Girls All Together - Sepia Saturday

Sepia Saturday encourages bloggers to record their family history through photographs.

This week's theme prompted this story of my Great Aunt Jennie Danson who worked in Poulton Post Office, Lancashire.

 

This photograph was in the collection left by my Great Aunt Jennie.  According to her daughter, it was a group   of Jennie's work colleagues at Poulton Post Office. Certainly they seem to be dressed in a uniform of  the same skirts and blouses.     Jennie had written the names on the reverse  (how we wish all our ancestors would do that!) -  Gerty Roskell, Jennie Danson, Annie Jolly, Margaret Porter, Madge O' Rourke, Edith Jackson.

 

 

 

 

 

My great aunt Jennie Danson (1897- 1986) was, by all accounts, quite a feisty character. She was the only daughter and last child of James Danson and Maria Rawcliffe  born on 24th December 1897, after eight surviving brothers - George then aged 3, Frank 5, Albert 7, Tom 9, William 12 (my grandfather), Robert 16, John 18 and Harry 20 - a large family in a small terraced house. Her father died when when was eight years old, and two brothers John and George died in the First World War.

The oldest photograph below  c. 1909 of Jennie shows her to be around 12 years old, pictured with her widowed mother and her niece Annie Maria, daughter of brother John.

 

On leaving school, Jennie went to work in the local post office.  Her daughter Pam recalls a story that during the First World War, a telegram came through  for Mrs Maria Danson. Fearing the worst, Jenny was allowed to run home with it. Fortunately it was good news to say that Frank was in hospital in Malta but was doing well.  

I  love this photo below of Jennie with the "modern" hairstyle of the 1920's.  She was determined to lead her own life, much to the dismay of her five unmarried brothers who were used to her running the home after the death of their mother (Maria) in 1919. Jennie married Beadnell (Bill) Stemp in 1929 and died in 1985 aged 88 years old.



Jenny left  to her daughters a legacy of memories of her mother Maria, tangible family artifacts such as her mother’s tea set and jewellery, a large collection of photographs  and other family memorabilia, much relating to her two youngest brothers Frank and George.  

 

Copyright © 2012 · Susan Donaldson.  All Rights Reserved

 

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