Elizabeth was the illegitimate daughter of Isabella Naisbett christened October 13th, 1852 at Lanchester. Elizabeth’s mother Isabella married Thomas Pallister on July 11th, 1853 and Elizabeth appears to have been raised as Elizabeth Pallister.
In 1861 Elizabeth was living with her mother & 2 sisters & 2 brothers at Hornsby Hill, Lanchester. Thomas Pallister was a butcher in Lanchester.
Elizabeth was still living at home at Ornsby Hill in 1871 & she now had 7 sisters & 3 brothers.
Elizabeth married John James Thompson in April-June 1873 at Newcastle-upon-Tyne. John was christened December 25th, 1849 in Lanchester, the son of Mary Sharpe & William Walton Thompson, a registrar of births deaths & marriages.
In 1881 Elizabeth & John were living in Lanchester, Co Durham & John was a registrar of births & deaths. They had a domestic servant Margaret Craggs & 3 children – Walton Earle (4), Thomas Pallister (2) & George Elliott (1). Their first 2 children, John Sharp & Amy Gwendoline had died in infancy in 1876 & 1877 respectively.
The family were living at Front Street, Lanchester in 1891 & John was now a Conservative agent. At home were Walton & Thomas as well as Mary S (7), Norina N (4), William W (3) & James D (1).
In 1893 a tragic event occurred as reported by the Newcastle Courant of January 21st. Daughter Mary & a friend were playing by the burn behind the houses in the village of Lanchester. A plank had been temporarily left across the burn for the purpose of wheeling manure. It is thought that Mary fell from the plank into the swollen river. Her friend gave a shriek which was heard by Mary’s mother who immediately called for the police. By dark however Mary had not been found despite dragging the river as far as Witton Gilbert, 4 and a half miles away. Sadly on resuming the search next morning, 2 miners from Biggen found her body there caught in some roots growing by the river.
Tragedy struck the family again when John, aged 48, committed suicide as reported in the Sunderland Daily Echo & Shipping Gazette of February 2nd, 1898. John, clerk to the Parish Council & recently appointed assistant overseer, was found hanged in an outhouse behind his premises. At an inquest son Walton stated that he returned home from work at the Malton Colliery about 6 a.m. & found the back door to the kitchen securely fastened. He roused his mother who was sleeping & together they discovered the body which was still warm. A verdict of suicide while temporarily insane was returned.
Widowed Elizabeth was still living at Front St, Lanchester in 1901& at home with her were Walton Earle, labourer in a coke yard, Thomas Pallister, a mason, Norena Nesbit, William Willard, James Disraeli & Henry Percival (7), the last 3 boys being at school.
Son Walton married Emily Elisabeth Hayne on February 22nd, 1911 at Lanchester. Walton served as a gunner with the Royal Field Artillery during WW1.
Front Street was still Elizabeth’s address in 1911 & living with her were Thomas, a mason waller on the estate, Norina, William, a draper’s assistant, James, a house painter & Henry, a colliery labourer above ground. It was noted on the census that Elizabeth had had 11 children, only 6 of whom were still alive.
Son Henry enlisted in Durham and served first in The Hussars and then with the 2nd Battalion of the Leicestershire Regiment. Sadly he died on the first day of the Battle of Loos: 25th September 1915, aged 23. He has no known grave but is remembered on the Loos Memorial which forms the sides and back of Dud Corner Cemetery which lies just outside the village of Loos-en-Gohelle, 5 kilometres north-west of Lens.
All four of Henry’s brothers served in WW1: Thomas Pallister Thompson served as a Corporal in the Royal Engineers, Walton Earle Thompson as a Gunner in the Royal Field Artillery, William Wyllard Thompson as a private in the Durham Light infantry and James Disraeli Thompson as a Private in the Yorks and Lancs Regiment. All survived the War.
Son William married Jennie Walsh Mole on February 11th, 1918 at All Saints, Hockley, Birmingham. William was a soldier at the time & Jennie was a nurse.
Daughter Norina married Frederick Arthur Lathan in 1921 in Lanchester. Fred served in WW1 in The King’s Own Scottish Borderers, then in the Machine Gun Corps and later in the Tank Corps. He was awarded the Military Medal. In August 1926 Norina & Frederick sailed from Southampton to New Zealand on board the Ionic. They came to live in Wellington, New Zealand. Husband Frederick died suddenly on February 19th, 1941 at Waiouru Military Camp, Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand, where he was camp Sergeant Major.
The 1939 register shows son Thomas Pallister living at Hallgarth Terrace, Lanchester with his wife Margaret H (nee Heads) & family & he was a builder with his own account, & a special constable.
Elizabeth, agd 77, died in April-June 1929 in Lanchester.
The children of Elizabeth Naisbett Pallister & John James Thompson were:
John Sharp Thompson born Oct-December 1873 in Durham; buried December 6th, 1876 in Lanchester
Amy Gwendoline Thompson born April-June 1875 in Lanchester; buried March 14th, 1877 in Lanchester
Walton Earle Thompson born October 11th, 1876 in Lanchester; died September 1954 at Murton, Co Durham
Thomas Pallister Thompson born August 5th, 1878 in Lanchester; died Jan-March 1956 in Durham Central
George Elliott Thompson born April-June 1880 in Lanchester; died Oct-December 1884 in Lanchester
Edmund Beaconsfield Thompson born Jan-March 1882 in Lanchester; died Jan-March 1885 in Lanchester
Mary Sharp Thompson born April-June 1884 in Lanchester; died January 1893 in Lanchester
Norina Naisbett Thompson born April-June 1886 in Lanchester; died July 10th, 1974 & buried in Karori Cemetery, Wellington, New Zealand
William Wyllard Thompson born Jan-March 1888 in Lanchester
James Disraeli Thompson born January 27th, 1890 in Lanchester; died July-September 1975 in Durham North
Henry Percival Thompson born April-June 1893 in Lanchester; died September 25th, 1915 at Loos, France