I’ve been going through my pile of unread books to sort them out and came across one written by John Dickinson about his parents Jack and Mary Dickinson. A school friend mentioned the book to me some time ago and I thought it was about time I read it. The book provides a real insight into the life of Mary, a domestic servant in the early part of the 20th century, before she met her future husband, Jack. It also provides an account of their lives and the impact of two World Wars on them. This blog post is just going to focus on my connection to Mary and her husband Jack and makes use of the 1921 census. The book provides key insights into the life of a couple who are related to me and it’s well worth getting hold of a copy.
Mary Isabel Palframan (1905-2001), my first cousin three times removed, was the eldest daughter of Michael Palframan (1850-1907), my second great grand uncle and Maud Allon Dixon (1879-1958). Michael was farmer in South Duffield, Yorkshire in the 1901 census and he married Maud, a school teacher, in 1904. Michael died not long after his second daughter was born. After his death Maud moved with her two daughters to Harwood Dale in the North Riding of Yorkshire where she worked as a teacher at the Harwood Dale elementary school. Maud married Ward Nesfield (1862-1932), a widower and farmer, 27 August 1912 in Scarborough. The following chart shows the key family relationships:
Family history chart for Michael and Maud
By the 1921 census Ward, Maud, Ward’s son Edward and Maud’s daughter Martha were living at Chapel Farm, Harwood Dale. The Dale is in the parish of Hackness and is eight miles north west of Scarborough; it is highlighted on the following map:
OS Yorkshire LX.II date 1928
Maud’s eldest daughter Mary was working as a domestic servant in the household of W H Wordsworth Esquire of The Glen, Scalby, Yorkshire. In contrast, her future husband Jack Dickinson, was in Leeds with his mother Isabella (1886-1970), her partner/husband Edward Dickinson (1871-1935) and three siblings. The family of six were living in four rooms, with Edward working as a labourer for a building company. They had moved to Scarborough by 1935 as that is where Edward’s death was registered.
Mary met Jack in Scarborough and they married on 14 February 1940 in St Lawrence’s Church, Scalby, just before Jack returned to his military unit and WWII.
St Lawrence’s Church, Scalby
Jack died in Scarborough in 1998 and Mary died at the age of 96 in 2001.
It has been interesting to find out more about this family. I spent time working in Scarborough when I was a student and did not know anything about them. Now I have just two more books on my unread pile to browse and decide what to do with!
Lastly – I would like to know more about the people mentioned in this blog post. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.
I was first motivated to write about this branch of my family when I came across Hannah Maria Thompson (1864-1932), my 3rd cousin three times removed, whose parents were Joseph Thompson (1835-1907) and Sarah Tillotson (1837-1920). In the 1911 census Hannah was living with her widowed mother Sarah, brother Charles (1865-1926) and niece (Gertrude) Irene Thompson (1898-1970) at Moor, Garforth near Leeds. Hannah was described as a baker and confectioner (maker) and employer; her brother Charles a baker worker. The census also included three servants: two assistant confectioners and a servant. Her brother Henry Malcom Thompson (1868-1938) was also a baker in 1911. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any of them in the 1908 Kelly’s directory for the West Riding of Yorkshire. However, a judicious purchase of the 1921 census from FindmyPast revealed that, at the time the census was taken, Hannah was still a confectioner on her own account and that she was living with her brother Charles and Aunt Maria in Main Street Garforth. The following 1908 OS map shows the locations of Garforth Moor and Main Street, Garforth.
OS Yorkshire Sheet CCXIX.NW dated 1908
Hannah’s family – Hannah had been born into a family who worked in the pits in Garforth. Mining coal was one of the main industries in the area, as noted in Lewis’ 1848 topographical directory of England.
Lewis’s Topographical Directory of England 1848 – entry for Garforth
Hannah was the eldest daughter of Joseph and Sarah’s six children. The 1871 census records the family as living in Moor Garforth with Joseph described as a weighman at the colliery, possibly working at the nearby Sisters Pit owned by the Gascoigne family. He continued to work as a weighman until he retired. Just two of his sons, Charles and Frederick (1870-1936), spent part of their working career in a colliery. By the 1901 census no family members were working in the pits. By then Charles and Henry were bakers, alongside their sister Hannah, Frederick was a railway porter, Emily (1872-1926) a servant and Edward (b 1875) a bricklayer. The following chart shows Joseph, Sarah, their children and grandchildren.
Descendant chart for Joseph Thompson and Sarah Tillotson
Working in the collieries could result in accidents and deaths. The Durham Mining Museum has an entry for Garforth Colliery which has a thought to be incomplete list of 57 deaths dating from the mid-19th century until the early 20th century. It contains the details of three Thompson’s who were killed there: G Thompson, a shunter, in 1896, and T Thompson and H Thompson who fell off roofs in 1897. Unfortunately, there is only limited information about the deaths in local newspapers like the Skyrack Courier. It is possible these men could be related to Joseph Thompson but clear links have so far not been found.
Tillotson surname – Hannah’s mother Sarah, is my 2nd cousin four times removed, and I decided to see what I could find out about the origin of the Tillotson surname. Redmonds book of Yorkshire surnames is an excellent source of information and has entries for Tillotson (with variants Tillitson and Tillottson and the variant Tilson. The following is a quote from Redmonds about Tillotson and its variants:
“’Son of Tillot’, a diminutive of Matilda via the pet form Till. This is a surname with a single origin and the progenitor can be identified in the poll tax of 1379. Her name was Tillot de Northwod and she was listed in Cowling along with her two sons, John and William Tillotson. The surname ramified in Kildwick parish and surrounding parts of Airedale and it remains numerous there… The most illustrious bearer of the name was John Tillotson of Sowerby near Halifax, born in 1630 and created Archbishop of Canterbury in 1691.”
Redmonds, George. (2015) A Dictionary of Yorkshire Surnames. Donnington: Shaum Tyas. p. 743
In my own family research, I have probably traced my ancestors back to James Tillotson, my 6th great grandfather, who died in 1778 in Barwick on Elmet, just a few miles from Garforth. Encouraged by the information about the surname in Redmonds, I carried out further research and found two possible baptisms for James:
James Towleson baptised 30 July 1698 in Hartshead cum Clifton, a chapelry in the parish of Dewsbury, to father Abraham.
James Tillson baptised 1 September 1705 in Pontefract to father Henry.
James’ burial record suggests that he was 80 at the time of his death in 1778 which would suggest that the 1698 baptism was the more likely one for him. However, it is probable that the Towleson baptism is not his. Towleson is a variant of Tolson/Toulson which Redmonds attributes to the place name “Toulston, a locality in the parish of Newton Kyme near Tadcaster”. In contrast, Tillson is also said to derive from ‘Son of Till’ a pet form of Matilda. It occurred in a number of places in Yorkshire and was also found alongside Tillotson and Tillison. Redmonds asserts that it “must often have been a contraction of that name”.
In the case of my 6th great grandfather James, it seems possible that he was baptised as a Tillson and buried as a Tillotson. If the 1705 baptism is correct for him, then his father Henry was born in 1676 in Dewsbury and married Elizabeth Walker on 2 December 1703 in Pontefract. They had their first child James there and then returned to Dewsbury. The following is a possible family chart for James showing how he is descended from Samuel. All my potential great grandfathers are circled on the chart in purple. John (1734-1798) is my 5th great grandfather, then James my 6th great grandfather, Henry my 7th great grandfather and at the top of the chart Samuel my 8th great grandfather. Sarah, my 2nd cousin four times removed is circled in lilac.
Pedigree Chart for Sarah Tillotson
Lastly – I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.
It’s rare that I write about any of my ancestors who lived in an adjoining county to where I live now. When I came across Alice, my 4th cousin twice removed, I decided it was time to see what I could find out about her.
Alice was the eldest daughter of Ashley Bellinger (born 1849) and his first wide Maria Saunders (1845-1888); she was born in Q1 1875 in Amersham, Buckinghamshire and is highlighted in purple on the following outline descendant chart.
Descendant chart for Ashley Bellinger
Alice’s father Ashley was a gamekeeper and in the 1881 census the family were living in Keepers Cottage, Amersham. In 1910, Ashley and his third wife, Margaret, highlighted in pink on the above chart), emigrated to Canada on the SS Empress of Ireland. They arrived in Quebec on 29 September 1910 and settled in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Canada where Ashley became a farmer.
By 1891 Alice had left home and was a kitchen maid working for the Matthews family in Northaw, Hertfordshire. In the 1901 census she was working as a laundry maid at Woburn Abbey, the seat of the Bedford family. There she met her future husband Walter Fletcher Lansom (1874-1918), a stable helper. The following picture is of Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire:
Woburn Abbey, Bedfordshire from Picturesque England
Alice and Walter married in Q4 1905 and settled in Woburn. In 1911 they were living at 39 Bedford Rd with their three children, with Walter working as a “chauffeur domestic” (see the following outline descendant report for Alice).
Descendant chart for Alice Bellinger
Alice died in 1917, and Walter on 13 February 1918, leaving their three young children orphans. A memorial entry in the Bedfordshire Times and Independent (13 February 1920), posted by Walter’s sister Renee, gave further information about Walter’s death. He was said to have “passed peacefully away at 62, Leighton Street, Woburn, Beds., on February 13th 1918, aged 44 years.” The following 1901 OS map for Woburn has been annotated to show the location of Leighton Street.
OS Bedfordshire Sheet XXIV.7 date 1901
The recently released 1921 census shed further light on what happened to Alice and Walter’s three children after Walter’s death. Their eldest son Ashley Herbert Lansom (1906-1997) and daughter Florence Irene Lansom (1910-1988) were recorded living with Alice’s older brother Frederick Bellinger and his wife in Walthamstow, Essex. Frederick was a plumber and Ashley, aged 15yrs 1month, a page boy working for bankers Guaranty First Co. of New York, 31 Lombard Street, London EC2. His sister was at school. Their brother, Robert William Lansom (1908-1977) aged 12yrs 10months, was found in the Royal Albert Orphanage, Camberley, Surrey where the census records that his parents were both dead and that he was at school. Robert married and in 1939 was living in Letchworth, Hertfordshire.
In 1949, Ashley and his family emigrated to Australia. They arrived in Freemantle, Western Australia on 15 November 1949 on the SS Otranto. The Perth Sunday Times reported, on 13 November, that the Otranto was one of three ships bringing a total of 364 migrants to Australia.
Ashley and his family settled near Perth where he worked as a plumber. Ashley’s sister, Florence Irene, also emigrated with her husband William Rice Baldwin (1908-1974) to Australia. They arrived in Freemantle on the SS New Australia on 2 March 1952 with their intended address being that of her brother Ashley: 105 Rupert St, Subiaco, Perth.
I am interested in knowing more about all the people mentioned in this blog post, and in particular, what happened to Ashley and his family in Australia. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.
I’ve previously written about George in my blog two actors and an accidental drowning. George married Annie Morley (born 1871), my 2nd cousin three times removed, on 10 June 1890 in Folkestone, Kent. He gave his occupation as an actor and his condition on their marriage certificate was recorded as a widower. However, Annie was George’s second wife. He had previously been married to Mary Ann Wheeler (born 1855), who he had divorced in 1882, as a result of her adultery with Edward Shelton. Mary was also an actress who performed under the stage name Mabel Verner.
After their marriage, George and Annie, and their two-month-old daughter Madge (1891-1940), were next found in the 1891 census living in Scarborough with Annie’s mother Maria, her second husband James Davison (b. 1852) and her three Morley siblings. George’s occupation was recorded as an actor. Maria and George went on to have a son Henry (1893-1920). However, after 1891, George and Annie, do not appear together in any further census records.
The first record which gave George’s address as 142 Gladstone Buildings, Willow Street, Finsbury, London EC2 was the 1911 census. He continued to live there until his death on 17 December 1925. The probate calendar showed that probate was granted to his brother Henry and that his effects were valued at £1,392 1s 11d. I wondered if there would be any mention of his second wife Annie, my 2nd cousin three times removed, in his will, so I ordered it. It was dated 1 August 1924 and contained the following list of bequests, which amounted £970, before funeral expenses etc:
List of bequests from George’s will
The following statement was included at the end of the will:
“My reason for not leaving more than here stated to my son and daughter is because their uncle and aunt provided for them leaving houses and liquid assets and myself no liquid assets.”
At the time of his death only George (1874-1935), his son from his first marriage and Madge (1891-1963) his daughter from his second wife Annie, were still alive. George clearly stated that they had been left assets by their uncle and aunt. Two of his brothers, Thomas (1844-1895) and William (1846-1917), were jewellers so perhaps he was referring to them?
Annie wasn’t mentioned in his will and it has taken some further research to find out a bit more about what happened to her. In the 1920 London Electoral Registers her address was 128 Brixton Hill, London. This was confirmed by her son Henry’s death entry in the Navy record of his accidental drowning on 9 March 1920 in South Africa. I also found 1901 and 1911 census records for a “Madge Morley” born 1874/1876 in Aldershot who was an actress. In 1911 Madge was a visitor at 112A Brixton Hill, London where the head of the household was John Sanders. On the assumption that Annie could also have become an actress with the stage name Madge Morley, I carried out a search of The Stage newspaper. The deaths column of the 12 September 1929 issue included the following entry:
“John Sanders – died 28 August 1929, age 48, after a short illness. Deeply mourned by his wife, Madge Morley.”
Another look at Annie’s 1920 Electoral Register entry showed that John Sanders was also living at 128 Brixton Hill. In addition, there were entries in The Stage on 27 January 1921, 20 October 1921 and 17 April 1930 posted by Madge Morley seeking work. In all three her address was 128 Brixton Hill. Eventually I found a marriage between Annie Curryer and John Sanders in Q4, 1925 recorded in Lambeth. Did Annie and John wait until her husband George had died before they got married?
Finally – George’s will was also interesting because two of the addresses caught my eye: Oakfield Rd, Penge and Ewart Rd, Forest Hill. I lived in both Penge and Forest Hill before my move out of London. Something of a coincidence!
I am interested in knowing more about all the people mentioned in this blog post, and in particular, what happened to George’s second wife Annie. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.
I added Luke, my 4th great grand uncle, and some of his family to my tree some time ago. In the 1841 census he was intriguingly described as a schoolmaster in Northgate, Market Weighton. As I re-checked my research before writing about him and his family, I discovered a previously unknown son. This led me to finding more school teachers, two Wesleyan Ministers, a number of solicitors, and a tragedy off the coast of New Zealand.
Luke was baptised on 27 February 1774 in St Catharine’s Church, Barmby Moor to parents Luke (1734-1813) and Ann Kirkby (1732-1811). He married Ann Cook (1781-1865) by license in St Michael’s Church, Spurriergate, York. Luke’s application for a license gave his address as Pocklington and that Ann was from York. They married on 1 December 1804. So far, I have traced eight children, four boys and four girls. Initially they lived in Pocklington, although by the time their second child Jane (1807-1883) was born, they had moved to Market Weighton. It’s not clear at what point the family became Wesleyan Methodists. The earliest non-conformist baptism record found for a member of the family is one for their youngest son Francis (1819-1854). He was baptised on 4 November 1819 in the Wesleyan Chapel in Market Weighton. The chapel is mentioned in Lewis’s description topographical directory of England as follows:
Lewis’s Topographical Directory of England – Market Weighton
What also proved helpful in finding out what Luke was doing prior to the 1841 census, was a series of trade directory entries for Market Weighton on the Genuki site. They provided the following information for Luke:
1823 Baines’s trade directory – gentlemen and boarders academy run by Luke Richardson in Northgate.
1829 Pigot’s trade directory – day pupils and boarders academy run by Luke Richardson in Northgate.
1834 Pigot’s trade directory – gentleman’s day and boarding school run by Luke Richardson in Northgate.
In the 1851 census Luke was still running the school in Northgate, assisted by two of his daughters, Jane (1807-1882) and Ann (1812-1886), and son Francis, who were all described as teachers. It is this census record which alerted me to Luke and Ann’s son Henry, who was a visitor, and described as a Wesleyan Minister.
Luke died in 1852 and was buried in St Catharine’s churchyard, Barmby Moor.
St Catharine’s Church, Barmby Moor
After his death the school continued to be run by his family. In the 1861 census it was described as the Northgate House boarding and day school. Luke’s widow Ann was the school proprietor, son William (1806-1887) assistant school master, daughters Jane and Ann school mistresses and daughter Mary Ann (1825-1882) the assistant manager. They had two servants, two male pupils aged 12 and 15 and 11 female pupils aged between 7 and 15. The following OS map from 1855 shows the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel circled in black and the National School, in North Gate circled in blue. Unfortunately, the precise location of Northgate house couldn’t be clearly identified; it was possibly on the other side of the street to the National School nearer to the junction with Market Place.
OS Yorkshire Sheet 209 date 1855
After Ann died in 1865, the school continued to be run by the family. In the 1871 census Jane was the head of the establishment with her siblings William and Ann recorded as teachers and Mary Ann as the housekeeper. By 1881 Ann was shown as the head of the school with Jane, Mary Ann and William as teachers. Jane and Mary Anne died in 1882. According to her gravestone, Ann was still living at Northgate House when she died on 10 March 1886. Her nephew Joseph Richardson was her executor and she was buried in Barmby Moor churchyard like her parents and siblings. William was living in Leeds when he died in 1887 and is also buried in Barmby Moor churchyard. There was no trace of the school in Bulmer’s 1892 trade directory for Market Weighton.
A summary of Luke and his family is included in the following outline descendant chart. People outlined in purple are the teachers in the family, the Wesleyan Ministers are outlined in pink and the solicitors in blue.
Outline descendant chart for Luke Richardson
Rev Henry Richardson (1809-1884) was the second oldest of Luke and Ann’s sons. He had probably become a Wesleyan Minister by 1833. Henry married Jane Elizabeth Bell (1812-1897) by license on 7 August 1837 in Eastrington parish church. They had at least six children, four boys and two girls. By the 1881 census Henry, Jane and daughter Hannah were living at 5 Stockhill Grove, Eccleshill, Yorkshire. They had moved to Greengates by the time Henry died on 28 January 1884. His probate record mentions his son William (1843-1923), schoolmaster of Ashville College, Harrogate. The college is still an independent day and boarding school operating under Methodist principles and values. Henry was buried in the Greenhill Wesleyan Methodist Chapel yard in Rawdon near Leeds. Underneath his name was the inscription “In labours more abundant”. The gravestone also remembers his eldest son, John Bell Richardson (1840-1881) with the inscription:
“Also, in living memory of his eldest son the Rev John Bell Richardson Wesleyan Minister President of the New Zealand Conference Born January 18th 1840 perished in the wreck of the SS Tararua off the coast of New Zealand April 29th 1881”
John had followed his father Henry into the Wesleyan Ministry, and by 1868, he was in New Zealand when he married Mary Ann Hay (1843-1897). They had at least eight children, three boys and five girls. Information about the wreck of the SS Tararua was easy to find on the Trove website as there were many reports of the tragedy (for example, The Ballarat Star, 2 May 1881). It seems that only 20 of the 140 passengers onboard were saved. The ship had struck a reef on the most southerly part of New Zealand’s South Island. John was one of a number of clergy and lay people traveling to Adelaide, Australia for an Intercolonial Wesleyan Conference. He was specifically mentioned as one of those who had died in the Mount Barker Courier and Onkaparinga and Gumerda Advertiser (6 May 1881). The following woodcut appeared in the Illustrated New Zealand Herald.
Wreck of the SS Tararua
John’s only surviving son, Henry Hay Richardson (1871-1951) trained in New Zealand as a teacher, while John’s youngest brother Joseph (1853-1930), remained in the UK where he married Sarah Hannah Firth (1853-1899) on 25 July 1876 in the Wesleyan Chapel in Armley near Leeds. The ceremony was carried out by his father Henry and Rev Joseph Midgley. In the 1891 census Joseph was described as a solicitor and the family were living in Eccleshill near Bradford. He was followed into the profession by his son Frederic Henry Richardson (1877-1964). When Joseph died in 1930, he was buried in the Norman Lane Wesleyan burial ground in Bradford.
Finally – It seems that an interest in schooling runs in the family. After I left university, my mother asked me if I was going to be a school teacher. I didn’t do that but have retained my interest in education. The last qualification I gained was an MSc in genealogy, palaeography and heraldic studies. I haven’t ruled out taking another Masters course as I’m finding that having some knowledge of local and social history adds to what I’ve been able to find out about my ancestors.
I am interested in knowing more about the Richardson family, and in particular, any descendants in New Zealand. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.
Researching the Digweed side of my family has been much helped by Jenny who had already done so much before I even got started. She has also been a wonderful source of family photographs, something which adds so much to the stories of our ancestors.
What I hadn’t realised, until I started to look at my Digweed ancestors, is that the surname isn’t a Yorkshire surname. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names, Digweed, and its variant Digwood, is a locative surname. Their presumption is that it comes from Thickwood in Colerne, Wiltshire. At some point -weed was substituted for -wood.
The dictionary also provides some information about early bearers of the surname, the earliest of which was Thomas de Thikwode, found in Colerne, Wiltshire in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls. So far, I have traced the Digweed line back to probably my 8th great grandfather William Digweed, possibly born about 1600 in Thatcham, Berkshire; a place about 43 miles from Thickwood. Interestingly the dictionary mentions a record for Guilelmi Digweed 1683 in Kingsclere, Hampshire and two records in Thatcham: Thomas Digweed 1691 and Ann Digwood 1764, which could be relevant to my research.
Unfortunately, the only available on-line parish records for Thatcham are transcriptions with the earliest baptism an unnamed Diggwid dated 16 March 1627, earliest marriage John Digweed/Digwood to Mary Norcutt on 30 November 1612 and earliest burial of John Diggwid on 16 August 1629. When I looked at a small selection of the Thatcham parish records, I found the following additional surname variants: Diggweed, Diggwidd and Dugwidd. A trip to consult the originals at the County Record Office is now on my list.
My Digweed ancestors continued to live near the parish of Thatcham, probably until the middle of the 18th century, when they next appear in the parish records for Hampstead Norris in Berkshire. William (1739-1823), my 4th great grandfather, married his wife Sarah Shackler (1739-1796) on 10 March 1765 in St Mary the Virgin, Hampstead Norris (see following photograph).
St Mary the Virgin, Hampstead Norris
William and Sarah’s 6th son, John (1791-1855), my 3rd great grandfather, was baptised on 29 May 1791 in St Mary’s Church, Hampstead Norris. He married Rachel Hilliear (1793-1851) on 26 August 1811 in St Michael and All Angels Church, Inkpen. They had at least eight children which included seven sons and one daughter. The family initially lived in Inkpen and had moved to Ham by 1817 when their second son was born. John was recorded as a farm labourer living in the village of Ham in both the 1841 and 1851 censuses. It was largely an agricultural area as described in Lewis’ 1848 topographical directory of England:
Lewis’ 1848 Topographical Directory of England – Ham
Rachel and John remained in Ham until their deaths in 1851 and 1855 respectively. The following OS map dated 1877 shows the relative locations of Ham and Inkpen and the arrow indicates that Hungerford was about 4 miles north of Ham.
Extract from OS Map Berkshire XLI dated 1877
John and Rachel’s youngest son was my 2nd great grandfather Thomas (1836-1910). He was baptised on 1 May 1836 in Ham parish church and, at the age of 14, was recorded as an agricultural labourer in the 1851 census in Ham. Thomas married Mary Ann Tuttle (1837-1900) on 1 May 1959 in St Mary’s Church, Reading. The family were living in Sherfield upon Loddon, Hampshire by the time my great grandfather Francis (1873-1959) was born.
Francis was only recorded with his parents in the 1881 census. By 1891 he was a boarder in a household in Hayes, Middlesex, where he was described as a “groom domestic servant”. At some point he moved to Yorkshire where he married my great grandmother Violet Kate Richardson (1878-1971) on 16 October 1900 in St Helen’s Church, Stillingfleet. By 1901 they were living at West Marton near Skipton where Francis was working as a “coachman domestic servant”.
It is likely that the family had moved to Escrick, near York, by 1905. In 1911 Francis, Violet and six children where living at Escrick Park with Francis described as a “coachman domestic”. He continued to work for the Lawley/Forbes-Adam family and in 1939 was described as a “Chauffeur”. The following photograph shows him with the car he drove:
Great Grandfather Francis Digweed
Francis and Violet continued to live in Escrick Park until their deaths in 1959 and 1971, respectively. The following photograph is of Francis and Violet’s grave in St Helen’s Churchyard, Escrick.
St Helen’s Churchyard, Escrick – Francis and Violet Digweed’s gravestone
I am interested in knowing more about the origins of the Digweed family on the Berkshire/Wiltshire/Hampshire borders. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share with me.
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.
Moses and Hannah – descendant dandelion chart
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:
Hooke from Lewis’ 1848 Topographical Directory
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:
Howden from Lewis’s 1848 Topographical Directory
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.
In my recent blog post on the Silversides family, I briefly mentioned my six times great grandparents, William Silversides (1726-1802) and Mary Fughill (1731-1810). While I’ve been able to trace William’s ancestral line further back, finding out more about Mary has proved more challenging. Her father William Fughill, possibly baptised in Yapham in the East Riding of Yorkshire and buried in Great Givendale, is one of my many brick walls.
Origin of surname – Redmonds’ book on Yorkshire surnames has an entry for Fugill (page 290) which explains that only 72 occurrences of the surname were found in the 1881 census; 27 in Gloucestershire and 39 in the East Riding of Yorkshire. His view was that the surname derives from ‘fowl’, i.e., a winged creature, and that it may have been a nickname. Other possible variants are Fewlas (p271) with 32 occurrences in 1881, 31 of which were in the Hull area and Feugil (p270), a rare variant with only five people with this surname found in Pocklington in 1881. Two early examples of the surname which are of particular interest are William Foughill who served on inquisitions in Beverley and Cave in 1421 and John and Peter Foughyll who were taxed in South Cave in 1381.
Using baptism and burial records I found a William Fuggell (d 1659) with eight possible children. There are baptism records form them in the chapelry in Yapham and baptisms and burials in All Saints Church, Pocklington. The following is an embryonic descendant chart for the family which so far, I have been unable to connect with Mary Fughill my six times great grandmother and her father William.
Descendant chart for William Fuggell
The following extract from the OS Yorkshire 176 map dated 1854 shows the relative positions of Yapham and Pocklington:
OS Yorkshire 176 dated 1854
My ancestors – Mary Fughill was baptised on 30 December 1731 in St Ethelburga’s Church, Great Givendale, a village three miles north of Pocklington. Her father’s name was recorded as William (about 1695-1768). He had married his wife Jane Hare (1702-1783) on 1 June 1721 in All Saints, Pocklington. Their marriage record noted that William was from Yapham and Jane from Meltonby; both are hamlets in the parish of Pocklington. William was buried on 15 December 1685 in Great Givendale churchyard and his record noted that he was a tailor and a farmer.
St Ethelburga’s Church, Great Givendale by David Nulty
William’s wife, Jane, was buried on 19 October 1783 in St James’ churchyard, Warter. Her burial record stated that she was from Great Givendale; it is likely that she went to live with her daughter, also called Jane, after William had died as she had moved to Warter with her husband.
Mary was one of seven children I’ve found born to the couple; three sons and four daughters. Unfortunately, none of their baptism records give William’s occupation. The following chart shows William and Jane (connected by red lines), their children and grandchildren. William and his daughter Mary are marked on the chart with black circles.
William Fughill descendant dandelion chart
Brief biographies for William and Jane’s children are as follows:
William (1722-1723) baptised in Yapham and died in infancy. He was buried in All Saints Church, Pocklington.
Prudence (b. 1724) baptised in Great Givendale; so far, I’ve not been able to trace any further records for her.
Jane (1726-1811) baptised in Great Givendale, married Richard Hotham (1725-1814) a labourer/small farmer and together they had five children. Jane was buried in Warter churchyard.
Mary (1731-1810) baptised in Great Givendale, married William Silversides (1726-1802) and had five sons. Mary is buried in Riccall churchyard.
Judith (1735-1782) baptised in Great Givendale and was Wilberfoss Love’s (1735-1804) first wife. They had one daughter. Judith was baptised in Great Givendale’s churchyard.
John (1737-1786) baptised in Great Givendale, married Mary Hare (1736-1835) and they had eight children. John also had an unnamed son with Mary Goodyear before his marriage. Most of the baptisms of his children note that he was a yeoman. John was buried in Great Givendale churchyard.
William (1741-1779) baptised in Great Givendale and married twice. His first wife was Jane James (1741-1777) and they had a daughter. His second wife was Elizabeth Hudson (1743-1822) and they had a daughter. William was buried in Great Givendale churchyard with his cause of death given as consumption.
The blue circles on the above dandelion chart highlight John (1737-1786) and his son Thomas (1771-1848).
Thomas Fuggill (1771-1848) and the American connection – Thomas was baptised on 17 February 1771 in Great Givendale.. His first wife was Sarah Richardson (b. 1775) and he may have married a second wife called Ann although this is still a working theory at the moment. The following chart shows Thomas, his wives Sarah/Ann and five children, two sons and three daughters.
Thomas Fuggill descendant dandelion chart
Two of Thomas’ children have interesting stories, Thomas (1803-1877) and Sarah (1805-1847). They are marked in blue on the above chart together with their father Thomas.
Thomas’ second son Thomas (1803-1877), my second cousin six times removed, married twice. His first wife was Margaret Craike (1804-1844) who he married on 30 December 1823 in St James’ Church, Pocklington and together they had six children. His second wife was Elizabeth Banks, nee Tilburn (1811-1876) with whom he had a daughter. Elizabeth had two daughters from her first marriage.
All Saints Church, Pocklington by Keith Laverack
By the 1851 census it is likely that Thomas had already travelled to America. Elizabeth, her daughters Sarah Banks (1840-1882) and Ann Banks (b. 1841), Jane (sometimes called Jennie) (1848-1885) her daughter with Thomas and two of Thomas’s sons William (1837-1913) and John (1841-1913) were living in Chapmangate, Pocklington. (A photograph of Chapmangate can be seen on the Pocklington History website.)
Elizabeth, William, John, Sarah, Ann, Jane and Thomas’ son Robert (b. 1828) all travelled together from Liverpool to the port of New York on the ship David Cannon. The family arrived on 8 November 1851. The immigrants’ ships database transcribed their surname as Tugall and on the original document it looks like Fugall. The names and ages of the family are correct though. Robert was described as a labourer.
In the 1860 US census Thomas, Elizabeth, William and Jane were recorded as living in Castile, Wyoming county, New York state with Thomas described as a farmer. The town of Castile was established in the early 19th century and was separated from the nearby town of Perry.
Thomas applied for and was granted US naturalisation on 19 December 1866. It is possible that his son Robert also applied for naturalisation in 1867 but the record is incomplete.
The family were still living in Castile in 1870 and had been joined by Elizabeth’s daughter Sarah Banks. Thomas’ wife Elizabeth died on 13 May 1876 in Castile and Thomas on 14 January 1877. In his will he left his estate to be divided into thirds for his son William, daughter Jane and his late wife’s daughter Sarah Banks. Jane died on 7 November 1885 and all three are included on a memorial stone in Hope Cemetery, Perry, Wyoming County, New York State.
Jane left a will when she died on 7 November 1885. She appointed Ann Willey and Henry B Stainton (who married her sister Sarah Banks) as executors. Her heirs included her three brothers, Robert, William and John. It seems that only William could be found. The papers lodged with the Court did indicate that Robert had been living in Chillicothe, Illinois and John in Burlington, New Jersey. These clues helped me find further members of the family as follows:
In the case of Robert, he seems to have divorced his wife Christiana Dunbar (1841-1881) at some point before her death. Sadly, she committed suicide and her cause of death was recorded as “arsenic administered by her own hand”.
William does not seem to have married and he too was buried in Hope Cemetery, like his parents and sister Jane. He served in the 11th Infantry of the US army from 1883-1892.
John served as a private in the 2nd Mounted Rifles in the US Civil War on the Union side. He married and had seven children. By 1910 he was described as a retired carpenter living in Trenton, New Jersey.
A policeman in the family – Sarah Fuggill (1805-1847), my second cousin six times removed, was the youngest daughter of Thomas (1771-1848). Her only child, John (1831-1887), was illegitimate. Sarah married Elijah Fowler (1821-1878) on 22 April 1840 in St Michael’s Church, Thornton. Elijah was described as a farm servant. Sarah died in 1847 in York and Elijah went onto marry twice more.
Elijah’s second wife was Hannah Sweeting (1827-1870) who he married on 12 August 1848 in St Mary’s Church, Bishophill Junior, York. Elijah was described as a widower and policeman. His West Yorkshire police record provided the following information about him:
Physical characteristics – height 5ft 10 ¼ins, of florid complexion with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
Elijah was married and could read and write.
Served in York city for 5½years and Aberford, Yorkshire for 3 years and 7 months before being appointed to the Skyrack Police Service on 9 January 1857.
Sustained an injury to his left hip bone in the Barnsley Election Riots on 24 November 1868.
Received a knife injury to his left leg while trying to arrest Joseph Walton in Aberford on 15 April 1869.
Elijah died on 24 August 1878.
Elijah married his third wife, Mary Ann Gray (born 1829), a widow, on 3 June 1871 in Aberford. The Yorkshire Quarter Session Records of 31 December 1877 confirmed the Police Committee’s recommendation that Elijah should receive a life pension of 2s 4d a day having served for more than 15 years and being too infirm to carry out his duties. Elijah’s death was recorded in the York Herald dated 28 November 1878.
Finally, the brick wall – I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post, and in particular, if there is any information about the parents of my seven times great grandfather William Fughill whose baptism, I’ve been unable to find. The parish records for Yapham are incomplete. I have found some members of the Fuggell family who lived in Yapham in the 17th century – as shown in the descendant chart for William Fuggell at the beginning of this post. So far, I haven’t found any connections between this family group and my ancestors. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.
While researching my family history I have come across a number of unusual surnames and this blog post is the second in a series I plan to write about them. I’ve chosen Silversides for this post, in part because it is an interesting surname, and also because it leads to one of my many brick walls.
Origin of surname – according to the Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland, Silversides has two possible derivations. Firstly, it’s the plural of Silverside, thought to be a nickname from Middle English: silver plus side (of the body or head). Other names to compare it with are Siluermouth (silver mouth) and Silvertop (silver hair). An alternative is that it is a locative name from Silver Side in Farlam in Cumbria which was recorded in 1485. The following OS Cumberland XVIII map dated 1868 shows its location:
In the case of my own ancestors, I think it’s more likely that their surname, Silversides, is the plural of Silverside, a nickname from Middle English. The majority of family members I’ve found come from the East and West Ridings of Yorkshire. 209 Silversides were recorded in Great Britain in 1881.
My ancestral connections – William Silversides (1690-1756) is my seven times great grandfather on the Sarginson/Foster side of my family. According to an entry in FindaGrave he was baptised on 5 March 1690/91 in Nun Monkton, West Riding of Yorkshire and his father was named as William. Nun Monkton is 8 miles Northwest of York and 12 miles from Escrick in the East Riding of Yorkshire. Escrick where William married his wife Mary Brown (1691-1780) on 25 November 1725.
William and Mary had at least six children, five sons and one daughter. Their two eldest sons were born in Stillingfleet and the family then moved to Riccall. The following OS Yorkshire 206 map dated 1851 shows the villages of Stillingfleet and Riccall:
Some of the children’s baptism records give their father’s occupation as a labourer, most likely an agricultural labourer, as Escrick, Stillingfleet and Riccall are all villages within a few miles of each other in the Vale of York known for its agriculture. The following descendant chart shows William and Mary and two generations of their descendants:
The family settled in Riccall. William was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard on 20 June 1756 and his wife Mary on 23 August 1780 when she was described as a widow aged 89 who had died of a fever.
William and Mary’s son William (1726-1802) was my six times great grandfather. He married Mary Fughill (1731-1810) and they had at least five sons. When William died his burial record gave his age as 77 and that he had been a farmer who had died of natural decay. So far, I haven’t found any land tax records for him to indicate from whom he leased land.
Mark Silversides (1755-1833) my five times great grandfather – Mark was William and Mary Fughill’s eldest son. He was baptised on 13 May 1755 in St Mary’s Church, Riccall and he married Elizabeth Cant (1761-1845) on 2 December 1783 in the same church. They had four sons and a daughter and the following dandelion chart shows Mark, Elizabeth and two generations of their descendants:
Mark and Elizabeth’s eldest son Guy (1784-1861) is my four times great grandfather. He married Mary Tomlinson (1796-1866) in St Mary’s Church on 13 March 1817 and together they had 12 children, five boys and seven daughters.
By 1822 Mark was the licensed victualler at the Greyhound Inn in Riccall according to the 1822 edition of Baines’ History and Directory of the North and East Ridings of Yorkshire. The pub was one of four in Riccall at that time and survives to this day. Baines also helpfully gave the population of Riccall as 599 and that Mark and Robert Silversides, Guy’s father and uncle, were farmers and yeomen in the village.
By the 1841 census Guy had become a shoemaker, a trade he continued until the 1861 census, the last he was recorded in. Riccall, in Lewis’s 1848 topographical directory, had a population of 718 as described in the following extract from it:
Guy died on 11 July 1861 and was buried in St Mary’s Churchyard on 14 July 1861.
Guy and Mary’s children – The dandelion chart in the previous section shows their 12 children. Their eldest son Guy became a tailor and moved to Appleton Roebuck, George a labourer was buried in Riccall, Mark became a shoemaker and was buried in Riccall, William is the subject of the next section and their youngest son Robert died in infancy.
Mary, Susannah and Ellen all married farmers. Bessy married a glass bottle packer and Jane a tanner. Ann married a brickyard labourer and moved to nearby Kelfield. Their fifth daughter Isabella (1830-1885), my three times great grandmother, married Thomas Foster (1825-1902), a brick and tile maker, on 4 March 1848. They settled in the nearby village of Kelfield.
Alleged army fraud – William Silversides (1829-1912) is my 1st cousin 4 times removed and the brother of my three times great grandmother Isabella. By the 1851 census William had moved to Ebenezer Place in the parish of York St George where he was living with his sister Jane and her husband Thomas Pickersgill. William’s occupation was butcher. He married his first wife Frances Walker (1814-1874) on 29 August 1853. They lived at no 33 Shambles, York in both the 1861 and 1871 censuses with William’s occupation a butcher.
William’s first wife, Frances, died in 1874 and he married his second wife Emma Jane Smith (1834-1900) two year later. They had one daughter, Ethel Beatrice Silversides (1879-1959), and in 1881 the family were living at The Priory, Grange Crescent, York. This property exists to this day and is now run as a small hotel. William’s occupation was recorded as an army contractor. Grange Crescent is near to the army barracks in the Fulford Road.
At some point William had gone into partnership with his first wife Frances’ brother Ambrose Walker (1821-1896) as farmers of Naburn Lodge Farm, Askham Bryan. Ambrose was also a butcher in the 1861 census but by 1881 he described himself as a forage contractor. The dissolution of William and Ambrose’s partnership for the farm, by mutual consent, was reported in the 23 February 1884 edition of the Yorkshire Gazette. In the same newspaper, notice was also given of the dissolution of a partnership between William, Ambrose and Ambrose’s nephew John Philips Walker (1855-1892) who were acting as army contractors in York. This seems to have taken place in advance of a case brought before York Crown Court in 1885 of alleged army fraud.
The alleged fraud case was reported in the 1 August 1885 edition of the Yorkshire Gazette. The case was before Mr Justice Mathew. William Silversides and Ambrose Walker, army contractors, and Thomas Christopher Lewis, butcher were indicted:
“that they did unlawfully conspire, combine, confederate and agree together, in the years 1883 and 1884, at the township of Gate Fulford, having contracted to supply 3100 tons of forage and straw, and also a certain quantity and quality of meat, did from time to time deliver less weight and inferior quality, and that they by falsely pretending they had delivered the said forage, straw and meat of the quantity and quality contracted for, did receive the contract price for the same, with intent to defraud Her Majesty’s Secretary of State for War; and in pursuance of the said conspiracy did pay certain sums of money to one John Anderson Banks, to bribe and induce him to permit the said breaches of contract to be made, with intent to defraud the said Secretary of State.” (Yorkshire Gazette 1 August 1885, page 1)
All three defendants entered a plea of not guilty and the case took place over three days. It seems that not all the defendants were indicted on every charge. John Anderson Banks mentioned in the charges was the Quartermaster of the 5th Dragoon Guards and was key to the provision of forage to the troops. This particular aspect related to tenders which had been won by William Silversides to provide forage during the period August 1882 to 1884. The prosecution asserted that short measures of oats had been supplied and that, although this had been noticed by the troops, it wasn’t until July 1884 that Troop Serjeant Major Saul found that the oats were short by 44lb that the matter was raised with Lieutenant Gore.
The charges against Ambrose and Thomas Christopher Lewis (who was married to his niece) were regarding the quantity and quality of meat supplied to the troops. It was also alleged that they paid bribes to Banks. Banks had been arrested when the regiment arrived in Manchester but had absconded and not been seen since.
A large number of witnesses for the prosecution appeared at the trial, including five Corporals and John Chipchase who was a journeyman butcher who had worked for Lewis. His view was that the meat supplied was often from diseased animals and “he would not have liked to eat the meat himself”. It seems that he had been let go by Lewis and that when he had previously worked for William Silversides as a butcher, the meat he served hsd been passed was by the health inspectors.
A similarly large number of witnesses appeared for the defendants attesting to their good character; these included a number of officers from the barracks. Both barristers for William and Ambrose closed their remarks to the jury with the assertion that the prosecution had not proved its case. Lewis’ counsel said that the money paid to Banks was the result of “betting transactions”.
There was then some to-ing and fro-ing between the jury foreman, the court and the judge. Eventually the defendants were found not guilty in both cases and were discharged.
After the case William spent some time as a hotel proprietor of the Sea Horse Hotel, Fawcett Street, York where he was recorded as living in 1891. The building is now grade II listed. He also seems to have continued his association with Ambrose as probate was granted to him when Ambrose died in 1896.
By 1901 William was a widower for the second time and living on his own means at The Priory, Fulford Road, York. He had moved to 1 Wilton Terrace, Fulford Road, York by 1911 and was described as a retired farmer and butcher. Probate was granted to his daughter Ethel.
Finally, the brick wall – I would like to know more about all the people mentioned in this blog post, and in particular, if there is any information about the parents of my seven times great grandfather William Silversides. I have found some possible family members who lived in Stillingfleet; however, the parish records are rather damaged making it problematic to determine family relationships. Do contact me if you have any further information which you are willing to share.
Joan Reid Genealogy 