Under Construction!

Jo Harrington is the foremost researcher of Hickmans in Gornal and Sedgley. Her own Hickmans form part of her maternal ancestral line, and her direct ancestors are as follows:

John Hickman was born in Sedgley in 1818. In 1871, he was a nailer. In 1881, he was a mason’s labourer. St Peter’s Church in Upper Gornal has a listing for his burial on January 11th 1883, aged 65. He had been living in Vale Row. He was a nailmaker at the time of his death.

The 1871 census has him living with his family at 1 Botany Bay, Sedgley; by 1881, they had moved to 3 Botany Bay, Sedgley.

Hannah Blackham was born in Sedgley, in 1819, as the daughter of Ann Blackham. Possibly, she is Rosanna Blackham. St Peter’s Church has a listing for her burial on June 27th 1891, aged 72. She had been living in Vale Row.

Harriet Hickman was born in 1845, in Sedgley, as the daughter of John Hickman. In 1871, she was living with John and Hannah, at 1 Botany Bay, Sedgley; she was unmarried and she was a nailer.

John Hickman was born in Sedgley in 1853, as the son of John Hickman and Hannah. He was baptized on 13th February 1853, at St Mary’s Church, Kingswinford. In 1871, he was a mason’s labourer with John and Hannah, at 1 Botany Bay, Sedgley.

Sarah Jane Hickman was born in Sedgley in circa 1860-61. In 1871, she was a nurse, but was a nailer by 1881 and 1891. She married John Edwards at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on August 19th 1889:

John Edwards was literally the boy next door, as in the 1881 census, before they were married, he was living at 2, Botany Bay:

It could be assumed that John Thomas Wilkes was actually the son of Sarah Hickman, as he was listed in the 1881 census as the grandson of John and Hannah Hickman, while Sarah was the only daughter left at home. Also he moved with Sarah when she married, as is seen above. John Wilkes may have married Comfort Cook, in Sedgley, on 21st May 1899.

Samuel Hickman was born, in Sedgley, in 1862, as the son of John and Hannah Hickman. He was nine years old in the 1871 census, but wasn’t with his parents in the 1881 census, neither was he anywhere else in the country, so he may have either died or else gone abroad.

Enoch Hickman was born in Sedgley, in 1865, as the son of John and Hannah Hickman. In 1881, he was still living with his parents at 3 Botany Bay, Sedgley, and he was working as a mason’s labourer.

Joseph Hickman was born on Christmas Day, 1855, the son of John and Hannah Hickman, in Sedgley.

In 1881, the family were living at 3 Botany Bay, in Sedgley. Joseph was 24 and a bricklayer. He was unmarried.

His grand-daughter, Frances Smith (nee Hickman), said that Joseph went to Cambridge, at some time during his life, to help with the building of an extention to the university. After the work was done, the King (Edward IV) came and shook hands with all the workers, including Joseph.

It is unlikely that any photographs exist of Joseph, as two of his grandchildren, Frances Smith and Edward Hickman, have commented that he refused to ever have his photograph taken.

Known as Joe, he was a staunch Methodist, helping in the building of a Methodist church. His grand-daughter, Frances Smith, describes the church as a ‘great, imposing building – pulled down and a new modern church built on the same ground. It was far too big to turn into two cottages. A great shame to demolish it’. The church was also built by David Summons, Edward Evans, William Macclesfield, Phoebe Harvey, the Rayboulds, and Betsy Humphries, among others.

This church was built in Kent Street, Upper Gornal, and was probably the Wesleyan Church, near to the present Spills Meadow public house. A patch of lawn next to the pub still has a wall and a gap for the gate, which used to lead into the church. Joe’s grand-daughters, Frances Smith and Floss Nicholls, also affirm that this is the church built by their grandad. Frances added that the pub itself stands in the old church-grounds. The patch of lawn is over two vaults containing the bodies of the people who died in the cholera epidemic, though, originally, the vaults had been destined for those who had built the church. The slab covering this still remains, with the houses built back from the road to avoid it.

The builders didn’t charge for the building of the church, but did it out of religious duty.

Frances Smith also believes that her grandad lived in Club Row (aka Paradise Row) at the time, with friends and neighbours including Caleb Beardsmore, who was married to a relative, Liza Hickman, and William Hardy.

Joe married Susannah Tighe on August 8th, 1886, at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, after banns and according to the rites and ceremonies of the established church. It is worth knowing that Methodist marriages, at this time, were deemed invalid in the eyes of the law. Joe was 28 and a bricklayer. His father, John Hickman, was deceased. Witnesses were Thomas Fownes and Mary Allen. The couple lived together at 8 The Square, Upper Gornal, and they already had children together. Mary Ann Tighe, Susannah’s eldest child, isn’t proved to have been Joe’s daughter, however Joseph, who was born the following year, was his son, as were Sarah Jane and Eliza, the other children whom the couple had by the time they married in 1886.

By 1890, the couple lived at 11 Spills Meadow, Upper Gornal; but the following year, they were living at 4 Cricket Meadow, Upper Gornal.

All told they had thirteen children, many of whom didn’t survive into adulthood.

Joe died sometime between 1919-1930, probably towards the earlier part of this period. By the time of his youngest son, Jim’s, wedding in 1931, he was deceased.

Susannah’s surname was variably spelt Tighe or Toy, depending upon the source. As spelling didn’t become standardized until into the 20th century, either is valid. At its root, Tighe is Taidgh, an Irish word meaning poet or philosopher. This was in the bardic sense.

She was born in Pail Piece, probably no 43, in Upper Gornal (now Pale Street), on March 13th, 1862, the daughter of James Toy and Eliza Toy, nee Flavell. She was registered with Dudley Registry on March 20th, 1862, by her dad.

Susannah gave birth to Mary Ann Tighe in late April/May 1879, when she was 16. This signalled the start of a traumatic period of her life. By March 1881, she was living with her parents and brother, John, with her baby daughter at 45 Pale Piece, next door to her childhood home. Susannah was a nail-maker, along with all the others in their household. She was also heavily pregnant as Joseph was born only a few days later. By August 1881, Mary Ann had died; by the following December, 1881, Susannah’s mother, Eliza Toy, had followed. Both were buried in St Peter’s Churchyard, Upper Gornal.

Fourteen months later, Sarah-Jane was born. It is possible that Susannah was under pressure from the Church at this point for being unmarried, as she didn’t take Sarah Jane to be Christened until Sarah Jane was 13 years old, neither was Joseph Christened until 1887. Just over a year later, in 1884, Susannah lost her father, James Toy. By the time Eliza was born, in 1886, Susannah and Joe Hickman were living together at 8 The Square, Upper Gornal; she wasn’t baptized until a year later, by which time, Susannah and Joe were married.

Of her thirteen children, Susannah was to see six, maybe seven, of them die during her life-time, most as babies or toddlers, one through a house-fire and another on the battle-field.

She remained as a nail-maker throughout her life. The Board of Trade Report into the conditions of Nail Makers and Small Chain Makers, in South Staffordshire and East Worcestershire, in 1888, stated:

‘women are to be seen engaged on spike nails as large as 6-inch, 7-inch and 8-inch, in the course of a day’s work on which they will be required to push down on the treadle of the heavy oliver some 1,300 or 1,400 times, in addition to blowing the bellows and using the hand hammer. The state of these women while engaged in such work may be readily imagined. Perspiration streams from their faces, and there can be little doubt that their work is of a most exhausting character.

As to the question of the effect of such work upon the health, it is contended on the one hand that women suffer severely, and on the other that it is only done by strong women, who are quite equal to it. There is no statistical information available on this point, but it is so evident as to be beyond dispute that the female workers in these trades are extremely flat-chested, and the vast majority of them look pale and thin, although their arms are wiry and muscular. Many of the younger women work all day in their shops, but in the case of the married women with families much time is occupied in looking after household duties.

The general rule, however, is that the workshop has the first claim, and from 10 to 12 hours per day is often the time spent by such women at the hearth and anvil. In such cases the average earnings seldom reach a higher figure than from 2s 6d to 5s per week, so that it is indeed questionable whether the small amount gained by the women in the shop is not lost by her absence from the household……Some of them must even pay others to look after their children while they work themselves, although many others take the children to the shop with them, where they seat them on the hearth, sling them in chairs suspended from the rafters, or lay them to sleep on the bellows… The only thing at all noticeable was that some young women working in the shops were the mothers of illegitimate children, and spoke about their offspring, who were there, without the slightest hestitation or reserve…’

Susannah was a tiny woman, only about 4ft 8” in height. Her grand-daughter, Floss Nicholls, described her as a ‘strong, independent woman’. Her grand-daughter, Frances Smith, described her as ‘bird-like’ to look at. Her grandson, Edward Hickman, told how she was full of stories about the old days, often regaling his Mum, Polly, with them as they worked in the kitchen together.

She later moved to the Faggot Entry, off Kent Street, Upper Gornal, where her youngest son, James Henry Hickman, his wife, Mary Ann, and their children lived with her. In the picture, the Faggot Entry is shown, just where the building on the left juts out – the entry was before that, between that and the smaller building before it. Guest’s chip-shop was at the entrance, with a shed behind it where they sold the chips. She would have been living there when this picture was taken. The Faggot Entry led to two homes, the Hickman and the Hollis homes. A family rumour maintains that after Jim and his family moved out, a member of the Hollis family entered Susannah’s home and robbed her.

Susannah also made wine – her recipe for parsnip wine was passed down to her youngest daughter, Sarah-Jane (aka Jinny), and perserved by Jinny’s nephew, Edward Hickman:

To Make one gallon of Parsnip Wine

6lbs of parsnips

4lbs of sugar

3 oranges

1 lemon

1oz of ginger

½ raisins

Boil parsnips 1 ½ hours. Take out and boil juice, sugar, oranges, lemons and ginger for ½ hour, when cool barm (?) and put raisins, and let it stand for a fortnight.

In her 50s, Susannah suffered a stroke, which she survived. Her doctor was Dr McMillan, (aka Dr Mac) who would see her and tell her that she needed a drink. He would give her half a crown to fetch a jug of beer!

Susannah Hickman was killed on July 18th, 1934. Her grand-daughter, Floss, had just left her, having walked with her to the top of the street. Floss went off to play in the fields, while Susannah was away with her jug to fetch herself some beer from one of the beerhouses to drink later.

She stepped behind a parked car and a young lad, named Len Cox, was riding his pushbike along the road. The two collided. Susannah suffered horrific injuries, including the near severing of her tongue. She was carried back to her home and laid on the screenage there, while her family was summoned.

Floss was called in the fields to say that her Mum had been killed. She ran back to Stone Street, only to be told by her Aunt Rose that it was her Gran Hickman, not her Mum who had been killed. Her Mum was already gone to South Oval, so Floss took off there, where she saw her Gran laid out.

Death had come within a short space of time, estimated at two hours. Pneumonia had set in to confound matters.

Susannah was buried by Thomas Watton, coffin maker and general undertaker, of 72 Inhedge, Upper Gornal. She was buried, probably at St Peter’s Church. The bill (dated July 23rd 1934) tells that she was buried in a polished oak coffin attended by pall bearers (price £6.5s.0d); she was buried with a vicar performing the rites (£1.5s.0d); there were bearers (10s) and buttonholes (1s.9d); and the bells were tolled for her (1s.od). It is possible that she is buried just to the right of St Peter’s, as you walk up the front stairs, just over the small wall, as Edward Hickman, her grandson, remembers, as a child, going with his mother to place flowers on the first two gravestones behind that wall.

Len Cox never recovered from the accident. He arrived at the house with a large bunch of flowers and never stopped apologizing. He spoke only in a rasp afterwards and sent a massive wreath to the funeral. He frequently called on the family whenever he was passing. He later developed throate cancer and had his voice-box removed, but died anyway.

Mary Ann’s short life began at 45 Pale Street, Upper Gornal, in the spring of 1879. She was the daughter of Susannah Tighe and possibly the daughter of Joe Hickman.

Mary Ann was baptized at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on May 2nd, 1880, when she was around her first birthday. She lived with her Mum, her Grandparents, James and Eliza Tighe, and her Uncle John Tighe.

Born on March 15th, 1881, as the illegitimate son of Susannah Tighe, though he was given the surname of Hickman. He was Christened at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on January 31st, 1887.

Joseph enjoyed football, playing on the pitch behind the Struggling Man, on Eve Hill, Dudley. A photograph exists somewhere of Joseph and the rest of the team, in a season when they won 3 trophies. He and Helen lived in the houses opposite, next door to Inspector Rouse. They had approx. six children.

When the First World War arrived, Joseph signed up as a gunner in the Royal Field Artillery, his number being 251718. He was in the 59th Battalion, 18th Brigade. On the day he learned that he was going overseas, he walked with his brother, Arthur, up Kent Street, then stopped, looked back and told him that he wouldn’t be coming back again. Arthur’s daughter, Frances, has a photograph of Joseph in uniform, in her front room.

Joseph Hickman was killed in action on Thursday, August 11th, 1921, aged 40. He was shipped back to England and was buried in Ruiton Chapelyard. Helen’s name is not on the gravestone.

Sarah Jane Hickman was born on February 15th, 1883, as the illegitimate daughter of Susannah Tighe, though, again, Joseph was probably her father.

She died aged 13, in a fire accident, on the day that her younger brother, Arthur, was born.

NB The newspaper article got Joe’s name wrong, by naming him as John Hickman. It is believed that he was at work at the time. Whether Susannah was in labour before, during or after this event isn’t known, but Arthur was born on the same day.

Sarah Jane was burnt on February 8th, 1896, and she was baptized at home, privately, by Mr AH Lewis, the vicar of St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on February 10th, 1896. On February 19th, she was taken from 11 Spills Meadow to the Guest Hospital, in Tipton Road, Dudley, where she died on February 21st. She was buried at St Peter’s, on February 26th, 1896, by Mr Lewis. All this was recorded in her baptism entry by Mr Lewis.

Eliza Hickman was born on May 29th, 1886, and was baptized Elizabeth Hickman Tighe, the illegitimate daughter of Susanna Tighe, of 8 The Square, Upper Gornal, at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on January 31st 1887. By the time of her baptism, her parents were actually married, but it seems that the Vicar wasn’t going to overlook the fact that they weren’t married when Eliza was actually born.

Eliza was a witness to her sister, Sarah Jane’s, burning, when Eliza was ten years old, and she later had to give evidence at her sister’s inquest.

Edward Marson, who married Violet Wasdel. They lived in Sedgley; John Marson (aka Jack; Jackie) – he was in the navy and was captured by the Japanese. He also spent some time in Jerusalem. Later he returned to Gornal, where he married Rose and kept the Horse and Jockey pub. He may have had two children; Eliza Marson (aka Liza), who married a Mr Smith and had a son and a daughter, before Liza died young; and Alfred Marson, who lived in the white houses behind Stanley’s Butchers, near to the Green Dragon pub, in Upper Gornal, and played football for Upper Gornal FC. He also rode a motorbike. Alfred died on May 3rd, 1986, aged 53, and he is buried with his parents in St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal. There is also another daughter, who lives on the Northway Estate in Sedgley.

Eliza and Ted ran the Tudor pub, in Upper Gornal. Later, they settled in Botany Bay, Gornal, where they were known as the ‘posh’ part of the family, though their neice, Floss, denies that they were any richer than everyone else.

Ted died on May 16th, 1950, aged 65, and Eliza died on November 21st, 1957, aged 71. Both are buried in St Peter’s Churchyard.

Sam Hickman was born on March 17th, 1888, in 10 Kent Street, Upper Gornal, the legitimate son of Susannah and Joe Hickman. The family moved house soon after, as they were living in Rock Street, by the time of Sam’s baptism, on April 2nd, 1888, at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal.

By the time he was attending the Upper Gornal school, the family had moved again to 11 Spills Meadow. His school record states that, in 1890, his number of attendances in 1896 was 398; in 1898, it was in the 360s; in 1899, it was in the 300s again; in 1900, it was in the 400s; and in the 380s, in 1901. It is unclear what these figures relate to, as they obviously aren’t days. Perhaps they are sessions or hours.

The figures were given on March 23rd, though the year is illegible; in 1901, someone had obtained a copy of his birth certificate, presumably for the purposes of his starting work in the near future, as it was issued under the Factory and Workshop Act.

On November 27th, 1901, (the date written in pencil on the copy of his birth certificate obtained two days previously) he started work down Baggeridge Colliery, working alongside Herbert Gough and Charlie Shack. The picture of Sam Hickman shown here was taken down the colliery and appeared on the front page of the Black Country Bugle, issue 385.

Sam acted as a witness at the wedding of his elder sister, Eliza, to Ted Marson, in 1910. It may or may not have been through Ted, a Yorkshireman, that Sam met and married Beatrice, a woman from Ted’s home town of Goldthorpe, in Barnsley, nr Rotherham, Yorkshire. Shortly afterwards, Sam and Beatrice moved to Goldthorpe, where he lived out the rest of his life. Their address was 117 Probert Avenue, Goldthorpe.

He did return on visits. On one such occasion, his mother, Susannah, didn’t recognize him and his brother, Jim, had to tell her who he was. Susannah had opened the door, but she hadn’t seen her son for 22 years. She immediately called Jim, saying there was someone at the door for him. Jim took one look and said, ‘Mother, don’t you recognize your own son?’ Sam had also acquired a Yorkshire accent.

He also returned, in uniform, for his Mother’s funeral, suggesting that he had joined the armed forces, perhaps during WWI, and never left them when the war was over. Sam had his son with him, Raymond, who was a petty officer in the navy.

It is also known that Sam and Beatrice Hickman had a daughter, as she sent a Christmas card to her uncle Jim and his wife Polly, in 1928.

Born in February 1890, at 32 Rock Street, Upper Gornal, a son of Susannah and Joe Hickman; he was baptized on February 24th, 1890, at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal. James died aged one year and 11 months. He was buried in the same church, on January 17th, 1892.

A question hangs over the existence of this James Henry Hickman. It is possible that he is actually John Thomas Hickman.

James Henry Hickman was born on May 3rd, 1892, at 4 Cricket Meadow, Upper Gornal, and he was baptized at St Peter’s Church, on May 29th, 1892, as a son of Susannah and Joe Hickman.

However, then he disappears. Another son is named James Henry Hickman in 1902, a mere ten years later. Suggesting that this James Henry has either died or else had a change of name. There is no entry of death for him in the St Peter’s records.

However, Susannah and Joe had a second son, John Thomas Hickman, whose birth certificate states that he was born on May 4th, 1892. His birth wasn’t registered until June 14th, 1892. John is the only child who wasn’t eventually been baptized.

1. James and John were twins, but James died before he was ten years old. In support of this, Susannah did tell Frances, her grand-daughter, that she had had thirteen children. James would render that figure correct (according to the records of St Peter’s). Also, there is a difference of birth date between the baptism records of James (May 3rd) and the birth certificate of John (May 4th).

2. James and John are the same person. In support of this is the absense of a burial record for James (when all the other children were buried in St Peters) and the lack of a baptism record for John (when all the other children were baptized in St Peters). John’s daughter, Floss, has never heard tell of her Dad being a twin. This scenario would mean that either the vicar or the registrar were confused, or were given different information concerning the birth date of James/John. Also in strong evidence of this is the fact that twins, even in 1892, tended to have the time of birth noted on their birth certificate – John’s birth certificate records no such information.

Born in January 1895, at 11 Spills Meadow, Upper Gornal, as a son of Susannah and Joe Hickman. He was baptized at St Peter’s, Upper Gornal, on January 28th, 1895. Unfortunately, he died aged one month and was buried at the same church on February 4th, 1895.

Born on February 8th, 1896, in dramatic circumstances, as this was the day that Sarah Jane was burnt. He was baptized privately, at 11 Spills Meadow, Upper Gornal, by Mr Lewis, the Vicar of St Peter’s Church, when he came to perform the same rites for Sarah Jane, on February 10th, 1896. Those first few weeks of his life must have been horrific for his parents, as Sarah Jane was first taken to the Guest Hospital, and then died, when Arthur was only 18 days old. When Susannah went to register him, on March 17th, 1896, only a couple of weeks after Sarah Jane’s death, she must have been whispering or else utterly confused, as she gave their address as 11 Spring Meadow, which Mr Thompson the registrar for Sedgley entered twice on Arthur’s birth certificate.

Arthur quickly saw his school days off, as on February 5th, 1910, when he was nearly 14 years old, he applied for a copy of his birth certificate himself, under the Factory and Workshop Act, evidently for the purpose of going to work. He was living with his family at 10 Kent Street, Upper Gornal, at the time (Faggot Entry).

He became a bricklayer, like his Dad, before following his brother, Sam, down Baggeridge Colliery. Eventually, he became a clerk in the offices of Baggeridge Colliery.

Arthur married Prudence Bagley, at All Saints Church, Sedgley, on April 8th, 1917:

Their bridesmaids were the daughters of the Mills family, who ran the Swan pub, in Sedgley, and that was where the reception was held.

During the war, Arthur Hickman joined the East Lancashire Regiment. He survived the war and returned to Sedgley.

His daughter, Frances Smith, recalled a crisis involving her mother, Prudence Hickman, in 1941:

‘The day… my Uncle Jack was being buried, Dad was getting ready for his funeral, when my mother, who was very ill, began to be getting worse. She had seen a doctor, who had been to see her the day before, so I called in another one to come straight away, as she was “choking”. He came and he had to do an emergency operation on her throate, she had a huge quinsy. (common words throat abcess) It was very dangerous. Another time, later on she had a pain in her side, which got worse. 3 times I got the doctor, even at midnight, when he came in drunk. He came nest morning and he had a shock, we couldn’t wait for an ambulance, but had to get a neighbour’s large car. When my husband and uncle took her to the Royal Hospital, Mr Vincent Patrick had just finished operating for the morning, took one look at Mom, operated straight (away). She only had peritonitis, plus a burst appendix. I myself had a nasty op in 1966 and I told them while I was opened up to make sure they removed my appendix, I forgot to ask them if they did, but they said they would.’ Frances Smith (19.4.00)

Arthur was a bricklayer, building most of the houses up Pennfields. At one time, he found work in Devon and the family were set to move there, but Prudence refused to move from Sedgley. He also built the bank up Wombourne, when he was 72. Frances believes that retiring from bricklaying was what caused her Dad to deteriorate, eventually leading to his death.

Arthur Hickman died on April 25th, 1985, of stomach cancer. He had been up the hospital, where Frances had begged the doctor not to tell him what was wrong with him. But Dr Walker, back at the house, had shouted across to her, ‘you realise that your Father’s only got 12 weeks to live?’ Arthur was in the back bedroom and didn’t hear. Frances said that she nearly killed Dr Walker that day.

Frances had nursed him night and day, but on the Saturday morning, when he died, she had told him that she was just ‘nipping out for a fresh pair of pyjamas’. While she was gone, he died. She returned to find her daughter-in-law, Miriam, present, and her Mum, Prudence, in hysterics.

Born in December, 1897, a son of Susannah and Joe Hickman, Enoch lasted only nine hours before he died. As the entry shows, he was buried at St Peter’s Church without a service as he was not baptized. Mr Lewis, the vicar, deemed this to also mean that he didn’t officially have a name, despite his parents having called him Enoch Hickman. I’ve since been back to St Peter’s churchyard, and not knowing where he actually is, I’ve done a general prayer for him in lieu of the insensitivity of Mr Lewis.

Jinny was born in 1899 and baptized Sarah Jane Hickman, daughter of Susannah and Joseph Hickman, on November 13th, 1899, at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal.

Jinny and Bill Bradley moved to the Wren’s Nest estate, in Dudley, where they had a large family. Their children include: William Bradley, aka Billy, who is supposed to live in Castlemill Road, Dudley; Joseph Bradley, aka Joe; May Bradley; Rose Bradley; Albert Bradley, who married a Jamaican lady, whose name is unknown; and Gilbert Bradley. One of these people lives in Glen Road, Dudley, but no-one is sure who.

Jinny and Billy Bradley used to host the family Christmas parties and their nephew, Edward Hickman, remembers going to them down Castlemill Road, Dudley.

Jinny is believed to be buried in St Peter’s Church, to the right of the church.

Jim was born on November 27th, 1902, at 11 Spills Meadow, Upper Gornal, and was registered by Susannah on January 9th, 1903. He was baptized as James Henry Hickman, son of Susannah and Joseph Hickman, at St Peter’s Church, on December 15th, 1902. He was their youngest known child.

Jim was physically quite small, ‘like a jockey’, and he was very quiet. When the time came to apply for his birth certificate, under the Factory and Workshop Act, on November 25th, 1916, Jim got his sister, Sarah Hickman, to do it for him. The purpose that she gave for wanting the certificate was ‘labour’. Jim worked down Baggeridge Colliery all of his life. During the war, he was on stand-by, but was never called up.

The family, by then, lived at 10 Kent Street, Upper Gornal. After Jim’s marriage, in 1931, he brought his bride, Polly (real name Mary-ann) Jukes, back to live there with his parents. Polly was a domestic servant from Kate’s Hill. Her dad was Joseph Jukes, who was killed at Dardenelles. He won several medals, which Polly’s grandson, Mark Hickman has in his possession.

Their children: James Joseph Hickman, was born on December 29th, 1930, at 10 Kent Street, Upper Gornal. He was baptized at St Peter’s Church, on January 25th, 1931; Edward John Hickman, who was born on October 13th, 1936. He married Marina, in 1958, and has a son named Mark and a daughter named Nadine; and Christine Hickman.

In 1937, four years after his mother’s death, Jim and Polly and family moved out of 10 Kent Street, into 151 Wood Road, Lower Gornal. Mrs Edna Porter, who, as a child, was a neighbour of their’s in Kent Street, and remembered them moving, said that Polly helped her neighbours and became known for delivering children and sitting with the ill.

Edward remembers her taking himself and Jimmy to Gratham’s shop in Kent Street, where they would buy caps for his toy gun. He said that you could buy anything in there. They would then cut through, buying flowers, and attend to the graves in St Peter’s Church. She would take him past Botany Bay on occasion and tell him that the ‘posh’ side of the family lived in a big house up there. This would appear to be Jim’s sister, Eliza Marson.

Polly used to brew her own beer. When the miners went on strike (and Churchill threatened to shoot anyone who didn’t go back to work), Polly was out, but Jim invited other striking miners round to their house. When Polly returned it was to find all the barrels empty and the house full of drunken miners. She refused to make any more and dismantled her brewing equipment.

Edward remembers hearing the miners coming home from work, while he was tucked up in bed. They lived in Wood Street, at the time, and Strickley Road was a dirt track, but he would hear them coming home down it.

Jim Hickman died on May 15th, 1972, aged 69. Polly outlived him by over two decades, dying on August 9th, 1994, aged 87. They are both buried in St James’s Churchyard, in Lower Gornal.

Edward Hickman still lives in Lower Gornal. His brother, Jim, used to live next door, but has now moved to Wombourne.

John Thomas Hickman, aka Jack Hickman, was born on May 4th 1892, at 4 Cricket Meadow, in Upper Gornal, as the seventh child of Joseph Hickman and Susannah Tighe. He was registered on June 14th 1892, by JW Thompson, the registrar of Dudley.

Lily Green was baptized at St Peter’s Church, Upper Gornal, on October 31st, 1892, as the fifth child and eldest daughter of Isaac Thomas Green and Sarah Hyde. She was born at 16 Windmill Street, Ruiton.

Jack grew up to become an extremely quiet young man. It was a family joke that he was the quietest man in the three Gornals. He grew up within the Methodist Chapel and that was reflected in his morals. He never swore, and detested hearing anyone else swear, even when singing his favourite song ‘The Old Crow’, which had the ‘bugger’ in one of the verses. He simply sang ‘b’ or would hum the line. Jack also never drank above three pints, unless it was Christmas, which was the only time he could be persuaded to sing his song, with its refrain ‘You can’t see me’. However, he would join in on the sing-songs up the Old Mill pub, in Ruiton.

Jack’s greatest bugbear was bullying in any form and he was never heard to say a bad word about anyone. However, he could be handy with his fists and if he was riled – always in situations involving his family – then a fight would ensue. On one occasion, his brother, Sam, was down on a visit from Yorkshire, where he had lived long enough to acquire a Yorkshire accent. The brothers went for a drink down the Old Mill, where one of the Salt-people started mimicking Sam’s accent cruelly. Nothing happened in the pub, but as soon as they left, the man followed and Jack, without a word, turned and punched out his front teeth.

Lily contracted rickets and her legs became so bent that her knees were on the side. Also her lower body was twisted. She did spend some time in a private hospital in Dudley for deformed children. However, she also had a formidable personality. Her temper was legendary, as was the strength of her convictions.

Jack started work at Hyde’s Quarry, in Ruiton, and he was working as a sand carter there in 1915, when he married his girlfriend, Lily Green, at the Registry Office, in Dudley, on May 10th 1915. His address was given as 10 Kent Street, Upper Gornal and he was twenty-two years old.

The couple moved in with Lily’s eldest brother Fred and his wife Alice Green, at their home, 56 Pale Piece, Upper Gornal, where, on September 19th, 1915, their eldest son, Albert Thomas Hickman, was born. They moved into 16 Stone Street, Upper Gornal, the home of another of Lily’s brothers, (James) Syd and his wife, Marnie, Green.

A second son was born here, James Leonard Hickman, in January 1917; followed by a daughter, Florence Rose Hickman, on August 7th 1920.

Eventually, Jack, Lily and the children moved in with Lily’s sister, Rose and her husband, Ted Price, at 8 Stone Street, Upper Gornal, with Lily’s mother, Sarah Green. They remained there for several years, before all moving to 6 South Oval, in Upper Gornal.

By now, Jack was working as a bricklayer’s labourer; he later became a general labourer.

Jack was quite strict with the children, ‘because he was Chapel’, according to his grand-daughter Joan Swatman. However, he never smacked the children, leaving the discipline to Lily. Florence only recalled him ever smacking her once and believed that it hurt him more than it did her. He told Lily that he would never hit the children again.

He barely spoke when in the presense of his wife, but the children heard more from him once Lily was out.

By the time he was in his late forties, he became very nervous. His son, Len, was in Egypt fighting in the Second World War, and Jack was very anxious about him. Nerves became panic attacks, then depression, until his mind regularly became blank and he would wander around unknowing where he lived. His family often had to go looking for him to bring him home. At the time, this was diagnozed as ‘nerves’, but the family, in hindsight, wonder if it was in fact senile dementia.

Jack died on July 26th, 1941, aged only 49 years old. The cause of death was 1, General Debility; and 2, Fabis Dorsalis. This translates as being generally worn out, confounded by a problem with the main artery in his foot. He died at 10 Burton Road, Sedgley, but he lived at 6 South Oval, Upper Gornal, at the time. Lily registered the death on July 28th 1941.

My maternal grandparents, Albert and Elsie Hickman, are both now gone and dearly missed.
Albert Thomas Hickman was born on September 19th 1915, in Gornal, as the eldest child of John and Lily Hickman.

Elsie May Harley was born on March 3rd 1915, in Low Hill, as the eldest child of Ted and Mabel Harley.

They married in St Mary's Church, Bushbury, on March 23rd, 1940, and went on to bring up their seven children in Burton Crescent, Heath Town, before moving to Wodensfield Avenue, Wednesfield.

Individual Researcher Pages:

Jo Harrington