RootsChat.Com

You are probably referring to my great grandmother, Ursula Dodds Wake, daughter of Joseph Dodds, a plate layer on the railroads (Durham, I think) and married to William Wake, a blacksmith/engineer at St. John's Church in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. It's near the railway station. I visited it a few years ago, when I was in the UK. It's high church Anglican. I did have the marriage certificate and if I find it, I'll post the details. William Wake took Ursula and their 3 children to Antigua and Montserrat in the West Indies. After Ursula died (buried in Antigua (I think) her grave was visited by Cecil Wake, one of my Canadian cousins, many years ago) William, according to family stories, disappeared and the 3 children left the islands. William (again according to legend!) then re-appeared, loaded with lots of money which he spent with gay abandon and then disappeared again to be last heard of in Peru or Chile, I forget which.  His son John ended up in Canada (married to Ruth Sones (sp.?) where he fathered
 6 children; my grandfather, Joseph Dodds Wake -- married to Barbara Johnson(lived in Jarrow) --5 children and Margaret ( I think) married an Irish Canadian -- last name, Egan, I think. It is said that my great grandfather William built a bridge in either Antigua or Montserrat (again, I don't know which) which has his initials carved into the iron work. Our branch of the Wake family owned a farm in NE Yorkshire, near Wellbury. By the way, we are probably also related to Nancy Wake (the 'White Mouse' of WW2 fame) -- you can look her up on Google. Have fun!