HANNAH HURD AND ROBERT MYERS


            It was April 2002 when Sharyll went on line and after typing Martha Hurd’s name into the search space, up came an e-mail of a person in England looking for the family of John Hurd and Martha Stockel Hurd!  She wrote an e-mail to the interested party and what has followed has been the frosting on the cake!

Philip Myers is a descendant of Hannah Hurd.  Yes!  John Hurd’s older sister who we have all wondered about!  Philip told us that Hannah married Robert Myers on 5 Nov 1844.  They lived in the same village of Middleton.  It was the Myers family who owned or ran a broom making business that John and his sons might have been working for in 1871.  Philip said that it was hard to find the marriage of Hannah because the Vicar had spelled her name as Hannah Ord. 

Hannah and Robert had 7 children that I have sourced with the Middleton Parish record.  The original family group sheet on the ancestral file has 10 children.  Their 2nd son, Robert married Elizabeth Pearson in 1875.  She had a young son at the time and she and Robert went on to have 8 more children.  Their son Frank Myers is Philip’s grandfather.  Frank married Harriet Maud Embleton in 1907.  Their 2nd son, Enos Myers, is the father of Philip Myers! 

Apparently, the departure of John and Martha to America left a large wound in the heart of the family.  Philip wrote this very telling story of something his father told him as a small boy about 7.  They were living on the outskirts of Middlesbrough, Yorkshire where he was born.  One day they went to the garden gate and cycling up the road were 2 men in long coats.  His father told him that he must never have anything to do with those men because they were Mormons who took people to America.  Enos Myers must have heard the family story of his great grandmother’s brother, John, who had gone to America with the Mormons and was never heard of again. 

            Philip is glad that he didn’t heed that bit of fatherly advice about the Mormons.  He and his wife, Valerie, joined the church in 1967 and they have been actively involved since that time.  The Myers became interested in finding out more of the Hurds in America after Philip stumbled upon the fact that John Hurd had died in Morgan, Utah.  They later discovered the family on the Mormon Immigration Index and then began to try to make contact with the family here.  How glad we are to have found each other!!

           But that’s not all, imagine our surprise and delight to find out that cousin, Presley Chalfant, served his mission in South England where the Myers live and he worked with their branch while Philip was the Branch President!  He served there several months and had no clue that President Myers and he were Hurd cousins!

Here’s the story as far as the research unfolds.  Thomas Myers married Hannah Spencley of Pickering on 20 Aug 1814.  It was in Pickering that they raised 4 sons and a daughter.  Around 1840 they moved to Middleton.  Thomas was a cartman in 1841 and by 1851 he owned a broom making business with 3 employees.   He continued in this line of work until his death in 1863.  Three of his sons settled in Middleton during that same time and raised families there.  They were Thomas, Robert and Martin Myers.  It appears that they all worked with their dad at one time or another making brooms.  In researching the Myers family it is rather confusing because of the popularity of the names Hannah, William, Thomas, Robert and John making it a challenge to sort out! 

It might be that John Hurd decided to settle in Middleton after his marriage to Martha in 1853 to be close to his sister and her family. Their father, Thomas Hurd had moved to Lancashire with his second wife and family sometime in the mid 1840’s and he died just a few weeks after John’s marriage.  Surely the Myers and Hurd cousins had some dealings and association with one another growing up in Middleton.  Both families were working in the beesom business in 1871 before John and Martha moved to Lancashire.  What became of Robert, Hannah and their family?  We know that Hannah died in 1874 after the Hurds had moved away.  I also suspect that Robert died in 1875, a fact that we have yet to source for certain without sending for the certificate of death.

William (oldest son) and his wife Hannah Humble Myers stayed in Middleton where he sold poultry in 1881.  His occupation was a huckster hawk in the ’91 and 1901 census, which is a street vendor of some sort.  Hannah had family in the area too.  In 1901 they were living in nearby Wrelton. 

    Sarah their first daughter has a death date of 31 Oct 1874 on the IGI Family Search. I believe their 2nd daughter; Lucy married George Humble in 1876.  I also believe he is a brother to Hannah Humble Myers.  George was a cattleman and farmer.  They lived in Norton Civil Parish in East Riding by 1901.  This isn’t far from where John and Martha Hurd were married.  Prior to that they were in the Pickering area.  Lucy and George raised a large family.  Lucy’s brother John was visiting them in 1881 with his young son.  [See notes for John and Sarah on the family group record for other possibilities.]

It is interesting too that Robert (2nd son) and his two youngest brothers, Thomas and Francis were all working in the iron stone mines near Skelton (about 30 miles north of Middleton).  Thomas and Francis were living with Robert’s family and still single.  Both brothers were machine men and Robert was a platelayer. 

I think Thomas married Hannah Jackson and they settled in Rosedale East.  He was still working in the mines as a deputy.  We need to get the marriage certificate to be sure if this is the right Thomas.  I think Francis married Lillie Cullen but again we need to send for documentation to be certain.. 

I wonder what influenced Robert and Elizabeth to move up north to work in the iron stone mines?  I believe that Uncles, Thomas and Martin Myers had passed away and very possibly his father too.  It may have been that they wanted a change or there was better income working in the mines and more opportunity for the boys to find work.

Philip tells us that his great grandfather, Robert, lived on Wharton Street in North Skelton, Yorkshire.  By 1901 Robert was working as a barber and a postman.  Only 2 kids were at home.  Some were married and some were working out.  The later was the case for Philip’s grandpa, Frank who was 17 and working as a horseman on a farm in Nunthorpe several miles away.

Frank married Harriet Maud Embleton in 1907.  They lived on William Street just one street away from his folks. The cottages were terraced and all built for the workers in the iron stone mines in the area. Frank worked at the mine for 40 years but not as a miner.  His job was to look after the pit ponies and keep them healthy so they could pull the loads for the miners. The mine was about 500 feet down to the shaft bottom. The mine is no longer in operation but the country between Scarborough and Middlesbrough has always been rich in minerals.  Philip’s Grandpa Frank took after the Hurd men.  He was only 4’10” tall.   His Grandma died when Philip was only 4 years old.     

Philip’s parents, Enos and Charlotte Myers were married 4 Nov 1933.  They settled in Middlesbrough.  Philip remembers visiting his grandparents as a small boy.  They only had oil lamps.  Electricity had not been provided in the company housing in the 1940’s even though it had been available in the 1920’s in the rest of England.   He describes the homes as having 2 bedrooms up and 2 rooms down with a small out house.  The privy was located at the end of the small back yard. 

  Enos worked at an Iron Stone Mine in Skinningrove about 4 miles from his home until he got married.  Then he worked at Steel Works doing various jobs over the years. He had a talent for music.  He could play anything you could blow and also the organ and piano even though he never had a lesson.  They had two children, a daughter Tessa, who passed away in 1991 and Philip. 

 

  

 

At # 25 William Street in North Skelton is where Frank and Harriet Myers lived.  In the photo it is the 5th house on the right. At the top of the street is where Frank used to go down into the mine to work and care for the pit ponies.      

 

 

 

 

 

           In 1966 Philip’s father died from heart problems.  Just a few weeks later his grandfather passed away too.  The following year two elders were tracting in their neighborhood.  Philip was at work but Valerie had a nice visit with them and accepted the Book of Mormon they offered her.  They made a return appointment for the following Tuesday.  Philip was not too pleased when Valerie explained the events of the day but agreed to the meeting.  They decided to take the lessons and committed to be baptized but then they were filled with doubts.  After heartfelt prayer they knew that it was the right thing for them to do and they were both baptized on 5 May 1967. 

This decision upset both sides of the family at first but Valerie’s folks gave up their threat to never speak to them again 3 weeks later and Philip’s family came around too.

How did Philip meet Valerie since he was in Yorkshire and she lived in Surrey?  He talked his parents into letting him join the army at age 15 but he was seriously injured in a training exercise a year or so later and after many surgeries he was discharged from the military as disabled.  He applied to a college for the disabled and was accepted.  This was about 5 miles from where Valerie lived.  A co-worker had invited Valerie to a dance at the college where she and Philip met. 

Philip had to retire from the postal service due to heart problems.  They have four children, two sons and two daughters.  They serve in the London Temple where the above photo was taken and enjoy time with their family.  We all feel fortunate to make this connection with some of Robert and Hannah Hurd Myers posterity!