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This old photograph of the Clock Tower which houses the great bell of Big Ben was probably taken by my gran, Ivy Alice Hibbitt (nee Dando), some time during the 1950's. At the time, the tower was covered in scaffolding and the Statue of Queen Boadicea (or Boudica) in her chariot can be seen in the foreground.

(From my grandpa's collection of old slides - see this post for more information.)

[Why Those Places Thursday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

25th AUGUST

1814 - 197 years ago, John Fryer & Prudence Gower were married in the church at Gloucester St Mary de Lode. John was the son of my 5 x great-grandparents, John Fryer (1762-1816) and his first wife, Phoebe (nee Taysum).

1836 - Half-brother of John above, Thomas Fryer married Sarah Saunders in Stonehouse in Gloucestershire. Thomas' parents were John Fryer (1762-1816) and his second wife, Carolina (originally Browning). Thomas was also baptized on 25th August, thirty-four years earlier in 1802.

28th AUGUST

1830 - Helen Dando was born in Norwood, Surrey, 181 years ago. She was the daughter of Nathaniel Dando, the elder, and his second wife, Caroline (nee Hewitt).

29th AUGUST

1850 - Francis Ann Pitcher was born. She was the grand-daughter of my 5 x great-grandparents, Benjamin Pitcher & Margaret (nee Worgan).

1813 - also on this day, my 5 x great-grandparents, William Horn & Ann Bayley, were married in St Mary's Church, Black Torrington, Devon.

Family Tree section

• Added a few more facts and footnotes for Nathaniel Dando, the elder.
• Added Nathaniel's children by his 1st wife, Hannah Langston, together with some facts.
• Added their daughter Amelia Dando's husband, George Hansard, and a few facts.
• Also added George's parents, James & Martha Hansard, and his siblings. George's sister, Hannah Mary Hansard, was already online as she was the 1st wife of Nathaniel Dando, the younger, Amelia's brother.
• Added John Dingle, father of Rosa Ann Dingle, 2nd wife of Nathaniel Dando, the younger.
• Added Nathaniel Dando, the elder's, children by his 2nd wife, Caroline Hewitt, and also added Caroline's father, John Hewitt.
• Added Nathaniel & Caroline's daughter, Adelaide Dando's husband, Edward Hill, and the Hills' daughter, Adelaide Maria Hill.

18th AUGUST

1921 - 90 years ago my great-grandmother, Florence Weaver (nee Smale) died of meningitis at the relatively young age of 33. She was buried in Plymouth Road Cemetery in Tavistock, Devon, in an unmarked grave. Florence lost her husband during the First World War and now she left one daughter (my gran) under the age of 5.


Florence Weaver (nee Smale) with her daughter, Phyllis
20th AUGUST

1830 - Richard Slade & Elizabeth Longman Smale were married in St Mary's Church, Black Torrington, Devon. Elizabeth was the eldest child of my 5 x great-grandparents, Thomas Smale and Elizabeth (nee Longman).

1883 - also on this day, James George Pitcher & Annie Nolan celebrated their marriage at the Register Office in Gisborne in the District of Turanga, New Zealand. James was born in Uley, Gloucestershire, and emigrated to New Zealand as a young man.

1937 - Rosa Elizabeth Fryer died and was buried in the same grave as her parents in Chepstow Municipal Cemetery.

23rd AUGUST

1845 - Nathaniel Dando, the younger, & Hannah Mary Hansard married in St Peter's, Narbiton, Surrey, 166 years ago. Hannah's elder brother, George, had married Nathaniel's elder sister, Amelia, in the previous October.

I recently discovered a useful facility within Google Books - I'm not sure if it's new or been around for a while but if you're anything like me you'll come across something new about an ancestor in a book in Google and forget to make a note of it there and then. This is where 'My library' comes into its own.

Sign into Google with your Google account, go to Google Books and you'll see a menu on the left called 'My library'. When you find a book you want to save, just click on the 'Add to My Library' link in the left-hand menu. If you've created new bookshelves (ie. categories) you can add the books straight into them. I've so far categorized my bookshelves by surname.

Once a book is in your library you can add a note. This is where I write a brief explanation of what I've found of interest in the book together with the page number so I can easily identify what I'm looking for when I'm ready to document my sources.


'My Library' in Google Books
[Why Sorting Saturday? This phrase has been included in the title in order to take part in Daily Blogging Prompts at Geneabloggers]

7th AUGUST

1946 - Mabel Annie Jane Fryer (nee Lewis) died 65 years ago and was buried in Chepstow Municipal Cemetery three days later. She was 60 years old.

1905 - Mary Jane Pitcher died this day in 1905, aged 57, and was buried with her sister and parents in the churchyard at Woolaston in Gloucestershire.

8th AUGUST

1821 - Hannah Dando, daughter of Nathaniel Dando and his first wife, Hannah (nee Langston), was born 190 years ago.

1853 - Catherine Emma Dando, was born on 8th August 1853. She was the daughter of my 3 x great-grandparents, Joseph Dando & Harriet Catherine (nee Williams). Catherine was probably named after her mother (Catherine) and her aunt Emma.

1922 - 89 years ago, David Anthony Hibbitt (Tony) was born in the district of Devonport, Plymouth, Devon.

9th AUGUST

1836 - Edward Warren & Hannah Fryer were married in St Mary the Virgin's Church, Arlingham, Gloucestershire, 175 years ago this day. Hannah was the daughter of my 5 x great-grandfather, John Fryer, and his second wife, Caroline (originally Browning).

1960 - my 2 x great-aunt, Edith Ellen Martin, died at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, at 43 Crelake Park in Tavistock, Devon, with whom she'd lived for more than 30 years after the death of her husband. Edith was 87 years old when she died. She and her husband had two children but they also took in my gran, Phyllis Grace Weaver, an orphan, after Phyllis' own grandmother, who'd been taking care of her, died.

10th AUGUST

1872 - my 2 x great-grandparents William Henry Weaver (Harry) & Jane Arnold were married in Winsham in Somerset, 139 years ago this day. On the 1871 census, Harry was shown as working as a journeyman shoemaker in Broadwinsor (about 5 miles from Winsham) so this may well have been where the couple met, although Jane was originally from Nuneaton.

1836 - 175 years ago, James Smale & Elizabeth Horn, my 4 x great-grandparents, were married in st Mary's Church, Black Torrington, Devon. Elizabeth was probably pregnant at the time as their first child, Fanny, was baptized about 3 months later.


St Mary's Church, Black Torrington
1821 - fifteen years earlier, Elizabeth's uncle, John Rigsby Horn, had died at the age of 46 and was buried in the churchyard at Black Torrington.

1880 - Amos Hibbitt, my 3 x great-grandfather died at Melbourne Terrace, Friston Street, Lady Wood, Birmingham, 131 years ago. He died of phthisis (most likely tuberculosis or consumption) which he'd been suffering from for 4 months.

13th AUGUST

1853 - Mariana Dando, the grand-daughter of Joseph Dando (above) was born in Camden, New Jersey, USA. Both born in the same year, neither Joseph's daughter, Catherine Emma (above), or grand-daughter, Mariana, survived to see out 1854.

1901 - my 2 x great-uncle, Philip Henry Smale, was born 110 years ago in Okehampton, Devon.

14th AUGUST

1843 - Ann Pitcher, daughter of my 5 x great-grandparents, Benjamin Pitcher & Margaret (nee Worgan), died 168 years ago this day and was buried at Woolaston, Gloucestershire, 4 days later. Ann may have been buried inside the church as the Woolaston Village History Group, recorded the following details...

Altar Tomb.
Top In memory of Ann Pitcher Spinster of this Parish who died August 14th 1843 aged 66 Years
North Dedicated To the Memory of JOHN WORGAN of this Parish ..Febr ... Also WILLIAM ...
South TO THE MEMORY of Deborah Worgan of this Parish who departed this Life the 13th Day of ... 1837 Aged 93 years.

Some of the altar tombs at Woolaston were once inside the church, but when the latter was remodelled in the 19th century they were either rebuilt outside or dismantled and used for such things as providing hard-standing outside the church porch, lining a septic tank, farm kitchen floors and one was even found in a patio. Buried with Ann, were two of her uncles and an aunt.

1938 - my grandparents William Hellyer Geake & Phyllis Grace Weaver were married in St Eustachius Church in Tavistock, Devon and it would have been their 71st wedding anniversary. My gran was given away by her cousin, William John Martin (Jack), who was like a brother to her as she'd been brought up by his parents.

Family Tree section

• Added facts and footnotes for my gran, Ivy Alice Dando.

Amongst these sources are details from the newly released British Postal Service Appointment Books, available from Ancestry. I found information for other family members too but you need to be careful about the dates of the appointments as these can be misleading. For instance, it's believed my grandfather joined the Post Office on the telephones side after he was demobbed in 1919 but the appointment books state he started in 1925. This is more than likely when he became established, as opposed to unestablished, and not when he first worked for the Post Office.

• Added more facts and footnotes for my great-grandfather, Charles Llewellyn Ernest Elbert Dando.

Very little is known of his early years but Charles was a dentist who married in Saffron Walden, Essex, in 1900 but by 1910 he was in Plymouth in Devon. He is somewhat easier to trace once in Plymouth as he appears in various street directories and I also have copies of some of his correspondence to the Dental Board over the years.

One recent discovery is that Charles worked in Bedford Street, one of the main streets in Plymouth before the Blitz destroyed most of the city centre. He can be found at No 34 in the 1923 Kelly's Directory, probably above the main shop which belonged to Webb & Son Ltd who made suitcases. The 1910 and 1914 Kelly's Directories don't mention Charles but instead, located there with Webb & Son is a firm called McDonalds Ltd who made artificial teeth. It's not known whether Charles had any associations with McDonalds or whether two dental firms being located in the same building at different times is simply a co-incidence. Of course, there's always the possibility that the building was already kitted out, making it the ideal premises for Charles Dando to move his business into.


Bedford Street, Plymouth
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Gallery > Places > Plymouth, Devon section

• Added photograph of Bedford Street, Plymouth.

1st AUGUST

1799 - my 5 x great-grandfather married his second wife, a widow called Esther Shipway. John Dando, the younger, and Esther, were married in the parish of St Paul, Bristol, 212 years ago. The marriage was a resounding success as John's obituary recalls..."never were two persons united more congenial in sentiment, especially on religious subjects; and few instances have occurred, wherein any two persons have more uniformly studied to render each other happy".

1835 - Stephen Rowlandson was born 176 years ago. He was the brother of my 2 x great-grandfather, Stephen Free's, first wife, Harriet, and was residing with them in Hadstock in 1841. Stephen Rowlandson was over 20 years younger than his sister.

2nd AUGUST

The 2nd August links my two paternal great-grandfathers, one who was born and one who died on this day.

1869 - Alfred Charles Newbold Hibbitt was born in Birmingham 142 years ago.

1959 - Charles Llewellyn Ernest Elbert Dando died in Moorhaven Hospital in Ugborough, South Devon, at the age of 83. The cause of death was pulmonary oedema, pneumonia, left heart failure, anaemia and carcinoma of the prostate.

3rd AUGUST

1885 - Ruby Elberta Kate Irene Dando was born 126 years ago in America. She was the daughter of my 2 x great-grandfather, William Elbert Dando.

1834 - Elizabeth Robinson (nee Hall) died, aged 42, and was buried with her brother in the churchyard at Arlingham in Gloucestershire.

5th AUGUST

1868 - Samuel John Dando was born in Belfast, Ireland, 143 years ago on 5th August. He was the son of my 3 x great-grandfather, Joseph Dando, and his last wife, Sarah (nee Walker). Sadly, Samuel died as an infant.

1745 - 266 years ago my 6 x great-grandparents, John Weaver & Mary Fidoe, were married in St Andrew's Church in Curry Rivel, Somerset.

1901 - six generations later, the above couple's 3 x great-granddaughter celebrated her wedding. Arthur Holbrook & Annie Arnold Weaver were married in the parish church of Horfield in Bristol, 110 years ago.

1964 - my 2 x great-aunt, Lily Sarah Thompson (nee Hellyer), died in Tavistock Hospital, Tavistock, Devon, at the age of 83.


Lily (left) with her sister, Sarah
6th AUGUST

1829 - Philip Martin & Maria Bate were married in Bradford in North Devon, 182 years ago this day. Philip was my 3 x great-grandfather and Maria was his first wife.

Resources > Biographies section

• Added the 'Memoir of Mary Dando' to Mary's biography page. The article originally appeared in the Methodist Review, Volume 8, and was published in 1825.

Mary was a pious woman who looked after her nephew's household in New York and cared for a number of orphans. She apparently suffered with asthma and rheumatism to the point where she could barely walk. The article also mentions she was 'extremely corpulent' - they certainly didn't mince their words in those days!