I am a distant cousin of yours. Your father Roderick’s maternal grandmother, Annie Brooke (nee Gill) (1894-1981) was my great grandma’s first cousin. Annie’s mother, Peace Gill (nee Kaye) (18666-1938) was a sister to my great great grandmother, Mary Hannah Hilton (nee Kaye) (1872-1938). I have been researching my family tree for thirty years and have a lot of information and documents on the Kayes, as well as a handful of photographs. There’s poverty, pestilence, crime, eventful and unfortunate deaths, “living-in-sin,” religious fervour (with a strong Oregon connection, no less), to relate. I should be glad to share all of this with you if you are interested in that part of your ancestry. I would also be extremely interested in anything you might like to enlighten me on with regard to your grandparents Tony & Marjorie Capaldi, your great grandparents England & Annie Brooke, and your great great grandparents Harry & Peace Gill. I did discover some time ago that Harry & Peace, in May 1924, sailed to Canada with the intention of settling there, but they returned to England a mere three months later and lived out the remainder of their lives here. One of Peace’s sisters had emigrated to Canada, with her husband, as long ago as 1905, and her niece (my great grandma) had spent a couple of years staying with her aunt in Toronto (1920-1922), with the initial intention of settling there, too, but eventually returned to England, married and settled down, which was a good job for my existence!

My mum and dad still live just a few miles (6 or so) from Batley, where the Kayes lived from about 1872 onwards, as did the Gills. Mum lived as a young girl just around the corner from where Harry & Peace had long-lived, and worked in Batley Market Place for several years.

Oh, and my great great grandmother, Martha Hannah Hilton, and yours, Peace Gill, must have been close as sisters because when Martha Hannah very belatedly tied the knot to her long-time partner, Harvey Hilton, in 1930, when they were both in their 60s (it’s a long story), Peace and Harry Gill were the official witnesses at the Register Office ceremony in Tadcaster.

Hoping this message finds you, and your father, well.

I have no idea if you will check this site as your comment is from 10 years ago. Roderick is my father and my grandfather Tony was married to Marjorie and I have an Auntie Gina so I suspect you have the right family! I have just begun researching my family but I will let my father know of this message.