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General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Ruskie on Monday 07 April 08 07:41 BST (UK)
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Hello kind rootchatters. I thought I'd run this by you to see if you think I'm on the right track ... or not. ;) You'll probably need a paper and pencil to put this all in some kind of order ;D.
The IGI has this marriage:
Thomas Whitfield = Elizabeth Clemmet 16 Jul 1801 West Acklam, Yorkshire.
(The couple did not marry in Elizabeth's parish of Kelloe/Middleham).
I have Ann Whitfield b 20 Jul 1805, chr 11 Aug 1805 Chester Le Street, Durham. The entry says that she is the first daughter of Thomas Whitfield, of Lumley, native of Morton and Elizabeth Clemmit native of Kelloe. Now this couple had several other children and I've had a look at their births too, and several of them say that Thomas Whitfield was a native of Marton/Martin in Yorkshire. Looking at Genuki, confusingly, there are several Marton's in Yorkshire.
I wondered if there was a child born prior to Ann in 1805, then I discovered that Ralph, born in 1809, was the couple's third son. All children that I knew of were born in Durham and I could not find any earlier children for the couple there, so I checked Yorkshire, where they married.
On the IGI I found a Thomas Whitfield chr 5 Jun 1803, Stainton in Cleveland, father Thomas, mother Elizabeth. I believe that Stainton in Cleveland is only a couple of miles from West Acklam where they married, so this looks promising.
There is a christening for Thomas Whitfield (senior) in Marton in Cleveland on 19 Sept 1779, father Ralph, mother Ann. (IGI) (Further searches reveal that she may be Ann Redman and she and Ralph married in 1777 in Marton).
A submitted record on the IGI shows only the year of 1751 for the birth of a Ralph Whitfield in Marton in Cleveland. However I found a burial (on familyhistoryonline) for a Ralph Whitfield, age 85, Marton St Cuthbert, confirming a birth year of 1751. These dates and places seem to fit in quite well and also the father's name Ralph used for Thomas's third son.
Now this is where it all gets a bit more hazy...
The submitted record gives Ralph's father as Matthew, no mother named. I found an IGI family group record which says that Matthew Whitfield was chr 1 Mar 1709 in Marton in Cleveland, father (also) Matthew, mother Elizabeth Eden.
An IGI extracted record, confirmed by George Bell's Indexes, gives a marriage date of 8 May 1698 in Auckland St Helen for Matthew Whitfield and Elizabeth Eden. I found a couple more possible children born to Matthew Whitfield and Elizabeth Eden -: Robert 1701, and John 1704.
Also this: Elizabeth Eden chr 28 Oct 1675 Auckland St Helen, father Robert .....
Questions and thoughts:
Slight niggle - I haven't found any other Matthews in my confirmed line - seems unusual that one of those sons wasn't called Matthew too :-\.
Who is the wife of Matthew b 1709, and mother of Ralph?
What is the full date of birth of Ralph b 1751 in Marton in Cleveland?
Can anyone please help with confirmation of any of the events that took place in Marton?
Can anyone find another son born prior to 1809 to Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemmet (various spellings of her surname) either in Durham or Yorkshire?
If anyone got to the end of that, you deserve a medal. If you managed to understand it, you deserve another .... and if you can help, you'll get yet another! ;D
Just wondering what your opinions are on these findings? There really IS no proof, but what kind of proof can there be once you get into these years? Guess I'm hoping for some reassurance too. Am I on the right track? If this was your family would you put it aside or pencil it in? All contributions most welcome.
Thanks to you all for getting this far! :P
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Ruskie,
Have you seen the actual records at an LDS Family History Centre? That's what I would try to do, if possible. The actual records might contain clues to help you differentiate between the families.
Regards,
Josephine
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No, not yet, Josephine, but that is on my "to do (soon!)" list.
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Have you also looked at parish registers that are not on the IGI? There may be other possibilities out there as the Durham coverage on the IGI is not brilliant.
Andrea
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Hi Andrea,
I've found most of those born in Durham on the PR's on the new FamilySearch Record Search site. I've also had some lookups from rootschatters, looked on Durhamrecordsonline, FamilyHistoryOnline and George Bell's Indexes.
It's the Marton and Stainton records from NRY that I've so far relied solely on the IGI for. I think my best course of action is to do as Josephine suggested and get down to the LDS FH Centre.
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If you are anywhere near Middlesbrough the record office there has them all too - and Northallerton Archives. A holiday in the north perhaps?
Andrea
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If you are anywhere near Middlesbrough the record office there has them all too - and Northallerton Archives. A holiday in the north perhaps?
Andrea
It's a long way North from Australia - If only we could have a holiday visiting the records offices - I'll come with you Ruskie ;D
I read your epistle & tend to agree, from Oz the best option would be to order the parish records at the LDS. It may help with the missing children, if nothing else. When I was researching my Morrisbys on the IGI, I did find many different spellings and not all were included in the IGI matching process, so the films allowed me to find all that were available - allbeit rather slowly. I had a similar problem to your "Matthew" - Previous researchers decided a "Luke" was the father of my James - never before or after has there been a Luke in the family. I still haven't resolved the issue - even with the parish records.
Trish
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Thanks chaps.
Yes Trish, I think I may be in the same boat as you with your Luke :-\.
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Hi,
I've just come across this post, it confirms what I've just found out today re: the marriage of Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemments. Have you researched any more on this since last April? At the moment I have 2 daughters, Ann ch 1805, Elizabeth ch 1807, and 3 sons, Thos ch 1803, Ralph, ch 1809 and John ch 1811
I do have some jottings of Marton Parish Registers make in the NYRO, Northallerton last year, yeah it's that long since I've had time to really delve back into this! I can type them up if you'd like me too.
Kathryn
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Hello Kathryn. Thanks for your reply and for reviving this old post. Do you have a connection to this family?
It's been so long since I delved into this family that I had to go back over my messy old notes to refresh my memory and it's still a bit hazy. :D
I did manage to look at the PR's last year. I've also met a couple of distant 'cousins'.
I have confirmed the marriage of Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemme/nt on 16 Jul 1801 in West Acklam Yorkshire. Thomas had an older brother John, who also married in West Acklam.
Children born to Thomas Whitfiled and Elizabeth Clemmet are:
Thomas Whitfield chr 5 Jun 1803 in Stainton in Cleveland
Ann 1805
Elizabeth 1807
Ralph 1809
John 1811
Rachel 1813
Mary 1815
Margaret 1817
Hannah 1819
Isabella 1821
Plus another son born before 1809, presumably between their marriage in 1801 and birth of first known son Thomas in 1803.
(phew)
My brick wall is now Thomas Whitfield's father Ralph Whitfiled b 1751ish. He married Thomas's mother Ann Redman on 16 Jun 1777 in Marton. They were "both of this parish".
Ralph was born about 1751 possibly in Marton or elsewhere. There is no baptism for him in the Marton PR's. Several online trees (I believe originating from a single source) have his father as Matthew Whitfield b 1710 in Wolsingham and his mother as Anne Vasey. This line leads back to landed gentry.
I am not convinced it is correct as there IS another Ralph Whitfield of the right age (sorry am rusty with this line and can't recall where he is from) with humbler origins. I'm not sure if this may be wishful thinking on the part of other researchers. A distant cousin has a tree made up by another ancestor in the 1920's I think, which tallies with what I and others have discovered, and he specifically mentions that Ralph b1751 is our unproven link. A 'cousin' says she has traced the other Ralph who is elsewhere while ours is in Marton, but I have yet to get round to proving this for myself.
Thanks for the offer to type up the Marton PR's, but I think I have extracted everything I need for the time being. But if you can find the birth of Ralph Whitfield, somewhere, in about 1751 that would be brilliant! ;D
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Hi,
I'm descended from Thomas b 1803, he married Hannah though I don't know anything about her family yet.
I'll have a look round and see if I can find anything about Ralph b 1751, also another son for Thomas and Elizabeth.
I'll let you know if I find anything.
Kathryn
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How exciting Kathryn - great to make contact with you! I'm a descendant of Thomas's sister Ann b 20 July 1806!
In my notes I have your Thomas marrying Hannah Heron 14 Nov 1826 Darlington (I have a question mark beside this but I can't recall why :-\). I have not entered the marriage onto my FH programme. I really need to get back to study up again on this family.
Be cautious of the online trees (have you looked at any yet?) - I can't remember specific details but I think some of them have the wrong marriages. Children for your Thomas and Hannah I have are Thomas b 1829, Robert b 1833, Ann b 1834, Henry b 1836, John b 1843 and Jane b 1844. Unfortunately I did not take note of my sources for these births.
Have you looked at the Familysearch Pilot search BT's for Durham? There are many of our Whitfields on there.
I had huge amounts of correspondence on the Whitfields from my new-found distant cousins, but a computer malfunction last year meant that I lost it all. I need to ask nicely if they would be kind enough to re-send it .... :-\
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Hi,
I'm a bit dubious of some of the Whitfield stuff I've seen online, they have some things that are definitly wrong. The Ann b 1834 you mention, I had that, same as you I'm unsure of where I got that though I think it was one of the dubious sources. I can't find her at all now though there is an Ann b 1826, Great Ayton, parents Thomas and Hannah, which is really close if you don't know the area. This also fits with what I've found on census records. So I'm assunimg thats the right Ann.
I can't get onto the Familysearh pilot unfortunately, my Operating System doesn't seem to be new enough! It's a bit of a pain beacuse it sounds good.
Kathryn
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It's a shame you can't get onto the Familysearch Pilot site. I did find all of the births for the children of Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemmet.
I think all of the images of these baptisms were lost when my PC died, but I will have a dig around to see if still have them saved somewhere. (fingers crossed) Alternatively I will have to trawl through the BT's again to locate them all. I have transcribed the information which I will type up for you if you don't already have it? :)
Perhaps some of this Whitfield information including the Ann b 1834 came from the 1841 census? :-\
I have a little more on the Clemment side if you would like it?
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From the Parish Registers, St Mary's, West Acklam:
Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemmet both of this parish married in this chapel by virtue of a licence this sixteenth day of July in the year 1801 by me Wm Noone curate
Thomas Whitfield signed
X Elizabeth Clemmet
wit: William Clemmet and Margaret Mowbray (both signed)....................................................................
Thomas's brother John:
John Whitfield of the Parish of Marton and Mary Elcoate of this Parish were published in this Chapel on the 22nd and 29th days of May and 5th of June 1808 by Wm Noone Curate. Married by banns 9th June 1808
both signed
wit: John Hindzon and Daniel Webster
....................................................................
This is your Thomas:
Stainton in Cleveland
1803
chr June 5
Thos son of Thos and Elizabeth Whitfield
day labr
abode: Hemlington
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Kathryn,
Regarding Ralph Whitfield (place and exact date of birth unknown but circa 1751) who marries Ann Redman and has sons John and 'our' Thomas (who = Elizabeth Clemmet) ... the followng is a quote from a family tree owned by a relative:
"The missing link, and one I am most anxious to place, is that connecting Ralph Whitfield, who first appears at Marton, with Robert Whitfield, son of Matthew Whitfield, of Wolsingham, or other sons."
This is the last paragraph from "The Pedigree Register - Whitfield" by RCV Whitfield written Sept 1907.
(Ralph Cyril Vernon Whitfield 1878-1959)
This is exactly the same conclusion I came to independently. The birth/baptism of Ralph is our missing link, otherwise we cannot connect to the Whitfield/Eden 'landed gentry' family.
I am treating this link with caution as I know that the Victorians were interested in genealogy and connections with royal lineage and suspect that it was then that this connection was "pencilled in" and has since been taken as gospel by today's researchers who've spread it all over the internet.
I will look for my notes about the "other" more lowly born Ralph Whitfield. ;D
PS> do you have your Thomas b 1803 on all censuses? (If not I think I do and can pass them on if you'd like them)
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thanks
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Hi
Am very interested in whether you can form a link. I am definitely descended from Matthew Whitfield and Elizabeth Eden - their daughter Katherine married Joseph Robinson and that is my line. I have for some time been researching what happened within the Whitfield family in the early 1700s as they seem to have built up debts of about £20,000 (a considerable amount of money) which led to the sale of Whitfield Hall.
Matthew and Elizabeth did have a son Matthew (christened in Wolsingham which is where they had moved to - they let out Whitfield Hall at that time - on 1st March 1708). If (and it is a very big "if") your Ralph is the son of this Matthew, it could fit into a picture of him choosing to move away from Wolsingham, as the late 1740s was when the debts were called in.
I have just requested a copy of Matthew's will - maybe that will cast some light.
Kay
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Hello Kay. Welcome to rootschat and my Whitfield post. :D
After my correspondence with Kathryn, I did dig out my Whtifield notes and re-read it all and I'm still none the wiser.
Firstly, I would be extremely interested in what Matthew's will reveals. Please let me know what it contains when you receive it.
I have also been interested in the lost fortunes of the Whitfield family. I know there is a lot of documentation about their estate and it's sale on A2A. I suppose it is probable that if the family fell on hard times, that the children would move away and make their own livings.
There is one thing you may be able to help me with Kay. I know that Matthew Whitfield and Elizabeth Eden had children Robert 1701, John 1704 and Matthew 1708(?). Now this son Matthew married Anne Vasey on 7 Nov 1747 Auckland St Andrew. I have not found any children born to this couple. Do you have any? Many people following the same line as I am have given them a child Ralph b 1751 in Marton. This is my missing link Ralph. ;) Ralph married Ann Redman 16 Jun 1777 in Marton "both of this parish". I do know that this Ralph was a tailor. His son John Whitfield b 1777 was also a tailor. Their other son (my Thomas) b 1779 was a husbandman on most of his children's birth entries. Other children born to Ralph Whitfield and Ann Redman are Ann 1781 Marton and Rachael 1782 Marton.
So what I really need to find out is:
Did Matthew Whitfield and Anne Vasey have any children? And was one of them a Ralph born about 1751?
I mentioned to Kathryn about another Ralph Whitfield born in the area in 1751. He was born in Stockton on Tees - not far away from Marton. Ralph was baptised 26 Dec 1751 Stockon St Thomas father Ralph Whitfield (weaver) and mother Elizabeth Dooby. Now I believe that this particular Ralph b 1751 married Elizabeth Ledley in 1780 in Stockton. So there are two Ralph Whitfield's bc 1751 in the area. Where is the birth/baptism of the missing one? :-\
Let's hope for a clue in the will you are wating for. Please keep in contact and let me know what it tells us. I think I too should be looking at wills - "my" Ralph died Aug 14 1836 age 85 in Marton. Do you know how I would go about finding if he left a will?
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Hi Ruskie, you could try Teesside Archives (teesside_archives@middlesbrough.gov.uk) to see if they have a copy of the will, I was lucky enough to find one there for my OH's ggg grandfather who died in Middlesbrough in the 1840s and if they don't they should be able to point you in the right direction.
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Thanks for the suggestion - I will send them an email. :)
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Hi Ruskie
Will certainly let you know what Matthew WHitfield's will reveals - Have also ordered his son Robert's (who died before him), Robert's wife Osytha's and Matthew's brother Utrick's. All of them I found through the NE Inheritance Project (at the Uni of Durham). They are willing to do specific searches of the database they have set up and let you have brief details and then you can request a p/c (at a small cost). Link is http://familyrecords.dur.ac.uk/nei/. So that might be worth a request re your Ralph (or indeed Matthew his potential father).
I have no children attached to Matthew the younger, other than your queried Ralph - which I got from some of the WHitfield stuff on line but (just as you say) I know there is a lot of wrong information out there. Obviously haven't concentrated on that line because I wanted to confirm my own link through Matthew and Elizabeth's daughter Katherine - who married a Joseph Robinson.
Auckland St Andrew's and St Helen's are linked closely to the Eden family which would explain possibly Matthew marrying Ann Vasey there. Have you checked whether your Ralph though born in Marton, was christened in Auckland (or indeed back in Whitfield)?
I have copies of some of the many WHitfield documents about the lease and then sale of WHitfield Hall which I am ploughing my way through (not easy reading!) but will also let you know whether there is anything mentioned in there. K
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Thanks so much Kay. ;D I look forward to finding out what the wills contain.
I have heard of the NE Inheritance Project and will contact them about potential wills. Yes, I will not be completely happy until I find the baptism of the missing link Ralph b 1751 - I suppose it IS possible that he wasn't christened. :-\
I have also found another extracted record on the IGI:
Ralph Whitfield
chr 10 Feb 1751
Newburn Northumberland
father William
no mother named
and possibly the corresponding (IGI extracted) marriage:
Willm Whitfield = Anne Tate
"about" 10 Feb 1750
Newburn
Not sure what to make of that ...
Glad it's not just me who has no children born to Matthew Whitfield and Anne Vasey. Someone has made a leap of faith assuming that my Ralph 1751 was the son of this couple. Yes, I did check Auckland St Andrew for the christenings of any children there. Found none. :( I have not checked elsewhere parish by parish as I didn't know where to turn next. Perhaps it might be worth my checking Whitfield.
Thanks a lot for keeping your eye open for any mention of Ralph 1751 or indeed any children born to Matthew and Anne Vasey.
I look forward to hearing from you again with some good news, I hope. ;)
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Kay,
I suppose you have already done a lot of your own research, but in case you haven't, I've read numerous online articles/books etc and drawn up a rough Whitfield tree including all the information I found, plus I've added a few notes. If you are interested I can give you a rundown of what I have. The family is quite well documented. ;)
As an example, for your C(K)atherine and Joseph Robinson, I have children:
Elizabeth chr 1 Apr 1729 Wolsingham
Matthew chr 1 Apr 1731
Margaret chr 6 Mar 1732/3 died in infancy
Robert chr 27 Jan 1734/5
Catherine chr Feb 1736/7
Jane chr 13 Jan 1738/9
Mary chr 19 Jan 1740/1
Utrick chr 14 June 1743
Margaret chr 29 Jun 1745 died in infancy
Margaret chr 11 Feb 1748/9
Also I have Osythia Wright bapt 13 Jan 1703/4 Brancepeth father John mother Elizabeth Jackson buried 4 Apr 1752 Wolsingham.
There was some conflicting information from different sources if I remember correctly. ;)
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I wish I'd made clearer notes ... :-\
I think I have Elizabeth (chr 13 Sept 1733 Wolsingham) and Mary (chr 8 May 1738 Wolsingham) as daughters of Robert Whitfield and Osythia Wright.
Robert died Jan 1746. Roberts will is dated 8 Oct 1746, proved 12 Feb 1746 - he left everything to his wife. [those dates don't make sense :-\]
Hendry Hopper (chr 19 Oct 1729 St Oswald Durham buried 17 Sept 1796 Wolsingham) was guardian of Elizabeth and Mary. He married Elizabeth when she was 16. :o They had 19 children. :o
Mary married Charles Challoner a wine merchant in York. She had a fortune of £500 (over £650,000 today) when she married.
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Hi Ruskie
Wills arrived this morning but have only had a quick glance so far (and am going away at the end of this week, so annoyingly can't spend as much time as I would like looking at them as have other things that need to be done!)
Those are the children I also have for Joseph and Katherine - I'm descended from Utrick Robinson (and Utrick remained a family name - my great uncle is Henry Utric Johnson who incidentally is still alive at the age of 106 but never knew why he was called Utric!). Nice to have agreement over the children given some of the wrong information out there.
Also agree with you about Osytha Wright. Elizabeth and Mary are the 2 daughters of Robert and Osytha - no other children (or at least if they are they died in infancy). Robert's will is dated the 8th Oct 1746 and proved 12th Feb 1746 (this would have been when Jan - March was part of the previous year iykwim). I have in my notes a possible date of death as 11/1/1746 but can't now see where this came from which probably means it was somewhere unsourced on the internet. A brief scan of his will indicates he leaves everything to Ositha.
I can find no reference to Hendry Hopper being Elizabeth and Mary's guardian and puzzlingly in Utrick's will (Matthew's brother) he appoints Joseph Reay as their guardian - not sure why he does this not Matthew???
You have an extra child for Hendry and ELizabeth - I only ::) have 18! Ositha seems to leave everything to Eliabeth and Mary, who also inherit from Matthew's brother Utrick (£1200 and £800 respectively).
WIll now go and look briefly at Matthew's will in the hope that it clarifies some of this! K
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Matthew's will was written on 8/5/1759 - he was buried in Wolsingham on 9/6/1761 (parish records). He leaves Causey House & Garth in Wolsingham (which I don't know about - had assumed he lived in Whitfield House on Wolsingham's main street) to his grandaughter Elizabeth Robinson (no mention of any of the other Robinson children). The rest appears to be divided between Elizabeth and Mary, Robert's 2 children. Nothing is left to any of his children, though there are only 3 I haven't found deaths for (my Katherine, your Matthew and Ann). Most of the others died in childhood, so wouldn't have had any children.
So not sure it really helps - certainly no mention of Matthew or grandchildren on that side.
Will transcribe them fully and can also scan them in if you would like a copy?
Wondering whether it might be worth seeing if ELizabeth Whitfield (Eden - Matthew's wife) left a will - she died in 1750.
Did ask whether they had a will for SIr RObert Eden, ELizabeth's father, but they didn't have one. Am sure there must be one somewhere but not sure where to look now.
Sorry it's not got us any further with your Ralph/Matthew.
K
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Hi Kay,
Many thanks for the information. Perhaps a little disappointing but still valuable to know what was in the wills.
I will just make a few comments:
Yes, please, scans or transcriptions of the wills would be great. However there is no hurry so I'm happy to wait till you return home.
For Hendry Hopper and Elizabeth Whitfield I have written: they had "12 sons and 7 daughters" :o - amazing. I must have read that somewhere. I'm not too good at noting my sources, especially as I wasn't sure these were even part of my family. ;)
Old Matthew doesn't appear to have divided up his estate particularly fairly. Who knows what went on in the family.
How wonderful to have a 106 year old great uncle! And I love the name Utrick!
I think I must have got the information about Hendry Hopper being Mary and Elizabeth's guardian from my fifth cousin twice removed ;). Or perhaps I read it in one of those many online books. I will try to find my source. I remember reading about the two girls and how they had been financially well taken care of. :D
Enjoy your time away and I will see if I can uncover something interesting for when you get back.
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Hi,
I am new to Rootschat and this is my first post. Was really interested to read this string of posts. I am descended through my mother from the elusive Ralph Whitfield (b. 1751), through John (b. 1777, m Mary Elcoate) and Thomas (b. 1814, m. Hannah Heron). I was even born at Marton and christened in the same Church as these people, so my family didn't stray very far!
I had run into the exact same issue with the missing connection between Ralph and his father Matthew ( or not) - so at least it's not just me. I had also come across the other Ralph (m Elizabeth Dooby) but didn't think that seemed right.
I hope that if anyone has any further information, they can post it. I remain sceptical about the aristocratic connection but it's great to be able to go back even this far.
We did visit Whitfield Hall last summer (quite near where I now live), when the grounds were open. The original hall was demolished but the current owner told me that some of the stonework you can see is from that original hall, so really interesting. I have a few photos.
He told me he gets lots of Whitfields from all over the world coming along on those open days. My mother (now 76) is an only child and always thought she had no family - she is now amazed that there are all these connected Whitfields in the world!
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Hello Afel,
Welcome to rootschat. It's great to meet yet another cousin!
I'm really rusty on this family so need to read up again, and dig out all my notes to clarify. But just having a really quick look - I don't have a son Thomas b 1814 born to John Whitfield and Mary Elcoate. :-\
I have a Thomas b 1803 to Thomas Whitfield and Elizabeth Clemmet. I thought this was the Thomas who married Hannah Heron on 14 Nov 1826 in Darlington? If your Thomas was born in 1814 he can't be the one who married Hannah Heron in 1826 as he'd only be 12. :o
I remember years ago having some kind of confusion over this. I will see if I can clarify.
I'm glad there are many of us in the same boat when it comes to Ralph 1751 and the possibility of aristocratic connections. I am still very dubious but would love to find out one way or another. I am interested in seeing your photos of Whitfield Hall nevertheless. ;)
I will be back later. ;)
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Re Matthew Whitfield 1708 and Ralph Whitfield 1751.
I am a descendent of Thomas Whitfield 1803 and have been trying to get to grips with all the information regarding the family.
Has anyone established a connection between the northumberland branch and marton branch?
I have come to same conclusion as others posting and was wondering whether there was any new news, so to speak..
here's hoping- it's driving me mad....
And
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Welcome to rootschat And. I'm very pleased to meet another cousin. I can't speak for the other Whitfield researchers, but I'm afraid I haven't made many more progress on this line.
Have you been researching the family for long? Do you have any information to add to what we already have?
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Researching for quite a while- along with Afel, my sister who is further up on this thread. Try to come back to it all every now and again to unpick a little bit more but always end up with the same problem- Ralph Whitfield- no real birth record. Ho hum. Will keep trying! We are both from the area originally, which does help. keep in touch if you unearth anything and I will also keep you posted.
Best wishes.
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I'm the same - I leave it for a while then return in the hope that I uncover some new clues. But there appears to be nothing to find. There are many of us who are stuck with Ralph birthdate-and-birthplace-unknown. :-\
I can't even see a way to search 'sideways' - as there appear to be no siblings for Ralph - and I'm sure some of us must have searched in neighbouring counties for the family at some stage?
I will definitely let you (and the whole world!) know if I find anything new.
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Hi,
I have come across a marriage of Thomas Whitfield to Hannah Elders in Ayton, Cleveland, 1825. The parish register is on findmypast.co.uk I have a downloaded a copy if anyone wants more info. I'm guessing this is Thomas b 1803 though there could be more Thomas and Hannah couples I guess. Will have to try and find that out. What do you others think?
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Good morning Kathryn.
I've struggled with this part of the tree for ages but I have Thomas marrying Hannah and he is the 1803 Thomas. Hannah was born in Bishopton, Durham in 1804 and the couple went to live in Middlesbrough later and both died there.
Thomas grew up in Yarm which is not too far from Ayton.
I was born in the area
Could you let me have any details of the marriage including witnesses it sounds interesting. I could compare with my tree and let you know if I find anything. I'm intrigued as to why Hannah started off in Durham and ended up further south in Middlesbrough.
Happy new year
Andrea
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Hi Kathryn and Andrea. Happy New Year to both of you. :)
I would also be interested in the details of the marriage please.
I am ashamed to admit that I haven't looked at this family for some time. I do recall a Thomas marrying a Hannah but I don't remember her surname, so need to check my notes to see if she is Hannah Elders.
Still very interested in the marriage. :)
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Happy New year!
So I have Thomas Whitfield, Bachelor, of the parish of Ayton marrying a Hannah Elders, spinster, of the parish of Thirby with Broughton (could be Thirlby, will look on map later) date: 3rd Dec 1925 married by William Dawson curate of Ayton
Looks like they signed their names
Witnesses: Mary Hardy (think this may be a relative of Thomas, there was some one who married a Hardy in the generation above I think?) also John Longstaff (he's a witness on a few on that page in teh register) William Robinson and another William, I can't quite make out surname, think it may be Hauxwell
Does that get us anywhere?
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Oops just realised there's also a John Hauxwell and a John Anderson, I think it is. Why so many witnesses?!
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Thanks for that. I have seen four witnesses for marriages before, but only once. :)
Did you write 1925 instead of 1825 for the year of marriage? :)
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yes, sorry it should be 1825
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Look what I've just found :-)
http://greatayton.wikidot.com/parish-registers
That gives a parish for Hannah of Kirby with Broughton, which I think is local to Ayton
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That looks very useful, thanks for the link. :)
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Hi you two, Haven't had a chance to look at my tree properly yet but this looks really interesting.
Kirby Broughton is close to Great Ayton. About 10 mins drive from Marton.
I definitely have Thomas and Hannah in Marton. Also John Whitfield a tailor living on the Green in Marton too. John is Thomas' son. On family search the elusive Ralph who married Ann Redman in St Cuthberts church, Marton had their son the above John Whitfield there. I wish I could get hold of that marriage cert....!
I did unearth a birth record on family search for a Thomas Whitfield bap 5/6/1803 in Stainton in Cleveland which is near Coulby Newham too
I'll try to keep digging 😊
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Ps
I had a nose around St Cuthberts churchyard last summer and I have photos of the following graves if they are of any interest-
Robert Rickaby Whitfield died 1917
Ralph and Elizabeth Whitfield died 1869 and 1886 ( I think)
Agnes Spencer Spencer nee Whitfield died 1959. She married into the Spencer of ' Marks and Spencer' family.
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I have some photos from that graveyard I had a nose around a few years back, thanks for the offer.
I had a bit of a dig yesterday and I think we can discount Hannah Herron (mentioned earlier in conversation) as being the Hannah as she married a Thompson Whitfield, not Thomas. It's on familysearch, plus luckily I found one of their children baptismal record on this page :http://durhamrecordsonline.com/updates/2009/page/7/
Thompson is on the 1841 census living in Brancepeth, Durham, I think Hannah had recently died.
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Thanks for that Sleepykath. Will keep chewing it over.
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I had a bit of a dig yesterday and I think we can discount Hannah Herron (mentioned earlier in conversation) as being the Hannah as she married a Thompson Whitfield, not Thomas. It's on familysearch, plus luckily I found one of their children baptismal record on this page :http://durhamrecordsonline.com/updates/2009/page/7/
Thompson is on the 1841 census living in Brancepeth, Durham, I think Hannah had recently died.
In one of my early replies (#9 I think) I have questioned this marriage to Hannah Herron so good to get confirmation.
I'm afraid I have been off on other tangents and haven't got back to the Whitfields yet. :-[
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Ps
I had a nose around St Cuthberts churchyard last summer and I have photos of the following graves if they are of any interest-
Robert Rickaby Whitfield died 1917
Ralph and Elizabeth Whitfield died 1869 and 1886 ( I think)
Agnes Spencer Spencer nee Whitfield died 1959. She married into the Spencer of ' Marks and Spencer' family.
Thank you for the offer. I already have a photo of Agnes Spencer's grave, but would be interested in the other two. Thanks very much. :)
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Yes I seem to keep finding other tangents too :D