......."Relatively Speaking” .......

Trangmar Family History Group Newsletter No 2 March 2004

This newsletter started its life off some while ago now, but a hectic schedule and my work pattern
changing back to a Monday to Friday affair time is more limited.

That said progress still continues, there are a number of projects related to Trangmar history ongoing
at the present, as well as the national birth, marriages and death references which are now complete
to 1920 I am trying to put together a history of the surname transition from Trenchemer to Trangmar.

This is quite a chore as it covers around 700 years parts of which there is very little material reference,
but it is amazing how the odd snippet appears fortunately they appear to follow the same trade as
shipbuilders in Shoreham for the first 500+ years.

Those of you that have access to the internet will find that the website address has now changed, after
getting fed-up by the number of pop-ups and loading times I obtained the domain name and webspace
at www.trangmar.co.uk. there are regular updates to the site, most recently 20th February which included
the introduction of a forum for people to post information ask questions etc. As you can see from the
symbol at the top of the page we are now members of the Guild of One Name Studies, as the name suggests
it is a contact place for people researching one name such as ours.

While searching across the internet I came across an article written by Professor Rainer Radok, it was his
story of his time as a young Jewish student in Germany, part of which follows:-

“By the time I reach Königsberg, many of the persons arrested at that time have been released and it was
safe for father to return, on the train from Munich to Berlin, I meet Norah Trangmar, an English lady who is
studying music in Munich and is to enable me in a few months' time to leave Germany under my own steam.

During 1939, I also spend much time with Norah Trangmar, whom I met at Christmas on the train on the way
to Koenigsberg. When she learns about my Jewish origin and the troubles facing my family, she contacts a
friend in England on my behalf. By that time, Jobst has gone to England to look for a job after deciding to
defer his military service and try to get overseas experience, probably with a view to eventual emigration of
the entire family”.

After contacting Rainer by email he told me more about his meeting with Norah all those years ago,

“Dear Mick, It was after the Reichskristallnacht that I got on the train in Munich to return home for Christmas.
As I was learning English very hard on my own, I had bought the Times and was settling down in a corner
of the third class section with wooden benches. Norah entered, saw the newspaper and began talking to me.
You know already from the story the consequences, I was not informed about my parent’s plans and was
supposed to go on studying engineering in Munich. After my return late in December I met Norah and we
frequently walked about until the middle of July when I was to meet her friend Mr Farrow from Old Bosham,
not far away from Brighton. During this time we went for many walks in the English Garden Munich’s main
park and had meals in warmer times by the river under a big tree, she was studying singing. How she got out
of Germany before the start of the war I do not know. When my parents eventually reached New York she
was at the ship to meet them, I cannot remember how the contact with our friends in New York was made but
all the people involved have died already. I went to the U.S.A. in 1954 to spend six months at Brown University
in Providence, RI. That was when I met her in her apartment in 4?th Street, as I told you already next to Carnegie
Hall. I believe that she was teaching singing at the time, I have never heard her sing nor do I know about her
concerts if any. After that I lost contact with her, it was certainly my fault I was in my early thirties and obsessed
with my work. I regret that now as I spent altogether seven years in the States after 1955, later on while in
New York I looked her up in the telephone book without success. I would suggest that you contact Carnegie Hall
and ask about records of private singing teachers, while there is some sort of register, I would not know how to
access it. With kind regards, Rainer”.

I did contact Carnegie Hall and they found the leaflet above, if anyone has a Norah in their branch or knows of
her please let me know. Mick.

Treasure chest found in Haywards Heath!

After being contacted by Eddie Trangmar who came across the web site on his travels in cyberspace he mentioned
some research that had been shown to his family around fifty years ago, he is not aware of who had carried it
out but the fortunate thing is that Eddie had copies of this work and had also redrawn the tree this person had
put together.

So I went to visit Eddie and his wife Eleanor to look at what he had, it consists of about nine pages of typewritten
notes all relating to Trangmar some of which confirmed what we already know but much was new and exciting
lines of research to follow.

Some while ago when extracting Trangmar references from the National Birth, Marriage and Death registers I also
listed the Tranmar and Tranmer events as I felt their could be a connection, in this research a reference to Burke’s
Colonianal Gentry is made in which the following statement comes:- “This family originally came from Normandy:
one branch settled for several centuries at Portslade, Sussex – another at Scarborough, Yorkshire, which latter now
spell their name TRANMAR. During the last 200 years the name has been variously spelt viz – Tranmere, Tangmere
and Trangma, but for the last 120 years with the exception of the Yorkshire branch the name has uniformly been
spelt Trangmar”.

It also raises the question whether there is any family connections with the town of Tranmere and the village of
Tangmere near Chichester that whose airfield was a well known WWII base, any offers?

I have re-typed this research into MS Word and hope to make it available on the web-site or should anyone like as
an attachment to email, this also applies to any other of the web-pages etc. In a future Newsletter I will list out what
is available in the way of typed up research, databases, should anyone have a family history programme and is
familiar with GEDCOM (GEnealogical Data COMmunication) files there is one available so please ask.

A few days before hearing from Eddie I had also heard from Jo Britten who had recently started researching her
Trangmar connections, it turns out that her Great Great Grandfather Arthur Trangmar is Eddies Grandfather! as you
can imagine there is a lot of corresponding going on between them, this kind of result is what makes all the research
so worthwhile.

In the photo below Arthur can be seen middle of the back row with Eddies father standing in front, it
was taken at Patcham at shearing time probably circa early 1900s.

..........................................................................................

More Trangmar’s for me

One of the reasons I had started family history was that my Mother knew little to nothing of her father William Trangmar,
her only recollection was meeting him on her 21st Birthday under the clock at Waterloo station.

William joined the Royal Horse Artillery in 1902 and married Margaret Hammond at Hambledon, Surrey in 1913, although
a lot of information has been gained from his 1st War records etc how they met had been something of a mystery as he
was born in Brighton, William carried on his army career after the end of the War and they drifted apart never to get
back together.

Recently I found a reference to Mary Alice Trangmar’s (William’s mother) death in 1893 and sent for a copy of the certificate,
it came back and she had died aged 33 at Shottermill, Surrey about six miles from Hambledon as the crow flies!

Further delving found that his father remarried in 1897 at Lynchmere near Midhurst.

Other references from the area I had previously ignored suddenly became relevant and I have now uncovered an enlarged
family, which includes twin girls, much to my mothers pleasure she is now finding out more about her fathers family.

Obituary from the Sussex Express 29th April 1884

“Death of the oldest native inhabitant of Brighton”

The death of Mrs Trangmar (mother of Mr W.G.Trangmar of the Queens Road) who died at her residence in Russell Square
on Tuesday at the great age of 92 is interesting she being we believe the oldest native resident of Brighton.

Mrs Trangmar was the widow of Mr John Tanner Trangmar, Grocer who over 50 years since was in business in Boyces Street,
(then a trading centre of the town) and subsequently in North Street.

The deceased lady was born in Brighton Place in 1792 when the “Pretty fisher village” was in the full tide of its “golden era”
of early prosperity though it contained but 1200 houses and some 5000 inhabitants (about one twentieth of the number now).

Mrs Trangmars maiden name was Sawyer.

Appeal for information, pictures etc.

Please could you send any information on the family however irrelevant it may at first seem it could contain the very piece
that fits another part of the jigsaw together. I would also appreciate the loan for scanning any family photo’s, we have a few
as you can see but it would be nice to expand the archive, where possible please include names, places etc.

That’s it for now

I will try my utmost not to leave over two years between newsletters (Nov 2001-March 2004)! anyone who wishes to have a
copy of the first one please let me know as it is still on the computer.

To those of you who have not had contact with me but receive this because of your surname being Trangmar, firstly I apologise
if you take offence at receiving this, but I hope you don’t see it as “junkmail” and find it interesting.

However if you no longer wish to receive these either electronically or by post please let me know so that I may update my contact list.

Kindest regards to everyone,

Mick.