H is for Heirlooms, Handwriting, Henry, Hambleton & Hawkyard - A to Z Genealogical Challenge

Ros at http://genwestuk.blogspot.com/ has come  up with the idea of an A to Z genealogical challenge for the month of April.  It soon got me thinking, so here are my contributions.

H is for:

Heirlooms - I watch with admiration programmes like  "Antiques Roadshow" where people show wonderful items, such as portraits, jewellery and furniture  that have been passed down the generations.  My heirlooms are much more mundane - my great grandmother's copper kettle and teaset, family photographs and the embroidered cards that my grandfather sent back  from Flanders to his family during the First World War.  But it is not the value that counts and to me they are very precious heirlooms.

Hambleton - my great grandmother Maria Rawcliffe  was one of eight daughters born in the small village of Hambleton, near Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire.  In a local history publication, I came across this witty little verse referring to the different villages in the  area. I  like to think that Maria was a "bonnie lass"!  

Pilling for paters (potatoes)

Presall for pluck

Hambleton for bonnie lasses
Stalmine for muck!

Hawkyard - this strong sounding, distinctive  name features in my husband's Donaldson family history.  They were  lodging house keepers in the old  town of Alnwick in Northumberland.  An internet search revealed that Hawkyards predominated in Yorkshire. This is another name that is on my list for further research and further blog stories.

Henry or Harry  - a name  with my Danson ancestors down the generations  from my great great great grandfather  to my uncle. 

Handwriting - I struggle to decipher old handwriting but there is help at hand on the website  http://www.scottishhandwriting.com/

Above is the letter of 1659 from General Monck, written during the Civil War, in which he authorises the Burghers of Selkirk to “Supresse all tumults, Stirrings and unlawfull Assemblies, and that yow hold noe Correspondency with any of Charles Stuarts party, or his adherents".  (In the collection of the Heritage Hub, Hawick)

Heritage Hub, Hawick - my local archive centre and a "must contact" place for anyone with ancestors who lived in the four counties of the Scottish Borders - Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire.  (www.heartofhawick.co.uk/heritagehub)