404 baptisms and 273 burials at Escomb St. John in Auckland district, from the bishop’s transcript, except 1844 and 1846-47 are from the parish register. Abodes mentioned include Belt’s Burn, Bishop Auckland, Bitchburn, Carr Wood, Crook, Escomb, Etherley (plus Etherley Lane and Moor), Middleton St. George, Romaldkirk, West Auckland, Witton Park, Witton Park Iron Works, Woodhouses, and Woodside.

The parish clerk included the mother’s maiden surname in most baptisms through 1839, with some tapering off of this practice after 1837.

• 16 Apr 1815 Elizabeth Adamson, of Escomb, 2nd daughter of Robert Adamson (labourer) & Margaret Stamp
• 28 Sep 1828 William Jackson Glass, of Belts Burn, 6th son of William Glass (labourer) & Elizabeth Metcalf
• 13 Nov 1839 Christopher Whitfield, of Escomb, 6th son of Thompson Whitfield (labourer) & Hannah Heron
• 30 Dec 1849 Tabitha Longstaff, of Etherley Lane, born 1-May 1848, daughter of Mary Longstaff (single woman)

Burials include occupation or parent or spouse for 1813-1837, with some tapering off of details after mid-1835.

• 19 Jul 1814 Thomas Nelson, of Escomb, age: infant, son of John Nelson (gardener) by his wife Ann Schofield
• 30 Dec 1818 Ralph Simpson, of Escomb, age: 68, clerk of the chapel of Escomb
• 2 Apr 1825 Ann Booth, of Etherley, age: infant, daughter of Lancelot Booth
• 3 Jan 1837 Elizabeth Sparke, of Escomb, age: 40, wife of Joseph Sparke

Since we were in this register, we took the opportunity to add the witnesses to the marriages for 1813-1837, giving you an additional 101 names to search in. If you previously purchased a marriage at Escomb, you can view it with the witnesses added by clicking My Previous Orders when you are logged in.

600 baptisms for 1814-1819 and 496 burials for 1813-1820 at Auckland St. Andrew, from the bishop’s transcript. The parish clerk voluntarily included the mother’s maiden surname in most baptisms, when this was no longer a required practice – hurray for us later researchers!

• 2 Jan 1814 Margaret Parker, of Bishop Auckland, 2nd daughter of John Gildart Parker (flax dresser) & Ann Tenant
• 18 Jul 1817 Sarah Leonard, of Bishop Auckland, 7th daughter of John Leonard (hatter) & Elizabeth Bulman
• 25 Aug 1818 William Canney, of Bishop Auckland, 1st son of George Canney (surgeon) & Sarah Daniel
• 25 Dec 1819 Hannah Westgarth, of Bishop Auckland, 2nd daughter of Robert Westgarth (labourer) & Elizabeth Egglestone

In the burials, the clerk also continued the practice of listing occupations, parents, or spouses, when it was no longer required, but this starts to taper off in late 1819:

• 10 Jan 1813 William Angus, of Bishop Auckland, age: 36, a barber
• 27 May 1814 Elizabeth Beckwith, of Bishop Auckland, age: 69, widow of Percival Beckwith (late of Park Head)
• 17 Feb 1816 Hannah Snaith, of Bishop Auckland, age: infant, daughter of William Snaith & Alice
• 14 Mar 1819 Mary Hall, of Bishop Auckland, age: 2, daughter of Lowinger Hall (innkeeper)
• 2 Nov 1819 Catherine Westgarth, of Bishop Auckland, age: 86

Abodes mentioned include Bishop Auckland, Bitchburn, Black Boy, Byers Green, Coundon, Eldon, Escomb, Etherley, Gaunless Mill, Grange Hall, Hunwick, Middlestone, Middridge, Needless, Newton Cap, Nutty Hagg, Parkhead, Quarry Burn, Rushyford, Shildon, South Church, Thickley, Westerton, and Windlestone.

851 burials at Shildon St. John from the beginning of the parish register in Sep 1834 to the end of 1846, matching the period for which we have baptisms at Shildon.  Shildon parish was carved out of Auckland St. Andrew in September 1834 and abodes listed besides Shildon included Bishop Auckland, Brusselton, Copy Crooks, Coundon, Eldon, Fyland’s Bridge, Middridge, New Shildon, Old Shildon, Railway Terrace, and Thickley. Some samples:

• 7 Nov 1834 James Cleasby, of New Shildon, age: 27
• 2 Nov 1838 Hannah Todd, of Old Shildon, age: 93
• 3 Feb 1843 Smiles Grey Coulson, of New Shildon, age: 3 weeks