John Wilkinson    Family Tree 

JOHN WILLIAM KELLY BLANEY AND SARAH JANE DAVISON  -  GREAT GRANDPARENTS This   is   where   things   starts   to   get   a   bit   complicated.   John   William   Kelly   Blaney   was   born   on   29   May   1862   at   Alnwick,   no   fathers name   appeared   on   his   birth   certificate   and   his   mother   is   listed   as   a   single   woman   when   he   was   baptised.      His   father   was   John Kelly.   When   he   married,   he   registered   his   name   as   John   Knox   and   when   he   died   his   name   was   registered   as   John   William   Kelly Blaney.   All   his   children   were   registered   with   the   surname   Knox.   To   the   best   of   my   knowledge   there   was   no   legal   name   change, he just adopted the Knox surname himself. He was nicknamed Linnet because he caught and kept wild birds. John   W   K’s   mother   was   Eleanor   Knox,   born   1835   in   Alnwick.   She   married   James   Blaney.   A   scotsman,   in   1855   at   Alnwick   and had three children :- William   Brown   Blaney    was   born   in   1858   at   Newcastle   (James   was   listed   as   his   father   on   birth   record)   William   kept   the Blaney   surname   and   married   Ann   Benson   in   1880   at   Alnwick.   In   the   1881   census   he   is   listed   as   a   soda   water   bottler.   They   had three   children,   Catherine   Blaney   born   and   died   in   1881   at   Alnwick,   Henry   Blaney   born   1883   and   died   1897   and   Ellen   Blaney born 1895 and died in 1903. John   William   Kelly   Blaney    was      born   1862   at   Alnwick.   He   married   Sarah   Jane   Davison   on   15   November   1882   at   St   James Church   Alnwick.   Sarah   was   born   at   Cowpen,   near   Blyth   on   10   March   1863,   daughter   of   Joseph   Davison   and   his   wife   Thomason (nee   Pringle).   They   had   eight   children   including   my   Grandfather,   Joseph   Knox.   Sarah   Jane   died   on   2   May   1902,   at   Elliotts Yard,   Clayport   Street,   Alnwick   and   John   re-married   on   17   April   1906.   His   new   wife   was   Catherine   Steven,   born   8   January   1884 at   Bondgate   Street,   Alnwick.   They   also   had   eight   children.   In   between   John   populating   the   North   East   of   England,   he   worked as a farm labourer. JWKB/John Knox died at Rosemount Cottage, Alnwick Moor in 1943. JWK and Sarah’s children were :- John   Thomas   Knox    was   born   on   3   November   1883   at   Queens   Head   Yard,   Alnwick.   He   worked   as   a   masons   labourer   and married   Annie   Mavin   in   1910.   Annie   was   born   in   1889   at   Bedlington.   In   1911   they   were   living   at   Winhams   Yard,   Alnwick.   They had   three   children,   Violet,   born   1911,   Joseph,   born   1912   and   Elizabeth   A,   born   1915,   all   at   Alnwick.   John   Thomas   died   in   1943 aged 81. Joseph Knox was born 6 April 1886 at Queens Head Yard, Alnwick. He was my maternal grandfather Mary   Ellen   Knox    was   born   18   May   1889   at   Old   Chapel   Lane,   Alnwick.   She   married   Robert   Angus   on   22   December   1906   at Alnwick.   Robert   was   born   in   1886   at   Alnwick   and   worked   as   a   masons   labourer.   They   had   five   children,   John   was   born   in   1909 at   Alnwick   and   married   namesake   Isabella   Angus   in   1931   at   Alnwick.   Sarah   J   was   born   in   1911   at   Alnwick   and   married   John   W Kelly   in   1932.   Thomas   was   born   in   1914   at   Alnwick,   Isabella   in   1922   at   Alnwick   and   William,   born   1924   also   at   Alnwick.   Mary Ellen died in 1945, aged 56 and Robert died in 1952, aged 67. William   Knox    was   born   on   7   June   1892   at   New   Row,   Alnwick.   He   worked   as   a   labourer   above   ground   at   the   colliery   and married   Annie   Gladden   in   1918   at   Gateshead.   Annie   was   born   at   Gateshead   in   1896.   They   had   three   children.   Edna   was   born 1919   at   Alnwick   and   married   John   T   Straughan   at   Alnwick   in   1940.   Alice   was   born   in   1922   at   Alnwick.   She   also   married   a Straughan,   Albert,   at   Alnwick   in   1949.   I’m   not   sure   if   the   two   Straughans   are   related.   Gladys   was   born   in   1925,   also   at   Alnwick. She married Robert Thornton in 1950.  William died in 1962, aged 70 and Annie died in 1960, aged 64. Eleanor Knox was born in 1893 at Alnwick. I can’t find any more records relating to her. Thomasina Ann Knox was born on 2 April 1895 at Alnwick. She died on 16 July 1896 aged 15 months. Sarah   Jane   Knox   was   born   on   2   May   1897   at   Pottergate,   Alnwick.   She   married   James   Tweedy   in   1916   at   Alnwick   and   they had    one    child,    James    G,    born    1916    at    Alnwick.    James    died    in    action    on    9    September    1916    in    Flanders    (he    was    in    the Northumberland    Fusiliers).    Sarah    remarried    on    29    April    1918    at    Alnwick    Register    Office.    Her    new    husband    was    Henry      Thomas   Riley   (he   was   always   known   as   Harry),   born   1895   in   Hove,   Sussex.   They   met   in   Alnwick   when   Harry   was   stationed   in the   region   during   his   army   days   and   had   two   children,   Sarah   Elizabeth,   born   25   December   1918   at   Alnwick   and   Ernest,   born 1922,   also   in   Alnwick.   Harry   and   Sarah   came   to   Shilbottle   several   times   on   holiday,   staying   with   Sarah’s   bother   Joseph   (my grandfather)   They   travelled   from   Hove   in   Sussex   by   bus,   lugging   a   massive   suitcase   with   them.   My   mother   took   Irene   and   me down   to   Hove   once   for   a   holiday   and   we   stayed   with   Harry   and   Sarah   at   their   house   behind   the   Odeon   Cinema   where   Harry was   a   caretaker.   He   let   me   in   to   see   the   Vikings,   starring   Kirk   Douglas,   which   had   just   been   released   (1958).   We   also   had   a   trip to   Portsmouth   and   went   aboard   The   Victory   on   that   trip.   Harry   died   on   3   September   1969   at   Bevendean   Hospital   in   Brighton and Sarah died on 6 August 1975 Isabella   Knox    was   born   on   7   July   1901   at   Alnwick.   I   think   she   may   have   married   James   G   Henderson   in   1933   at   Alnwick   but have   not   been   able   to   prove   this.   The   main   doubt   is   her   age,   she   would   have   been   32   when   she   married   which   is   quite   old   in those days. A   possible   explanation   for   the   surname   conundrum   is   that   James   and   Eleanor   separated   fairly   soon   after   being   married   and that   Eleanor   went   back   to   live   with   her   parents.   She   had   an   affair   with   John   Kelly   resulting   in   the   births   of   John   W   K   and Thomas.   William   kept   the   Blaney   surname   because   he   knew   that   James   Blaney   was   his   father   and   John   W   K   adopted   Knox because   he   was   living   with   his   Grandparents,   Thomas   and   Eleanor   Knox   (nee   Brown).   My   grandfather   Joseph   Knox,   born   1887 is   reported   to   have   said   on   several   occasions   that   he   should   have   been   called   Joseph   Blaney,   but   nobody   seemed   to   ask   him why? John W K Blaney  (John Knox)