Street names Thornton Bradford

[northernsearcher]

Dave, hijack away, I like families that aren't simple .
Jen

[johnnyboy]

Hi Dave: I meant to answer this hours ago, but my computer went down and I gave up after a bit trying to resuscitate it.

I am on the other side of the ocean from you. But a quarter or so of my DNA originated in Yorkshire.

I recognize the Fred Dobson of Bradford, but there may be more than one Fred  originating in Thornton and moving to Bradford.

John 

[Dobbie]

What wondrous and serendipitous things can be found on the Web.  Thank you Northernsearcher for the info about Thornton.  The gravestone from the Bell Chapel graveyard is almost certainly that of my g-g-grandfather Gilbert and my g-grandfather's brother and sister.  My grandfather was John Dobson who I think was born in Horsforth (near Leeds) in 1806 to Gilbert and Hannah Dobson. They were from Thornton, though, and had moved back there sometime before 1822 when John's army records show he was attested in 1822 in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (51st Foot) with which he served until 1848 when he left for Auckland, New Zealand with the NZ Fencible Regiment (pensioners/territorials).  My grandfather Joseph was born in Onehunga (near Auckland) in 1852.

Like you and Johnnyboy (who seems to be related to me), I have found the Dobson's in Thornton very confusing.  There are 2 Gilbert Dobsons born there abt 1777 (IGI), one with father John and the other with father Timothy.  I have not been able to sort out which is my Gilbert, who I think died in 1848.

The other puzzle is the maiden name of Hannah.  Her maiden name given in John's death entry in NZ is Brucebank.  I think that is a variant of Brooksbank and while there are plenty of Brooksbanks from Thornton and other places nearby, none seem to fit.  There was a marriage of a Hannah Brook and Gilbert Dobson in 1805 which would fit nicely.  It is quite possible that the info in John's death entry is wrong, as the informant in the NZ family may have had little knowledge of the people in Yorkshire, whom they never met.  Interestingly, 1 of the 1777 Gilberts may have had a mother with name of Brooksbank, as there is a record of a Timothy marrying a Brooksbank that would fit.

Anyway, enough for now.

Dobbie

[northernsearcher]

Hello Dobbie
Welcome to roots chat.
There is no way I can add anything to your Dobson searches as I was just taking Dobson photographs for John while searching for Drivers.  I am going back to Thornton in the New Year to search for more Driver records and to look up someone else entirely.  If I see any more Dobsons I will post them here. Hope John and Dave the Tyke see this 'cos they may help with your Dobsons.
Jen

[Dobbie]

Thanks for your reply Jen.  Your photos are pure gold to me.  Thank you.  I visited Thornton in 1996. We went to the Bell Chapel graveyard but it was so overgrown then and wet, as was the weather, that we didn't feel like searching.  From your photo it looks like it has been cleaned up considerably.

Dobbie

[northernsearcher]

Hello again Dobbie
 I am glad you liked the photos. When I went to Thornton the Bell Chapel graveyard looked as though it had been lovingly restored and cared for.  Of course it was wet - well it is the Pennines and on the edge of the Yorkshire moors! I was hoping to find links to my family there but although I found Drivers in the Church of England, Bell Chapel graveyard my immediate family relatives were in the non-conformist Kipping Chapel records. Hope you can find your Dobsons.
Jen

[johnnyboy]

Like you and Johnnyboy (who seems to be related to me), I have found the Dobson's in Thornton very confusing.  There are 2 Gilbert Dobsons born there abt 1777 (IGI), one with father John and the other with father Timothy.  I have not been able to sort out which is my Gilbert, who I think died in 1848.

Hi Jen: Apologies that your Thornton thread has been utterly "repurposed."

Hi Dobbie. Welcome to Rootschat. I think Thornton is a little like the land of the lost when it comes to the Dobsons. I like finding cousins, but the closest I can safely claim is that you and I "may" be related. I can't even connect two Dobsons (my 3x great grandfather, Joseph, born about 1801, and John, born about 1796) who lived just a few houses away from each other in Thornton from 1841 to 1880.

Joseph Dobson and his family (wife is Hannah Longbottom) are enumerated in the 1841 census in Kilham (or Keelham), which is a mile or so south of the "urban core" of Thornton. One child who is not enumerated with them is daughter Susey Dobson, born 1825, who is my direct ancestor. In 1841 she lived with John Wood and his wife, Susan (nee Dobson), in Bradshaw (part of Ovenden Township), a few miles southwest of Thornton. The older Susan Dobson is the right age (35) to be Joseph Dobson's sister, but she may only be a cousin.

The Joseph Dobson and John Wood families are connected by membership in two chapels. They were first members of Kipping Independent chapel in Thornton. Later, both families joined Mount Zion Methodist New Connexion chapel in Ogden, which is close to Bradshaw. Two Dobson daughters were christened at Kipping chapel, and Joseph Dobson is buried in the Mount Zion churchyard. John and Susan Wood had children christened in both chapels. (Thanks to Jen, here, for planting the thought in my mind that I should search the Kipping records).

The 1841 census shows that John and Susan Wood had a son named Gilbert Wood, age 4. Christening records for Mount Zion chapel show that this was probably Gilbert Dobson Wood, born Nov. 12, 1836, christened March 6, 1837, parents John and Susan Wood. Not sure about this one. It may complicate things for me.

The marriage of Timothy Dobson and Sarah Brooksbank in 1762 in Bradford is a "submitted" marriage. I wouldn't trust it. The IGI batches for Bradford do not show this marriage.

The problem with Thornton is that some years of the parish registers are missing. The Bishop's transcripts,cover many of the missing years, but they are available only on microfilm.

Regards,
John 

[Mitch13]

Hello There
I have lived in Thornton all my life. Main Street was either Market Street or Thornton Road but I am almost certain it was Market Street.  There is a book called 'When I were a Lad'.  It is amazing and describes old Thornton in amazing detail.  Thought it may help I'm sorry I have forgot the Author.

Regards Lorraine

[johnnyboy]

Hi Lorraine: Welcome to Rootschat. Nice to meet someone from Thornton, where part of my ancestry originated.

Thanks for your interest and help in determining what street in Thornton was called Main Street. My latest theory is that both Market Street and Thornton Road were called (at different times, of course) Main Street. What we need to settle the question is a few old maps, perhaps. Or a good reference librarian.

Thanks also for the mention of When I Were a Lad.... The author seems to be a fellow named Andrew Davies, not to be confused, I guess, with Andrew Davies, the fellow who wrote the screenplays for the Bridget Jones movies and the scripts for the BBC productions of Pride and Prejudice and Little Dorrit.

Andrew Davies No. 1, author of  When I Were a Lad..., also seems to have written When I Were a School Lad.... Neither of these books, unfortunately, are available where I live (outside of the U.K.).

Regards,
John