i pretty new on here, but i have access to the parish records for st hildas in hartlepool, as i have not have the need to use them, my lot being from west hartlepool, im not sure of how far they go back, but i can find out for you, do you know if the family had always lived in what we call old hartlepool or the headland. the reason i asked is because all the families on the headland are decended from 6 families only 2 i can remember are the horsleys and the pounders. But there is a very active family history group on the headland and im sure they might be able to help you, they only deal with headlanders unfortunatly im not 1 being born in yorkshire and my husband is from west hatlepool, so they aint too keen on you joining. they are an absolute mine of information. im sure if you google them they may have a web site or contact details. they tend to move around venues quite a lot?? so dont even know where they are based. hope this helps,