Not Exactly A Royal Watcher

The world was watching as Prince William married the beautiful Kate Middleton April 29th. I don't feel I qualify as a 'royal watcher' because I didn't get up in the middle of the night to tune in to the nuptials in real time. But of course I watched the replays of the big day.

So, if I'm not a dedicated royal watcher, why did I buy this commemorative tea caddy which was created in celebration of William and Kate's marriage? I found it at Marshall's in West Des Moines last week. There was also a royal purple, hinged, tea container which if I was buying just as a wedding commemorative I would have chosen instead of the silver one, but......

I chose the silver one because it contains 25 Ahmad Tea of London English Breakfast Tea bags. If it had been Ahmad English No. 1, it would have been perfect. But English Breakfast is good, too.

Thinking of English royalty and tea (especially the tea) got me wondering if I would ever find out for certain that I did have a great-great-great English grandmother as I had been told. On a whim I did a google search of "Rosina Edwards Hull" and discovered YES! She was born in England!

Not only that, but here's a picture of her. Rosina Edwards was born in Seton East Riding, Yorkshire, England on 1 December, 1825 to William H. Edwards (1786-1881) and Martha Bennings (1788-1871). I already knew from the tombstone in Walnut Grove Cemetery in Corning, IA that she had married John P. Hull (1820-1887) and that she died 1906. (Website gives her date of death as August 26. Tombstone gives her year of birth as 1824.)

The website lists John's middle name as Palmer which I didn't know. So with that and the info from the tombstone that he was a member of Co. E, 13th Reg, VT Vol., I can probably find out much more about him. I can also go online to read about East Riding Yorkshire. (I loved the PBS Masterpiece Theatre series about South Riding.)

Rosina and John had nine children, C.C., Martha Rebecca, Louisa Jane, Agnes Georgeana (Georgina?) (my great-great grandmother), Christopher P., Henry F., Isabelle G., Alice Victoria and Ida J.

My first big surprise of the day was finding out more about Rosina on a website. My second big surprise came when I referred back to a blog I had written last September 26 about post cards (wherein I had mentioned Rosina) and discovered a comment posted there on February 21 this year which I hadn't seen before. Seems a distant cousin in California discovered my blog and wants to exchange family history. Gotta go now to e-mail her and apologize for not answering her sooner. Who knows where this will lead? She does mention a hand-written Hull family history.


Addendum: Re: Rosina Edwards parents and siblings:

William H. Edwards, Born April 13, 1786, Seaton, East Riding, Yorkshire, England. Died July 2, 1881, Moriah Center, Essex, New York. Married Martha Bennings April 15, 1816 in Sigglesthorne, Yorkshire, England. Martha Bennings, Born 1788 Northumberland, England. Died July 15 1871, in Moriah Center, Essex, NY. Wm & Martha had nine children all born in England except Robert born in Vermont. Family came to America in 1833 aboard ship "Clarkson". First names of children: Thomas, Elizabeth, George, Henry, Rosina, Henry (named after his brother), Hannah, John and Robert.