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Friday 22 July 2022

Horse Tales of My Family - Sepia Saturday

 Tales of journeys by horse and traps features in my response to this week's Sepia Satturday early 20th century prompt photograph  (see end of this post.)

Firstly an image from my local heritage group Auld Earlston in the Scottish Borders.  Dated 1907 it shows members of the church choir setting out on their annual trip on a crowded wagonette.  


Hopefully it would be a dry day as there was no protection from the elements on the 20 mile journey  It was a bit surprising that they did not choose to take the train from Earlston part of the way and then transfer to waggonette for  travelling  down the Yarrow Valley to their destination. 

 
The group later relaxing - many minus their hats! 

 Onto photographs and memories from my family collection: 

My father  left school at the aged of 14. In his own words:

  "I went to work at the grocer's.  I had been an errand boy there and also worked on Saturdays with time off for soccer.  I went out in a horse and trap  delivering orders (we sold bags of corn 80 plus pounds).  The pony, a Welsh cob named Tommy, was inclined to be lazy.   At night time I rode him bareback to a field!    
This was  a surprising memory as Dad never gave us any indication later in life of having the slightest interest or affinity with horses!

 My cousin's ancestors were the Oldham family of Blackpool, Lancashire  who were carters and coalmen down three generations - Joseph Prince Oldham (1855-1921), his son John William Oldham (1880-1939) and his granddaughter Elsie Smith, nee Oldham (1906-1989).
 

The business was founded around 1890, steadily became prosperous and in 1905 moved to near North Station, Blackpool, Lancashire in a house with a large yard at the back with hay loft, tack room. and stabling for around 7 horses.

 

John William Oldham on one of the carriages in the family business of coal men and carters

It is never too late to discover new information on an ancestor,  as more and more Records come online.  Such was the case last year for me.  

I first wrote a  profile on my great great grandfather Henry Danson (1806-1881)  many years ago  in pre-Internet days. He lived near Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire  and the standard resources provided me with a good picture emerging of his life, his family (6 daughters and 3 sons) and his occupations as a farmer and later in life as a  toll collector at nearby Shard Bridge.

I am a regular user of newspapers online at British Newspaper Archive  and in a very casual browsing  of the Danson name,  I came across a wonderful find -  an obituary and a coroner’s report  on Henry's death - and discovered information on Henry that was completely new to me.  

I found out that he was well known locally as "a famous judge in  horse flesh"  and had died in a tragic accident in his horse and cart.

 

Blackpool & Gazette Herald:  11th November 1881.  

 The article went on:

 "For many years he possessed a breed of horses well known and much admired in the Fylde for their endurance and good constitution. They were known by the name of "Robin Hood's breed," and many of the old farmers at the present day think they are not excelled if equaled by the present breed of horses. He was a kind neighbour. His motto ever was "to do unto others as he would they do unto him."

What a lovely description of my great great grandfather  - and a wonderful find, as in Britain,  unlike  the USA,  it is not customary to write such tributes to a person, unless they have made their mark in some distinctive way in their community - as clearly Henry Danson had.  I  had no idea he was well known locally and had never heard of the breed of Robin Hood horses, as Robin Hood country was much further south around Nottingham.

But as I found later, there were some omissions in the obituary on the nature of Henry's death.  For another newspaper report  of an inquest revealed the details.

Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser: Wednesday 02 Nov. 1881

“FATAL FALL FROM A CART. On Monday evening Mr. Gilbertson held an inquest at Poulton-le-Fylde, on the body of Henry Danson, collector of the Shard Bridge tolls. The deceased, who was 75 years old, was riding in a cart with Mr. John  ? farmer, on the way to Poulton, when the horse took fright and jumped forward. Danson was standing in the cart leaning on his stick at the moment he  was jerked out upon the road. He was attended Mr. Winn, surgeon, but could never walk afterwards, his left thigh being injured, and he had an attack of pleurisy fortnight before his death, which occurred on Thursday night last. The jury returned verdict of Death  from the effects of injuries received, and resulting illness, through fall from a cart."

It is both sad and ironic that Henry,  noted for his skill with horses,  should have died,  whilst driving his horse and cart.  

Anyone tracing their family history may well have  a "carter or carrier " in their ancestry - an essential occupation in transporting goods around.  Such a man was my other great great grandfather Robert Rawcliffe of Hambleton Lancashire. More carter images are shown here  with  vintage photographs from  the collection of my local heritage group Auld Earlston. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The 1851 census for Earlston (population 1,819)  lists 9 men working as  blacksmiths, 7 carters/carriers, 3 saddlers, 2  stable boys, an ostler, a farrier, a groom and a coachman - plus of course all those who would be working  with horses on the many farms in the rural parish. 

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Sepia Saturday gives an opportunity for genealogy bloggers 
       to share their family history through photographs


 Click HERE To find more tales from Sepia Saturday bloggers.


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3 comments:

  1. Excellent match to the prompt...and what great photos of carts and the men who managed them. Sad about your GG Grandfather's death after a fall from a cart.

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  2. Great collection. Your discovery of Henry Danson's obituaries add a very personal dimension to an ancestor that's rare to find. Having spent a week last month driving along the narrow country lanes in Kent while on holiday, I can appreciate the challenges of traveling in Britain by a horse drawn conveyance. I don't know how they managed to guide horses with large wagons to avoid ditches or to pass oncoming traffic. It's one of those many forgotten country skills.

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  3. A nice collection and good match to the prompt. That wagonette must have been quite a ride. How nice that you found the additional information about your gggrandfather.

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