Who Do You Think You Are - Paddy McGuinness 22nd Aug

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On BBC1 at 9 p.m. and repeated at midnight next Wednesday night.

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Episode summary:

Paddy McGuinness was born in Bolton and was brought up there by his mother Patricia McGuinness nee Leonard who was a single parent having split up with his father Patrick Joseph McGuinness, known as Joe. Joe had served in the army and then worked in the scrap industry. Paddy only saw him about once every two weeks. Paddy's family lived at no 26 Auburn Street and then moved to no 30. Paddy didn't know much about any of his grandparents, apart from knowing that his maternal grandmother's name was Winifred. He lives in Cheshire now and has 3 children.

Paddy's uncle Tony Leonard visited Paddy's house to show him some old family photos. They talked about how Joe was in his 50's when Paddy was born and Patricia was in her 30's. Tony told Paddy that his father, Paddy's grandfather, was James Leonard, known as Paddy, and that his mother, Paddy's grandmother, was Winifred Taylor. However, Tony didn't know anything about James and Winifred's childhoods or about their parents.

Paddy met a genealogist and historian who showed him James's birth certificate. James was born on the 26th Feb 1911, his full name was James Herbert Leonard, and his parents were Patrick Leonard and Annie Leonard, late Cain, formerly Cunningham. On the 1911 census Patrick's occupation was bricklayer's labourer and Annie's was charwoman. A report in the 1915 Bolton Evening News said that Patrick was sent to prison for 1 month's hard labour for beating his wife. The workhouse admissions register showed that Annie and her son William were admitted, while James was sent to a "cottage home". On the 1921 census, Patrick and Annie were back together, with more children. Paddy was then shown James and Winifred's marriage certificate from 1935, with James's occupation given as colliery haulage hand below ground. On Patricia's birth certificate from 1939 (full name Patricia Winifred Leonard) James's occupation was handle rectifier, airplane works.

Paddy then went to the site of the De Havilland factory at Lostock, near Bolton, and met an historian who told him that the factory made and repaired aeroplane propellors, and that James worked there for nearly 40 years. Paddy then went to the RAF Museum in Cosford and met the curator who showed him some of the planes which used the propellors made at the factory, and also a photo of James's retirement party in 1978.

Paddy then turned to the paternal side of his tree, and went to Macclesfield to meet a researcher who showed him Joe's birth certificate dated 1925 which gave his parents' names as William McGuinness and Agnes Ann McGuinness formerly Melia. William's occupation was general hawker. Paddy was then shown William's army papers which said that he joined the Royal Lancaster Regiment in 1891, giving his age as 18 and his birthplace as Bolton. His army number was 3321. He served in India, Malta, Hong Kong, and then in South Africa in 1899 for the Boer War. Paddy met a military historian at the Royal Armoury in Leeds, who showed him William's medal roll entry which listed the battles for which he was awarded medals, including the Battle of Spion Kop and the Battle of Tugela Heights. Paddy was shown (or given) William's medal for the Battle of Tugela Heights, which had been in the possession of a private collector. He was then shown a Statement of Services from when William was awaiting trial for disobeying a command and using insubordinate language when on active service. He was sentenced to 168 days hard labour and it said "Character Bad" at the bottom of the page.

William's birth certificate from 1875 (proving that he was not 18 when he joined the army) gave his mother's name as Bridget McGuinness, but the father's name box was blank. Paddy met a genealogist at St Mary's Church, Bolton, who showed him that on the 1871 census, Bridget was the head of household and had a boarder named William Birtwistle, born in Bolton. William McGuinness's baptism record, also from 1875, gave his father's name as William Birtwistle. William Birtwistle and Bridget McGuinness married in 1884 at St Mary's Church.

Bridget's baptism record from 1836 showed that she was baptised at Ballina, Co Mayo, and that her parents were Mark McGuinness and Winifred nee Molloy. Paddy went to Ballina to meet a social historian who showed him their marriage record from 1823 which gave Mark's occupation as weaver, and described the marriage as a "Runaway match". There were baptisms for several other children of the couple, including John, Bryan, Peter, Michael, and Mary, with the address given as Garden Street. Paddy met a local historian who showed him an old map of Ballina and told him that Joe Biden's 3xg-grandfather, Edward Blewitt, also lived on Garden Street. The explanation for why the McGuinness family left Ballina for England came from an 1835 report on the decline in the linen trade. On the 1841 census of England, they were in Stockport, and on the 1851 census, they were in Bolton.

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This is the 1851 census entry, with Mark as a pauper / casual pedlar:

https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageview...e&pId=13364358

And the 1841 where Mark is a dealer in hardware and Winifred is a cloths seller:
https://www.ancestry.co.uk/imageview...rce&pId=125501

[kiterunner]

I did wonder why they didn't look at the Melia family too (Joe's mother's family), since that is an Irish name.

[Olde Crone]

They made a bit of a thing about the mistake in the spelling of the surname Leonard, saying that Registrars just wrote what they heard (which we know they did) - but surely the certificate they showed was a modern copy? So a GRO transcription error, not an original error.

Again, most of this programme consisted of very basic research apart from the Irish side and I didn't feel I learned much.

OC

[kiterunner]

Also I'm sure the registrar didn't hear it as Lenoard!

[Olde Crone]

Lol, no!

[Ann from Sussex]

His mind was blown an awful lot of times!
I have never been a fan of Paddy McGuiness, he's far too loud for my liking and this programme didn't change my mind about him. Does he ever stop talking? The only interesting thing for me was that I got a few glimpses of Ballina, Co. Mayo where my gt.gt.gt. grandfather settled when he left the East India Militia and returned to Ireland in 1835. He died there aged 100 in 1898 and his funeral was probably held in that very church.

[ElizabethHerts]

I'm afraid I found it rather boring.

[JBee]

My birth father came from Mayo so would have liked to have seen more especially about their records.

How they pronounced Ballina was different to how I expected thinking a not ar.