, 37, master grocer
Son Anthony H Seed, 15, apprentice papermaker (see Family F)
Daughter Ann J, 13
Daughter Mary J, 10
Daughter Elizabeth, 8
Daughter Minnie, 5
Daughter Amelia, 2

This presents a few puzzles, for the next census shows some variations…


1881 census for 16 Wood Street, Benfieldside

Head Alexander Seed, 48, papermaker
Wife Isabella, 45
Daughter Mary Ann, 20 )
Daughter Elizabeth M, 18 ) all paper sorters in paper mill
Daughter Minnie, 15 )
Daughter Amelia, 12
Son John, 9
Daughter Lydia B, 6
Son Learman C, 2

Anthony and Ann J have disappeared – presumably to get married.


1891 census for 16 Wood Street, Benfieldside

Head Alexander Seed, 57, papermaker
Wife Isabella, 55
Daughter Mary J, 30, factory worker (presumably Mary Ann)
Son John, 19, paper maker
Daughter Lydia, 16
Son Learman, 12

Elizabeth and Minnie have presumably left home to get married.

Alexander Seed died in 1897.


1901 census for 16 Wood Street, Benfieldside

Head Isabella Seed, 65, widow
Daughter Mary J, 40, ‘grass sorter’ in paper mill (Pampas grass to make paper)
Daughter Elizabeth B, 26, charwoman (this woman is a complete mystery)
Boarder Jane A Ronaldson, 25, ‘grass sorter’

Isabella Seed died in 1910. The whereabouts of her children in 1911 is unknown – apart from Anthony H Seed who next appears as head of Family F.

Meanwhile…


Family E

This short section covers John and Margaret Cameron, parents of Elizabeth Jane Cameron, who married Anthony H Seed and created Family F.

The records are very patchy. However, this is probably the correct family…

1861 census for Lowholm, Newbattle, Midlothian, Scotland

Head John Cameron, 37, farm labourer
Wife Margaret, 36
Daughter Mary Ann, 14
Daughter Jane, 11
Son John, 10
Son William, 7
Daughter Catherine, 5
Daughter Elizabeth, 2
Son Duncan, 9 months

There are no obvious further records for the Camerons. Whether they moved to Durham as a family or Elizabeth went alone is not known, but somehow she met Anthony H Seed and they were married in the spring of 1876 (the marriage was registered in Newcastle). Their first daughter was born soon afterwards – they had started…


FAMILY F

…and it began life a long way away from Durham. Anthony H Seed was a papermaker, and he was evidently attracted by the opportunities offered by one of the biggest paper making mills in the south of England…

1881 census for 1 Brook Cottage, Snodland, nr Maidstone, Kent

Head Anthony H Seed, 25, papermaker
Wife Elizabeth, 22
Daughter Isabella, 5
Daughter Frances, 1

Five further children were born in Snodland (see below) but the Kent adventure didn’t last long…


1891 census for Ridley Street, Conside & Knitsley, Lanchester

Head Anthony H Seed, 35, assistant shearsman in iron works.
(This is probably an error – paper mills also employed shearmen)
Wife Elizabeth, 32
Daughter Isabella, 14, stocking knitter
Daughter Frances, 12
Son Alexander, 10
Son John, 8
Son Anthony, 6
Daughter Margaret, 4
Daughter Jessie, 2
Daughter Lydia, about 11 months. Born in Blackhill, Durham
Lodger James Morrison, 22, stonemason

While daughter Isabella is soon to leave home to get married and create a mystery (see later), the family continues to grow – and becomes even more dependent on the paper mill…

In 1997 Minnie Mary Jane Seed was born in Marsden.
In a family photo almost certainly taken in 1900 the address on the back is 9 Marsden View, Marsden.

Minnie is bottom right in the photo.

But by 1901 they had moved to Whitburn...

1901 census for Augusta Terrace, Whitburn, South Shields

Head Anthony Seed, 46, papermaker
Wife Elizabeth, 43
Daughter Frances, 22, paper mill worker
Son Alexander, 20, papermaker
Son John, 18, papermaker
Son Anthony, 16, papermaker
Daughter Margaret, 13
Daughter Jessie, 11
Son Angus, 8
And enter our footballers…
Son James, 6, born in Blackhill, Durham
Daughter Minnie, 4, born in Marsden, Durham

Sadly Lydia has died (as her mother confirms – see below)


1911 census for Adolphus Street, Whitburn, Sunderland

Head Anthony Hall Seed, 55, papermaker (Head)
Wife Elizabeth, 52**
Daughter Jessie, 22
Son Angus, 18, ‘miner driver’ in colliery***
Son James, 16, also ‘miner driver’
Daughter Minnie, 14

** Elizabeth tells the census inspector that she has been married for 34 years and has had 11 children, one of whom died. This must be Lydia.

*** ‘Miner drivers’ probably means ‘mine drivers’. These could be men who blasted roadways to the coal face, or more probably, in this context, teenage boys employed to drive the horses on the main road underground…

They moved from this address to Rose Cottage(s), also in Whitburn.

1921 census for Rose Cottages, Whitburn, Sunderland

Head  George H Dick, 43, General Labourer

Wife  Fances L Dick (Nee Seed), 42, ('Home Duties') 

Son Thomas S Dick, 16, Apprentice Ships Draughtsman, Swan & Hunter, Ship Builders

Son John C. Dick, 12

Anthony H Seed, 66, Paper Maker North Eastern Paper Mills, Marsden C/o Durham

James M. Seed, 26, Professional Footballer  Tottenham Hotspur

Francis K. Dixon, (Visitor)  Male, 33, Invalid (injured during WW1?)

Mary S. D. Dixon, (Visitor), 35, School Master

Sylvia M. C. Dixon, (Visitor), 9

Oddly, Jimmy Seed is listed as resident, whereas he was living in London and playing for Spurs at the time. If he had been visiting perhaps they would have registered him as Visitor?

The children of Anthony H and Elizabeth Seed

Six of their ten surviving children had left home by the 1911 census, so we can track the movements of some of them, at least through one census.


Isabella (b 1876)

She was the first to leave home – but where did she go?

The mystery of Isabella Seed

Two adjacent censuses follow Isabella’s trail but they are somewhat contradictory…


1901 census for Rupert Street, Whitburn

Head John Owen, 26, colliery fireman, born Wexford, Wales
Wife Isabella, 24
Boarder James Ord, 17, papermaker


1911 census for 100 Queen’s Road, Jarrow

Head John Thomas Owens, 36, labourer (separator), lead manufacturing
Wife Isabella, 36
Stepdaughter Mary Annie Liddle, 18, drawing frames machinist, rope manufacturing

However, in the above record, Isabella says she has been married for just two years. One could assume she had been married earlier to a man called Liddle – hence the stepdaughter – but there is no record of a Seed-Liddle marriage at the appropriate time.


Frances (b 1879)

There is more positive information about Frances who probably married a man called George Hamilton Dick…


1911 census for 6 Roman Wall, Wallsend

Head George Hamilton Dick, 33, shipyard labourer
Wife Frances Lindsey, 32 (born Benfieldside)
Son Thomas Linton, 6
Son John Cameron, 2



Alexander (b 1881): for information see separate story – The transatlantic adventures of Alexander Seed.


John (b 1883): for information see separate story – John Seed traveller.

In June 1924 John (aged 40, and described as a Papermaker) emigrated to Canada with his wife Annie and their children Ethel, Angus, John and baby Annie.

Anthony (b 1885) and Margaret (b 1888) and Angus (b 1893)

No information: there are very many Anthony Seeds in census records, and many Margaret Seeds in marriage lists.


Jessie (b 1890)

While she was still at home in 1911, her name is unusual enough to stand out in marriage records: she probably married a man called Arthur Riding in South Shields in the summer of 1914.

This brings detailed research to a close.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

STONE AND PAPER – THE MAKING OF JIMMY SEED

 (To be read in conjunction with detailed records under ANCESTORS AND FAMILIES. SEE ABOVE.)

 

Note: the first national census in 1841 recorded names, addresses and sometimes occupations; and  the census of 1851 added places of birth – crucial information for the genealogist. However there was a lot of guesswork: in particular, as this history shows, people’s ages do not always tally between one census and the next.

James (Jimmy) Seed was born in Blackhill, an area of Consett, not far from Shotley Bridge, County Durham, on 25 March 1895, the ninth of ten children of Anthony H Seed and his Scottish wife Elizabeth Jane, nee Cameron. Over the years the area has produced several notable people, among them Rowan Atkinson, the cricketer Paul Collingwood, the Bishop of Luton, and several major league footballers including Arthur Bellamy, Frank Clark, Joe Joyce, Michael Kay and John Robson.

 Jimmy was also destined to make his name in football, as a national and even international star – but the game was also his escape route from the industrial north east, and in particular the key industries of stone quarrying and paper making. As the census shows, both trades dominated the lives of the men who were Jimmy’s ancestors.

 So first, meet Edward Hall, born in Heworth, Durham, around 1790 (later censuses suggest other dates, but see note above.) Fifty years later he’s still living there, earning his living in a large sandstone quarry in the tiny village of Windy Nook. He was a ‘grindstone quarryman’, an important job at a time when stone was not only used for building but for many other industrial purposes. In particular sandstone quarries provided grindstones for sharpening tools.

WINDY NOOK

 Windy Nook was then within the parish of Heworth, which had been around since Norman times: eventually they were both swallowed up by Gateshead. In common with most villages in the area its history was intertwined with the fortunes of the quarrying and mining industries. The large quarry at Windy Nook shown below is now infilled and used as a public recreation area.

Windy Nook

 

Windy Nook quarry

Grindstones at Windy Nook

The 1841 census for Windy Nook records 50-year-old Edward Hall living with his wife Isabella, 50*** and three daughters, Jane, 20, Martha, 15, and Mary, 10.

They also have a son John, aged 30, also a quarryman, but he’s left home to get married. In fact he’s living nearby in Windy Nook with his wife Isabella***, his sons John and Edward and his daughters Margaret and Isabella***. (Keep your eye on this Isabella!)

***This history is littered with Isabellas! Hopefully it distinguishes between them.

By 1851 Edward and Isabella Hall have moved to Square Houses in Heworth. Living with them is daughter Martha, now a dressmaker, and her husband John Dodds, a coalminer. But it seems Jane and Mary have left home, probably to get married.

Meanwhile, son John Hall is living next door with his wife and seven children, including two sons (John and Edward) who are also in the stone trade, and a baby called Martha.

Ten years later – and sadly Edward Hall, now 73, is a widower. His wife has died and his children have left home, so not surprisingly he’s moved in with his son. John himself has gone up in the world – he’s an ‘overlooker of quarries’. And now three of his sons are working in the quarry.

They’re all living in a place called Hall Cottage at Heworth. (The name may be just a coincidence or because the Halls live there). But sadly there is no sign of little Martha. And daughter Isabella has left home: see below.

By 1871 the little family is no more. Edward Hall Snr has died and all the children have left home. John Hall, 64, is now a stonemason living with Isabella, 62 at Charlton, North Ellingham.

And ten years after that John has also died, and Isabella, now a 73-year-old widow, seems to have fallen on hard times: she is living with other elderly people in Gibson’s almshouses at Bishopswearmouth, Durham. She does not appear in the 1891 census.

Meanwhile, what about her daughter Isabella?

Well, she has married – Alexander Seed!

And to find Alexander we first go even further north – to Scotland. On 6 December 1822 in Old Kilpatrick, Dunbarton, a papermaker called John Seed, born 1802, marries Isabella McColl (another Isabella!), born c 1798.

Within ten years, however, they’ve moved to the English Midlands – in fact to Cromford in Derbyshire. This is not too surprising: Cromford had a paper mill from the early years of the 19th century, so we might assume that John Seed worked there for a time. The town was a rather famous place historically speaking: next door to the paper works was Cromford Mill where Richard Arkwright invented his water frame for spinning cotton and almost single-handedly created the modern factory system.

However, by the 1850s the Seeds have replanted themselves in Durham. John Seed is now a ‘journeyman papermaker’. His first two sons have left home while the third - Alexander, now 20 - is an apprentice papermaker, and youngest son William is an apprentice whitesmith (a whitesmith dealt with white metals such as tin and white iron).

John Seed dies in 1860, and a year later we find his widow Isabella, now 52, living in Cutlers Hall Road, Benfieldside, Durham. But she is not alone – she’s looking after her 5-year-old grandson Anthony Hall Seed (see later for this). She’s described as ‘proprietor of houses’ (perhaps a landlord?). By 1871, however, Isabella is alone, living in Crossgate, Durham, and earning her living as a seamstress. She dies in 1878 aged 83.

Meanwhile, what of her son Alexander Seed?

Moving to Durham turns out to be a good thing for young Alexander, because there he meets the aforementioned Isabella Hall. They are married in the spring of 1854 and their son Anthony Hall Seed is born a year or so later in Shotley Grove, Durham – the first of a large family of Seeds.

As we saw, in 1861 young Anthony is living with his grandmother, Isabella Hall in Cutlers Hall Road, Benfieldside. But just next door are his dad and mum, Alexander and Isabella Seed, with baby daughters Ann and Mary Jane.

Ten years later Anthony is an apprentice papermaker. He’s also rejoined his parents in Shotley Grove, Durham. Happily they are both prospering – Alexander is a foreman while Isabella has turned herself into a master grocer! And they now have five daughters.

By 1881 Anthony has become a fully-fledged papermaker. He’s also left home and married a Scots lass called Elizabeth Jane Cameron from Dalkeith. She’s the daughter of John Cameron, a labourer, born c1824, and his wife Margaret, born c1825 – in Ireland.

The newly-weds set up home in Shotley Bridge, where their first two daughters, Isabella (surprise, surprise!) and Frances are born. However, by 1881 they are living far from their northern roots – in Snodland, near Maidstone in Kent. Again, this is no great surprise: the area has a long tradition of paper making dating back more than 150 years, so it was well established by the 1880s.

However, ten years later the Seeds are back in Durham living in Blackhimm between Shotley Bridge and Consett, and the family has grown substantially – they now have five daughters and three sons. The census of 1891 says Anthony H Seed is an ‘assistant shearsman in iron works’ but this may be an error – the paper-making process certainly involves shearing.

Jimmy Seed was born there in 1895, but when Minnie in born in 1897 they are residing in Marsden, and it seems likely they commemorated the turn of the century by commissioning the family photograph shown earlier.

By 1901 the family has moved again to Augusta Terrace in Whitburn, South Shields. It has grown even larger, and is even more dependent on the paper mill with four of the children earning their living from the trade.

Sadly their youngest daughter, called Lydia, has died in infancy. But there are two further children – our footballers Jimmy and Minnie.

Meanwhile, daughter Isabella has evidently left home to get married – possibly to a Welshman called John Owens, although there is some doubt about this. In the 1901 census for Rupert Street, Whitburn, Durham, Isabella, of the right age and birthplace, is the wife of John Owen (no final ‘s’), a 26-year-old colliery fireman. However, in the 1911 census for Queens Road, Jarrow, an Isabella, again of the right age, is living with John Thomas Owen – but the record says they have been married for only two years.

On balance, I think it can be assumed that this is the right Isabella.

We last find Anthony’s family in the 1911 census, now in a four-room house in Adolphus Terrace, Whitburn. Only four children are still at home, including Angus and Jimmy, both described as ‘miner drivers’.

Mining museum websites suggest that ‘miner drivers’ were boys in their teens, employed to drive the horses on the main road underground.

Here endeth the narrative. UK censuses are only made available when they are 101 years old, so 1921 is the latest to go online…until 2032.