Knox's/Blacksmiths of Bamburgh

[christiek]

I've just asked my FIL, and he was like "Oh yeah, it was the 80's" - his memory is not so good, so it could well have been 1985. Thank you for looking for me, that's been really helpful.

Re: a will. I'm not sure whether she had a will or not. If she left money, that makes it even more shocking if no-one paid for a headstone. How do I find out? Do I write to the postal searches department at York or would it be available locally from my local records office?

Would the record office in Berwick be the place to look regarding tenancies in Bamburgh?

Thanks for the information in the probate and admin index. May I ask where you find this information? I'm signed up to Ancestry but none of the other sites.

Radcliff - is that the baptism record? If so, that's useful and very interesting to know that James Knox was a blacksmith. I tried looking for the parents graves in St Mary's churchyard in Wooler, fascinating and very atmospheric place but no luck. I think they must be in the civil cemetery, which I am yet to find.

I've just emailed the castle to ask them whether they have any old records or a local history library and if not, where their old records are stored, so hopefully I will hear back from them. Thanks.

Tickettyboo - can I see old copies of the Post from the records office do you know? That is really fascinating, thank you.

[christiek]

Sorry if some of these questions seem pretty stupid, I'm pretty new to researching beyond clicking buttons on Ancestry and asking family.

[Radcliff]

I dont think any thing you say is stupid at all,

David Knox isnt a comon name in Northumberland,

and the fact that this particular Davids father is a blacksmith,leans me towards them being his parents,
Have you accesed Davids marriage records to double check,his fathers name,

1851 census,which I am sure you have has James the blacksmith born Scotland,possible sister aged 53 apears in the same household,Margaret is born Wooler as are her children, a baby Mary Knox apears to have been buried Wooler,aged 1 year and 1/4 March 5th 1851

Sarah Glaister nee Knox wife of John Glaister,he is a blacksmith in Wooler
child Thomas is her 5th son

[Tickettyboo]

No, your questions are not at all stupid. The best way to find things out is to ask and you are asking all the right questions :-)

Baptisms - I don't know where Radcliffe got the info, but FreeReg is a good place to look and it has a reasonable coverage for Northumberland which grows each month :-)

http://www.freereg.org.uk

I searched for baptisms in Northumberland 1844 +/- 2 years and specified the surname as KNOX. I got a list of 19 results and there is an entry for David Knox, which gives the info that Radcliffe posted.

Probate Calendar for England and Wales - there is a searchable database on Ancestry for the years 1858-1966
http://search.ancestry.co.uk/search/db.aspx?dbid=1904
 and they give an explanation of what the Calendar is

For later years (up to present day), if you can get to Newcastle the Probate Registry there let you look at the calendar for free, no appointment needed, there are pcs in the reception area where you can do a search and see if there is an entry. Or if you request a look up in the forum someone may be going and do the search for you

Don't discount the possibility that there is no headstone because that may have been her wish. No headstone doesn't always mean no one would pay for one. Unless you know for certain that she 'was' buried, also bear in mind that in the 1970s/1980s there is a possibility she may have been cremated.

Boo

[Radcliff]

Ticketyboo you are quite correct I use Freereg,family search,Margaret Hs site for Newcastle,Genuki,Durham records online,freebmd,to name a few,I wont pay for anything unless I have to, and my good old search box can bring some very interesting information,for geography I rely on Mr Dixon,my friends in North Shields library,plus a few fee paying sites,to look for information,

[christiek]

This has given me loads to go on, thank you. It seems from researching sideways as well as up that the Knox's seemed to have some connection to a lot of the blacksmiths in the area. I know from the 1950's onwards there was a Knox blacksmith in Lesbury who was also related to us. I'm finding this line of the family tree really interesting.

Due to financial constraints I tend to try to get as much free as possible and then apply for the odd record when I can afford it, mainly to clarify the information I already have or if I'm getting stuck. Luckily, the furthest the family have travelled so far is Wooler and I live in one of the villages in North Northumberland so where finances are a restraint, location is a plus!

[christiek]

My only issue I have with the 1851 census is that in it James Knox's birth date is about 1798 but in the later censuses his birth date is listed as around 1821...that seems like a really big jump doesn't it?
But looking at it, the rest of the childrens birth dates add up, the James Knox in later censuses is still living at the same street with the same wife and is still a blacksmith. Just wondering why there is such a big margin of error, where in the space of 10 years, his birth date jumps forward 20 years!

[Tickettyboo]

My only issue I have with the 1851 census is that in it James Knox's birth date is about 1798 but in the later censuses his birth date is listed as around 1821...

Do you have the reference for that census? (that helps others to look at a census entry)
I had a look and if its HO107 piece 2422 folio 397 page 34 (Cheviot Street, Wooler) then the image I see says James  is 33, so that would give a birth date of c1818, which is a lot nearer to the date you were expecting?

addition: Ah yes, its been misread as '53' by the transcriber on ancestry, so his year of birth has gone in the database as 1798.  Its always best to check the actual image, transcription errors are a fact of life :-)

Boo

[Gen List Lass]

The first place I would look would be in Lord Armstrong's archives as he owned? the village at that time. I know they had no children and the estate passed to a g nephew.

I cannot remember whether the papers are still in private hands or at Woodhorn - the NBL archives. Or even at the PRO at Kew.

He had so many properties, zoning in on the Bamburgh papers might be tricky. Best to ask the archivists....

Give it a bit of googling, that should tell you. Or ping an E at the chief archivist at Woodhorn - Sue Wood.

I might be there on Wed morning so can ask then.

Gen in NBL England