Herne, Hair and Hull: My Davidson Roots

I know I have been very quiet on this blog for some time, but life has been busy so family history has had to be put to one side for a little while, but also I have been concentrating on getting this finished, edited and printed ready for Christmas. 

 

The first edition of my family history book concentrating on the Davidson line of my family. It is a BIG achievement to finally complete this.

Big thanks goes to my father-in-law for formatting and printing it for me and to my husband for the cover design.

The Book of Me, Written by You - Week 56 - Clubs & Societies

The Book Of Me, Written By You is a 15 month project set up by Julie Goucher at Anglers Rest.

Each week there are prompts which require answering.

Week 56 - Clubs & Societies

When I was a student at the University of Bradford was a real season of belonging to clubs & societies.

As a student I was a member of:

• The Christian Union
• Trampolining
• University Orchestra

Now, I struggle to find the time to be a part of clubs & societies, but I have recently joined Raise Your Voice Community Choir as I was really missing being actively involved in community music.

My family and I are also a part of an emerging community called The Well Community which is a group of people with the same faith values who are delving into deeper relationships together and processing what being a community means in today's society.

Growing up as a child I was always involved in something or other so here is a list of clubs and societies I was a part of for some of my childhood years:

• Trampolining at school
• School Orchestra
• School Chamber Orchestra
• Church Choir - not a tradition church choir but we would sing together Christian musicals at various seasonal events, such as Christmas, Easter or anniversaries
• Youth Club - based in a church we would hang out together on a Friday evening and eat sweets, play pool, listen to music, chat and just generally socialise
• Christian Endeavour - a children's club at the church we were a part of as a family
• Vision - a monthly Christian youth event, which has grown into something much bigger now

I love the idea of joining a good genealogical society or local history society but it's having the time to do this, as I would rather spend time with investing in my family, researching my family tree alongside work and housework and those never ending tasks!

I also occasionally go to events organised by clubs and societies related to my profession, especially when they are Continuous Educational Training days which interest me and my career path.

I have some photos of my great grandfather, Walter Davidson as part of a bowling club from Hull. We suspect it was East Park Bowling Club. My grandfather once told me that it upset him that Walter, his father, spent so much time with the bowling club and not enough time with his family.

Bowling Club in Hull, East Yorkshire - my great grandfather is middle row, 3rd person from the left

Bowling Club in Hull, East Yorkshire - my great grandfather is on the back row, second from the left

Bowling Club in Hull, East Yorkshire - my great grandfather is on the back row, second from the right

My ancestor was . . . a dock worker

A dock worker is a generic occupation for a person who worked on the docks, yet there were many different occupations and roles at the docks, in which case your ancestor may have been:

• Loading and unloading boats AKA a Stevedore, which is derived from the Spanish estibador and/or Portuguese estivador meaning a man who stuffs or loads boats.
• Lumpers - a docker who unloads fish at a dock
• Railway workers
• Carpenters - building or repairing ships
• Engineers
• Fitters - a person who assembles parts to manufacture a mechanical device
• Blacksmiths
• Wagon drivers
• Grooms
• Dockside police - I presume would have policed what came in and out of the ports and docks
• Harbour officials
• Watermen who worked on barges
• Lightermen operated lighters which are a type of flat-bottomed barge
• Roadsters
• Rope makers
• Lifting gear operators
• Crane drivers
• Chain makers
• Sack manufacturers
• Boiler makers - in the ship building industry
• Colliers - a person who produced charcoal or mined for coal
• Coal whippers - unloaded coal from transport ships

Dockers would be strong men who required great physical strength and there would be a great social atmosphere, yet dockers were prone to accidents as well as exposure to hazardous substances.

I have a few generations of dockers, mainly boiler makers in my family tree. My great grandfather, Walter Davidson was a dock labourer in the docks at Hull until World War II when he and the family relocated to north Leeds, West Yorkshire when he got a job at Kirkstall Forge. Walter's brother, Uncle Ted, father, Edward and grandfather, John were all boiler makers who worked at the docks in Hull and the East End of London. John's step-father, Michael Lester was also a boiler maker. You can read more about my Davidson ancestors at The Davidson Family.

Information from:

Your Family Tree Magazine 133
Wikipedia - Stevedore
Wikipedia - Lumper
Wikipedia - Fitter (occupation)
Wikipedia - Lighterman
Wikipedia - Collier
Family Research - Coal Whippers