Cheryl's arranged to meet historian dr. dan Jackson at the North Shields registry
office to find out more about John and Caroline if you look out this window
here you get a really good sense of the geography of North Shields that's
amazing I got a copy of a photograph of my
great-great great-great grandparents from Chester John wood and caroling and
he was a mariner he was a mariner yeah Mariners were known to be really snappy
dressers that's what he said he looks amazing I had a lot of swagger about
them yeah that's what they were known for and then I got this census from 1851
mm-hmm so they're living it Gibson's Bank which is just there can you see
where the greenery is no way that was the bank itself and but they lived on
these stairs because the land as you can see it's quite a steep Bank so you had
these precarious houses kind of clinging to their to the riverbank where all
these people lived on top of one another Wow so this was known as the law town
and that's where the sort of working-class people lived this was the
place where all the sort of spit and sawdust pubs would have been because you
can imagine all these sailors coming into the time yeah of course and the
sort of things that sailors like to spend the money on was all catered for
down on the Lord it was a sort of place you had to have your wits about you it
was not to be quite a violent place at times and up on the high ground was
called the high town and that's where the Pasha houses were where the big
houses where dr. a square and Northumberland Square and places like
that so there's a very obvious difference between the difference yeah
class divided in the town so they would have lived in like a small house here
yeah there's a report from the time that says people in Gibson stairs were living
in about four to a room there's all sorts of industries there's everything
you can think of shipbuilding sail making mast making uncas myths you've
got robberies where women used to work so it was incredibly busy when John and
Caroline lived North Shields was a thriving port the
town's location at the mouth of the River Tyne meant easy access to the
Northeast's coal fields which were fueling Britain's industrial revolution
coal was loaded onto ships and sent down the coast to London and also as far
afield as the Baltic and North America
sometimes a mineral wait see that could be away for two or three years three
years yeah depending where they were going so I guess the woman then had to
be quite confident tough independent if their men are always say four to three
years and they're living in an environment like that do you have to be
a tough woman absolutely and the women of North CIO's are known to look out for
each other as well and to support each other a useful place to go next would be
to find out about his career at sea Cheryl's meeting maritime historian dr.
Helen doe at the nearby old lowlights musi so so far what I do know is that he
had an apprenticeship ticket and that he lived on the bank there in North Shields
your ancestor John finished his apprenticeship and he then became a
second mate which is actually quite a good step up long ships and he's working
in the coal trade well this is the first document I've got for you okay which
tells you something about him so this is report of character he in 51 John
Woodley very good oh wow so on this page he's the only one that has a very good
for his conduct yes indeed James Lane it's his brother James Lane was seven
years younger than Cheryl's four-times-great-grandfather John and
had followed in his big brother's footsteps to see
and what is that sees badly behaved yes and it isn't specify maybe was drinking
perhaps he was drunk James Lane called me a bloody snot yeah of what is it and
struck me and struck me in the face wow this is the mate and he's saying he'd
struck me in the face for which I put him in irons then the next day you've
got James Lane again but this time he's taken before the master found guilty and
he's fined for the events it's a big contrast to his brother no look at this
certificate he was a moss he became a master it was he then like second or
next to the captain he is the captain that's incredible John became a master
mariner in 1855 at the age of 29
by this time the Merchant Service had introduced tough exams to ensure only
the most qualified men became masters John would have needed to be able to
read and write as well as navigate by the stars 114 church we North Shields
yeah that address shows that he's really come a long way
Church way is up their high town Wow Wow he's now living in a more salubrious
area I feel really really proud of him actually Stern society should be yes got
a better life for his wife and his children and what she certainly now got
status as well really mm-hmm can we go back to your photograph a
moment yeah absolutely have a look at that so I want a slightly different
light by now he was already a master it's quite possible that that was taken
to celebrate this very big step Wow and no wonder they're looking so proud yeah
this is a photograph showing status and that's probably why it was taken makes
complete sense now and the first ship that he became master of it was called
La Belle and as as Captain as the master of a ship
he's in charge of selecting the crew and this is the crew that he had no chains
on Wales thank God James Lane oh he's got his brother oh dear
maybe behaved to his brother James has been in trouble honed the spirit of the
deep and you can see it shows here there's the last ship he was on was the
spirit of the deed say obviously hasn't had any work in between I'm actually not
surprised that he recruited JM he's brother James why is that
it's just typical like Geordi mentality to always keep your family involved I
mean I'm sure any other most wouldn't have wanted James aboard given his
previous back yeah for no I guess I I reckon that John could have kept James
in check and you would have liked to give him another opportunity and chance
to earn some money I suppose and that's very typical still now of the jory
mentality
you