Dear Adam
Thanks very much for the information. Sadly none of the Armstrongs are mine. I assumed that they would be buried in Lanchester because they lived in Leadgate, but perhaps they were buried with no headstones.
Thank you loads for offering to check for my Waltons. I really appreciate it, but it's quite a long shot and I don't want to waste your time. The information that you have supplied already has been very helpful because it has eliminated some possibilities.
However I’ve tried to summarise the info about them just in case you should come across them in your travels!
Jane Armstrong (b 1836 Hexham) married Michael Walton (a miner, b c1831, possibly in Cumberland) in 1856 in Lanchester. Jane gave birth to John Thomas Walton in Gateshead in 1857.
By 1861 Jane was back with her parents in Leadgate together with her son John Thomas Walton, but Michael Walton seems to have disappeared from the records (i.e. I can't find a likely census entry for him).
By 1871, Jane Walton also disappeared from the census records but her son John Thomas Walton was still living with his grandparents in Leadgate.
By 1881, John Thomas Walton too disappeared from the census records.
I have checked Free BMD for possible deaths, although I know that not all were registered.
There are lots of deaths for Jane Waltons on Free BMD between 1861 and 1871. Between 1861 and 1865 I wouldn’t know where to start because no ages are given. From 1866 to 1871, the only possible one in terms of age is a 33 year old in the Auckland district in the June qtr 1866.
The only possible death I found for Michael Walton between 1856 and 1881 was for a 47 year old in the March qtr 1877 in the Auckland district, but he may be a different person to mine.
The only two possible deaths I found for John Thomas Walton are both simply for John Walton, one aged 16 in Weardale in the March qtr 1874 and one aged 20 in Weardale in the September qtr 1879.
Of course it’s also possible that Michael, Jane and John Thomas Walton all emigrated in staggered fashion over a period of 20 or so years!
I hope that eventually I will find out what happened to them.
With loads of thanks again and very good wishes
Moni