John Whitehurst, c 1790

[Deleted]

Hello everyone!

I'm looking for information about about John Whitehurst, born about 1780, and living in Appleby Magna. There was certainly a farmer and grazier of that name, married to a Mary Smith, and with several children - as can be seen in the 1841 census.

However, there was also a John Whitehurst (maybe the same one) born about the same time and living in Appleby Magna, married to an Elizabeth (no maiden name) and they had several children. This John and Elizabeth are ancestors of my wife.

I believe Elizabeth Whitehurst died in 1821 and the marriage between John and Mary was in 1831, so it's quite possible that it's the same John. However, I've not been able to confirm that, so I wonder if anyone can assist me with this please!

[Deleted]

If you haven't done already, do a search for Whitehurst in the Appleby History section, you'll find three articles with further information. Do another search within each article (Edit/ Find). John Whitehurst was a farmer at Upper Rectory farm SK325 087 and served as churchwarden at the time of church restoration 1827-29. There's a lead roof plaque from that time with his name on, now inside the church. Mary is almost certainly his second wife: a farmer needed a wife to look after the children and to manage the household.

[Deleted]

Thanks Richard, and my apologies for the long delay before replying.

[Deleted]

I'm still trying to sort out the Whitehursts of Appleby! Further to my original mailing, it does seem that the John Whitehurst who was married to Elizabeth were my wife's ancestors. With the availablity of the parish records online (a big thanks to those responsible!), I now believe that "my" John W was born around 1747 (not sure where) and died in Appleby in 1824 (and Elizabeth in 1821). He was therefore not the same John W who was married to Mary and who was Church Warden.
So now I have new questions: Was this second John the son of "my" John? If so, was "my" John also a farmer in the village? And is there any information that might help identify where "my" John and Elizabeth married (not in Appleby, it seems) and where they came from?

If there is anyone in the village who could check memorials etc I'd be very grateful. Otherwise, any pointers would be most welcome!

[Chris]

Paul -

There seems to be a reasonable possibility that the John who was church warden and was married to Mary Smith may well have been the son of your John Whitehurst.

In the Appleby Parish Registers there is a burial for a John Whitehurst in February 1844, aged 62. This would place him around the right age to be Mary's husband, based on the ages given in the 1841 census.

In the 1841 census he is shown as 55 years old, but in that census ages for adults were rounded down to the nearest 5, meaning he could have been anywhere between 55 and 60.

Buried in 1844, aged 62 would place his birth at about 1782.

I have found these records -

John Whitehurst baptised 1st January 1782 in Snelston Derbyshire, son of John and Elizabeth Whitehurst.

So a son for John and Elizabeth before they move to Appleby ?

Marriage - John Whitehurst and Elizabeth Coxon, Snelston, Derbyshire, March 8th 1781.

Also, there are no Whitehursts in the 1841 census for Snelston, so the family are not living in the village (because they had moved to Appleby ?).

[Chris]

Paul, some extra information -

The early Coxons have been a little easier to trace than the early Whitehursts.

The spelling of your ancestor Elizabeth's name seems to vary between Elizabeth and Elisabeth, so non-specific searches are best.

Elisabeth Coxon baptised 25/02/1761 in Snelston, Derbyshire.
(Baptism date matches with Appleby burial date - 1821, aged 60).

Daughter of John Coxon, born 1731 in Snelston and Elisabeth (unknown), married 06/03/1753 in Snelston.

Siblings - Edward (1753), Jane (1755), Mary (1758), Ann (1764) and Margaret (1768).

Elizabeth then married John Whitehurst in 1781, as in my previous post.

Note - the above information does seem to be a fairly good fit, but obviously (as in all research like this) cannot be guaranteed.

[Chris]

Paul - and finally .......

I have been trying to trace the earlier Whitehursts, without too much success. There are clues from the 1740-1780 era pointing towards the village of Dilhorne in Staffordshire, about 13 miles from Snelston in Derbyshire.

There are several families of Whitehursts living in Dilhorne at the time of the 1841 census, mainly involved in farming and mining. They are a family with a very long term association with the village, there are Whitehurts in the Dilhorne Parish Registers from 1564. There is a Whitehurst Lane in the village. It is the coal mining angle that becomes a little intriguing.

Wikipedia has the following quote about Dilhorne ....

"Coal mining became the village's main source of employment in the 19th Century as the local landowners became coalmasters. In particular the Whitehurst and Bamford families who became co-owners of several mining concerns, in particular the Dilhorne Colliery ......."

If it is the same Bamford family, they obviously did quite well for themselves in that area of Staffordshire (JCB etc.). Were the Whitehursts equally successful ? Did they put some of their money into farmland in Appleby ?

No way of knowing from my research - but could be a possibility.

Chris

[Deleted]

Many thanks Chris for this useful info!

I had already found some of the Dilhorne and Snelston records but wasn't totally sure they were relevant to my search. You've provided some helpful additional details so I'll keep digging to see if it's possible to somehow confirm the Dilhorne/Snelston connection.

[Deleted]

I'm returning to this discussion after a couple of years to add a bit of recently-found information in case it is of help to others. I have found the will of John Whitehurst (1847-1824) and, as I hoped, it gives a little more information about his children. They were:
John - living with his father (bequeathed £300)
Thomas - living at Battle Flats, Ibstock, Leics (£50)
Edward - Farmer, living at Snelston, Derbyshire (£250)
Ellen - living with father (£200)
Elizabeth - no information (£200)

With Edward living at Snelston, I'm feeling moderately confident that the John Whitehurst and Elizabeth Coxon who married in Snelston may indeed have been his parents. Also, I had previously been unable to confirm that the farmer John Whitehurst who was born about 1782 was a son of John Snr. The will certainly doesn't change that, but it makes it seem more likely.

I have not been able to find an Edward living in Snelston in any census, but there was one in Yeaveley in the 1841 and 1851. In the 1851 census he had children that were born in Snelston, whilst he appears as being born in Coton in the Elms.

I have also not found any census trace of Thomas in Ibstock - of course he may have died or left the county before 1841.