My grandmother's parents were born in small towns on the southern bank of the Humber River, which divides Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in central England.

The Humber is a large tidal estuary forming part of the boundary between northern and southern England. It drains the rivers Ouse and Trent into the North Sea. In eary English history it was significant as a means of entry to the country. Today it is silted in many places.

The area to the south of the Humber is known as the Lincolnshire Wolds, a sparsely populated area of natural beauty comprising open valleys and low hills of chalk and limestone. (Wikipedia). In the mid-1800s many people worked on large farms in the area but around the turn of the century mechanisation reduced the number of jobs available.

My great grandmother Emily Jane Ashlin was born in 1863 in Winterton, a small town on a ridge where the mosaic floor remains of Roman villas have been found.

My great grandfather, Charles William Smith was born in 1859 in East Halton, a small town on a bend in the Humber. The name has been translated as "farmstead or village in a nook or corner of land". Around the time my great grandfather was born the town reached its historic peak of 727 inhabitants. By the time he left for Australia its population had fallen to around 500.

My great grandparents were married on 23/3/1883 on the northern side of the Humber River in the district of Sculcoates, Yorkshire, an area now overtaken by the modern city of Hull. Hull has historically provided a market for much of the produce grown in north-east Lincolnshire. In the old days produce was taken across by ferry. Today, the main crops are wheat, barley, beans and turnips and access is via a suspension bridge.

Methodist theology had a strong presence in East Halton in the 1800s with chapels for both the Primitives and Wesleyans. In 1865 disaffected Methodist preacher William Booth launched the Salvation Army. The timing and the geography lay the template for my great grandparents' lives. They embraced Salvationism and took it with them to Australia.

Modern map of the region, showing Winterton at left and East Halton at right. Sculcoates (now part of Hull) is on the opposite side of the river.

Click here for a more detailed map