#52Ancestors Week 18 "Close Up"

I am ready for my Close Up now.   This is a copy of an engraving of General Sir Alexander Duff (1777-1851), I wonder how long he had to sit/stand for this ?   

General Sir Alexander Duff formally Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Duff was the second son of The Third Earl of Fife and Lady Mary Skene.   I know, you are wondering why is she writing about a Scot, there are no links to Scotland in her tree.  Wrong !  Well most probably wrong.  Alexander Duff served in the 88th regiment of Foot, 'the Connaught Rangers' who had returned from service in India and Egypt in 1802 and were camped close to Icklesham.  Soon after several local girls were having children and were later claiming parish benefits for their basebourne children.  Absolute proof is not available but it looks as if Elizabeth Butchers (Paternal 4th Great Grandmother) was one of these girls because at the age of 19 she gave birth to Alexander Duff Butchers (1804-1891) the father was most probably the commander of the regiment, Alexander Duff.

The parish records show the birth of Alexander Duff Butchers to a single mother Elizabeth Butchers but what is unusual is that the father was never pursued for payment to the parish accounts, which is in contrast to the way a couple of years later when Elizabeth pregnant again with her second son Joseph, (father being Joseph Mann), and two of her sisters who were also 'in the family way', as they were all were taken to court by the parish to swear who  the fathers were. One baby died but for the others the fathers made payment to the parish accounts for many years - even after Elizabeth married, payment continued for Joseph as she left her son  with her parents!

 

I am hoping sy some stage to confirm this connection using DNA to match to a Duff decendant.  One of the decendants being David Cameron., who if correct would be my 5th Cousin Once removed!!

#52Ancestors Week 17 "Cemetery"

I have got a bit behind with my bloggs, with the weather being so good recently I have been up my allotment getting veg in for harvest later this year.  So these new blogs will be a bit shorter than some have been, phew everyone thinks!
So week 17 hint was Cemetery.  My cemetery visits are yet to materialise, hoping to start when I eventually retire, I know that might sound odd for those of you that are not budding genealogists but part of this odd hobby is the desire  to go round churchyards and cemeteries finding ancestors grave sites hoping to find new clues to our ancestors and their families. That being said there are recent websites that have volunteers taking photos of memorials.  One such website is BillionGraves, which is where I found this.

This is the gravestone of William and Rosina Wadey (Great Grandparents)  William died after being involved in an accident on York Place.  The coroners report reads as follows:-  "Wadey William of 7 Circus Street, Brighton, retired chimney sweep; 71; at the Royal Sussex County Hospital; whilst crossing York Place on 30 Nov he was knocked down by a motor car which threw him in front of a tramway car whereby he sustained multiple injuries in consequence of which he died from bronchial pneumonia; accidental death"

The newspaper report at the time seemed to show that his injuries were not as serious as they turned out.

Rosina, William's wife of 45 years died just months after William.
William was the third son of Stephen Edwin Wadey (1829-1904) and Mary Ann Johnson (1830-1876).   Rosina was born Gravett one of 11 children of William George Gravett (1822-1897) and Mary Jeal (1828-1903) Both William and Rosina were born and lived in Brighton