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Hello Colin - welcome to the boards - Fiona posted in 2004 and never returned - you could try to make contact with her via GR by clicking on her name to send a message - she may still be a member

Hi Fiona, just been browsing through your thread about the Hodge dynasty, and thought you might like to know that my grandmother Alice Turner was born Alice Hodge in c 1880 in in St Helens, Lancashire.
Her father was William Hodge c 1852 and I think her mother was Alice Robinson, William was born in North Meols but travelled around and had six children including my Grandmother Alice, some where born in St Helens and some in North Meols.
Alice married my grandfather William Benjamin Tasker c1907 in Southport. and died c1950 in Southport..
My Father was Romney Breel Tasker born 1908 in Southport and my name is Colin William Tasker born Southport, 1944. (still live here)
I enjoyed reading your thread and thought you might be interested in my small contribution. Best regards, Colin

:-)

I'm a member of the Hodge family from the North Meols/Birkdale area of Lancashire, now known as Southport. My tree is traceable back to 1580, with Henry & Dorothy. The name was carried through only one of their sons, Thomas. We know that the Hodges are one of only 2 or 3 surviving families who can boast constant residence in North Meols from at least 1381 until the present day, the earliest known record of them being in the 1381 poll tax returns (William Hoggeson & wife). The Hodges remained static in the North Meols area until the advent of the railways in the mid 19thC, when movement became easier... the region being quite isolated prior to this time. This has made family research very easy, as it was rare for local people to stray from the parish. As mentioned, we were Hoggeson in the 14thC, arriving at Hodges by the Elizabethan era. This spelling would remain until the change of rector at St Cuthbert's church in 1815, who took it upon himself to mis-spell the name as Hodge... by which we've been known ever since! As we survived as a single family unit until the 17thC, I have been able to place most Hodges into my own tree, and it is likely that anyone with a Lancashire Hodge/Hodges in their family will be able to make a link to mine. In fact, it is becoming increasingly apparent that anyone with a family connection to North Meols pre 1840 is related to anyone else making the same claim (a lot of interbreeding!). The earliest Hodges in the tree, William and Dorothy are quite interesting as we have a remarkable amount of data on them. William, Dorothy and their sons, Roger & William all died of some disease (small pox?) in the spring of 1639. By this time Roger had fathered an illigitimate daughter, Ellen, but the future of the name fell to Thomas. The 4th brother, Hugh, had no known family. In 1625 we know that William the elder was fined for not attending church the previous Easter, and in 1640-43 Hugh was found guilty of fighting with Thomas Rimmer, coneyman. We have no details of the cause of the argument, but Thomas was struck by a woman in the parish in the same period. Of course, Hugh was under some degree of pressure at the time, having just tragically lost half his family, and the continuation of the family fortune, such as it was, falling on his shoulders as he suddenly and unexpectedly became the eldest Hodge & heir to the family "seat" (we were farmers on "New Rowe", now Roe Lane). We know the family weren't wealthy, as both surviving sons are listed as having homes with just 1 hearth in the tax returns of 1664. The historical information in my own line is pretty sparse for about 5 generations after this until we get to John Hodges, born 1759. He married Mary Wright, and they had 5 children (4 surviving) before John was drowned while out fishing, although his body wasn't found for some months. His son, Thomas, was christened just 2 months before his father's death. The family suffered great hardship after the father's premature death, there being no adult child to provide for the family (the children being aged 2 months to 11 years old, the eldest son being 4). It seems they lost the land they farmed, and it would be many years before they had their own leaseholds again. The Eldest son, John, fought at Waterloo, and the younger son, Thomas was press-ganged in the early 19thC whilst attending market in Liverpool, managing to escape after one night in custody. Thomas, worked on a farm located at the present junction of Alma Rd & Liverpool Rd, Birkdale. Judging by Tithe maps, it seems possible that Thomas was working the land for another Hodges relative, William. As an adult he became known as "Gred" Tom Hodges, because of his impressive stature. In 1816 he married Ellen Marshall of Birkdale, and on the day of his wedding he planted an Elm tree on the Birkdale farm to mark the occasion. This Elm is remarked upon in notes made by his descendants in the early 20thC, and it seems they had transplanted a portion of this tree. Both Elms probably survived until Dutch Elm Disease struck in the 1970's. Thomas & Ellen had a number of children in Birkdale, amongst them my own Great Great Grandfather, Edward and his twin brother, Henry who would later become Mayor of Southport. In 1839 Thomas managed to lease his own property, and began farming virgin land on Heathy Lane, Halsall. In 1851 he had 22 acres, expanding to 40 acres by 1861. After Tom, the land was farmed by his son, Thomas, then by his son, another Thomas, and finally by his son, James, who left the property in 1927. Ellen died in 1869 and was buried at Scarisbrick Parish Church, followed by Tom a year later, we have a photo of Tom & Ellen, probably taken in the 1860's. Of their children, Edward was a cowkeeper and married Margaret Rimmer of Liverpool. They lived there for a short time before moving to Cumberland, returning to Southport before 1881, his youngest son, John, married Susannah Dady and my grandfather, Edward, was their only child. Henry married Mary Wright and had many children. He did particularly well for himself, owning a large home, a farm in Halsall, an Inronmonger's business on Lord St and financial interests in various properties and ventures, including the Picturedrome Cinema (most recently known as The Classic), which was built on the site of his family home before he moved to Albert Rd (Hodge St runs into what was once the land surrounding his home). In 1893 Henry became mayor, but he died within weeks of filling the post. William Hodge became a blacksmith and married Elizabeth Wright, who died about 1863 (photo of her found recently). They had 5 children. William then married Mary Jerusha (surname unknown) and had 2 more daughters with her. Mary didn't get on with her stepchildren and by 1881 all but the youngest had left the family home, the eldest, George Thomas, having emigrated to Canada with his wife, Elizabeth Blundell. Elizabeth contracted TB and they returned home where she was nursed by her sisters in Halsall Rd, Birkdale. When she died, George married Isabella Tyrer and returned with his family to Canada. There are a great many Hodges & Blundells in Ontario who are descended from George, and also a few in America from his brother, Henry. George's brother, Edward Albert Hodge started his working life as a builder, and quickly amassed a respectable fortune from property around Southport & beyond. He travelled a great deal, spending some time in Canada with his relatives before moving to Chicago where he was contracted to do a lot of building work. Some years later he travelled again, when he embarked on a voyage to Adelaide, Australia on "The Torrens" clipper. He befriended the First Mate on this voyage, who he thought to be French at the time, and when the Ship's Carpenter became ill, Edward took up the role. Only many years later did Edward discover that this first mate was Joseph Conrad. Edward kept a diary on this voyage, which has survived. I have made contact with 2 other descendants of Gred Tom, so we have up-to-date lines through 3 of his children; Martha, Edward and Henry, I would be very pleased to hear from anyone else who can identify a Hodge connection, especially through Tom. I apologise for the length of the message, but hope it has been of interest to anyone with family link to the North Meols Hodges.