1,265 baptisms and 776 burials at Houghton-le-Spring St. Michael & All Angels, covering 1800-1804 and April 1808-1812, from the Bishop’s Transcript. We will fill the gap of 1805-1808 in a few weeks.

Residences mentioned include Biddick, Bishopwearmouth, Bunker Hill, Chilton’s Moor, Cocken, Collier(y) Row, Cross Fines Row, Deptford, Dubmoor or Dubmire, Durham, East Herrington, East Rainton, Fatfield, Hawthorn, Herrington Burn, Hetton, Houghton, the Knott, Middle Haining, Middle Herrington, Moorhouse, Morton Fence, Morton Grange, Morton Hill, New Lambton, New Painshaw, Newbottle and Newbottle Engine, Painshaw (Penshaw), Philadelphia, Rainton Bridge, Rainton Engine, Rainton Gate, Rainton Meadows, Rainton Mill, Sedgeletch or Segletch, Shiney Row, Stot’s Pasture, Tile Sheds, Torrish Hill, Wapping, West Herrington, West Rainton, and Wilson’s Row.

Sample baptisms:

• 23 May 1800 Ralph Shanks, of Morton Hill, born 18 May, 5th son of Robert Shanks (native of Washington) by his wife Barbara formerly Green (native of Painshaw)
• 22 Jul 1804 Ann Harriott Legg, of Collier Row, born 13 Dec 1803, 8th daughter of John Legg (colliery agent, native of Pensher) by his wife Margaret formerly Walton (native of Morton Grange)
• 17 Apr 1808 Martha Snowball, of Rainton Mill, born 31 Oct, 5th daughter of Thomas Snowball (brewer, native of Witton Gilbert) by his wife Sarah Stewart (native of Wooler)
• 9 Sep 1810 Ann Briggs, of East Rainton, born 13 Aug, 1st daughter of William Briggs (labourer, native of Durham) by his wife Margaret Rickaby (native of Great Lumley)
  [Note: Other records show the mother as Margaret Wandless. She was first married to John Rickaby.]
• 27 Dec 1812 William Angles, of Hetton le Hole, born 17 Oct 1811, 3rd son of William Angles (pitman, native of Midridge) by his wife Elizabeth Courtley (native of West Rainton)

Sample burials, starting with the two longest-lived:

• 26 Nov 1802 Jane Draper, of Houghton, age: 106, native of North Brittain, died 25 Nov
• 13 Apr 1801 John Snowden, of Newbottle, age: 100, farmer, native of Rothbury, Northumberland, died 10 Apr
• 12 Jan 1800 Isabella Selby, of West Rainton, age: 31, died 9 Jan, daughter of John Selby (native of West Rainton)
• 24 Jun 1801 Ann Calbreath, of Durham, age: 1, died 22 Jun, daughter of James Calbreath (surgeon) by his wife Mary formerly Lonsdale (native of Chester)
• 10 Nov 1812 Isabella Straughair late Benson, of Houghton, age: 83, widow, died 8 Nov
• 17 Aug 1810 Isabella Coltman late Tinn, of West Rainton, age: 50, died 15 Aug, wife of Thomas Coltman
• 3 Apr 1808 Thomas Hindmarsh, of West Rainton, age: 4, died 31 Mar, son of Robert Hindmarsh (brakesman, native of Birtley)
• 7 Aug 1803 Dorothy Croudace, of Penshaw Stables, age: 3 weeks, died 5 Aug, 3rd daughter of John Croudace (viewer, native of Langley) by his wife Elizabeth formerly Watkin (native of New York, Washington parish)

Replaced the index to marriage bonds 1690 through March 1698 with full details, so those 1,217 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 Marriage 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:

• 14 Feb 1690 Ralph Wood (yeoman), of Hartburn, Northumberland obtained a licence to marry Frances Grumwell (widow)
  Surety: Francis Clarke, glover, of Alnwick, Northumberland
• 31 May 1694 Patrick Ross (schoolmaster), of Elvet, Durham City obtained a licence to marry Elizabeth Shacklock
  Surety: John Proud, gentleman
  [Note: married 30 Mar at St.Oswald, Durham City]
• 15 Feb 1698 John Parnaby (butcher), of Bishop Auckland, Auckland St.Andrew obtained a licence to marry Margaret Lockey, of Auckland St. Andrew, directed to Auckland St. Andrew
  Surety: William Blythman, butcher, of Heighington

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.

Another large package of Darlington burials:

• 7,948 burials at Darlington North Cemetery covering 1893-1920
• 1,835 burials at Darlington Holy Trinity covering 1855-1937
• 5 burials at Darlington St. Cuthbert covering 1857-1870. This cemetery was closed in 1856 and these burials had to have permission from the Home Secretary; presumably they were buried in pre-existing plots or tombs with other family members.

Abodes mentioned are mostly street addresses and neighbourhoods within Darlington, plus Archdeacon Newton,  Barnard Castle, Blackwell, Cockerton, Drinkfield, Harrowgate Hill, Haughton-le-Skerne, Middlesbrough, Middleton St. George, Myrtle Grove, Rise Carr, and Springfield.

Most of the burials at North Cemetery are fairly terse, but like earlier burials here, they include the father’s (or single mother’s) name for stillborn children:

• 15 Dec 1894 Sarah Hodgson, of Katherine Street, age: 100
• 4 Sep 1896 stillborn child Squires, of Ann’s Street, age: stillborn, child of Thomas Squires
• 20 Nov 1899 stillborn child Kenyon, of York Street, age: stillborn, child of Maria Kenyon
• 31 Jul 1910 Charlotte Barras, of Drinkfield, age: 84
• 30 Dec 1920 Lily Barraclough, of 91 Gurney Street, age: 42, died at the Greenbank Hospital.

Samples from Holy Trinity:

• 17 Jan 1855 William Bragg, of Darlington, age: 76
• 2 Dec 1863 Henry Swales, of Cockerton, age: 56
• 19 Mar 1870 Thomas Webb Minton, of Darlington, age: 78, Vicar of Holy Trinity for 18 years and for upwards of 40 years connected with the parish of Darlington.

Burials at Holy Trinity fell off sharply after 1863, with only 24 burials listed between 1864 and 1937. Presumably burials were diverted from Holy Trinity to the West and North cemeteries.

Earlier burials at St. Cuthbert’s and Holy Trinity will arrive soon.

527 baptisms covering 1808-1812 and 347 burials covering 1809-1812 at Heworth St. Mary in Gateshead district, from the Bishop’s Transcript. We now have continuous coverage of Heworth baptisms from 1765 to 1901 and Heworth burials from 1765 to March 1903.

Until the end of March 1809, Heworth was a chapelry in the parish of Jarrow, and Heworth baptisms and burials were recorded in the Jarrow St. Paul register with a label designating them as Heworth. From 1808 onward , we have separated the Heworth records and filed them as Heworth so they will appear under Gateshead district in the search results. After March 1809, Heworth kept its own separate parish register, so there was no more confusion about where these baptisms and burials occurred.

Residences mentioned include Bill Quay, Blue Quarries, Carrs Hill, Felling, Felling Shore, Hebburn, Hebburn Colliery & Quay, Heworth, Heworth High Lane, Heworth Shore, High Felling, High Lane, Hollin or Holly Hill, Jingling Gate, Laverick Hall, Leam, Lingey House, Low Felling, Low Heworth, Monkton, North Follonsby, Snowdons Hole, Square Houses, Stoney Gate, Sward Houses, Wardley, White House, and Windy Nook.

Starting in June 1808, most baptisms show the name of the mother’s father as well as the mother’s maiden surname and birthplace and the father’s occupation and birthplace. Samples:

• 3 Jan 1808 William Hay, of Low Felling, born 18 Feb 1807, 7th child of John Hay (collier, native of Tanfield) by his wife Mary late Pearson (native of Ovingham)
• 12 Aug 1810 William Cockburn, of Hebburn Colliery, born 28 Jun, 13th child of John Cockburn (pitman, native of Meldon, Northumberland) by his wife Elizabeth Burn (daughter of Gabriel Burn of Choppington)
• 13 Dec 1812 Fenwick Barnfather, of Hedworth Fellgate, born 15 Nov, 2nd child and 1st son of Thomas Barnfather (native of Lanchester (Satley)) by his wife Elizabeth Patch [Petch] (daughter of William Patch of [blank], Durham)

The burials include the explosion at Felling Colliery on 25 May 1812, in which 91 men and boys lost their lives. Details of this tragedy can be read here, as well as a list of the names and occupations of those killed:

• http://www.dmm.org.uk/names/n1812-01.htm

Sample burials:

• 7 Apr 1809 Sarah Blackett late Cranson, of Windy Nook, age: 27, died 5 Apr, wife of Ralph Blackett, and daughter of George & Mary Cranson
• 10 Feb 1810 John Stobbs, of Gateshead, age: 23, died 8 Feb, grocer of Heworth, son of Henry Stobbs (of Gosforth) & Anne Wood (daughter of Joseph Wood of Harburn, Northumberland)
• 10 Sep 1810 Christopher Dodds, of High Felling, age: 80, died 8 Sep, farmer, son of Joseph Dodds (of Sheepcote, Gateshead)
• 17 Jul 1812 William Richardson, of Low Felling, age: 19, died 25 May, son of Edward Richardson (collier of Gateshead) & Esther Greener (daughter of Isaac Greener of Gateshead)
  [Note: victim of explosion at Felling Colliery on the 25th May 1812 at 11.30am. 91 people were killed.]

Note that the first burial includes the mother’s name, the 2nd burial includes the mother’s father’s name and location, which is likely her birthplace), and the third burial, although it is of an older person, includes his father’s name. Heworth must have had a particularly diligent parish clerk or priest, as all of those details are not commonly found in other parishes. Usually we just get the fathers (and sometimes the mothers) of children, but rarely of adults, and getting the mother’s father on a burial is quite uncommon. Regarding the 4th burial, we noticed that Esther Greener Richardson lost her husband and 2 teenaged sons in the explosion, and it appears she also lost her father and 2 brothers, as there is a 65-yr old Isaac Greener of Gateshead and 2 of his sons on the burial list. Six months later Esther lost a 13-month old daughter as well. How did she carry on ?

Here is an interesting site on the gravestones in St. Mary’s churchyard and some church history – be sure to read about the Saxon coin hoax of 1812, filed under Church Tales !

http://www.stmaryschurchheworth.com/  

This site also has a story on the 1812 disaster. Click on “Who’s Who in the Churchyard”, then click on “1812 Felling Pit Disaster”.

Filled a gap and expanded our Pittington baptism collection by adding 1,235 baptisms, covering 1701-1739 and mid-1787 to the end of 1808. We now have continuous baptism coverage at Pittington St. Lawrence in Durham district for 1701-1833, plus some large chunks on either side of this range (see the Parish Records page for details).

As is typical of this period, mothers were not listed in the 1701-1739 section. In an unusual move, the clerk started listing mother’s maiden surnames in August of 1797 (most clerks didn’t do this until 1798), and starting in 1798, the clerk included the mother’s father’s name regularly.

Samples:

• 11 Jan 1702 Christopher Shippardson, son of Ralph Shippardson
• 24 Mar 1718 Catherine Keirton, daughter of Joseph Keirton
• 8 May 1727 John Busby, son of Lively Busby
• 1 Dec 1738 Mary Stainsby, daughter of John Stainsby
• 28 Aug 1787 Alice Heron, daughter of William & Jane Heron
• 24 Sep 1797 William Maudling, of Pittington, son of William Maudling & Catherine Copeling
• 25 Aug 1799 John Maudling, of Pittington, born 22-Aug, 5th child, 3rd son of William Maudling (pitman) by his wife Catherine Copling (daughter of John Copling nigh Newcastle)
• 11 Sep 1808 William Maudling, of Pittington, 12th child, 5th son of William Maudling (pitman) by his wife Catring [Catherine] Copeling (daughter of John Copeling a tailor at Beamish in the parish of Tanfield)

Note how Catherine Copling/Copeland’s information changes and is enhanced over time – in 1797, we just get her maiden surname; in 1799, her father lives “nigh Newcastle”, and in 1808, her father is a tailor at Beamish in the parish of Tanfield. Perhaps all are correct – perhaps her father moved from Newcastle to Beamish in the interim.

Residences mentioned include Belmont, Cassop Smiddy or Smithy, Crow’s House, Elemore Gates, Elemore Grange, Elemore Lodge, Fatclose House, Fencle or Finchale Banks, Hallgarth, Hetton on the Hill, Littletown, Low Pit Houses, Oxclose House, Pithouses, Pittington, Running Waters, Shadforth,  Sherburn, and Sherburn Grange.

3,569 baptisms on the Stanley Primitive Methodist Circuit from July 1868 to March 1902. These are the earliest records for this circuit.

Many towns did not have Methodist churches, so the Methodist preacher rode around his local circuit, baptizing children as he went. Circuits often covered a fairly large geographical area. In this data set, residences mentioned include Alma Pit, Andrew’s Houses, Annfield Plain, Beamish, Burnhope, Burnopfield, Bushblades, Byermoor, Catchgate, Causey Row, Chester-le-Street, Coalburns, Collierley Dykes, Craghead, Cross Lanes, Dipton, East Stanley, Edmondsley, Flint Hill, Grange Villa, Greencroft, Hamsterley, Handenhold, Hanging Stone, Havannah, High Hold, High Twizell, Hill Top, Holmside, Iveston, Joicey’s Houses, Kiphill, Kyo, Lamesley, Lanchester, Leadgate, Lintz Colliery, Lintz Ford, Lizard Colliery, Maiden Law, Marley Hill, Newfield, Oakey’s Houses, Oxhill, Pelton, Quaking Houses, Shield Row, South Medomsley, South Moor, South Pontop, Spen, Stanley, Tanfield, Tanfield Lea, Tantobie, Twizell, Victoria (Garesfield, Winlaton), West Kyo, West Pelton, West Stanley, White-le-Head, and Whickham.

Sample baptisms:

• 15 Sep 1868 Andrew High, of Twizell Colliery, Chester-le-Street, child of Isaac (miner) & Jane High
• 17 Dec 1876 Catherine Beatham, of Oxhill, born 19-Oct, child of John (miner) & Mary Beatham
• 20 Jul 1886 Elizabeth Ann Mudd, of Tanfield Lea, born 29-Jun, child of Henry (coke burner) & Emily Mudd
• 19 Feb 1896 Vesta Gertrude Trewick, of Stanley, child of George (fruiterer) & Elizabeth Trewick
• 31 Oct 1901 Elizabeth May McHatton, of 5 John St, South Moor, born 23-Oct, child of James McHatton (soldier) & Mary Hannah McHatton

380 marriages at Durham St. Oswald in the city of Durham covering 1797-1812, including witnesses. These marriages are not indexed by the IGI. A few include the groom’s occupation, especially if he was a soldier. Samples:

• 7 Nov 1797 Robert Middleton (draper), of the parish of St.Dunstan in the West, London married Hannah Ward, of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: John Ward, John Ward, junior
• 7 Feb 1804 Edward Hind, of St. Mary le Bow parish, Durham married Mary Vaux, of this parish, by banns
  Witnesses: John Smith, Thomas Vaux
• 16 Dec 1811 Joseph Marsden (a Private in the 2nd Reg’t of Dragoon Guards), of this parish married Eleanor Pringle, of this parish, by banns
  Witnesses: Jn. Cheesebrough, William Scott

Residences mentioned besides St. Oswald’s  include Baxter Wood, Brancepeth,  Broom (also called Brome), Lanchester, Sedgefield, Whitwell House, and the adjacent parishes and chapelries of St. Giles, St. Margaret’s, St. Mary le Bow, and St. Nicholas.

9,097 burials at South Shields St. Hilda’s covering 1820-1840. Residences mentioned (besides street addresses in South Shields) include Academy Hill, Archers Hill, Bank Top, Barnes, Bent House, Bishopwearmouth, Black Lion Quay, Bottle Bank, Bottle Hill, Deans, East Holborn, Harton, Howdon, Jarrow, Newcastle, North Shields, Simonside, Templetown, West Holborn, and Westoe.

Sample burials, starting with the 3 oldest people in this set and including the cholera epidemic of 1832 (which claimed 309 people according to this register) and the pit explosion in 1839:

• 05 Mar 1824 John Thompson, of Stobb Lane, South Shields, age: 109
• 25 Mar 1821 Hannah Marshall, of Heugh Street, South Shields, age: 103
• 30 Dec 1821 Ann Sympson, of West Holborn, South Shields, age: 100
• 19 Aug 1832 Thomas Laidler, of Bottle Hill, age: 92, Cholera
• 22 Mar 1832 Charles Goodwin, of Fairles St, age: 26, Cholera
• 30 Jun 1839 Thomas Elstob, of Temple Town, age: 9, [one of] 25 pitmen killed in St Hilda’s pit by explosion on the 28th inst
• 12 Aug 1838 William Hogg, of Black Lion Quay, age: 15, native of Kent
• 03 Jan 1821 J. J. Vanderveen, age: 48, a mariner from Holland, died on board a ship in the river

A detailed description of the St. Hilda pit explosion on 28 June 1839 can be found in newspaper accounts at the Durham Mining Museum’s site here:

• http://www.dmm.org.uk/names/n1839-01.htm

444 baptisms and 262 burials at Whorlton St. Mary in Teesdale district, covering 1821-1875 for the baptisms and 1821-1870 for the burials (we already had burials for 1871-1981). These are from the Bishop’s Transcript except for 1832-33 which are from the parish register. Residences mentioned besides Whorlton include Arlaw Banks, Barnard Castle, Black Bull, Broomylaw, Cleatlam, Dial House, East Shaws, Forcett, Greystone, Hambledon (Humbleton), Little Hutton, Low Barforth, Low Barn, Newsham Park Toll Bar, Ovington, Red House, Staindrop, Stubb House Lodge, Waterside, Whorley Hill, and Whorlton Grange.

Sample baptisms:

• 30 Dec 1821 Hutton Johnson, of Whorlton, son of Francis (cordwainer) & Margaret Johnson
• 15 Jul 1827 Samuel Treend, of Oxford Street, London, born 18 Nov 1809, son of Samuel (tailor) & Elizabeth Treend
• 26 Aug 1847 Elizabeth Close, of Black Bull, daughter of Thomas (mason & publican) & Margaret Close
• 21 Feb 1862 Richard Baldry Gent, of Whorlton, child of Richard Pallister Gent (tailor) & Mary Hannah Gent
• 2 Jan 1874 Isabel Jane Wheatley, of Greystone in S. John’s Stanwick, child of William (farmer) & Hannah Wheatley

Sample burials:

• 21 Nov 1822 Joseph Dent, age: 61, gardener at Stubb House, verdict: killed accidentally
• 11 Oct 1833 Christopher Johnson, of Whorlton & Staindrop Toll Bar, age: 63
• 31 Dec 1847 Margaret Robinson, of Pond House, S. John Stanwick, Yorkshire, age: 81
• 23 Mar 1864 Margaret Bainbridge, of Dial House, age: 94

702 baptisms at South Shields St. Hilda for the year 1834.

Samples:

• 1 Jan 1834 Richard Anderson, of South Shields, son of Thomas (carver & gilder) & Sophia Anderson
• 11 Jun 1834 Thomas Middleton Hepple, of South Shields, son of James (pitman) & Dinah Hepple
• 21 Dec 1834 William Reed, of South Shields, son of Joseph (mariner) & Joyce Reed