Replaced the index to marriage bonds in the years 1750-1754 with full details, so those 1,304 records are now instantly available, including 2 new bonds that we missed the first time around.

Marriage bonds often provide ages, occupations, and place of residence for the bride and groom (and sometimes a parent of a minor) 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:

• 10 May 1754 George Bowness (woolen draper, widower), age 50, of Auckland St. Andrew obtained a licence to marry Ann Yearl, age 22, of Auckland St.Andrew, directed to Auckland St.Andrew
  Surety: Nicholas Yearl, yeoman, of Stanhope
• 3 Feb 1750 John Rogers (bombadier in H.M. Train of Artillery), age 30, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, Northumberland obtained a licence to marry Elizabeth Cunningham, age 18, of Berwick-upon-Tweed, daughter of James Cunningham (consents to the marriage), directed to Berwick-upon-Tweed
  Surety: William Suddick, junior, peruke-maker, of Berwick-upon-Tweed
  [Note: married 4 Feb at Berwick-upon-Tweed.]

1750 was a particularly bad year for the preservation of bonds.  An early transcriber wrote “A troublesome year, many of the bonds are all in tatters”. Some of the information missing from the bonds has been added by us, with notes, from the subsequent marriages.

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 the Diocese of 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.

110 marriages at Stockton St. Thomas for the year 1838. These are fully detailed civil-registration era marriages, including father’s names & occupations and witnesses.

For example:

• 3 Sep 1838 John Starbuck (widower, tinner), full age, of Stockton, son of Joseph Starbuck (labourer), married Barbara Smith (spinster), full age, of Stockton, daughter of William Graham (tobacconist)
  Witnesses: William Herron, Thomas Appleby

This one’s a bit puzzling as Barbara claims to be a spinster, yet her father has a different surname. It could be that she’s really a widow, having first been a Graham married a Smith, or it could be that she’s illegitimate, the child of William Graham and a Smith mother, or perhaps she was born a Smith but William Graham is her stepfather or someone who raised her from birth so she considers him her father. Clearly this case needs more investigation!

659 marriage bonds filed in 1821-1822 in the Diocese of Durham. These are brand new, not previously in our bond index. Read on to find out why the late 1822 bonds are simply amazing!

In this period, marriage bonds often provide ages, occupations, place of residence, and sometimes a father or mother 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. Here is an example of an older couple whose age would not be recorded in their marriage record, which might lead you to assume they were in their twenties when they married, but they’re not:

• 24 July 1821 John Todd (iron founder, widower), age 57, of Sculcoates, East Riding of Yorkshire obtained a licence to marry Mary Matthews (widow), age 53, of Bishopwearmouth, County Durham, directed to Bishopwearmouth
  Surety: William Haddock, of Sunderland, County Durham, ironmonger

This set of bonds provides a special treat because, starting in September of 1822, they usually provide the bride and groom’s birthdates, places and dates of baptism, one or both parents’ names, and sometimes the child’s order within the family (1st son, 2nd daughter, etc.). Sometimes there is the name of a brother or other relative who is swearing to the accuracy or existence of the baptism, or to the bride’s age if no baptism documentation could be found. Here are two examples that are loaded with valuable information:

• 25 Dec 1822 John Weallens (yeoman, bachelor, born 17 Nov 1798, 1st son, baptized 17 Dec 1798 at Ponteland), age 21 and upwards, of Dissington East Houses in the parish of Newburn, Northumberland, son of William Weallens (of Newburn) & Jane Thornton (native of Hartburn), obtained a licence to marry Mary Furnass (spinster, born 22 Oct 1798, 3rd daughter, baptized 5 Dec 1798 at Heddon on the Wall), age 21 and upwards, of Ponteland, Northumberland, daughter of John Furnass (the Rev’d Curate of Heddon on the Wall, native of Scaleby, Cumberland) & Mary Robson (daughter of Matthew Robson, native of Heddon on the Wall), directed to Ponteland
  Surety: Arthur Shanks, farmer of Milbourne High House in the parish of Ponteland
• 25 Nov 1822 James Hunter (gentleman, bachelor, baptized 31 Oct 1790 at Chigwell, Essex), age 21 and upwards, of Haughton with Sadberge, County Durham, son of George & Ann Hunter, obtained a licence to marry Mary Green (spinster), age 21 and upwards, of the same parish, directed to Sadberge; John Green made oath that the Register of Baptism for Mary Green cannot be found even though diligent search had been made, and also made oath he knows Mary is of full age, by reason that she is his sister and he hath known her for a longer period.
  Surety: Thomas Hunter, gentleman of 60 Tottenham Court Road, St.Pancras, Middlesex, John Green, farmer of Haughton with Sadberge

Note that “age 21” means “21 and upwards” in these documents.

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.

2,674 burials at Christ Church in Tynemouth (Northumberland) covering 1836-1840, from the parish register with some annotations from the Bishop’s Transcript.

Tynemouth is just across the River Tyne from South Shields, Jarrow, and Hebburn, and lots of Durham families moved back and forth across the river, following the colliery jobs and port-related work. Residences mentioned (besides streets within the parish) include Allotment, Alnwick, Balkwell, Backworth, Billy Mill, Burdon Main, Chirton, Collingwood Main, Cullercoats, East Howdon, Gateshead, Half Moon Bank, Hayhole, High Chirton, High Flatworth, Howdon, Lime Kiln Shore, Low Lights, Monkseaton, Moor Houses, Mount Pleasant, Murton, New Whitley, New York, Newcastle, North Shields, Percy Main, Philadelphia, Preston, South Shields, Spittle Dean, the Poor House, Tynemouth, Tynemouth Garrison, Wallsend, Whitehill Point, Whitley, Wooden Bridge, and various ships moored in the harbour.

The clerk continued recording parents, occupations, and spouses. Often, he also wrote an additional location – we are unsure whether this is the deceased’s birthplace or the parish in which they normally reside, having died in Tynemouth but not usually living there; you will have to do the research and draw your own conclusions. In some cases, the clerk linked the burials of family members with references (see the last burial in the section below for an example).

Sample burials:

• 18 Jan 1836 James Elphinstone, of Albion Street, age: 86, cordwainer
• 01 Jan 1837 Violet Chater, of the poor house, age: 6, daughter of William (whitesmith) & Violet Chater, of Aberdeen [written later in pencil]
• 31 Dec 1840 Barbara Frost, of Hudson Street, age: 44, wife of Joseph Frost (ship owner), buried in the ancient burial ground within the walls of Tynemouth Castle
• 30 Dec 1836 John Doxford, of New Whitley, late of Felling, age: 64, cartwright, Lucker near Bambro
  [Note: Lucker is probably the former residence or birthplace of the deceased.]
• 06 Sep 1839 Mary Cutty, of Walker Place, age: 79, widow of Edward Cutty, see entry 1946
  [Note: Entry 1946 is the burial of her husband 5 days earlier.]

The two oldest people in this set was:

• 01 Apr 1839 Mary Short, of Stephenson Street, age: 101, widow of John Short
• 23 Oct 1837 Jane Wood, of near the Wooden Bridge, age: 101, widow of Thomas Wood (mariner), buried in the ancient burial ground within the walls of Tynemouth Castle

At Whitburn St. Mary in South Shields district:

• 2,821 baptisms covering 1611 (plus one in 1604 that was recorded in 1620) to the end of 1797, giving us a continuous run of baptisms at Whitburn from 1604 to 1812. These are the earliest existing baptisms at Whitburn.
• 209 burials and 79 marriages covering 1798-1812

Sample burials:

• 8 Jul 1798 Richard Coulter, age: 51, corporal in the Surry Militia, died 6 Jul, apoplexy, dropped down suddenly when relieving the guard at the Battery
• 28 May 1811 Mary Shotton late Welsh, age: 57, died 25 May, wife of James Shotton, labourer, native of Warkworth, daughter of John Welsh (farmer, native of Cleadon), decay of nature
• 24 Dec 1812 William Bearpark, age: 1 yr 10 months, died 23 Dec, son of Francis Bearpark (tailor, of Whitburn) & Elizabeth late Hinde (daughter of William Hinde, of Darlington), scarlet fever

Sample marriages:

• 14 Aug 1798 Nicholas Mallett (bachelor, of the Surry Militia) married Mary Anderson (spinster)
  Witnesses: William Mallett, Charlott Carter
• 6 Dec 1812 Atkinson Hogg (widower), of the parish of Boldon married Jane Tate (spinster), of this parish
  Witnesses: John Paxton, William Lainge, David McQueen

The mother’s name appears in most baptisms from June 1668 to July 1721, and again from Sep 1790 onwards. Between 1722 and mid-1790, the mother’s name appears only occasionally. Before June 1668, mothers are named in chunks, perhaps dependent on the whim of who was serving as parish clerk. For example, mothers are named in most baptisms from July 1660-Feb 1662, not named Mar 1662-Apr 1663, named July 1663 to 1 Apr 1666, then not named until June 1668. Similar patterns occur between 1638 and 1660. Mother naming is surprisingly good for 1611-1638.

Sample baptisms:

• 13 Mar 1611 Isabell & Grace Roxsbye, daughters of John & Jane Roxsbye
• 6 Jul 1634 Elizabeth & Elinor Watson, twin daughters of Richard & Margeret Watson
• 22 Sep 1660 Issable Johnson, daughter of Robert & Ellinner Johnson
• 16 Feb 1720 Sarah Sadler, daughter of Cuthbert & Sarah Sadler
• 9 Aug 1741 Elizabeth Rimpey, daughter of William Rimpey
• 8 Jan 1758 Joseph Bearpark, son of Francis Bearpark
• 6 Mar 1774 Anne Hall, natural daughter of Hannah Hall
• 31 Mar 1782 Elizabeth Reay, daughter of Jonathan Reay (fisherman)
• 3 Feb 1788 William Noble, of Cleadon, born 5 Oct 1787, son of Thomas Noble
• 2 Jan 1791 Robert Cloughton, son of Robert & Susanna Cloughton
• 10 Nov 1797 Hedworth Williamson, born 1 Nov 1797, son of Sir Hedworth (Baronet) & Maria Williamson

As you can see, most baptisms in this period do not mention the father’s occupation, and abodes are only rarely mentioned (probably only when the parents lived somewhere other than Whitburn). The abodes that are mentioned are Biddick House, Cleadon, Fulwell, Sunnyside, the Laws, and Monkwearmouth.

12,021 burials at Gateshead East Cemetery, covering 1885-1892.

Because these are municipal cemetery records, not church burial records, they present many more genealogically useful details. 99% of these records give either an occupation, a parent or husband’s name, or information about how the person died. Some samples:

• 4 Jan 1885 William Ely, of Queen’s Head Inn, Cullercoats, Tynemouth, age: 51, innkeeper
• 21 Jul 1887 Susannah Hutchinson, of Charles Street, age: 61, wife of William Hutchinson
• 16 Oct 1888 Ethel P. Lamberton, of 9 Regent Street, age: 1 month, daughter of Alexander Lamberton
• 27 Aug 1891 John Thomas Elliott, of 26 Melbourne Street, age: 36, engineer, killed by jumping over High Level Bridge
• 28 Dec 1892 Margaret Browell, of 30 Chandless Street, age: 72, widow of George Browell
• 30 Dec 1891 Thomas H. Carlen, of 11 Eaton Street, Teams, age: 15, son of Bernard Carlen, suffocated to death in the Gateshead Theatre Accident
  [Note: Nine children and one adult died in the ensuing panic when a false fire alarm was given during a pantomime performance at Gateshead's Theatre Royal on Boxing Day 1891.]

Besides many street addresses in Gateshead, residences mentioned include Abbot Schools, Bensham, Bottle Bank, Bowl Alley Bank, Busy Burn Quay, Carr’s Hill, Cumberland Street Mission Room, Deptford House, Felling, Felling Gate, Felling Shore, Friars Goose, Greengates, Haggie’s Ropery, Hawk’s Cottages, High Teams, Low Fell, Mount Greenwich, Mount Pleasant, New Gateshead, Newcastle, New Gateshead, Old Engine, Old Fold, Quarryfield, Rabbit Banks, Redheugh, Salt Meadows, Saltwell Grove, Shipcote, South Shore, Swalwell, Teams, Tyne Main Colliery, Whickham, and Wind Mill Hills.

Did you know that Oakwellgate, Pipewellgate, Hillgate, and other ” -gates” in Gateshead, Darlington, and other places in County Durham were not gates guarding entrances to the city, but streets? “Gate” was an old word for street. Pipewellgate, before it was a street, was a township distinct from Gateshead, or Gateside as it is called in early documents. Here are some interesting sites on the origin of some Gateshead street names:

• Origins of some Gateshead street names
• A Short History of Gateshead, chapter 3
• Pipewellgate
• Pipewellgate at another site
• Oakwellgate
• Wikipedia article on English toponymy (study of place names)