Liverpool & South West Lancashire FHS - Forum

Thank you for accepting me into the group.
I am researching my great grandfather William Berkley Blake. I have his marriage and death certificates and his entries on the 1891 and 1901 census. All in Liverpool.
I can't find his birth or him on 1881 census. From records, he was maybe born 1875/76 in Liverpool. How true that is, I don't know.

Are the records for LNWR railway staff held at Liverpool Central Library? He was a porter for them. I might get some info from there?

Many thanks

Hi Crystal and Welcome.

Have you looked at the following,

William Berkley Blake, Birth registered, 1871, Melksham, mothers maiden name, Hart.

Ann Hart married William Blake, registered, 1870, Melksham

GRO,

1881 census,

Name: William Blake
Age: 9
Estimated birth year: abt 1872
Relation: Son
Father's name: William Blake
Mother's name: Ann Blake
Gender: Male
Where born: Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Civil Parish: Roath
County/Island: Glamorgan
Country: Wales
Street address: No 26 Galston St
Education: View image
Employment status: View image
Occupation: Scholar
Registration district: Cardiff
Sub registration district: Cardiff

William Blake 33, engine driver
Ann Blake 34
William Blake 9
Louisa Blake 7

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/s ... sePUB=true

1891 census,
RG12 P4386 F136 Page80,

https://search.ancestry.co.uk/cgi-bin/s ... sePUB=true

For those who can't view the marriage, Father, William Blake recorded as Engineer, engine driver on census. Also deceased, Ann recorded as a Widow, 1891 census.

Welcome to the forum Crystal, well done Bert, mostly all sorted before I've woken up!!

I would imagine most railway companies have their own records rather than depositing them, there is a LNWR Society with a couple of good links, Contact Us and Can We Help You. You could take things forward with them I imagine https://www.lnwrs.org.uk/history01.php

Hi there,
Thank you for the replies. I have looked at this family, and William Blake's Dad has a brother named Berkeley. I'm not 100% sure this is the family as my William says he was born 1875/6 and in Liverpool, but this could not be true. I also looked at people's trees with him included. They say he died in the 1920s, where on the 1891 census , Anne, his wife is a widow. So whoever added this to their tree is incorrect. Not sure when his mum died. His sister,Louisa, is on 1901 census as a visitor / housemaid? at a family's house.
William is a drapler's assistant on 1891 census. I've been looking for him and the above 2 in the1901 Roath Cardiff area as 1881 and 1891 census's.

I was hoping William Berkley Blake's records as a porter in LNWR would give me a date and place of birth.


I love doing this family tree research, but it gives me a headache sometimes
I will get in touch with the LNWR link

I also have a great x2 grandfather John Alexander Ebbs , a mariner from Liverpool. I was told he was a lay preacher at the Seamans Mission in Liverpool at one time. Where could I find this information please.

Thank you everyone for your help,
Andrea

You should make a friend of the Liverpool Record Office, in William Brown Street, you will find many records there, here is a link to their site and you'll find their catalogue on there too. https://liverpool.gov.uk/libraries/arch ... y-history/

I have to say that we tend not to accept anybody else's tree unless you do the research yourself, many online trees have been taken from one and passed on from one to another, so often with the same mistakes included in them.

Thank you for the reply

I always use the information I find. I just took a look at this line on these trees and even that info. was different to what I found. I'm not 100% sure it's my line.People just copy the info without checking don't they?

Thank you again,
Andrea

I've had a message to pass on to you, hope you find it useful

Many records are held at the National Archives however there are some at Cheshire Archives. I found some information on my grandfather at Cheshire Archives years ago. He began working with LNWR and continued when it became part of LMS. I found out that he was working at the Edge Hill Marshalling yards during WW2.

Also there is a Railway Staff Database compiled by Cheshire Archives which unfortunately refused to work for me this afternoon saying the server wasn’t found. That Database says it has some LNWR personnel.