1,269 baptisms at Hamsterley St. James in Auckland district, covering 1819-1856.

Residences mentioned besides Hamsterley include Bedburn, Brancepeth, Burnley Row, Butterknowle, Coldhurst, Coldsides, Copley & Copley Bent, Crane Row, Crook, Diddridge, Edge, Evenwood, Fitches, Folly, Haggerlees, Harthope Mill, Hedge Knowle, High Linburn or Lingburn, Hilltop, Hole Eel, Hoppyland, Kayslee (Kay’s Lea), Knave’s Mire, Lane House, Linburn or Lingburn, Littleburn, Marfine, Mayland, Middlestone, Morley, Newhall, Pennington, Podge Hole, Pooltree, Potters Cross, Rackwood Hill, Ravensford, Redgate Shield, Rootford (Redford), Rowntree, Rumby Hill, Shipley, Shull, Snape Gate, Softley, Southside, St. Helen Auckland, Stonechester, Wailesfield or Wales Field, Washbeck, Weather Hill, West Hoppyland, West Mayland, West Pits, Wham, Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, and Woodland.

Sample baptisms – a few have birth dates:

• 17 Jan 1819 Anthony Vasey, of Hamsterly, son of Joseph (cordwainer) & Martha Vasey
• 27 Jan 1824 Harriet Skelton, of Bedburn, born 18-May 1823, daughter of Samuel (forgeman) & Mary Skelton
• 15 Sep 1844 John Coulthard, of Hamsterley, born 21-Nov 1790, child of George (butcher) & Ann Coulthard
• 13 Apr 1856 Joseph Wilkinson, of Podge Hole, child of Hugh (farmer) & Phoebe Wilkinson

Baptisms of adults often contain information that pertains to the adult’s occupation and abode rather than the father’s. In the third baptism, note that John Coulthard was almost 54 years old when he was baptized. The 1841 census shows John, age 45 (which means 45-49 since ages were rounded down to the nearest 5 years in the 1841 census; he is really 50 if his birth date is accurate). He is a butcher, living at Hamsterley, so the occupation and abode probably refer to John rather than his father, although of course his father George might also have been a butcher living at Hamsterley.

2,925 baptisms at Washington Holy Trinity in Chester-le-Street district, from the beginning of the register in 1600 to the end of 1767.

These are from H.M. Wood’s transcript with some checking against the parish register, where Wood’s transcript was found to be accurate. No baptisms exist for 1606-1611, 1616, 1621-24, 1626-28, 1633, 1638, or 1641, and the earliest baptisms appear to have been copied from other documents and some dates are unclear. From Wood’s comments at the beginning of this transcript: “In consulting this register, it is necessary to observe that the entries during a long period, especially from 1603-1660, are transposed & interpolated; many of them have been traced over with fresh ink by a later hand and many of them are not original entries at all but copies from other documents now lost. Long lists of entries have evidently been made at one and the same time by the same hand, as if they were a compilation from an older register.”

These baptisms were all in Latin, so we have translated them to English, in most cases leaving the Latin and English forms of the names for you to see. Many dates were expressed as feast days or saint’s days, so the dates have been added in square brackets, and the pre-1752 Jan-Mar dates have been converted to the modern dating system (i.e. Jan 1633 following Dec 1633 becomes Jan 1634).  We have also annotated some place names in square brackets to help you understand where the place is in today’s terms. Abodes mentioned in this set include Barmston, Biddick, Biddick Burn, Cat Dean, Coxgreen, Great Usworth aka Magna Osworth, Houghton le Spring, High Farm House, Leam Spring House, Little Usworth aka Parva Osworth, the Mount, Mount Stables, North Biddick, New Houses, Offerton Haugh, Oxclose, Red Row, Springwell House, Washington, Washington Wood, Washington Windmill, Washington Woodside, Whitley Burn House, and Woodhouse.

Before Apr 1669, the only parent named in Washington baptisms was the father. The first mothers appear in April 1669 and appear fairly consistently until 1723, when they start disappearing and then appear only occasionally until July 1755, after which they appear in most baptisms to the end of 1758 and then disappear again, appearing in only a handful of baptisms in the 1759-1767 period. Abodes and father’s occupations start appearing in July 1729 and appear fairly consistently until 1737, when occupations become sporadic until mid-1767 when they become consistent again.

Examples:

• 15 Feb 1600 Barbara Harle, daughter of Thomoe [Thomas] Harle
• 14 Oct 1649 Agnes Margaret Macarre, daughter of Alex’r Macarre, Sun[day]
• [25] Apr 1669 Radolphus [Ralph] Bracke, son of Roberti & Annoe [Ann] Bracke, festo St Marci
• 29 Nov 1702 Joh’es [John] Galley, of Off[erton] Constab., son of Gulielmi [William] & Annoe [Ann] Galley
• 24 Aug 1726 George Brough, son of Robert & Dorothy Brough
• 8 Jun 1755 Ruth Steel, of Cat Dean, daughter of James Steel
• 9 Oct 1763 Abraham [Wylam/Hall], bastard child of Richard Wylam (jun’r, farmer) & Elizabeth Hall, by her Master
• 6 Sep 1767 Matthew Clavering, of N Bidd [North Biddick], son of Ralph Clavering (pit’n [pitman])

We now have baptisms at Washington from the beginning of 1600 to the end of 1847.

259 baptisms at Ryhope St. Paul in Sunderland district, to complement the set that went online earlier this week. Abodes mentioned besides Ryhope include Bishopwearmouth, Burdon and Old Burdon, Burdon West Houses, Colliery (Ryhope Colliery), Hendon Grange, Lechmere Field House, New Winning, Oxclose, Ryhope Grange, Ryhope Mill, Silksworth and Silksworth Moor, Thristley House, Tunstall, and Wall House.

About half of these include the mother’s maiden name – we could see no pattern in where the clerk included the mother’s maiden surnames and where he did not.

Some samples:

• 27 Oct 1850 Charles Bolton, of Old Burdon, son of Robert Bolton (farmer) & Mary Ann Sheraton
• 12 Jul 1851 Frank William Ritson, of Ryhope, born 5-Apr, son of Francis (captain of the ship John Ritson) & Jane Ritson
• 11 Apr 1855 Arthur Ritson, of Ryhope, son of Francis Ritson (captain of the ship John Ritson) & Jane Thompson

Note that the 1851 Ritson baptism includes the child’s birth date but not the mother’s maiden surname, and the 1855 Ritson baptism includes her maiden surname.

Added the missing chunk of Ryhope burials for 1855 (11 burials).

Added 209 witnesses to our existing 98 marriages at Heathery Cleugh in Weardale district from 1828 to mid-1837 when civil registration began. If you previously purchased a marriage at Heathery Cleugh in this period, you can see the additional information by clicking My Previous Orders and reviewing the marriage.

Sample:

• 5 Jan 1833 William Robinson, of Penrith, Cumberland married Mary Thompson, of the chapelry of Heathery Cleugh, parish of Stanhope, by licence
  Witnesses: George Thompson, Elizabeth Mary Thompson, Thomas Thompson

At Ryhope St. Paul in Sunderland district:

• 272 baptisms from the start of the register in August 1827 to the end of 1848, from the Bishop’s Transcript. We hope to have Ryhope baptisms for 1849-59 online next week.
• 1,790 burials covering 1828-1878. Of these, mid-1859 through 1878 are from the parish register and the rest are from the Bishop’s Transcript. We are temporarily missing 1855 (about a dozen burials) and we hope to get those online next week.

Ryhope chapel was built in 1826, the register starts in 1827, marriages were performed there starting in 1854, and Ryhope became its own parish in 1856. Abodes mentioned besides Ryhope include Bishopwearmouth, Burdon, Hendon, Monkwearmouth, Murton Colliery, New Winning, Outerdipe or Outer Deep Farm, Oxclose, Ryhope Colliery, Ryhope Grange, Ryhope Mill, Silksworth, the Spelter Works, Sunderland, Tunstall, and Tunstall Colliery.

The great thing about these baptisms is that, starting with 1828, the parish clerk recorded the mother’s maiden surname in most baptisms, and many baptisms have the child’s birth date as well. For example:

• 13 Apr 1828 Elizabeth Lazenby, of Ryhope, born 24-Mar, daughter of Edward Lazenby (shoemaker) & Elizabeth Lynn
• 28 Oct 1838 John George Robinson, of Burdon, born 23-Sep, son of Thomas Robinson (farmer) & Dinah Fairbridge
• 13 Jun 1847 Ann Isabella Grundon, of Ryhope Lane, daughter of Robert Grundon (farmer) & Ann Isabella late Surtees

After mid-1844, the incidence of mother’s maiden surnames drops off to about 25%.

Sample burials:

• 15 Jan 1828 John Dixon, age: not known, found drowned on the beach, belonging to the Brig, Charles, of Boston, a wreck
• 5 Mar 1839 Elizabeth Mallam, of Ryhope Grange, age: 59
• 4 Jul 1849 John Steadman, age: about 55 years, found dead in Tunstall Hope
• 21 Dec 1862 Cecilia Coulson, of 38 Railway Street, age: 30
• 22 Dec 1878 Clement Wilson, of Colliery Inn, Ryhope St., age: 30

From A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848):

“RYHOPE, a chapelry, in the parish of BishopWearmouth, union of Sunderland, N. division of Easington ward and of the county of Durham, 3 miles (S.) from Sunderland; containing 868 inhabitants, of whom 423 are in the township of Ryhope. The chapelry comprises the townships of Ryhope, Burdon, Silksworth, and Tunstal; the first contains 1570 acres of good arable and meadow land. The soil is generally of a light sandy nature, and very favourable for the production of rye, potatoes, and barley. The village, which is one of the pleasantest in the county, is situated on the verge of a fine tract of country, bordered by the ocean, and in the summer season is much frequented for the purpose of bathing. The road from Sunderland to Stockton passes through it, and the railway to Durham and Hartlepool skirts it on the south and east.”

Numerous pictures of old Ryhope can be seen here:

• http://www.east-durham.co.uk/ryhopesilksworth/index.html

Note the page numbers in a row at the bottom – there are 20 pages of pictures to view.

8,668 burials at South Shields St. Hilda, covering 1763-1797, from the Bishop’s Transcript except for Jan 1765-Mar 1765 and Mar 1768-Mar 1770, which are from the parish register, plus many others were checked against the parish register. Abodes are generally not mentioned, and there are no ages given in this period, but 72% of these burials provide a parent or spouse, and a few provide an occupation.

Sample burials:

• 4 May 1764 Hannah Dagnia, wife of Edward Dagnia
• 10 Sep 1769 James Coxon, fisherman
• 6 Aug 1778 John Hawkesfield [Hawkeswell], son of Anthony Hawkesfield [Hawkeswell]
  [Note: Although this is clearly Hawkesfield, there are other records for this family as Hawkeswell.]
• 18 Jun 1786 Isabel Humble, daughter of Peter Humble
• 1 Dec 1797 Mary Rockwood, wife of John Rockwood

We would not have thought the suffixes -field and -well would be interchangeable, but the Hawkeswell family in the example above has a couple of burials as Hawkesfield. We have also seen this interchangeability with the names Maxwell and Maxfield, with both being used within the same family. Some other odd interchangeable names include Hackworth and Hackforth, Smurthwaite and Smurfitt, Garthwaite and Garfoot, Beadnell and Beadland or Beadling, and Muschamps and Mushens.

We now have burials at South Shields St. Hilda for 1763-1797 and 1813-1855. We will be filling the 1798-1812 gap shortly.

As many of our customers are aware, our earliest transcriptions of Easington district baptisms were done without including the abode or father’s occupation, and the marriages lack witnesses. Obviously this information can be important, and when we get a few minutes of spare time, we add that missing information. We have just updated the baptisms at Dalton-le-Dale for 1813-1832 with the missing abodes and father’s occupations and corrected a few minor errors, and we have added the witnesses to the marriages for 1813-1838. If you previously purchased a baptism or marriage at Dalton-le-Dale in this period, you can see the additional information by clicking My Previous Orders and reviewing the baptism or marriage.

Here is a sample baptism before the update:

•     13 Feb 1820 William Procter, son of Richard & Elizabeth Procter

and after the update:

•     13 Feb 1820 William Procter, of Dalton Moor House, son of Richard (farmer) & Elizabeth Procter

Here is a sample marriage with witnesses:

• 12 Apr 1818 John Rickaby, of the parish of Easington married Judith Storey, of this parish, by licence
  Witnesses: Elizabeth Rickaby, Miles Storey, William Bulman

1,427 baptisms from the Shotley Bridge Primitive Methodist Circuit in Lanchester district, covering 1852-1862.

This circuit covered the northwest border of County Durham with Northumberland, running between Muggleswick in County Durham to Wylam in the parish Ovingham, Northumberland. Residences mentioned on both sides of the border include Andrew’s House, Annfield Plain, Bantling Castle, Barlow, Baston Burn, Benfieldside, Berry Edge, Blackhill, Bradley Cottages, Burnhope, Burnopfield, Burnopfield Colliery, Carr House, Castleside, Clow Dean, Colliery Dykes, Consett, Craghead, Crookhall, Cutlers Hall, David’s Town, Delight Colliery, Derwent Cottages, Dipton, Ebchester, Eltringham, Flint Hill, Fondly Fell, Gateshead, Greencroft, Greenside, Handon Hold, Havannah, Hedley (in Ovingham, Northumberland), High Thornley, Hill Top, Horsley (Ovingham), Kiphill, Knitsley, Kyo, Leadgate, Lintz Colliery, Maiden Law, Marley Hill, Medomsley, Mickley, Mickley Square (Ovingham), Mosswood, Muggleswick, Mount Pleasant (Bywell St Peter), Newcastle, Oakey’s Cottages, Ovingham, Oxhill, Parkins Villa or Perkinsville, Pontop, Prudhoe New Houses, Shield Row, Shotley Bridge, Shotley Grove, Snows Green, South Moor, South Tanfield Colliery, Spen and Spen Colliery, Spittle (Ovingham), Stanley and Stanley Colliery, Sunniside, Tanfield Lea, Tantobie, Twizel, Walbottle (NBL), Walker (Longbenton, NBL), West Pelton, West Stanley, White-le-Head, Woodside (Ryton), and Wylam (Ovingham).

Samples:

• 18 Apr 1853 Mary Jane Whitfield, of Wylam, born 11-Jan 1847, child of George (pitman) & Elizabeth Whitfield
• 10 Aug 1857 William Belwood Ridley, of Annfield Plain, child of William (coke burner) & Elizabeth Ridley
• 18 Sep 1862 Elizabeth Jane Stoker, of Leadgate, child of Rainton (coal miner) & Mary Stoker

1,431 burials at South Shields St. Hilda, filling a gap we had from 1816 through 1819. Most of these burials have streets in South Shields in the Abode column, but some are from Bishopwearmouth, East and West Holborn, Harton, Jarrow, Simonside, Temple Town, and Westoe. We now have South Shields St. Hilda’s burials from 1813 through 1855, and will shortly be adding many earlier burials.

Here are three centenarians:

• 28 Oct 1816 Mary Thompson, of Thrift Street, South Shields, age: 100
• 15 May 1817 Margaret Cundle, of Pilot Street, South Shields, age: 100
• 10 Aug 1818 Elizabeth Cutter, of Mill Dam, South Shields, age: 100