Tag: Family History

Discovering Heriatge Newcastle's Forgetter Movie Star

Newcastle’s Forgotten Movie Star

Posted on by Fiona Malkin

Newcastle’s forgotten movie star charts the life of Kate/Kitty Johnson. The thrill of the hunt, the adventure, and the excitement of discovering your ancestors are just three reasons why we love ancestry. Many of you probably know a little bit about your parents and grandparents but when we start digging deep into the archives we can uncover some fascinating stories. The 1st March marks the beginning of Women’s History month and we have the perfect story to celebrate women’s history right here in Newcastle. Readers may be familiar with David Wardell’s local history posts? Well today we share more of his research, this time into the ancestry of his wife’s family.

Just Another Century

Just Another Century

Posted on by Fiona Malkin

Starting in 1875 the plot revolves around a Victorian house in Jesmond. The story sweeps the reader across continents as it charts the lives and loves of the O’Dowd and Le Britton dynasties. A great majority of the book is set in both Jesmond and Gosforth so gives the reader a valuable insight into the two villages in the pre and post war years.

Discovering Heritage Joe Fisher header image and quote

A Real Diamond Geezer

Posted on by Fiona Malkin

The son of  Jacques Fisher and Sybil Jacobs Joe was born in 1922 in Newcastle.  He spent most of his years as a resident of Jesmond and Gosforth.   His father was a director of the family wholesale jewellery business in Newcastle. Between 1930 and 1936 Joe attended  the Royal Grammar School in Newcastle for his secondary education. Joe still lives in Gosforth now at the age of 98.

The Laidlaw Family of Brush Makers

Posted on by Fiona Malkin

David Wardell follows the Laidlaw family through the rise and fall of fortunes, times of tension when their land was taken for rail improvements at Manors and various business exploits as one would expect over such a long term. The story is accompanied by numerous news snippets which illuminate particular instances of the lives of individual family members which were deemed to be news worthy and set in print for us all to read.

Jesmond Cemetery Discovering Heritage

The Remarkable Life of One Gosforth Woman

Posted on by Fiona Malkin

One of history’s dilemmas is that it tends to favor the well known, the grand gesture, the highly profiled. However, I find myself gripped with the idea that every man, woman and child who lives or has lived has or had their own story, and all small ordinary stories will influence the bigger stories in history. Every occupation enables a community to thrive; simply by going about their day-to-day lives, our ancestors played a part in creating history