Hello, my name is Nicola Wetherall

I am contacting you in the hope, however vain, that you may be able to help me in tracing my father’s family – the WETHERALL’s.

Sadly with my paternal grandfathers death, and then the very sudden and unexpected death of my father in 2006 valuable anecdotal information or documents etc have been lost and I am desperate to know more as my paternal grandmothers side has been relatively easy to trace and id dearly love to be able to do likewise for the WETHERALL clan. Here is the little I do know for sure…

My father was DONALD SCOTT WETHERALL, born 28 April 1955, in Aynho, Northamptonshire. He died whilst away working, 15 March 2006 in Derbyshire. He married my mother, SUSAN BARBARA REEVE in July 1976 at Bicester Registry Office, Oxfordshire.

However, there is a strong Scottish/Irish connection; and it is this connection that confuses things and has led to my hitting a brick wall.

My paternal grandparents were MARK (Known as JOCK) WETHERALL; His birth certificate reveals he was born August 22, 1921 at 9 Hospital Street Glasgow, and MARGARET SCRYMGEOUR NEILSON; her birth certificate reveals she was born June 8, 1924 at 5 Anderson Street, Govan, Glasgow. They were married 25 January 1944 after banns at 26 Holmfauld Road, Glasgow. They later moved south of the border and settled in Aynho, Northamptonshire for work purposes and to raise their family (eventually of six children, Ian, Sandra, Andrew, Harriet, Donald and Neil).

MARK (Jock’s) birth certificate reveals that his parents were named as; MARK WETHERALL, a ship plater’s helper and a JANE MCAVOY or MARTIN who is stated as being the wife of JOHN MARTIN, a marine stoker to whom she married in Glasgow in April 1904. This is where my trail and research began to run aground. I could not trace the JANE MCAVOY/MARTIN, nor the MARK WETHERALL.

Thanks to another contact’s help he discovered the following –

‘I think I found Mark (Marcus) Wetherall. In Scotland in the 1891 census he is listed as Marcus Wetheral. His father is James Wetheral born in Ireland about 1856. His wife is Elizabeth Wetheral born Dalry Ayrshire about 1865. Marcus was born in England about 1885. I searched the British Birth index and found a Marcus Wetheral born march 1/4 of 1887 in Whitehaven index 10b 601 if you want to try and get his birth certificate. It will help clear things up a bit if it is him. It seems like James and Elizabeth divorced and both remarried as on the 1901 census James Wetherall aged 46 born CO Armagh Ireland and he was listed as a boot maker. On the 1891 census he was an Ironstone miner. His wife in 1901 is Ellen aged 47 years born Surgan CO Armagh Ireland. Perhaps after he divorced he went back home and married a childhood sweetheart. They had no children living with them. I found a James Wetheral age 7 yrs living with James Somerville as step-son. James Somerville was married to Elizabeth aged 34 yrs. born Dalry Ayrshire. I believe James Wetheral to be the brother of Marcus. It should also be noted that James Wetheral was living in Kilsyth Stirlingshire on the 1891 census and James junior was born there.’
These census records he also sent me seem to fit, but I have yet to discover any birth/marriage or death certificates to verify the above.

That said, I did discover that my great grandfather MARK/MARCUS had indeed followed his son south of the border at some stage and indeed remarried as I found his death certificate which confirmed; On this he is however Mark, not the Marcus of his birth... but anyways; he died 24. Nov 1965 aged 77. He died 14 Cheney Court, Middleton Cheney (Oxfordshire/Northants border).

This is all I know and I am desperate to know more; particularly since I’m undergoing cancer treatment at present and that invariably makes you think about who you are, where you come from, past, present and future etc. I understand our connection, if indeed we have one, may be very distant, but should your research or tree be further along than mine, you may have come across something that would help point me the right way or rule out an avenue I need not pursue. I would therefore be really grateful if you could help me in any way at all, information, contacts, links, photos, suggestions… anything at all really.

Should you be able to assist me in any way, please contact me directly at nmwetherall@yahoo.co.uk.

With sincere and grateful thanks for your time and efforts,
Best wishes to you and your family

Nicola

There is a William Wetherall at 96 Union St Lurgan Urban 1901 Census aged 66 and several in the records of Shankill Church of Ireland Christ the Reedeemer. The outlying DED's have a number of Wetheralls