I love family group photos, and when the name of the family is written on the back..just pure gold for me. Once again I had a very lucky find. I hadn’t realized until I got home, that I had found three old photos from the same family ! How fabulous ! Below is the back of the first real postcard photo, taken in 1908 and posted to Will’s (William) Mum, Hannah Silby, it says   “Dr Mother shall be up tomorrow Thursday afternoon Yours Will” Also someone has pencilled in at the top….Aunt Emma/Uncle Will…Posted in Hertford.

This is the second one, also with writing on the back.. “Emma/Will’s daughter..Lizzie or Alice Silbey ” The third one below is also written on the back and was posted to a Mrs Hill (Polly)  (a relative or friend) at the Coast Guard Station at Loughshinney, Skerries, Co Dublin. I estimate the date of these last two photos to be about 1918-1920 which would tie in with what I’ve found out about the Coast Guard stations..”1921/22 – War of Independence & Irish Free State……In the war of independence many of the Coast Guard stations were burned to the ground by Irish Volunteers, having being declared legitimate targets by the Irish Republican Army. This followed a similar fate of the Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks in the area at the time. The Skerries Coastguard station was recorded as being destroyed in a fire on Saturday 18th June 1921, along with other nearby stations in Loughshinny and Rush.”    There are several men by the name of ‘Hill’ mentioned on the 1901 census on the  CoastGuards of Yesteryear website which is excellent for tracing Irish ancestors who worked around the coast of Ireland in the past..                    Link here..Coast Guards of Yesteryear

Reading on the back of this third postcard photo, E. Silby (Emma Silby) says they had a few days away in Southend and that’s where the last two photos were taken.

It also says in the writing that Will is wearing the Heather that Jim sent to Nell (Their daughter Nellie) from Scotland…How super when you piece all the little clues to the family together, Nellie would have been about 21 in 1918, so who was Jim? Maybe just a friend or family member.  So after a few false leads going along the wrong paths I finally discovered the correct family, where all the pieces fit..Here they are in the 1911 census.. William and Emma with four of their five children, William Nelly, Alice and Lizzie.

Children…These are my best guess on who’s who from the first photo. It’s super to see what I believe is the whole family of Emma & Will (On the right of the first picture) & the five children…I wondered because of the likeness, if the other lady is maybe one of Emma’s sisters and husband and children ? I don’t know.

1. First we have the eldest William born on 1 December 1893. Top left here above. He had a Gents Tailor & Outfitters shop on the 1939 Register here below, married with wife Minnie, he died in 1981. I don’t know if they had children.

2. Top right picture is Elsie, eldest girl, she married a chap called Harry Stone, here they are below in the 1939 Register, with two sons, living in Daventry, Northamptonshire. They married in 1914, so I would think they probably had more than two children. Elsie died in 1949 & Harry died in 1955.

3. Nellie, second down on the right, below Elsie. I’ve found what I think is her marriage to a Charles Jobling in 3rd Q of 1920 in South Shields, Durham. They are both together in her home area of Hertford too in the 1939 Register..he is an ex serviceman..Totally disabled.. Of course I can’t be sure this is the correct Nellie without a marriage certificate, but it seems the most likely. Charles died in 1962 and Nellie died in 1972, I don’t know if they had any children.

4. Alice Minnie born in 1899. I have found a marriage for her in 1923 to Reginald Victor Bosbury, but I’m not sure what happened after, did they divorce ? It looks like he married again in 1960 and died in 1979. Can’t find a certain death for Alice either…There are a few possibilities for a remarriage for Alice, but nothing conclusive on them at all, without sending for certificates.

5. Lizzie Seagust Silby bottom right, the youngest child born 21 September 1902 (Seagust is her Mum’s maiden name) I also believe the other two photos above are of Lizzie, matching the faces up, it seems the most likely. Lizzie married Albert E Halls in 1927, they were together still in the 1939 Register. Lizzie Seagust Halls died aged 82 on the 16 December 1984.

Now lets turn to Dad Will…I believe to be born William James Murray on the 10th August 1863, St Luke. His Mum born Hannah Murray in 1844, had William James out of wedlock, she was the daughter of William. She married Charles Hurricks in 1866 and they had one daughter together, Ellen(1) b 1866 & d 1866, her husband Charles died in 1867. So I assume for a time Will had the surname Hurricks (Harricks). She then married Thomas Silby in 1870, Will wasn’t with them in the 1871 census, and I just cannot find him, there are far too many possibilities ! But he had joined his Mum on the 1881 census with his new siblings. Thomas Silby and Hannah had eight children together. Thomas (1) 1871-1871,  Mary b1872, Hannah b1875, John b1877, Thomas (2) b1879,  Ellen (2) b1880 and Alice b1883. So from 1870 Will now had the surname Silby. Hannah died in October 1908 at the age of 64, just a few months after Will paid her a visit…Postcard photo 1.

Will…William James Murray Hurricks Silby…..He married Emma Charlotte Seagust in 1892. They had five children during their marriage. He died in June 1949 in Hertford, Hertfordshire, at the age of 85. He was a Bootmaker, repairer. This is William and Emma on the 1939 Register.

Emma Charlotte Seagust was born on 23 November 1870 in Chislehurst, Kent, one of eight children. Her father, Richard, was 22, and her mother, Emma, was 26 when she was born. Emma Charlotte Silby died in March 1954 in Hertford, Hertfordshire, five years after Will at the age of 83. This is Emma’s Mum & Dad in the 1911 census, Richard was a Fish Dealer in Sidcup, Kent. His father Richard had been a Fish Dealer & Publican.

Do you know of the Silby or the Seagust family ?? Are any of these names of your Ancestors ?If so I would love to hear from you..Please get in touch.

If you have an Ancestry membership I have shared the Silby Family Tree as Public. There is lots more info on the tree and many more family members that you may be able to connect with………It’s called Silby Lynns Waffles… Click on this link if you have Ancestry membership…You can register for Free !!       Silby Lynns Waffles

Note..For some reason the Public tree is not showing up in searches ! Maybe it takes a while ! So if you are having trouble in looking at this tree on Ancestry, please message me with your user name or email address and I will send you an invite to view as a guest. Thanks…

Till Next time then……………