Parents have Parents, and Grandparents - Next Chapter (with Australian Vegetables???)

Visiting his grandparents, a small boy opened the big family Bible. He was fascinated as he fingered through the old pages. Suddenly, something fell out. He picked it up and found that it was an old leaf that had been pressed flat between the pages. "Mama, look what I found," he called out.
"What have you got there, dear?" his mother asked."
With astonishment in his voice, the boy answered, "I think it's Adam's underwear!"

Growing Family Trees
In my last blog I looked at the Nickisson Family Tree and the Direct Line from myself to the oldest Nickisson, John Nickisson born abt 1690, my 5xGreat Grandfather. See the Direct Line Chart in the Blog; Parents have Parents, and Grandparents!!

I wrote about my parents, Victor Nickisson (1919-1981) and Lilian Byatt (1923-2002) and now I'm going to look at their parents, my Grandparents, Ernest Nickisson and Florence Ada Smallman,

Growing English - Australian Vegetables
There is not a lot happening in the Allotment now that Autumn/Winter is here. I have just planted some Onion Sets and covered them with fleece to help them through the winter. Out of curiosity I went on the internet to find out about growing vegetables in Australia, I have found out that it is not as easy as you might think. Let you know later in this Blog,

So back to the Nickisson Family Tree and my Grandparents,

Ernest Nickisson and Florence Ada Smallman.

This photograph was taken circa 1923 and shows Ernest and Florence Ada Nickisson with five of their children; William Edward, standing next to his father, Gertrude Florence, Ernest, Victor (my father)(sitting from left to right) and Vera Nickisson sitting on her mothers knee.

There are three other children: Arthur (who died before this photograph was taken), Eric and Harold Nickisson (born after the photograph).

* Ernest Nickisson was born on the 15th May 1885 in Napier Street, Kidsgrove, Stoke on Trent. He then moved to Minshall Street, Mount Pleasant, Fenton, Stoke on Trent and was married on the 27th December 1909 to Florence Ada Smallman at St Peter's Parish Church, Stoke .

The 1911 Census shows them still in Minshall Street, a Private House with 5 rooms (not including scullery, landing, lobby, closet, bathrooms). His occupation at the time was a Furnace man and Engineers Labourer, working in a boiler yard.
The family moved to North Street, Stoke, where Ernest Nickisson died on the 26th October 1943.

* Florence Ada Smallman was born on the 26th October 1884 in Harrison Street, Derby. By the 1891 Census she had moved to Milner Street, Hanley, Stoke on Trent and then had moved to Westbank, Penkhull, Stoke (1901 Census) and was working as a Domestic Nurse. When she married Ernest Nickisson in 1909 she was living in Peel Street, Mount Pleasant, Fenton, Stoke. The 1911 Census show she was now working in the pottery industry as a Lithographer.

Following the death of Ernest Nickisson in 1943, Florence Ada Nickisson (nee Smallman) married Daniel Smith Darlington in 1954 at the Wesley Methodist Church, Epworth Street, Stoke.

Florence Ada Smallman died 15th July 1976 at Broadway House, Meir, Stoke on Trent at the age of 91 years.

Daniel Smith Darlington (1881-1965) was born in Stoke on Trent. In the 1891 Census he was living in George Street, Penkhull, Stoke moving to Wood Street, Stoke (1901 Census). The 1911 Census shows him living at Brighton Street, Penkhull in a Private House with 4 rooms, living with his first wife, Ellen Elizabeth Darlington and her parents.

Daniel Smith Darlington worked as a Placer in the pottery industry but by the time of his death, he was a Railway Storeman.

As I mentioned above, Ernest Nickisson (1885-1943) and Florence Ada Smallman (1884-1976) had eight children:

* William Edward Nickisson (1911-1989) married Mabel Wilshaw (1913-1988) in 1931 in Stoke on Trent and have two daughters. Mabel Wilshaw remarried in 1952. William married again in 1947 to Jessie Barnett (nee Hughes)(1920-1985) and had two more daughters and a son. He lived in Stoke on Trent until he remarried and ran a Grocery/Newsagent business in Dorset where he died.

* Gertrude Florence Nickisson (1912-2002) lived all her life in Stoke on Trent and was born in Minshall Street, Mount Pleasant, Fenton, Stoke on Trent. She married Sampson Harrison (1910-2003) on the 11th September 1938 at the Bethesda Chapel in Hanley and moved to North Street, Stoke, only a few doors away from her parents. They had two sons and Sampson worked as a Fitter at the local Iron and Steel Works for over 45 years.

* Arthur Nickisson (1914-1915) only lived for 5 months.

* Ernest Nickisson (1917-1990) was born in Stoke on Trent and was living in Brighton, Sussex when he married Murial Gertrude Barber (1921) in 1932. They have six children, two daughters and four sons and Murial still lives in the Brighton area.

* Victor Nickisson (1919-1981) This is my father, please see my last Blog (Parents have Parents, and Grandparents!!) for family information.

* Vera Nickisson (1922) has always lived in Stoke on Trent and married Charles Clowes (1913-1989) at the Wesley Methodist Church in Epworth Street, Stoke in 1951. They have one daughter and Vera has lived in Cedar Grove, Blurton for many years and still resides there today.

* Eric Nickisson (1926-2005) was born in Stoke on Trent and was married on the 3rd September 1949 in St Bartholomew's Parish Church, Blurton, Stoke on Trent. He married Dorothy Jean Nicholls (1926) (known as Jean) and lived in Birch Walk, Blurton, having one daughter and one son. They then moved to Langland Drive, Blurton where Jean still lives now. Jean was born in Newton Abbot, Devon.

* Harold Nickisson (1927-1929) Born and died in Stoke on Trent.

In my next Blog I will look at my Great Grandparents,

William Nickisson (1842-1901) and Rachel Lunt (Abt 1842-1914)

A preacher visits an elderly woman from his congregation. As he sits on the couch he notices a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. "Mind if I have a few?" he asks.
"No, not at all!" the woman replied.
They chat for an hour and as the preacher stands to leave, he realizes that instead of eating just a few peanuts, he emptied most of the bowl. "I'm terribly sorry for eating all your peanuts, I really just meant to eat a few."
"Oh, that's all right," the woman says. "Ever since I lost my teeth all I can do is suck the chocolate off them."

Earlier in the Blog I mentioned about looking at the possibiliy of growing Vegetables in Australia. Looking on the internet, I found this information:

Growing vegetables in hot weather

There will always be more bugs in a tropical climate than in a cool climate, that's for sure! But in a balanced environment there will be more good bugs, too.
Better soil certainly does make your vegetables less susceptible to insects and diseases. Happy plants don't get sick and don't attract as many pests. But that's not the whole story.

Some plants, like cauliflowers or lettuce for example, they just don't like heat. Most Mediterranean plants including tomatoes, they can't stand humidity.
If it's too hot or too humid for them then plants stress. And if they stress they attract bugs, just like people attract colds and flus when they are stressed out and run down... Insects can smell the stress. Really. Stressed plants do emit substances the insects can detect.

The bugs are a symptom, not the core of the problem, and good soil can only do so much. It means the plants will withstand the heat a bit longer, but sooner or later the heat will get to them...

So you can support your vegetables with a combination of good, deep soil, regular moisture and planting them in the right position. Forget what your English gardening book preaches about full sun. Plan ahead so that once it gets hot there will be something shading the more sensitive plants...

But the best thing to do during hot weather is to grow tropical vegetables. Grow vegetables that like heat!

I think the best thing to do during hot weather

may be to lie on the beach, swim in the sea etc. etc. etc.

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch. At the head of the table was a large tray of apples. A nun lettered a note and posted it on the apple tray: "Take only ONE. God is watching."
Moving along the lunch line, at the other end was a large tray of chocolate chip cookies. A girl wrote a note, which she put next to the tray of cookies, "Take all you want. God is watching the apples."

See you soon