Brian Blessed - The Wider Tree

If I have one complaint about WDYTYA, it's that they concentrate very narrowly on the direct pedigree of their subject, and cherry-pick the stories that will make good television, so they never let you see the wider tree they have discovered, even in one single family line. This is understandable, given their infotainment remit as the programme must have something for everyone in its hour - some laughter, some tears; a little joy and tragedy; a soupcon of middle-class scandal (fraud, illegitimacy, bankruptcy, drunkenness - rarely anything truly horrific) and some kind of connection that the subject can be moved to tears by. In some of the USA series, this has been managed by having the subject burst into tears and announce "Oh my god, I had a great-grandmother" but mostly, the UK series manages to balance its episodes.

However, in doing so they often skew the story, or leave glaring holes that leave the genealogist thinking "really?". I had a moment like this watching Brian Blessed's episode when I realised they were basing the family tree on Jabez Blessed's parents, Barnabas and Elizabeth, only having 4 children over a 21 year marriage. Were they really married 7 years before the eldest child was born? Additionally, those watching the screen closely could see that the children were baptised with middle names (many of them Atkinson, their mother's maiden name) to which no reference was ever made - but which, combined with their father's name of Barnabas should make them stick out like a sore thumb.

So, I spent a happy couple of hours this weekend poking around the BB family tree, and found that the story the BBC told was correct, but suffered from omissions which changed the whole flavour of the narrative.

Barnabas Blessed and Elizabeth Atkinson were married in 1801 at St Pancras Old Church, but Martha was not their eldest child. Their children were in fact:

• William Curven Blessed, 1803 - 1841
• George Wilkinson Blessed, 1804 - 1846
• Martha Atkinson Blessed, 1808 - 1822
• Elizabeth Grace Blessed, 1810 - 1812
• Barnabas Charles Atkinson Blessed, 1814 - 1889
• Jabez Blessed, 1817 - 1890
• Elizabeth Blessed, 1820 - 1822

It is entirely possible there was also another child in 1806 who was stillborn or miscarried, and possibly one more between Jabez and Elizabeth - an Isaac Blessett was buried at Portsea aged 5 months in November 1819, but it is not clear if he is of this family, and Portsmouth records are hard to get at easily, unless you are in Winchester.

This makes the picture of the family's move to Portsmouth very different - when Barnabas and Elizabeth went to Hampshire in about 1813 (Elizabeth Grace was buried in London), what happened to William and George? It seems most likely that they were apprenticed to London bookbinders (that was their later profession) and stayed in capital. Only Martha, who was admitted to the workhouse in 1822 as an 'idiot' went with them. Although the BBC fudged it and suggested she had learning difficulties, let us be clear: "idiot" in the early 19th century was a medical diagnosis, meaning the least intellectually capable of all, with a mental age of less than 3. They could not possibly have left her behind; and there was no place for her but the workhouse following her parents' deaths.

This rather changes the tenor of the story. When, by December 1822, Charles and Jabez were the only surviving Blessed children in the workhouse, they were in fact in the same part of London as their two older brothers. George Blessed married Ann Leage in 1824 and William Blessed married Isabella Storey in 1825 and they set about raising families. Why, then, did their younger brothers stay within the horrors of the workhouse? In 1825, Charles was apprenticed to a cordwainer and so was settled with board, lodging and a trade and they need not house him; and when Jabez ran away, which the broadcast made much of, it seems likely to me that he tried living with one of his brothers and they simply couldn't manage to feed both themselves and him. George Blessed died a pauper in 1846, so money was not plentiful. This, presumably, is how the two younger brothers stayed in touch despite their separation in the workhouse.

Jabez, as we know, was apprenticed onto a Newcastle coal ship that plied its trade up and down the East Coast of England, in about 1829 when he was 11. It is no huge surprise, then, that he married Ellen Hobson from Melton (a small village on the Humber, just outside Kingston upon Hull) in 1840, when she was just 17. Their first two children, Harriet and Elizabeth, were born in Melton, possibly because Jabez was still working on the boats as the 1841 census shows Ellen under her maiden name, living with her parents at Green Gate, Malton . Between 1843 and 1847 he moved to Brigg in Lincolnshire to be a general dealer / shop keeper / glass and china trader, with Ellen's youngest brother Thomas, and established the family there. There he stayed until his death in 1890, despite going spectacularly bankrupt in 1859.

The other thing the episode did not touch upon was why Brian's more immediate ancestors ended up in Yorkshire, if they started out in London two centuries ago. His great-great-grandmother being from Melton is an initial link, but I think it was more to do with the railways than familial affection. Brian's great-grandfather, George Jabez Blessed, worked on the railways for a period in the 1870s and left Brigg to go south west (just a little) to Rotherham then on to Mexborough. His great-great-uncle Jabez Allen Blessed also worked on the railways in Guiseley. It seems most likely that they followed the jobs.

Barnabas, of course, was not the first member of the family and he did not spring, fully-formed, onto the human stage. A very little digging reveals that his father, William Blessed, was born in about 1746 in London and considered himself a gentleman, according to the Sun Fire Insurance records. He lived in St Matthew's Parish, Bethnal Green, for most of his adult life, where he was both a cheesemonger on Brick Lane and a King's Agent (officer of the law). In 1775, he married Martha Baxter and they set about raising their family in Bethnal Green and later Shacklewell. In 1796 he apprenticed his son Barnabas to a carpenter and in 1802 was peripheral to a trial at the Old Bailey, when three youths were jailed and whipped for stealing from his daughter Mary, who was a haberdasher at 123 Brick Lane. Barnabas was by no means an only child, having two older sisters, Mary and Martha; two older brothers, both named William, both of whom died in infancy; a younger sister, Sarah; and a final younger brother, also William, who also did not see his first birthday. Barnabas and the youngest William were, for some reason, baptised in Wisbech in Cambridgeshire.

One of the fun things about this family is following the given names through; clearly Barnabas and Elizabeth were making reference to earlier members of the family tree when they used Curven and Wilkinson as middle names for their children. Elizabeth's maiden name was also used and, given the name under which she was buried (Elizabeth Rush Allen Blessed), it is possible that the tradition came from her side of the tree. However, Jabez was also clearly a name with some family significance, as it pops up repeatedly further down the tree, surviving into the 20th century. What that significance might be is still a mystery. "Allen" also floats quietly down the tree, from Elizabeth Atkinson's 3rd given name via a grandson, and a great-grandson, to her great-great-grandson, Brian's younger brother.

Of course, WDYTYA only has one hour to fill and has to choose carefully what to follow up for maximum televisual impact. The extra information I've offered you here is just for fun, to winkle out what more there might be, otherwise the programmes would be hours long; but it seems a shame that so much had to be missed.

Who Do You Think You Are - Brian Blessed

It's great to see WDYTYA back on our screens, to give a bit of focus to the otherwise lazy, free-flow period of the summer holidays. I will confess, I was looking forward to the episode on Brian Blessed's family because he is always value for money, and tonight's broadcast did not disappoint.

Catch it here on iplayer, if you missed it!

In many ways, the success or failure of any episode of WDYTYA depends entirely not on how interesting the family tree uncovered is, but the personality of the chosen celebrity. Many of them accept at face value what they are told and find it a deeply emotional but not intellectually stimulating experience. There are always some unexpected participants who turn out to be natural historians, always asking the next question and seeking the explanation, the justification, the broader family experience that gives the whole picture; but these are relatively few.

This week, in Brian Blessed, I think the BBC may have struck gold, and found the perfect participant. Brian's persona (and voice!) are larger than life at the best of times, but he got so far inside his family history, talked about the whole family experience, made it into a coherent narrative and then narrated it so well that it felt more real and visceral than any other episode I've seen. In truth, he could make a Tesco receipt sound visceral when read aloud, but he brought something special to this episode of WDYTYA. He truly connected with his ancestors, sitting quietly in the churchyard in Portsmouth where he felt they were at peace after a short, hard, life, and he could feel close to and at peace with them too. The moment when he imagined the marriage ceremony between Barnabus Blessed and Elizabeth Atkinson in 1801 at St Pancras Old Church and intoned the well-know phrase "Barnabus Blessed, do you take Elizabeth for your wife?" was truly affecting; it brought the whole family into sharp relief.

The details of the family too, were well explained and threw up some interesting wider information for the casual historian. Barnabus Blessed was a bookbinder just off the Strand in London, at Bull Inn Court, with his own shop (rented), a wife, a child and a well-heeled clientele. Brian made them seem a real, happy family and hoped for the best for them when they removed to Portsmouth by 1814, following the booming bookbinding trade that the Navy made use of. Sadly, the boom ended and both Elizabeth and Barnabus had died as paupers by November 1822, when their orphaned children (Martha, 14, Barnabus Charles, 8, Jabez, 6 and Elizabeth, 2) were promptly sent back to London to claim Poor Relief in their "home" parish of St Martin in the Fields, even though only Martha had been born there. Sent to the workhouse, the two girls died within weeks, possibly of the same illness that took their father and Barnabus Charles and Jabez were split up.

Little more focus was given to Barnabus Charles Blessed from here on, who was apprenticed to a shoemaker and went on to apparently live a largely blameless and successful but quiet life. However, Jabez Blessed was clearly the personality spark that has been passed down to his great-great-grandson Brian. Jabez dragged himself out of the workhouse (by running away on at least one occasion), and worked on a Newcastle maritime vessel for a period. In 1840 he married Ellen Hobson in Kingston-upon-Hull and by 1851 had established himself as a seller of china and glass in Brigg in Lincolnshire working with his brother-in-law, Thomas Hobson. Jabez and Ellen eventually had 13 children. When he was widowed, Jabez married again in London, from the house of his brother Barnabus Charles, and eventually died in 1890 aged 73. All his 13 children lived to adulthood ( quite unusual for the 19th century) and it was his 6th son, George Jabez Blessed, who continued the line that lead to Brian.

Despite the sadness of some of the tales exposed this evening, the overpowering sense was one of hope that a human being could better themselves - that life could be made to go right, by sheer force of will. Although really, that is the triumph of hope over experience, for one precious hour this evening, Brian Blessed and his booming delivery made the world a more cheerful place with the hope of better things to come.

Family History in the Holidays

I don't know about you, but I find that by the third week of the summer holidays "Wow! I can play with all my toys" and "No school! Hurrah!" has rapidly become "what can I eat now, Mum?" and "where are we going today?". This gets dull and expensive very quickly, so I've put together some quick history-based ideas you can drop into the holidays here and there to stop you and any smaller people in your care going completely mad, or square-eyed from too many cartoons! You may or may not learn anything, but you will hopefully feel you've passed the time productively.

Firstly, I'd like to suggest that you look at my Children's Summer Holiday Project. Fill in the forms to collect information about yourself, your parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. There's a list of suggested questions to ask of people and space for photographs. By the end of a wet afternoon, you could have a complete family history project to show off!

Secondly, talk to people. Ask grandparents and older neighbours and friends what they did during their summer holidays. Everyone loves to hear stories of "when your mother cycled into a rosebush" or "the day Daddy accidentally went out with his slippers on". Hear tales of when the whole family used to go to Rhyll by train, every year, in the 1930s. This is oral history at it's finest, so collect it in your head while it's there.

Thirdly, look at where you are. Where do you live? When was your house built? In what style and of what kind of material? What was there before? This can encompass walks around town, trips to the library to look at modern maps and local history books, a happy hour on the internet looking at old maps online or old photographs. Settlements must have water of some kind, so is there a river bank you can walk along? It's likely to take you through the oldest parts of your town or village.

Look at where you are on holiday. A change is as good as a rest, as they say, and most people choose to holiday somewhere quite different from where they live, if they are able to. How does your destination differ from your home town? Are building materials different? What's the geography like? What are, or were, the local industries? This kind of comparison can be done between almost any two settlements, even neighbouring villages as long as there is some kind of geographical feature standing between them - a hill, a valley, a watercourse, a railway line, the remnants of a religious house - anything that conceptually separates the two areas for the inhabitants.

Watch Horrible Histories til your eyes go square. It's funny and the songs are very well observed. Altogether now, "William, William, Henry, Stephen..."

Hold Theme Days. This sounds like a step too far, but it can be great fun. For Roman Day, we made togas out of sheets, tried a little bit of Latin ("Caecilius est in horto"), ate Roman food (fruit & yoghurt for breakfast; sourdough, cheese, tomatoes & olives for lunch; quails egg salad, meat and vegetables, fruit & cheese for dinner) and marched around the garden shouting "Sinister! Dexter!" as we went. Hold Gladiatorial Games in the afternoon, but try to be the Lion not the Criminal! Gather or plant lavender and rosemary for your own medicinal herb garden and a sweet-smelling house.

For Viking / Icelandic Day, hold sword fights, try some weaving, eat fish and pickled things, draw long boats, make shields, wear blankets with big brooches or safety pins. Read some of the Sagas if you want real literature and Noggin The Nog if you don't (or watch it. All children should know their televisual heritage too)! The possibilities are endless. There are sources on the internet for history-themed puzzles, word searches, colouring-in and more, all aimed at different ages.

For the Medieval Period this is your chance to really dress up. Can you persuade your sons into doublet and hose? Probably not, but cardboard-box armour might work. Joust on hobby horses. Rescue princesses from dragons, or perhaps the other way around. Practice courtly behaviour!

Lastly, try a Treasure Trail! These lovely treasure hunts fill at least an afternoon and are a great value day out. They often encourage you to look at your local area in a different way.

Even if you only try one of these things, you'll have filled a bit of time and hopefully found that history isn't just about kings, dates and classrooms. Or, you could ignore all this and just chuck them into the garden. I intend to do that, too. Enjoy your summer!