Journal and - NDFHS | Northumberland and …

1 THE-J-0 URNAL OF , ,57 ManorPark,Concord,Washington,Tyne&wear,N E372BU. Allothercorrespondenceshouldbeaddressedt otheSecretary, ,38 ArcheryRise,Neville'sCress,Durham,Dill4L A. PLEASE alwaysincludestampsforreturnpostagewhenw riting(twoInternationalReplyCouponsfromo verseasmembers) 'sLibrarymaybeborrowedfrom,andshouldbere turnedto,theLibrarian, ,33 ArcheryRise,Neville'sCross,Durham, MIL YHIS TVol~4No3 ORYSO CIETYA pril1979 CONTENTSEDITORIAL62 SECRETARY'SJOTTINGS62 HOWFARBACKCANANCESTORSBETRACED? "INKINTHEFAMILY" Theresponsetotherequestforsuitableitemsf ortheJournal,madeinthelastissue,hasbeens uchas to fillthepresenteditioncomfortably-and,iny ourEditor'sopinion,withsomeverysuitablem aterialindeed However,memberswillnoticealackoftheusual reportsofmeetingsthistime. bereportedintheformofaJournalarticle,and onotheroccasionsnotespromisedby thespeakerhavenotbeenproduced. Foronerecentmeetingthespeakerhimselfdidn otappear,butthememberspresentdidsaytheye njoyedthediscussionwhichtookplaceinstead asmuchas(ordidIevenhear"morethan"?)

2 Theywouldhavethespeaker: OurmeetingforFebruaryatwhichDrCampbellsp okeontheHighlandClearanceswasamoststimul atingone Itwasattendedalsobymembersofthelocalbran choftheHighlandAssociationandtheideasofe achgroupseemedtostimulatethemindsoftheot hertoproduceoneoftheliveliestdiscussions wehavehadforalongtime. SubjectsairedrangedfromtheDisruptionofth eScotsKirkinthe1840s(evolution?)toScotti shpoliticoofthe1970s(devolution)by wayofKarlMarxandDasKapital(revolution). Thismaynotsoundasifithadmuchtodowithfami lyhistory,butinfactitwasallfoundhighlyre levantbythosepresent!Ifyoulivenearenough ,whynotattendameeting? Thereareusuallysomethirtytofourtymembers presentandmanyausefulpieceofinformationh asbeenreceivedisthediscussionswhichtakep laceatthen,theinformal"chattingsession"a ftertheformalbusinessisoverfrequent-ly beingthemostappreciatedpartoftheevening. WhynotmakeaspecialefforttocometotheAGMin May?

3 Whoknows-younayfindyourselfinstalledason eofourOfficersforthecomingyear(perhapsov enasEditor!).Suitablematerialisstillneed edforfutureissuesandnewmembers,inparticu lar(thoughnotforgettingtheolderones!),ar erequestedtowriteupalltheyknowabouttheir families-andwheretheyarestuck-sothatwe canseewhattherestofthemembershipcanaddto ' heldatNewcastleYMCA,EllisonPlace,Newcast le,onWednesday,16thMay. Anynominationsforofficers,or formembershipoftheCommittee,shouldbemade to me assoonaspossible,withaproposerandseconde r. ,whatweshouldbedoing,etc. Newideasarealwayswelcome!Newermembersmig htliketonotethatpreviousissuesoftheJourn alarestillavailable, ,fromme. , ,don'tdelay. TherearealsoaveryfewcopiesoftheDirectory ofMembers'Interests(coveringthefirst400m embersoftheSociety) time. Alltheinformationourparentspassedontouss eemedtoindicatethatourforebearswereofnog reatsocialstanding,infactpovertyseemedto 'sfamilyofWhiteheadwedidhaveabetterstart .

4 Thisweowedtoourgreat-great-grandfather,C harlesWhitehead(1782-1853)whohadcompiled shortlybeforehediedabriefhistoryofhisfam ily. Theopeningparagraphreadsasfollows:-Inthe beginningoftheyear1800whenCharlesWhitehe adresidedatNetherMillofCowdenhewasoftena thisgrandmothersandhadmanylongconversati onswithheraboutthegenealogyoftheWhitehea ds. Asshehadhadagoodeducationandhadmadegoodu seof itandalthoughadvancedinyearshermemoryhad notintheleastfailedshealsowasabletorepea toldhistoriescorrectlyandItooknotesatthe timewhichafterwardsIderivedagreatbenefit fromwhenIcommencedselectingtheundoubtedf actsanddocumentsallinwriting. Inextinformedmyparentsofwhatshetoldmeand whichtheyconsideredtoberightfromwhatthey hadformerlylearnedfromdifferentquartersa ndtheylikewisestatedthatabouttheyear1770 AlexanderFrazer,Sherriff' ,alltoocommonanexperienceitseems,wehadac ontinuousrecordofthefamilybacktothebirth ofCharlesWhitehead' ,however, Itwouldbegreattotracethemafter200years!

5 AccordingtoCharlesWhitehead'saccount,his grandfatherrentedafarmcalledChiplea(?Shi pley)nearAlnwick, , Oneofthesons,NicholasWhitehead,bornin174 1,wenttoScotlandandrentedalimeworksnearD unbarandin1768marriedMarionMason,daughte rofJohnMasonandKatherineBowden(orCowdeno rColdon)ofCrumblehaugh(orCrumbleHa'orCro mwellHall)intheparishofOldhamstocks,East Lothian,andhadafamilyofsevensonsandsixda ughters. ,especiallythoseoftheseventeenthandeight eenthcenturies, ' '. He wasabletotraceacopyandborrowitfromaunive rsitylibrary. (muchfullerthanhereinbothCharlesWhitehea d'saccountandinthebook)gaveustheconfiden cethatwehadtherightfamilyandinspiteofthe lossofdocumentsCharlesWhitehead' ,ofcourse,someonewiththenecessaryknowled geandskillscanagaincometoouraid!However, themostexcitingpartof ''Durham' ..BarbaraLawsonofUsworthGeorgeWhiteheadM ary..ofBoulmerNicholasWhitehead= . ,SherriffofNorthumberlandin1472,whomarri edIsobelOgle, 'sExtinctPeeragewefindthatthroughtheOgle familyweare13thcousinstothepresentDukeof Portlandandconnectedwithnumerousotherexa ltedpersonages!

6 , ,RogerdeWoderington,born1427,marriedEliz abethGreyofHetonandtheOglesalsomarriedin tothesamefamilysobytworouteswecannowtrac ebloodrelationshipwithHenryIII,Williamth eConqueror,EthelredtheUnready, ! :-EthelredtheUnready,thesonofEdgar,theso nofKingEdmundI,thesonofKingEdward'theEld er',thesonofKingAlfred, AndEthelwalfwasthesonofEgburt,thesonofEa lhund,thesonofEafa,thesonofEoppa,thesono fIngild. ThisIngildwasthebrotherofIne,KingoftheWe stSaxons,whoheldtheKingdomfor37yearsanda fterwardswentto ' CenredwasthesonofCeolwold,thesonofCutha, thesonofCuthwine,thesonofCeawlin,thesono fCynric,thesonofCreoda,thesonofCedric. CedricwasthesonofElesa,thesonofElsa,thes onofGewis,thesonof Wig,thesonofFreawine,thesonof Freothgar,thesonofBrand,thesonofBaldeg,t hesonofWodin,thesonofFrealaf,thesonofFin n,thesonofGodwulf,thesonofGoat,thesonofT etwa,thesonofBeaw,thesonofSceldwa,theson ofHeremond,thesonofItermon,thesonofBathr a,thesonofHwala,thesonofBedwig,thesonofS ceaf,thesonofNoahwhowasborninNoah' ,Enos,Cainan,Mahaleel,Jared,Enoch, IfyoudonotbelieveinAdamandEveofcourse,it istoobad,butnogenealo-gistcantraceyouran cestrybackto anamoebasincetheydidnotkeepmuchinthewayo frecords!

7 ThelonggenealogyofEthelwulfintheAnglo-Sa xonChronicleissupposedtobehistoricallyac curateasfarbackasCedric, "I'mstuck!",acrythatcanbeechoedby manygenealogists;due,perhaps,tothatelusi vebaptismormarriageentry, ,theymayservetobemosthelp-fulinthelongte rm,byforcingresearchintounexpectedandoft enveryinterestingavenues, ,BenjaminPerry( ),livedforapproximatelyfortyyearsofhisli feintheNorthumberlandvillageofRothbury,w hereheworkedinitiallyasacordwainer,andth enlaterasavictuallerofthe'RiflemanInn'. Benjaminandhiswife,Rachel,hadninechildre neachofwhomwasbaptisedattheparishchurch. Thelengthyentriesinthebap-tismregisterar eofamosthelpfulnaturetoagenealogist;fore xample:-December21st,1806:ElizabethPerry ofRothbury,bornOctober29th,thirddaughter ofBenjamin,cordwainer,nativeofAlnwick,by hiswifeRachel,daughterofJohnTodd, ,Benjamin'snameisabsentfromthebaptismrec ordsofeverydenominationinAlnwick,andthes urroundingarea.

8 Furthermore,apprentice-shiprecords,direc tories,andtheAlnwickFreemen'sGuildrecord snotonlyfailedtomentionBenjamin,butalsof ailedtorevealanyPerryintheareawhocouldha vebeenarelative. Itwasatthisstagethatbyre-tracingsteps,an dexaminingthefactsalreadygatheredaboutBe njamin'sdescendants,anotherlineof 'attack'wasdiscovered."Printer","Bookpri nter"and"Compositor" 'sHouse,London. Printingwasobviouslyaskillthatwasmuchind emandduringthemid-nineteenthcentury; indeeditwasthecallingwhichcausedonebranc hof thefamilytomovesuchagreatdistanceinsosho rtatime. Benjamin'syoungestson,WilliamToddPerry,w asborninRothburyin1823;bythetimehewasmar riedinTynemouthin1845hewasabook-printer. AyearlaterhewasworkingatWortleynearLeeds , Theearly1860sfoundthefamilywellestablish edinStratford,Essex,wherebothWilliamTodd Perryandhissonwereemployedasprinters. TheiremployersweretheGreatEasternRailway Company,whohadaprintingworksatStratford.

9 Althoughthestorywasinteresting,itwasnotu ntilthedifficultyinlocatingBenjaminoccur red,thatanyconsiderationwasgiventoquesti onssuchas"WherewasWilliamtrained?",or"Wa sprintingafamilytradition?". ;biographicallistshavebeenproduced,andth eseareofvaluetothefamilyhistorian. Onevolume,publishedin1975,provedveryhelp fulregardingthePerrys-"TheBookTradeinNor thum-berlandandDurhamto1860" Thisisabiographicaldictionaryofpersonswh owereengagedintheprinting,engraving,publ ishingandsaleofbooksandothermaterials. ThebookisthefruitofworkundertakenbytheHi storyoftheBookTradegroup,whosechairman ,whoregisteredaprintingpressinFebruary18 03,andwhoforashorttimewasinpartnershipwi thWilliamDavison. Oneofthemainreasonswhysuchlistsofprinter scanbecompiledforthisperiodisthattheSedi tiousSocietiesAct1799,commonlycalledthe" GagAct",requiredeverypersonwithapresstor egisterthefactwiththeclerkofthepeace. Furthermore,thestatuterequiredthenameand addressoftheprintertobeattachedtoeachpie ceofworkprinted.

10 "GagAct"succeededinrestrictingpublicatio noftreasonablematerialisamatterofdebate, ;thereforeIwasabletoobtainaphotocopyofth eregistrationsubmittedbyJosephPerry. Thedocumentitself,probablydrawnbyasolici tor,consistsoflittlemorethantheformalwor dsofregistration,thenameoftheprinter,and hisaddress,inthiscase"Alnwick".It issignedbytheprinter, JosephiscertainlyafamilyChristianname,an dtheprintingconnectionwouldappeartospeak foritself. How-ever,nothingisproved,anditisprovinga sdifficulttolocatetheoriginsofJoseph;nev ertheless,thereisatleastanothernametoloo kfor, :"DirectoryofPrintersandOthers-Londonand Vicinity,18001840", ,PrintingHistoricalSociety;and"Dictionar yofPrintersandBooksellerswhowereatworkin England,Scotland,andIreland,1726-1775",P lomer. Bothshouldbeavailablethroughtheinter-lib raryloanscheme, ,aframedpaintingofthefamilyArmstogetherw ithapedigreecharttellingusthatweoriginal lycamefromNorthumberlandandDurham,thatJo hnBaconwasNorthumberland' whenhecameupwithagreatpileofoldpapersand manuscripts.