of American Grimshaw Family Lines

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A little over 20 years ago Ed Grimshaw of Lake Charles, Louisiana, purchased a book of Grimshaw family information offered by Beatrice Bayley. In an effort to trace his family history, Ed sent inquiries to the nearly 600 Grimshaws listed in Bayley's book. He received 81 responses to his inquiry letter. These responses, received in 1979 and 1980, comprise a valuable record of Grimshaw immigrants to the U.S. and their descendants. In many cases, the information in Ed’s collection serves as the best available "starting point" for further research into the various American Grimshaw family lines. 

The objective of this webpage is to present a summary of the Grimshaw family history information in Ed’s collection of responses. Where possible, links are provided to other pages on this website where the family lines are described more completely. A tabulation of the responses received, and the text of each of the letters, are presented in a companion webpage.

Those who are interested in more information on this valuable collection of Grimshaw information are encouraged to contact Ed at his e-mail address: egrimshaw@bigfoot.com. Also, Ed has provided information for his own Grimshaw ancestors, Zacharia and Ellen (Wilde) Grimshaw, who immigrated to North America (Canada). They and their family are described on a companion webpage.

Webpage Credit

Beatrice Bayley Reference on Grimshaws in the U.S. 

Distribution of Grimshaw Families in the Various States of the U.S.

Ed Grimshaw’s Inquiry Letter

Method of Presentation

Grimshaw, Edwin Armand,  Lake Charles, LA (EAG-1)

Grimshaw, Stanley R., South China, ME (EAG-7)

Grimshaw, Miss Marian, Hawthorne, NJ (EAG-9)

Grimshaw, M., Rennemede, NJ (EAG-12)

Grimshaw, John M., Baltimore, MD (EAG-22)

Grimshaw, Christopher Keiper, Frederick, MD (EAG-323)

Grimshaw, Charles Vernon, Wyandotte, MI (EAG-39)

Grimshaw, John, Omaha, NE (EAG-41)

Grimshaw, John Clark (EAG-45)

Grimshaw, Gene, Desdemona, TX (EAG-46)

Grimshaw, Paul R., Logan, UT (EAG-48)

Grimshaw, Sally Ruth, Sonoma, CA (EAG-54)

Grimshaw, R. G., Lovettsville, VA (EAG-67)

Grimshaw, Lee R., El Paso, TX (EAG-73)

References

Ed Grimshaw deserves most of the credit for this webpage. Not only did he obtain the information in the first place, but he also made it available to the website author for inclusion on this website. Thanks go to Ed for providing this invaluable Grimshaw family history data and for helping with the webpage.

In January 1979, Beatrice Bayley sent a solicitation letter to the Grimshaws then living in the U.S. for a publication on American Grimshaw families. A copy of the letter is shown in Figure 1. A portion of the title page of the publication is included in Figure 2. 

Figure 1. Solicitation letter sent by Beatrice Bayley to Grimshaws living in the U.S. in 1979

Figure 2. Portion of title page from Beatrice Bayley publication

Figure 3 presents a table from the book which shows the distribution among the states of the 593 Grimshaw families listed in the book. The states with the most Grimshaws were California, New York and Florida.

Figure 3. Distribution of the 593 Grimshaw families among the states of the U.S.

Ed sent inquiries to the 593 Grimshaw entries in the Bayley reference. A total of 81 responses were received (about 14%, which is probably typical for this type of inquiry). A copy of Ed’s inquiry letter is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4. Copy of letter of inquiry sent by Ed Grimshaw to the 593 Grimshaw families listed in the Beatrice Bayley reference

Ed Grimshaw placed the 81 responses in a file organized generally by state or geographic region. All 81 of the response letters are tabulated in a companion webpage, and the contents of the letters are also presented.

Ed provided a copy of most of his file of responses to the website author in late 1999. Sequential numbers (EAG-1 to EAG-74) were then assigned to the responses in the order in which they arrived in the file. A cover form was also provided for each of the responses, with entry space for the name, address and other information on the respondent as well as space for sketching family trees and recording other relevant information.

Most of the 81 responses were then tabulated, rated (A,B,C,D) based on the completeness of the family history information provided, and sorted by rating. The resulting tabulation is shown in Figure 5. Summaries of the family tree and other information are being prepared and added to this webpage, with the most complete entries presented earlier (highest rating first).

Figure 5. Tabulation of 74 of the 81 responses received by Ed Grimshaw, sorted in order of completeness of data included on Grimshaw family lines.

Ed Grimshaw bought the Bayley book and sent out the inquiry letters whose responses are the subject of this webpage. Apparently Ed’s grandparents, Zacharia and Nellie (Wilde) Grimshaw emigrated from England to Alberta, where they died in Strathmore. Their son, George Grimshaw, immigrated to the U.S. and was married in Minnesota. George and his wife, Annie (Franssen) Grimshaw are buried in Lafayette, Louisiana. Ed Grimshaw, the son of George and Annie, continues to live in Louisiana. Ed has provided information on his Grimshaw line is summarized below (Ed's information has been updated in 2001 and is more complete than the 1980 information.) Additional information on Ed's family line is provided on a companion webpage.

Edwin (Edward) Grimshaw (1825 - ) & Martha Hindley (1833- ) Married 9 June 1854 in Tyldesley Chapel, Lancaster County, District Leigh

|--Zacharia Grimshaw (19 August 1868 Edge Lane, Droylsden, England – 11 December 1936 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada) & Ellen (Nellie) Wilde (30 March 1871, Oldham, Rochdale, Lancshire, England – 28 February 1953 Alberta, Canada) Married April 1894

|--|--George Grimshaw (28 March 1907 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada – 20 April 1981 Lafayette, Louisiana) & Annie Louise Franssen (18 February 1909 West Depere, Wisconsin, USA – 22 Sept 1977 Concord, Mass.) Married 16 October 1933.

|--|--|--George Anne Grimshaw & David Creed

|--|--|--|--Cheryl Kaye Creed

|--|--|--|--David Davis Creed

|--|--|--|--Elizabeth Doris Creed

|--|--|--|--Eric George

|--|--|--|--Krystn Denise Creed

|--|--|--Edwin Armand Grimshaw (1934) & Martina Jane Stephens (1937)

|--|--|--|--Steven George Grimshaw

|--|--|--|--Monya Ann Grimshaw

|--|--|--|--Armand Christopher Grimshaw

|--|--|--|--Sean Edwin Grimshaw

|--|--Armand Grimshaw (28 March 1907 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada – 1951 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada)

|--|--Robert Grimshaw (1 November 1896 England – 19 November 1916 Gleichen, Alberta, Canada)

|--|--Janie Grimshaw (18 September 1899 England – 1948)

|--|--|--Edgar Lyons & Millie Doherty

|--|--John Grimshaw (18 September 1899 England – England)

|--|--Catherine Grimshaw (29 June 1903) & Bill Lawrie

|--|--|--William Lawrie

|--|--|--Doris Lawrie

|--|--Edith Mae Grimshaw (24 May 1905 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada

|--|--Alfred Grimshaw (19 January 1911 Strathmore, Alberta, Canada) - 1920

A companion webpage on Zacharia and Ellen Grimshaw has been prepared based on additional information provided by Ed.

Stanley provided a considerable amount of information about a line of Grimshaws who lived in the area around Augusta, Maine. Stanley’s letter is as follows (some words are inferred due to being cut of during photocopying.)

Unfortunately, there is no indication of the roots of the family in England or who the immigrant ancestor was. No other information has yet been found on this line of Grimshaws by the website author. The following descendant chart has been prepared based on the information in Stanley’s letter.

Unknown Grimshaw

|---Joseph Grimshaw (twin brother to John)

|---Elizabeth Grimshaw & John Welsh

|---|---John Welsh

|---|---Velma Welsh

|---|---Raymond Welsh

|---|---Unknown additional children

|---John Grimshaw (1888 – 1950) & Carrie ? (1891 – 1946)

|---|---Donald Grimshaw (1913 - ) & Alexandria Roussell

|---|---|---Gary Grimshaw (Jul 1940 - )

|---|---Mildred Grimshaw (1915 - ) & Thadius Zientara

|---|---Stanley Grimshaw (7 Mar 1917 - ) & Pauline Hemphill (21 May 1917 - )

|---|---|---Sandra Grimshaw (10 May 1944 - ) & ? Thomas 

|---|---|---Richard Grimshaw (18 Nov 1947 - )

|---|---Marjorie Grimshaw (1919 - ) & Donald Deanett

|---|---|---5 Unknown children

|---|---Jane Grimshaw & Damon Cunningham

|---|---|---4 Unknown boys

|---|---Madeline Grimshaw (unmarried)

|---|---Dorothy Grimshaw & Byron Hart

|---|---|---3 Unknown children

|---|---Gail Grimshaw & Edwin Woodard

|---|---|---Michael Woodard

|---|---|---Brenda Woodard

|---Elizabeth Grimshaw

|---Annie Grimshaw

One of the most complete and valuable responses to Ed's inquiries was provided by Miss Marian Grimshaw, then living in Hawthorne, NJ. Her response covers the lines of Grimshaws who immigrated to the Paterson, NY area from Macclesfield, Lancashire and were engaged primarily in the silk weaving business. This line is described in a companion webpage. Miss Marian's letter is shown below, followed by a descendant chart that was prepared based on the information she included with her letter.