My Great Grandfather

My half cousin sent me this this photo as it would have been my great grandfathers birthday.  He was born in 1867 and his name was John Joseph.  He lived in Castleside which is a village in Country Durham.  His father was a lead miner.  Sadly, he father died when John Joseph was just a boy and he moved with his mother and sister Annie to Newbiggin-by-the-Sea which is in Northumberland.  I believe that his mother had relatives there.

He married his wife Mary and they had five children - Joseph, Norman, Ernest, Cecil and Ann and they moved to Dunston which is close to where I live now.  He worked as a trimmer at Dunston Staithes.  The trimmers job was to make sure the coal was loaded evenly onto the ship.  It was a responsible job and well paid.

I often post photos from Dunston Staithes which has been totally transformed from its very industrial past.   It is now a place where people live and there is a nice path to walk along which eventually takes you to Newcastle.  The views of the bridges are great.  I often think of him when I am there and I often think how different the place looks today compared to when he worked there.

There is much more I could write about him as he was an interesting man.  One thing about this photo that fascinates me is that if it wasn't for his clothes and the studio setting, I think he looks like a young man of today and not a Victorian man.  What do you think?