George William LIGHTLEY

Born:   1853, Great Driffield, Yorkshire
 
Father: Thomas LIGHTLEY
Mother: Elizabeth Robson BAYES
 
Christened: 20th February 1853, Great Driffield, Yorkshire
 
Married: Eliza PINDER, 24th March 1877, Bridlington, Yorkshire
 
Children: Annie Elizabeth LIGHTLEY, born c. 1877
George Henry LIGHTLEY, born c. 1880
Mary Elizabeth LIGHTLEY, born 1882
Charles W. LIGHTLEY, born 1885
Alice Jane LIGHTLEY, born 1886
Esther May LIGHTLEY, born 1889
Thomas William LIGHTLEY, born 1892
John R. LIGHTLEY, born 1895
Francis J. LIGHTLEY, born c. 1897
William LIGHTLEY, born c. 1898
Eliza Emily LIGHTLEY, born 1899
 
Died: 3rd June 1908, Laurieton, New South Wales, Australia
 
George William Lightley, the eldest child of Thomas Lightley and Elizabeth Robson Bayes, was born in Great Driffield, Yorkshire, in 1853. A few years later the family moved to Bridlington where he later became a wheelwright. In 1877 he married Eliza Pinder, also from Bridlington. Their first child, Annie Elizabeth, died at the age of 7 months. Her death certificate gives the cause of death as bronchitis and diarrhoea, but according to descendants of George William she died after being given the wrong medicine for whooping cough. The doctor apparently smashed the bottle on the floor to destroy the evidence, and although the police were called they took no notice of the complaint. A further two children were born in Bridlington, but in 1884 the family emigrated to Australia. They settled on the coast of New South Wales, in a township called Laurieton, where George worked as a carriage wheelwright and he and Eliza had eight more children. George died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1908.

Sources:

  1. IGI.
  2. FreeBMD.
  3. Death certificate for Annie Elizabeth Lightley.
  4. 1881 census for Bridlington.
  5. Information from Elizabeth McElvenny and Johanne Champness.