974 baptisms at Gateshead St. James from 3 Aug 1896 to 10 Feb 1901. These join our earlier St. James baptisms which cover 1865 – 1890. We hope to fill the gap from 1891 through July 1896 in the next month or two.

Address in this set are mostly street addresses in Gateshead, but also include Byker, Carr’s Hill, Dunston, Friar’s Goose, Elswick, Mount Greenwich, New Gateshead, Newcastle, Old Fold, and Tyne Main.

Samples:

• 5 Aug 1896 Ethel Bolam, of 26 Cooper St, born 30 Jun 1896, child of Purvis (miner) & Isabella Bolam
• 3 Aug 1900 Ernest French, of 11 John St, born 7 Mar 1900, child of Ann Eliza French, P.B. [private baptism]

At Lumley Christ Church, from the Bishop’s Transcript:

• 423 baptisms covering Apr 1862 to the end of 1867
• 184 burials  covering Dec 1861 to the end of 1867

The parish of Lumley was carved out of Chester-le-Street parish in 1858 and Lumley Christ Church was consecrated in Nov 1861. Previously, it was difficult for the residents of Lumley to get to the parish church at Chester-le-Street if the weather was bad or if the River Wear was flooding, as there was no bridge in the area at that time, only a ford and a ferry.

Sample baptisms:

• 18 May 1862 Ralph Watson Lonsdale Barrass, of Shop Houses, child of Luke (collier) & Margaret Barrass
• 8 Sep 1867 Elizabeth Ann Hawks, of Chilton Moor, child of Jane Ann Hawks (spinster)

Sample burials:

• 4 Jan 1863 Luke Barrass, of Shop Houses, age: 27
• 15 Oct 1867 John Simpson, of Lumley 2nd Pit, age: 42

8,901 burials at Hartlepool North Cemetery, also known as Hart Lane Cemetery, covering 1920-1991. This concludes our transcription of this cemetery.

Abodes are mostly streets in Hartlepool, but also mentioned were  Catcote, Dock Gate Cottages, Foggy Furze, Longhill, Middleton, Seaton Carew, and Stranton.

Many of the burials noted the marital status of the deceased, and some have additional information such as cause of death or place of death. Mothers of stillborn children were named.

Samples:

• 4 Mar 1920 James Edward Brown, of Middle Fens, age: 40, married, died at Bournemouth
• 3 May 1920 Nathan Enslow, of Union Dock, age: 25, found drowned, brought from the Mortuary
• 7 Aug 1922 Mary Teresa Hopkins, of Tower Street, age: 42, married
• 9 Sep 1925 still born Lowcock, of Charterhouse Road, child of Daisy Lowcock
• 27 Mar 1942 Eliza Grylls, of Brougham Terrace, age: 101, widow, died at Howbeck Infirmary

3,529 baptisms and 2,822 burials covering 1837-1858 at Hexham St. Andrew in Northumberland. These are from the Bishop’s Transcript except for 1844, which we transcribed from the parish register.

At this time, Hexham served a large area on both sides of the Northumberland-Durham border. Abodes mentioned besides Hexham include Acomb, Anick, Aydon, Bagraw, Bearl, Beaufront and Beaufront Woodhead, Black Hill, Blossom Hill, Breckon Hill, Bridge End, Broom Haugh, Causey Hill, Clay Holes, Coastley, Coat Houses, Corbridge,  Delegate Hall, Dilston, Dilston Park, Dinnetley, Dipton, Dipton Mill, Duke Willy or William, Fallowfield, Fell Side, Fir Trees, Foggatt, Gateshead, Glendhu or Glendue, Greenridge, Greenshaw Plain, Hackford, the Hagg, Halliwell Dean, Hexham Brewery, High Ford, High Shield, High Side, High Wood, Hole House, Houtley, the Intack, Ivy Cottage, Juniper, Kitty Frisk, Langhope, Langley, Leazes, Linnell’s Mill and Farm, Low Gate, Loughbrough, Low Leazes, Low Stublick, Maiden Cross, Matfen, Moss House, Newbiggin, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, North Shields, Nubbick or Nubbuck, Ordley, Pattern or Peterel Field, The Paise, Post Gate, Prior Thorns, Quatre Bras, Queen’s Letch, Sandoe, Snape, Spital Lodge, St. John Lee, Stagshaw Bank, Stublick, Summerrods Rigg, Sunnyside, Tyne Mills, Wall, Watch Currick, West Boat, West Wood, Westwood Cottage, Wharmley, Widehaugh, the Workhouse, and Yarridge.

Sample baptisms:

• 8 Jan 1837 Samuel Humphries, of Hexham, son of George (moulder) & Charlotte Humphries
• 19 Jan 1849 Ellen Martin, of Hexham Union workhouse, illegitimate daughter of Frances Martin
• 26 Dec 1858 Mary Pearson Darlington, of Hexham Brewery, child of Elias (mason) & Mary Darlington

Sample burials:

• 24 Jan 1837 Dorothy Bootland, of Hexham, age: 70
• 09 Apr 1844 Joseph Tinniswood alias Hetherinton, of Hexham, age: 31
• 24 Oct 1858 Henry Pickering, of [the] Workhouse, age: 78

At Longbenton St. Bartholemew in the Tynemouth district of Northumberland, across the river from Gateshead, we bring you:

• 2,682 baptisms covering 1813-1830
• 570 marriage covering 1813-1829
• 1,621 burials covering 1813-1829

These are from the Bishop’s Transcript with some checking against the parish register.

Abodes mentioned besides Longbenton include Allotment, Backworth, Ballast Hills, Battle Hill, Benton Colliery, Benton Lane End, Benton Square, Bewick Pit, Bigges Main, Bounder House, Burradon, Byker, Byker Hill, Coxlodge, Cramlington, Craster Pit, Earsdon, East Scaffold Hill, East Wideopen, Fawdon, Forest Hall, George Pit, Gosforth, Green Houses, Heaton Colliery, Heaton Pit, Hezzle Rig (Hazelrig), High Barns, High Weetsled [Weetslade], Holystone, Howdon Pans, Kenton, Killingworth, Killingworth Colliery, Lawson’s Main, Letch House, Little Benton, Low Weetsled, Low Willington, Moor Edge, Murton, Newcastle, North Shields, Old Engines, Ouse Burn, Philadelphia, Red Houses, Richard Pit, Rising Sun, Saugh House, Scaffold Hill, Scrogg House, Seaton Burn, Seghill, Shire Moor, Six Mile Bridge, Two Mile Stone, Swallow Pit, Waggonman’s Row, Walker, Wallsend, Weetsled [Weetslade], West Farm, White House, Wideopen, William Pit, Willington, Willington Quay, and Wincomblee.

You wouldn’t think there could be two men named Deemster Hornsby, having children in the same place at the same time, would you? But there are, in these sample baptisms:

• 15 Aug 1813 Hannah Hornsby, of Low Row, daughter of Deemster (pitman) & Margaret Hornsby
• 2 Jan 1817 Deemster Hornsby, of Craister Pit, son of Deemster (pitman) & Dorothy Hornsby
• 14 Oct 1827 John Hornsby, of High Row, son of Deemster (pitman) & Jane Hornsby

Deemster Hornsby married Margaret Wild or Wile at Longbenton in 1803. “Dempster” Hornsby married Dorothy Carnaby in 1812 at Newcastle All Saints. It appears that Deemster who married Dorothy is a different person than Deemster who married Margaret, because both couples baptize several children at Longbenton between 1813 and 1816, in alternating years.

Sample burials:

• 2 Jan 1817 Dorothy Hornsby, of Crastor Pit, age: 25
• 13 May 1816 Dorothy Phillip, of Low Row, age: 108
• 2 Oct 1816 Jane Jowsey, of Walker, age: 103
• 26 Feb 1815 George Newbiggin, of Closden Hill, age: 82

Note that Dorothy Hornsby, who is likely the mother in the middle baptism above, was buried on the same day her son was baptized, so she probably died as a result of childbirth. Dempster Hornsby then married Jane Urron in Newcastle St John in 1818; this is most likely the couple in the third baptism sample. He & Jane started baptizing children in 1819 at Longbenton.

Sample marriages – unfortunately there were no Deemster Hornbys in this set:

• 25 Oct 1813 William Swan, of the parish of Earsdon married Mary Mather, of this parish, by banns, with consent of parents
  Witnesses: Margaret Mather, Edward Mather
• 14 Dec 1829 Richard Humble, of this parish married Mary Steel, of this parish, by banns
  Witnesses: Mary Scott, James Rutter

2,979 baptisms at Bishopwearmouth St. Michael & All Angels in Sunderland district, covering 1821-1828, but also including numerous baptisms that were recorded years after the child’s birth. If you have been unable to find a baptism that you think should be here before 1821, it’s worth checking again to see if it was recorded later. For example, the first baptism in the sample group below was entered 27 years after the child’s birth, and it occurred in an unexpected location.

Samples:

• 31 Dec 1821 Thomas Jefcoat, of Wearmouth, son of Samuel (travelling potter) & Elizabeth Jefcoat, born at Swannington in Leicestershire on June 5, 1794
• 23 Dec 1822 Annamaria Pemberton Holmes, of Demerara, born 4 Nov 1818, daughter of Joseph Henry Hemdon Holmes (advocate) & Mary Anne Holmes, born [at] Demerara
• 10 Mar 1828 James Punshon, of [the] Workhouse, born 4 Mar 1828, son of Sarah Punshon (a married woman living separate from her husband)

Other than a family of exotic births in Demerara, West Indies (now Guyana, South American), residences mentioned are mostly streets in Bishopwearmouth, but also include Ayres Quay, Bainbridge Holm, Ballast Hills, Barnes, Bedlington, Blue House, Burdon, Deptford, Farrington Hall, Fletcher Dubbs, Ford, Fulwell, Garden House, Gill (Galley’s Gill), Glebe House, the Green, Grindon, Hendon, Hetton Staith, Hetton Waggonway, High Barnes, High Plains, Holmside, Humbleton Hill, Hylton Ferry, Low Barnes, Low Grange, Middle Farrington, Middle Hendon, Millfield, Monkwearmouth, New Town, Newcastle, North Hall, North Moor, Octagon Cottage, Old Burdon, Pallion, Pan Field or Panfield, Pans or Panns, Patent Ropery, Plains, Rectors Gill, Ryhope, Silksworth, Southwick, Southwick Boat, Springwell House, Sunderland, Sunniside, Thornhill, Thristley House, Tunstall, Tunstall Hills, Wearmouth (Bishopwearmouth), Wellington Well, and West Hendon.

This register is very difficult to read – the film shows very faded entries, and it is very hard to make out the abodes and occupations. Also,  from roughly August 1822 through March 1828, many birth dates are half-buried in the binding, so on right-hand pages, where the birth date is on the left (bound) margin, it is impossible to see the beginning of the birth date. If our transcription does not show a birth date, it may be possible for you to locate the birthdate in the original register at the Durham County Record Office, if they will allow you to look at it (in general, they only retrieve the original register from storage when the register film is incomprehensible, which may be true in many of these entries).

We have included some records where the fathers were crossed out, and two records that were completely crossed out, on the theory that they may provide clues to actual events.

We recently discovered that Greatham St. John the Baptist has a second set of registers, which duplicate the registers we have already transcribed, but contain far more detail. In baptisms,  the mother’s maiden surname, birthplaces of both parents, and the child’s birth date are given from 1813 to early March 1855. In burials, spouses, parents, occupations, and even former marriages are noted, for a shorter period.

For example, the Greatham register that we first transcribed had these baptisms:

• 5 Jan 1814 Rebecca Musgrave, of Greatham, child of Ralph (butcher) & Elizabeth Musgrave
• 15 Feb 1838 William Stonehouse, of Greatham, child of Cuthbert (grocer) & Jane Stonehouse
• 7 Feb 1855 John William Bradforth, of Greatham, child of John (labourer) & Elizabeth Bradforth

while the enhanced register has the same three baptisms like this:

• 5 Jan 1814 Rebecca Musgrave, of Greatham, born 23-Dec 1813, 7th daughter of Ralph Musgrave (junior, butcher, native of this parish) by his wife Elizabeth Carr (native of the parish of Hart)
• 15 Feb 1838 William Stonehouse, of Greatham, born 11-Feb 1838, son of Cuthbert Stonehouse (grocer of this parish) by his wife Jane Rose (native of Maltby, Yorkshire)
• 7 Feb 1855 John William Bradforth, of Greatham, born 27-Jan 1855, son of John Bradforth (labourer, native of Stainton, Yorkshire) by his wife Elizabeth Forster ([native] of this parish)
  [Note: parent details have been added from the 1854 baptism of another child of the same parents, as directed by the register.]

The last baptism above illustrates another oddity of this enhanced register, which is that m any baptisms after 1846 do not actually state the parents’ birthplaces and mother’s maiden surname, but instead refer the reader back to an earlier baptism of another child of the same parents for these details. For example, in the enhanced register, the last baptism above actually says:

• 7 Feb 1855 John William Bradforth, born Jan 27th, baptized Feb 7th, son of John & Elizabeth Bradforth. Vide 1067.

where “vide” is Latin for “see” and 1067 is the number of a baptism of an earlier child of this couple, and that earlier baptism gives the parents’ abode, birthplaces and mother’s maiden surname. This referencing notation is only used for second and later children of a couple;  the first child of a couple gets all the details in their baptism. For ease of searching, we have chosen to copy and paste the details from the referenced earlier baptism into the later baptisms, with the above note explaining this. If we handled this like the register does, omitting the details, our customers would not be able to filter their search by father’s or mother’s name for these baptisms.

Child order (1st son, 7th daughter, etc.) is given in nearly all baptisms (as it was in the 1798-1812 period) from 1 Jan 1813 until about 1820, when the frequency of this notation starts to decrease and we see a mixture of “1st son”, “2nd daughter”, and just plain “son” and “daughter”. By the beginning of 1831, child order notation has disappeared in favor of just “son” and “daughter”. After the mid-1830s, some baptisms are missing the mother’s maiden surname or the birthplaces of the parents, but the majority of the baptisms still have them, until early March 1855 when the register reverts to the standard terse style, with no explanation for the change in style.

In the enhanced register, most of the burials from 1813 to July 1839 contain more detail. For example, these burials in the first register:

• 4 Mar 1813 William Forest, of Sheraton in the parish of Monk Hesleden, age: 17
• 21 Jan 1816 Jane Corner, of this parish, age: 46
• 20 Dec 1836 John Harperley, of this parish, age: 60

look like this in the enhanced register:

• 4 Mar 1813 William Forest, of Sheraton in the parish of Monk Hesleden, age: 17, died 2nd Mar, son of John (labourer of this parish) & Margaret Forest (his wife)
• 21 Jan 1816 Jane Corner late Harperley, age: 46, died 18th Jan, wife of Thomas Corner (tailor of this parish), formerly wife of John Ross, master mariner of Sunderland
• 20 Dec 1836 John Harperley, of this parish, age: 60, blacksmith

After July 1839, a few burials in the enhanced register have additional detail such as cause of death or if the deceased was a Sister or Brother in one of the hospitals, but parents and spouses are no longer listed.

We don’t know why there are two separate registers that cover the same period of time, with vastly different treatments of the data. We have decided to replace our Greatham transcriptions for this period with this “enhanced” register, to give our customers the greatest possible level of detail. If you have previously purchased a Greatham baptism or burial in this period, you should log in, click on My Previous Orders, and check the baptism to see if there are additional details. We also corrected minor spelling errors. If a more significant correction was made to a record you viewed, you will be emailed about it.

Many of our marriage bonds have been re-priced from 1 credit to 2 credits (0r, if you are purchasing without credits, the cost will be that of 2 records). We know this places an extra financial burden on our customers, and we sympathize and apologize for that, but, like post-1837 marriages, transcribing marriage bonds is very time-consuming. Usually, there are two documents that have to be compared, and they may have slightly different information as to the location or names of the parties involved, which requires extra time to document the differences. At a price of 1 credit, the compensation received by those transcribers  wasn’t enough to make the time spent transcribing them worthwhile.  We are trying to strike a balance between fairness to our customers and to our transcribers. Bonds before 1662 will remain priced at 1 credit, or the price of 1 record, because they contain minimal information. Likewise, bonds after 1 Jun 1823 will remain at 1 credit, because after that date, bondsmen were no longer required or named, so there is no second document to peruse. The “View” or “Add to Cart” button in the Search Results table will always say whether a particular bond will cost 1 or 2 credits.

Even at 2 credits, marriage bonds continue to play a valuable role in genealogical research, especially before civil registration started in mid-1837. Often marriage bonds provide the ages of both parties, or at least the acknowledgement that both were of legal age (whether it was true or not!), the occupation of the groom (which was not routinely provided in marriages before mid-1837), sometimes the name of a parent or guardian, and the name of the bondsman is often a relative which can help you determine other family members. Bonds also usually contain a pointer to where the marriage occurred, as the parties were directed to a specific church for the marriage. If you have been unable to find a marriage, checking the records of the directed church may turn up the marriage under a slightly different name than you’ve been seeking. For example, the groom and bride may be listed as Richardson and Andrews in the marriage bond, and those are their correct names according to later births of their children, but you have been unable to find their marriage. Noting where they were directed to marry, and checking the records of that church shortly after the bond date, may turn up the marriage under the names of Richards and Anderson, due to clerical errors. Without the extra bit of knowledge that they were supposed to marry in that particular church, provided by the marriage bond, you might never have put the pieces together with the marriage under the wrong names.

We went through our early baptisms and burials at Hart St. Mary Magdalene, comparing to the register, and, for dates between 1 Jan and 25 Mar in the years 1577 to 1752 inclusive, changed the date, where necessary, to be consistent with today’s dating scheme; that is, changed to the following year. For example, Jan 1750, following Dec 1750 and called 1750 under the old calendar, gets changed to Jan 1751. All parish records on our site are supposed to use the modern dating scheme for consistency, but we have discovered that some of our older transcriptions don’t conform and we are fixing them.

In the process, we discovered 13 baptisms we missed: all of 1733 and part of early 1734, so if you’re looking for somebody born at Hart then, you might want to run another search. We also found 12 burials that we missed in 1675, 20 in 1682 and 1 in 1706. We also made a few minor corrections to names and added some months or days that had been unclear.

If you have purchased a baptism or burial that occurred before 1753 at Hart , you might want to review it by clicking My Previous Orders to see if the year or anything else has changed. To help you find it, you can sort the Previous Orders table by Event Year, using the new sorting capability!

2,262 baptisms at Monkwearmouth All Saints from the start of the first register in October 1847 to the end of 1874. All Saints parish was created out of Monkwearmouth St. Peter’s in 1847.

Most of the abodes listed in these baptisms are streets or addresses in Monkwearmouth, but also mentioned were Bonner’s Field, Monkwearmouth Colliery, Fulwell, Hebburn, Jarrow, Monkwearmouth Grange, Monkwearmouth Shore, North Quay, Roker, the Ropery, Ryhope, Sheepfolds, and Southwick

The first child in the register is, fittingly, the minister’s son. Here are some samples:

• 11 Oct 1847 Arthur Horn Kennicott, of Roker Terrace, Monkwearmouth Shore, born 11-Oct 1847, child of Benjamin Centum Kennicott (minister of All Saints District, Monkwearmouth) & Emma
• 16 Mar 1856 William [Knowles/Philipson], of Colliery, born 2-Apr 1854, child of William Knowles (architect) & Margaret Philipson
• 10 Sep 1862 George David Blair, of John Street, born 23-Jun 1862, child of David (mariner) & Flora Blair
• 18 Sep 1874 William George Whitehouse, of 4 Bloomfield St., born 7-Feb 1874, child of William (puddler) & Caroline Whitehouse