Ushaw Moor Memories (Backup)

Memories of Ushaw Moor and Deerness Valley

Tuesday 17 March 2009

Debate the '7'/Pigeons/Genner/Scott Family

Well we have two more candidates for the Magnificent 7 list: Dr Millyard and Billy Dawson. Let's hope for more!

With regards to pigeons I would be very pompous and ill informed to write about that subject when faced with the decades of knowledge that Alf Rothwell has about the subject. One of the best websites specializing in pigeons is at www.forum.pigeonbasics.com and as a matter of fact Alf has contributed to that very good site himself.

Sticking briefly with pigeons I note that  last year a chap called Gary mentioned on a website - I forget which one - that he would be pleased to hear from anyone who may be related to him. He pointed out that his wider  family lived in the Bearpark and Ushaw Moor locality and included such surnames as Holliday, Harrison, Turner, Pearson and Rothwell. One name that seems to stick in my mind regarding pigeons is Mcaleavey or similiar - that may well be an incorrect spelling - Alf will probably know whether that name has Ushaw Moor pigeon connections.

You may recall that I gave a Mr Aaron Genner a mention or two in an article regarding the year 1928. Does anyone know of the Genner family for historical purposes? I know that there were two Aaron Genner's in the locality back in 1900 - believe it or not! It may be that Aaron's wife was called Mary.

The Scott family lived in 20 Unthank Terrace, Sleetburn about 50 years before I did. Just to remind you I lived their in the late 1940s and 50s. The Scott family  was large - comprising: husband Samuel, wife Sarah and their nine children - John, William, Ellen, Mary, Sarah, Samuel, Abel, Lily and Charlotte. Any current trace of their descendents in the Deerness Valley?  

WB

11 comments:

  1. Hi Wilf, McAleavey Bros raced in Ushaw Moor, their last loft stood at the top of Bannerman Tce, All the names you mention are relatives of mine but I cannot remember anyone called Gary. Aaron Genner's daughter was a teacher at Ushaw Moor County School and her sister was married to Tommy Pritchard that worked in New Brancepeth with me in Unthank Tce.They lived in Deerness View along past UM colliery. Regarding Billy Dawson I played for him after leaving Browney Juniors and I started to organise Trips to the seaside on Sundays for the team and followers. We had a few raffles etc for the club, we never had a great team but we held our own.I was lucky one saturday when I did not play because I was watching the pigeons come home
    I won the race and the football club got beat 21-0. I was once playing against Ralph Goodchild at Ludworth and I fouled him, the next thing that happened was that 2 women chased me all over the pitch with umbrellas. Did he not change his name to Hope? when playing at Sunderland. One year we "christened" Billy Dawsons team the "DAWSONS DYNAMOS" at it seemed to stick Those were the days!! Cheers, Alf R

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  2. Hi Wilf, I think I spelt McEleavey wrong, Ernie McEleavey lived near the Top of Dale Street, his wife was Irish, I think they moved to Billy Row or Crook area a lot of years ago. When I worked in Unthank Tce it was at the New Brancepeth Co-op before we Amalgamated with Brandon & Byshottles.Alf

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  3. Interesting to note what cousin Alf said about Miss Genner-she taught me in about 1948 and she was an excellent teacher.I remember I got a few games for the juniors at the end of the 1956-57 season and we won every game but come the new season all the good players left for other teams.Alf is a Mag so he would not know that it was Alan Hope who changed his name to O'Neill and not Goodchild,although Alf does paint an amusing picture.Goodchild scored a lot of goals for Sunderland and was also a good cricketer.

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  4. Hi John,I am pleased you can keep me right, yes I support the "Toon" but the first big game I saw as a youngster was SUNDERLAND V Arsenal. See if I can name some of the Mackems teams of those years. Mapson, Stelling, Hedley or Hudgell, Hedley was a Pigeon Man the same as centre half Fred Hall,Tommy Wright & Arthur Wright,Watson who was also a cricketer,Len Shackleton ex Mag,Ivor Broadis, Len Duns now & then, The centre forward was a real big lad, maybe Davis? I am not sure of the year maybe 1949. Did Alan Hope play for Ludworth Jnrs? I will keep taking the Tablets, Cheers, Alf

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  5. No the Scott family lived next door at 21!

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  6. Hi Alf-I was really surprised that your first game at Sunderland was against Arsenal as it was for me also back in 1947 when Sunderland lost 4-1 so nothing changes except Sunderland finished 8 th that year.You got all the players correct but I don't know if Alan Hope played for Ludworth.I have been thinking about the teachers at Ushaw Moor when I was there.Miss Cole was the headteacher and I seem to connect her with the babies' class as it was called then.She already knew me a I lived across the road at 21 Temperance Terrace and Bobby Harwood and I used to play on the school gate causing a hell of a noise and she asked my mother to stop me playing there.Then there was a Miss Soames and a Miss Williams who taught us to write with pen and ink and finally Miss Genner's class.I remember Miss Genner as tall (as she would to a 7 year old) with black hair.We then moved uo to the" big school "and I jumped a class with a lot of the girls but dipthereia struck,I was in hospital for weeks and off school for a long time.Diptheria and scarlet fever were very common then and I was in Brandon fever hospital.Ronnie Nicholl who was just a bit older then me died from it while I was in hospital.I went back to school and was in Mr. Ferguson's class with all these strangers,had missed loads of schooling and finished bottom of the class in the exams and sent back to the class I had come from with a Miss Clarke.Talk about Sat tests today!!!!!I remember a Mr. Robinson whom I upset because I used the word "chucked" and Alan Seed provided the correct word of "threw"-Mr. Robinson must have a hard life I guess having gone through 2 world wars.I finally finished in Miss Bailes's class Mr Barlow also taught us PE and the Head was Mr. Fawcett.Miss Bailes had grey hair and came from Esh Winning and was a superb teacher-10 or 11 of us passed for the "tec'"-Robert Clarkson, Ken Stoddart, Rosemary Lough, Valerie Wilson, Valerie Cook,Audrey Kennedy,Kathleen Stafford, Marion Wade,Eunice Kitchen are the ones I remember.I only ever went once back to the school to collect my coronation mug in 1953!!!!!!!

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  7. Hi John, Those were the days, I was also in the Brandon Hospital with German Measles and Scarlet Fever when I was very young. There was a nurse called Bulmer and I always called her Nuse Bumler and got wrong for saying her name wrong.I can remember you coming into my class, I think the teacher was Miss Bailes at that time. That year I got health problems and was unable to sit the first exam for the Johnson School. I was okay for the second one but my father said to the school "if he cannot sit them both he will not sit any, as it was wrong for him to sit the second one only". Strict eh!! I had been Top of my Classes and never been out of the first 3. Our cousin Alan Rothwell was 1 year older than me and he went to the Johnson School.While he was doing homework I was always playing football etc; at that time, I thought homework was no good for me and I never had any to do from that time. What did I miss? I still wonder! never mind I am too old now.
    John you have a very good memory, I still have a school report from when I was in Miss Clarke's class, she was a very strict teacher.
    Keep the memories flowing, maybe one of the people mentioned may respond. Cheers, Alf R

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  8. Reference the Genners, my grandmother was a Genner. I think there were two legs of a Genner family that moved from Shropshire/Staffordshire to Durham.
    One of the Aaron Genners mentioned was born in Cornsay Colliery in 1884. He married Mary Edith Hepple, in the 1911 census they lived in Ladsysmith Terrace. Tthey had at least two children, Annie Genner b 1912 and Freda Genner b 1916. I guess one of these was the " Miss Genner" referred to above.
    The other Aaron Genner was born in 1877 in Wheatley Hill, I don't think he married.
    These two Aaron Genners were first cousins, their fathers were both born in Tipton, Staffordshire, their shared grandfather was also called Aaron.
    Regards
    Rodney Fox

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  9. Hi, If anyone knows of the Gary mentioned by Wilf I'd be grateful....his family surnames are the same as mine Holliday, Harrison, Turner, Pearson and Rothwell. I'm also interested in Turnbulls: and also FitzPatricks from Waterhouses. In the late 1800's my great grandfather, William Harrison was one of nine brothers from Washington and New Brancepeth. I'd love to find their descendents. I know there were some in Ushaw Moor, including Sam Harrison, who had an allotment on Bannerman Terrace and had a son named Tommy.

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  10. Hi John, I have just realized that it was John Goodchild that I played against us for Ludworth. He was also born in 1939 like myself, wher I got the name Ralph from I do not know.

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  11. I am looking in to the mceleavey family tree and i know my g grandmother was Mary c mceleavey and my g grandfather was Bennett hope mceleavey they had several children one being my grandfather Charles Bernard mceleavey if anyone has any information or photos this would help me so much thank you

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