13/4/2012 - Another visit to Sparkwell

After numerous visits to Sparkwell graveyard, and numerous requests for directions I had still been unable to locate the grave of my husbands maternal grandparents.

 This weekend is a special weekend for the family, the Christening of my Mother-in-Laws 2nd great Grandchild. (Daughter of my husbands neice). An opportunity for the family to get together. Sadly we seem to meet up at more funerals than any other family occasion. So tomorrow should be a happy, joyous occasion for a change.

 But I stray from the point. Because of the Christening we are being visited by my other Sister-in-Law and her Husband. So yesterday she joined me in Sparkwell, and we drove around Hemerdon and saw the house where my Mother-in-Law was brought up. The house belonged to my husbands grandparents William and Ella Lee (nee Nelder). William bought the house (now the Bungalow) and it was his intention at the time to build a house for each of his four daughters on the land at the side of the house. He built the first house for his eldest daughter Dorothy and her husband George, but didn't build the other three. My husband and one of his sister's were born at William and Ella's home in Drakeland. And all of William and Ella's seven grandchildren have fond memories of the times they spent at Drakelands. William Lee was also responsible for putting in a new wooden ceiling in All Saints church, Sparkwell.

With the help of my sister-in-law Susan and Mother-in-law Betty I was able to locate the resting place of William and Ella Lee. Marked only by a small square stone, little wonder I was unable to find it on my own.

As my daughters also accompanied us it was my intention to get my eldest daughter to take some photos of All Saints church and Drakelands to include in this blog. Unfortunately the church is presently under scaffolding, so we will have to return at a later date.

Early Beginnings - An Introduction

I can't really be sure who or what first drew my attention toward Genealogy or family history. But it all began around 2000 before the birth of my 2nd daughter, and then it all stoppped in 2003 when she arrived. Because of family life and business commitments my family history project was put on a shelf (literally!) Occasionally I would get it down, dust it off and dabble a little bit, then put it back on it's shelf.

My ancestors, all lived in the North of England. The Nelder family that has caught my attention in recent times, isn't really mine, but my husbands. His maternal grandmother was a Nelder before marriage, And on closer inspection I have found plenty of them. So far I have concentrated mainly on the families in the two small Devon villages of Sparkwell and Cornwood. Geographically these villages are not too far from my home. Unlike the roots of my own family which are planted firmly among the 'dark, satanic mills' of Manchester and it's surrounding cotton towns.

 As expected not all of these Nelders stayed in Devon. I hope to find out where they went and to discover more about the life of the ones who stayed close by. This blog is intended to be more like a journal of my research. A point of reference that I can go back to and maybe content that could be of interest to other members of my wider family.