Brushmakers Arms                                                                                       SBD Name Banner

Welcome to the Home Pages for the Society of Brushmakers' Descendants!    email - sbdfhs@yahoo.co.uk

Unexpected Links Between Brushmaker Families

The SBD has been in existence for twenty years, and in that time many of its members have found unexpected links with other members' brushmakers, even if they did not share a common name interest.
Members have found  that their ancestor was an apprentice or Master of another member's ancestor, that they worked at the same place, they even belonged to the same branch of the Brushmakers' Society. In other words, member's ancestors trained each other, worked together, drank and socialised together and even intermarried!

I will illustrate this with my own example, which is typical of many discovered by our members.
My ggfather, George Doughty, was a brushmaker
In 1857 he married Emma PARISH the daughter of  a carpenter.
Emma's sister, Elizabeth, married William HARRIS in 1860

In 1888 Emma and George's daughter, Emma Frances Elizabeth married her cousin,  John Henry HARRIS, the son of
Elizabeth PARISH and William HARRIS


SBD member Richard HOLMES, who is descended from HOLMES and HESKINS brushmakers is also the gggrandson of John Henry's brother, William Thomas HARRIS!


As well as the PARISH link we have a HARRIS link and links with the DOUGHTY, HESKINS and HOLMES brushmakers!
Both Emma's father John PARISH and his son-in-law, William HARRIS, were carpenters.
All had connections with working in wood!

Before they frequented discos, clubs and pubs, young ladies had much less contact with the opposite sex than nowadays!
Their husbands were found in the sons of their father's colleagues and
customers! Brushmakers would have links with other brushmakers,
suppliers and preparers of their raw materials, turners, carpenters etc.
There are even brushmakers to be found in the records of seemingly unrelated Livery Companies.

I am sure that there are a lot more similar links between members to be found!

Perhaps an unexpected link waits for you!