My Ancestors

A Memory of Dunham on Trent.

My mother Alice Harpham & family lived here. She was born 1904 at Dunham, along with John Thomas, Rose, Herbert, Edith, Margaret, & Sydney John. When I searched my family tree, I had been told by my cousin Evelyn in 1980 that my grandma Eliza [nee Todd, originally from Ripon] was found dead in the attic with her throat cut. Eventually I found it was in 1927. Thomas Harpham, their grandad, was the shoemaker, trained by John Harpham in the 1800s. The Whate family are also included, they had a shop on the main street. I was fortunate to meet a lady from Retford, via advert I placed in Retford Times, and I went to her home, and she took me to Dunham, & I photographed the whole village. My mother never spoke about any of this, and I started searching only after her death in 1987. A very happy, but also a sad, day for me. If anyone reads this and has any connection with the said surnames, plus Whitton family, Harpham & Whittons were originally from Lincolnshire, I would love to hear from you. Thankyou. Marion Wilkinson. West Yorkshire.

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