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Tuesday 26 July 2011

Trap Farm - Update on my Ancestral Home: Those Places Thursday

Trap Farm, c.1998
In January 2011 I told the story of my Danson Ancestral Home - Trap Farm, Carleton, near Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire.  Well, thanks to my new found third cousin, here is an update.

Trap Farm, c.1998
In the 1841 and 1851 Census, my great, great grandfather Henry Danson and family were living there.     I found the farm on the current Ordnance Survey Map and set out to find it on a visit to the Fylde c.1998.  


Situated amidst fields on what is now a busy road, it was a sorry sight - dilapidated and overgrown.

In the 1841 Census, 30 year old Henry was living there with his wife Elizabeth (Calvert), five daughters - Betty, Grace, Mary, Margaret and Ellen, his much older brother Peter and two servants.

By the time of the 1851 Census,  it was a household of 13. Henry was described as a farmer of 31 acres. Eldest daughter (now married)  Elizabeth was there  with her three sisters and her husband Thomas Bailey, whilst second daughter Grace had left home.  But there were now two sons - John and Henry  plus Henry's brother  Peter and two servants.   How did they all fit into what looked a small farmhouse?  My great grandfather James, born 1852 at Trap Farm, plus another daughter Jane,  later completed the family.

By the time of the next census in 1861 the Danson family was no longer at Trap.

Postscript 1 :  Two years ago I returned to Carleton,  fully expecting Trap Farm to be wiped off the map and replaced by a modern housing estate.   To my surprise it was still there, but was undergoing a transformation into a modern home.

Postsciipt 2:  I recently made contact with a third cousin whose great grandmother Elizabeth Danson, eldest daughter of Henry and Elizabeth,  was born at Trap Farm, and he sent me a more recent photograph.

Trap Farm, c.2011
Those Places Thursday is a weekly prompt from www.geneabloggers.com to encourage bloggers to write about their family history.  
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4 comments:

  1. Hi my name is Jonathan Bailey. My great great great grandfather was Thomas Bailey - he is named in your article re Trap Farm. I am just starting to research my family so I thought I would drop you a line

    Jonathan

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  2. Dear Jonathan, I hope you find this message, as I could not find a contact address on your blog page. I was delighted to hear from another Danson descendant and look forward to hearing more from you. As you will see from my blog, there are a lot of postings on the Danson family. Also look at the list of Topics on the right hand side of the screen and click on the Oldham Family, as they are descended from Thomas & Elizabeth's youngest daughter Mary Jane. Her grandson, Stuart, my third cousin, made contact last summer, having seem my blog, and we have exchanged a lot of information. Do keep in touch and it would be good to have your e-mail address. Mine is at the top of the blog.

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  3. Hi Susan,

    After all this time I have only just seen that you very kindly responded to my blog message!
    I would love to keep in touch and share knowledge on the family.
    My email address at work is jon.bailey@capeplc.com please drop me a line and we'll keep in touch!

    All the best Jonathan Bailey

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  4. The farm is under demolition as I passed Saturday.I spent most of my childhood at trap farm withe the son Henry 1960,,,,,1975. David connolly

    ReplyDelete

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