Category: Cumbrian people
Westmorland girls – be warned!
Westmorland girls were given some sound advice, from bitter experience, in May 1874, by a young woman who had learned the hard way. While looking for something else, I chanced upon a notice in the Pen... Read More
Countess Ossalinsky
Ambling around Beacon Edge cemetery a few weeks ago (visiting family graves, and taking photos of others to upload to FindaGrave), I chanced upon a Celtic cross with a faded inscription: Countess Bori... Read More
Richard Oyes dodgy overseer
Richard Oyes, the dodgy overseer Richard Oyes, of Whitehaven, is the elephant in the room of an interesting court case, in 1796. For while he was the reason five magistrates strayed from the path of v... Read More
Bishop Thomas Smith & his sister
Bishop Thomas Smith was a key figure in the history of Carlisle Cathedral. What isn’t widely known is that he had a sister. Thomas Smith led quite a life for ‘an Appleby lad’ – teaching at Oxf... Read More
Carlisle Journal & Thomas Gibson Cant
The Carlisle Journal, Carlisle’ first newspaper, was founded in 1798. A liberal weekly, it advocated civil and religious liberty and free political comment (source). And in 1873, some of its comment... Read More
Isabella Dalton – an unusual life
My post on Wilson Towers includes the information that for 14 weeks in 1904, he employed a housekeeper called Isabella Dalton – who then went back to live in Wigton Workhouse. Her story is unusual, ... Read More
Thomas Gibson Cant : a fishy tale
Thomas Gibson Cant, a Penrith solicitor with strong convictions about Justice, stood up for ‘the ordinary man’ against Penrith police. Part one of his story can be read in this post, but it ... Read More
Wilson Towers – two curious deaths
Wilson Towers isn’t as rare a name as you might think. This one was a stone mason, born at Tallentire about 1843-45. In the space of four years, he was to be charged with manslaughter twice. Later, ... Read More