Changes to Blog Settings

I have reorganised the look-and-feel of the blog.

Following on from the suggestion made by Jo Pask, as detailed in the blog References to Coloured Family Trees, I have started to use Labels for each post.

I have moved the labels list to the top of the blog. This will enable you to locate postings about your specific area of interest. Additionally, I have included a hierarchy of postings.

Hope you like the changes. If not, e-mail me. I am open to suggestions.

John & Elizabeth Pask née White - Gloucestershire

This information relates to a currently unidentified main branch of the family with roots in Gloucestershire.

Bob Shewman wrote from Ontario, Canada. He is researching a Pask connection to his Carley family. Bob has provided extensive information on John & Elizabeth Pask née White who lived in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. John was a Shoemaker, and was born in Cheltenham c1834.

Bob writes:

According to the 1868 marriage record of John Pask (GRO Sep 1868 Evesham Vol. 6c Pg 407 No. 115) his father’s name is Philip Pask, a farmer. They married on July 4, 1868.

I have searched the database, and cannot currently locate any additional information on Philip Pask, or John Pask.

Bob details in his extensive information on John & Elizabeth, and their descendants, that they immigrated to Canada in 1882. Shortly afterwards John was killed by a railway train on June 27, 1883. Elizabeth then married James Meacham on October 16, 1883.

Bob's information will be included in the database in the near future.

US Department of Veterans Affairs

Through the Guild of One-Names Studies (GOONS), I heard of an excellent source of information from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). You can search for burial locations of veterans and their family members in VA National Cemeteries, state veterans cemeteries, various other military and Department of Interior cemeteries, and for veterans buried in private cemeteries when the grave is marked with a government grave marker. There are listed:

• 11 Pask
• 28 Paske
• 1 Pasque

This information will be included in the database in the near future.

James Morton Pask (1848 - 1930) - British Museum

This information relates to Chart 39, the descendants of Thomas Pask, (1766 - b1851), who lived in St. Pancras.

Last week we were contacted by David Noden from the Department of Africa, Oceania and Americas in the British Museum. He has provided some very interesting information on James Morton Pask.

David is compiling biographies on people who have been responsible for the museum's Ahanta collections. He hopes to turn the biographies into a permanent record of the collectors who have contributed to the museum.

David advised us that the British Museum received two drinking cups from James Morton Pask in 1874 which he had brought back from the Ashantee war of that year, he appears to have been on HMS Druid during the bombardment of Dixcove on The Gold Coast, Ghana.

James wrote in his accompanying letter:

Dear Sir,

I send you two skulls. They were taken by King Hama-dikky (King of Dixcove) after the bombardment of Aquidah by HMS Druid, and the attack on the town by the Dixcove river in the last war.
I received them on the evening after the battle from his majesty through the commandant.
They are cut in the manner you will observe in all probability to serve as drinking cups.
The men of Aquidah are of the Ahanta tribe.

I am your obedient servant

James Morton Pask R.N

More information on James Morton Pask is available in his detailed narrative, which will be updated in the near future. We plan to visit The National Archives at Kew to obtain James' naval record and any other information that will help David in his project.

Descendants of James William & Emma Pask née Avey

This information relates to a currently unidentified main branch of the family with roots in Suffolk.

David Ruddock wrote to us last week, inquiring about a Jane Pask who was born in Bury St. Edmunds in c1858, and who married Frederick Brown in Sudbury registration district in 1875.

As we were away on vacation, David searched the website and determined that in fact Jane was Anna Jane who was born in Bury St. Edmunds in 1858. Furthermore, he determined that she was the daughter of James William & Emma Pask née Avey. He had established that although the ancestry.com marriage index gave an Edmund Avey, the original marriage index read Emma Avey. I confirmed this by also looking at the original GRO image.

David also checked the census records, that confirmed that James William's wife Emma was born in Brockley, Suffolk and checked the 1841 Census record in Brockley and found Emma. She was baptised on 30 June 1833 in Brockley - her parents were Charles & Ann Avey. Charles was a publican of the Fox Tavern in Brockley.

Many thanks to David for this information that has been included in the database, and will be available on the website in the next update.

Descendants of James & Rebecca Hodges née Pask

This information relates to the red-icon tree - descendants of Isaac PASK who lived in Llanvihangel-ystern-Llewern, Monmouthshire.

In February 2006, Kay M Hodges contacted us regarding information on James & Rebecca Hodges née Pask. He has extensively researched this family and have amassed a considerable amount of additional information. At that time we in the process of moving from Germany back to the UK, and unfortunately the information was not included in the database.

James and Rebecca had five children, although only one survived. Probably the strain of losing four children in the first few months of their lives was too much for Rebecca. She was hospitialised in June 1864, and died in April 1865. She is buried together with her parents Isaac & Elizabeth Pask née Stephens in Llanvaches, Monmouthshire.

James, and Rebecca, were baptised into the LDS church by Rebecca's father Isaac Pask on 11 August 1850. On 17 March 1851 James was ordained. After Rebecca's death in 1865, James decided to immigrate to Utah. Unfortunately during the journey to Salt Lake Valley James died on 25 September 1866 near Farson, Wyoming, America, at the age of 38.

Their eldest and only surviving son James in 1871 immigrated to Utah, where he later married Emma Steddar. James died on 6 September 1910 in Lewiston, Utah, America, at the age of 59.

Many thanks to Kay (Kermit) for providing us with this very interesting information. I have finally included this in the database, and this will be available on the website in the next update.

Descendants of Robert & Gertrude Alice Pask née Barnes

This information relates to a currently unidentified main branch of the family.

I received a blog comment from Jeff Johnson to the recent blog on Robert & Gertrude Alice Pask née Barnes.

Jeff writes:

I am the son of Sylvia Pask and would confirm that Renee is Eileen. She married George Clark and lived in Upwell.

Many thanks for this Jeff. It is good to know that the blogs are being read, and hopefully found in internet searches. I would be very interested to have any additional information that you may have relating to this family.

This information has been included in the database, and will be available on the website in the next update.

Descendants of William Marshall & Nellie Price née Pask of Nottingham

This information relates to the red-icon tree - descendants of Isaac PASK who lived in Llanvihangel-ystern-Llewern, Monmouthshire.

Last January, Jason Price contacted us relating to his grandfather Garnett Price, the son of William Marshall & Nellie Price née Pask. Nellie was born in 1884 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire. She was the daughter of Isaac & Elizabeth Pask née Harrison.

Jason provided photographs of Isaac & Elizabeth, together with their son William. Also there is two young women, probably Isaac & Elizabeth's younger daughters Mabel or Gertrude. Jason believed that Gertrude perished in a factory fire in 1916. She is buried in the Pask family grave at Lenton.

In addition, Jason provided up-to-date information on the descendants of William & Nellie. Interestingly, these included Stanley, the great-grandfather of another researcher Justin Hevness, who contacted us via Genes Reunited.

Thanks to Paula Payne who has helped considerably to piece together the Nottingham Pasks.
This information has been included in the database, and will be available on the website in the next update.

References to Coloured Family Trees

I received a suggestion from Jo Pask to include in the blog, a reference to what coloured tree they belonged to. For example, Jo's branch is the pale green tree. I agree that it would make it so much easier to work out whether the blog refers to a particular branch.

Descendants of Isaac & Rachael Pask of Cwmcarvan, Monmouthshire

Greetings from Phuket, Thailand. We are here on holiday celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. Access to e-mails is very limited and download speed slower than the telephone modem.

However, this has given me an opportunity to catch up on the backlog of e-mails and information relating to the Pask, Paske One-Name Study.

This has included information provided by Paula Payne, relating to the book Joseph Alfred Bradney's of Monmouthshire. This contained interesting information on the Pasks of Cwmcarvan, in the 1740s, particular Isaac Pask who married Rachael c1743 and they had five children, three of these children are named in the book:

• James Pask b. 19 Feb 1743
• Isaac Pask b. 1744, d. Apr 1829
• Elizabeth Paske b. 3 Jan 1757

This information has been included in the database, and will be available on the website in the next update.