122 Dobbin Hill Road

[bryan ward]

my paternal grandparents ( Harold Eyre Ward and Annie Jean Brodie) were married at All Saints, Ecclesall in June 1920. At that time my grandmother was living at 122 Dobbin Hill Rd ( my grandfather lived elsewhere then at 34 Hampton Road) and I'm pretty sure they would have lived there after the marriage as I remember visiting them at the Dobbin Hill house as a child in the late 1950's. I am trying to find out anything about her parents, their names and

how long they might have lived there. ( the BMD searches are not conclusive on names unfortunately and I have been following a thread suggesting she was born in the East Riding and then possibly the family later moved to Sheffield)

If anyone can throw any light here that would be tremendous!

[Hopman]

1911 Census has a Harry Brodie aged 36 born in Sheffield with a wife Mary aged 34, Children Annie (10) Herbert (6) ,Willie (4) , Albert (1).

Harry was a file cutter.

"England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWKW-T4X : 2 August 2017), Harry Brodie, Ecclesall, Sheffield, Yorkshire (West Riding), England; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

[bryan ward]

Thanks for that but unfortunately it's not the right person as my grandmother was 33 when she married (quite late for that eraI know but my grandfather was 36!)which would have put her birth around 1887. The key seems to be her middle name /initial which is on the marriage certificate but I can't trace any other such references for births or census data.

[hillsbro]

The 1911 census return shows Harold E. Ward, a 26 year-old law clerk, at 34 Hampton Road with his father Samuel, a widower, also five siblings and his father’s aunt - here is a scan. The 1939 Register shows a Harold E. Ward, born 7 July 1884 and Annie J. Ward, born 7 June 1886 (and two others) at 311 Ecclesall Road - see here. Looking at this address in the Kelly's directories I have, the 1925 and 1931 editions show "Solomon Brody" as householder at 311 Ecclesall Road, while the 1937 to 1951 directories show "Mrs Kate Brody" as householder there (Solomon Brody died aged 83 in 1948 and Kate aged 74 in 1960).

 

The 1911 census return shows the Russia-born Solomon Brody at 311 Ecclesall Road with his wife Kate and their seven children including Annie, but this Annie Brody is only 4 months old - here is a scan. Annie's 1886 birth entry and her census entries seem hard to find using either spelling of Brodie/Brody, but Solomon Brody turns up in the 1891 and 1901 census returns, and in 1901 he is at 450 Ecclesall Road with his wife Jane and daughters Freda, 7 and Sarah, 12 months, and so Kate was his second wife (Jane Brody died in 1902) - see here. Could Annie Brodie have been adopted, or born abroad? Solomon Brody would only have been about 16 in 1886. Something of a mystery!

Edited January 3, 2018 by hillsbro

[bryan ward]

lots of good information here. Let me have a look at all the links and get back to you

 

---------- Post added 04-01-2018 at 13:36 ----------

 

Hi Hillsbro,

 

You are obviously much better resourced than me! Perhaps you can help a bit further to try and determine Annie J's parents and if she was born a Yorkshire lass. I have her marriage cert and she is listed as residing at 122 Dobbin Hill as at 10.6.20. Her father is a William Brodie and occupation given as Draper. Given the 1939 register has her and Harold living at 311 Ecclesall Road, maybe they lived there after they got married but then moved to the Dobbin Hill house after her parents died? I definitely visited them there in 1959 ( 1 was 5!) and remember the house was on quite a steep hill ( Google street view confirms) and I remember walking down the hill with them to catch the tram on Ecclesall Road into the city.

As you say finding her birth details is proving elusive. Brodie I am sure is the right spelling ( my father was given this as his middle name) but J/Jean seems to be the key to the puzzle as well as tracking down her parents details. I have had a quick look at Scottish records for 1886-87 ( nothing) and also Ireland ( one Annie Brodie listed born 1886 Belfast )

Do let me know if you have any further insights

cheers

[hillsbro]

Hi Bryan Ward,

 

This is certainly a mystery, as I looked in the Kelly’s directories I have for the householders of 122 Dobbin Hill and there is no-one with the surname Ward (I have the editions of 1925, 1931, 1937, 1940, 1942, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1971-74). I'm away from home until Sunday but I have the 1957 directory on disk and it gives "Arthur E. Trott" as householder. I also have a note that a Harold E. Ward is shown at 9 Dalmore Road in the 1951 to 1963 directories - of course this may or may not be the same Harold E. Ward.

 

Brodie is indeed a Scottish surname but the fact that the householder of 311 Ecclesall Road is given in directories as Solomon./.Kate Brody seems too much of a coincidence for there not to be some sort of relationship (family or perhaps an adoption) – but who knows?! I looked at the births index on scotlandspeople.gov.uk and there is an Annie Jane Brodie of about the right age but her birth was registered (in the Carnwath district) in 1885, not 1886 - see here. On the other hand, the 1891 census has an Annie Brodie, aged 5, in Carnwath whose father's name was William. The England & Wales births indexes don't show a likely Annie/Ann/Ann J. Brodie. There is an Annie Elizabeth Brodie born in the Ecclesall district in 1884 but to judge from the 1891 census her father's name was Charles.

 

Yes - a mystery!

[bryan ward]

Thanks for all the checking. Yes I think this will have to remain a mystery.

Kind regards

[hillsbro]

Yes, it could be that Annie may have somehow changed her name, or that there is a mistake in the indexing or some other complication, but I suppose we'll never know! Good wishes returned.

[lobster]

There are a number of references to a Miss Jean /J Brodie in the local press 1914 onwards till 1919 She Appears to be a Music Hall entertainer and laid on a number of entertainments/ fund raisers for local wounded . Her marraige Announcement 1920 refers to her as Miss A Jean Brodie

[hillsbro]

Hi lobster,

 

You did well to find these references - here is the marriage announcement.

 

Now, just to complicate matters further… The 1939 Register entry for the Wards was transcribed for the index as 311 Ecclesall Road. In fact it must have been Ecclesall Road South (looking closely, there is indeed an 'S' after the 'Rd') so this entry was wrongly transcribed. I found this by looking up Solomon Brody in the 1939 Register and found him as Solomon Brodie at 311 Ecclesall Road – see here. When searching on the address, it became clear that the entries for 303 to 321 Ecclesall Road South were also transcribed as Ecclesall Road. The name Brody of course agrees with the directory entries (in which the 'Brody' spelling is used) but doesn't help us regarding Annie’s family or the link with the 122 Dobbin Hill address. All the same, in view of Annie's maiden name it's a remarkable coincidence that she and Harold lived on Ecclesall Road South and the Brodies on Ecclesall Road, both being at No 311! When I’m home on Sunday I'll check the entries for 311 Ecclesall Road South in the directories.

Edited January 5, 2018 by hillsbro