Greensleeves Scavenger Hunt...Everyone Welcome To Join In

[osprey]

 also with parish clerks in my tree! 

 

[Greensleeves]

Hi everyone, gosh I have some interesting stuff to read though - thank you all so much.

Robert Shadforth Snr, incidentally, was a Weaver as well as being the Parish Clerk.  Robert Junior was the Sexton although I don't yet know what his other trade was; presumably he had one if the sexton role was part-time.  Oh, I see he was also listed as 'Governor of the Workhouse, Friary'.  So would those two posts add up to a full-time occupation?

[Annie65115]

I think the governorship of the workhouse would be his main job, with sexton being the sunday job (literally!)

Sidetracking slightly, I'ver certainly seen PRs where parish clerks have made entries and identified themselves and their entries, usually to add or alter names that were missed or incorrectly entered. Maybe sometimes the priest was ill, old or drunk and the clerk was the more reliable of the two! lol

[Trees]

Sextons helped the parish clerk and often dug the graves too Many were the sons of Parish clerks and often took over when dad died.
H.

[youngtug]

This may be of interest ;  http://www.derelictplaces.co.uk/main/showthread.php?t=12953

[Pastmagic]

for whom the bell tolls - 52 times for Alice, 5 for her child - and was Robert doing the tolling?

from: http://steve.pickthall.users.btopenworld.com/pci/6.html


N.B. These notes concern the nature of the job carried out before about 1907. The role of the modern parish clerk is very different - the clerk to the parish council - and is part of the local government organisation.

Parish Clerk - "They should be at least 20 years old. Known to the parson as a man of honest conversation and sufficient for his reading, writing and competent skill in singing" Canon 91(1603).
Functions - reading the lessons and epistles, singing in the choir, giving out the hymns, leading the responses, serving at the altar and other like duties, opening of the church, ringing the bell, digging graves if there be no sexton.

Sexton - usually combined with the parish clerk in country parishes. They are the sacristan, the keeper of holy things relating to divine service. Responsible for the care of the church, vestments and vessels, keeping the church clean, ringing bells, opening/closing doors, digging graves and care of the churchyard. When there was a death in the parish, the sexton would toll the ´passing bell´ - nine times for a married man, eight for a bachelor, seven for a married woman, six for a spinster, five for a boy and four for a girl, then once for each year of a the deceased´s life.

Churchwarden -

Since 1672, a woman has been permitted to carry out the duties of Church Warden, Sexton, Overseer of the Poor or Rate-Collector. (but the index lists a few female parish clerks as well!)

[Pastmagic]

http://ia700406.us.archive.org/20/items/churchwardensacc00barmrich/churchwardensacc00barmrich_djvu.txt

Not the right parish, but downloading this free e- book gives a great insight into what types of thing were recordrd in Durham parishes. For example:

Ibidem. — Officium dfii con. Tho. Wright, detect, of fornication
with Margret Butler, alias \blauk\ The child was born in North-
umberland at his sister's house there whiche he contryved for.

PM

Could Alice have been similarly accused? And would the St. Hilds's  records record it? This example is a lot earlier.

[Greensleeves]

Well, thank you for all the parish clerk info.  So it would appear that Robert Jnr, as Sexton, would have dug the grave(s) for Alice and baby William, and would have tolled the bell....

Thank you for that link Youngtug - I am amazed that the Friary is still there.  It certainly looks a bleak place, both on the photos and on the drawing of it which Deb posted earlier.

And thank you too, PM, for joining in the hunt after all your help on the earlier thread.  Very interesting links!  If anything, this Hunt has showed me how much I don't know about family history research - there seem so many wonderful sources of info out that which I had no idea existed!

[Greensleeves]

Thought you might like to see this picture of St Hilda's Church, Hartlepool.  Looks like quite a substantial place, doesn't it!