I thought it was about time I added the details of my Smith connections !

My great grandparents were John Holdsworth b. 27/6/1832 , christened at Ambler Thorn, Halifax to parents John Holdsworth and Rebecca nee Busfield and Hannah Smith b. 27/3/1834 Queensbury to parents James Smith and Susannah Rusby.
John was a stone quarryman and Hannah on the 1851 census was a power loom weaver. They married 17/10/1857 at the Harrison Road Chapel, Halifax probably in order to qualify for emigration to Australia. John had an older sister Hannah who married a Joseph Moore, also a stonemason and Joseph had emigrated to Australia in about 1855. He then sponsored John's family and his own family out to Australia.
The 2 families - John, wife Hannah and daughter Sarah, his sister Hannah Moore and her 3 children William, Sarah Jane and Susannah set sail from Liverpool on board "The Switzerland" on 13/1/1858 and arrived in Sydney Cove on 13/4/1858 - a voyage of exactly 3 months. Hannah was listed as being able to both read and write. She was 7 months pregnant when they arrived and my grandfather James Holdsworth was born almost 2 months after their arrival on 24/6/1858. For those of you who are doing their sums, thinking I can't possibly have a grandfather that old, let me tell you that James married twice. The first time to a Fanny Beard, by whom he had 4 children - Maude Hannah, Lillian May, Percy John and Doris Rebecca. His first wife Fanny died in 1922 and on 16/7/1923 he re-married my grandmother Lucretia Honeyford who had emigrated from Northern Ireland to Australia in 1922. My father James Annesley Holdsworth was born 4/3/1924. So if you do your sums, you will see that my father arrived a little prematurely ( ha ha ), to a father who was aged 65 !! Not bad ! At least I am thankful for it. James was a stone-mason and my brother Steve is now the proud owner of many of his masonry tools.
John and Hannah had a further son John Edwin b. 5/12/1867 and settled in what was then called Denison Street, later changed to Holdsworth street, Woollahra. John worked at a nearby quarry with his brother-in-law Joseph Moore and gt. grandmother Hannah ran a general store right next to their home for many years. John died at the relatively early age of 47 from " chronic stone-cutter's disease ", which I think these days is named silicosis, so although by this age my grandfather was earning a living as a stone mason, the income from Hannah's shop would have been a very welcome addition to the family's funds. Hannah died at the good age of 89 on 22/8/1923 and her son John ran the store for a few more years until his death in 1928. Holdsworth street was not named after Hannah as the family myth suggested, but after a Richard Holdsworth, a prominent land-owner and one of the first councillors on the Woollahra Council.
For those of you who like their cooking, the former store run by Hannah is a new homewares store owned by Donna Hay at 40 Holdsworth street, Woollahra. Check out the website www.donnahay.com for a little bit of information about the store and many delightful recipes and goodies to buy.
Apparently it has been completely renovated and the original sandstone cleaned up to it's former glory. I hope to make a visit to Sydney soon to see the result. I visited some years ago when it was a different store and was kindly invited to see behind the scenes. I swear that nothing much had been done to improve the place in at least 100 years ! Although I sadly don't possess any photos of my great grandparents, it was lovely to learn a little bit about their lives from archives with help from my mother who started the family research and the local Woollahra librarians who sent me some details of who occupied what houses and when.
Now I would love to find out a little bit more about the Smith family that consisted of Hannah's parents and her 4 siblings. Her father was, as previously mentioned a James Smith who was born circa 1811-12 in Northowram, Yorkshire, occupation on the 1841 census "stuff weaver". He died in about 1845 and his widow Susannah nee Rusby, married a Joseph Haggis in Halifax in 1846. James and Susannah had :
John Smith b. 5/7/1832
Martha Smith b. 29/2/1836
Alfred Smith b. 5/12/1839 m. Hannah Unknown circa 1866-67 - had children Ellin b. 1868, Edna b. 1869, Emily Ann b. 1871, Clara b. 1873 and Alice Hannah b. 1875
Betty Smith b. 1841 m. Isaac Lee 1859, Halifax, had children Sarah Hannah b. 1861, Janet b. 1863, Harry b. 1865, Ellis b. 1868, Arthur b. 1877 and Annnie b. 1880.

Susannah and Joseph Haggis had one child :
Richard Haggis b. 1848

If anyone recognises any of the Smith connections, I would love to hear from you. I KNOW how difficult it is to pin down anyone with the name John Smith !
Meanwhile, the Holdsworth connection in Australia is thriving ! I hope to get back to England next year to do some "hands-on" research and visit Queensbury for the first time to see where it all began.
Look forward to meeting many more of you.

Cheers
Janice:W-]:

Hi Janice

That is quite a story and I haven't got time immediately to read it all but will come back to it later! Thanks for posting all that information and it will be interesting to see whether anyone can make a connection. Let's hope so!

Be back later

Gillian

hi janice
what a fascinating history your family has, it sounds like you have put some hours into your reseach, well done.
regards robert.

Hi Gillian and Robert,
Thanks for the comments. I feel quite proud that I've done really well researching the Holdsworth side of the family - mainly by doing on-line research, but would like to go further back than 1800 and certainly do some more on my Smith ancestors. As i mentioned, that will probably involve returning to England and going to the records office - just another good excuse for visiting the UK! It would be great too, to find out if there are any living relatives still in the area, since John Holdsworth was one of 9 children and Hannah Smith one of 5. I met a few relatives on my maternal side in 2006 who live in Northumberland and the family resemblance between one of them and my great grandmother was uncanny !
Nice chatting to you,
Janice

Hi Janice

I can trace my Smiths in Cheshire in the centuries before they went to Liverpool (1850/60) so I don't think we will have a connection. However, there is a chance that someone out there may make a connection. I do hope so!

Gillian

Hiya Jancie,
I know what you mean about the name John Smith as there are a few in my tree and I have check and no connection to your tree. My family is not far from your own. We are Rishworth, Rippondon, with Soyland, Barkisland and surounding areas. I know that currently we are not in Northowram but my Great Uncle Eric did died in the Hospial there.