Saddingtons in the Navy - ADM/188

Following on from my August 2007 post entitled "Herbert was a bad lad!", this post contains basic details of the other Saddingtons whose Naval records can be found in under ADM/188 at The National Archives (see Documents Online). They are listed in order of their ADM/188 number. I would eventually like to post on each one in more detail.

Sidney Edward Saddington - born 25 September 1866 at Dulwich, Surrey - former occupation was Groom - joined the Navy on 9 September 1887 for a 12 year term - invalided to Chatham on 6 June 1889 - Naval No. 142601 - ADM/188/200

James George Saddington - born 24 May 1881 at Fulham, London - former occupation was Wood Cutter - joined the Navy on 24 May 1899 for a 12 year term - appears to have joined the Royal Naval Reserve on 26 August 1905 - reenrolled 8 October 1910 to serve to 25 August 1915 - appears to have served throughout World War One and to have finally been demobilised on 6 June 1921 - Naval No. 194046 and/or 305957 - ADM/188/334

Ernest Joseph Saddington - born 16 September 1878 at Clerkenwell, London - former occupation was Carpenter - joined the Navy on 7 September 1917 for the duration of hostilities (World War One) - last date mentioned is 1 April 1918 - Naval No. F37388 - formerly Royal Naval Voluntary Reserve Y17783 - ADM/188/629

Charles Reginald Saddington - born 27 December 1900 at Birmingham, Warwickshire - former occupation was Turner - joined the Navy on 27 December 1918 for 4 plus 4 years - appears to have transferred to the RAF - Naval No. F47012 - ADM/188/639

William Saddington - born 25 March 1899 at Barking, Essex - former occupation was Platelayer - joined the Navy on 25 March 1917 for a term of 12 years - invalided to Chatham on 20 October 1926 - Naval No. J33652 - ADM/188/714

Thomas Saddington - born 3 March 1895 at Canning Town, Essex - former occupation was Seaman - joined the Navy on 6 July 1915 for the duration of hostilities - demobilised on 24 March 1919 - Naval No. J42064 and/or 381785 - ADM/188/731

Frederick Henry Saddington - born 5 July 1895 at Birmingham, Warwickshire - former occupation was Factory Labourer - joined the Navy on 17 November 1915 for the duration of hostilities - demobilised on 24 February 1919 - Naval No. J46623 and/or 329157 - ADM/188/740

John Saddington - born 4 September 1891 at Bow, London - former occupation was Iron and Brass Moulder - joined the Navy on 6 September 1909 for a term of 12 years - invalided on 3 March 1920 - Naval No. K4206 - ADM/188/875

John Frederick Saddington - born 15 January 1895 at Battersea, London - former occupation was Shop Porter - joined the Navy on 15 January 1913 for a term of 12 years - last date mentioned is 6 April 1917 - is reported to have deserted from the Royal Navy and joined the Canadian Forces - Naval No. K17493 - ADM/188/901

David Saddington - born 13 June 1892 at Custom House, West Ham, Essex - former occupation was Dock Labourer - joined the Navy on 17 November 1915 for the duration of hostilities - demobilised on 18 March 1919 - Naval No. K29209 and/or 146150 - ADM/188/925

Fred Sadington - born 11 June 1899 at Leeds, Yorkshire - former occupation was Miner - joined the Navy on 10 August 1917 for the duration of hostilities - demobilised on 25 April 1919 - Naval No. K44996 and/or 256254 - ADM/188/956

Harry Saddington - born on 22 August 1894 at Leicester - former occupation was Farm Servant - joined the Navy on 1 October 1912 for 5 plus 7 years - demobilised on 23 August 1919 - joined the RFR (?) on 24 August 1919 - demobilised on 6 June 1921 - Naval No. SS112928 and/or 364422 - ADM/188/1118

Robert Edward Saddington - born on 10 April 1902 at Margate, Kent - former occupation was Builders Labourer - joined the Navy on 6 January 1921 for 5 plus 7 years - demobilised 5 October 1938 - Naval No. SS125678 - ADM/188/1131

If any of these seagoing gentlemen belong to your branch of the Saddington family, I would be delighted to hear from you and to share information with you.

Happy New Year! - Blog Update

Here's wishing all of you a very Happy New Year! May it be an improvement on the last year in every way conceivable - more peaceful, healthier, and so on and so forth. On the family history front, I hope that you all find the relevant sledge hammers for your individual brick walls.

I felt that today would be a suitable time to review the Saddington One Name Study, this blog and the Saddington DNA Project, and to set myself some objectives for 2008.

The Saddington One Name Study has only been official since 2006, but I feel that significant progress has been made over this last year with the help of this blog. Like most of you, family history has to take its place alongside work, study and my commitments to my own family, so research and the inputting of information into the database has to be done as and when.

This blog has been running now for six and a half months, in which time there have been 1006 page loads, 446 unique visitors and 65 returning visitors. As might be expected, the majority (84.58%) of those visitors have come from the UK. But 6.25% are from the USA, 4.79% from Australia and 1.25% from New Zealand. The remaining visitors came from Germany, Canada, Argentina, Jamaica, Poland, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Ireland, Japan and Malaysia. Not bad for a blog dedicated to a very minority interest!

I have written 24 posts in that time, an average of 3.69 posts per month. As a result, I have been contacted by a number of people with Saddington connections, and have provided information and suggestions for research as appropriate, as well as receiving valuable information on a number of branches of the family.

The newest element of the Saddington One Name Study is the Saddington DNA Project, which now has two members. One member is the senior representative of my own branch of the Saddington family, and will be the initial guideline for the Foxton/Market Harborough Saddingtons. The other member is based in the USA and I believe that he may be a descendant of the Appleby Magna Saddingtons. All interested parties are invited to contact me via email (saddington@one-name.org).

So, for 2008, the aim is an average of 4 posts per month from me, and also attempting to get the piles of information that I already have input into the Saddington ONS database. From you, I would be grateful for more comments and feedback, either on the blog or via email. This would help me to improve the content of the blog, which will hopefully attract the attention of your second cousin twice removed, who you haven't seen or heard of in 40 years :-)

All the best,
Rowan

Wanted! - Descendants of John Jonathan and Jane (nee Hewlett) Saddington

Firstly, please accept my apologies for the lack of posts this month. Full-time job, part-time study, family commitments and getting ready for Christmas have all got in the way of research and posting.

Secondly, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year full of successful research. If there is anyone out there who is planning to attend the Family History Conference at University of Essex, Colchester at the end of August 2008, let me know and we can arrange to meet up.

Now to the post itself. Following the creation of the Saddington DNA Project last month, I am now looking for direct male line Saddingtons from my own Saddington family tree. The ideal is to test two distant males from each tree to validate the common ancestor. So my current plan is to work backwards through the generations in the hope of finding distant Saddingtons in my own tree that will agree to be tested.

John Jonathan Saddington (1831-1912) and his wife, Jane Hewlett (1839-1899) are my 2x great grandparents. They had 10 children, 5 sons and 5 daughters. Of these, 4 sons and 4 daughters had children. For some reason, my line lost touch with the majority of the rest, so what I am hoping is that descendants of the other children may have kept more in touch.

So, taking the children from the top, here goes:

Elizabeth Ann (1861-1912) married Simeon Cundy, and had three children: Elizabeth Clara (1893), Simeon (1894) and Jenny Louisa (1897). Elizabeth married Len Woods, Simeon married Nellie Pamplin and Jenny married Cecil Roberts.

John George (1862-1928) married Bessie Allen, and had five children: George Henry (1893), Winifred (1896), Frank Alan (1898-1905), John Philip (1905-1934) and Maisie. George married Mary Elizabeth Price.

Clara Jane (1864-1950) married Robert Henry Whitaker, and had four children: Robert Henry Hewlett (1891), Thomas John (1893), Clara Elizabeth (1895) and Grace Jane (1899). Robert married Ruby Florence Lane, Thomas married Mabel Bentley, Clara married Harold Higginbottom, and Grace married Harold Turnbull.

Joseph Walter (1866-?) is believed to have married, but to have died without issue.

John (1868-1947) married Mercy Simpson, and had nine children: John Charles (1892-1901), Elsa Mabel Grace (1893), William Edwin (1894), Elizabeth Amelia and Sarah Jane (1897-1897), Mercy Gwendoline (1898-1902), Robert Crispin (1899-1899), Lilian Blanche (1900), and Frederick Archibald (1905). Elsa Mabel Grace married (1) Thomas Anthoney and (2) Henry Cowland, Lilian Blanche married Philip Marshal Hall. William Edwin married, but his wife's name is as yet unknown.

Albert Edward (1872-1949) married Rosa Crush, and had five children: Albert E (1895), John (1896), William T (1899), Constance (1901) and Clara (1909-1926). Constance married a Mr Bailey.

William James (1874-1973) married Emma Leonard, and they were my great grandparents.

Sarah Jane (1877-1906) married John Thomas Moore, and died without issue.

Grace Maud (1879-1921) married Alexander Brown, and had three children: Alec (1908), Cyril (1909) and Peter Kinnear (1914).

Mabel Gertrude (1883-?) married David Brown, and had two children: David (1909) and Mabel (1915).

So, if any of these names are familiar to you, do please get in touch - there's no such thing as too many relatives!

Announcing the Saddington DNA Project!

Proving whether your Saddingtons are connected to my Saddingtons!

One of the most frequent questions that I am asked by the people who contact me about the Saddington family is whether their Saddingtons are connected to my Saddingtons. Sometimes I can tell them that, yes, they are connected and that our common ancestor is X. More often, I have to say that, at the moment, I do not have sufficient evidence to prove a connection.

As one way of providing a more informative answer to this question, I have established the Saddington DNA Project at Family Tree DNA, and it is ready for participants to join and order a test kit.

Ideally, the goal is to have two distant line males test for each family tree. Being female and only a quarter Saddington, my family tree will need to be represented by other descendants of my great grandfather.

The Y DNA test tells you about your direct male line, which would be your father, his father, and so on back in time. You must be male to take this test and you should be a Saddington. If you believe that there is a Saddington in your direct male line, although you have a different surname, you are also welcome to participate. If you are female like me, you will need to find a direct line male to participate (father, brother, uncle, cousin etc) to represent your family tree.

If possible, it is recommended that you order a Y DNA test with 37 markers. If you order fewer markers, it is possible to upgrade later, though this will cost a little more. Ordering your test through the Saddington DNA Project means that you will get a discounted rate from the normal retail price.

Participating is an opportunity to uncover information not provided in the paper records, which will help with your research of your family tree. Together, we will also discover which family trees are related. As the project progresses, the results for the various family trees will provide information about the origin and distribution of the Saddington surname.

The goals of the Saddington DNA Project are:

* To discover information to help with our family history research
* To discover which family trees are related
* To discover information to help with brick walls
* To confirm any surname variants
* To validate family history research
* To get on file a DNA sample for trees at risk of extinction of the male line
* To discover information about our distant origins

The Saddington DNA Project also includes a General Fund, which will accept donations in any currency via credit card. These funds will be held at the testing company and will be used to help sponsor test kits for key males who are unable financially to participate. Should you wish to make a donation, click on the link to the Project and then click "Contribute to the Project General Fund" on the left to make a donation. Please specify "Saddington Project General Fund" in the top box of the Donation Form.

If you have any queries about DNA testing, Family Tree DNA has a Frequently Asked Questions section, which should be able to provide the answers.

I look forward to sharing this new method of family history research with you, and look forward to hearing from you all.

Ashby de la Zouch Registration District Marriages 1837-1881

Courtesy of Part 1 of Sue Horsman's Ashby de la Zouch Marriage Challenge, here are a number of Saddington marriages, predominantly in Appleby Magna, LEI, but some in other nearby parishes.

August 16 1838 - John Saddington, son of Bateman Saddington, married Ann Litherland, daughter of Samuel Litherland, at Appleby Magna

November 29 1844 - John Byard, son of Thomas Byard, married Elizabeth Saddington, daughter of Joseph Saddington, at Appleby Magna

September 7 1868 - Thomas Saddington, son of Thomas Saddington, married Ann Gregson, daughter of Charles Gregson, at St Helens, Ashby de la Zouch

October 13 1868 - Thomas Taylor, son of Thomas Taylor, married Eliza Noon Saddington, daughter of Edward Saddington, at Appleby Magna

October 13 1868 - Josiah Orme, son of Michael Orme, married Emma Saddington, daughter of Edward Saddington, at Appleby Magna

September 6 1870 - John Saddington, son of John Saddington, married Mary Ann Ison, daughter of George Hayfield Ison, at Donisthorpe

February 2 1871 - Walter Satchwell, son of James Satchwell, married Ann Maria Saddington, daughter of John Saddington, at Appleby Magna

November 4 1875 Edward Saddington, son of Edward Saddington, married Frances Bowley, daughter of William Bowley, at Appleby Magna

February 1 1876 - Walter Woodcroft, son of John Woodcroft, married Clara Saddington, daughter of Thomas Saddington, at St Stephen, Woodville

February 19 1878 - William Pratt Saddington, son of William Saddington, married Sarah Anne Harrison, daughter of John Harrison, at Appleby Magna

January 12 1880 - Walter Baker, son of Walter Baker, married Frances Saddington, daughter of Thomas Saddington, at Hugglescote

October 4 1881 - George Ball, son of John Ball, married Ann Saddington, daughter of Edwin Saddington, at Measham

And also a couple of welcome extras, one which should be in Part 2 of the Marriage Challenge and one from Shardlow Registration District:

January 17 1906 - Ernest Saddington, son of Edwin Saddington, married Ada Amelia Allsop, daughter of Joseph Allsop, at Appleby Magna

June 25 1863 - John Saddington, son of John Saddington, married Harriet Hurst, daughter of William Hurst, at Breedon

Many thanks to Sue for all her hard work, and please contact me if you have any queries, information or comments.

Corporal James Saddington MM, No. 587, 40th Battalion, Australian Infantry, Australian Imperial Force (1893 - 1918)

James Saddington was born on 31 July 1893 at Waratah, Tasmania, Australia. He was the second son and third child of Frederick Joseph James Saddington and his second wife, Mary Annie King.

James enlisted in the Australian Army at Claremont, Tasmania, on 4 April 1916. His attestation paper states that he was 22 years and 11 months old, worked as a labourer, and had previously been rejected for military service on account of his teeth. He is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall, weighing 154lb, having a fair complexion, yellowish eyes, and brown wavy hair. He had scars on his left wrist and on the tip of his left ear. He was a Roman Catholic by religion. James' next of kin was listed as his mother, Mrs Mary Saddington, then living in Natone, Tasmania.

During his first few months as a soldier, James would have been drilled and trained relentlessly. On 10 June 1916, whilst still stationed at Claremont, he was brought up on the charge of having been "insolent to a non-commissioned officer on parade in that he behaved in a manner contrary to military discipline when ordered to fall in at the 12.00 parade" on 7 June 1916. The witness to his unmilitary behaviour was one Company Serjeant Major Baldwin, and James was fined 5 shillings.

On 1 July 1916, James Saddington embarked on the HMAT Berrima at Hobart, Tasmania for the journey to England, arriving at Devonport (Plymouth), Devon on 22 August 1916, having been at sea for 53 days. At this point, he was part of the 4th Training Battalion, but was transferred to the 15th Infantry Battalion on 9 September 1916. On 1 October 1916, he was taken on the strength of the 40th Battalion. The 40th Battalion was Tasmania's contribution to the war effort. Both of these battalions were based in villages near Amesbury, to the north of Salisbury. A couple of months later, on 23 November 1916, James found himself, with his battalion, in Southampton being processed for embarkation to France.

By December 1916, the 40th Battalion was serving in the trenches with all that that entailed - mud, rats, trench foot - all the horrors that you can think of. Despite the unfortunate incident back home in Claremont, James made a good soldier, receiving a field promotion to Lance Corporal on 9 February 1917. However, it did not appear to be to his liking because he reverted to the rank of Private at his own request two months later on 13 April 1917.

In June 1917, the 40th Battalion took part in the Battle of Messines, an attack on the Messines Ridge planned as a precursor to the Third Battle of Ypres, better known as Passchendaele. The battle commenced with heavy shelling of the German positions from 23 May to 7 June 1917, and a key feature was the detonation of 19 huge mines under the German trenches. The Battle of Messines was a complete success, accomplishing all of its objectives in less than 12 hours, with only 17,000 casualties in total out of 216,000 men participating.

On 4 October 1917, the 40th Battalion took part in the Battle of Broodseinde Ridge, part of the Battle of Passchendale. Around 36,500 Australians were killed during the two main elements of Passchendaele, which took place between 12 October and 10 November 1917. James would have lived in a world of mud (in which men drowned), water, shellholes (1 million in a square mile), and the constant sight and stench of death - a Hell which drove men insane.

Towards the end of this horror, on 3 November 1917, James was promoted to the rank of Temporary Corporal. Two weeks later, on 17 November 1917, he went on special leave to England. He was back in France on 1 December 1917, so I hope that he made the most of his fortnight back in Blighty.

On 14 January 1918, James Saddington made his Will, leaving everything he owned to his mother, Mary. The Will was witnessed by Lieutenant H J Dell and Corporal Ernest E Best, both of the 40th Battalion. Five days later, James was promoted to Corporal.

On 8 February 1918, Corporal James Saddington was awarded the Military Medal. The citation reads that he received it "For conspicuous gallantry in action East of YPRES on 4th October 1917. Throughout the Operation both during the attack and afterwards he set a wonderful example to his Section of which he was leader for most of the time. His utter disregard for danger and his fine spirits were an inspiration to the whole of his Section." His award had been gazetted in the London Gazette on 28 January 1918, and was gazetted in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette on 27 June 1918.

However, Corporal James Saddington was killed in action at Messines on 21 February 1918, at the age of 24. In the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files for World War One, there are 13 accounts of how he died, all slightly different. It seems that C Company, 40th Battalion, were holding the line near Warneton, in the Belgian province of Hainault, when James, who was acting trench Quarter Master, and his Sergeant, a man by the name of Woolley, were killed when a shell exploded outside his dugout. He was initially buried at Ploegsteert Wood, with the service being taken by one Father Howie.

Ploegsteert Wood became known as the Chateau Rosenberg Military Cemetery, but unfortunately James was not to be allowed to rest in peace. After World War One, the owner of Chateau Rosenberg returned and wanted the two cemeteries on his land, the Military Cemetery and its Extension, to be removed. Even a personal request from the King of the Belgians had no effect on the owner's intransigence.

So, in June 1930, more than 12 years after her son's death, Mary Saddington received a letter saying that her son's body had been exhumed from his resting place and reburied "with every measure of care and reverence" in Plot 2, Row B, Grave 55 of the Royal Berks Cemetery Extension, a permanent British military cemetery. Finally, Corporal James Saddington MM was laid to rest alongside nearly 900 fellow soldiers, casualties of the War to end all Wars.

"And at the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them."

[The information for this post is courtesy of National Archives of Australia, Australian War Memorial website, Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Waratah - Birthplace of Tasmanian Mining website, and Wikipedia.]

Cornelius Saddington (?1637 - ?)

The aim of this post is to bring together a number of different sources which appear to relate to the same individual with the objective of providing a basis for future research.

The individual concerned is one Cornelius Saddington. Cornelius is an unusual first name in the first instance, and even more so for Saddingtons to the best of my knowledge.

The IGI documents the baptism of a Cornelius Saddington on 5 September 1637 in the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Lutterworth, Leicestershire. He was the son of Henry Saddington and his wife, Anne. There are also references to an Anne Saddington, daughter of Henry, baptised 13 July 1628; a Nathaniell Saddington, son of Henry, baptised 24 August 1632; a Sara Saddington, daughter of Henry, baptised 15 November 1633; a Joseph Saddington, son of Henry, baptised in 1634; and a Ruth Saddington, daughter of Henry and Anne, baptised 19 May 1639. Six baptisms over an 11 year period seems quite reasonable for a family of that period.

The first few years of Cornelius' life remain a blur. The Civil War was being fought, with the Battle of Edgehill (about midway between Stratford upon Avon and Banbury), the first major battle in the Civil War, taking place in 1642, when Cornelius was between 4 and 5 years old, and the execution of King Charles 1 in 1649, when Cornelius was about 12 years old.

According to the minutes of the Society of the Apothecaries of London, when Cornelius was probably about 14 years old, he was apprenticed to an apothecary in Coventry, one Thomas Pigeon, of whom nothing more is currently known. His apprenticeship would have lasted for 7 years, during which time he would have lived in his master's household and learned the trade of apothecary.

On 30 September 1661, according to the IGI, Cornelius married Mary Gregory, daughter of Loveisgod Gregory of Stivichall, Warwickshire, at Holy Trinity Church, Coventry. He would then have been about 24 years old. The Gregorys of Stivichall were a well known local family with quite considerable estates, so Cornelius must have been doing well for himself, or come from a similar background, to be able to marry into such a family.

In January 1662/63, Cornelius was living in Ashby de la Zouch, Leicestershire, described as a mercer and apothecary, which is an unusual combination of trades. However, on 14 March 1664, he was baptising his son, Cornelius, at the Church of St Andrew, Holborn, London. Yet, less than a month later, on 5 April, he is back in Ashby de la Zouch, described as an apothecary only, signing a receipt relating to his wife's inheritance.

The following year, by 27 October 1665, the family has moved to London, where Cornelius is still described as an apothecary, and is signing a quitclaim and an acquittance in relation to his wife's marriage portion, which appears to have amounted to £400, which would be just under £46,000 at 2006 prices. This was the year that the Great Plague started in London and then spread throughout the country.

The family survived both the plague and the Great Fire of London of 1666. Cornelius and Mary's son, Samuell, was baptised at St Andrew's, Holborn on 18 July 1667.

Then on 15 September 1668, Cornelius Saddington was examined as to his fitness to be an apothecary by Thomas Wharton, censor. He then presented himself to the Society of Apothecaries of London on 22 December 1668, with an "order" from the Lord Mayor of London, in which was indicated his desire to become a Freeman of the Society by Redemption, in the same way as Bateman Saddington of Appleby Magna, Leicestershire, did in 1758 (see my post on 31 August 2007). Unfortunately, the Society were not impressed and told him to go away and "better himself".

When Cornelius returned to the Society on 2 March 1670 for re-examination, he was "approved and found qualified to sell medicines". However, he was not made a Freeman of the Society, which seems to indicate that he was not considered completely up to scratch by the experts.

The last that is currently known about Cornelius Saddington is the baptism of his son, Grigory, at St Andrew's, Holborn, on 2 December 1670. At this point, Cornelius would have been 33 years old, and would have lived through some of the great events in British history. A lot of research remains to be done on Cornelius Saddington, his background and his family.

The information contained in this post has been amassed from the following sources: International Genealogical Index, Shakespeare Birthplace Trust Records Office (records of the Gregory Family of Stivichall, Warwickshire), Society of Apothecaries of London, and "The History of Medical Education in Britain", edited by Vivien Nutton and Roy Porter (specifically the article entitled 'An Examined and Free Apothecary' by Juanita Burnby), for access to which I thank the British Library and the Inter-Library Loan System.