Category Archives: York

Alice Beilby (born about 1822) and Robert Thackeray (1825-1859)

Alice is my first cousin four times removed. I have already written about her younger sister, Esther, (1830-1875) who emigrated with her husband William Heaton and two sons, to Utah, USA in 1856. William was a Mormon Elder who had met Esther while he was developing his ministry in the East Riding of Yorkshire in the 1850s. It was entries in his missionary journal which helped me to find out more information about Alice and her husband Robert.

Alice was baptised on 17 February 1822 in St Helen’s Church, Wheldrake, to parents Thomas Beilby (1789-1859) and Mary Walker (1793-1850). By the 1841 census Alice was living in the nearby village of Escrick where she was working for Joseph Lewis, a farming bailiff. At some point Alice moved to York where she became a servant in the North and East Riding’s Pauper Lunatic Asylum, in Clifton. The asylum had opened on 7 April 1847.

Note: the three circles show the asylum, approximate position of St Olave’s parish church and the one on the far right is York Minster.

While she was at the asylum, she met another servant, Robert Thackeray, who was a baker. Robert had been baptised on 18 January 1825 in St Sampson’s Church, York, to parents Robert, a butcher and Elizabeth. Robert was admitted into the Register of Freemen of the City of York on 27 April 1846, by birth right, and his address given as Swinegate, York.

Around the time Alice met Robert, he seems to have also had a liaison with Mary Ann Richardson. Mary had entered the asylum as a patient in December 1848, been deemed cured and started work there as a housemaid. Robert was named as the father of her child in a report on a bastardy case detailed in the York Herald (23 November 1850, page 6). It seems that Mary had left the asylum in June 1850 and declared that the child she was carrying was Robert’s. Robert was then given notice to quit by the asylum; he said that he would marry Mary if the committee of visitors would allow him to continue working there. They didn’t agree to his request. The magistrates in the bastardy case ordered Robert to pay Mary 1s 6d per week towards the upkeep of her son, Albert, who was born 25 October 1850 and baptised on 1 November 1850 in St Cuthbert’s Church, York. Mary and Albert were living at 34 Bilton Street, York at the time.

Robert left the asylum in June 1850, along with Alice, my ancestor. They were married by licence in St Olave’s church in York on 11 June 1850; they both gave their address as the asylum. Robert’s father, Robert’s occupation was recorded as a butcher and Alice’s father, Thomas’s occupation as a farmer.

By the 1851 census Robert and Alice were living in Wheldrake with her father, Thomas, and Alice’s siblings, William and Mary. What happened next was something of a mystery, until I re-read the missionary journal of William Heaton’s, Alice’s brother in law. His entries for 18 and 19 November 1851 talk about Brother Thackeray (Robert’s brother George) and Alice herself, as follows:

Extracts from William Heaton’s missionary journal for 18 and 19 November 1851

From this it seems that Robert had already emigrated to the USA, perhaps to avoid paying for his son Albert. He may not though have adopted the Mormon faith as I couldn’t find him in either the Saints by Sea or the Mormon Migration Databases.

William later recorded in his diary entry for 2 April 1852 that he had taken tea with “a number of saints and friends at Mother Newsom’s”. Alice was about to join her husband in the USA and this was her farewell party. William then helped Alice with her luggage to the railway station on 5 April and by 8 April the family had heard that Alice had arrived safely in Liverpool. Despite an extensive search of passenger lists and Mormon records I have been unable to find when either Robert or Alice left for the USA. They don’t feature again in William’s journal, although Robert’s younger brother George does. George (1836-1890) arrived in Utah on 7 January 1853 where he served as a Justice of the Peace and County Commissioner.

Unfortunately, the only other record I’ve been able to find for Robert is a Millennium File record on Ancestry with details of Robert’s death on 9 January 1859. No further corroborating evidence has been found.

A record of Alice’s second marriage to Daniel Badcock on 17 September 1868 in Manhattan, Kings, New York, USA has been found. Daniel (born about 1834) had travelled to the USA sometime after he was made bankrupt on 30 May 1862. He had been a brewer and publican of the Bevois Tavern, Winchester, Hampshire, England. However, no further census or other records have so far been found for the couple. A particular challenge with regards to Alice is her age which varies widely depending on the record. For example, when she married Robert in 1850 she said she was 22 (born about 1828), in the 1851 census her age was recorded as 26 (born about 1825) and when she married Daniel she gave her age as 35 (born about 1833). The only baptism record found for Alice was in 1822.

If you know more about what happened to Alice, Robert and Daniel then do please contact me.

Note: the map used in this blog has been reproduced with the permission of the National Library of Scotland under the following creative commons licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ and sourced from the NLS maps site https://maps.nls.uk/.

Bibliography:

Baptisms, marriages and burials. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed April 2021.

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

Freemen records. Collection: City of York Apprentices and Freemen, 1272-1930. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed April 2021.

Heaton, Daniel H. ed. (1967) Missionary Journal of William Heaton. Utah: Publishers Press. https://www.familysearch.org/catalog/search : accessed April 2021.

London Gazette. https://www.findmypast.co.uk/ : accessed April 2021.

Mormon Migration Database, 1840-1932. https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2365248 : accessed April 2021.

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

North and East Ridings of Yorkshire Pauper Lunatic Asylum, Annual Report 1850. https://wellcomelibrary.org/item/b30313740#?c=0&m=0&s=0&cv=0&z=-0.4374%2C0.2678%2C1.9259%2C0.9745 : accessed April 2021.

North and East Ridings of Yorkshire Pauper Lunatic Asylum (Clifton). https://www.countyasylums.co.uk/clifton-york/ : accessed April 2021.

OS Maps. https://maps.nls.uk/ : April 2021.

Saints by Sea. https://saintsbysea.lib.byu.edu/ : accessed April 2021.

St Olave’s Church Tower. Beep boop beep, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0 : accessed April 2021.

Mary Weir/Wear 1850-1918

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Easkey, Sligo, Ireland

Mary first appears in genealogical records in the 1851 census living in Long Close Lane in York (near Walmgate Bar).[1] Her age was given as six months old suggesting she had been born about September/October 1850. She was listed on the census with her parents James (1784[2]-1857[3]) and Mary (1804-1865[4]), her six siblings and a visitor called Mary Carty. They had all been born in Ireland; a later census record for her sister Catherine gave her birth place as Easkey in County Sligo which provided a helpful clue to the family’s origins in Ireland. Mary had been born in York and is one of those ancestors whose birth and/or baptism records have yet been found. Unfortunately, the Catholic Church records for Easkey do not cover the period when her siblings were born and they too have been difficult to trace.

Walmgate Bar, York

What fascinated me about Mary was, that until I started researching my family, I had no idea that there was either Catholicism or Irish ancestors in it. As a child I lived very close to my great grandmother Violet Kate Richardson who was Mary and her husband Luke Richardson’s fifth child. I have already written about Luke so this blog post is focused on Mary’s immediate family. It is also linked to research I have been carrying out for my Masters dissertation into the Irish families who migrated to the civil parish of York St George (in Walmgate) in the mid-1800s.

My great grandmother, Violet, was in her nineties when she died. We used to visit her regularly and I don’t remember her ever talking about her family. What a missed opportunity to find out more about the lives of her grandparents, James and Mary Weir/Wear, and their family in Ireland. It would have been really interesting to know more about her three aunts and three uncles. The aunts have been easier to trace than the uncles which was something of a surprise. They were in order of age as follows:

Patrick (b 1824[5]) only appeared in the 1851 census with the family; his occupation was given as an agricultural labourer.[6] He also featured in the York Herald newspaper dated 15 February 1851,[7] which reported that he had been assaulted by the Kilmartin brothers in the nearby village of Dunnington. Patrick had been selling bags of chicory and received two black eyes from the brothers who were bound over to keep the peace. No further confirmed records for Patrick have been found.

Catherine (1826[8]-1913[9]) married her husband James Duffy (b 1830[10]) in the Catholic Chapel, Little Blake St, York on 14 December 1852. [11] They subsequently left York in search of work and had settled in Hartlepool by the 1871 census.[12] Their son John (1853[13]-1934[14]) became a ship riveter and continued to live in County Durham.[15] Three of their daughters married. Catherine was recorded in the Hartlepool Union Workhouse in 1911 where she was described as married; there was no sign of her husband James.[16]

John (b 1834[17]), an agricultural labourer, only appeared in the 1851 census with his family in York. No further records for him have been found.

James (b 1836[18]) stayed in York long enough to marry Bridget Connelly (1835[19]-1903[20]) in the Catholic Chapel, Little Blake Street, York on 11 February 1859.[21] By then they were both living in the Bedern in York and James was described as a labourer.[22] Their daughter Mary was born on 8 March 1860 in the York Union Workhouse.[23] James does not appear with Bridget and Mary when they are recorded in the Workhouse in the 1861 census;[24] it is possible that he had abandoned his wife and child in York.

Susannah (1841[25]-1909[26]) proved difficult to trace as she was recorded as Judy in the 1851 census.[27] An article in the Yorkshire Gazette, dated 11 June 1859, about an alleged assault mentioned both her and her siblings.[28] She probably married George ABBEY (1841[29]-1910[30]) in 1861 in York.[31] They moved away from York and both their deaths were registered in Whitby, Yorkshire.

Ann (1843[32]-1890[33]) married Charles Rafter (1835[34]-1883[35]), a labourer, in St George’s Catholic Church in 1860.[36] They remained in York and Ann was the informant when her mother Mary died of phthisis on 24 March 1865.[37] By the 1881 census Charles recorded his occupation as a “teaser woollen”.[38] Their children were mostly either unskilled workers or working in the glassworks.[39] The exception to this was their son Thomas who joined the merchant navy and by 1939 was living in Hull, Yorkshire where he was working as a trawler engineer.[40]

mary-richardson-far-left-who-wouljd-have-thought-it-cottage

“Who Would Have Thought It”

Mary (1850[41]-1918[42]) married Luke Richardson (1846[43]-1891[44]), a Yorkshireman on 17 December 1868 in St George’s Catholic Church, York.[45] The family lived in “Who Would Have Thought It”, one of a row of cottages in the nearby village of Stillingfleet and Luke was a railway platelayer.[46]

I would like to discover more about Mary’s siblings and am looking forward to when county archives are able to open again. In the meantime, if you have any information about the family which you are willing to share with me, then do please contact me.

[1] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Mary. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[2] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, James [head]. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[3] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 1^st Q., 1857. WEIR, James. Vol. 9D. p. 20. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[4] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. York, Yorkshire. 24 March 1875. WEIR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[5] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Patrick. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020

[6] Ibid.

[7] York Herald. (1851) An Irish Row. York Herald. 15 February 1851. p. 6. Collection: 19^th Century British Newspapers. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 14 March 2020.

[8] Census records. England. Middlesbrough, Yorkshire. 07 April 1861. DUFFY, Catherine. PN 3687. FL 16 SN 174. ED 8. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[9] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Hartlepool, Durham. 2^nd Q., 1913. DUFFY, Catherine. Vol. 10A. p. 125. https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/Login.asp: accessed 14 March 2020.

[10] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1871. DUFFY, James [head]. PN 4916. FL 92. SN 129. ED 19. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[11] Marriages (PR) England. York, Yorkshire. 14 December 1852. DUFFY, James and WARE, Catherine. Certificate no: MXH752302.

[12] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1871. DUFFY, James [head]. PN 4916. FL 92. SN 129. ED 19. p. 30. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[13] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Wakefield, Yorkshire. 4^th Q., 1853. DUFFY, John. Vol. 9C. p. 21. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[14] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Houghton, Durham. 1^st Q., 1934. DUFFY, John. Vol. 10A. p. 592. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[15] Census records. England. Hartlepool, Durham. 02 April 1911. DUFFY, John [head]. RD 545. PN 29644. ED 44. SN 03. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[16] Census records. England. Throston, Durham. 02 April 1911. DUFFY, Catherine. RD 545. PN 29665. ED 65. SN 07. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[17] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, John. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[18] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, James. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[19] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4^th Q., 1903. WEAR, Bridget. Vol. 9D. p. 16. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[20] Ibid.

[21] Marriages (PR) England. York, Yorkshire. 11 February 1859. WARE, James and CONNELLY, Bridget. Certificate no: MXH822008.

[22] Ibid.

[23] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 08 March 1860. WARE, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 13. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[24] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 07 April 1861. WIER, Bridget. PN 3544. FL 111. SN 01. ED Workhouse. p. 04. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[25] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Judy. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[26] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Whitby, Yorkshire. 1^st Q., 1909. ABBEY, Susannah. Vol. 9D. p. 321. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[27] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Judy. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[28] Yorkshire Gazette. (1859) An Alleged Assault. Yorkshire Gazette. 11 June 1859. p. 4. Collection: 19^th Century British Newspapers. http://www.findmypast.co.uk : accessed 14 March 2020.

[29] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: Whitby, Yorkshire. 2^nd Q., 1910. ABBEY, George. Vol. 9D. p. 271. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[30] Ibid.

[31] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 3^rd Q., 1861. ABBEY, George and WEAR, Susannah. Vol. 9D. p. 55. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[32] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Ann. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[33] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 1^st Q., 1890. RAFTER, Ann. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[34] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4^th Q., 1882. RAFTER, Charles. Vol. 9D. p. 25. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[35] Ibid.

[36] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 3^rd Q., 1860. RAFTER, Charles and WEIR, Ann. Vol. 9D. p. 87. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[37] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. York, Yorkshire. 24 March 1875. WEIR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 37. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[38] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 03 April 1881. RAFTER, Charles [head]. PN 4724. FL. 34. ED 15. p. 22. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[39] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 31 March 1901. RAFTER, William [head]. PN 4447. FL. 15. SN 141. ED 17. p. 22. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[40] 1939 Register. England. Hull, Yorkshire. 31 March 1901. RAFTER, Thomas [head]. 29 September 1939. Schedule 133. RG101/522-1/JAAT/131/1. National Archives (Great Britain), Kew, England. Collection: 1939 England & Wales Register. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[41] Census records. England. York, Yorkshire. 30 March 1851. WEAR, Mary. PN HO107/2355. FL 375. SN 171. ED 8b. p. 40. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[42] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2^nd Q., 1918. RICHARDSON, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 74. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[43] Births index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2^nd Q., 1846. RICHARDSON, Luke. Vol. 23. p. 756. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[44] Deaths index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 2^nd Q., 1891. RICHARDSON, Luke. Vol. 9D. p. 65. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[45] Marriages index (CR) England & Wales. RD: York, Yorkshire. 4^th Q., 1868. RICHARDSON, Luke and WEAR, Mary. Vol. 9D. p. 99. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

[46] Census records (CR) England. Stillingfleet05 April 1891. RICHARDSON, Luke [head]. PN 3896. FL 21. ED 2. p. 5. https://www.ancestry.co.uk/: accessed 14 March 2020.

James Scaling 1808-1877

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Recently I write about two Haw brothers who married two sisters from the Goodrick family in my blog post called a tale of two brothers and two sisters. Further research into the Haw family revealed James Scaling who married two Haw sisters.

James was born in Scarborough, Yorkshire to parents Thomas and Alice and baptised on 2 August 1808. When he married the first Haw sister, Ann, my fourth great aunt on 3 August 1831 in St Helens Church in York, he gave his residence as Manchester on the marriage licence they obtained. On their marriage record James was described as a glazier and a bachelor. Tracing the family using census records has however been problematic so I may not have identified all their children; it does look like though that they had at least three boys:

William Haw Scaling was baptised in Manchester Cathedral on 5 August 1832. He became a gilder, married and had at least three children.
John Scaling was born in 1839 and baptised in Manchester Cathedral on 21 August 1839. On his marriage record he gave his occupation as a brass pounder.
Thomas Scaling was born in Salford in 1841, became a plumber and married twice.

James’ occupation was given as a plumber and glazier living in Salford on his son William’s baptism record. An 1855 directory gave his occupation as a gas fitter and that he was living in 5 Bury Street, Salford. James’ wife Ann died on 21 March 1856 in Salford, Lancashire as evidenced by her probate record which also confirmed her address as Bury Street, Salford. James then went on to marry Ann’s sister Hannah (1809-1884) on 27 March 1856 in Manchester. At the time this took place this was an unlawful marriage. It wasn’t until the Deceased Wife’s Sister’s Marriage Act of 1907 that this prohibition was removed. When Hannah’s first husband, Roger Arton (1806-1841), died he had left her with at least three children.

After their marriage James and Hannah lived in Trinity Lane, Micklegate, York where James continued to work as a journeyman plumber and glazier. They had moved to Dale Street by the time of the 1871 census and James died in York in 1877 aged about 69. Hannah died in 1884 aged 75 and was buried in nearby Market Weighton.

Note: the image is one I’ve taken of York City Walls.

A tale of two brothers and two sisters

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From time to time I come across intriguing connections between people in my ancestral family tree. This was certainly the case with two of my 2^nd great uncles: John Charlton Haw (1876-1958) and Frederick Thomas Haw (1881-1858). Their parents, William Haw (1846-1907) and Ann Bean (1843-1911), my two times great grandparents, lived and worked in the York area of Yorkshire. William was a tailor who by the 1901 census was living with his family at 45 Marygate, York and working as a tailor on his own account.

John and Frederick were both living with their parents in 1901 with John described as a railway porter for the North Eastern Railway company and Frederick a labourer for them too. By the 1911 census Frederick had married Sarah Ethel Goodrick (born about 1881) and they had three children. His occupation was given as a municipal electric cable joiner. Sarah had been recorded as a servant to the Nutchey family in 1901; the head of the household was a railway clerk. By the 1939 register Frederick and Sarah were living at 23 Fifth Avenue, York and Frederick was an electrical engineer. He continued to live in York until his death in 1958 when his address was recorded as 23 Park Grove, York in St Thomas’ Church burial records. The church is located in nearby Lowther Street. I have found a possible death for Sarah in 1960.

Frederick’s brother John continued to work for the NER throughout his lifetime and in 1905 he joined the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants trade union which later became the National Union of Railwaymen. His occupation at that point was given as a shunter. In 1919 he married Maria Emily Goodrick (1880-1967) who was his brother Frederick’s wife Sarah’s younger sister. Before her marriage Maria had been a domestic servant for the Proctor family who ran a Chemical Fertiliser company and were Agricultural Merchants, living in Ashcroft, York. John and Emily continued to live in York and by 1939 were residing at 5 Neville Street with John giving his occupation as a railway foreman porter. Both John and Maria were still living there when John died. His burial record was found in St Thomas’s Church records.

Park Grove, York

In addition, one of John and Fredericks’ sisters, Sarah Ann Haw (1874-1944), married my great grandfather William Ellis (1873-1951), and they were living at 40 Ambrose Street, York in 1939. William’s father Francis Ellis (1839-1925) was residing with his family in 40 Park Grove, York in 1901, not far from where Frederick died in 1958 at no 23 Park Grove. (The photo Park Grove was taken recently by me and is an example of what the houses in the street now look like.)

As a final thought, it is interesting that both brothers died in 1958 and their burials recorded in St Thomas’s Church, York. They seem to have lived within half a mile of each other throughout their later lives.

My Irish ancestors in Walmgate, York

Joan Reid Genealogy

Researcher and family historian