zippy483

You did indeed add a link Paul thanks very much for that I must have missed it for some reason. Also thanks to Stewey for the links and to everyone else who took the time to reply. Zippy483

Hi thanks for the replies I will attempt to conatct Lorna at Stoke Bruerne as soon as I know where it is As for names and boat numbers, I have a reference for the family being at Whitby Ellesmere port (I am making the assumption that that would be the basin where the museum is now) in 1901 on a boat numbered 534 and named Eva name of the family is Bannister working for the Shropshire Union Company. Later references are to a boat named Boscomore at Little Mitton now this one is a little more obscure (to me) but worth chasing. Also There are stories of an Aunt burning her birth certificate because she was allegedly born at a place called S*1thouse Locks does any body know the location of these possibly apocrophal locks. It seems that the younger two girls of the family where embarrassed of their canal background whereas my grandmother stopped short of being proud but certainly wasn't embarassed maybe that is because she was brought up on the barge for a little while and the other two moved on with the rest of the family when only small babies. Thanks for your help once again Zippy483

Hi all I am new to the forum having found it while researching my family history, it seems I have spent my whole life living within a couple of hundred yards of a canal and know very little other than what I learnt at school about them. I have always know that my great grandparent were canal people, born in wolverhampton and working for the Shropshire union canal compay (i assume that this is the Shropshire union Railway and Canal Co), I was wondering whether anybody knew whether the archives for the shropshire union company still exist and whether I could trace boat numbers and names that I have recently discovered that my family lived aboard and subsequently employee records. any help would be very much appreciated. just for the record have lived on the banks of the rochdale canal for most of my life apart from the time I spent in the Army where I spent the majority of that time living only a roads width form the Dortmund Ems canal (now those are big barges). Zippy483