The Halifax Packet
What links a Yorkshire cotton spinner, a war against America, and a Baptist preacher?
Tales from the grave
A mysterious letter written in 1797 by Jonathan Huntriss of Scarborough to a wealthy banker in Leicestershire. A baronet legendary for his ignorance who set a mantrap to try and catch his daughter’s suitor. A haunted hall. You couldn’t make it up.
Hunting the Hunters
Does this man look like a bookkeeper to you? Why did he change his name and date of birth? This detective story takes us from Scotland to Liverpool via Gibraltar and Belfast.
All at sea
Richard Charles Huntriss (1882 – 1959) kept a diary of his career in the navy.
My dear Mama
Charles Huntriss was a pupil at Blackheath Proprietary School in London between 1864 and 1872. Read about his schooldays through the letters he wrote to his parents.
Three of a kind
Three members of the Huntriss family, with a combined aged of 297, passed away during Easter week 2020.
Australia Day
Belinda Huntriss’ birthday is on Australia Day. For her it is a day of mixed emotions, as she explains in this article.
Elsie MacGregor’s chest
A chest donated to Goodleigh Church in North Devon in memory of a local parishioner contains a further inscription to Alfred Huntriss Arnold, killed in WW1 – but no-one seems to know why!
Ships in the night
“Like ships that pass in the night, my French pupils at the Australian Hospital passed into the horizon of my life and then vanished. And one of these was Pte A Huntriss.“
The words of Theodora Roscoe in 1917.
More ……
Sherburn-in-Elmet
Three generations of the Huntriss family lived in the Yorkshire village of Sherburn during the years 1740 to 1860.
Letters from America
Cheryl Williams lives in Seattle, and is the great-grand-daughter of John Huntriss (1880-1912). She has been kind enough to share letters and photos relating to the Huntriss family in North America.
Robert Huntriss Tolson
Robert Huntriss Tolson, grandson of William and Ellen Huntriss, was killed on the first day of the battle of the Somme.
Talc Mining
Census records show George Huntriss’s occupation as being a general merchant. There’s a little more to it than that.
Auctions
On line auctions have proved to be a valuable source of information on family history.
Huntrodds
There are several variations on the Huntriss name. For example, In Whitby in Yorkshire are a number of families bearing the name of Huntrodds. Are the families related?
D’Arcy
My father, D’Arcy Huntriss, passed away in 2013 aged 93. Read here the story of his life.
Japanese PoW’s
Some of the Huntriss family were Japanese prisoners-of-war during the second world war.
Half Mast
This article in the Washington Post discusses the lowering of flags to half mast in response to the killing of US servicemen in Chattanooga, and traces the history of this practice back to a voyage by William Huntriss in 1612.
Lest we forget
At least 9 members of the Huntriss family were killed in the first World War. We owe it to them to preserve the memory of those who gave their lives for us.
Family Bible
This bible (dated 1793) was owned by William Huntriss of Halifax (1804 – 1883), and contains information about the family.
Hector’s war
George Huntriss (of talc mining fame) kept articles from local newspapers papers that related to the regiments in which his son Hector served during the first World War.
Scarborough
Many of the early references to the Huntriss family are associated with the Yorkshire town of Scarborough. William Huntriss was a sailor, and was involved in the exploration of Baffin Island; Jonathan Huntriss was the builder responsible for Huntriss Row.