Home Go Holdings Go Haspeys Go Dicksons Go Webmaster

Descendants of Ellis Holding

Accuracy of the data before Generation # 4 is not verified. After generation # 4 all the data has been verified.

This page also contains descriptions of Liverpool in the mid to late 19th century

Left Click HERE and use Edit/Search (on this page) to locate a name on this page

Generation No. 1

1. ELLIS1 HOLDING was born Abt. 1785 in Bury ?, He married SARAH ENTWISTLE 30 June, 1805 in Bury ? Lancashire.

Notes for ELLIS HOLDING:

Extracted from IGI CD and is SPECULATION that he is the father of Ellis Holding who married in 1825

Child of ELLIS HOLDING and SARAH ENTWISTLE is:

Generation No. 2

2. ELLIS2 HOLDING (ELLIS1) was born Abt. 1805 in Bury ? Lancashire, he married ALICE HAWORTH 14 February, 1825 in Bury Lancashire.

Notes for ELLIS HOLDING:

Ellis was identified from the IGI CD ROM. At this time it is only SPECULATION that he is the father of Ellis Holding, father of Thomas born circa 1858.

Child of ELLIS HOLDING and ALICE HAWORTH is:

Generation No. 3

3. ELLIS3 HOLDING (ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born Abt. 18251, and died Aft. 18742. He married Abt. 1858 in Bury

Notes for ELLIS HOLDING:

Name confirmed & taken from the Marriage certificate of son Thomas, at this time the ancestors of this Ellis are speculation.

Marriage Notes for ELLIS HOLDING

Ellis's son Thomas married as a minor in 1874, as the minimum age for marriage was 16 years, then a possible marriage year for Ellis is 1858

Child of ELLIS HOLDING and ? is:

Generation No. 4

4. THOMAS4 HOLDING (ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born Abt. 1856, and he married MARY ELIZABETH HASPY 2 February, 1874 in St Nicholas Church, Parish of Liverpool, daughter of WILLIAM HASPEY and ANN DAVIES.

Notes for THOMAS HOLDING:

Thomas can be located in the 1881 Census Ref. RG11 / 3672 Folio 80 page 49, the Ecclesiastical Parish of Emmanuel, Parish of Everton, Borough of Liverpool, Ward Everton

20 Aber Street, Thomas Holding, head, married age 26 a Packer Labourer born in Liverpool

Notes for MARY ELIZABETH HASPY:

A thorough search of the Birth Indexes for the whole of England & Wales shows only a single registration in the name of Mary Elizabeth Hasbey for the 2 January 1858. The actual entry of birth completed on the 11 February 1858, gives the name of the father as William, a seaman in the merchant service, and the mother as Hannah (MS Davies). The birth was registered in the District of West Derby & Toxteth Park, within the sub-district of Everton.

The birth registration for Mary is interesting because the Surname is given as Hasbey. The birth was registered by Mary's mother who could neither read nor write. It is suggested that this explains two apparent discrepancies on the registration.

1 - The Registrar mistook the pronunciation of the name Haspey/Haspy for Hasbey or the poorly formed letter "p" was mistaken for a "b" when the index was compiled. An examination under microscope of the actual entry of birth does show a difference between the forming of the "b" in Hasbey and the "b" in February.

2 - The Registrar mistook the pronunciation of Ann for Hannah (or subsequently Hannah was shortened to Ann)

The address on the certificate of birth is also different from the address at the time of christening. The address for birth is given as No. 1. Boundary Street, Kirkdale

Mary Elizabeth Haspy was christened in the Cathedral Church of St Peter in Liverpool on 8 February 1858, and the record of that entry is in the Parish Register for 1858, entry number 1286. The register is also annotated that Mary was born on 2 January 1858, and gave the address as Knight Street.

It is reasonable to believe, given the educational ability of Mary's mother to understand the significance of the address accuracy requirement, and the fact that the birth may have taken place at a different address than the subsequent christening, that both addresses are correct, and that the registration for Mary Elizabeth Hasbey was in fact the registration of Mary Elizabeth Haspy.

Return to top

Skip to Marriage data Skip to Children of Thomas & Mary

The Social Demographics of Liverpool

St. Peter's Church, located about half way along Church Street, was about half a mile north west from Knight Street. St. Peters, was destined to be replaced as the Cathedral in the 20th century, when the foundation stone for the new Anglican Cathedral was laid in July 1904. Church Street was part of the main shopping area of Liverpool, and along with Lord Street was described as being "one of the most fashionable streets in the city". Unfortunately the south side of Lord Street, including Church Street was severely damaged by bombing during the Second World War. St Peter's Church was extensively damaged, and subsequently demolished. The site is now (1997) occupied by shops. The Parish Records for St. Peter's may be seen on microfilm at the Society of Genealogy in London, where it is possible to see a microfilmed copy of Mary's christening entry in the Parish Register.

Mary's parents William, who was a Mariner, and Ann, his wife, gave their abode as Knight Street, although no number is given. Located approximately half a mile from the river, in a 1906 O.S. Map of Central Liverpool, Knight Street is shown located at a junction with a major street, Berry Street. Berry Street ran due south from St Luke's Place, until it joined Duke Street. At either end of Berry Street were churches. At the north end was St. Luke's Church, and at the southern end was St. Mark's Church. Knight Street ran roughly West to East, with its west junction being with Berry Street, and it's east junction being with Rodney Street.

Knight Street was approximately 500 feet in length with the majority of the houses, thirteen from a total of seventeen, being on the north side. The south side of Knight Street had four houses built, with space for new dwellings. At the north corner of Knight Street and Berry Street was a Public House. From the 1906 map, the houses on Knight Street, whilst varying in size, appeared to be fairly large dwellings compared with other nearby (Roscoe Lane) dwellings.

St. Nicholas's Church

St Nicholas's Church, Central Liverpool, was situated on the corner of New Quay and Chapel Street, about as close as it was possible to get to the river front. It was in the heart of "dockland" facing George Pierhead.

In 1207, King John granted this area a Royal Charter, and Chapel Street was amongst the first streets to be built. St Nicholas's Church faced what was George's Dock, which was subsequently redeveloped in the early 20th century to become George's Pierhead, the location of the famous Royal Liver Building. The first floating pier stage was built in 1847, and by 1906 this has extended to be a mighty 2,487 feet long. Just to the south of George's Pier Head is Albert Dock which was opened in 1846 by Prince Albert, some five years after the digging commenced. The "digging of Albert Dock" was quite an event as digging continued 24 hours a day for five years! Between the Church of St. Nicholas and Albert Dock, the area is composed of warehouses. Each warehouse was some five stories high, constructed from iron and brick to make them as fire proof as possible. Some of the earlier warehouses where built in the 1780's indicating that the area had been used for this type of business for many years.

With the docks having closed in 1972, the whole area has been redeveloped, although some attempt has been made to retain some of the "original atmosphere" that can be sampled in the Maritime Museum.

It was in St Nicholas's Church that Thomas Holding married Mary Elizabeth Haspy on the 2 February 1874. Two interesting items were associated with this wedding. Mary Elizabeth was just sixteen years and 1 month in age, and it is at this point that we note the inclusion of the variation in spelling of the surname from Haspy to Haspey. Mary was not averse to the odd change in spelling, as an examination of the original marriage certificate (by microfilm) revealed that Mary also changed the spelling of her second name Elizabeth to Elyzabeth.

Return to top More on demographics

Marriage Notes for THOMAS HOLDING and MARY HASPY:

The certified copy of the marriage certificate identifies the following additional information

Witnesses to marriage were Charles Haspey and Elizabeth Haspey. Charles was the elder brother of Mary by some 4 years. Elizabeth Haspey was his wife, who he married in the same church one year earlier.

Officiating priest was R.L. Fairclough M.A. Curate

Age of both groom and bride is shown as "Minor", indicating that both were less than 21 years.

It was in St Nicholas's Church that Thomas Holding married Mary Elizabeth Haspy on the 2 February 1874. Two interesting items were associated with this wedding. Mary Elizabeth was just sixteen years and 1 month in age, and it is at this point that we note the inclusion of the variation in spelling of the surname from Haspy to Haspey. Mary was not averse to the odd change in spelling, as an examination of the original marriage certificate (by microfilm) revealed that Mary also changed the spelling of her second name Elizabeth to Elyzabeth.

Present at the marriage between Thomas and Mary were her father William Haspey who was a Waterman by profession, and two witnesses, Charles and Elizabeth Haspey. Again, noteworthy is that the witness Elizabeth signed her name Elyzabeth. Charles, being unable to write, gave his mark. It is not possible to tell if Mary's mother Ann was present at the wedding. From other research associated with Sociology within the 19th century, there is some evidence that it was a common practice in Lancashire in the period around 1862 to substitute a "y" for an "i" in many words, with "y" commonly appearing in the word "fynd" (find).

Mary gave her address as Edmund Street, indicating that the family had moved from Upper Mann Street. Thomas gave his as Brook Street. Edmund Street in 1906 was immediately behind Tithebarn Street Railway Station, opened in 1850, and rebuilt as Liverpool Exchange Station in 1888. Edmund Street provided the northern boundary for Liverpool Cotton Exchange, and was a small street leading off Old Hall Street. Under a 1000 ft. from the river front, Edmund Street was at the southern end of an area known as Vauxhall Ward. An area dominated by overcrowded streets, an atmosphere polluted by thick smoke and smells from the surrounding industrial premises, such as the tall Vauxhall Chimney, on Vauxhall Road, built in 1842, towering 312 feet, and pumping out sulphur fumes from the Thompson & Hill's chemical works.

In a book written by John Jackson in 1963, descriptions are collected from various sources to describe, amongst other things, social life in Victorian England. The following is a description of the area surrounding Vauxhall Road in the mid 19th century, taken from a Commissioners Report of the time "An Investigation into the State of Large Towns", published in the Journal of the Statistical Society in 1848.

"Liverpool contains a multitude of inhabited cellars, close and damp, with no drain nor any convenience, and the pest houses are constantly filled with fever. Some time ago I visited a poor woman in distress, the wife of a labouring man, she had been confined only a few days, and herself and infant were lying on straw in a vault, through the outer cellar, with a clay floor impervious to water. There was no light nor ventilation in it, and the air was dreadful. I had to walk on bricks across the floor to reach her bedside, the floor itself being flooded with stagnant water. This is by no means an extraordinary case; for I have witnessed scenes equally as wretched, and it is only necessary to go into Crosby Street, Freemason's Row, and many cross streets out of Vauxhall Road, to find hordes of poor creatures living in cellars, which are almost as bad and offensive as charnel houses. In Freemason's Row, I found, about two years ago, a court of houses, the floors of which were below the public street, and the area of the whole court was a floating mass of putrefied animal and vegetable matter, so dreadfully offensive, that I was obliged to make a precipitate retreat. Yet the whole of the houses were inhabited."

Edmund street itself contained few dwellings, but on the north side of the street, a small alleyway next to a Public House led to fifteen dwellings. The alley way does not have a specific adopted name, and it may therefore be concluded that residents of these dwellings would be classed as Edmund Street, or perhaps Edmund Court. Brook Street faired little better, being situated approximately 500 feet north west from Edmund Street, a small road leading King Edward Street and connecting with Old Hall Street. Brook Street was mainly warehouses, and squeezed between them two small alley ways leading to courts of dwellings. One court had nine dwellings, and the other eighteen.

The Vauxhall Ward, and it's adjacent sister ward, Scotland Ward, would account for a floating population of single workers without permanent accommodation, whom would each night seek lodgings. By the end of the 19 th century the estimated size of t his floating population of labourers and dockers was some 14,000 persons. Quoting from the "Report on an Investigation into the State of Large Towns".

"Far worse conditions were of course found in the cellars that were used to provide nightly shelter. At night the floor of these cellars, often the bare earth, is covered with straw, and there are lodgers, all who can afford to pay a penny for the accommodation, arrange themselves as best they may until scarcely a single available inch of space is left unoccupied; and this way as many as 30 human beings or more are sometimes packed together, each inhaling the poison which his neighbour generates and presenting in miniature a picture of the Black Hole of Calcutta.

In many areas there were no toilets at all and the filth was allowed to accumulate in front of the hoses in a ditch. In some areas, the air would be contaminated by the air that arose from one or two toilets shared by all the residents in a court."

The appalling conditions described by those 19th century contemporaries did not apply to just a few isolated districts, or to the casual labouring population only. They formed the environment of the majority of the working classes of the town, including the highly skilled and independent craftsmen of the middle 19th century.

Return to top

Children of THOMAS HOLDING and MARY HASPY are:

Generation No. 5

5. THOMAS FLETCHER5 HOLDING (THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born 5 April, 1882 in 59 Erskine Street, West Derby, Liverpool, County of Lancaster, England, and died 27 August, 1938 in Stanley Hospital, Liverpool, England. He married MABEL TURNER 19 September, 1908 in St Philip's Church, Sheffield, daughter of WILLIAM TURNER.

Birth Notes for THOMAS FLETCHER HOLDING:

Family Research Centre, London, Birth Index has the birth registered in the June Index 1882, (period May - June) in West Derby. Volume 8b, page 586.

The entry of birth records the following:-

Registration District West Derby, in the sub district of West Derby, Municipal Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster. Registration number 307 on the 5th day of April 1882 in 59 Erskine Street, Thomas Fletcher, Boy, Father: Thomas Holding, Mother: Mary Elizabeth Holding (MS Haspey), Occupation of father: Warehouseman.

Informant: M.E. Holding, mother of 59 Erskine Street, West Derby

When registered: 8 May 1882 Registrar: George Preston

(Checked 1881 & 1891 census for 59 Erskine Street, but there was no "Holding" for that address).

Marriage Notes for THOMAS FLETCHER HOLDING:

The entry of marriage records the following:-

Marriage solemnized at St Philip's Church Sheffield, in the Parish of St Philip's. Entry number 328 on the 19 September 1908 between Thomas Fletcher Holding age 27 (he was in fact only 26 yrs) Bachelor and Mabel Turner, age 22 yrs, Spinster.

Thomas lived at 279 St Philip's Road and Mabel lived at 25 Broxholme Road, Woodseats, Sheffield. Mary gave her address as Broxholme Road. The 1891 census was checked to see if Mabel's father was identified, but no Broxholme Road was built then! Sheffield Archives subsequently confirmed that Broxholme Road was in existence in 1908. More Marriage Notes

Notes on death of Thomas Fletcher Holding

Copy of entry of death obtained on 26 July 1997 records the following:-

Registration District Liverpool North, in the sub district of Kirkdale in the County Borough of Liverpool. Registration number 78 of the 7th September 1938.

Thomas Fletcher Holding, male aged 55 years, of 47 Hinton Street, Liverpool 6, a journeyman baker, died on the 27 August 1938 in Stanley Hospital from injuries to the head and chest accidentally caused in a collision between two motor lorries, in one of which he was traveling. Certificate received from G.C. Mort, Coroner for Liverpool. Inquest held on 6th September 1938

Notes for MABEL TURNER:

The marriage entry for Mabel to Thomas Fletcher Holding gave her age as 22 which means her date of birth could be either 1886 or 1885, however her death certificate gave her age as 65 years in 1957 which would indicate a date of birth of 1892. It is understood that Mabel "left" her first husband and returned to her birthplace town of Blackpool. Mabel died in Blackpool, Lancs. and at the time of her death lived in 13 Fordway Avenue, Blackpool. The property in Fordway, a corner property, was a boarding house in the 1950's. Mabel married Harold "Pop" Hargreaves who was a trawlerman, working out of Fleetwood, a fishing town along the coast from Blackpool.

Marriage Notes for THOMAS HOLDING and MABEL TURNER:

Family Research Centre, London, Marriage Index, 1908 Sheffield September Index (July - September) Volume 9c page 898. Marriage in St Philip's Parish Church according to the Rites & Ceremonies of the Established Church of England after Banns.

Witnesses William and Harriet Baker

Children of THOMAS HOLDING and MABEL TURNER are:

Return to top

Generation No. 6

6. GORDON6 HOLDING (THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born Aft. 1909, and died 25 January, 1998 in York. He married JOYCE SUMMERS.

Child of GORDON HOLDING and JOYCE SUMMERS is:

7. VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING (THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1909 in 17 Bowness Road, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, and died, 1993 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England. She married GEORGE KEVIN DICKSON 1932 in St Saviours Church, Liverpool, Lancs., son of JOHN DICKSON and MARY MURDON.

Notes for VIOLET HASPY HOLDING:

Signature, description & residence of informant: M Holding, mother, 17 Bowness Road, Sheffield.

Registrar: William Clarkson.

Marriage Notes for VIOLET HOLDING and GEORGE DICKSON:

Marriage 1932, Address at time of marriage 17 Lowther St, Liverpool

Witnesses to marriage James Stuart Cole, Mildred Kettie Carney, Thomas Fletcher Holding (father of bride). The marriage was cross denomination, and there followed a distancing between the family of George Dickson whose father refused to attend the wedding, and thereafter never visited George & Violet or their family.

Children of VIOLET HOLDING and GEORGE DICKSON are:

8. THOMAS ALBERT6 HOLDING (THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1913 in Liverpool, and died, 1960 in Walton Hospital, Walton, Liverpool. He married PHYLIS MARY TURNER 2 October, 1937 in The Register Office, Liverpool South District, daughter of ISAAC TURNER.

Notes for THOMAS ALBERT HOLDING:

Although christened Thomas Albert Holding, this person was known throughout his life as Albert. The Family burial plot is in Section Toxteth Park Cemetery, Smithdown Road, Liverpool.

Notes for PHYLIS MARY TURNER:

Age at marriage was given as 25 years so the birth date is calculated as 1912. At her burial, Phylis's age was given as 69 years, which would give birth year of 1909. However as the date at burial was given by Janice Beacham (daughter) there could be confusion because the mother of Janice's husband (mother-in-law, Dora Beacham) who was born in 1909.

Marriage Notes for THOMAS HOLDING and PHYLIS TURNER:

Marriage was solemnized at the Register Office, District of Liverpool South, County Borough of Liverpool in 1937.

Thomas Albert Holding age 24 years, a Bachelor. Profession - Baker. Address 47 Selbourne Street Liverpool. Father Thomas Fletcher Holding, also a Baker.

Phyllis Mary Turner age 25 years, a spinster. Profession Hospital ward maid of 55 Webb Street, Liverpool. Father Isaac Turner (deceased) who was an Oil Company Traveler (Salesman?)

Witnesses were W.F. Baguley and Winnie Williams.

Child of THOMAS HOLDING and PHYLIS TURNER is:

Return to top

9. RONALD6 HOLDING (THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born in Liverpool. He married (1) JEAN Unknown Surname in Blackpool. He married (2) WINIFRED Unknown Surname in Liverpool .

The address in Wallasey was a house almost on a corner, a short walk from the ferry terminal for the ferry from Liverpool, across the River Mersey

Children of RONALD HOLDING and JEAN are:

Return to top

10. VERA6 HOLDING (THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born in Liverpool, and died 1959 in Blackpool. She married (1) ? ROBERTS. She married (2) JIM BOLTON. She married (3) WILLIAM BRIALY.

Children of VERA HOLDING and ? ROBERTS are:

Children of VERA HOLDING and WILLIAM BRIALY are:

Return to top

Generation No. 7

11. FLORENCE JEAN7 DICKSON (VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1934 in Liverpool. She married KENNETH JOHN THRAVES 1957 in Blackpool, son of RALPH THRAVES and RUBY TALLIS.

Children of FLORENCE DICKSON and KENNETH THRAVES are:

12. DONALD GEORGE7 DICKSON (VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1946 in 65 Torsway Ave, Blackpool, Lancs., Eng.. He married (1) CHRISTINE BRENDA WYLDE 1965 in Reading, Berkshire, England, daughter of THOMAS WYLDE and VIOLET KINGSBEER. He married (2) SHEILA QUAYLE 1986 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, daughter of DUNCAN QUAYLE and MARY WILSON.

Notes for CHRISTINE BRENDA WYLDE:

Christine divorced Donald G Dickson in 1975 and married "Bill" Matta. There were two further children Peter & Emmy of that marriage who are siblings to the children of Donald & Christine. Christine divorced Bill Matta 1995.

Children of DONALD DICKSON and CHRISTINE WYLDE are:

13. JANICE MAY7 HOLDING (THOMAS ALBERT6, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born 1938 in 126 Smithdown Road, Liverpool. She married LESLIE BEECHAM, 1963 in Windsor Hall, 42 Holden Street, Liverpool South., son of LESLIE BEACHAM.

Notes for LESLIE BEECHAM:

Age 28 years extracted from Marriage Certificate, date of birth calculated as 1935

Extraction from marriage certificate

Bachelor, a "Second Man" (Coal Wagon) of 14 Walpole Street, Liverpool 7. Father Leslie Beacham (deceased) also a "Second Man" (Coal Wagon). As the marriage was solemnized at Winsor Hall, 42 Holden Street "according to the rites & ceremonies of Christians" this is deduced to be a non conformist church. Witnesses were F. A. Broughton, J.V. Broughton & J Swainbank

Child of JANICE HOLDING and LESLIE BEECHAM is:

17. i. JULIE8 BEECHAM, b. 1964, Sefton General Hospital, Liverpool.

Return to top

Generation No. 8

14. ANDREW CHRISTOPHER8 THRAVES (FLORENCE JEAN7 DICKSON, VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born 1966 in England. He married SAMANTHA HAGUE, 1997 in Blackpool Register Office

Child of ANDREW THRAVES and SAMANTHA HAGUE is:

i. OLIVER THOMAS9 THRAVES, b., 1998.

15. SHARON JANE8 THRAVES (FLORENCE JEAN7 DICKSON, VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born 1972 in Isle of Ely, Cambridgeshire.

Child of SHARON THRAVES is:

i. SAMUEL JAMES9 THRAVES, b.1998, Blackpool Victoria Hospital, Blackpool..

16. PAUL CHRISTOPHER8 DICKSON (DONALD GEORGE7, VIOLET HASPY6 HOLDING, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1970 in Reading. He met DIANE FRENCH 1991 in Reading, daughter of GEORGE FRENCH and JOAN BELCHER.

Children of PAUL DICKSON and DIANE FRENCH are:

i. CHLOÉ TAMARA9 DICKSON, b., 1996.

ii. CAITLIN LOUISE REBECCA DICKSON, b., 1997.

17. JULIE8 BEECHAM (JANICE MAY7 HOLDING, THOMAS ALBERT6, THOMAS FLETCHER5, THOMAS4, ELLIS3, ELLIS2, ELLIS1) was born, 1964 in Sefton General Hospital, Liverpool.

Children of JULIE BEECHAM are:

i. SCOT9, b. 1982.

ii. KALEY, b. 1987.

iii. PETER, b. 1989.

Return to top

Last updated 21/04/08

Copyright Don Dickson 1999