Hi All

Happy New Year!

I may be reopening a can of worms from June 2009.

But I have just come accross part of a letter written around 1904-1906 probably by Richard Cooil to his brother James in Wigan. This would have been written about the time of their cousins Emily Ann Cannell's (Balladoole) marriage to Daniel Christian (1860).

It states that "Daniels father (William 1821) was illegitimate because Daniels grandfather lived with a Mrs Corlett whose husband disappeared supposes to have been sunken in a bog along with his horse. And Daniel's father & several other children were born before Daniel's grandfather married her. The story goes that the children were at the wedding under their cloaks like chickens under a hens wings."

It goes on to say that "in looking the records Thos found that Daniels grandfather (William 1777) had settled the place (Ballakey) on Daniel's father by a deed of settlement in 1848". Unfortunately the rest of the letter is missing.

Thos S Cooil's name appears on William Christian's 1904 Will. He is my g uncle & a lawyer.

I don't know if this helps anyone.

Karen