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You are contacting the submitter of the query:
My 2nd cousin, Willy GRANT, mentioned Mary DUGAN'S name in a book he wrote in the early 1990's (The Search for Grandfather) on our common paternal family (PICKLES). Mrs. DUGAN (nee LAWSON) was in possession of a Notebook that belonged to my 3x Great Grandfather, John PICKLES (b. Bradford, YKS 1824; d. 1894, Normanton, YKS - father was Joseph).
Mary's Great Great Grandmother was John PICKLES' eldest daughter, Eliza PICKLES b. 1853 Denholme, Yorkshire (which would make Mary & I second cousins twice removed).
Eliza PICKLES married Benjamin PYRAH at Wakefield, YKS in 1872. I know of 7 children of this marriage, one of which was Mary's mother, Florence PYRAH (b. 1886 YKS).
Florence PYRAH married Tom W. LAWSON (b. 1885 Normanton, YKS) in 1913 at Wakefield, YKS. I believe they only had 3 children (that I have found so far in the records). Mary LAWSON was born in 1923 at Normanton, YKS.
Mary LAWSON married George DUGAN (date unknown) and according to Willy GRANT, had 3 daughters. Willy mentioned to me that one of them was named Wendy. When Willy GRANT met with Mary DUGAN at her home in Chester-le-Street (late 80's or early 90's?), she had been widowed for a few years. Two of these daughters met my cousin, Willy GRANT and one of Mary's son-in-law's drove him to the train.
John PICKLES' Notebook had been given to Mary by John's grandson, Harry 'Cyril' PICKLES on one of his visits to Mary at Chester-le-Street. 'Cyril' died in 1980 at Hawe Villa, Normanton, YKS.
Mary had loaned this Notebook to Willy GRANT and copies from some of the pages appear in Willy's book.
Unfortunately, Willy GRANT died at his home in Belgium in 1997 and the only link I had to Mary's residence was the mention of Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham. I quickly discovered that Mary DUGAN had also passed away on June 20, 1993 at Dryburn Hospital, Durham. I sent away for her death certificate and discovered that her address at the time of her passing was 108 Kingsmere, Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham. Her occupation may have been a laundry manager (or this may have been her husband George's occupation). The death certificate mentions a daughter, Wendy CARR, but no indication as to her residence.
I would like very much to contact any of Mary's children, with an aim to discussing the contents of John PICKLES' Notebook and its whereabouts. I am hoping that whomever is in possession of this Notebook would be able to either photograph and/or photocopy the entire book and send these via e-mail or post (at my expense). As Willy GRANT only displayed copies of some of the pages, I am most anxious to find out what else was in the Notebook, as I am hoping it may lead to discovering more information about John PICKLES' parentage. I would truly like to pick up where Willy GRANT left off as I know he still had so many unanswered questions.
My father, Peter JH PICKLES, is the only child of John Walter "Jack" PICKLES who died Dec 25, 1942 at Middleton Sanitorium, Ilkley (TB & Pleurisy). John W. was the son of Herbert Walter PICKLES and brother to Sydney PICKLES (also deceased). Herbert Walter PICKLES was the son of Walter PICKLES. Walter PICKLES was the 2nd born son of John PICKLES.
I have been helping my father research his family history for nearly 30 years. Sadly, my Dad is in hospital in very poor health and is suffering from advanced stages of dementia. After his father died in 1942, his mother (Lily ROWNEY) remarried in 1944 to Arthur Eric FOSTER and moved to Canada in 1945. For most of his life, Dad has embraced the very minimal amount of family history he remembered as a young child. Before Willy GRANT's passing in 1997, Dad travelled to Belgium on a couple of occasions to spend time with Willy and his family. We were very shocked and saddened at Willy's sudden passing. Willy's wife Suzanne passed away within the next year.
I would appreciate any assistance in locating Mary's daughters, or even finding her obituary may be helpful. I've attached a photo of my Dad, Peter Pickles (on the left) with Willy Grant when Dad visited Willy in the summer of 1997 (shortly before Willy passed away).
Thank-you in advance for any assistance provided.
Betty Stewart
British Columbia, Canada Your personal information will only be used to contact the submitter and will not be saved or used for any other purpose.
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