Newfloridian's home for years to come ...?

Welcome to the Extended Craxford Family web site and magazine. In these grey pages we have gathered together an expanded and descriptive listing of the main red pages and the colour supplements. In the next column is a listing of those articles which have been published over the course of the last six months or so.

On the next page is an alphabetical index of family members that have had articles written about them. We hope this list will grown as more contributions are received. In due course we will add an index of places and events with which the family has been associated.

The fourth page is an article about starting out on the quest of a family history and points out some useful sources and sites of information while the last page in this section is dedicated to TNG - the database and authoring software with which this web site has been developed. References are also made to the TNG Community

-- PAGE 2: RESEARCH IN PROGRESS --

A series of articles entitled "MOST WANTED". Pages currently in preparation include Sarah Matkin (Craxford), Aspects of Leicester, My early memories, Ancestors of the Wainwrights

-- PAGE 3: BACK TO OUR ROOTS (NORTHAMPTON) --

Articles from Gretton, Cottingham and further afield. Inspired by our visit to the area in August 2005.

-- PAGE 4: LEICESTER AND THE CRAXFORDS --

Newfloridian was born and bred in Leicester (still looks in the Sunday paper to see how the Foxes are getting on) but lost touch with the city in the early 1970s.

-- PAGE 5: THE WEST MIDLANDS CONNECTION --

Stories of the migration from Gretton to the Birmingham area.

-- PAGE 6: CRAXFORD CUTTINGS --

Minor anecdotes, newspaper clippings and the small details - items that probably would not occupy a whole article but which are of interest nevertheless - that you would need to search the hidden corners of the database to find.

-- PAGE 7: THE EDITORIAL --

Newfloridian's page and a chance to rant and rave and rumble!

-- PAGE 8: LETTERS TO THE EDITOR --

Your chance to send your thoughts and comments about items which have appeared on these pages

-- PAGE 9: MEETINGS AND REUNIONS --

The first of what we hope will become a record of gatherings of the family in the future.

These supplements contain information and articles about individuals and families allied too but not directly linked to the main part of the Craxford tree. The general format of the supplement will be the same but will be immediately recognisable by a different coloured masthead.

-- SUPPLEMENT A: THE BLUE PAGES --
The Nessworthy and Simpson families including a discussion about the origins of the Nessworthy surname
-- PAGE 3: THE NESSWORTHY GENESIS --

-- SUPPLEMENT B: THE OLIVE PAGES --
The families Matkin, Liston-Smith and Cotterill

-- SUPPLEMENT C: THE PURPLE PAGES--
Featuring the Craxfords and Lane-Craufords of London and their aasociation with the Britannia Theatre, Hoxton

-- SUPPLEMENT D: THE TEAL PAGES--
The families of Naylor, Ball, Haywood, Unwin and Cook are all ancestors on our maternal side.

-- SUPPLEMENT E: THE BROWN PAGES--
The Eldridge, Curtis and Manooch families

Several of the documents posted on the histories pages have been stored in pdf format. If you do not have a copy of the Adobe Acrobat Reader module (which allows viewing, printing and saving the file on your PC for later use - it can be downloaded from the Adobe site given below. The download is free and quite quick. Just complete the on line form.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader from the Adobe web site

If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us at AlanCrax@aol.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Newfloridian - Site Administrator
(Alan D. Craxford) May 5th 2008.

IN MEMORIAM: "DON THE MAN"
(Added March 24th 2008)
Irene Simpson's eulogy recalls her husband Donald.
DONALD McDONALD SIMPSON

TRAVELS OF MY AUNT
(Added March 14th 2008)
Eva Unwin completes her series of articles about her branch of the family and her travels from the North West to Humberside
THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD FROM BARTON TO BARTON

THE MATERNAL SIDE OF THE FAMILY IN BIRMINGHAM
(Added December 20th 2007)
Derek Evans recounts the history, life and times of his Grandfather and family in the Aston district of Birmingham.
GRANDFATHER: CHARLES HENRY PHILLIPS

A COMPANION TO GEORGE COOK'S ALBUM
(Added November 7th 2007)
David Lovell discovered a copy of the programme for the production of "HMS Pinafore" and "Trial by Jury" given by the Leicester Amateurs at the Royal Opera House, Leicester in March 1922.
'HMS PINAFORE' 1922

A CRAXFORD COAT OF ARMS
(Added September 5th 2007)
Have you got a plaque at home with a named coat of arms on it? Do you have a crest on your own website? Do you know whether you are entitled to bear arms? And what constitutes entitlement? After a long gestation period, Newfloridian can proudly unveil this new coat of arms. The full story of its design and background can be found here.
NO SUCH THING AS A CRAXFORD FAMILY COAT OF ARMS!

THE MATERNAL SIDE OF THE FAMILY
(Added August 15th 2007)
Donald Simpson completes his series of recollections with some observations and anecdotes from the maternal side of his family tree.
OF OFFENBERGS AND WELCHES

A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO GENEALOGY
(Added August 14th 2007)
Based on a submission written for a consumer opinion site, Newfloridian has revised and illuminated his article on the hows, whys and wherefores of researching a family history and then presenting the fruits of those labours.
IF CIAO IS CAFFEINE THIS IS MY CRACK COCAINE

ME AND MY BROTHERS
(Added June 10th, July 20th and 28th, August 7th 2007)
This section showcases the five installments of Donald Simpson's autobiographical account of his family, childhood and a lifetime in teaching. His own education was disrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War and he gives a graphic account of his experiences as a ten year old evacuee.
CHAPTER 1: FORMATIVE YEARS
CHAPTER 2: EVACUEE!
CHAPTER 3: EDUCATION! EDUCATION!! EDUCATION!!!
CHAPTER 4: GRADUATION, SEPARATION, CONSOLIDATION
CHAPTER 5: WE ALL FALL OFF THE LADDER SOMETIME

A TRIBUTE TO WINIFRED ELDRIDGE
(Added May 25th 2007)
Richard's mother died peacefully in her sleep in the early hours of the morning of her ninety fifth birthday. This is his tribute read at her funeral service.
WINIFRED MARY ELDRIDGE nee CURTIS (1912 - 2007) - MY MUM

THE TRAGIC SHORT LIFE OF THOMAS CHRISTOPHER CLAYPOLE (Added May 1st 2007)
"Not the most beautiful spots on earth can enjoy an immunity from crime." May 1st is the 132nd anniversary of a murder which cut short a young life in Cottingham, Northampton, and left a mystery in this branch of the family tree.
DEATH FOR THREEHA'P'ORTH OF SUCKERS

A CELEBRATED MURDER STORY FROM THE 1820s (Added April 9th 2007)
The murder of Maria Martin by William Corder in the Red Barn at Polstead, Suffolk has generated an industry of written, stage and screen melodrama, a legacy of relics and a blight on a branch of the family for nearly two centuries.
THE MURDER OF MARIA: FROM RED BARN TO LINCOLN'S INN

THE STORY OF MATTHEW NESSWORTHY (1882 - 1916) (Added February 21st 2007)
The Nessworthy family has a long association with the sea, whether as mariners or as boat builders. Many of their sons joined up and fought during the first World War and some died. Unable to sustain an engagement with the Royal Navy, Matthew Nessworthy joined the merchant fleet and made the ultimate sacrifice.
FOR THOSE IN PERIL ON THE SEA

STORIES FROM THE DERBYSHIRE COALFIELDS
(Added February 11th 2007)
Adding to our series of articles about the sons and daughters of John and Anne Naylor of South Normanton, Terence Radford gives his recollections of the family life of their third son, Edwin, in the first half of the twentieth century.
RECOLLECTIONS OF LIVING IN COAL MINING COMMUNITIES

A CRAXFORD BEFORE 1600? (Added January 30th 2007)
Now into its third year, the magazine looks back across the centuries and considers the evidence. Just who was the earliest Craxford to bear the name?
WHO IS THE CRAXFORD ELDER STATESMAN?

A NORTHAMPTONSHIRE WILL
(Added January 20th 2007)
This is the first of two wills discovered in Northamptonshire of two William Craxfords born over 150 years apart. The will was prepared within the month of his death and despite providing for his youngest daughter, she died before him.
THE WILL OF WILLIAM CRAXFORD (1803)

MARRIED LIFE IN KENT. (Added January 19th 2007)
This is the fourth and final part of the collection of articles and research penned by Winifred Curtis. Times have moved onwards to the years immediately after the second world war and include memories of early married life in Kent.
MARRIED LIFE

MEMORIES OF THE COOK FAMILY IN LEICESTER
(Added August 3rd 2006)
We have been exploring the maternal side of our family tree in recent months. We asked Eva if she had any memories of her aunts and uncles. She had been able to illustrate their stories with some interesting photographs from the time.
A COOK'S TOUR AROUND MY FAMILY

A DAUGHTER'S MEMORIES OF HER FATHER
(Added July 21st 2006)
Continuing a series of articles about the life and times of William Curtis and his family, we present the memories of his eldest daughter Mabel. This page is culled from her own writings about her childhood and growing into adulthood.
MY FATHER – WILLIAM CURTIS