Moses (1736-1822) and Hannah (1735-1811) both have surnames featured in Redmonds dictionary of Yorkshire surnames. They are also brick walls in my Sarginson ancestral line.

According to Redmonds, Jewitt/Jewett could be surname variants of the Bradford surname Jowett, derived from “Juett”, the diminutive of Julian, a pet form of a popular female name. In the 1881 census Jowett/Jowitt surnames were mostly found in the West Riding of Yorkshire; in the same census, the variant Jewitt was more frequent than Jewett, although both were present across a number of places in Yorkshire. It is thought likely that these surname variants originated from more than family.

Redmonds dictionary identified that the surname Musgrave was derived from a specific place: Musgrave near Kirkby Stephen in Westmorland and that there was a long history of the surname in and around Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It seems that in the Tudor period Musgraves of different social statuses settled in both the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire. In the 1881 census Musgrave was found in the highest numbers in Yorkshire; the rare West Riding variant Musgreave was largely confined to the Barnsley and Wakefield areas.

Moses, Hannah and their family – Moses and Hannah, my six times great grandparents, settled in Howden. Moses was described in parish records as a labourer. Together thy had a son and five daughters. Their eldest daughter Hannah (1768-1827), my five times great grandmother, is highlighted on the following chart with a blue circle, her parents are circled in black and her brother Moses in purple. 

Hannah married Elias South (1768-1831) and they lived in Hooke/Hook (a few miles from Howden),  which was described in Lewis’s topographical directory of 1848 as follows:

Moses senior, Hannah, son Moses and most of their daughters continued to live in Howden. Moses senior died at the age of 86 and was buried in St Peter’s churchyard, Howden on 18 June 1822. By then his son Moses (1767-1833) had become the landlord of the Black Bull Inn, Bridgegate, Howden. After Moses died in 1833, his wife Hannah (1771-1845) continued as the inn keeper. She was recorded there in the 1841 census with her daughter Elizabeth (1804-1857), Elizabeth’s husband Thomas Edmondson (1803-1865), a school master and their family.  When Hannah died, aged 76, on 7 February 1845, she was described in a local newspaper (Yorkshire Gazette 15 February 1845) as the “relict of the late Moses Jewitt of the Black Bull Inn”. Howden was described in Lewis’s topographical directory of 1848 as follows:

Elizabeth, my first cousin six times removed, her husband Thomas Edmondson and their family were still living in Bridgegate, Howden in the 1851 census. After Elizabeth’s death, Thomas and their children moved at some point to Pinfold St, Howden where they were recorded in the 1861 census. Helpfully, Thomas gave his occupation as a school master of the National School. The school had been purpose built in 1826 in Pinfold St and it catered for both boys and girls who had paid a nominal fee. None of their children became school teachers.

Lastly – I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post. I am particularly interested in Moses senior and his wife Hannah Musgrave, as I am not sure that I have found either their baptisms or marriage. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.

Bibliography:

Births, marriages and deaths. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2021.

British Newspaper Collection. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2021.

Butler, Susan and Powis, Ken. (1994) Howden an East Riding market town. Goole: Gilberdyke Local History Group.

Census records. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/ : accessed August 2021.

Howden. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/Howden : accessed August 2021.

Howdenshire History. http://www.howdenshirehistory.co.uk/howden/shops-bridgegate-history.html : accessed August 2021.

Lewis, Samuel ed. (1848) A Topological Directory of England. London: Lewis. https://www.british-history.ac.uk/topographical-dict/england : accessed August 2021.

Redmonds, George. ((2015) A Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames. Donington: Shaum Tyas.  

Wakefield. https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/WRY/Wakefield : accessed August 2021.

Yorkshire baptisms, marriages and burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed August 2021.