Catle Hill I come from a long line of survivalists. They all came from abject poverty and hard work. Survival was all they knew.
Both sides of my family had Irish roots. Two Kilcommons brothers came from Galway in the 1860s to escape famine. Others of the extended family went to America, but these two foolishly came to England. They had been farm labourers. Now they became miners, first in Derbyshire, then in Yorkshire when they both moved to Normanton. The Kilcommons name comes from Galway and the North West of Ireland: there are a lot of them there, including two whose names are on the IRA memorial at Roscommon who gave their lives during the War of Independence (1919-1921).
Among my English roots I am proud to have Eliza Shaw as my great great great grandmother. She was born in 1800 and married coalminer Thomas Reeve. Her granddaughter, Elizabeth Reeves, married John Kilcommons, my great grandfather, who was newly arrived from Ireland.
Eliza may be a distant connection but she is a matriarch close to my heart. She held the family together after the early death of her husband, living in such salubrious addresses as Pig Sty Lane in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. She lived until she was 84, still head of the household after caring for generations of her family.
My mother's name was Hannon and they, too, came from Ireland. John Hannon was born in 1849 in County Clare and became a journeyman maltster in Wakefield. He married a Clare girl and they lived in a house behind the Kings Head pub in the city. When he died, the family moved to Salt Pie Alley. Another wonderful address.
Their son, John Hannon married Sarah Ann Lacey. She had Irish roots but the Laceys were English farming stock. Perhaps they are descended from the de Laceys who came over with the Conqueror in 1066 and were given this whole area of West Yorkshire to rule. Their main castle was at Pontefract and they had a smaller one at Castle Hill in Almondbury that was used as a hunting lodge. Castle Hill overlooks the village of Honley, where I live. If only my ancestors had been born the correct side of the blanket I could be in a bigger house.
I remember my grandmother well and her brother, Uncle Sam. He remained single all his life, had an aversion to work and a liking for drink, and drove a pony and cart around the streets of Wakefield as a rag and bone man. He was fat, none too clean, a walrus moustache, a muffler round his neck and a great sense of humour. He often called in to see his sister at Number 5 Cheapside for a hot meal in the 1940s and slip me a sixpence.
Both sides of my family had Irish roots. Two Kilcommons brothers came from Galway in the 1860s to escape famine. Others of the extended family went to America, but these two foolishly came to England. They had been farm labourers. Now they became miners, first in Derbyshire, then in Yorkshire when they both moved to Normanton. The Kilcommons name comes from Galway and the North West of Ireland: there are a lot of them there, including two whose names are on the IRA memorial at Roscommon who gave their lives during the War of Independence (1919-1921).
Among my English roots I am proud to have Eliza Shaw as my great great great grandmother. She was born in 1800 and married coalminer Thomas Reeve. Her granddaughter, Elizabeth Reeves, married John Kilcommons, my great grandfather, who was newly arrived from Ireland.
Eliza may be a distant connection but she is a matriarch close to my heart. She held the family together after the early death of her husband, living in such salubrious addresses as Pig Sty Lane in Ilkeston, Derbyshire. She lived until she was 84, still head of the household after caring for generations of her family.
My mother's name was Hannon and they, too, came from Ireland. John Hannon was born in 1849 in County Clare and became a journeyman maltster in Wakefield. He married a Clare girl and they lived in a house behind the Kings Head pub in the city. When he died, the family moved to Salt Pie Alley. Another wonderful address.
Their son, John Hannon married Sarah Ann Lacey. She had Irish roots but the Laceys were English farming stock. Perhaps they are descended from the de Laceys who came over with the Conqueror in 1066 and were given this whole area of West Yorkshire to rule. Their main castle was at Pontefract and they had a smaller one at Castle Hill in Almondbury that was used as a hunting lodge. Castle Hill overlooks the village of Honley, where I live. If only my ancestors had been born the correct side of the blanket I could be in a bigger house.
I remember my grandmother well and her brother, Uncle Sam. He remained single all his life, had an aversion to work and a liking for drink, and drove a pony and cart around the streets of Wakefield as a rag and bone man. He was fat, none too clean, a walrus moustache, a muffler round his neck and a great sense of humour. He often called in to see his sister at Number 5 Cheapside for a hot meal in the 1940s and slip me a sixpence.
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