Replaced the index to marriage bonds 1590-1669 with full details, so those 961 records are now instantly available.

Marriage bonds often provide ages, occupations, and place of residence for the bride and groom during a period when marriage registers did not provide that information. Please read the Marriages Bonds section of the Transcription Samples page for a description of what information is found in bonds, allegations, and associated documents, and how we present that information. For example:

• 6 Dec 1598 Richard Lumley (gentleman), of Lambton, [Chester-le-Street] obtained a licence to marry Mary Fox
  [Note: married 6 Dec at Chester-le-Street]
• 1630 William Darcy (gentleman), of Hornby, [Yorkshire] obtained a licence to marry Dorothy Selby, of Workington, [Cumberland], obtained a licence at York
  [Note: year only given]
• 19 Mar 1669 Phines Nicholson (mariner), of Newcastle-upon-Tyne obtained a licence to marry Isabell Hudspeth (widow)
  Surety: John Bainbridge, yeoman, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
  [Note: married 26 Mar at St.Andrew, Newcastle-upon-Tyne]

Marriage bonds cover the entire Diocese of Durham i.e. Durham, Northumberland, North Yorkshire. There are a few licences in our collection that were issued by York. Because bonds cover the whole diocese, there is no way to limit your search of bonds to a single district. If you select a district from the District menu, your selection will be ignored when the marriage bonds database is searched.

520 marriages at Darlington St. Cuthbert from 1 Jan 1786 to 14 May 1798, joining up with our previous set of marriages to give us continuous marriages here from 1786 to mid-1837. The marriage register is very faded and hard to read the further back you go. The good news is that the clerk included the occupations of most of the grooms, which was not done in every parish in this period, and all witnesses are included.

Samples:

• 28 Jan 1786 Allan Craythorne (joiner), of this parish married Elizabeth Dawson (spinster), of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: Thomas Snaith, John Heslop
• 30 Dec 1789 William Bewick (upholsterer), of this parish married Jane Rowntree (spinster), of this parish, by banns
  Witnesses: Ann Pease, Sarah Bewick
• 28 Jun 1795 Henry Bourne (Private in the 7th Regiment Light Dragoons), of this parish married Mary Barker (spinster), of Stockton upon Tees, by licence
  Witnesses: Ann Nettleship, Thomas Snaith
• 31 Dec 1797 Robert Bliss (weaver), of Penrith, Cumberland married Mary Reay (spinster), of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: Ann Robson, James Howson

4,386 baptisms at Monkwearmouth St. Peter from 1 Jan 1813 to 9 Oct 1829. Residences mentioned besides Monkwearmouth include Bishopwearmouth, Far Hills, Fulwell, Halfway House, High and Low Southwick, Hill House, Hylton (Bridge, Castle, and Ferry), Monkwearmouth Shore. Rock Lodge, Seaton Sluice, Southwick, and Whitburn.

Mother’s maiden names were often included in the baptism register from mid-1813 to mid-1816, and many illegitimate children had the reputed father named. Samples:

• 17 Nov 1813 Henry Rudd, of Rock Lodge, born 3 Mar 1808, son of William Rudd (Gentleman) & Isabella Kinsey
• 3 Oct 1813 George Barker [Booth], of Monkwearmouth Shore, natural son of George Booth (reputed father) & Ann Barker
• 17 Jul 1816 Thomas Carse, of Monkwearmouth Shore, son of William Carse (mariner) & Dorothy Crawford
• 31 Jan 1819 William Garry Stephens, of Monkwearmouth Shore, born 12 Nov 1818, son of James Stephens (mariner) & Jane Garry (spinster)
• 30 May 1821 Hannah Crammon, of Monkwearmouth Shore, born 8 May 1821, daughter of Daniel (labourer) & Margaret Crammon
• 24 Jan 1825 Charles Taylor Brunton, of Southwick, born 26 Dec 1824, son of Thomas (lime merchant) & Margerie Brunton
• 27 Sep 1829 Martha Leach, of Southwick, born 6 Sep 1829, daughter of James (glassmaker) & Jane Leach

2,388 baptisms and 1,435 burials at Haughton-le-Skerne (St. Andrew’s) in Darlington district, covering 1797-1851 and 1861 to 5 May 1882, from the Bishop’s Transcript. We will fill the 1852-1860 gap and also release 1762-1796 in a couple of months.

Sample baptisms:

• 12 Apr 1797 Christina Fowler, of Whin bush, daughter of John & Ann Fowler
• 30 Apr 1798 Mary Golding, of Barmpton, born 17-Apr 1798, 1st daughter of Ambrose Golding by his wife Elizabeth Simpson (daughter of William Simpson of Maltby near Yarm, Yorkshire)
• 26 Dec 1812 James Byers, of Coatham Mill, born 25-Sep 1812, 1st son of William Byers (spinner, native of Coatham) by his wife Mary late Stabler (native of Coatham)
• 2 Apr 1821 Dorothea Darling, of Firth Moor, daughter of William (farmer) & Dorothea Darling
• 11 May 1834 Henry Waldy, of Barmpton, illegitimate son of Edward Waldy (Esq.) & Ann Dowson (spinster)
• 16 Jan 1848 Thomas Laidman Parker, of Haughton, son of Charles (machine maker) & Jane Parker
• 28 Aug 1851 Catherine Broumley, of Haughton, daughter of John (shoemaker) & Eliza Broumley
• 19 Apr 1863 Rachel Smallwood, of Haughton, daughter of Christopher Smallwood (labourer) & Jane Fawcett Smallwood
• 3 May 1874 Walter Hornsby Putnam, of Thornton(?), Darlington, son of William Putnam (gentleman) & Elizabeth Pearson Putnam

Edward Waldy must’ve been a bit of a rake - he had an illegitimate son by Jane Woodward in 1831, then 3 illegitimate children by Ann Dowson before finally marrying her in 1840. In the 1841 census, he is shown with Ann Waldy, 25, and all 4 illegitimate children bearing the Waldy name. Edward died the following year.

In burials, we were pleased to see that the clerk continued recording the names of husbands and children’s parents after 1812, until the middle of 1819, and he often included the cause of death in the 1798-1812 period. Sample burials:

• 18 Jan 1797 Hannah Crow, of Haughton, daughter of John Crow
• 3 Feb 1798 Mrs. Ann Sinclair, of Haughton, age: 75, died 27 Jan, wife of Mr. Lachlan Sinclair
• 21 Apr 1803 Jonas Jackson, of Barmpton, age: 13 months, died 19 Apr, son of Christopher Jackson (labourer, native of Hamsterly), influenza
• 16 Sep 1810 Margaret Wake, of Burdon, age: 33, died 14 Sep, daughter of the late James Wake, by drinking cold water when she was very hot
• 30 Apr 1811 Abraham Storey, of Chester le Street, age: 63, died 27 Apr, farmer, late of Morton in this parish
• 2 Apr 1819 Esther Feetham, of Haughton, age: 67, wife of William Feetham
• 22 Jan 1834 Mary Scotson, of Haughton, age: 81
• 24 Jun 1861 Francis Greathead, of Darlington, age: 44
• 16 Oct 1881 Daniel Dixon, of Darlington, age: 81

While we were in the register, we also took the opportunity to add the witnesses to our existing 193 marriages at Haughton-le-Skerne from 1813 to mid-1837, giving you 441 new names to search in. If you previously purchased a marriage at Haughton-le-Skerne, you can view the witnesses by clicking My Previous Orders and reviewing the marriage.

Replaced the indexes to records at the Roman Catholic chapels of Minsteracres, Stonecroft, Cockshaw, & Hexham with full details, so the following records are now instantly available instead of having to wait for us to send you the details:

• 1,579 baptisms  (including 8 we missed the first time around)
• 100 marriages (including 2 we’d missed)
• 362 burials - didn’t miss any !

Abodes mentioned include Anick, Beacon, Benwell (Newcastle), Chesters, Cockshaw, Corbridge, Dilston, Heley, Hexham, Peep I See Thee, Riding, Sandhoe, Shaws, South Acomb, Spittal, Stagshaw, Styford High Barns, Thornborough, Tyne Green, Wall, and Yarris.

Before the opening of Hexham St. Mary in 1830, there were two Roman Catholic chapels in Hexham, called Hexham and Cockshaw, and a chapel at the homestead of Stonecroft about 4 miles west of the town of Hexham. From 1722 to 1737, the baptisms of Stonecroft and Hexham chapel were kept in one register. This collection includes those, plus the registers of Hexham chapel for 1738-1826, the registers of Stonecroft for 1715-1721 and 1738-1818, the register of Cockshaw for 1753-1832, and the register of the private family chapel at nearby Minsteracres for 1766-1794. Most baptisms of these have “witnesses to the birth” listed and most also list the mother’s maiden surname.

Samples:

• 6 Mar 1719 Robert Bambery, son of John Bambery (protestant) by his wife Margaret Bauton
  Witnesses to the Birth: Robert Rymer, Bridget Horseman (in place of Bridget Gibson)
• 25 Sep 1776 Joseph Swinburn, son of Joseph Swinburn by his wife Mary Foster
  Witnesses to the Birth: Matthew Foster, Jane Swinburn
• 4 May 1794 William Leighton, born 4-May 1794, son of William Leighton & Mary Hunter
  Witnesses to the Birth: Stephen Wilkins, Margaret Leighton
• 17 Jul 1832 Margaret McAll, daughter of Nathaniel McAll by his wife Frances McPartlin
  Witnesses to the Birth: Margaret Ord

The marriages cover 1716-1838 at the Hexham chapels and 1776-1836 at Minsteracres. Some samples:

• 28 Oct 1716 Quirinus Simons married Ann Catherine Maus
  Witnesses: Henry Thompson, Mary Lambert (late Russel)
• 2 Oct 1763 John Leadbitter married Mary Dun
  Witnesses: Matthew Leadbitter, of Warden, Matthew Leadbitter, of Low Hall
• 13 Jun 1830 Charles Mundy, of Allendale married Mary Ruthdge [Rutledge], of Allendale
  Witnesses: James O`Hara, Sarah Watson

The burials cover 1715-1825 at the Hexham chapels and 1765-March 1839 at Minsteracres. “Burials” here were funeral services held at the chapel; the interment was at the nearest Anglican churchyard, which should have a separate burial record. There are no death/burial records here for Dec 1754-Jan 1807. Some samples:

• 26 Apr 1717 Constantine Jackson, Catholic Father
• 12 Jan 1754 Ann Leadbitter, of Spittal
• 22 Nov 1777 Sir Thomas Haggerston
• 13 Apr 1808 Margaret Atcheson, of Peep I see thee
• 23 Jun 1825 John Baptist Roskam, age: 36
• 1 Sep 1838 Thomas Turnbull, of Barlow Hill, age: 82, died of paralysis, never had a days illness till within 2 years of his death

5,499 baptisms at Darlington St. Cuthbert spanning 1762-1797, giving us continuous baptisms at this church for 1762-1812. Residences mentioned besides Darlington include Archdeacon Newton, Black Banks, Blackwell, Bottom House, Clay Row, Cockerton, Favourdale, Fieldhouse, Geneva House, Hill House, Honeypot, London, Mount Pleasant, Nestfield, Ox Close, Oxen-afield, Polam, Rise carr, Salutation, Skerne House, Sunderland, and Yarm. 

Before baptisms starting in June 1767, there is this note from the curate: “The Parchment of this Register being exceedingly bad to write upon, I have been in use to keep the Register of Baptisms first upon Paper and then at some leisure time (after preparing the Parchment for receiving the Ink) to transcribe it into this Parchment Book: and unfortunately before the said Transcript was made of the Baptisms from the 26th of June 1767 to the 20th of March 1768 both inclusive, the Paper Register containing the same was taken away or Stolen out of one of the Drawers under the Table in the Vestry where it was kept (in order that my Curate and I might equally on all occasions have access to it) and probably has been wantonly or mischievously destroyed. I have therefore taken all necessary pains to supply the said Loss so that I would fain hope there will be very few, if any, omissions or mistakes. Those who were baptized privately were chiefly supplied from the Curate’s Pocket-book wherein he entered the names and dates of those so baptized at the the time of the Baptisms, and the others were collected from the Testimony of Parents, Sponsors, Midwives and Nurses, who were diligently examined with regard to the same. Signed Andrew Wood, Curate.”

There were lots of weavers and woolcombers living in Darlington at this time. Unfortunately the clerk did not record the mother’s name except for illegitimate births; this is unusual for this period. Samples:

• 24 Jan 1762 William Yarker, of Darlington, son of William Yarker (servant to Mrs. York)
• 11 Jun 1769 Alfred Laurance, son of Wilfred Laurance (late of Darlington, house & sign painter (who for a time passed for a member of the Church, and afterwards professed himself a Quaker, and has long since deserted his family)), about 7 years of age, now also in the workhouse
  [Note: Baptized with 2 siblings Ann and Elizabeth.]
• 28 Sep 1769 Joseph Miller, of Darlington, woolcomber, brought up in the principles of Quakerism, about 25 years of age
• 4 Jan 1778 John Taylor, of Darlington, son of Alphonson Taylor (hingemaker)
• 16 Nov 1788 Thomas Claxton, of Darlington, bastard son of Jane Claxton (spinster)
• 24 Apr 1793 Ann Hudson, of Darlington, daughter of Mark Hudson (woolcomber), 3 years old
• 30 Dec 1797 Christopher Stabler Yarrow, of near Darlington, born 25-Dec, son of Christopher Yarrow (farmer)

There are only a few Darlington baptisms in the IGI, so this collection of baptisms should be very useful to researchers.

This set of data also contained our 700,000th baptism !

Replaced the index to burials at Bywell St. Peter (Hexham district, Northumberland) for 1663-1812 with full details, so those 2,431 burials are now instantly available, including one we missed the first time around.

Sample burials:

• 14 Sep 1663 Dorothy Armestrong, of Whittonstall, wife of John Armestrong
• 28 Sep 1713 Jane Taylor, of Bywell, a lunatic, committed to care of John Cowman at rate of 3 shillings per wk for maintenance where she fell into the fire by reason & cause of the familys neglect and was in a very miserable manner burnt to death
• 18 Feb 1767 Thomas Phillipson, of Newlands, son of John Phillipson by his wife Priscilla
• 20 Mar 1798 Mary Browell, of Minsteracres, age: 24, died 18 Mar, daughter of Gilbert Browell (of Slaley)
• 7 Sep 1810 Roger Richardson, of Bywell, age: 87, died 6 Sep, widower & blacksmith
• 26 Jan 1812 Barbara Brown, of Ovingham, age: 63, died 23 Jan, widow of Jeremiah Brown

4,713 burials at Darlington’s West Cemetery covering 1880-1889. This cemetery served residents around Darlington and across the border of Yorkshire. Abodes mentioned include many street addresses within Darlington, plus Archdeacon Newton,  Blackwell, Catterick, Cockerton, Croft, Dinsdale,  Fighting Cocks, Four Riggs, Hartlepool, Hermitage Hill, Hope Town, Low Coniscliffe, Middlesbrough, Middleton One Row, Middleton St. George, Mount Pleasant, Peaceful Valley, Polam, Redcar,  Sedgefield, Stockton, and Walworth.

In general, these burials provide the name of the father (or mother, if the child was illegitimate) of a stillborn child. Otherwise, there are no relationships stated, as is typical of burials of this period. Samples:

• 12 Jan 1880 John Tarrant, of Elwin’s Yard, Parkgate, age: 92
• 6 Feb 1880 stillborn child Hogg, of Mechanics Yard, age: stillborn, child of Ellen Hogg
• 9 Apr 1881 Harry Wilson, of [no abode stated], age: 21, died at Leeds Infirmary
• 21 Oct 1884 Alice Wheelands, of [no abode stated], age: 72, died at the Union Workhouse
• 6 Dec 1889 stillborn child Carter, of West Raby Street, age: stillborn, child of Henry Carter
• 25 Dec 1889 Mary McGurl, of Forster Street, age: 68

1,901 baptisms and 514 marriages spanning 1590-1812 and 32 marriage banns for 1755-1812 at Coniscliffe St. Edwin in Auckland district. This is our first offering of Coniscliffe records other than the 1813-37 marriages that we have for every parish in County Durham. Residences mentioned include Badle Beck, Carlbury, Coniscliffe, Hall Moor, High Coniscliffe, Low Carlbury, Low Coniscliffe, Nether Coniscliffe, Piercebridge, Staindrop, Thornton, Ulnaby, and Upper Coniscliffe.

The clerks were pretty blunt back then, using terms like “fornicator” and “harlot” to describe illegitimate births.  No political correctness or prettied-up language for them! Abodes were mentioned only sporadically until about 1695 when they became included in most baptisms. Dissenters & recusants were sometimes noted.  Mothers were not mentioned (except for illegitimate births) until July 1780. The 1798-1812 period includes both parents’ birthplaces, but not the name of the mother’s father. Here are some sample baptisms:

• 28 Jun 1590 William Christer, son of Robert Christer
• 25 Nov 1606 Richard [Addison/Dickinson], son of William Addison (fornicator) & Margaret Dickinson (fornicator)
• 5 Sep 1698 Charles Honywood, of Thornton, son of Robert Honywood (esquire)
• 4 Aug 1770 Mary Stott, daughter of John Stott (dissenter)
• 25 Dec 1780 Mary Douthwaite, of High Coniscliffe, daughter of John & Ursula Douthwaite (his wife)
• 15 Sep 1799 Jane Pace, born 28-Mar, 6th daughter of Jacob Pace (labourer, native of Bradbury in the parish of Sedgefield) by his wife Eleanor Stelling (native of Kelloe parish)
• 12 Mar 1812 Ann Basnett, born 2-Mar, 4th daughter of Thomas Basnett (native of Darlington) by his wife Mary Gray (native of Capheaton, Northumberland)

Sample marriages - witnesses first appear in 1754 - check out the groom’s age in the 1742 marriage:

• 5 May 1594 Christopher Burden married Margaret Ovington, by banns
• 25 May 1619 Anthony Gilpin, of Cockerton in the parish of Darlington married Grace Smith, of this parish, by banns
• 28 Apr 1719 Michael Turpin, of the parish of Eryholm married Mary Smith, of Low Coniscliffe, by banns
• 16 Nov 1742 George Inman (in the 91st year of his age), of Barnard Castle married Dorothy Holt, of this parish, by banns
• 25 May 1778 David Peers, of this parish married Frances Gill, of the parish of Gainford, by banns
  Witnesses: William Burdy, John Mitchell
• 26 Nov 1808 Thomas Gibbon, of this parish married Ann Greenwell, of the parish of Redmarshall, by banns
  Witnesses: John Kell, William Wheatley

These marriage banns are only for marriages that did not subsequently take place at Coniscliffe. In other words, the banns were called at Coniscliffe, but there is either an explicit notation in the register that the couple married in another parish (whose name is provided), or a notation that they were not married at Coniscliffe, or there is no subsequent record of their marriage at Coniscliffe. Why are these banns useful ? Because if the couple married at, say, Darlington, knowing that the banns were called at Coniscliffe tells you that either the bride or groom probably lived there, so it gives you additional information to follow. Secondly, sometimes a marriage never gets recorded and the only record of marriage is that the banns were called. If a couple has children in the years following, chances are good that they actually did marry, either at Coniscliffe or in another parish, but the record was never made, has been lost, or is badly mangled or recorded with so many errors it’s unrecognizable.

Samples:

• 18 May 1755 Cornelius Middleton, of this parish & Jane Corner, of the parish of Heighington, date given is the last publication of Banns
  Witnesses: Michael Dobinson, William Allison
  [Note: married at Heighington 19th May 1755]
• 27 May 1804 John Wade, of this parish & Elizabeth Metcalf, of the parish of Easby [Yorkshire], date given is the last publication of Banns
  Witnesses: Henry Richardson, vicar
  [Note: not married at Coniscliffe]

Replaced the index to marriages at Bywell St. Peter (Hexham district, Northumberland) for 1663-1812 with full details, so those 1,116 marriages are now instantly available. Witnesses start being listed in 1754.

Samples:

• 29 Jul 1664 Cuthbert Selbye married Elizabeth Hopwood, by licence
• 26 Nov 1707 Mr. Walker Surtis, of Stocksfield married Elizabeth Watson, of Hexham
• 23 Oct 1752 Edward Henzell, of All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne married Margaret Henzell, of All Saints, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• 14 Jul 1803 Gabriel Ridley, of Kirkwhelpington married Hannah Hutchinson
  Witnesses: Joseph Ridley, Matthew Towns
• 16 Aug 1812 Giles Pinckney married Mary March
  Witnesses: John March, William(?) Spencer, Sarah March