Any sign of my Fairbrothers?

[Janet]

Is it Alan or Alana? No matter, welcome! Any third cousin of Uncle John's is a friend of ours.

[Alanadickinson2]

Hello, third cousin! I have copied your message to my brother as he is interested in the origin of his middle name, Lydeard. My sister's son also has Lydeard as his middle name. My brother will join GF and post some information about Alfred and Elizabeth Fairbrother. I did not know Arthur Lidyard Fairbrother (my grandfather) had any siblings, so would be interested to know a little bit about them.

[Alanadickinson2]

Thank you, Janet. It is Alana, not Alan.

[Uncle John]

Sorry Alana. Arthur's siblings:

Mary Elizabeth (b. q4 1868, Clifton, Bristol). married James Brimble 3 April 1893 Bristol (from BIVRI). 2 children, Ellen and Violet.

Alfred Edward (b. 4 June 1870 Chipping Sodbury). He's all over the place in the censuses - 1871 Westerleigh, 1881 Bristol, 1891 Worcester (jeweller's assistant), 1911 Newcastle on Tyne.

Arthur Lidyard Fairbrother seems to have spent a lot of time sailing all over the world.

[pjlfairbrother]

Hello distant relative!

You seem to have much of it, maybe I can confirm and/or fill in a few details, though I do not know a lot more.

Alfred Robert Fairbrother married Elizabeth Lidyard somewhere around 1865. Alfred's mother was yet another Elizabeth, I don't know his father's name. Alfred and Elizabeth had a son, Arthur Lidyard Fairbrother, born 14 June 1872, who was orphaned of a father aged 5 months when Alfred died Dec 9 1872 aged 32 in the wreck of the barque Gracie in the Bristol Channel in a storm. The body was recovered. His wife Elizabeth lived on until Oct 14 1914. Alfred and both Elizabeths (wife and mother) are buried in Bristol's Arnos Vale Cemetery, plot L117.

Arthur moved to Cape Town in 1891 and later Simon's Town, SA, where he was for a while Headmaster of a school. He married Elizabeth Anne Smith (b.?) on March 26 1894 in Cape Town South Africa, and they had three children, Gladys Nora Fairbrother (b.?), Alan Charles Whitton Lydiard Fairbrother (b. 10 Jan 1911) and Colin Stevenson Fairbrother (b. 8 Mar 1912). I think Arthur and Elizabeth moved to the UK in 1898, Arthur was certainly in business in Glasgow by 1900. I don't know where Gladys was born. Alan and Colin were born in Helensburgh, a town not far outside Glasgow.

Arthur probably died shortly before 20 Jan 1938 (I have a letter of condolence sent to his son Alan on that date, although the exact cause for condolence is not mentioned - a date around then would also be in accord with secondhand family memories) so the q4 1937 Poole entry is a very good possibility, especially considering Arthur's penchant for travel and his links with South Africa.

Arthur's wife Elizabeth Anne "Lizzy" died in 1944 in Campsie Glen (in a castle she had rented after the house at 5 Queen's Gardens in Glasgow had been bomb damaged - the house next door was obliterated). I don't know where their graves are, though Arthur at least is thought to be buried in or near Bristol, possibly in Arnos Vale Cemetery.

Arthur's daughter Gladys died without issue in Jan 1958 in Glasgow. She was about 60. Gladys's grave is supposed to be in Arnos Vale Cemetery, but its location there is not known.

Arthur's son Alan C.W. Lydeard Fairbrother married Jean Gillian Metcalfe on 17 May 1952 and they had three children, Peter John Lydiard Fairbrother (1953) (that's me), Alana, and a sister. Alan died in 1977 and was cremated, there is no grave or marker. Jean "Jill" is still alive.

Arthur's son Colin died without issue aged 31 on or shortly before 4 Nov 1943 in Nanking from complications of polio; his grave is or was marked by a monument in Nanking.

That's about as much as I know. The information about Arthur's siblings was new to me, thank you for that, I had not known he had any. Do you know Alfred's father's name?

Until very recently I have not known where the name came from, it was just a family tradition to give a son a middle name of Lydeard (however spelt - even Liddeaered has been mentioned as one possible early spelling!).

As for the spelling change, Alan's birth certificate gives his middle name as Lydeard, while his father Arthur's middle name is given on the same certificate as Lidyard. I sort-of changed mine by usage to Lydiard from the Lydeard on my birth certificate, and I think my sister's son's middle name is spelt Lydiard on his birth certificate.

[Alanadickinson2]

To 'Uncle John.' Thank you for this interesting information about Arthur's siblings. Much appreciated!

[Uncle John]

To plj - can I suggest you remove any references to living people -I'm pretty sure it's against the forum rules. But thanks for your potted Fairbrother history. Any Lidyard descendant is a friend as well as a distant rellie!

I had found a mixture of Lidyards and Lydiards. By the way, Grace Lidyard/Lydiard (nee Walker) is indexed as SYDIARD in the GRO death index. I have her death certificate from the local (South Gloucs.) Register Office, spelt correctly.

[Uncle John]

As to Alfred's parents, you'd need to buy his marriage certificate to get his father's name and occupation: Bristol, June quarter 1862, vol. 6a page 304. There is an Alfred Fairbrother in the England and Wales cenuses in 1861 and 1851 but it doesn't look like the right person. In 1871 Elizabeth is with her father and her 2 children in Westerleigh, Gloucs.

[pjlfairbrother]

To Uncle John,

Thanks for the details. Any suggestions as to how to get the marriage certificate, and how much it might cost?

This may be of interest, it's a (rather awful) poem about the death of Alfred Robert Fairbrother written in 1872. The author is M.L. and he calls Alfred "brother" - might M.L. be one of Elizabeth Lidyard's brothers, and thus Alfred's brother-in-law?

http://www.zenadsl6186.zen.co.uk/alfred_poem1.jpg

[Mary from Italy]

This is the official site for birth, marriage and death certs:

http://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/

Certs cost £9.25.

You'll need to quote the reference details Uncle John gave you in his last post.