Bristol Family History

Pot

dplindegaard — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:27:38 +0000

The ghost is still there – picture saved in the draft, but will not print!

This is Grandfather’s Pot

dplindegaard — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:23:38 +0000

It should have appeared with the last post, but owing to a Ghost in the Machine – didn’t.

A History of the World in 100 objects

dplindegaard — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:09:41 +0000

My father in law went to sea at the age of fifteen. A note in his log book says “Daddy asked me to get him a monkey.” As he could not find a suitable monkey, he brought back an ethnic water jar made of thick pottery, slightly listing to one side, with two jug eared handles sticking out from the neck.

“Daddy”, our grandfather, Arthur Lindegaard, a naturalised British citizen who had returned to his native Denmark was pleased with the souvenir and commemorated the voyage by writing “MED “MINSK” TIL ALGIER 1923” in black ink round the swelling of the bowl and drew imagined scenes from North African life round the belly. Long after, in the 50s or 60s, somebody attempted to turn the pot into a table lamp: the result of this regrettable enterprise, a broken electrical plug, is still stuck in the neck. Aesthetically, the thing is hideous. So far so ordinary.

The 1960s come and we inherit the pot. In between Arthur’s decorations, his squatting Arabs, donkey riders, camels and so on there is tiny faded writing. We can see dates, starting in 1940, and recognisable words: Curfew, Mussolini, Afrika, “Kbhn”, Casablanca, Leningrad…..

An English-Danish Dictionary is called for. On 20^th March 1940 the “Minsk” was torpedoed and sunk; Arthur wrote it on the pot. He expands his idea globally. He somehow manages to listen to the BBC news. He writes notes, one after another on the pot. It becomes a history of the Second World War. Armies march across Europe and Africa and around the pot. Stalingrad, Tunis, Casablanca, Tripoli, Naples…. Then “Invasion Normandiet 6 Jun 1944” he records, followed by a verifiable list of Allied successes: “Rumania, 23 Aug, Paris 24 Aug, Bulgaria, 26 Aug, Athens, 14 Oct, Belgrade, 20 Oct.” Only “Finland 3 Oct” seems out of place in the world picture. It is easy to check. Arthur seems to have been shocked that on this day three “Soviet infiltrators” were shot in Helsinki. He was happier on 20^th October when Yugoslav partisans and the Red Army occupied Belgrade.

The entry for “15 Nov 1943” is particularly poignant. “Kirke Kionkerne i Englund Ringede” he writes. It is “Ring the Bells”, Churchill’s order after El Alamein, when church bells were rung for the first time since 1939. Churchill famously said it was “not the beginning of the end but the end of the beginning”. Tears come to my eyes.

So I see Arthur crouched over a crackling wireless set. It is in occupied Denmark. It is our grandfather’s little resistance in a mad world. My thoughts run riot.

How did he even come by a radio? Where did he hide it? Where did he hide the pot? His courage astounds me. I worry for what could have been.

Sadly, Arthur died suddenly on 14^th March 1945, aged 68. He never knew the end of the story.

Bristol Family History on Twitter

dplindegaard — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 19:07:13 +0000

You can find me at: http://twitter.com/dplindegaard

The Jacobs and Alman families of Bristol

dplindegaard — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 19:24:31 +0000

I have received the following message from Averil Douglas who used the contact form at http://www.bristolfamilyhistory.co.uk/contact.

“I am descended from Lazarus Jacobs [b: abt. 1709 Frankfurt, Germany; d: 1796 Bristol) and Mary (nee Hiscock), his wife [b: 1725 Templecombe, Somerset; d: 1816 Bristol) through their daughter, Susannah (Sukey)[1759-1851] who married Joseph Moses Alman, thence through their son Mosley Moses Alman, then his daughter Leah Alman who emigrated to Australia 1853 aboard the ship "Cambodia" and married Abraham Barnett Simmons, a son of Rabbi Barnett Asher Simmons of Penzance, Cornwall and his wife Flora (nee Jacob) in Melbourne, Vic. Australia.

Isaac Jacobs was a brother of Susannah (Sukey, referred to above) and became a very famous glassmaker. His portrait I understand is housed in the Bristol City Museum [Object Number K458), an oil painting by Isaac Pocock. I am hoping you have access to a photograph or this portrait on file and may be willing to share it with me. I live in Australia and do not plan to visit the UK at this point in time.

In addition, I would appreciate hearing from you with any other information you can provide or details of publications that would be of interest to me. I would also be happy to provide you with further information from my family tree should you be so interested. If you hold on file information about Joseph Moses Alman of Bristol, [1748-1835] and his family, including any siblings as well as his descendants other than Mosley Moses Alman (1785-1852) I would appreciate hearing from you with this information. Thanks.”

Unfortunately I have no information other than the items already posted but am endeavouring to find the portrait of Isaac Jacobs mentioned by Averil.

Jean Lilian Jarvis R.I.P.

dplindegaard — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:57:46 +0000

I am sorry to record the death on 13th June of a Brislington resident, Jean Jarvis of Winchester Road at the age of 77.

The funeral, ably conducted by her friend and neighbour, David Jarrett, who also gave the Tribute, took place on at South Bristol Crematorium on 22nd June.

The Hymn “The Day Thou Gavest Lord is Ended” was followed by David’s reading from John 14: 1-6 & 27. Jean’s grandson Remi Jarvis then read from Ephesians 3: 13-19. If the selection of the second hymn, “The Old Rugged Cross” with its rather gruesome words was at first mystifying, all is explained by the second line of the refrain “Till my trophies at last I lay down” for Jean was a past Lady Captain of Knowle Golf Club. Following the service, at Knowle Golf Club, we were privileged to be seated with three former Lady Captains of the club, one still turning out for the county and the eldest aged 94.

I always found Jean to be a cheerful character, who made light of her own suffering and was always concerned for others.

Robin Bush, 1943-2010

dplindegaard — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 13:56:14 +0000

I was sorry to read in the “Telegraph” of 25th June, that Robin Bush has died aged 67. For many years Robin was archivist at the Somerset Record Office in Taunton. In 1992, I was struggling to transcribe bits of Brislington’s history from the Bishops’ Papers of the early 17th century and discovered there some slightly seedy goings on. A few of the more juicy pieces of gossip were the reports of certain shenanigans in a sheep fold by two married parishioners, a lady who accused the vicar’s wife of assaulting her – in church - and the interference by a brother in his sister’s love life. The fact that these notes appear in intelligible form in my “Brislington Bulletins 1601-1699” where both the guilty and complainants are named, is largely thanks to the patient help I received from Robin.

He was a genial character, rather larger than life, and I was thrilled to see him on Channel 4’s “Time Team” and missed him when he did not appear after 2003.

Robin was a brilliant orator and I well remember a speech he gave at a meeting of the Bristol & Avon Family History Society when he told a rapt audience of his adventures when he had taken on a seemingly “ordinary” genealogy quest, if such a thing exists. It appears he was able to hitch a ride on the family tree of a landed family, which led somehow to the Almanac de Gotha and culminated (as far as I recall) with a possible link to the Holy Family!

He concluded with an exultant shout – to prolonged applause – “……..and it’ll never happen to me again!”

Bristol Community Archaeological Project : Dig at St Anne’s

dplindegaard — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:57:42 +0000

BCAP seized the opportunity to sink a test pit in the back garden at a residential site allegedly in the proximity of the mysterious St Anne’s Chapel.

The contours of the test pit was 71 centimetres deep on all sides, and I was impressed by the professionalism of the group and the meticulous collection of “finds” though, to me, as a layperson, these were not very inspiring: – a tiny piece of flint, perhaps evidence of a prehistoric inhabitant of our parish (?), some bits of tile, some suggestion of burning, (charcoal?), a few little stones which could have been anything, some possible “tesserae” (bring your imagination with you) and the small fragments of a white Victorian teacup, including part of the handle. Better luck next time, I would have thought.

But all good fun and I very much enjoyed my visit on 11th June in glorious sunshine and meeting with Trudy, Dawn and Steve.

The test pit and finds

Dawn hard at work

I am hoping to research the site, so watch this space.

John Davies, B.E.M., J.P.

dplindegaard — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 14:00:24 +0000

I was sorry to learn of the recent death aged 88, of John Davies, which took place on April 25th. John was a distinguished member of the local community, a Labour Councillor and a former chair of Brislington East Labour Party which is where I met him. He was very kind and encouraging to me and some years ago, being about to retire from the bench himself, urged me to apply to become a magistrate. Unfortunately, I was then past the age of sixty, and as throughout my life I have been a late starter, I was already too old.

Davies Drive, off Robertson Road, which leads to the tranquillity of the Avon water was named after him. John is survived by his widow, Catherine, two daughters, five grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

I am afraid that as one reaches the Biblical yardstick of threescore years and ten news of the departures of friends and acquaintances becomes ever more frequent.

Ian MacGregor R.I.P

dplindegaard — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 13:43:23 +0000

I am sorry to record the recent sudden death, aged 78, of a member of our extended family, Ian MacGregor, the father of my daughter in law Sheena Lindegaard. It was only a few weeks ago, at Easter, that he came down from Crail in the Kingdom of Fife with his wife Caroleen to attend the christening of our shared granddaughter at St Luke’s Church, Brislington. We enjoyed a mutual interest in family history and I often described him “of that ilk”. Since retirement, the Macs had become intrepid foreign travellers, even venturing as far as New Zealand and had only recently returned from Madeira where they were fortunate in escaping the landslip. I am pleased that last year we were able to visit them in Crail, a trip which is described previously on this outlet. In the midst of life we are in death.