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In 2022 I participated in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. I’ve decided to try again using the Themes for 2024.

The first theme is Family Lore. To help us get going, Amy says:

Many of us have heard stories from our grandparents about incredible feats our ancestors did or a famous person we’re related to. What’s a tale that has been passed down in your family? Did it end up being true or did it turn out to just be a good story?

Amy Johnson Crow, 2023

When it comes to family lore, my mind tends to default to the SANDERSON family.

The ‘received wisdom’ passed down the family has been that the SANDERSON clan heralded from Scotland where they were on the losing side in the Jacobite Rebellion and left Scotland to settle in England. So far, I’ve found nothing to support this story. I’ve been in contact with another researcher who believes the story to be just that – fiction. Another theory is that the name may have originated as a patronymic – but from where and when?

A story for which there is plenty of evidence is that of James “Treacle” SANDERSON (1837-1905) from Whitworth in Lancashire, a champion fell-runner in the 1800s. A monumental wall and information board have been erected at Cowm Reservoir, one of his training routes. I’ve seen the silver trophies (‘the cups’ as they are known in the family) once (some 35 years ago). It’s fascinating to be able to find multiple newspaper articles reporting on his racing triumphs, and descriptions of his physical appearance and weight. I’ve also seen the house he built above the village – and seen it not just as part of long-ago history but as the house visited by my grandmother and lived in by my dad’s cousin, both of whom I knew.

One brick wall I have yet to break down is the identity of my maternal great grand-father’s father. William Thomas (1869-1940) took his mother’s surname, TITTERINGTON, which is an unusual name. But what would it have been had his mother, Nancy TITTERINGTON (1847-1884), married his father (or left some clue to his identity)? William married Mary ALTHAM (1872-1955), an older sister to Evelyn ALTHAM (1895-1965) who was the mother of (Frederick) Basil ODDIE (1928-2015), who represents my final claim to fame.

This one is somewhat distant, perhaps, but was a surprise for Basil ODDIE (my maternal grandmother’s cousin) from Clitheroe, and presumably for his long-lost cousin, Bill Oddie (he of “The Goodies” fame) whose family lived in my home town of Rochdale at one point. Bill Oddie’s story was featured on “Who do you think you are?” some years ago, when “He also meets Basil Oddie, descended from a branch of the family who were dairy farmers that supplied the fast-growing towns of the northwest.”

I think it’s time to focus on the SANDERSON family, and unpick the many James that appear.