92 burials at Durham St. Nicholas 1813-1818, from the Bishop’s Transcript. Occasionally the clerk included parents or occupations for the deceased. St. Nicholas included Claypath, the House of Corrections, and the Workhouse.

Merrington St. John the Evangelist, also known as Kirk Merrington, 1813-1821, from the Bishop’s Transcript:

• 351 baptisms
• 211 burials
• we also added the marriage witnesses to our existing Merrington marriages for this period

Merrington or Kirk Merrington parish, in Auckland district, included residents of Butcher Race, Chilton, Ferryhill, Hett, Merrington, Middlestone, Rushyford, Tudhoe, and Windlestone.

237 baptisms and 191 burials at Durham St. Giles from 1813 to the end of 1818, from the Bishop’s Transcript. In 1818, for some reason, the clerk returned to the old practice of listing a child’s parents in a burial, and the spouse of a deceased woman, plus some occupations. For example:

• 21 Aug 1818 Thomas Tilly, of St. Nicholas, age: 3 weeks, son of John Tilly (weaver) & Elizabeth
• 7 Jul 1818 Eleanor Moody, of St. Giles, age: 73, wife of William Moody (blacksmith)

Burials and baptisms here included residents of St. Oswald, St. Nicholas, Milburn Gate, Framwellgate, and North Bailey. There were several births to women in the House of Correction (gaol), and parents from places as far-flung as Ireland (a soldier in the 4th Irish Dragoons) and a silkweaver from Glasgow, Scotland.

1,848 burials at Darlington St. Cuthbert’s in the detail-rich period of 1798 to the end of 1812, from the Bishop’s Transcript. You can expect to discover the parents of deceased children, mother’s maiden surnames, married women’s maiden surnames, and much more. Some examples:

• 28 Aug 1801 Ann Headlam late Umpleby, of Leeds, Yorkshire, age: 87, died 25 Aug, widow of Thomas Allan, a labourer, and of Thomas Headlam (woolcomber)
• 11 Nov 1800 John Chipchase, of Darlington, age: 6 months, died 9 Nov, son of George Chipchase (printer) & Jane his wife late Matters [Matthews]
• 18 Feb 1798 Mary Smith late Plews, of Barnard Castle, age: 39, died 16 Feb, wife of John Smith (weaver of Darlington, native of London), died of childbed

In addition to Darlington, residences listed include Archdeacon Newton, Auckland, Aycliffe, Barnard Castle, Bishop Auckland, Blackwell, Cockerton, Cockfield, Denton, Egglescliffe, Gainford, Haughton-le-Skerne, Hurworth, Staindrop, Stainton, Stockton, plus the Yorkshire communities of Ainderby Steeple, Appleton-le-Wisk, Barton, Croft, Eryholme, Hudswell, Long Cowton, Masham, Marske, Northallerton, Richmond, Romaldkirk, Thirsk, and Yarm, and some Westmorland communities as well.

There were several epidemics in this period of smallpox, scarlet fever, measles, and whooping cough, which killed many children, but the most frequently stated cause of death was “decline”, which covered any wasting disease, most often probably consumption (tuberculosis). ”Convulsions” was cited as the cause of death for many infants. There are also frequent cases of apoplexy, consumption, dropsy, fever, childbirth, and a few cases of accidents, burnings, drownings, suicide, intemperance, hydrocephalus, and the unpleasant-sounding “worm fever”.