Whatmore Family History

Although there were other Whatmore families living in Sheffield at various times, it was only Joseph and Esther Whatmore that put down roots and whose descendants still live in the area, so I trust I am justified as regarding Joseph and Esther’s family as the ‘Sheffield branch’ of the Whatmore Family.  

Joseph was baptised on 26 June 1843 at Chelmarsh in Shropshire. His father is unknown although it might have been Benjamin Vale whom his mother married two years later. According to tradition, Joseph spent his early years at Hampton, Chelmarsh, which is where his grandparents lived, but by the time of the 1851 census he was living with his mother and step-father at Halfcot, Prestwood, Kinver. He is shown in this census as Joseph Vale. He is described in the same way in the 1861 census when he was still living at home at Prestwood. By now he was working as a puddler.  

Joseph was in the army for several years and has not been traced in the 1871 census. If he had an 11 year commission he must have joined the army in about 1861/62 as by 1873 he was working as a puddler in Sheffield.  Nothing is known about Joseph’s army career as his papers were lost to the family when his son Noah died in 1955. 

Joseph married Esther Manuel on 7 April 1873 at Brightside Church in Sheffield. The witnesses were Alfred Grant and Elizabeth Grant. Esther’s address is given as Brightside Lane which suggests she was living away from home at the time of the marriage. Joseph’s address is given as Fell Street  which was where Esther’s parents were living.  Joseph might simply have moved into Fell Street for a few weeks to avoid paying for a second set of banns to be read, or he may have been a lodger there which could explain how he met his wife. Presumably Joseph had decided that Sheffield was the best place to seek work as a puddler when he left the army.

Esther’s father had come to Yorkshire for the same reason. Esther’s father had been born in 1824 in Trefeglwys in Montgomeryshire, Wales – so a Welsh strain now enters this branch of the Whatmore family. Esther herself had been born at Rawmarsh, Rotherham in 1853.  A grand daughter remembers Esther as being quiet and gentle, and she liked her hair being combed. Another family tradition states that Esther was over fond of the bottle and would pawn anything she could get her hands on.  

Joseph and Esther were living at 40 Carlisle Street East at the time of the  1881 census. This very long road was lined with steel works and it must have been a most unattractive place to live. 

At the time of the 1891 census, Joseph and his family were living at 26 Mountain Street Attercliffe. They were still there in 1901 when Joseph was described as  boiler firer at steel works.  

By October 1915 Joseph and Esther Whatmore had moved to 31 Uttley Street, nearby, where Joseph died. He was buried on 11 November 1915 in Tinsley Park Cemetery, Sheffield. Esther continued to live at 31 Uttley Street until her death. She was buried aged 79 on 16 July 1932 in Tinsley Park Cemetery. 

Joseph and Esther’s children were: 

1. Harriet Whatmore was born in 1874 in Sheffield. She was at home at the time of the 1881 census but has not yet been traced in 1891. She married Harry Hearnshaw in the June Quarter of 1894 in Sheffield.

At the time of the 1901 census Harriet and Harry were living at 101 Wincobank Lane, Brightside, Sheffield. Harriet died in 1944 in Sheffield. Harry died in 1949 in Sheffield. 

The known children of Harriet and Harry Hearnshaw were: 

Nellie Hearnshaw (1895) who married Arthur F P (Fred) Ball in 1916

Mabel Hearnshaw (1897) who married Ernest Richardson in 1925

Florence Annie Hearnshaw (1899) who married Frederick S. Biggs in 1920

Esther (Tessa) Hearnshaw 1908 who married Charles W Bull in 1932. 

2. Noah Whatmore

Noah was born on 10 April 1875 at 40 Carlisle Street East, Attercliffe, Sheffield. He appears twice in the 1881 census – once with his parents and once again with his grandparents at Fell Street. The reason for this is not known.

At the time of the 1891 census he was at home and working as a labourer in an iron works. In 1896 when he was 21 his parents commissioned an oil painting of him, which I still possess.

 He was still at home in 1901, having delayed marrying as he was expected to support his parents. Noah married Mary Ann Dyson in 1906. The Dyson family lived next door but one to the Whatmore family. 

On the right of the photograph are Noah and Mary Ann Whatmore. On the left of the photograph are Emily (Mary Ann’s sister) and her husband Arthur Holmes  Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

After the marriage the family lived at 30 Brook Street, Hoyland – north of Sheffield. Noah was working as a miner at either Hoyland or Elsecar. They were at Hoyland in 1909 when their daughter Hesse was born. Noah is described on the birth certificate as a Blacksmith’s striker.

Whilst living in Hoyland, Noah, who was a prize swimmer and boxer, rescued a woman from drowning in the nearby reservoir at Elsecar.   

Elsecar reservoir, Yorkshire   Copyright: Steve Fareham and reproduced here in accordance with the terms of the web site licence which may be viewed at this link:

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/

By 1914 the family were living in the parish of Brightside, Sheffield, probably at 11 Margate Street, Brightside. They were certainly at this address just  after the First World War. 

During the First World War, Noah was out of work so he took his family to Shropshire for a time. They stayed at the home of his aunt and uncle Emily and Charles Wilson at Smythy Cottage, Morville near Bridgnorth. One of the local gentry, who was childless, wanted to adopt my father Eric, but my grandmother wouldn’t part with him. When they returned to Sheffield it was some 86 years before a member of the ‘Sheffield branch’ returned to live in Shropshire – I moved to Shrewsbury in July 2001. 

In about 1931 Noah and Mary Ann moved from Margate Street and Mary Ann set up a drapers shop at 91, Darnall Road, Attercliffe.  It seems that they lived over the shop. Unfortunately a branch of Woolworths was established close by and this drove Mary Ann out of business. This must have been a heavy blow at a time when she was already suffering from the cancer which was to kill her. She died  on 8 December 1936 aged 60 and was buried at St Thomas’s, Brightside.

Mary Ann (known as Polly) is remembered with affection by her nephews and nieces who have told me many stories about her loving and caring nature. 

Noah’s last workplace was Hadfields in Sheffield. After his wife’s death he was looked after by his daughter Hesse and when she married in 1943 he moved to 45 Vivien Road, Firth Park, Sheffield with Hesse and her new husband. Noah remarried  at the age of 70 to Elizabeth Ellen Smith on 6 April 1946 at Holy Trinity Church, The Wicker, Sheffield. The witnesses were Henry Smith and H. Smith. Elizabeth is described as aged 59, a spinster and Pastry Cook , living at Flat 3, 9 Burngreave Road, Pitsmoor. This is almost certainly where they lived after their marriage as I remember visiting them at an address in Pitsmoor. 

Both Noah and Elizabeth (known as Auntie Betty) were very well built and I remember an outing with them to Sherwood Forest in the early 1950s. I sat in the back of a model T Ford sandwiched between the two of them. We visited the Major Oak which is the reputed meeting place of Robin Hood. The Oak is hollow and very large and you can climb inside. I did so, followed by Noah who got stuck in the entrance due to his girth! Noah and Elizabeth later moved to a flat at Frecheville, Sheffield.

Noah died from throat cancer aged 79 on the 14^th January 1955 and was buried with his first wife at St Thomas’s, Brightside. Elizabeth died aged 72 in the June Quarter of 1961. It is not known where she is buried. 

 

The grave of Noah and Mary Ann Whatmore and their daughter Hesse, St Thomas’s Brightside Sheffield  Copyright: Paul Whitaker of Chapeltown Sheffield and reproduced here by his kind permission

The children of Noah and Mary Ann Whatmore were: 

An unregistered child  about 1907 which died soon after birth 

Hesse Whatmore (11 July 1909 –1966) who married Victor Rowan Belk in 1943. They lived first at 45 Vivien Road, Firth Park, but later swapped homes with Margaret and Frank Preston. Hesse worked as a shop assistant and Victor was a painter and decorator. Hesse was unable to have children and they adopted a boy, Terence (Terry) Michael Morgan  born 15 February 1947 at Barnsley.

Hesse Whatmore  Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

They lived at St Joseph’s Road, Handsworth, in a small cottage, 2 up, 2 down, with an outside toilet.  

 21 St Joseph’s Road, Handsworth, Sheffield - the home of Hesse, Victor and Terry Belk Copyright: Peter Saunders and reproduced here by his kind permission

I spent a lot of time with my cousin Terry. We went to the same primary school in Handsworth close to where my aunt and uncle lived and my aunt could come and collect us both after school. She would take us home and try to get us to have a nap, which we never did, before taking us to ‘The Wreck’. To begin with I thought that this must be some sort of pirate ship, but on arriving there discovered it to be a recreation grounds which had swings and slides for children.

Hesse and Victor Belk with Terry in 1951 Bridlington  Copyright; Rhys Whatmore

I missed my cousin very much when my parents moved to Wales in 1953 but Terry would come and spend long holidays with us in Aberystwyth and we would go swimming in the river or the sea or sit and fish off the harbour jetties.

Terry died unexpectedly on 3 May 2007 when he was only sixty, whilst he was on holiday in Devon with his wife. Terry and his wife have two sons and a daughter and six grandchildren.

Terry never moved away from Handsworth, Sheffield where he was brought up by my aunt and uncle. He was a family man who was contented with his life and he had simple pleasures – an afternoon’s fishing was his idea of heaven. He was greatly loved by his family and friends and at his funeral no fewer than 30 of his work mates turned up! On his grave in Handsworth Cemetery is a little carving of a fisherman. 

Rest in peace Terry – we will never forget you. 

Neither of Terry’s adoptive parents lived to enjoy old age. Hesse died in 1966 when she was only 57. She is buried in the same grave as her parents at St Thomas’s Brightside. Victor had only been retired a short while when he passed away.  

Margaret Whatmore (15 January 1912 – 1997) who married Frank Preston in 1937.

Margaret and Frank lived first at Handsworth and then swapped houses with Hesse and Victor and lived at Vivien Road, Firth Park. Frank was a maintenance engineer in the steels work and was skilful and highly thought of, and eventually became one of the directors of Osborne Steel Works. He came from a local family and his brothers and sisters all lived locally and I knew several of them well and they made a great fuss of me when I was little. They were all kind and affectionate.

Margaret and Eric Whatmore   Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

 In the 1970s, Margaret and Frank moved to live at High Storrs, Eccleshall. Their house there had a marvellous view across to Fulwood and down to Ringinglow Common. They then bought a house in Bridlington  and eventually retired there. Margaret died at Bridlington in 1997 and Frank died there only a few months later in 1998. 

Margaret Whatmore could not have children so she and Frank adopted a daughter who is still living.   

Eric Whatmore  (23 February 1914 – 10 March 2003) 

 Eric Whatmore was my father. He married Elsie Eileen Whatmore on 16 September 1939 at the family church of St Thomas’s Brightside. We 1953 we moved to Aberystwyth where Eric and Elsie remained until Eric passed away. Elsie then came to live with me in Shrewsbury. Elsie passed away on 1 January 2005 in Shrewsbury.  Eric and Elsie had only one child – myself – Rhys David Whatmore, born in Sheffield on 31 March 1947. 

The life story of Eric Whatmore has been told in an earlier post. 

3. Benjamin Whatmore is only known of through the National Burials Index. He was born in 1877 in Sheffield and buried aged 1 on 9 May 1878 at St Thomas’s, Brightside. 

4. Hannah Whatmore was born 1878/79 at Brightside. She was at home at the time of the 1881 and 1891 censuses. She gave birth on 27 April 1899 to an illegitimate daughter – Esther Whatmore. who  married  Samuel Richmond in the December Quarter 1924 in the Sheffield Registration District. 

Hannah married James Harvey on 13 August 1900 at Darnall Church in Sheffield. The witnesses were Harriet Hearnshaw (Hannah’s sister) and Ann Cheney. In the 1901 census, Hannah and James were living in Attercliffe, Sheffield. My father recalled that they lived at Darnall at some time.  

Hannah and James Harvey had a daughter Jessie Harvey in 1914, but I have been unable to trace further children

5. Joseph Whatmore (Junior) was born in 1880 in Sheffield and was at home at the time of the 1881 census. He was buried aged 10 months on 14 July 1881 at St Thomas’s, Brightside, Sheffield.  

6. Annie Whatmore is only known of through the National Burials Index. She was born in 1882 in Sheffield and buried aged 1 on 7 May 1883 at St Thomas’s Brightside, Sheffield.

7. Ellen Whatmore was born in 1883 in Sheffield. She was at home at the time of the 1891 census. In 1901 she was living and working as a cook in the home of George S. Young at 977 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. Her sister Sarah Ann was working as a nurse in the same household. 

Ellen Heap (nee Whatmore)  Copyright: Norma Rice and reproduced here by her kind permission

Ellen married Frederick Heap in the September Quarter of 1910 in Sheffield. They later lived at Pitsmoor and/or Fir Vale, Sheffield. 

The children of Ellen and Frederick Heap were: 

Alice E. Heap (1913 – 2004)

Fred Heap  (1916 – 1987)  

8. Sarah Ann Whatmore was born on 21 September 1884 in Sheffield. She was at home at the time of the 1891 census. In 1901 she was living and working as a nurse in the home of George S. Young at 977 Abbeydale Road, Sheffield. 

Sarah Ann and Frank Hearnshaw (centre of picture) with their daughter Marian (Mary) and son in law John         Copyright: Janice Cantwell and reproduced here by her kind permission

Sarah Ann married Frank Hearnshaw on 2 August 1913 in Sheffield. Frank Hearnshaw was the nephew of the Harry Hearnshaw who had married Sarah Ann’s sister Harriet.  Frank died in 1951 in Sheffield.

I remember Sarah Ann, who was my great aunt, in the 1950s when she lived in a terraced house in Darnall. She had a small stocky figure and was very warm and affectionate. She always made a great fuss of me. We would go up the tunnel between the houses, through the back door and into her kitchen where she had a traditional black-leaded cooking range. 

Sarah Ann died in the March Quarter of 1971 in Sheffield. The children of Sarah Ann and Frank Hearnshaw were: 

Frank Hearnshaw ( 1914 –1990) who married Lucy White in 1936

Marian ( Mary) Hearnshaw (1916) who married John Thompson in 1940

Hilda M. Hearnshaw (1919) who married John R.W. Chapman in 1950.  

9. Lucy Whatmore was born in 1887/88 in Sheffield. She was at home at the time of the 1891 census. In 1901 at the early age of 13 she was working as a servant. and was living with her married sister Harriet Hearnshaw at 101 Wincobank Lane, Brightside, Sheffield.  Lucy clearly had a mind of her own and she was something of a  worry to her parents.

Lucy Whatmore  Copyright: Marion Whitham and reproduced here by her kind permission

In 1903 or 1904 she was sent away to work for Mrs Burgess at Shawfold Farm, Heaton Moor, Stockport. Mary Ann Dyson (my future grandmother), who was already working in Manchester, was asked to keep an eye on her. The arrangement didn’t work out and Lucy was returned home. A letter of 9 July 1904 from Lucy’s parents to Mrs Burgess tells the story clearly. 

Letter from Joseph and Esther Whatmore regarding their daughter Lucy   Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

Lucy had an illegitimate child born on 26 September 1911 – Mabel Whatmore.  At the time, Lucy was working as a domestic servant. Mabel  married Frederick Whitham in the June Quarter 1936 in the Sheffield Registration District. 

Lucy married Charles C. Naylor in the March Quarter of 1913 in Sheffield. Charles suffered from spells of mental illness and spent many years in Middlewood Hospital and Lucy must have had a struggle to bring up her family of children.  Charles became institutionalised and refused to leave the safety of the hospital when he was given the chance.  Lucy died in 1964 in Sheffield. The children of Lucy and Charles Naylor were: 

Lucy Naylor (1913)

Joseph W. Naylor (1917)

Charles Naylor 1918

Ernest Naylor (1921)

Harold Naylor (1925)

Clifford Naylor (1930) 

10. Kate Whatmore was born in 1891 in Attercliffe, Sheffield. She was at home at the time of the 1891 and 1901 censuses. She married Joseph H. Ryalls in the March Quarter of 1911 in Sheffield.  Kate died on 14 (?) December 1969. Joseph died in June 1977. 

Joseph Ryalls (on left wearing glasses) and his wife Kate (nee Whatmore) (on left of groom) at the wedding of one of their sons  Copyright: Chris Landers and reproduced here by her kind permission

The children of Kate and Joseph Ryalls were: 

Walter Ryalls (1912) who died in infancy 

Joseph Henry Ryalls (1913) who married Elsie Robinson in 1937. Joseph was leading Aircraftman 1239961 Pilot, Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Joseph was tragically killed in a training exercise somewhere in Wales on 6 December 1941. He was buried at Intake Cemetery, Sheffield. 

Colin  Ryalls (1915 - 1992) who served in Palestine during the Second World War. He married his brother’s widow, Elsie Robinson, in 1945. 

Allan Ryalls (1917 – 2001) who married Dorothy W. Bowers in 1940 

A daughter  who is still living 

Ronald Ryalls (1922 – 1989 ?) who married Margaret Bullass. 

11. Harry Whatmore was born in 1893 in Sheffield. He was at home at the time of the 1901 census. He left home when he was quite young to join the army and served in the Royal Field Artillery. He married Minnie Drusilla Carter in the June Quarter of 1919 and thereafter lived at Barrow Hill, Chesterfield. In 1937 he was seriously injured in an accident at the Ireland Colliery where he was working and this led to his death the same year. Minnie died in 1969 aged about 71. 

Harry Whatmore   Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

The children of Harry and Minnie Whatmore were: 

Violet M. Whatmore (1921-1921)

Muriel J. Whatmore (1922 – 2006)

Vera Whatmore (1926 - 1977)

A son who is still living  (1927)

A daughter  who is still living (1933)

A daughter  who is still living (1935) 

12. Ivy Ernest Whatmore was born on 27 April 1897. Presumably the Ivy was short for Ivor. It was not a name which he seems to have used – being known as Ernest. He was at home of the time of the 1901 census. Ernest married Emily Bamford in the December Quarter of 1933. My father believed Emily to be a widow with several children.

This is probably a photograph of Ivy Ernest Whatmore with his nephew Eric Whatmore (my father)  Copyright: Rhys Whatmore

Ernest and Emily lived at Shire Green and were not well off. Ernest made frequent use of the pawn shop and on one occasion he pawned a pair of trousers which had a ten shilling note in the pocket. He had to wait until the following week until he could recover his money together with his trousers.

Ernest died in the December Quarter 1944 aged 49 in the Sheffield Registration District. Emily died in the December Quarter of 1974 aged 82 in the Sheffield Registration District.

Ernest and Emily did not have any children.