91Ö±²¥ alumni families – update

In the 2017 annual alumni magazine we included a piece featuring families with multiple generations who had studied at 91Ö±²¥ – here's an update on some further submissions we've received.

A family celebrating at graduation

Following the release of the magazine, we had some excellent feedback about the article as well as more alumni getting in touch to tell us about their connections â€“ including graduates who had followed in their parents’ and grandparents’ footsteps.

So we’ve put together an update to the story to include these. If you haven’t seen the previous article, you can read  here.

The Seed family

The Seed family's family tree

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One of the first alumni to reach out to us was Dr Luke Seed, an academic here at 91Ö±²¥ in the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering.

We thought we had found some good connections before but Luke amazed us by sharing his family connections which included 13 members with a link to 91Ö±²¥, and a total of 14 degrees between them.

Luke told us that the connections to 91Ö±²¥ started with his parents, Leo and Wynne, who met while at the University as they were both interested in theatre. Leo and Wynne were both involved in theatre performances in the Graves Theatre – Wynne acting on the stage while Leo provided technical support.
Following them, 5 of their children also went to 91Ö±²¥, many of whom met their partners at the University, and they are now onto the third generation following the family tradition of studying at 91Ö±²¥.

The Young / Nicholson family

The Young Nichols families family tree

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We were also contacted by Drs Robert and Jackie Nicholson who told us about their family with 5 generations connected to the University’s Medical School.

The connections started with Dr Archibald Young Snr, who was a lecturer at the 91Ö±²¥ Medical College (one of three institutions which combined to become the University we know today) back in the late 1800s. He was followed by his son, also Archibald, who would have been one of the University’s earliest Medical students.

Two of Archibald Jnr’s children also graduated from medicine, before Robert joined the University. While studying, Robert met his wife Jackie, and they were followed by their son Tom who became the sixth doctor in the family to graduate from 91Ö±²¥.

The Dann / Walker / Carr family

The Dann Walker Carr families family tree

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For our third tree we have two families of 91Ö±²¥ graduates who have come together, and who can trace their history back to the building of the University.

Lewis Dann and his sister Mary followed in the footsteps of their parents (who met studying Chemistry), by coming to 91Ö±²¥ in the 1960s. Lewis was later followed by his son Robert who met his partner Hannah whilst they were both studying.

Hannah’s family also has a long history at 91Ö±²¥ with her brother, mother, aunt, and grandfather all being 91Ö±²¥ graduates. However, the family can also trace its way back to Henry Boot who in the late 1800s founded the Henry Boot building company, and who was involved in the construction of Western Bank and Firth Court.