The LANGRIDGE Family

One part of my paternal great-great-grandparents is Ann LANGRIDGE (1841-1876). Ann was one of five children born to Joseph LANGRIDGE (1783-1834) and Catherine MILES (1780-1861). Ann married Thomas DAWES (1809-1851) in Lewes on the 10th November 1834.


Thomas was a bricklayer and he died of cancer just after the census was taken in 1851. This is good and bad. Bad because he died young, at age 42, and good because he lasted to the 1851 census which was the first to record the exact age and place of birth. Thomas left Ann with five children between the ages of 5 and 16. While the older children must have been a help, caring for a young family without a wage earner and before social assistance must have been tough.


Ann eventually re-married in 1856 to James GALLOP (1814-1871) and had another child with him, Caroline b. 1856. Ann was only 62 when she died of heart disease and also noted on her death registration is asthma so the LANGRIDGE family may be where the Dawes family inherited asthma from.

The chart at right traces the LANGRIDGE family back to William LANGRIDGE (1742-1808) and Mary HORSCROFT. There is a lot of research left to do on this family as you can see from Joseph's siblings.

In The Beginning (RE-CAP)

A lot of work has transpired since the beginning of this blog so I thought it would be good to go back to the beginning and review the family tree.


At left are 3 generations taking the family of Thomas DAW and Elizabeth WHITEBREAD through to their grandchildren and their spouses.


To get this to work I had to create a chart in the Family Tree Maker Charting Companion and format it in a 2 page legal size PDF. I then rotated the PDF page 90 degrees to use the maximum screen space and grabbed the image as a BMP file using SnagIT. Next, I opened the file in Irfanview and reversed the rotation saving the final image as a JPG for easy uploading. All of this image manipulation results in a bit of a fuzzy image but you can enlarge it by clicking on it.

Unfortunately, the chart spanned two pages so there are two images. If anyone wants a nice printable PDF file just leave me a comment with your email and I'll send it to you as an attachment.


In fact, if anyone wants any kind of DAWES Family report such as a register report or chart with more details, I will be glad to oblige although, I won't include any living individuals or people for whom I don't have a death date unless they were born before 1910. This is to protect the privacy of the people who have supplied me with detailed family trees. If you need more on any particular line I will gladly put you in touch with the appropriate cousin.

My primary interest is the family of Thomas DAWES and Ann LANGRIDGE which is the green middle part of the chart, however, I am in touch with living descendants of all branches shown above that have survived into the twenty-first century.

The TILLET/TILLETT Family Going Back

At the request of a cousin, I have done some research into the TILLETT family. Reginald Thomas Fromant BARNES (1905-1983) was the son of William BARNES (1880-1962) and Minnie DAWES (1874-1945). Reg married Ethel Gladys Emma TILLET (1906-1990) on 28 Oct 1936 in London. I have a previous post on the BARNES Family Going Back available here.


While Ethel TILLET only had one sibling, her father (Ernest Edward TILLETT 1874-1951) came from a family of five and her mother ( Eliza Emma RAINES 1869-1947) came from a family of eleven. As you can see from the chart there are lots of opportunities for living cousins to be found.


Most of this family hails from Brightingsea, Essex and were mariners. This made them very difficult to find in the census records as they were usually away at sea on census night. Except for a few, they haven't strayed too far from Essex as current as the 1960's although those individuals aren't shown on the chart for privacy reasons.


If you are interested in the TILLETT family or want to contact current generations get in touch with me through this blog.

The George (1) DAWES Line (Expanded)

George DAWES (1821-1869) married twice, first to Esther COTTINGTON (1831-1863) and second to Sophia SANTER (1831-1914). The original post on George (1) is available here.


Sophia's lineage is cloudy but her parents are believed to be Stephen SANTER and Judith BUSBRIDGE who were married 30 Nov 1812 in Benenden, Kent.

Sophia was the widow of George's nephew, Henry DAWES, so there are many more children in this extended family than shown here.

The chart shows the two children that Sophia had with George, Eliza Emily (1865-1944) for whom more information is available in a previous blog, and Charles William (1868-1927). Charles and his wife, Janet Mary STREETER (1872-1949) AKA Jeanette had six children of which I will look at over the next few blogs which will include their wedding photos.

The WYATT Line "Going Back"

Jesse Elizabeth Ann WYATT (1879-1942) married Albert Henry DAWES (1882-1944) in Brighton, Sussex. Her line back to Joseph WYATT b. about 1782 in Plymstock, Devon is detailed in the chart at left.

Photos of Jesse and Albert are included under my original blog on Albert Dawes accessible here.

An interesting side story about this family involves Jesse's parents Robert WYATT (1855-1905) and Fanny Louisa HOYLE (1855-1885). Jessie's birth in 1879 was followed by a brother, George, in 1884 and a sister, Lily, in 1885. Jessie's mother, Fanny, died a few weeks after Lily's birth leaving Robert WYATT with three small children. His brother and sister-in-law, William and Anna, took over the raising of Lily and since their last name was WYATT , no one was any the wiser. In fact, I believe that even Jessie didn't know that Lily was her sister and thought of her as a cousin. I am in touch with the grandchildren of Jessie and Albert and none of them knew that their grandmother had a sister.

This new relationship came to light through a contact I made on GenesReunited and resulted in the following photo of Lily's daughter's wedding. Lily married Alfred Ernest STOFFELL in 1910 and they had one child, a daughter Phyllis Ellen, born in 1912. Phyllis married Donald Edward BURLEY shown below. There might be some WYATT cousins in the wedding party.

The TAMKIN Line "Going Back"

This is the TAMKIN family going back from Charles (1870-1957) who married Bertha DAWES.

The earliest TAMKIN I have found is John TAMKIN b. about 1815 Uckfield, Sussex who married Elizabeth TAMKIN (yes - TAMKIN) b. about 1815 Lewes. The IGI shows her surname as TAMKIN so she must have been a cousin, this happens a lot in my family too! Although it is never quite as obvious.

The BARNES Line "Going Back"

I am going to try something new for my cousins who don't have the DAWES surname.

I will include charts of their ancestors as far back as I've been able to trace them.

Here is the BARNES line going back to Robert BARNES born probably about 1769 in Cambridgeshire, England. He married Charlotte SPENCER on 25 December 1789 in Cheveley, Cambridge.

The CHATFIELD Family (original post 29 July 2009)

Jane Ann DAWES (1805-1851) married three times, the first to Thomas CHATFIELD (1797-1832). They had three children, William b. 1827, Henry b. 1829 and Alfred b. 1831. Of these, only Henry appears to have married and had a family, quite a large one which continues into the twenty-first century.

Henry was baptised in St. Bartholomew's Church, Maresfield on 09 August 1829 although his actual date of birth is unknown. In 1949 he married Phyllis Ann KENWARD (aka KENNARD) in Lewes and they had nine children as shown in the following charts.

The first chart displays the families of James, Alfred, Harriett and Warden. The second chart displays the family of only Eli who had fifteen children. The third chart covers the families of Harry, Agnes, William and Minnie.

James died young and all the rest married and had families except Agnes who has no children that I have found so far.

Alfred CHATFIELD married Mary Jane STUTOR in Hailsham 1873 and they had seven children.

Harriett CHATFIELD married Robert LANCASTER in Hailsham 1872 and they had six children.

Warden CHATFIELD married Charlotte SMITH in Uckfield 1877 and they had three children.

Eli CHATFIELD married Mary Ann STYLES in Ticehurst 1883 and they had fifteen children all with three letter given names.

Harry CHATFIELD married Elizabeth PLACE in Uckfield 1885 and they had one child.

Agnes CHATFIELD married Thomas STARTUP in Malling, Kent 1891 but I haven't found any children for them.

William CHATFIELD married Mercy SKINNER in Ticehurst 1891 and they had five children.

Minnie CHATFIELD married Albert PALMER in Uckfield 1893 and they had four children.

The photo below is of Leo Styles CHATFIELD and his wife Grace POTTER (Seated) with family members Leo and Ena standing directly behind. I have not identified the young ladies on either side.

View original post 29 July 2009

The Albert Henry DAWES Family

Albert Henry DAWES (1882-1944) and Jessie Elizabeth Ann WYATT (1879-1942) had two children, Winnifred Mabel born 27 July 1906 and Albert Cyril born 9 June 1909 both in Brighton. Winnifred married Thomas Alphonse RHODEN (1902-1944) of the Doncaster pork butcher's family famous for their pork pies. Albert Cyril known as Cyril married Molly REINER (1909-) in 1933 but later divorced her and married Doris Brenda Joan HAWLEY (1917-2000) known as Joan in 1946. Winnifred and Thomas had one child and Cyril and Molly had two all of which I am in contact with today.

Wedding of Winn DAWES & Thomas RHODEN

Wedding of Cyril DAWES & Molly REINER

The Albert Henry DAWES Line

Albert Henry "Bert" DAWES (1882-1944) was the last child born to Thomas DAWES and Sarah BOXALL. He was born in Brighton on 16 October 1882 and became a commercial traveler (salesman?) according to the census returns. On 31 Oct. 1903, he married Jesse Elizabeth Ann WYATT (1879-1942) in Preston, Sussex.

Bert and Jesse had two children, Winifred Mabel (1906-1994) and Albert Cyril (1909-1989) both of whom had families with who I am in contact today.

An interesting development in doing the research on this family is that, through GenesReunited, I discovered that Jesse had a younger sister who was raised by her uncle because her mother died shortly after giving birth leaving her father with two young children and a baby. This sister was raised as part of her uncle's family and having the WYATT surname no one was any the wiser about it until now. As a result, a new second cousin to the descendants of Albert and Jesse has been reunited with the family although this has no impact on the other Dawes family members.

(L-R) Albert Henry Dawes and Jesse Elizabeth Ann WYATT

The Tom DAWES Line

This is my direct line and Tom DAWES (1880-1933) was my grandfather. Unfortunately, I never met him because he died before I was born.

Christened as Tom and not Thomas he was born in Brighton on 16 Dec. 1880 and became a cabinet maker. Family lore says that he didn't want to go into the family business but wanted to be a teacher. He left for Canada in 1906 and was followed a year later by his Brighton sweetheart, Caroline Wakeford GARDNER (1880-1966). His tool chest is stenciled with the address "Empress of Britain - Winnipeg via Quebec". That's the puzzle, why was he going to Winnipeg because he spent the rest of his life working as a carpenter in Montreal. He and Carrie were married on 14 Oct. 1907 which was the day after she arrived in Montreal. Neither of them ever went home and none of their relations ever came over to visit them.

Tom and Carrie had three children of which only my father went on to have a family.

The photo above is the only one that exists with Tom Dawes in it along with Caroline Gardner and one of their children.

The chart has been edited to protect living individuals.

The Minnie (DAWES) BARNES Line

Minnie was born in Brighton 18 Sept. 1874 as the fourth in a string of five daughters born to Thomas DAWES and Sarah BOXALL. In 1904 she married William Henry BARNES (1880-1962) and they had two sons, Reginald b. 3 March 1905 and Stanley b. 4 March 1908.

While Stanley married Gwen HEASEMAN (1910-1984) in 1936 they didn't have any children. Reg married Ethel Gladys Emma TILLET (1906-1990 in London on 28 October 1936 and I am in touch with their descendants today.

Minnie died 28 Jan. 1945 and William Henry BARNES re-married to Kitty ACKHURST in 1950.

Reg Barnes wrote a memoir of his early life with many references to the Dawes family which have been placed with the Sussex FHG library in Lewes and the Brighton Museum Local History Room.

The photo below is from the wedding of Alfred Stanley Barnes and Gwen Heaseman. Unfortunately, the labels don't display well. William Henry Barnes is on the left at the back and Reg Barnes is on the right at the back. Obviously, Stanley and Gwen are in front.

Updated 18 October 2009 (see post)

The Alice (DAWES) GOLDSMITH Family

Alice DAWES (1872-1949) was born 17 Dec. 1872 in Brighton. She married a grocer, Arthur Rowland GOLDSMITH (1880-1937) in 1902 and moved to New Zealand with him. Arthur died in New Zealand in 1937 and Alice returned home to Brighton where she died in 1949. They had no children so this ends the family line.

The Bertha (DAWES) TAMPKIN Line

Bertha was born to Thomas DAWES and Sarah BOXALL on 22 April 1871. Bertha married Charles TAMPKIN (1870-1657) in Brighton on the 15 Sept. 1892 and they had two sons, Charles b. 27 June 1895 and Sydney b. 29 Oct. 1899 who both served in WWI.

Bertha died of cancer in 1921 at the age of 41 and Charles re-married a Violet BROWN in 1930.

Charles Jr. went on to marry Dorothy Mable CLARK (1896-1960) and they had two daughters who had families that I am in touch with today.

Sydney went on to marry Alfreda May FRY (no dates) and also had two daughters, Barbara (1927-1977) and Norma (1931-1978). Norma never married but Barbara married a Canadian serviceman, Haig MONTGOMERY (1919-1981), whom she met during WWII and moved to Canada where she had four children.

Photo at left: Seated Charles Tampkin and Bertha Dawes, standing L-R Sydney and Charles Jr.

The Ernest DAWES Family

Ernest was the second child born to Thomas DAWES and Sarah BOXALL and was born 23 March 1866. He was baptised 5 June 1870 at St. Nicholas Church, Brighton on the same day as his older brother, Walter, and younger sister, Florence, who died shortly afterwards. Ernest became a carpenter following in his father's footsteps and eventually joined the family business, Thomas Dawes & Sons. On 4 August 1890 at the London Road Chapel he married Mary Jane WRIGHT (1865-1941) and they had one child, a daughter Gladys Kathleen born 19 Nov. 1897.

Gladys became a piano teacher and had a professional name of K. York-Palmer so must have had a career on the stage on in the theater. Gladys never married and died in 1979 ending the Ernest Dawes family line. Mary Jane and Ernest must have been estranged in their later years because he always attends family funerals with only Gladys and Mary Jane was very specific in her will that her property go to her daughter and not her husband as she feared he would try to get it.

I have looked extensively through the Brighton playbills for any mention of Gladys or K. York-Palmer without success. At the beginning of this post there is a photo labeled Mystery Photo that I believe is a Dawes family gathering for some sort of performance by a family member. The little girl in the front is wearing gloves (common among piano players) and is holding a Brighton Hippodrome playbill so she may be Gladys???

The Walter DAWES Family

Thomas DAWES (1840-1925) and Sarah BOXALL (1841-1890) were married 10 July 1864 at St. Nicholas Church, Brighton. Their first child, Walter, was born 16 Sept. 1864 but he wasn't baptised until 5 June 1870 also at St. Nicholas along with his younger brother Ernest and a sister Florence Ellen who was born and died in 1870. I suspect that they were baptising a baby who wasn't expected to survive and did the two boys at the same time.

Walter went on to be a part of Thomas Dawes & Sons and inherited the business on his father's death in 1925. He married Lucy Ann GASTON (1863-1918) in 1887 at the London Road Chapel (Baptist, I believe) and had one child, Walter Thomas, with her in 1889. Lucy died at 55 in 1918 and Walter re-married Edith Mary BINNS (1870-1954) in 1918 so he must have known her before Lucy died.

His only son, Walter Thomas (1889-1940) married Ethel Rose BANKS in 1920 but they had no offspring so the Walter DAWES branch died out in 1940.

The Charles DAWES Line

Charles William DAWES (1968-1927) is the second child born to George DAWES after he re-married Sophia SANTER. Charles married Janet Mary STREETER (1872-1949) in 1899 Newick.

This is the family that branches into the COOPER and MUGRIDGE families through the marriages of Bessie b. 1912 to Frederick Carlisle COOPER (1910-1987) and Dorothy b. 1914 to Herbert William MUGRIDGE (1912-2005). Emmie b. 1906 married but had no children.

Jeanette b. 1900 and Charles b. 1904 never married.

Reginald b. 1910 had three children two of which have famililes of their own and with whom I am in contact. Reginald's wife is still living so is not shown here.

Charles William DAWES (1868-1928)

Charles & Janet with family c 1912

The Peter DAWES Line

Peter b. 1859 is the last child born to Esther COTTINGTON before she died in 1863. Peter married Fanny EDBROOKE (1855-1916) in 1883 Bedminister. Peter is the only child to really move away from the family and is found later in Gloucestershire and London.

Both James and Nathaniel are found in Gloucestershire in 1911 still unmarried but the GRO Index for 1912 London shows a marriage for Nathaniel to Gertrude Jessie CHENNELL b. 1887 with the birth of a son in 1916.

The George (2) DAWES Line

George b. 1857 married Charlotte Elizabeth CROWHURST b. 1858 in 1880 Uckfield. They had 5 children but not much more is known about them at this time. According to FreeBMD there are a couple of potential marriages for Ethel to either a CHATFIELD or POTTER in 1909.

The William (3) DAWES Line

William (1855 correction-1905) married Elizabeth Cloke ORGAN ( 1853-1901) from Cornwall in 1881 Uckfield. They had one child Esther Cottington DAWES b. 1882 and there's no doubt about her heritage based on her name. William would have been 8 years old when his mother Esther Cottington died and he must have been fond of her because normally the first daughter would have been named after the mother's mother which was Eliza.

Esther Cottington DAWES married in 1906 Uckfield to William Charles JEFFERY b. 1868 after losing both her parents, only in their late fourties, between 1901 and 1905. Esther and William had two sons as of the 1911 census.