John Croasdell and Margaret Carroll

CROASDELL FAMILY - POTTED HISTORIES - BRANCHES

 

John Croasdell and Margaret Carroll

 

 

John Croasdell 1877 - 1949 was born in Ulverston on September 4th 1877 at No 4 Morecambe Road, according to his daughter-in-law, Elizabeth McBride. He was the third child, second son of William Croasdell and Elizabeth Jackson. But by the time he was 12 both his elder brother and sister had died and he had seen a younger brother and sister die in infancy. Within the next 8 years 2 more infant brothers were to die and he lost his mother when she was only 45 and John was just 20. Before this, however, John is said to have worked in a local grocer's store as a delivery boy, earning sixpence or sometimes even a shilling a week which he hid under a gooseberry bush - to keep it safe for his mother and prevent his father from taking it for drink! John is also said to have run away from home because of his father's fondness for a drink - but he did later move to Liverpool where his father, William, his younger sister Elizabeth and younger brothers Herbert and William Henry moved shortly after Elizabeth's death in 1897. Ernest may not have moved to Liverpool with the rest of the family as in 1901 he was working as a barman in Heysham. In any case, by 1903 the younger members of the family were living at Anerley Street, West Derby when Herbert also died, just before his 12th birthday, having suffered from tubercular peritonitis.

At some point, maybe when he ran away, John became a regular soldier with the Lincolnshire Regiment, the Green Jackets, 46th Foot. Further research into regimental records may well reveal more about when he signed up and where his army career took him. Family information is that he served in India and in Africa in the Boer War (1899 - 1902) returning to Liverpool as a sergeant. He was likely to have been in South Africa at the time of the 1901 census. It was in Liverpool when John was working as a commissionaire for the Elder Dempster shipping company that he met his bride to be, who also worked for the company. John's wedding to Margaret Carroll took place in the first quarter of 1910 at St Laurence's in Birkenhead. His wife was from Liverpool, the eldest of 6 children of Irish parents, and was always known as Nayni, a family nickname. It was probably through Margaret's influence that the family religion changed from Church of England to Roman Catholic.

John & Margaret had two sons, Herbert Sydney born 2nd September 1910 at Lord Street, Birkenhead and Frederick who was born and died two years later. Frederick was said to have been one of twins but the second child was probably stillborn and does not appear in the birth or death registers.

 

On 25th November 1939 Herbert married Elizabeth Margaret McBride at St Anthony of Padua Church in Mossley Hill (Liverpool).

 

 

 

 

Copyright D E Waters 2010