Details of the family tree

Amy, Sandy and Doreen

Cousin Sandy, in Arizona asked if I could put details of who belongs to whom onto the blog. I have thought about this and I have read a lot of other blogs and everyone seems concerned about "them" and the fact that "they" could read the details and steal our identities. To avoid this here is what I suggest we do.
If you aren't sure of the relationships then download a free family tree programme - the LDS website has one that is perfectly good for this - and then ask me to send you a copy of the family tree as a .gedcom file. You can then open the file using the family tree software and if you want to print it out and look at it you can. I will add photographs to this blog and then you can look at the tree and see who's who AND who they belong to.
I did type out two generations for Sandy and it took over an hour so I think this is a much better way for us all to get the information.
I will be continuing to send out the newsletter occasionally, I would like to do more of the themed issues like the one that Russell sent us about the pie town and the one Martyn wrote about his DofE expeditions. If anyone has an idea then please do send it to me...... I know, I know I am wasting my breath.

A bit more of the family tree

Elizabeth "Bessie" Nathan

Samuel and Hannah lived in Southwark (pronounced Suth -ick, the "th" being hard as in then) which is south of the Thames (pronounced Temms) in London. I am putting the pronounciation in for all our cousins who were not born and raised in the UK. We like to keep people on their toes when they are trying to read our language :) Now where was I?
Their address when Samuel died was 1 Borough Road, Southwark. As far as I can see they had showrooms on London Road and as the children grew up some of the boys opened their own showrooms and began to build their own business. On the 1841 census John is still living at 1 Borough Road along with Sarah, Jane, Samuel, Nancy, Rachel, Anna, Fanny and Henry.
I have found an Aaron of the right age in Birmingham as a shopman with another Nathan family. Nathan Nathan age 25 Mary Nathan 25 Samuel 2, Aaron 30 (remember that ages of adults were rounded down to the nearest five years on the 1841 census so the adults could be up to four years older).
Wherever they all were in 1841 they were all going to get a traumatic shock the following year when their father, Samuel, was "Feloniously Killed and Slayed". He was attacked in an auction room on Pall Mall by three men, one of whom alleged that Samuel had "...used some expression that no man could bear". Samuel died two weeks later and the coroner gave the cause of death as "effect of blow to his head". You can see a full transcript of the trial here
Hannah continued to run the business and she is on the 1851 census on London road doing just that.
The three men who were indicted were found guilty of feloniously killing and slaying Samuel Nathan and sentenced to six months hard labour - because of provocation.
I wonder if that was the full reason or whether the fact that Samuel was a Jew had anything to do with it. I probably shouldn't even think this, but I just can't help feeling that a society that would sentence a child to transportation for stealing a loaf of bread or hang a person for stealing a handkerchief, would not give six months for killing someone unless the victim was in someway not worthy of full justice. I am keeing in mind that Charles Dickens had written Oliver Twist only four years previously and he had captured the socialmores of the time perfectly so...

further discoveries

"Uncle Charlie" in Nesconset on his 'farm'

Thanks to the help of a really super sleuth researcher on www.British-genealogy.com we now have the four oldest of Charles and Bessie's children on the 1891 census. This has also told us that Daniel's name was John Daniel and that he was born in London, not British Columbia as he said on his immigration into New York. His sister Harriet Sarah was born in Dublin and that birthplace is correct on the census. Margaret Annie is listed as M G Seymour but her birthplace of Darlington is correct. This means that C G is Charles and we can only hope that his birthplace of Southport is correct too. I have sent for the certificates. The picture is the man that was known as Uncle Charlie. We are now pretty certain that he was really John Daniel and that he married Fani while still married to at least one other wife.
I love this family.
I can see a huge likeness between this man and my dad and the likeness between him and other members of the family is scarey.

Lets start at the very Beginning

Nathan NATHAN had a son called Samuel, who was born about 1783 according to his age on the death certificate.
On 6 January 1808 he married Hannah Mendes, daughter of David Mendes, at the Great Synagogue, Duke's Place, London. They had a lot of children
Simon b 1808
David b 1809
Aaron b 1812
Jane b 1818
John b 1819
Sarah b 1821
Abraham b 1823
Samuel b 1824
Nancy b 1826
Rachel b 1827
Hannah b 1831
Fanny b 1833
Henry b 1835
Now I have my doubts about the last three because according to other records Hannah Mendes was born in 1786 so she would have been 45 when she had Hannah. OK so that is believeable but I really can't see her having Fanny at age 47 or Henry at age 49. I could be wrong and they are listed on the 1851 census as her children but if I am sceptical and need more proof you will bear with me won't you.
Samuel Nathan was a dealer in Southwark and it was in an auction sale room on Pall Mall that he was attacked by three men who were indicted for "Feloniously killing and slaying" him in December 1842. He died at home at 1 Borough Road, Southwark two weeks after the attack. The three men were found guilty and sentenced to six months hard labour, because the court believed there was provocation.
Samuel left everything he had to his wife Hannah. He did not mention any of his children in the will so the oldest must already have been established in their careers.
More of that next time.

The first online Gazette

I thought it was time to drag us into the twenty-first century so I have created a Gibbon Gazette blog. This will mean that everyone in the family will be able to get to see things quickly - and comment on the articles too. Perhaps this way you might even contact me with stories LOL.

 I have added a picture that Cousin Andrew found in his stash of photographs. Fred is on the far left of the picture with the paper bag in his hand.
Muriel is number six from the left, tucked in behind another girl. Steve is singing with a sheet of paper in his hand. Also in the picture is Reg North who was a friend of Fred.

Looking at the picture I would say that this had to be taken on Good Friday because they are obviously out for the day and I would imagine that the only days that such a group could be out walking would be on a Sunday or a holiday. It looks like Bettws lane and I think they are on their way up to Twm Barlwm to celebrate Good Friday. Most of Newport would walk up there in the "old" days.

I will be adding information about the family tree to this blog and I will get all the details of the latest finds about our elusive actors - and also I can tell you if I discover any more about the elusive Fred Clode because we still haven't found out when he died.
tell me if you think this is a good idea.