Woodhouse Varney

[redrock]

I am researching the Varneys for my Aunt who is a direct descendant of Woodhouse Varney (the grandson), his daughter Theresa (b 1855) and her illegitimate son William Henry Varney (born Windermere 1874 & registered in Ulverston, Cumbria as William Henry Fricke). I'll save the full (very interesting) story of his birth for another day but for now maybe I can add, confirm and correct a few details in the messages so far.

Firstly Woodhouse (the grandson) did marry Louisa Burtonshaw in West Butterwick and had four children - Henry (1850), Edwin (1852), Theresa (1855) and Emma (1858). The Burtonshaws were blacksmiths and I have no evidence of a previous barging connection. As you say, Henry moved to Hull. The other three children all moved to Halifax, Yorkshire with Theresa married to Sutcliffe Greenwood and Emma married to William Robinson. Did Woodhouse also end up in Halifax? - Maybe, but I haven't found him yet.

Secondly I ask myself the question where did Woodhouse the grandfather get his unusual christian name from? Normally an unusual christian name would be from the bible or his mother's or a grandparent's surname. We dont have any evidence of that in this case but he did marry at Eckington and his wife Elizabeth came from Beighton - both places are next door to a place called Woodhouse. It is possible that our Woodhouse was named after the place, either formally or as a "nickname" that stuck.  He may actually have been christened with another name.

Thirdly I have had a look at the quarter session information and it seems to me that there were probably two Samuel Varneys, one a nailor and one a labourer. One lived in Duffield and one in Belper. One was charged with assault & riot offences and the other with theft offences. One died in Rotherham in 1840 (your information) and one was a nailor still living in Duffield in 1851. The question is which Samuel was the father of Woodhouse the grandson?

Fourthly I think the census dates quoted by Bovar are all 10 years adrift. (We've all done it). According to Ancestry, Woodhouse was at Castleton, Rochdale (not Castleford, Yorkshire) in 1851, Holyhead, Anglesey in 1861 and at long Drax near Selby in 1871. At Rochdale he would be on a (narrow?)canal boat. At Holyhead he would be on a coaster or other sea going vessel. At Long Drax it could have been either a large barge or a small sea going vessel - ships go up river as far as Goole and Selby.

Lastly there was another Woodhouse Varney who was born and died in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire in 1850. I don't know how he links in but he must do, perhaps as a descendant of one of Samuel's brothers and therefore a second cousin of our Woodhouse Varney (the grandson).

I am sorry that I don't have any answers to the big important questions about the ancestry of Woodhouse Varney, but if everyone has a piece of the jigsaw, together we may find the picture.

[ruthy]

some further information:

The marriage certificate of Woodhouse Varney and Louisa Burtonshaw has the father of Woodhouse as Samuel "nail maker"
The birth certificate of their son Henry has Woodhouse as "waterman" in 1850.

The Woodhouse that was born and died in 1850 - his mother was Elizabeth Varney and no father was listed. He was born in New Street Droylesden on 4th May. (Woodhouse had a sister called Elizabeth, baptised around 1826....)
His death certificate put his death as 20th September 1850, cause of death "Atrophy" son of Elizabeth Varney, Factory Hand. A Joseph Hill was present at the death - at New Street Droylesden.

That's as much as I have at present - hope it helps.

The story of your ancestors birth in the Lake district sounds intriguing - I look forward to hearing the story.

[ruthy]

Just to add to my last message - the Samuel shown on the marriage certificate of Woodhouse and Louisa was NOT listed as deceased, and as the marriage was on November 27th 1848, if the info on the certificate is to be believed then I think this tells us that the Samuel who was still alive in 1851 was the likely father of Woodhouse.  Altough I can't tell if he was the one who was involved in theft or the other one - would you be able to clarfy at all Redrock?

Ruthy

[Bovar]

First, apologies Redrock, I did get my census details out by 10 years in an earlier contribution to this thread....I was working from memory rather than hard copy!  I have now subscribed to an on-line source for the UK census so can check my details now!

An interesting question about which Samuel was the criminal, and which the father of Woodhouse junior.

I have seen the parish records and confirm that a Samuel Varney was christened in Belper on August 4th 1799, son of Woodhouse and Elizabeth.  This would make him around the same age as the Samuel Varney who died in Rotherham, although perhaps not exactly in line with the death certificate.  There is evidence from records of the Belper Poor Law Union that they were aware of a Samuel Varney being ill and dieing in Rotherham. There are instructions to bring the family back to the Workhouse, as would have been the law at the time for the descendent's of men born in the parish and his family who sought parish relief.  There are no Varney's listed at the workhouse in the 1841 Census, but Mary Varney appears to be lodging with her 3 young daughters in a house in Swinney Lane, which is close to where other Varney's were living.  She has employment in the local cotton mill.

A Samuel Varney married an Ann Jackson at the parish church in Duffield around 1821.  I have not seen the microfiche record of this yet, but hope to confirm this when I next visit the Derbyshire record office.  Woodhouse junior was christened on Jan 16th 1824, son of Samuel and Anne Varney, and I have seen this record.  There is an Anne Varney buried in Belper in the 1830s, but I want to check the exact date and details.  So it is possible for Samuel to re marry and have a second family.

I am not aware at present of any other Varney's in Belper that could fit the dates for the Rotherham death.  The eldest of  Mary's daughters was born outside Derbyshire, the two youngest in the county, according to the 1841 Census, so it is possible she married in Belper.  Another point to check!

I am not sure Ruthy about Woodhouse junior having a sister called Elizabeth.  I didn't make a record of any Elizabeth christened in Belper in 1826 when I was going through the parish records, but it is so easy to miss things when trying to read those microfiches!  Can you give me any details?....I will add this to my check list.  A possible candidate for Elizabeth is the one born about 1830 to Thomas Varney.  He was the second (surviving) son of Woodhouse, so this Elizabeth was the grand daughter of Woodhouse senior.  She can be seen in the 1841 Census living in Belper, and was employed in the local cotton mill, so could have got employed in the same industry as a factory hand....

You are quite right Rocky, I cannot be sure which Samuel Varney was the one imprisoned.  Firstly, there is the possibility that he never returned to Belper after release.  Looking back over what records I have collected so far, their are two possibilities other than Woodhouse senior's son.  One died and was buried in Belper in 1841 (before the census), but he was 77 so the least likely candidate. The Samuel Varney you found in the 1851 census, born in 1786 is possible.  He also appears in the 1841 census, although his entry seems to have missed transcription.
He has a wife Isabella in 1841, so is unlikely to have been the person who assaulted his wife, Anne, unless he had remarried.

The Samuel sentenced in 1826, although described as a labourer in the Wirksworth record, is described as a nailor in the pop up note attached to the Derby assize record.  At this time the township of Belper was still in the parish of Duffield, which is close by....the registration district was not invented until 1837.  All the census records you saw for 1851 are definitely for Varney's living in Belper.....most of the addresses are still identifiable to this day, and the terraced cottages they lived in.  Duffield is declared as a sub registration district of Belper on the 1851 Census transcript....I think that this just means that Duffield held a record book where their citizens could record births, marriages and deaths which were later transferred to the main one at Belper.

Unless I can find a record from contemporary sources giving the age of the Samuel sentenced in 1826, I guess it won't be possible to definitely identify which one it is.

 

[Bovar]

Some speculative thoughts about Woodhouse junior.

Arkwright had a canal built to carry goods to and from his cotton mill, and this passes not too far from Belper.  It connects to the Erewash valley canal, which in turn connects to the navigable stretch of the river Trent north of Nottingham, and to the Trent and Mersey canal which goes into Lancashire.  It is likely that Strutt used this canal network to move his goods, at least until the railway came in the 1840's.  So it is possible that Woodhouse had contact with the watermen on the canal, and got 'apprenticed'.
Ruthy, I wouldn't be sure that Woodhouse would know, or cared if his father was dead.  He probably had no fixed abode until he was married, and illiterate, so didn't send letters home.  His mother may have died when he was around 10, and if his father WAS imprisoned, may not have had much of a bond with him.  Most sons followed their fathers into the nailmaking trade....Woodhouse was I think the only Varney not to do so in this generation.

Louise, his wife, came from West Butterwick, which is on the banks of the river Trent, not far from modern day Scunthorpe.  I worked there in the 1970's and remember walking along the Trent bank as far as East Butterwick, and looking across to where his family were born.
It is small even today, and would have been an isolated spot.  Perhaps Woodhouse met her when he stopped to have his barge horses shod.  George Fish, who was master of the boat he was on during the 1861 census, lived there. George was a mariner 'up the river' in 1851 when Woodhouse was on the canal in Lancashire.  Perhaps Woodhouse had crewed with George before this, and met Louise when they stopped off at his home.  Louise lived 2 doors away from George's house in 1851.
George was the publican in W Butterwick in 1871.
Trade continued on the Trent and through into the Ouse up to at least the end of the 19th Century.

What happened to Woodhouse after the 1871 census entry?  I am trawling through the Yorkshire Vessels records for 1881 census in case his entry has not been transcribed.  I have not found an entry for him in the BMD index up to 1881.

Thanks for the info on the Woodhose family, Redrock.  Like the transcriber, I had missread the Edwin entry in the 1861 census.  He had renamed himself Edward by 1881.  He had lived in Lincolnshire until then, although two of his children were born in Yorkshire.  Have you found an entry for him in 1891?  He reappears in 1901, a widower living near Halifax.  He had a substantial fAM

[Bovar]

Continued.....

He had a substantial family......so more research potential there!

[waterloo]

this varney family is getting more and more interesting I think that the elder woodhouse could have been what the termed a foundling and as was often the case and someone had the bright idea of naming him after probably the place he was found. I also think the grandson escaped the mill where he was sent age10 by being taken on the canal boats which called at the mill. look forward to hearing some more to the varney saga 

[ruthy]

It's all fascinating stuff.

Very interesting thought about the foundling theory.

In answer to the question about the Elizabeth Varney, a sister of Woodhouse:

She was on a family tree kindly sent to me by another Varney researcher.  The date of her christening (not birth) was the information, and it was 8th October 1826 according to that tree. It was a working tree, and so could have mistakes. It also had the Elizabeth born in 1830 who was the daughter of Thomas. This Elizabeth was listed being born in 1830, and as marrying a Samuel Seal 21st October 1854 in Belper. Needs more research. I am hoping to go to the records office in the next few weeks so will hopefully be able to have a good scrutinize of all Woodhouses and the early Varneys to double check these things.

Ruthy

[ruthy]

In addition to the above, I have just had a quick look on the Familysearch site and there is an Elizabeth Varney born to Samuel Varney and Ann on the 29th Oct 1825, and the Christening (which matches with my info) on 8th Oct 1826. No further info though.

Ruthy