Wordless Wednesday - St. Ignatius RC Church, Preston England

One of the churches that my ancestors were members of in Preston Lancashire England.

Special thanks to Tony Worall who gave permission to use this photo. You can see Tony's great shots of Preston (and many other areas) on his flikr site.

Margaret McCann Bellew's Envelope Post 1

Having found a new cousin as a direct result of info posted here and at a message board, I think it's necessary to share items that belonged to my Great Grandmother Margaret McCann Bellew. I have an envelope that was given to me by my Grandmother which contained many items of this family's past. Documents, memorial cards, news clippings and a prayer book that contains items of interest as well.

Margaret was born Feb 6, 1896 in Preston, Lancashire, England. She was the daughter of Hugh McCann and Alice Ann Smith. Margaret married John Bellew, the son of Patrick Bellew and Elizabeth Hall at the St. Ignatius Church in Preston on July 1, 1915. For the first item from Grandma's Envelope I want to share this church issued marriage certificate. You'll note it's in latin.


The witnesses listed are Lawrence Hall (John's Grandfather on his mother's side) and Alice Ann McCann - Margaret's sister - who apparently liked to attend weddings but never had one of her own.

In the envelope we found a second church issued marriage certificate for this couple, this time in English and printed later (August 19, 1923). Possibly they needed an updated certificate in preparation of their move to the US. John traveled a few years before Margaret, his US address is scribbled in the lower right corner of this document.

Update your Message Board Posts - It really does pay off!

I must say that I'm VERY excited! Tonight I was contacted by my 2nd cousin 1x removed. She is related to me through the McCann family. I have been reaching out for some time on message boards and forums, trying to find a McCann family member in the area of Preston England. Tonight I finally made that connection!

Here's my Great Grandmother
Margaret McCann Bellew
b. Feb 1896 in Preston, England
d. Dec 1968 in Maryland, USA

Margaret would be my new found cousin's Grand Aunt. This photo of Margaret was taken in Jun 1959. I have a few things that belonged to Margaret and will begin a short series of posts about Margaret's Prayer Book and it's contents in the next few days. Tonight I wanted to share this photo - the only one we have.

To all of you researchers - Go back and update those posts on the forums and message boards! John Neill mentioned this a couple weeks ago on his Genealogy Tip of the Day blog (see post here), it's very important to keep those posts current - how many times have you responded to a post when you realized that it was 2 years old or more? With email addresses often changing, people are much more likely to reply to a post that is more recent.

Cemetery Saturday (a bit late) - Frances Bellew

Who arranged burial of Frances Bellew? I may never know...

Frances Bellew was the daughter of Patrick and Elizabeth Hall Bellew. She was born in Preston, Lancashire, England in 1894, and died in Preston in 1951. Frances was alone when she died - well, at least she had no family remaining in the area. Her siblings had all died or gone to America and both of her parents had already passed away.

So, who arranged for her burial? This question came up when I was trying to determine who John Bellew (see the previous two posts about him) was left with when his Mother left the country. My thoughts turned to Frances and the possibility that maybe John was with her - his Aunt on his father's side. I had a photo of her headstone that a very friendly volunteer sent to me about 8 years ago. When I pulled out the records it dawned on me - her headstone reads ".. a dear friend" A dear friend? She was never married, all family gone... who was the friend that put this stone up for her? I am attempting to contact the office at the cemetery where she's buried again, hoping that maybe they could tell me who purchased her headstone or arranged for it to be erected. Notice her stone among the others, it's not much but probably all her friend (or friends) could do for her - and for that I am very thankful.

This family plot was purchased by Frances' father Patrick. He purchased it when Frances' brother William died in 1910. The other family members buried there are beneath Frances.
In 1910, her brother William died at the agae of 19
In 1923, her father Patrick Bellew died at the age of 59
In 1927, her mother Elizabeth Hall Bellew died at the age of 63

Frances died at the age of 56 - apparently she was a dear friend who was truly missed. I hope I can find out by whom.

My heart just broke

I watched the Ellis Island special last evening... and cried my eyes out during most of it. The hospital did wonderful things for some, but others were treated so unfairly and it brought to mind a story of my family and the heartache that a mother must've felt.

I've written before about my Grandfather's brother John, but after hearing the stories last evening and getting a better understanding of what these families had to go through. I feel more connected to them now than ever before, and it's breaking my heart.

My Great Grandfather John Bellew and my Grandfather William Bellew came to the US in 1923, joining other family members who were already in the States. Three years later, my Great Grandmother Margaret (McCann) Bellew and their other two sons Hugh and John, planned to join him. All the names are on the passenger list - except one is crossed out. Family story has it that John was "too sick to travel" I am now so curious about this I can hardly stand it. Did they know what awaited them if they arrived with a sick child? From what I understand, they didn't implement the departing inspections until 1929, so I don't believe that it was the result of an outbound "health inspection" that kept him from boarding that boat. Could it have been fear? Fear of being seperated from him in a strange country upon arrival? What would make a Mother leave her youngest child behind?

Now I'm feverishly trying to determine who he was left with. No one knows this information on this side of the pond. I'm reaching out to all McCann family members in the area of Preston Lancashire. Margaret only had sisters and I'm also searching for their marriages so that I can reach out to those surnames as well. I'm hopeful that someone ANYONE will recall or know the story of the boy who stayed behind while his entire family left for America.





John Bellew was born in 1919 in Preston Lancashire England and died in 1940 in WWII at Dunkirk... see info on his Military Service at a previous post here. You can read about the Christmas cards he sent to his parents at another post here. He had his First Holy Communion at the Martyr's Church in Preston England that's all I know about him. Would someone please help me find more?