We Will Remember Them

In memory of Private Thomas Higginson, 59031, 1st/6th Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own). Son of John Charles and Mary Jane Higginson.
Died 11 October 1918. Aged 19. Buried St Aubert British Cemetery, Nord, France. The Commonwealth War Graves cemetery is 13 kilometres east of Cambrai.

ST. AUBERT BRITISH CEMETERY

FOR THE FALLEN 

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres,
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

                                                                                           Laurence Binyon

From Tommy’s date of death and place of burial it is most likely that Tommy died during the operation known as the Pursuit to the Selle. This was a series of skirmishes which occurred once the Allied Forces had broken through the Hindenburg Line.

Information on the cemetery in which Tommy was laid to rest can be found on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission site here

A photograph of Tommy’s headstone can be found here

John Charles Higginson

John Charles Higginson, known as Charles, was one of the two sons of Susan Judge’s second marriage. He was born in 1873 in Ireland. Charles married Mary Jane Walton in Houghton le Spring Registry Office on the 26th of November 1896. In 1901 Charles was working as a hewer at the local pit and the family were living at 28 Low Downs Square in Hetton Downs in County Durham. By 1915 the family had moved to 31 Jane Street, Hetton Downs, Hetton-le-Hole, Co. Durham.

Thanks to Thelma, Charles’s granddaughter, I know that Charles and Mary had at least eight children and I think probably ten in all, although this needs to be confirmed by a little more research.

The children of Charles and Mary were:

Margaret b. 1897

Thomas b. 20 August 1899

Susan b. 5 June 1901

John Charles b. 9 April 1903

Jane b. 28 November 1906

Georgina b. 31 July 1908

Twins William and Ada b. 24 March 1910

Dora b. 8 June 1915 (died the same year)

Samuel. b. 1920

Giving his age as 37 Charles enlisted in the British Army in 1915 joining the 27 Tyneside Irish, a Service battalion of the Northumberland Fusiliers, transferring to the Labour Corps in November 1917.  He served in France from January 1916 until October 1918.
Although there is some discrepancy in age I'm sure checking the census will give some indication as to his true age.

James, Samuel, Jane and Susan Bagnall

I have next to no information on Arthur and William's Bagnall siblings. I have found a marriage for a Susan Bagnall in 1894 in the Easington district of County Durham which includes Seaham which is where the family were living around that time. It could  possibly  be 'our' Susan but further research is needed on this. I have also found a registration of death for a 65 year old Samuel Bagnall  in 1932. This is in the Houghton registration district which covers Hetton and as Samuel was living with his brother's family in Hetton at one time, this is likely to be him.
I can find nothing on James and Jane. 
Update: I have found Samuel and Jane living with Thomas and Susan Higginson at 9 Willow Street, Harraton, Washington (that is the original Washington!) in 1911.

Children of Arthur George Bagnall and Mary Smith Boyd

Helen Foster Bagnall born October 1891 in Illinois, married twice*, firstly to Otto H Drensky jr. in 1916. Otto died two years later in August 1918. Helen’s second marriage was to Earl T Bennington, they had one daughter Viola. Helen died in September 1946 in Fairfield, Iowa.
(See update Feb 2012)


Susan Judge Bagnall born February 1893 in Chicago, Illinois. She married Dr Arthur L Dippel in  September 1920, they had one son Arthur W Dippel.  Susan died in 1969.


George Mathew Bagnall born in Chicago, Illinois on the 17th March 1896. He married someone called Ann and they had two children Patricia who married Richard F Negrelli and Marian who married William Vaughn Loucks. At the age of 21 in 1917 George enlisted in the National Guard where he served in the Field Artillery before being given an honourable discharge in April 1919. George followed the same profession as his father and was a plasterer in the building trade eventually becoming a partner in McMahon Plastering Co. of Cleveland. He lived at 1054 Piermont Road, South Euclid in Cuyahoga County, Ohio and died in November 1957.


Mary Bagnall was born in March 1898 in Illinois. She married Walter Charles Baisch on the 1st September 1921.


Elizabeth G Bagnall was born about 1905 in Illinois. She married a yeast salesman named Leo Cozzens. They had at least one son, called Leo.

* it turns out that Helen married three times, see Helen Foster Bagnall - update posted on 22 Feb 2012 

Arthur (Art) George Bagnall 1865 - 1941

Arthur George Bagnall, the second son of James and Susan was born in Westmeath, Ireland in June 1865. After starting his working life as a labourer in the coalmines of County Durham Arthur left for the United States in 1883.
I don’t know in which country Arthur married; I have not found any marriage details for him but as Art went to the States in 1883 and his first child was born in 1891 I think it is reasonable to assume that he and Mary Smith Boyd married in the United States. Mary Boyd was born in Scotland on the 14th April 1867 and died in Cleveland, Ohio in May 1945. 
In 1900 Arthur and Mary were living in Hamilton County, Nebraska with their first four children. Although they did live in Nebraska for a while, where Art was employed as a plasterer,  all their children were born in Illinois:
Helen Foster Bagnall b. 1891
Susan Judge Bagnall b. 1893
George Mathew Bagnall b. 1896
Mary S Bagnall b. 1898
Elizabeth G Bagnall b.c. 1905
In 1906 the family visited the UK returning to the States in mid-May aboard the SS Campania. At the time Art was working for McNulty Bros, 1501 Rockefeller Building, Cleveland.
By 1910 the family were living at East 111th Street, Cleveland, Ohio and Arthur was working as a superintendent at a contracting company. He certainly moved around as letters home tell of him in Texas and Arkansas and he even appears to have been speculating in oil in the early 1920's.
Art died in April 1941.

William Bagnall born c. 1862

William Bagnall was born in Ireland ( probably Rahugh, Westmeath) in about 1862 and was the oldest of James Bagnall and Susan Judge’s children.
William married Mary Ann Burrows in 1887 and the couple settled in Hetton Downs where William was employed as a hewer at the local pit.
By 1901 they had three children; Elizabeth 11, Jane 8 and William aged 5. Living with them at 297 Quarry Row, Hetton Downs was William’s unmarried brother Samuel Bagnall who was also employed as a coalminer.
William's son, William, enlisted in the British Army in December 1915 but was not sent to France until 1918. The Army papers are rather difficult to interpret but it appears he spent the second half of 1918 in France and was then posted to Mullingar in Ireland in March 1919 before being demobbed in October of that year. He gave his father's address as 10 Quarry Row, Hetton Downs. William served as a private (Pte. 51592) in the 1st battalion of the East Yorkshire Regiment.

Towns in which the Bagnall/Higginson family lived 1874 to 1891

Details of Thomas Higginson's postings with the police force are a good indication as to where the family lived between the years 1874 to 1891.


Durham Constabulary - Police Constable 353 Thomas Higginson 
June 1874 Recruit posted to Bishop Auckland
September 1874 Promoted to 2nd Class Constable
January 1875 Transferred from Bishop Auckland to Whitworth
July 1875 Transferred from Whitworth the Dean Bridge
February 1876 Promoted to 1st Class Constable
June 1876 Transferred from Dean Bridge to Witton Park
September 1879 Transferred from Witton Park to Tow Law
April 1885 Transferred from Tow Law to Hetton Downs (Historical Notes on the Police in Hetton and Easington Lane a PDF download from www.hettonlocalhistory.org.uk shows Thomas as being 6'1" tall)

February 1891 Transferred from Hetton Downs to Seaham Colliery
Also
April 1891 Transferred from Hetton Downs to Seaham Colliery
I’m not sure what happens in 1891 as he seems to have been transferred twice to the same place.
I understand that Thomas was injured in the line of duty and left the force, there is apparently a newspaper report on the incident which finished his career.

View County Durham in a larger map

1881 shows all the family at home at 23 Bridge street, Tow Law. Both Art and William Bagnall are working as labourers at the colliery. 
By 1891 the family are living at 56 Cornish Street, Seaham with only 3 children still at home; Jane, Thomas and John ( Charles). 
1901 sees Thomas in his new job as a beer store manager, living at 61 Trimdon Street in Sunderland. Jane Maria Bagnall is still at home as is a nine year old Susannah Bagnall, granddaughter of Thomas and Susan.

The British Library is currently putting its Archived Newpaper Collection online which is going to be fantastic for family historians, unfortunately it isn't free so the complete article about Thomas Higginson will remain a mystery until I pay for a years subscription! March 1894 "Policeman Higginson lately stationed at New Seaham, has been presented by the members of the Houghton-le-Spring Division of the Durham County Constabulary, with a gold Albert aud appendage, and an Algerian oak walking stick, mounted with silver. The rec ..."

Short introduction to the Bagnall and Higginson family

This family history is a work in progress and as much of the information has been found on the internet it goes without saying that there will be mistakes. Any corrections or additional information will be very gratefully received!

James Bagnall, son of William Bagnall, married seventeen year old Susan Judge on the 15th of September 1859 in Kilberry Church, County Kildare. 

James and Susan had the following children:

William b.c. 1862
Arthur George b. 1 July 1863, Westmeath
James b. 22 Feb 1865, Kilbeggan, Westmeath
Samuel b. 01 May 1866, Kilbeggan, Westmeath
Jane Maria b.c. 1867
Susan b. 10 Dec 1868, Westmeath
All the children were baptized at the local Church of Ireland church in Kilbeggan. I did receive confirmation of their Kilbeggan baptisms from someone local to Rahugh but I have mislaid his letter!

I haven’t been able to find out when James Bagnall died but it must have been before 1870 as Susan marries Thomas Higginson on the 31st of March 1870 in Dublin. Thomas Higginson had served in the Royal Irish Constabulary and resigned in order to marry Susan. The family left Ireland a few years later and moved to County Durham in England. Thomas joined the Durham Constabulary and served throughout the county before retiring due to an injury received in the line of duty. 

Susan and Thomas had the following children:

Thomas b. 12 January 1871, Rahugh, Westmeath,  Ireland
John Charles b. 1873 Ireland

Letter from Anna Mack to Arthur Bagnall's half-brother Thomas Higginson

I have no idea who Anna Mack the author of this letter was. Had she known the family in Ireland or England before moving to the States? Who was she and what was her relationship to the Bagnall and Higginson families? She gives her address as Box 813, Quanah, Texas, is it possible to find her on a census?
It took me a while to realise that her letter begins 'Dear Friend Tommy' not 'Dear Friend Tony', the letter was written to Thomas Higginson the half-brother of Arthur (Art) Bagnall.

TRANSCRIPTION

                                                                                             Jan 27--21

Dear Friend Tomy

Arthur has been here for week look good with all his hard working Well Tomy you & Emma will be out there the first money Arthur make as he is anxious to have you out here with him and you are all welcome here it nothing stylish or is it what I have been having but it spell home and we can have you good time untill something turn up Tomy money is very scarce here until bring it take all to live as it everything going out nothing coming in but all looks good & in short time I think Arthur will strike it lucky. Tomy all we can do in the mean time is wish hard - it to come you know I heard that a person wanted anything very bad and keep his mind on it would come true ...... in Arkansas that the place Arthur is stopping & has some good prospect there ...... small Oil town just starting it would ...... a good place for one of the girls to work as typist they pay good money. Tomy we expect oil in this town & may have chance to move to Arkansas or some other place that larger. Although it nice here the climate is good and I know you all will enjoy it hoping Arthur will have good luck so we can all be together soon

                                       i remain your

                                        Friend

                                        Anna

Marriage of James Bagnall and Susan Judge

17 year old Susan Judge married James Bagnall on the 15 Sept 1859 in Kilberry, County Kildare, Ireland. Susan was the daughter of Arthur G Judge. Griffiths Valuation* shows an Arthur G Judge as a tenant of The Duke of Leinster farming 165 acres in Russellstown in the parish of Kilberry.

Kilberry Church (Church of Ireland)

James Bagnall was the son of William Bagnall and lived in Rahugh, County Westmeath, Ireland. The Griffiths Valuation shows both a James and a William Bagnall renting land from Robert Smyth in Rahugh whilst other entries show William Bagnall as the lessor of land and property in the area.

Unfortunately I have no more information about James Bagnall, I assume he died in Ireland between 1868 and 1870 based on the date of his last child's birth and the remarriage of his widow.

*Griffiths Valuation was the first full scale valuation of property and ownership in Ireland and is an excellent 19^th century Irish genealogical resource. 

Letter from Arthur Bagnall to his half brother Thomas Higginson

Letter written by Arthur Bagnall in January 1921 to his half-brother Thomas Higginson. Arthur wrote the letter whilst staying with Anna Mack in Quanah, Texas, USA.  His half-brother was living in Sunderland, County Durham, England. Not very easy to read but I've made an attempt at transcribing it. Please let me know of any mistakes so they can be rectified.

TRANSCRIPTION

                                                                                                                    Jan 26--21

Dear Brother

You will wonder why I haven’t rote. I was dumbfounded to hear of mothers death. I had been looking forward to when I could make a visit. It has been so low for me this last couple of years and have been ...... in oil and development but had expected my interests to materialize before now the money has been so tight that oil drilling has almost been to a standstill. Business has commenced to …… and prospects are looking good I believe in the next month or 6 weeks I can realize some good  deals on my holding.  I expect some wells to come in as they are down to the oil and which will enable me to unload some of my stuff. And as soon as I can turn of this will send you enough money to bring both you and Emma out. I am at A’s in Quanah. I came 2 weeks ago, but expect to leave again this week for Arkansas

There is going to be quite a lot of money made there in the next couple of months so I will let you know beforehand when about the time, I can send for you.

A has got a 5 room house here so that you will be welcome to put up with her until we see further ahead. Which would to locate in Texas or Arkansas so don’t be uneasy I will send for you the first chance I can. We are having fine weather here sunshine almost every day A sends her regards and for you to keep the cheque she sent to mother A will write you this week sometime

With Love

AGB