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CATHERSIDES - Rotherhithe & Deptford The Catchesides originally came from a tiny hamlet, now only a farm and one house, called Catcherside, on the moors of Northumberland, not far from Otterburn. The placename derived from Caldcheorside, mentioned in 1180 as belonging to the well-known northern family of Fenwick. Caldcheorside is an ancient dialect meaning that the side (of the moor) was of cold cheer, suggesting a bleakness that is still to be felt and seen, even today, when the sun is not shining. They migrated principly to Tyneside and Durham. Using the International Genealogical Index (IGI) of parish records, we can reliably trace the family back to John Catcheside (b. 1689) in Durham. His son, Moses Catcheside (b. 1733) appears to have had three wives, namely Mary Tate (1761), Ann Allison (1765) and Ann Bones (1769) and from the latter fathered Robert Catcheside. Robert, now a Cooper by trade, is next picked up in Rotherhithe where he and his wife, Ann (maiden name unknown) had 11 children. It is not known when Robert died, however his wife died a widow in 1842 in the Rotherhithe Workhouse. At first glance, this may appear to be an uncaring act on the part of her children but I believe the Workhouse Infirmary was the only resort to 'hospital' care open to the ordinary working man at that time. One of Robert's children, John Thomas Catchesides (b. 1810) became a ropemaker and married Charlotte Crew (b.1813) from Lewisham and had 10 children before Charlotte died, aged 43 years, some seven weeks after giving birth. Not surprisingly, this last child died shortly after the mother. The name Cathersides is a corruption of Catchesides arising in the middle of the 19th century in Rotherhithe due to illiteracy of the family and being the "best effort" of the Registrar at the time. In any event, the name CATHERSIDES, as spelt, applied only to the family of John Thomas Catchesides and became the definitive spelling for the descendants of his only surviving son, Job. I believe that all Cathersides, throughout the world can trace their lineage back to Job and his wife, Mary Ann Lillie. Job Cathersides (b. 1841) became a Ship's Caulker and at 20yo married a publican's daughter, Mary Ann Lillie (b. 1845) on 23rd Dec. 1861 at St Mary's, Lewisham, when the bride had only just reached 16 years of age. They settled in Deptford and had 11 children between 1863 and 1885 and probably well over 70 grandchildren. All indications are that the family was literate from the 1850's onward. A photograph exists of Job taken about 1905 with 2 grandsons by his daughter Annie Elizabeth Augusta Kluth. This shows him as a thickset man with large hands which were probably well suited to his trade. Job and Mary Ann's first born son Adam Job met with a tragic drowning accident when he was 10 years old. They lost only one other child in infancy. Job's sons became Lightermen, Boilermakers and Dockers and continued the family connection with Thames shipping. Many of his grandchildren followed suit and took up trades associated with the docks. GAK 1996 LILLIE Mary Ann Lillie (b. 1845), who married Job Cathersides, was by all the accounts of her grandchildren, a formidable woman! Apparently she had a speech peculiarity that impressed itself upon them. Job Kluth, related how she would call him with a voice that could be heard streets away. When calling she would annex "ip" to the name - thus "Joe-ip", or "Ann-ip", etc. It was the impression of Mrs Maud Donovan (nee Kluth) that her grand-mother was the daughter of a Baltic Sea-Captain and spoke Russian. Mrs Ann Penniston (nee Kluth) had heard the story that Mary Ann Lillie had indeed visited Russia and had related to her children how she had ridden in a sleigh, bells and all. From the public records, it can be seen that Mary Ann was the daughter of Adam Lillie, a Publican who had been an engineer - therefore possibly a ship's engineer. It would appear that Mary Ann was his only surviving child and it is possible that his wife died early on (no death for her has yet been traced). If that is the case, it seems quite possible that he might have taken Mary Ann with him on a trip to Russia before he became a publican. GAK 1996