Modified our earlier transcription of 2,258 baptisms at Robinson’s Lane Presbyterian Chapel in Sunderland covering 1727-1797.

Why? Our initial transcription of the register of the Presbyterian chapel in Robinson’s Lane, Sunderland, was taken from Herbert Maxwell Wood’s transcription of this register, which was done many years ago. In a few other parishes, we have found Wood’s transcripts to accurately reflect the register and be a reliable source, at least to start with. However, in this case, something went terribly wrong. Either Wood transcribed from another version of this register, or he decided, for unknown reasons, to include birth dates but not baptism dates for many entries, whereas the actual register we looked at generally includes both. Later, George Bell did a transcription of this register, which we used as a checking aid during our transcription of Wood’s register; oddly, Bell included baptism dates but not birth dates! We finally got tired of trying to untangle this mess and went back to the original register and looked at every entry and modified our transcript accordingly – and heavily. We did 1798-1825 last year, and have now finished 1727-1797. Most records acquired either a baptism date or a birth date, many gained an abode, some gained middle names, and many, many errors were corrected. We also found 17 additional records – eight of these were on a page in 1762 which had been lightly crossed out, but since the details were still visible, we decided to transcribe these baptisms, as they don’t appear to be recorded anywhere else and this may be the only record of these children’s births. We don’t know why they were crossed out – perhaps the baptisms didn’t happen, or they happened at another church. Anyway, it’s been a long, hard task, but at least now we have a more accurate transcription of this register, which is always our top goal.

If you purchased a record from Robinson’s Lane Presbyterian Chapel and the record has been modified, you will receive an amended record by email. If you were searching for families at this chapel, you might want to re-run a search for any missing folk, as the missing may turn up among the modified or new records in this set.

Most of the members of the Presbyterian congregation were of Scottish extraction, arriving in Sunderland as seamen, soldiers, shipwrights, etc. Some samples:

• 25 Dec 1749 William Marshall, of Hilton ferryboat Bishopwearmouth, born 15 Dec 1749, 1st son of George (farmer) & Margaret Marshall (widow of John Robison)
• 17 Mar 1797 William Osburn [Asburn], born 02 Mar 1797, son of David (Lowland Fencibles) & Ann Osburn [Asburn]
• 16 Nov 1783 Henry Whitehead, born 09 Nov 1783, son of William Whitehead (mariner, native of Dirleton in Scotland) & Alice Adamson (of Alnwick(?))
  [Note: entered on a blank page between 1784 and 1785 in a much later hand with the following comment: "The above Register taken from the Testimony of Hannah Macartney and Margaret Whitehead sister of the above Henry Whitehead".]

8,366 baptisms on the Bishop Auckland Wesleyan Methodist Circuit from November 1838 to March 1975.

This circuit covered a large area around Bishop Auckland. Residences mentioned include Auckland Park, the Batts, Beechburn, Billy Row, Binchester, Bishop Auckland, Black Boy, Bolam, Bowdon Close, Bracks Lodge and Cottage, Breckon Hill, Butterknowle, Byers Green, Canny Hill, Chilton and Little Chilton, Close House, Cockfield, Cockton Hill, Copley Bent, Coundon, Coundon Grange, Crook, Dial Stob Hill, East Thickley, Eldon, Eldon Lane, Escomb, Etherley (and Etherley Dene, Lane, and Moor), Evenwood, Evenwood Gate, Ferryhill, Firtree, Fylands Bridge, Gaunless Bank, Grahamsley, Grange Hill, Gurney Villa or Valley, Hamsterley, High Etherley, High Gordon, High Lands, Howdon, Hunwick Colliery, Lands, Lands Bank, Leasingthorne, Leeholme, London, Low Etherley, Low Gordon, Low Lands, Low One Farm, Low Spennymoor, Merrington, Middlesbrough, Middlestone, Middridge Colliery, Mount Pleasant, New Coundon, New Shildon, Newton Cap, North Beechburn or Bitchburn, Oaks, Old Shildon, Potter’s Cross, Raby House, Ramshaw, Redworth, Ricknall, Roddymoor, Seldom Seen, Shildon, Slack, South Church, Spennymoor, Spring Gardens, St. Andrew Auckland, St. Helen’s Auckland, Stones End, Sunnyside, Toad Pool, Todd Hills or Toddles, Toft Hill, Toronto, Tottenham, Town Head, Tudhoe Iron Works, Waterhouses, West Auckland, West Cornforth, West Mill, Westerton, Westerton Old Pit, Wheat Bottom, White-Lee or Whiteley Colliery, Whitworth Colliery, Willington, Witton le Wear, Witton Park, Witton Park Iron Works, Wolsingham, and Woodside.

Unlike Anglican baptisms, Methodist baptisms do not include the occupation of the father, but they do usually include the child’s birth date.

Samples:

• 12 Mar 1843 Dorothy Longstaff, of Bishop Auckland, daughter of Robert & Ann Longstaff, 5 years 4 months
• 1 Dec 1870 Edward Cleasby, of Coundon, born 6 Nov 1870, son of David & Sarah Cleasby
• 9 Mar 1901 Lilian May Temperley, of Frederick St., Bishop Auckland, born 16 May 1899, daughter of Nicholas & Sarah Temperley
• 23 Jan 1930 Hazel Linsley, of Lands Bank, born 30 Dec 1929, daughter of William & Mary Linsley

Replaced the index to marriage bonds in the years 1765-1769 with full details, so those 2,073 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.

Here are the oldest and youngest grooms in this set:

• 17 Jul 1767 John Featherston (gentleman, widower), age 70, of Sunderland obtained a licence to marry Margaret Tate, age 50, of Embleton, directed to Embleton
  Surety: George Robinson, schoolmaster, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
  [Note: married 19 Jul at Embleton.]
• 22 Nov 1768 George Trotter, age 17, of Midridge, Auckland St. Andrew, son of John Trotter (consents to the marriage), obtained a licence to marry Margaret Swinburn, age 24, of Midridge, directed to Auckland St. Andrew
  Surety: John Trotter, gentleman, of Midridge

and the oldest and youngest brides:

• 19 May 1766 Peter Cockram (yeoman, widower), age 60, of Whickham obtained a licence to marry Elizabeth Bell (widow), age 60, of Whickham, directed to Whickham
  Surety: John Wood, rope-maker, of Gateshead
  [Note: married 21 May at Whickham.]
• 3 Feb 1769 Robert Lee, age 21, of Haltwhistle, Northumberland obtained a licence to marry Ann Dixon, age 15, of Simonburn, Northumberland, directed to Simonburn
  Surety: William Dixon, of Warden, Northumberland is also her brother and consents to the marriage

Note that “age 21” generally 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 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.

Added 471 witnesses to 228 marriages at Jarrow St. Paul in South Shields district, covering 1816-1817 plus the first 3 months of 1818, and corrected a few minor errors.

Sample:

• 4 May 1816 George Huntley, of this parish married Anne Bell, of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: Robert Bell, Susan Bell

If you previously purchased a marriage at Jarrow in this period, you can now view the witnesses by clicking My Previous Orders and reviewing the marriage.

2,952 baptisms and 1,735 burials at Aycliffe St. Andrew in Darlington district, covering 1813-1877, from the Bishop’s Transcript with some checking against the original register.

Abodes mentioned include Alderson’s Hind House, Aycliffe, Aycliffe High House (and Moor, Moor House, and Vicarage), Barnard Castle, Berry Edge (Lanchester), Bishop Auckland, Blithman Pasture, Bradbury Mill, Brafferton, Brafferton High House and Mill, Burn House, Butterick, Clarence Cottages, Coatham Mundeville and Mill, Codling, Coldsides, Coundon, Crook, Danby Hill, Darlington, Dean Head, Durham, East Ketton, Escomb, Ferry Hill, Finkle or Finchale Cottages, Greatham, Grindon (Preston-le-Skerne), Harrowgate (Darlington), Haughton-le-Skerne, Haverton Hill, Heighington, Heworth (Preston-le-Skerne), High and Low Cope Law, Hill House, Horndale, Houghton le Side, Howdon, Howe Hill, Ketton, Ketton Hall and Lodge, Lea or Lee Hall, Little Ketton, Lovesome Hill, Low Cope Law, Low Field, Middlesbrough, Middridge, Moor Cottages, New House, New Shildon, Newtown or Newtown Ketton, North Aycliffe, Nunstainton, Ox Close (Preston), Preston-le-Skerne, Rickland or Ricknall or Ricknald Mill and Grange, Rye Close, Sadberge, Shildon, Sim-pasture or Simpasture, Sockburn, St. John’s Darlington, Stainton-le-Street, Stockton-on-Tees, Traveller’s Rest, Whinfield, Whitworth, Wood Farm, Woodham, and Woodham Burn.

Baptism samples:

• 1 Jan 1813 Anthony Craggs, of Aycliffe, son of William (carpenter) & Elizabeth Craggs
• 2 May 1823 Jane [Brecken/Robinson], of Aycliffe, daughter of Thomas Brecken (shopkeeper) & Mary Robinson (single woman)
• 10 Jul 1836 Elizabeth Boddy, of Ricknald, daughter of John (blacksmith) & Margaret Boddy
• 3 Apr 1847 Mary Ward, of How Hill, Preston le Skerne, daughter of Samuel (hind) & Mary Ward
• 6 Jul 1856 Harriet Rigglesworth [Wrigglesworth], of Brafferton, daughter of James (platelayer) & Ann Rigglesworth [Wrigglesworth]
• 23 Aug 1868 Joseph Hall Pallister, of Crook, son of Charles (blacksmith) & Hannah Pallister
• 7 Nov 1877 Elizabeth Alice Scott, of Heworth [Preston le Skerne], daughter of Robert (shepherd) & Elizabeth Scott

Burial samples:

• 12 Jan 1816 Alice Atkinson, of Brafferton, age: 97
• 11 Sep 1820 Ann Simpson, of Aycliffe, age: 101
• 28 Apr 1829 Jonathan Peacock, of Aycliffe, age: 52, died in prison at Durham
• 27 Oct 1835 Frances Hardinge, of Ketton House, age: 74
• 9 Aug 1847 Bridget Dearden, age: unknown, tramper -no settled abode
• 20 Mar 1869 George Robinson, of Aycliffe, age: 68, parish clerk for 50 years
• 23 Dec 1877 Ralph Hogg Croft, of Aycliffe, age: 74

Since we were in the register, we added the 525 witnesses to our 216 existing marriages at Aycliffe and made a few minor corrections.  A sample:

• 9 Jun 1814 Joseph Henry Bates, of Bakewell married Margaret Boazman, of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: Mary Boazman, Robert Ward
• 15 Dec 1827 Barnet Jefferson, of this parish married Christiana Jackson, of Kirklevington, Yorkshire, by banns
  Witnesses: George Harling, Margaret Jackson

79 burials at Monkwearmouth All Saints from the first burial in the register in May 1851 to the end of 1874. All Saints parish, comprising the townships of Monkwearmouth and Fulwell, was carved out of Monkwearmouth St. Peter in 1844 and the church of All Saints was built in 1849 to relieve the crowding at St. Peter’s church. In 1851, All Saints parish contained 3,509 people in 540 houses. Although no burial ground is visible today at All Saints, there must have been a small one, or people were buried in the church itself, as there was a Council Order to discontinue burials in All Saints church as of 13 September 1854 and in All Saints churchyard as of 1 May 1855, later extended to 1 Nov 1855. The All Saints register shows 10 burials before Mere Knolls cemetery opened at Fulwell in July 1856. After that, all burials at All  Saints were actually at Mere Knolls and are duplicated in the Mere Knolls register, with very few exceptions.

If you have an ancestor buried at All Saints, it is often worthwhile to obtain both the church burial and the cemetery burial entry. For example, the Mere Knolls cemetery register often provides parents for deceased children, spouses for deceased women, and occupations for deceased men. On the other hand, the All Saints register provides the death date (which is not in the Mere Knolls register) for over half of these burials, so both entries may provide useful information.

Samples:

• 7 Jun 1853 Eustace Dutton Kennicott, of Roker, age: 7 months, died 05 Jun
• 2 Sep 1871 Emma Ormandy Wake, of Ellen Place, Fulwell, age: 26, died 28 Aug

1,579 baptisms at Sunderland Holy Trinity covering 1818-1820, from the Bishop’s Transcript with some checking against the parish register. Abodes shown are mostly street names in Sunderland, plus Bishopwearmouth and Monkwearmouth, and a few from North Shields and Houghton-le-Spring.

The Sunderland registers are more valuable than many from this period because the clerk continued recording the mother’s maiden surname and the child’s birth date. Here are some samples:

• 11 Jan 1818 Charlotte Margaret Craggs, of Robinson’s Lane, born 29 Dec 1817, daughter of George Craggs (mariner) & Mary Ogle
• 17 Feb 1819 Isabella Bellamy [Bellarby], of Burleigh Street, born 12 Dec 1818, daughter of John Bellamy [Bellarby] (mariner) & Margaret Bell
• 15 Dec 1820 Charles Lamb Taylor, of George Street, born 12 Aug 1820, son of William Taylor (keelman) & Mary Johnson

In case you missed these last time we mentioned them, here are 3 interesting web sites on Sunderland history:

• Peter Searle’s Sunderland Website – lots of pages on Sunderland history, including some maps – fun to browse through
• Sunderland Ancestors – lots of old photos and stories about Sunderland, plus CDs for sale of the Raine’s Eye Plan, local history booklets, and other Sunderland info
• Sunderland Maritime Heritage – this site has a map of where the shipyards were pre-1900 and a little history on some of them – explore the Archive for more stories on ships and shipyards of Sunderland

2,180 baptisms at St. Nicholas in the city of Durham, covering 1740-1786. Most of these baptisms are pretty terse, like these:

• 4 Jan 1740 Mary Allinson, bastard daughter of Jane Allinson
• 14 Sep 1760 Ann Craven, daughter of Christopher Craven
• 9 Aug 1786 Catherine & Jane Wheatley, daughters of Henry & Jane Wheatley

but some have more useful or interesting details, like these:

• 30 Jun 1740 John Harvey, son of David (lately deceased) & Eleanor Harvey
• 12 Aug 1750 John Stout, son of William Stout (merchant)
• 14 Feb 1779 Ralph [Walton/Smith], bastard son of Ralph Walton & Isabella Smith, being her second bastard
• 23 Aug 1778 William [Henry] Cooper, son of Abraham Cooper, [followed by this note] January 10th 1807 – Abraham Cooper of the City of Durham, painter & glazier, maketh oath before me, Edward Davison, Minister, one of His Majesty’s Justices of the Peace, that the Christian name of his son entered under the name of William, baptized August 23rd 1778, was by mistake of the Register Clerk, written William instead of Henry – and that he was publicly Christened and Received into the Church by the aforesaid name of Henry – witness my hand this 10th day of January 1807.