The Wilson family - Long Eaton/Ilkeston?

[Riddo 47]

Hi all. My first ever post on here was to get help with a search for an art supplies shop that used to be on Union Rd. With your help, that was traced & laid to rest. Hopefully some of you can help with my latest "quest".

My paternal grandmother's maiden name was Wilson - Edith Wilson, born 1902. She had three older brothers named Bob, Arthur & Fred. On an old family photo she is pictured as a baby with her parents & brothers and there's another youngish woman standing at the back of the photo - so she may be an older sister (by a few years over the brothers) or maybe an aunt. The photo would have been taken mid-late 1903. There are later photos of Bob in army uniform and birthday postcards coming back from France, dated 1916. Edith later married my grandfather, Harold.

My dad told me that he once went to spend a few weeks convalescing at his uncle Arthur's in Bradford, where Arthur was something to do with the Co-op. This would be early 1930's I guess.

Family tittle-tattle has always been that the Wilsons came from Long Eaton way, but there's no-one left in our family to ask to confirm that. Does any of this strike a chord with anyone on here?

[annswabey 599]

There's this family on the 1911 census where names seem to match, but there may be more. Was she Edith May and what was Harold's surname and where would they have married?

John Wilson Age in 1911: 46 Estimated birth year: abt 1865 Relation to Head: Head Gender: Male Birth Place: Nottingham, England Civil Parish: Nottingham County/Island: Nottinghamshire Country: England Street address: 13 Brighton Street Nottm Marital Status: Married Occupation: Lacemaker Registration district: Nottingham Registration District Number: 430 Sub-registration district: Nottingham North East ED, institution, or vessel: 18 Piece: 20558 Household Members: Name Age John Wilson 46 Sarah Wilson 47 Frederick Wilson 22 Robert Wilson 19 Arthur Wilson 14 Edith May Wilson 9

[DAVIDW 1,683]

Bit of a coincidence here .

If the Wilsons that Ann found are the right ones , they also appear on the 1901 Census at 5 Truman St , Nottingham.

I have Wilsons from my tree living at 17 Truman St on the same Census . Probably just 6 houses away .

Often you got relations living close by but trouble is , it's such a common name and in this case I don't think there is a connection . My Wilsons originated in Southwell .

Getting back to the names Ann listed above in 1901 , it says all born Nottingham , except wife Sarah whose birthplace is given as Ravenby , Leics.

[Riddo 47]

Thanks guys, that's some coincidence isn't it - too much not to be the one I would say. Trouble is the family story is pretty insistent on the Long Eaton way connection. Maybe that was even earlier or a previous generation. Anyway, armed with what Ann found I'll try again, it's just too good a match!

DavidW - that's a new connection altogether, we have no info' on the parents at all.

[annswabey 599]

If you get Edith Wilson's marriage cert, it should give the name of her father, assuming she wasn't illegitimate, which would obviously help a lot! You didn't say Harold's surname.....

[Riddo 47]

Since my last post on this subject one of my cousins has found that his dad had commissioned a "family history check" back in 1991. The report covers dates back to the 1860s and makes for fascinating reading as you'd expect. I'd been trying to put names to faces on old photos (the Wilsons) and when I spoke to my cousin, not only did he find the report, but also more photos with names & dates on the back! So I'd been sweating away, when it was all tucked safely away in my cousin's loft.

It may interest you both to learn that you were on the right track - we are Nottingham based & Brighton St crops up as a postal address on some of the documents. Also, Sarah from Leics is the wife of our John Wilson. Can't imagine where the Long Eaton bit started & as I said before, there's no-one left to ask (or put right for that matter).