Dewsbury

My Dewsbury connection is via my Gt Gt Gt Grandmother - Elizabeth Dewsbury b. 1851 in Stretham, Cambridgeshire. She was the sixth child of the 11 children of William Dewsbury b.1811 d.1885 and his wife Rebecca Lythell b.1820 d.1889. They appear on the Stretham 1851 census as follows:

name	relationship	status	age	occupation	place of birth
William Dewsbury	head	Married	40yrs	Agricultural Labourer	Wilburton
Rebecca Dewsbury	wife	Married	30yrs	-	Stretham
William Dewsbury	son	Single	10yrs	Employed in field	Stretham
George Dewsbury	son	Single	9yrs	Employed in field	Stretham
Rachel Dewsbury	daughter	Single	7yrs	Scholar	Stretham
Henry Dewsbury	son	Single	5yrs	Scholar	Stretham
Edward Dewsbury	son	Single	3yrs	Scholar	Stretham
Ann Dewsbury	daughter	Single	1yr	Infant	Stretham

The 1861 census has the addition of my Gt Gt Gt Grandmother - Elizabeth (aged 10) and her brothers Alfred Stretham Parish Church

(7), Nathan (1) and her sister Ellen (3). By 1881 William and Rebecca are living by themselves aged 70 and 60.

Stretham parish church... an extremely large church surrounded by trees.. therefore not very easy to photograph... heres the porch anyway!! The churchyard is absolutely packed with headstones and the churchyard is huge... if you go there to have a look make sure you take plenty of paper to write on!

Elizabeth married my Gt Gt Gt Grandfather - Reuben Barber b.1849 d.1932 at Littleport parish church, Cambridgeshire on 25th November 1871. The couple then had at least 12 children whilst moving from Littleport to Welney, Cambridgeshire to Southery, Norfolk. The family returned to Witchford, Cambridgeshire in approximately 1900 which is where my Gt Gt Grandmother - Louisa Barber b. 1881 d. 1974, lived, married and is now buried. Elizabeth and Reuben were both buried at Witchford in the early 1930's.

Several other Dewsbury branches - stemming from Elizabeth's eldest brother, William b. 1841 and his wife Hannah b. 1846 moved away to London and became Shopkeepers. One - Emily Ann Dewsbury b.1872 apparently went to the Isle of Wight. I have no information as yet to what happened to these branches.

Another Dewsbury family rears it's head in my Yarrow family. The connection is not ancestral as it is via my Gt Gt Grandfather's (James Yarrow's) sister-in-law - Laura Dewsbury b.1885. She was the daughter to a Henry Dewsbury b. 1850, Barway, Cambridgeshire and his wife Mahalah Randall b.1856, Waterbeach. This family lived at the Water Mill in Little Thetford, Cambridgeshire and the family used to operate the chain bridge which was usually very busy. A descendent of Laura's younger sister - Alberta Dewsbury b.1887, Lt. Thetford, has told me of her descent from a common Gothard relative - it's getting a bit confusing ! To add to this, she also has Yarrows on her other branch.

Gt Gt Gt Grandparents: Elizabeth Dewsbury (1851-1923) & Reuben Barber (1849-1932)

Gt Gt Gt Gt Grandparents: William Dewsbury (1811-1885) & Rebecca Lythell (1820-1889)

5xGt Gtandparents: Edward Dewsbury (1770-1836) & Sarah (1771-1844)

Dewsbury from Stretham... a link to one of the 2 main Dewsbury parts of my family... if you have any Dewsbury information for Stretham then please contact Mrs. Julie Claydon.