RootsChat.Com
General => The Common Room => Topic started by: Tephra on Monday 09 August 10 10:00 BST (UK)
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Welcome to this weeks Scavenger Hunt. It looks like one you can get your teeth into.
Good Luck and Good Hunting
Barbara
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My family is searching for its roots in England. We know that our ancestor, Matthew Cockcroft, was born in Yorkshire and joined the York Fencibles (a.k.a. Invincibles) Regiment prior to 1798. Somewhere between 1794 and 1798 his unit was sent to Northern Ireland and he participated in the Battle of Saintfield in the summer of 1798. We have confirmed these facts through military paylists. The story passed down through our family is that his unit was disbanded sometime after the battle and most of the men returned home to England. Matthew, however, married a local woman and settled in Newtownards, County Down.
We can trace all of our ancestors in Ireland from Matthew's children on down to my mother, but we cannot seem to identify the area of England where Matthew was born. Matthew told his family that he was from the Flamborough/Bridlington area, however, there is no record of a Matthew born in this area. Actually, there are very few Matthew Cockcrofts in the IGI, even when I try alternate spellings like Cockroft and Cockcraft! I'm wondering if people had middle names back then and if they used them in their everyday life. In particular, I'm wondering if Matthew would have used his middle name when he registered with the milita. Does anyone know if that might be the case?
I've identified two families that could possibly be Matthew's relatives. The questions that I have regarding these families are as follows:
Family #1: A Robert Cockcroft was born in Flamborough in 1755, the son of Richard Cockcroft. This is of interest because Robert is also an unusual Cockcroft name and yet Matthew names his only son Robert. The Robert born in 1755 has only one son, who is named Richard, so it's not looking like Robert is Matthew's father. However, Robert had several sisters and I'm wondering if one of them might have been a single mother.
Question: The family attended St. Oswald's church in Flamborough. I'm wondering if someone might be able to check to see is one of the sisters had a child. The sister's names are as follows: Esther (b: 1743), Alice (b: 1749), Sushanna (b: 1758), and Elizabeth (b: 1761).
Family#2: A Matthew Cockcroft was born in Illingsworth in West Riding in 1762. What's interesting with this gentleman is that he had a brother named Isaac who was born in 1759. According to the military paylists, there was an Isaac Cockcroft in Matthew's unit. This could be a coincidence, but it's probably the best lead we have.
The Matthew born in Illingsworth was christened in the Church of England in Illingsworth. He married a woman named Hannah Farnell around 1785. On the marriage record both Hannah and Matthew list their abode as Ovenden and he states his occupation is a weaver. They had five children, all of whom were christened at the Zion New Methodist Connexion Church in Ovenden. On one of the children's christening records, I think it was John's, the family is designated as paupers. This would fit with our assumption that Matthew was a laborer.
Question:
#1 - Is there a record of Matthew's death in Yorkshire?
#2 - Is there a record of where and when Hannah Farnell Cockcroft died. (If Matthew remarried in Ireland prior to the birth of his son around 1810, then Hannah would have died sometime between the birth of their last child in 1793 and 1810.)
#3 - Matthew's oldest son Jacob was born in 1786. Interestingly there is a Jacob Cockcroft who marries in Limerick Ireland in 1806. He states on his marriage certificate that he is a soldier with the 23rd foot regiment. Since the Cockcrofts do not appear to be native to Ireland, I'm wondering if the Jacob who marries is indeed Matthew's son following in his father's footsteps. Or for that matter, is it Matthew using a different name? Can anyone tell me if a marriage or death certifcate exists for the Jacob Cockcroft born in the Ovenden area in 1786?
Any help answering these questions would be greatly appreciated!
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i'm on the case ;)
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Interestingly I see the Flamborough Robert married a Hannah, Hannah Hanson on 29/11/1778 at Flamborough.
Where did the Matthew/Hannah marriage take place?
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from http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/fencibles/c_fencibles.html#_ftnref2
The term 'fencible' may come from 'defencible' and means a defence force. There had been fencible regiments raised for home defence both for the Seven Years War and the American Revolution.[2] The number of regiments raised, however, was nowhere near the number raised for this conflict. Fortescue described them as, "regular troops originally enlisted for service at home, and for the duration of the war only, and were designed to liberate the regular army from the United Kingdom for service abroad."[3] Many of these regiments did sterling service in the garrisoning of Ireland and others volunteered for general service, one saw action in Egypt; as well as, providing
2] For 1759-1763, Campbell's Argyllshire Fencibles and Earl of Sutherland's Battalion of Highlanders [sometimes later referred to as 1st Sutherland Fencibles]. For 1776-1783, 2nd Sutherland Fencibles, Western Fencibles (Argyll), Duke of Gordon's Fencibles (Northern), Lord North's Fencibles (Cinque Ports), Lord Fauconberg's North Riding of Yorkshire Fencibles, Isle of Manx Fencibles, South Fencibles and Egerton's Fencible Infantry (Royal Lancashire Volunteers) garrisons in England and overseas to free regular line regiments.
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Matthew, however, married a local woman and settled in Newtownards, County Down.
Question:
#1 - Is there a record of Matthew's death in Yorkshire?
#2 - Is there a record of where and when Hannah Farnell Cockcroft died. (If Matthew remarried in Ireland prior to the birth of his son around 1810, then Hannah would have died sometime between the birth of their last child in 1793 and 1810.)
#3 - Matthew's oldest son Jacob was born in 1786. Interestingly there is a Jacob Cockcroft who marries in Limerick Ireland in 1806. He states on his marriage certificate that he is a soldier with the 23rd foot regiment. Since the Cockcrofts do not appear to be native to Ireland, I'm wondering if the Jacob who marries is indeed Matthew's son following in his father's footsteps. Or for that matter, is it Matthew using a different name? Can anyone tell me if a marriage or death certifcate exists for the Jacob Cockcroft born in the Ovenden area in 1786?
does Matthew have a gravestone and is his age recorded on it?
do you mean is there a record of Matthews birth in Yorkshire ? as it seems he lived in Newtownards he would have presumably died there.
do you have record of Jacobs birth? did Jacob also go to Newtownards with Matthew
Sometimes men would not wait until their wife had died before 'marrying' someone else, he may have assumed Hannah had died or just wanted to set up home with the other women and did so, war changes a lot of peoples perspective.
it seems likely also that the Fencibles were abit like the homeguard in WW2, guys too old for actual military service so these were a back up force for the army maybe like todays territorial army
events (bp & marriages) at this time would have to take part in the Church of England churches except for jewish events
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have you seen this?
http://www.minstrelboys.org.uk/index_files/Page1462.htm
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Another website with history of Fencible regiments.
This suggests they were formed in 1793.
http://www.napoleon-series.org/military/organization/fencibles/c_fencibles.html
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from what i can establish the York Fencible Regt was created in York in 1792 so he would have to join from this date on and i think along with the other Fencible regts it was disbanded by 1802.
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Has anyone noticed I put this up on the wrong day?? ;D ;D ::)
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these are the best records to search to solve your problem
Window Tax or Light Tax was introduced in 1696 (to replace Hearth tax) with amendments in 1747 and 1797. it was abolished in 1851.
The value to historians is the collection of names, usually of the tax-payers.
After 1784, house and window tax asesments were consolidated; they were then known as the 'assessed taxes'.
land tax records 1780- 1832 The land tax was a national tax levied on landowners from the 1690s. Only one complete set of returns for 1798 survives for England and Wales (in the National Archives), but many returns are available in local record offices. The returns (or 'duplicates' as they are often known) were made for each township and record the names of owners and occupiers and the sum to which they were assessed. Land Tax Records should be held at the County Record Office however they are not all there and are not always are complete. TNA can help to locate documents relating to a particular manor so it would help if the Manor is known,
Manorial Records, after 1066 the land of England was divided into Manors granted to faithful servants of the King. These did not always correspond with the boundaries of villages, towns, parishes etc. and often had their own name.
Manorial Court Rolls these refer to two types of court, Baron Court & Lett Court the latter tends to deal with law and order, on the other hand Court Baron is concerned with recording those who held land from the manor.
(Manorial) Rental, listing all the tenants in a manor their holdings and how much they paid in rent to the manor. copyhold (now called leasehold 19th c) if you lived in or owned a house that technically came under the Manor upon death or any over reason for the property being passed to another party even down the family line you would have to apply to the lord of the manor to do so and his consent would have to be given – even in wills (these should be recorded in the Manor estate documents and possibly the court rolls)
Manorial Accounts recorded the income and expenditure of the manor though these generally do not contain personal names.
Manorial Documents were written in Latin until 1733.
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Has anyone noticed I put this up on the wrong day?? ;D ;D ::)
yes i did notice it wasnt tuesday as i am not working i did for a minute think should i be at work!
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Has anyone noticed I put this up on the wrong day?? ;D ;D ::)
Err yes, I thought you must be busy tomorrow ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D
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No, for some reason I've been thinking it was Tuesday all day........ D'uh me, must be something to do with the Planets - can't possibly be my age!!! ;D ;D
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History of Fulford Barracks in York.
http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36392
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We know that our ancestor, Matthew Cockcroft, was born in Yorkshire and joined the York Fencibles (a.k.a. Invincibles) Regiment prior to 1798. Somewhere between 1794 and 1798 his unit was sent to Northern Ireland and he participated in the Battle of Saintfield in the summer of 1798. We have confirmed these facts through military paylists.
it seems you have already consulted the military paylist and muster rolls however each regiment complied on a monthly or quarterly basis the names of each and every serving officer and soldier in that month or quarter and where they were stationed at that partcular time. additionally the list whould show when the soldier enlisted and when he was discharged.
from 1760-1854 it is possible to search by individuals name on TNA online
if you do not find your ancestor in these records it will be because he was not awarded a pension
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there are some Cockcrofts in the York assizes 1785- 1851
http://www.yorkfamilyhistory.org.uk/assizes-cd.htm
no Matthews though so linking them to yours may be a problem
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searching google books for Cockcroft 1700-1800 i found numerous ref's to William cockcroft, cock-croft now or late of Stcoks , he was married to Mary there is alos ref. to him being born Halifax so is he of Stocks or is he of Halifax i dont know however on TNA
WILLIAM COCKCROFT Born HALIFAX, Yorkshire Served in Yorkshire Militia Discharged aged 44 after 26 years 4 months of service . WILLIAM COCKCROFT Born HALIFAX, Yorkshire Served in Yorkshire Militia Discharged aged 44 after 26 years 4 months of service Certificates
Date: 1805
Royal Hospital, Chelsea: Discharge Documents of Pe... WO 121/75/148
and
Will of Grace Cockcroft of Halifax. late of Mayroy... WYL500/882
[West Yorks, Leeds, Stansfield Muniments]
Date: 1779
if William left a will it might help.
you need to see page 321 of this book
http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=UlIPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA321&dq=cockcroft&hl=en&ei=fPFfTJiIMciOjAeKvrXxAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=10&ved=0CGMQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=cockcroft&f=false
(The history of the town and parish of Halifax: containing a description of ... By Samuel Midgley, William Bentley)
with regards to there being a Joshua Cockcroft
there is this ref. in the assizes
Assizes: Northern and North-Eastern Circuits: Crim... ASSI 45/38/2/25
Cockcroft, Joshua . Cockcroft, Joshua Details of this file are at items level
Date: 1794
there does seem to be several Cockcrofts in Yorkshire so not as 'rare' a name as you might think .
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also if Joshua Matthews son was born 1786 it would be improbable to think Matthew was born 1778
also just because Matthew served with the yorkshire regt. it doesnt mean he was from there but only from there when he signed up.
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I can see a couple of Cockcrofts sentanced to death in Yorkshire.
John in 1809 for uttering a forged Bank of England note knowing it to be forged and Charles in 1823 for Highway Robbery.
I can't see where they came from though.
You think you have an unusual surname but then you find clusters of the same name in certain areas.
There does seem to be a cluster around Flamborough and another who were Methodists around Halifax.
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Looking at the Flamborough PRs on IGI they are online from 1724 but the first mention of a Cockcroft is the marriage of Richard to Allis on 10/8/1743 then the subsequent baptisms of their children, so it's possible they hadn't lived in Flamborough for a long period of time.
Edit Have you had the records at the RO checked to see if there are any Cockcrofts before 1724?
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try this site
http://genforum.genealogy.com/cockcroft/
:)
http://genforum.genealogy.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?forum=cockcroft&url=/cockcroft/&path=/cockcroft/&terms=matthew&boolean=AND
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earlier i think i might have mentioned wills, obviously the first place to look would be for Matthews will if he left one did it include family members other than wife and children?
if not it might be worth seeing if there are other wills for Cockcrafts and variants in Yorkshire and seeing if these mention Matthew
first of all you have to identify where the probate may have been granted unless you are aware of his residence approx. year of death and rough idea of wealth this may be difficult.
however you could try origins.net this holds the York Peculiars Probate Index 1383-1883 the originals are held at the Borthwick Institute but you can order copies online.
re the manorial records i mentioned earlier in the early days of the 1700's there were NO major population centres apart from London (in 1800 London was the largest city in Europe) the next largest was Bristol and the third was Norwich.
next came York, Nottingham Exeter Worcester etc. with populations of 10,000 and then the next tier was Manchester 6,000 and Liverpool and Birmingham 4,000 each (thinks to herself wonder where Leicester is on the list)
so England was a rural country until the industrial boom.
the majority of its people lived in villages and hamlets clustered around market towns with the larger ones acting as hubs for the local economy and providing a base for commerce and industry.
York itself is on the River Ouse and would be a fishing centre as well as on the main road through England to Scotland.
anyway i go off on a tangent.
within these rural communities there were 2 main admin. units the parish and the manor.
the parish and manor boundaries may be different, in theory every manor had a 'lord' who would grant strips of land to people within the manor in return for service, so although the farmers farmed land in the manor they would have to give the 'lord' some of their crops or they could just pay the 'lord' for the use of the land. at the end of the lower end of the social scale you had cottagers who worked the 'lord' land but had no land of their own.
thirdly it has been passed down the Matthew came from Flamborough i dont think you would come up with a name of a town like this unless you had some reason to know the town so dont discount it
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http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/Misc/CBW/ERY/Flamborough.html
you probably have already seen this link.
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Wow, you all have been busy!!! Thank you so much for the incredible information you've provided. I can't wait to start researching some of the records you referenced. I had no idea about the manorial records, but they in particular seem very promising. Since we suspect Matthew's family was poor, we're not likely to find a will or land ownership. We also have hit a brick wall with his military records, since the fencible regiments do not seem to be as well documented as the regular militia. The manorial rental records may hold the key!
I have some answers to several of the questions that were raised. I wish there was more specific info to pass on.
The Matthew born in Illingsworth in 1762 was baptized at the Church of England in Illingsworth. I believe that the same Matthew marries Hannah Farnell sometime around 1785 but we do not know where they marry. Records for the baptism of their children are held by both the Zion New Methodist Connextion church in Ovenden and the South Parade Wesleyan chapel in Halifax. What I can't seem to find are any death records for this family. Is there a way to tell whether or not the records survived and are stored someplace that is accesible?
We know for sure that Matthew died in Ireland but all of the early records for his church and county were destroyed in the Dublin fire in 1922. We're not sure when he passed on or where he is buried.
I have a few more questions that I was hoping you all could help with:
Do people in the late 1700s always go by their first names or do they use their middle names? In particular I'm wondering if Matthew could have registered for the military using his middle name.
Is it safe to assume that everyone's birth was recorded with the local church? Does that include children born to single moms?
What is TNA online (please excuse my ignorance...I'm a novice when it come to genealogy!)
Thanks again for all your ideas and suggestions. I'll let you know if anything develops....
Cindy
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One more thought...
The Matthew Cockcroft born in Illingsworth in 1762 was the son of a Joshua (b: 1732) and he had a brother Joshua (b: circa 1759). One of these men could be the Joshua who goes to trial in 1794. The trial happened around the time Matthew joined the military. I'll definitely contact the library and find out if they can do a look up to determine where Joshua was from and what crime he was accused of committing.
Cindy
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To start and answer some of your questions.
Before 1837 when civil registration came in there was no law forcing anyone to be baptised.
Having said that it was highly unusual for a child not to be baptised the vast majority as babies, the sicklier the child the sooner it was baptised often at home oin the day of birth it it was thought it wouldn't survive.
Baptisms could be carried out in any church or non conformist chapel and my thoughts are that there may have been only one baptism but it was recorded twice, once in the chapel it took place in and again in the 'mother' chapel.
Now non conformist ministers couldn't conduct marriage cerimonies the only christian marriage had to be in a Church of England church.
They could conduct burials the only problem there was not many chapels had their own burial grounds. At that time no municipal burial grounds so the closest Church of England churchyard would be the obvious guess as to where they were buried.
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Of course the manorial records may not list Matthew himself if he was not head of the household
Maybe they [Matthew b. Illingsworth & Hannah]didn’t die and are still alive aged 248!
Seriously though they could appear on the 1841 census
Sometimes there seems to be a gap in records (online) from 1812 – 1837 there is a reason for this but it escapes me now!
If he lived in Newtownland all his life it is likely he is buried there, does the actual church hold a map of the church yard?
I did see online that where some of the fallen from the York Fencibles were buried so maybe it might be best to start with this church?
People could and still can call themselves what they like as long as is not for fraudulent purposes.
Sometimes there were baptismal names and ‘real’ names
not every child was christened but it was unlikely that they shouldn’t have been, if a baby died and was unchristened then they wouldn’t be subject to the full rites and burials of the church of England
illegitimate children were recorded in the parish register as base born children and if you are lucky the curate (etc.) would make a note in the margin of his parentage if it was a small parish it would be unlikely the vicar didn’t know the father, there could also be a clue in the childs name but for now you have no reason to believe that Matthew was illegitimate.
You have to question whether he came from York originally or that he was just there to sign up? Although as I said before you wouldn’t pick a name like Flamborough out of mid air unless you knew the place and like Jaywit said there is a high density of the Cockcroft name in certain areas of Yorkshire.
TNA = The National Archives, some of their records are searchable online
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PS maybe it might be best to concentrate on the Cockcrofts in Yorkshire and split them in to family groups and follow them through on official documentation to see if this lead anywhere specific.
PPS are you in Ireland? If yes how would I find a birth there circa 1926 only have childs and fathers name no place of origin no mothers name.
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Toni I agree with your last message.
As there is the family story that they came from Flamborough my first port of call would be to find out if anyone has access to Flamborough PRs before 1724 ( or if not perhaps pay the RO to look) and see if there were Cockcrofts there before ther first PR record we can find.
If there isn't then as you say you need to sort the family groups out.
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what i suggest you do as there seems to be a lack of input int his hunt is to request a look up for Matthews bp. in Flamborough directly on the Yorkshire board
i personally think he was older than the 'usual' soldier as the Fenibles seem to be more TA type and therefore i would expect Matthew to be born 1752-1772 (if he signed up in 1792 when the regt was created)
also looking for some of my own relatives on Findagrave.com i also searched for Cockcroft and there are 2 in Hartshead Moorside (West Yorkshire) circa the time we are looking but as we said previously there does seem to be a hub of Cockcrofts in Yorkshire at this time.
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Some other thoughts Matthew & Hannah are having children in Halifax in the late 1780’s early 1790’s this would tie in with Matthew being born in Illingworth in 1762 Illingworth is on the outskirts of Halifax (2.8miles away from Halifax centre,) so I would say this is 95% the same person
Ovenden is betwixt the two
So Hannah & Matthew married circa 1785 the first child I can see for them is 1788
When did Hannah and Matthew stop having children? It looks to me around the time Matthew (if he is yours) signed up to the Militia
Do you have Hannahs y.o.b this may also have something to do with her not having any more children rather than it being because Matthew was away
Maybe Matthew thought the pay was better in the Militia than as a weaver and thus signed up
It would be assumed that Hannah was looking after the children can you spot any of them in the 1841 census?
There is a birth of Jesse Cockcroft s/o Matthew & RUTH in 1779 whilst Matthew (1762) would be old enough to father a child (he would be 17) is it likely to be him?
It is 90 miles from Halifax to Flamborough, quite a distance to travel but not impossible it is more likely that the Matthew from Flamborough was a seaman rather than a weaver and this is the only problem i can see so far
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if you can find them on the census [Matthew & Hannahs children] and they were in Bridlington area Flamborough even better then this would link the 2
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Flamborough was a small place and the majority of the inhabitants worked either on the sea as mariners or fishermen or on the land.
Halifax was right in the middle of the weaving country, many people being involved in the wool trade in one way or another.
So the family story about Flamborough, is it possible to work out how old that story is?
I know from a story in my family that 'they came from a certain village' I have been able to prove with what I have found out that they lived in that village for less than 10 years.
Maybe a branch did move to Flamborough, this is why the pre 1724 PRs for Flamborough are important. With them you will be able to see wether Flamborough is a red herring or not.
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there must be some truth in Flamborough because i cant see how they would just pick that name from thin air, especially with the Yorkshire connection but he could have just lived there prior to signing up.
we know that to be classed OTP you only had to live there for 21 days
from being a weaver to beign a seaman doesnt ring true although people did change their occupations especially if they were injured in the first form but this seems a huge jump, so i think its worth investigating Matthews from Illingsworth children to see if they are over in Bridlington (area) maybe one had a sense of adventure and went to sea (in a sieve)
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I have found this for Flamborough Cockcrofts but again not any earlier than we already have.
http://www.cimidd.karoo.net/index3.htm#Cockroft
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Ok looking at the 1841 census there seems to be a contingent of Cockcrofts still in Halifax (and Bradford) but I found a Richard Cockcroft b. circa 1786 in Bridlington maybe he is your best lead
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thats good Jaywit :)
in 1851 Richard (& Rebecca) are joined by Sarah Cockcroft b. 1834 in Leeds visitor :)
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added:
and Richard gives his p.o.b as Flamboro' b. 1783 :)
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you probably already have the batch number for Flamborough
C105932
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So there does seem to be a batch of Cockcrofts in Flamborugh circa the time we are looking but no Matthew
Manorial rolls may just show this Cockcroft family. Fingers crossed they mention a Matthew.
It is too late for Tithe maps to be of help
In 1861 there is John b. 1784 Flamborough with his children
And in 1871 Elizabeth b. 1790 presumably this Elizabeth married into the Cockcroft family and is therefore not a Cockcroft by birth and we should set her aside for now.
Do John & Richard from these census show on the IGI Batch I gave?
You say you have seen the army paylists for the York Fencibles did you also say there are other Cockcrofts mentioned? If you did is this other Cockcroft findable with a bp. in Yorkshire?
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There are a few Flamborough Cockcroft marriages on here.
http://www.driffield.org.uk/flambromarriages.html
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Robert Cockcroft of Flamborough, fisherman in court in 1782, doesn't say what for.
http://www.driffield.org.uk/flamboroughsnippets.html
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Using that link (from Jaywit) I looked at the 1791 trade directory for Driffield and there doesn’t seem to be any Cockcrofts trading on there, that’s not to say they weren’t there working for someone.
Caleb I saw on the IGI batch (his christening) and I think John is the one from the census he did have a daughter Frances it wouldn’t surprise me if she was named after her mother but all speculation on my part.
Richard (from the census) was married to Rebecca but it was usual to marry in the brides home parish and set up home in the grooms so they may have married there
I am rapidly running out of ideas
Tcrengr Have you tried the newspaper archives (I don’t hold out much hope but maybe they will be there)
You say you have from Matthew downwards can you give us his childrens names in case there is a naming pattern. Were these children Christina or Catholic or Non-Conformists?
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What bugged me with the name Matthew was yesterday I saw Luke, Mark and John Cockcroft in the Halifax area born around the same time.
Now that would make a good quartet of brothers named after the 4 apostles.
Only guesswork but you never know.
Another point I think if families were non conformist they tended to be more regular chapel attenders than some families who were C of E.
What I am meaning is non conformism was in relatively early days and I'm sure many people were nominally C of E but only went to church when really necessary so to make the effort to become a non conformist does suggest they would attend chapel regularly.
I hope that makes sense.
Edit Just found this.
http://www.mountzionhalifax.org.uk/
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Luke Cockcroft of Halifax Yorkshire Snuff Merchant was declared bankrupt July 1786
(Times)
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Edit Just found this.
http://www.mountzionhalifax.org.uk/
there are some Cockrofts (not CockCroft) burials there but late 19thc early 20thc
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A Richard Crowcroft of Bridlington married a Miss Jordan of Harpham (about 6 miles out of Brid) in 1828
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i hadnt tried the variant of Crowcroft but i hadnt put exact search on except for the census
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Hi, sorry not to respond until now. We had issues today with our e-mail account.
Thanks again for all your input! I'll try to answer some of the questions that have been raised.
#1 Regarding the children born to the Hannah and Matthew in Ovenden, I do not see the girls (Betty, Sally or Sarah) after their baptisms. Also, I have not been able to find their marriage records, so I'm not sure what name they would be using by the time of the 1841 census. His son Jacob is also not in any of the later records, which is why I'm wondering if he is the Jacob Cockcroft who married in Ireland in 1806. The other son, John or Jno, is hard to trace in the Halifax area because it's such a common name among the Cockcroft clan. Essentially they seem to fall out of the records after 1793.
#2 There is an Isaac Cockcroft listed on the military records for Matthew's unit. However, we think he was killed in the Battle of Saintfield because he falls off the paylists after the event. Since the Matthew born in 1762 had a brother named Isaac, it seems like further proof that the Illingsworth Matthew is the one!
#3 Matthew has two children with his wife in Ireland: Robert #1 and Matilda. Matilda marries the manager of a local mine and moves to Canada or the U.S....she is never heard from again. Robert #1 has three children: Robert #2, Matilda, and Jane.
#4 Matthew's family in Ireland belonged to the Church of Ireland. They seem to be very religious people, occupying the 2nd row of the St. Marks church in Newtownards for almost 100 years.
#5 I also struggled with why a man from a fishing town would join the army instead of the navy. And why did he settle in a landlocked area of Ireland? The first three generations of the family in Ireland had nothing to do with weaving, which seems strange if Matthew was from Halifax. They do not appear to be farmers either. As far as we know, Robert the 1st drove a "cab" in his later years and may have been a servant in his earlier life. Robert #2 was a sawyer, who was killed in a mill accident when he was in his 30s. After his death, his wife, Jane Gray, supported her four boys by doing needlework. She supposedly embroidered a bedspread, which was given by Northern Ireland to Queen Victoria as a gift. In short, their occupations don't seem to tie them to either East or West Riding!
I think the only way to prove that the Illingsworth Matthew is the correct one is to prove that he did not die in England. I think I'm going to focus first on finding death certificates in England for him and Hannah. I'm not sure what more we'll find in Flamborough...especially if he was baptized with a different first name. I'll definitely try tracing the Cockcrofts in that area to see if they died in England.
You all have given me some great resources to check out Thank you so much for sharing all your thoughts and ideas!
cindy
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Cindy there are no death certificates before July 1837. All you can find before that date are burial records.
Now burial records can be the most difficult to find online. IGI tends only to have baptisms and marriages.
The girls if they survived should have married ( assuming it was before 1837) in a Church of England church, so that is where you need to look for their marriages.
If they had 2 girls named Sally/Sarah I think you can assume the first one died before the birth of ther second one. It was common practice to name a child after a dead sibling.
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Although it seems as if Matthew did come from Yorkshire you may be able to prove he didn’t come from Ireland by consulting the religious census of Ireland which was taken in 1766 (in theory there should be no Cockcrofts on it! ) this was carried out by the clergy to determine the religious affiliations of the population. It contains Head of household, religion & number of children it is not a comprehensive record of all the population as those not eligible for payment of tithes were excluded.
Which leads me to think there were tithe maps drawn up earlier than the ones in England, the religious census was destroyed by the fire in 1922 but partial transcripts were made and are held in the National Archives.
Later we have the Griffiths valuation ( the first full-scale valuation of property in Ireland.) so called because It was overseen by Richard Griffith and published between 1847 and 1864. (this is after the tithes in England)
From Genuki: Ireland
Tithe Applotment books, Griffith's Primary Valuation records, and later land valuation records are also valuable census substitutes, because they record the names of the owners or occupiers of the land. These are described in the Irish Times site under Land Records.
From 1750 – 1832 only men with money (over £10 per year) and property rights could vote (actual landowners) and they had to be over 21
if Matthew met the requirements he may be on the pollbooks and electoral rolls
see more here:
http://www.thefamilyhistorypartnership.com/hints03.html
you used to be able to find burial records online at family history online but this website was taken over by find my past
the trouble also with the national burial index is that people have to transcribe parish registers and then give them to the people creating the NBI so this is not complete and remember you have 2 transcriptions already what one person may see as something someone else may see as something else so you may locate them in the NBI but it is always best to check the original parish register.
TNA has records of tax dissenters i.e. people who didn’t pay their tax for whatever reason
I think this maybe in section E192 but will need to double check this
TNA have many records of tax and i find this is the best place to start because after the civil war everybody has had to pay tax (even though it was originally created to put money in the coffers because we lost so much during the war and it is still here today)
TNA are very good but the trouble is not al the records are online and not all are searchable by name, they are getting there slowly though!
Did you see the new probate records on Ancestry? I am not sure if they cover the years you need (don’t think they do) but very interesting indeed, I have already found members of my family on there.
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Cindy I think as Toni says you are going to have to think outside the box.
What I would think about is this.
Have you got a LDS Family History Centre anywhere near to you?
If so you are going to have to order films etc. that they have.
I would start with this one.
Burials, 1781-1812, Ovenden near Halifax
Notes Ms.
Subjects England, York, Ovenden - Church records
England, York, Halifax - Church records
Copies
Call Number Location Availability High Density
942.74/O1 K29b FHL BRITISH Book Available
Format Manuscript (With Film)
Language English
Physical 97 leaves
Subject Class 942.74/O1 K29
If you look on Family Search library catalogue and just enter Halifax in search you will see they have loads of films etc available.
You are going to have to possibly trawl through a lot of films but I think it will be the only way of finding the information you want.
I think that plus checking Flamborough PRs before 1724 just to hopefully confirm the family weren't there before that date will lead you to the Halifax area branch as being yours.
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Just wanted to thank everyone for their participation in the scavenger hunt. I have learned so much from all your feedback. I've got tons of ideas of new places to search. Will let you know if I ever find the elusive Matthew Cockcroft!!!
Thanks again!
C.
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in the 18th c a tax was payable on all carriages used for the conveyance of people. the tax did not apply to farm vehicles or other carts, wagons etc used for business purposes
at TNA there are records of this in the Treasury section (T series)
this will show persons name year no. of carriages held and with with how many wheels i.e. 4 or 2 and the tax they paid.
T36/5 1752-1755
T36/6 1755-1756
T36/7 1756-1762
T47/2 1753-1756
T47/3 1756-1762
T47/4 1763 - 1766
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It's time for this weeks Scavenger Hunt and here it is.
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php/topic,475984.0.html
Good Luck and Good Hunting
Barbara
As usual, this Hunt will remain open for any further information which may come in.
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Crowcrofts are part of my line. I wonder is there any more info on this marriage.
Roy :)
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I am a descendant of Matthew Cockcroft (soldier at the irish rebellion) . Are you still investigating the tree or have you got all the tree details?
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No I haven't been able to figure out which Cockcroft family my Matthew came from. If you have any information that would help me to understand where the family originated, I would be most grateful!!! It seems like my family and I keep hitting the proverbial brick wall.
Thanks so much for posting your message. I look forward to learning more!!!
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Welcome to Rootschat, Iman146...... I'm sure any tree details would be appreciated.
Barbara