If you’ve any comments and especially if you think you might be connected to the Blacknell Family History then please get in touch.
1921 Census – first findings
So, the long awaited 1921 census has finally been published online. At £3.50 for each record it isn’t cheap but as a devoted genealogist I have been saving my pennies in anticipation for a while. My first purchase was the record for my great-grandfather, Frederick Blacknell.
Pickpocket caught in the act
A curious report involving a member of the Freer clan appeared in the local newspaper in 1895. The article describes an incident in Wrexham where a Thomas Daley tried to pick the pocket of a Mrs Annie Freer.
Clara’s & Arthur’s Funerals

After the attempted pickpocketing, there was a long gap when the Freers were out of the limelight. The next reference found in Welsh Newspapers Online was from 28 March 1918, when the funeral of my great-grandmother, Clara Blacknell (née Freer) was reported, along with Arthur’s two months later.
A Wedding Gift
Another search of Welsh Newspapers Online has revealed that in summer 1884 the local paper devoted a good few pages to the wedding of Herbert Lloyd Watkin Williams-Wynn, heir to the Wynnstay Estate and his cousin Louise Williams-Wynn.
School Prize Giving
One always likes to think that one’s ancestors were talented so I was pleased to find a number of accounts in the Welsh Newspapers Online website of various Freers winning school prizes.
A Drowning
Here’s another find from the Welsh Newspaper archive – this sad and puzzling record appeared in The Llangollen Advertiser, Denbighshire, Merionethshire and North Wales Journal, 22 September 1871.
An Explosive Find
Whilst the coronavirus pandemic has left few corners of our lives untouched, for many people it has also provided a great opportunity to progress activities that would otherwise have been neglected. In my case it has offered a chance to spend some quality time on further researching my family history, in particular using the Welsh Newspapers Online website to see what more I can discover about the Freers of Ruabon.
Condolence Book

We’ve tried to collect as many of the kind messages sent by friends and family when dad passed away. If you’d like to send us a message to be included please do contact us.

David Blacknell
18 August 1935 ~ 7 October 2020
A service to celebrate the life of David Blacknell was held at Beckenham Methodist Church on Thursday, 29th October 2020 at 12pm. The service was officiated by the Reverend Alex Terrett.