Created by Julie Goucher using wordclouds.com March 2020

When I began researching my Grandmother’s family, and in particular her ELSTONE line, I encountered my Grandmother’s maternal Aunt, Eliza Elstone. Eliza married Joseph PARSLOW and they emigrated to Canada.

Indeed they did emigrate, but did not like it, so after having three of their four children there, they returned to England, settling in Woking, Surrey where Joseph established himself as an antique dealer.

Over time, I looked at the Parslow family and eventually established that the family were quite well known in the Kingston-Upon-Thames area of Surrey and that one of Joseph’s relatives was a banjo maker.

Back in 2006, I received an email from eBay confirming that something had been listed for sale on the auction site. Usually I have a quick glance and then delete the email. I still receive these daily emails, but nothing of late has yielded any success.

However, in one instance, there was confirmation of a listing for a Banjo, made by Parslow. I certainly did not want the Banjo, but I was intrigued and asked the seller if I could download the photographs. I was interested in the link to my branch of the Parslow family. The seller was obliging and I downloaded the photos. Meanwhile, I had mentioned to a fellow Parslow researcher that a Parslow Banjo was for sale and they indeed did purchase the Banjo.

Below is the complete set of Parslow Banjo photographs. In the coming months I really must get the Parslow papers into my database and upload the material to my website.

When I first joined the Guild of One-Name Studies, in 2002, the surname was registered with the Guild, but I note today that this is no longer the case.

Here are a few links which might be of interest:

• The Instrument Makers Research, Maine Folk life Centre
• The Fellowship of Makers and Researchers of Historic Instruments (FoMRHI)
• The Galpin Society – For the study of musical instruments
• Musical Instruments Museum Online
• The Bate Collection – Oxford University
• The Lute Society

You will also likely find mention of individuals in trade or street directories.

For those interested in Clock and Watch makers there are a few suitable bits of information, though this is by means a complete list.

• Clock and Watch Research – UK and Ireland (fee payable site)*
• Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the world by G.H.Baillie

In this book, Baillie shows hundreds of watchmakers from about 1550 – 1830 and provides some interesting cross-references such as:

– member of the watchmaker association
– master letter reached
– date of birth and death (as far as known)
– locations of famous watches

There are some early examples of European watch and clock makers, but it is no where near being a comprehensive reference in this regard.

Taking part in the A-Z Challenge for 2020

(*I am not associated with the site, other than as a consumer of the information provided. I do recommend the site as a research resource.)