Genealogy

Genealogy

We have had many enquiries from people researching their family tree. As a result of this we have set up this page. If you have any useful information please let us know as we are not experts, we are just hoping to help out a little. Please note also the work that is currently being undertaken researching Ellastone during the days of WW1 – contributions would be very welcome –  email

The Ellastone Parish records are kept in the Record Office in Stafford.

Records up to the year 1700 can be accessed on line using the link  Ellaston Register (1578-1700). You may find it easier going onto the FreeReg site.

After 1700 they are on micro-fiche in Stafford.

There is a digitalisation project covering all Parish Records held in Staffordshire in conjunction with findmypast.co.uk which will mean that everything should be available on line from mid year. Enquirers could either subscribe to findmypast or get free access at a library.

The National ArchivesIt is interesting to read Staffordshire County Council has just agreed to spend £4 million on a new centralised records and archives centre. This will be very interesting to those people wishing to trace family members.

—————————————————————————————————————

There are many interesting memorials and gravestones in the Churchyard. However, apart from recent burials there is currently no plan available of the Churchyard.

2013-02-04 12.57.42

Gravestones: St Peter’s Churchyard, Ellastone. There are details of some 200 headstone inscriptions on this site – Memorial Inscriptions. Please note that the graveyard does not have visible gravestones before the 18th Century.

————————————————————————————————————–

Below are some useful sites. Click on the links:

Ancestry   &   UK Directory
—————————————————————————————————————

 Anzac Day Centenary – local heroes WW1

Anzac Day (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) is the most significant commemoration of military casualties in those two countries. This year on April 25th it has its centenary, remembering 100 years since the start of the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in what is now Turkey. There will be special events here in the UK, for example at the Cenotaph in London.

Locally we should remember two heroes on April 25th.
In Ellastone Church there is a memorial tablet to Capt. Edward Unwin who lived at the family seat at Wootton Lodge during the post war years. He was awarded the VC on April 25th 1915 as Commanding Officer of the SS River Clyde at the landings at Gallipoli. He was a well-known war hero, so much so that his col-oured picture appeared on a cigarette card. You can see this and read about his incredible bravery by typing his name into a computer search engine such as Google.
Not well-known was Arthur Charlesworth. He grew up at Calwich Bank Farm which his mother ran. (She had grown up at Thorswood Farm, Stanton.) Arthur attended Ellastone School but left the area shortly before WW1 to find his way in the world. He went to Canada in 1912, then to New Zealand. He joined the Auckland Infantry and the Gallipoli campaign, but his time in action lasted only 12 hours and he died along with hundreds of others on 25th April 1915. He was mourned locally with the Vicar of the time paying tribute on behalf of the commu-nity. He was the first local lad killed in WW1.
You can read the story of Arthur Charlesworth and all the others whose names appear on the Memorial Plaque in St. Peter’s Church and the Ellastone School Roll of Honour in the book “A long way from Ellastone” by Sue Smith and Paul Machen, which is available for £4 from Ellastone Church.
(Thanks to Margaret Taylor for all her dedicated research on the First World War, without which this item would not have appeared.)

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

If you are researching your family history and would like to share it with us then please contact us – email. Here is the start of a list of contributions from people who have researched their family tree:

#The GINDERS family

1 Response to Genealogy

  1. mus2 says:

    Hello, my name is Melvyn Smith and I lived in Wootton for the first three years of my life! I am now looking at my family history. Perhaps like many people I have left it a bit late – I have lots of questions to ask but most of the people are now dead.

    My mother’s maiden name was Margaret Alice Unsworth and she was born in Manchester. Sadly her mother died when she was young and she came to Wootton to be brought up by her aunt Ethel Wilson (maiden name Bott) at Delbert House. I came to Ellastone about 18 months ago to try and find the grave of my great-aunt Ethel, and her husband Arnold Wilson, but could not find it. She died in July 1974 and I do remember going to the funeral. If anybody could tell me where the grave is sited or if it has been removed I would be extremely grateful.

    I also believe that Ethel’s sister Nellie (or Ellen) Hackett (maiden name Bott) was also buried in Ellastone churchyard but again I could not find the grave. When I was growing up Nellie also lived at Delbert House.

    I did find some headstones of the Bott family in the churchyard at Ellastone so the visit was useful. Also I had forgotten how attractive Ellastone church is and how peaceful the graveyard was.

    Any information that anyone can provide will be very welcome.

    Thanks. Mel

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.