Updates log

Note that all links to various pages have been removed - many of them have changed anyway since these updates were posted.

November 2022

Minor updates to lots of family trees.  Done over the past few months as more up to date information has arrived on Ancestry.co.uk - and this information triggered further investigations into branches I’d not spotted before.

This website now has a security certificate, so that you won’t get any odd “this site is not secure” messages.  It was secure already, because of the nature of this site (which is not commercial and does not require anyone to give personal or financial information).  You can even access the site using the web address https://www.doodson.co.uk

February 2021 - more about Arthur Thomas Doodson

A recent TV programme here in the UK reminded me that Arthur Thomas Doodson coined the term “Storm surge”, following work he did analysing a dreadful flood of central London in 1928.  This led me to search for more detail on the web, and as well as information about the flood I found a fascinating document about Arthur’s refusal to sign up for military service in World War 1 in 1916, as a conscientious objector, on religious grounds.  I’ve written this up in more detail on the main page about Arthur Thomas Doodson.

February 2021 - Links to other Doodson web sites

As the years go by more and more people with the Doodson surname start up businesses and create their own web sites, and I thought it might be useful to list some of them here.  They are all based in the UK:

• Doodson Accountancy (https://doodsonaccountancy.co.uk) - the name speaks for itself, but it’s an accountancy firm based in Chippenham, in Wiltshire

• Doodson Electrical (http://www.doodsonelectricalltd.co.uk) - a firm providing domestic, commercial and industrial electrical services, based in Halifax, Yorkshire

• Happy Steps (https://happysteps.co.uk) - expert counselling for step-family members, by Professor Lisa Doodson, author of several books on the topic.

• Pippa Doodson (https://www.pippadoodson.com) - a life coach and reiki practitioner, in Woking

• Nicky Doodson (https://nickydoodson.com) - a florist in Stroud in Gloucestershire

The Doodson Broking Group, which specialised in insurance for sports and entertainment is now part of a firm called Tysers (https://www.tysers.com/about-us/), and sadly doesn’t seem to be trading with the Doodson name anymore.

November 2020 - a mysterious “Joseph H. Doodson” uncovered

I can’t remember what I was looking for, presumably trying to find out more about someone called Joseph Doodson, but I came across a number of quotations attributed to one Joseph H Doodson, all in Turkish (I got it translated via Google Translate).  For example see here on Pinterest, or on this page. The quotation is relatively short and presumably people have found it inspirational:

“A quiet home, flowers we grow, inspiring books, a few beloved friends, devotion to truth, trust, hope and a heart full of love are worth more than all the pleasures of the world.”

Anyway I did a bit of digging and found that actually it’s not by anyone called Doodson at all, but was written by the Rev David Swing, in a short piece at the end of a book published in 1917 by Joseph H Dodson called “Your bird friends and how to win them” (which is mostly a sales pitch for the bird houses and sparrow catcher that Dodson sold in the USA, though Dodson was the President of the American Audubon Society, the foremost bird-related society in the USA).  

Quite how this little quote made it to Turkey, or how it was misattributed to either Joseph H Doodson (who didn’t exist) or Joseph H Dodson (who did, but didn’t write the inspirational quote) is anyone’s guess…

If anyone is interested, the complete book by Joseph Dodson is available on the internet here - the piece by Rev David Swing, who was a well known preacher in the Chicago area, is on page 32.

November 2020 - Glossop and Pilkington trees linked! 

The lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has had some benefits, including folk really digging into their family histories, and I’ve been doing just that.  The “main” Doodson family tree, by which I mean the one that I’m on and which started off this web site, I’ve called the Pilkington tree, because many of the people on it lived in an area between Radcliffe and Prestwich in Lancashire, which used to be called Pilkington (see here for an explanation) 

Anyway, I’ve been trying to link the Pilkington tree to other trees on the site for years, in particular the trees of people who moved to Glossop, who seemed to have been born in the same area as people on the Pilkington tree, in Pilkington itself, Prestwich or other villages in the Pilkington area..

I’ve been using detailed records of marriages and births, which often give additional information that is unavailable elsewhere, such as the name of someone’s father and their occupation and where they live.  And I’m pleased to have been able to link Pilkington to three of the four Glossop trees, and (obviously) link those three Glossop trees together.

Needless to say this would, if I combined the three Glossop trees with the Pilkington tree, make a huge single tree, so I’ve opted to amend the Glossop trees so they are linked to show the relationships, but to keep the diagram separate.  The Pilkington tree has been extended, and is annotated with a pointer to the Glossop trees.

And while I was doing all this, I discovered that the Doodsons at the head of the Pilkington tree have been wrong all these years!  I discovered an alternative group of Doodsons who are the true forebears, though this does leave a group of Doodsons from the late 1700s who sit there on their own, yet to be linked to other family trees.  But lots of progress, see the Pilkington and Glossop trees.

March 2020

Updates to several family trees.  I decided to dig back into a few trees I’ve not looked at for a while, and because new historical documents have been made available online I’ve been able to extend/connect/clarify these trees: Pilkington, Unlinked in Bury from 1911 census, Unlinked in Oldham from 1911 census and a couple of teeny-tiny changes to the Doodson in the USA tree.  

This research has emphasised to me the importance of tracking down detailed marriage records, as these will show the father’s name and occupation as well as witnesses, all of which help tie things together or confirm relationships, or in some cases reveal errors or additional avenues of research.  Not all these records help, mind you.  I found a couple where the surname of the father of the bride or groom was different - this raises interesting questions but might lead to a dead end if the father and mother did not marry.

March 2020

20 years!  Yes, it’s 20 years since the very first Doodson.co.uk web site.

I’ve changed the menus at the left, having discovered that quite a few smartphone and tablet browsers didn’t render the sub-menus correctly. All the rest of the content of the site is the same.

My dad found a mysterious South African TV show on the Internet called “Doodsondes” and inevitably wondered whether this was something to do with our surname.  It turns out that no, it isn’t anything to do with the Doodson surname, as it’s the Afrikaans for “deadly sins”: dood means deadly, and sondes means sins.  As in “Die Sewe Doodsondes”, meaning the Seven Deadly Sins.  So now you know!  I doubt very much that the English surname is derived from the Afrikaans for deadly sins … but hey, you never know!

September 2019 - Some minor updates to the main Australia family tree (the one headed by Robert and Ann Doodson), with additional information from Jennifer Wall.  Also a splendid essay written by Jennifer about Edward (known as George) Doodson (1825-84).

REQUEST - still trying to track down the diary of Robert Doodson: I came across an extract from a book on Google called the "Schoolmasters Notebook" (use this link to view it) in which Robert and Ann Doodson record their perilous journey from England to Australia in 1840/41. This is truly fascinating reading, giving contemporary insights that are rare. This document refers to a diary that Robert wrote, which was passed down to his great grandson, also called Robert, living in Sydney at the time the book was published (1957). We think that would have been either Robert Doodson (b.1887, d.1978) or Robert Doodson (b.1890 d.1968) Does anyone have this diary? It would be fantastic to be able to track this down and read some of the entries. If anyone has this diary could you please contact us? THANK YOU!

June 2019 - The BBC broadcast an item about preparations for the D-Day landings 75 years ago on their main news broadcasts on Tuesday 4th June, including a short section about tide forecasts which were led by Arthur Doodson.  I’ve included a video of this item for everyone to see.  This sequence is no longer available in BBC iPlayer.  I’ve also added videos broadcast by the BBC many years ago, also about Arthur, from “Local Heroes” (1998) and “Coast” (2012).

New: search the site - a new feature in Sparkle, the software used to create and maintain the site - see at top right of page.

March 2019 - new Blog added to the site!  This is mainly for non-Doodson related genealogy articles or musings.  Take a look - click here.

November 2018 - updated design site-wide, using new Mac software called Sparkle.  Minor edits to many pages to correct long-standing typos!

October 2018 - updated the Genealogy Tips pages to reflect new sources being available and new tips that I've come to find useful in trickier parts of my research.

July 2018 - a new family tree, "Heywood", focusing on a branch of the Doodsons from Bury to move to Heywood and Walmersley by the late 1980s, and linking to one of the USA trees.

July 2018 - More updates relating to Doodsons who served in WW1 - some fascinating photos and newspaper report of the funeral of BSM Albert Doodson in Colne in 1918 and a memorial autograph book entry by Ernest Doodson on discharge in 1919. Changed the graphical theme of the site. Just for a change. If it all looks a bit weird that's because of this redesign.

May 2018 - Howdy y'all! Yes, after several years gestation we've finally added a page about Doodson families in the United States of America! Complete with a PDF showing the various families that have been significant in the USA since the mid-1800s, as well as quite a few that we've not been able to track back to the UK at all. If any Doodson in the USA has more information please contact us!

April 2018 - Yes, we're still here! Update on the destiny of Peter Doodson who was transported to Tasmania in 1843 on the "brief history of Doodsons" page. Moved Australia page so it shows on the menu at left. More updates to the Glossop Tree 2. Added some photos from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra to the Doodsons in WW1 page (thanks Lee!). Lots more changes to come as I'm working on Doodsons that went to the United States of America. Watch this space (and if you are a Doodson living in the USA do contact me).

September 2017 - more updates, this time to the Glossop trees. I'm afraid the PDF is rather wide, and I don't think there's anything that can be done to make it easier to read.The fact is that the top tree on that diagram has expanded width-wise as more information has become available. Partly this is the fault of our Victoria ancestors having very large families!!

September 2017 - Lots of revisions to several family trees relating to Doodson families that originated in Liverpool, some of whom ended up in Shropshire (Coalbrookdale, specifically). Following some detailed research using Liverpool parish records as well as the usual formal Civil Registers of births, marriages and deaths, the virtual tree has mushroomed but also absorbed umpteen previously separate smaller trees. Anyway, plenty of changes here, and many more Doodsons recorded!

August 2017 - New Doodson family tree, for Harry Werneth Doodson and his descendants. Many thanks to one of his descendants, Lynne Stephenson, in the USA. Harry was not born a Doodson, but adopted by a John Doodson and his wife Mary, after having been found abandoned on Werneth Railway Station, Oldham, Lancashire. After unsuccessful efforts to trace Harry's real parents he was adopted by John and Mary and baptised Harry Werneth Doodson. The name Werneth (in recognition of where he was found) was passed on as a middle name to many of his descendants, including those who emigrated to the United States of America. As the core of this tree was previously on the one showing unlinked people from the 1911 census in Oldham, that tree has also been changed.

May 2017 - lots of changes to two trees - Devon and Cornwall (specifically the "Ernest Doodson goes to Cornwall" tree) and the various Doodsons in Australia tree. Many thanks to Doug Doodson in Australia and Lyn Foster in England who, thanks to their information and getting a copy of a marriage certificate, now have discovered that they are 2nd cousins that they never knew about! Yes, one of the trees in Australia has been definitively linked to the "Ernest Doodson goes to Cornwall" tree! And as a consequence there are lots of changes to these tree documents.

March 2017 - Yes we're still here! Just a quiet period during which various very minor changes were made but no new material was added. Now: a combination of two previously separate trees (Bolton 1911 and Ashton 1911) to create new Owd Bummy tree. Many thanks to Liz Henry in San Francisco for help with this and more information about various members of the tree!

July 2016 - minor changes to Australia trees, additional photos of gravestones from Rookwood Cemetery in Sydney, Australia, minor update to explanation of Peter Doodson's transportation to Tasmania in 1843.

June 2016 - restructuring of the site to simplify the menus and remove out of date pages/text. Minor changes to main Australia family tree.

May 2016 - Various changes to the Pilkington tree - added some missing birth, marriages and death dates. More photos added to the Photos and pictures pages - two coloured versions of original black and white photos. The first on the Photos 2 page is of Emily Doodson (b.1869) who married Joseph Moulsdale - in this photo she's shown at a Women's Institute meeting. She was head of this branch of the WI, and flower show judge. (The original photo was from Nathan Head, Emily's great-great-grandson, and recently very nicely colorised by Paul Doodson). The second photo is on the Photos 1 page, and is a replacement of a black and white photo of my aunt Noreen Doodson as a child with her mother Annie. Inspired by Paul's amazing recolourisation efforts I had a go myself at this one.

March 2016 - Increased the size of the text on most pages to make them easier to read on larger monitors. Added a new  Photos and pictures page and moved photos and pictures pages so they were all together and easier to find. Added some great photos to an additional Photo album page called " … more Photos " All these Doodsons are on the Thelwall, Lydiate and Denton tree.  Many thanks to Paul Doodson for these, and for photos of two watches made by Doodsons on the  Memorabilia page.  Various minor updates to the  Thelwall, Lydiate and Denton tree . After a few days of misbehaviour in early March, the web site is now back up and running…  We're still here! 

January 2016 - Substantial updates to the  Australia family trees , mostly on the descendants of Robert and Ann, but also to the miscellaneous other Doodsons, many of whom have now been traced to other family trees.  The  Pilkington tree has also been updated to reflect a confirmed link to Doodsons in Australia.  Again, many thanks to Lee Hoinville in NSW, Australia, for being a dedicated hunter of evidence down under, even visiting graves of departed Doodsons in Sydney.  We're still trying to track down the diary of Robert Doodson who was a key immigrant to Australia in 1840.  If anyone has it can they contact us via the link at lower left. Updates to the format of the  Photo Album to add comments on a couple of the items. New mini-photo album for  gravestones in Australia.

 

December 2015 - New Memorabilia page Lots more photos of Doodsons added to the  Photo album 

November 2015 - Photo album - photos of various Doodsons.  Tidied up the structure of the pages and resources on the site. While the site itself is fully updated, this might mean that some links to pages and resources from elsewhere (e.g. from Google or any browser Favourites anyone might have set) might not work any more. Sorry for this, but the site needed a good tidy-up!

October 2015 - Lots, and lots of edits to the main  Australia family tree (descendants of Robert and Ann) , with many thanks to Lee Hoinville in Dondingalong, near Kempsey, NSW, Australia, who is descended from Charlotte Isabelle (b.1906).  Also a  new set of family trees and untracked Doodsons in Australia - this captures many other Doodsons in Australia, some of whom have been tied to other Doodson family trees from the UK, others are either from the UK (but not yet tied to other trees) or have no apparent links to any other Doodson.  More work to do here, I think.

June 2015 - Added further information about Frederick Doodson and his brothers who served in the Great War. Minor updates to the Australia family tree Slight redesign and restructuring of the site, correcting some out of date links.

November 2014 - Updated details on the Glossop family tree - thanks to Spencer Doodson for more information

March 2014 - New page about Doodsons serving in the Great War.

January 2014 - Lots of updates this month - lots of people contacted us with new clues and evidence.  Minor update to the Thelwall, Lydiate and Denton tree, following firm evidence that John (b.1799) is definitely the son of Peter and Mary and information about some key gravestones in Appleton. Thanks to Paul Doodson.   

Significant update to Devon and Cornwall tree featuring Albert Doodson - new evidence allowed the Prestwich tree from the unmatched trees from 1911 census to be moved here. Thanks to Michele Cavannah.     Update to Clifton tree, with more information about Leonard (b.1891) and other descendants of Peter Doodson and Martha (neé Fish). Thanks to Alan Wallwork.  

Significant update to the Pilkington tree: one of the unlinked trees from the 1911 census (featuring Albert Doodson b.1880) now incorporated. Thanks to Tracey Strellis and her sisters. Sadly this makes the Pilkington tree very large indeed.  Updates to Reuben tree after finding details of Thomas (b.1835) marriage in 1861 in Glasgow.  Updated the list of people who have contacted us about the site - lots of very welcome contacts in January 2014! It's always great to hear from fellow Doodsons or people who have connections to the family name. Drop us a line! (see link at left

November 2013 - Minor updates to the Coalbrookdale and Thelwall family trees, with additional information from Fleur England and Bob Doodson respectively. Thanks Fleur and Bob!

September 2013 - Minor updates to the details of a couple of the people on the 1911 census that I couldn't trace before 1911. Rose and George Doodson emigrated to Australia in 1913. Thanks to Andrew Pinder who contacted me about these two people and encouraged me to do a bit more digging.

July 2013 - Who is the mystery "A. Doodson" artist? A plea! A while ago we posted some pictures of paintings done by someone who signed them "A. Doodson" (see this page). We've been contacted by someone else who has a painting that looks like it's by the same artist. Can anyone shed any light on who this mysterious "A. Doodson" might have been? Two of the paintings were of views the Lake District - maybe the artist lived there, or maybe they just liked taking their holidays there. Anyway, if anyone knows who the artist really was, please let us know - use the "Click here to e-mail us" link at the left.

April 2013 - New information received explaining how Doodson Avenue in Australia got its name - see Australia page. Various edits to Australia page to make order more sensible for people trying to find ancestors "down under". Added new "Doodson places" page. Minor updates to the Toxteth Park tree (thanks to Bruce McCormack for additional information)

December 2012 - Minor updates to Grappenhall tree (thanks to Eddie Doodson for the additional information)

July 2012 - Minor updates to Grappenhall and Glossop trees

March 2012 - New family trees - research into Doodsons in Australia - see new page. Minor updates to Thelwall, Lydiate and Denton tree from details in the will of Elizabeth Doodson (d.1907). Minor updates to Egerton tree.

February 2012 - Added more information about the descendants of Percy Doodson (b1898) and Ellen Thompson on the Thelwall, Lydiate and Denton tree.

November 2011 - Tidying up of the structure of the site and file names. Sadly this has changed lots of the original links within the sites, so you may have to go via the menu on the left to find what you want rather than using previously saved links. Sorry about this.

August 2011 - Lots of minor changes to most of the family trees, capturing more information from the 1911 England and Wales census.  New trees for all other Doodsons listed in the 1911 census - ensuring every Doodson from that census is listed on this site! New Updates Log page - earlier updates now listed separately.

July 2011 - Lots of added information on the Pilkington family tree. New page about Peter Doodson, the designer of the familiar and ubiquitous CD 'jewel box' case.

June 2011 - New family trees: Doodsons in Devon and Cornwall, Clifton and Swinton, and Reuben Doodson. If you're a Doodson and were born or married in Devon or Cornwall, chances are you're related to the Devon and Cornwall trees. The largest tree on that focuses on Ernest Doodson, who married a Cornish girl in 1906, when he was serving in the Royal Navy. Updates to Coalbrookdale and Handforth family trees

May 2011 - Many relatively small changes and additions to most of the family trees, reflecting previously missing information about migrations of Doodsons to the USA and Canada and more detail about baptisms and marriages. Quite a lot of interesting material gleaned from new records on FindMyPast from new Manchester records (registers from schools, workhouses and prisons), from Cheshire parish records and the Ellis Island immigration records (some of which was tallied back to FindMyPast passenger lists). I also tried to link all other Doodsons listed in the 1841 census who weren't already on a family tree on the site - not very successfully...

May 2011 - New family tree linked by the first name Egerton. If you've got an ancestor called Doodson with a first or middle name Egerton, chances are you're related to this lot! Updates to Kearsley and Australia family tree. Various changes to the explanation of the family trees, including explanation of why I've used Descendent rather than Pedigree charts.

April 2011 - Massive updates to Glossop family tree.  Update to Genealogy tips with how to use Births, Deaths and Marriages records to trace people in the 20th century

Update to Handforth family tree. Massive revision of the Grappenhall family tree, complete with explanatory essay. Trees now show new branches in Barrow and Denton

March 2011 - Lots of new information added to several family trees following new research using 1911 census and Findmypast.co.uk. Updates to "Pilkington", "Liverpool" and what was called the "Shropshire" tree (now separated out as Coalbrookdale branch).

February 2011 - Added page showing paintings by an unidentified "A. Doodson". Let us know if you know who painted them!

January 2011 - Significant additions to the "Liverpool and Shropshire" tree [now the Liverpool and Coalbrookdale trees - see above], following information received from Catherine Spratt.