tcrengr's Scavenger Hunt... Everyone Welcome To Join In

[toni*]

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??                   

yes i did notice it wasnt tuesday as i am not working i did for a minute think should i be at work!

[jaywit]

Has anyone noticed I put this up on the wrong day??                   

Err yes, I thought you must be busy tomorrow

[Tephra]

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!!!       

[jaywit]

History of Fulford Barracks in York.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=36392

[toni*]

  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

[toni*]

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

[toni*]

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 .

[toni*]

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.

[jaywit]

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.