John Winchurch

I have written already about the ancestry and descendants of Francis George Sternberg who was born in Lüneburg in 1761 and was my 4G Grandfather. This post will be more about those Sternbergs who are not my direct ancestors, but about whose  lives and relationships I have information and indeed continue to learn, mainly through contacts via the internet. This, I believe, is a growing and important way of exchanging history and background. It is so much faster and responsive than traditional library research and communication. With this in mind, I am eager to hear from anyone who has information about the Sternbergs and related families. I should mention that by 'the Sternbergs' I mean those connected with Francis George and his descendants who branched out from Northampton area in the nineteenth century. Many Sternberg families, particularly those in the USA are the result of migration from Eastern Europe and Russia and appear to have no link apart from the same nam...

Lizzie, Arthur, with Annie next to them in 1906 My great grandmother, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Smith (neé Gadsby – or sometimes, Gadsbey) was born in Stone 1n 1861. She was the second daughter of James and Martha Gadsby. Martha Gadsby (neé Downing) Martha was also a first cousin of my maternal grandfather, Arthur Downing. To put this another way, my mother’s parents were first cousins once removed. Although Lizzie was alive until I was about six years old, I have few strong memories of her. She had a reputation within the family for being rather outspoken and forbidding, but this might have only been in her later years She lived to be 87. I do remember a regular custom when we visited Victor Street though. This was usually on a Sunday afternoon, having driven north from Birmingham via Stafford – with the fascination of its milk bottling plant – with large plate glass windows making the machinery visible from the road as my brother and I sat perched on cushions in the back of Winchurch Brothe...

Michael John Bench was born in Birmingham in February 1926 and died in the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro on 18 June 2009. My earliest memory of Michael is of a visit with my parents and brother to my great aunt Millie and her husband Horace (Michael's parents) at their home between the church and golf club at Harbourne, a suburb of Birmingham, in about 1950. Michael was always warm, friendly and welcoming in common with all of the Bench family. I can remember, vividly, David and myself being taken by Michael to the large garage to see his pride and joy - a wooden clinker built sailing dinghy, which later knowledge tells me was probably a National 14. It was the first boat that I had seen at close quarters and it instilled in me an excitement that I have always felt and still feel for small craft. Michael at St Kew Inn - 13 June 2009 Michael had an infectious enthusiasm which characterised the whole of his life. He was, at that point in his life, an architect...

Jeanne - about 1939 Jeanne Marion Winchurch was born on 5 July 1919. By this time Percy Walter Winchurch, her father (he was also my grandfather) was well established as a businessman. He clearly prospered during the 1920s since photographs show Percy and his family in increasingly comfortable surroundings and on holiday in Devon and later Cornwall. The children both had private educations. Jeanne Marion and Percy about 1926 The car, I think, is a Morris Oxford 'flatnose' There was always a car somewhere in the pictures, as in this one taken in what looks like the Welsh border country; a popular destination for Midlanders on a 'Sunday day out' Percy, Jeanne,Vic, Horace Bench (husband of Millie, Marion's younger sister), Millie, Mary Bench, Alice Brown. About 1925 at Meadfoot Beach, Torquay. Jeanne loved the water Marie, Jeanne and Vic Winchurch - about 1925  Jeanne and Percy about 1924 Jeanne was successful at school, excelling at ...

Elizabeth Prosser Williams with two of her sons, possibly William and Sydney and the family maid (Clara Brittle?) at Kings Norton about 1905 Elizabeth Prosser Sternberg was the eldest daughter of Francis George Sternberg and Elizabeth (née Plucknett) . Her second christian name, Prosser came from her great Aunt, another Elizabeth Sternberg, who married Frederick Prosser and was referred to by her family as  'Aunt Prosser' Elzabeth Prosser Sternberg was born in Bristol, like her sister, my great grandmother, Alice Plucknett Sternberg , but spent most of her life in Birmingham. Her father died when she was fifteen, leaving a family of three boys and five girls. I know that Alice had to leave school at fourteen to help to support the family and I assume that Elizabeth did the same. Six years later, in 1875 Elizabeth married John James Williams, a tailor from Corwen in North Wales and they had three sons Francis John Williams, born in 1876 William Victor Williams, born in...

20230202 90th regiment of foot The regiment took part in the Egyptian Campaign (1801), fighting at Aboukir (1801), before returning to England. It was then sent to garrison Ireland. While there, it absorbed the Perthshire Volunteers, which was reflected in a change to its title. In 1804, it again raised a 2nd Battalion. This remained in Scotland and Ireland on garrison duties until its disbandment in 1817.  1st Battalion fought in the West Indies for nine years from 1805, assisting in the capture of Martinique (1809) and Guadaloupe (1810). In 1814, it was sent to garrison Montreal during the War of 1812 (1812-15) and only arrived back in Europe in August 1815, too late for  Waterloo . After a short time serving as occupation troops in France, it joined the British forces on Malta and the Ionian Islands for 10 years from 1820.* It returned to Britain in 1830 and then spent 11 years on Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from 1835. https://archive.org/details/recordsof90threg00delarich/...

Benjamin Winchurch was my great grandfather. He was born at 3, Lord Street Birmingham on 3 December 1829, married Ellen Eliza Tester in London in 1862 and died at 120, King Edwards Road, Birmingham on 7 April 1891. His parents were Thomas and Ann Winchurch, who for part of their lives were landlords of the Cross Keys Inn at 45, Upper Windsor Street, Aston, Birmingham. Benjamin was a glassmaker by trade and I believe that he was the 'B Winchurch' cosignatory on the plea from about 1875 To the Worshipful the mayor the Aldermen and Members of the Town Council of the borough of Birmingham. GENTLEMEN , WE, the undersigned Artizan GLASS MAKERS residing in the Borough of Birmingham, having associated ourselves into a working Committee, for the purpose of founding an INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM, which it is intended shall represent the working of one of the staple Trades of this great Town, Pray your Honourable council : . I To give your countenance, both individually and coll...

Ann was my 2g grandmother, born in Dudley in 1793, died in Aston, Birmingham in 1875. Update August 2019 Since I wrote the post below, I have taken the Ancestry autosomal DNA test. This has led to some fascinating discoveries in my quest to identify my wider family. I began quite soon to notice that there was no evidence from DNA links to confirm the identity of Ann as being born Ann (or Nancy) Brooks. In fact I realised that I was getting closer matches with members of the Shaw family of Dudley than I would have expected as a result of my 4g grandmother (Thomas Winchurch's mother) being born Sarah Shaw. To cut a long story short, I now believe that Ann was born Nancy Shaw to Benjamin and Hannah (nee Johnson) Shaw in Dudley in 1793. She probably married Benjamin Shakespear in Kingswinford in 1814 - there is a corresponding marriage record. It looks as though Benjamin was in the army and was discharged in 1815. He might have been involved and possibly injured in the Napole...