McKenna family of Hill Top, Dipton

[AlanBoyd]

Brooms, St Cuthbert and Pontop Hall
1st September 1862
Henry O'Neil of Dipton married Mary Maxwell (widow of James Maxwell, daughter of Francis McKenna)
[my transcription of a transcription of the 'Latin' record]

[Elliven]

Thank you JenB,

I found confirmation that you were right about them dying at home but why they were buried in Jesmond is still a mystery.  How the family could afford the expense is an even bigger mystery.  They were beerhouse keepers in the Hilltop area of Dipton so they were not paupers but Hilltop was a very poor area of Dipton so their wealth was not great either.

Neville

[Elliven]

Thank you AlanBoyd,

From JenB's reply, you will see that there was a mystery about why they were buried there at all.  Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.

Neville

[Elliven]

To JenB, AlanBoyd and Tickettyboo

It is hard for me to thank you all enough for your help.  By putting all the information together with my own, I have been able to form a reasonably clear picture of events.  The O'Neil family ran the beerhouse which would give them a little capital to buy and run the lodging house and, in fact, they were slum landlords.  From the newspaper descriptions, the lodging house was in very poor condition but it would be an ideal place to stay for the itinerant workers at the local mines and on their way to the nearby huge steelworks at Consett.  It also provided a customer base for their pub which was very close by.

Many lodging houses in the area would not accept the Irish but the O'Neils were an Irish Catholic family and did not discriminate against the Irish itinerant workers.  Far from it - this is where they made the real money!  They probably charged the same rates as other boarding houses but for inferior accommodation.  The hamlet of Hilltop contained several such boarding houses but most would not accept Irish workers.

So Thomas McKenna made his money from the pub and his wife Kate (nee O'Neil) made hers from the boarding house.  The pub and the boarding houses are long gone and a new (1970's) road caused the compulsory purchase and demolition of most of the buildings in the  immediate area.  To make matters more complicated, there were TWO Bird Inns in the Hilltop area (both now demolished).  But, if I can find out when Henry O Neil died, I can probably pin down the exact location of this one.  Many thanks to you all.

Neville

[AlanBoyd]

Death of Henry O'Neil?
Since I cannot find the O'Neil family in 1881 I can only narrow down this death to between 1871 and 1891 (when Mary O'Neil is a widow). [I have searched for Arthur, and for Mary's son John Maxwell, who seems to have always lived with her; and I have gone through all of Hill Top, 1881 without success.]

There is this, although the age doesn't match (from 1871 Henry's dob was 1814 so he would have been 64 in 1878).

8 March 1878: Consett Guardian

DIPTON — At Waterson's Buildings, on the 3rd inst, aged 71, Henry O'Neil.

[Tickettyboo]

Death of Henry O'Neil?
Since I cannot find the O'Neil family in 1881 I can only narrow down this death to between 1871 and 1891 (when Mary O'Neil is a widow). [I have searched for Arthur, and for Mary's son John Maxwell, who seems to have always lived with her; and I have gone through all of Hill Top, 1881 without success.]

There is this, although the age doesn't match (from 1871 Henry's dob was 1814 so he would have been 64 in 1878).

8 March 1878: Consett Guardian

DIPTON — At Waterson's Buildings, on the 3rd inst, aged 71, Henry O'Neil.

 the funeral register at Brooms shows that the Henry O'Neill who died 3rd Mar 1878 was buried on 7th Mar at Jesmond Cemetery - though the entry 'says' he was 30!
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSJ7-5S32-D?cat=720895&i=399&lang=en

matching Probate Calendar entry - though the occupation is draper rather than publican, the name of his widow looks right.
A copy of the will/grant may well contain other info which could confirm/deny this is the right Henry.

Boo

[JenB]

Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.

Please see my reply #13.

You can see from the record on Family Search (link in my reply#8) that a lot of bodies in that section were exhumed, not just Catherine’s.

[Tickettyboo]

Now, the mystery is increased as to why her body was exhumed after such a long time.

Please see my reply #13.

You can see from the record on Family Search (link in my reply#8) that a lot of bodies in that section were exhumed, not just Catherine’s.

This page tells us there were at least 600 graves (1000 burials) which were exhumed and re-interred.
All in aid of a road widening that the council changed their minds about. :-(

https://www.geni.com/projects/Jesmond-Old-Cemetery-Burials/29648

Boo

[Elliven]

Your posts appeared in the correct time order and place whilst I was actually reading through the posts.  I don't understand how this happened but I was glad to see the information they contained!

What really surprised me was that the copy record sheets JenB supplied gave some amazing detail but the headers stated that the reburials were in unhallowed ground.  I suppose this was an error or the new burial area was consecrated later because the removals and reburials were done in a hurry in anticipation of work starting on the new road.

Neville