General Chat

Thanks Lesley .....being from Stockport was explained that at school.lol...I also noted the early dealths of said hatters as well GGrandad died at just 29 yrs..old...they went mad or ...died of chest aliments....I think the red indian thing comes from my grandmother side she had very brown hair and eyes as my sister does and so did my dad..however her parents was irish so thats where I think it came from..

My grandfather's sister, always said her father was an only child, and they came from Scotland.
This really put me back when I was researching my paternal family.

I then found my great grandfather was one of eight children, and they came from Essex, not Scotland.

She was in her 90's when she told me this, so perhaps it was what she wanted to believe.

Hayley, have you ever heard the expression Mad as a hatter? It could explain a lot why there was the story about Red Indians.

From Wikipedia.

Mercury was used in the process of curing felt used in some hats. It was impossible for hatters to avoid inhaling the mercury fumes given off during the hat making process. Over time, the residual mercury caused neurological damage, as well as confused speech and distorted vision. As the mercury poisoning progressed to dangerously high levels, sufferers could also experience psychotic symptoms, such as hallucinations. Given that anyone exhibiting an altered mental state was dubbed mad at the time, the cause of such malady, and subsequent death of such people doubtless went unexplained for a long time.

Yes Brenda.....thats where they came from that area and most my female reallies were felt hat trimmers..

**Brief interlude whilst Hayley rushes to see her photo....lol....

always celebrated moms birthday, on the 11/12/1910 the one we found after her death was unreadable got a new one it read 18 /12 1910 it is right check it out

Joan G

That's interesting,Hayley that you are descended from hatters.
They were famous for it in or around Denton where my mother worked in the early 1920's,it was called the Lancashire Felt,and was very dusty,she said,with all the fluff etc coming off the process.
Maybe she knew some of your rellies?
Brenda x x

P.S don't shout at me when you see your photo on GC photos!!!

and this was 1960 what BC ?

Well our family were all bards at the court of King Malachy of Ireland...fact:-) lol BC XX

Hmmmmm.....cant work that one out.........my mum does still come out with right tall tales....but I have put that down to her being the cheif Empresses of Drama......lol


We nearly got the bus diver sacked on the ring and ride through her.....tsk...

Hayley...maybe she forgot lol

Eric the Minger??

I used to know im!

Deanna X

oops missed you there Hayley...this same branch of the family had been told the same stories as ours which I still presume are true stories as some of them are backed up.

Tuna.....lol my mum used to lie about the year she was married....and there was no need as she did marry in 1958 and my sister wasnt born till 1961..lol

I know what you mean. I was told I was descended from Eldrick the merciless, but once I got the birth certificate, I found it was Eric the minger, which subtle play on words left me traumatised.

The axe, which is a family heirloom, turns out to have been used for chopping kindling sticks and not beheading enemies. It is now hidden in shame.

Oh Colin , what a disappointment.

Deanna X

Colin, the shipwrecked twice is more interesting to me. than being a captain,

My Royal Navy Captain GGFather turned out to be a stoker who was shipwrecked twice

My Mother keeps telling me she was married in 1958... errr... no.. she married in 1963 AFTER we were born.
Also she keeps on about 'my father'.. well which one is he? the one on my Birth cert or the one I knew?

Dread to think what the ancestors could come up with.

Morning Lesley........when I met my cousins last week....they all repeated the same stories ...so our parents had been told them..maybe it was to pass many a cold winters night....lol