The beginning
William Teasdale spent most of his life in and out of prison. Growing up, I heard rumours about someone in the family who had been in prison but it was not until I carried out research that I realised who he was and the extent of his activities. Some of these are described in newspaper articles and are recorded in this document. William died in 1973 and at that time my wife & I were living about three miles from him and his wife Georgina Eveline Teasdale, nee Anderson. At that time I had not discovered the benefits of family history and had no knowledge or interest in my father’s siblings.
William’s father was married three times, his first two wives died before he married my grandmother Mary Louise Hamilton in 1903. He was the illegitimate son of Mary Elizabeth Teasdale 1846-1892. We don’t know who the father was but I’m sure there was something in his DNA that affected the children who came after.
Some history.
William Teasdale 1826-1890 married Mary Ann Baxter 1826-1892 in 1846. They had four children – Mary Elizabeth 1846-1892, Elizabeth 1848-1885, William 1852-1852 & William 1864-1864. This William Teasdale can trace his lineage back to the Teasdale families from Alston. According to civil registration William & Mary Ann had another son called William 1869 but he is shown on census returns as their grandchild. Mary Ann would have been aged 43 at the time of the 5th child. Informing the registrar that the baby belonged to Mary Ann could have been done by the father, so the registrar would not see her, thus avoiding any scandal. However the census enumerator was probably a local man and could see that the child was a grandson but his mother was not recorded as such. It looks like the eldest daughter had an illegitimate child called William 1869-1939 with an unknown father. This son William married Mary Louise Hamilton who I remember from my holidays in Keswick.
William and Mary Louise had twelve children, six of whom died at birth. The second oldest child William 1908-1973 is the subject of this document. The fourth child was my father Lawrence.
DNA
None of the male descendents from William Teasdale and Mary Louise can trace a direct Y chromosome link through the male line to the Alston Teasdales. The Y-chromosome is found only in men, and is one of the sex chromosomes. A male has an X and a Y sex chromosome, making them male. The Y chromosome is from the father and the X chromosome is from the mother. A female has two X chromosomes, one from her father and one from her mother. mtDNA Follows the direct female line, which is the child, the mother, her mother, and back in time. Both males and females inherit mtDNA, though only females pass it on.
Teasdale Family History 