Christmas 2010

Here's a bit of research from Austria, recently published, which shows us that thinking about our ancestors can improve our own mental agility.

After a heavy session trying to dig material out of archives, I don't normally notice this effect! But I do know what they mean.  Genealogy is often suggested as a form of therapy on the continent.


I love that this research paper quotes Plutarch:

It is certainly desirable to be well descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. (Plutarch 46–120 AD)

Census 2011

2011 Census: 27 March 2011

Helping history take shape

For thousands of genealogists and amateur family historians, the census is helping to re-trace family connections through the ages.

The personal information shared at every census is kept confidential for 100 years. After that, it’s there for the public to explore and find out more about the life and times of their ancestors.

Have you ever ‘lost’ a member of the family, only to rediscover the connection (and perhaps other relatives now living) as you retrace your steps through family history? How thrilling it is to find a long lost name turn up on an old census return. And to see how the famous and infamous completed their census returns long ago.

The 2011 Census is using its online channels to bring professional and family historians together: through the 2011 Census Family History Facebook group and a dedicated family history section on the census website.

Taking part on 27 March 2011 is your chance to help future generations discover their past. By completing your census questionnaire you leave your mark on history. And maybe that’s something your friends and colleagues hadn’t thought about. So we hope you’ll encourage them to do their bit too.

OK. So what do you need to do?

Simply complete your census questionnaire. Every household will get one. All you need to do is answer a few questions about yourself and the people who share your household with you on census day. Everything you tell the census is in strictest confidence and will only be used to produce statistics. ONS will not share your personal information with anyone else.

You can complete your questionnaire online – or by post. But you must do it and get your questionnaire in as soon as possible after census day. (Of course you can also do both of those! Fill in the form online to satisfy the legal requirement, and then also fill out the paper form, and securely store it with your other family history documents, to give descendants a glimpse into their history.)

Present day census population statistics are mainly used to identify and understand the variety of needs for public services. They help local authorities, healthcare organisations and other census users to plan services around the needs of local people.

So the census needs everyone to take part in helping tomorrow take shape – and by doing that we help to shape history too.

For more information, visit www.census.gov.uk

Finding Cousins

I'd like to pass on information about a genealogy service which is easy & free. It may help you a great deal if you are researching your own family. Lost Cousins is the name - why not go & have a look?

It works by asking you to enter details of the census pages (e.g. the 1881 census of England & Wales) on which your ancestor appears.  Anyone who matches with you will be brought to your attention, so you can share research.

Currently LostCousins can only help people who had relatives (not necessarily direct ancestors) living in the US, Britain or Canada in 1880-81, or in England & Wales in 1841.
Also, latest additions are the 1911 census of Ireland, and of  England.

View the excellent free newsletter here.
It is free to join Lost Cousins, and seems to be a very good idea.


Another way of matching up with other researchers is Genes Reunited (small fee), and an interesting one which matches up folk looking at the same geographical area is Ancestral Atlas.  Do let me know if you give them a go - what do you think?

Hallworth Beginnings

An Introduction, Index, and Links to Local History Resources.

This post is being completely rejigged, to make it easier to read - talk to me if you can't find anything about which you'd like to know. Sorry if it's a bit confusing at first. Have a look at the Hallworth family tree; just scroll right down to the bottom of the website.

If you are searching for any of your ancestors born in the Cheshire / Lancashire area, you need look no further as I know of no link (yet!) to that large branch of Hallworths.

The very beginning of research into this branch of the family was to hunt out records on Grandad Harry Hallworth, who was born in the year 1900. This means that he should appear as a baby in the National Census returns of the year 1901, which were the latest then available. Family history had it that he was born in the Sockburn area, and sure enough he was found in the entry for that town, in 1901.

The details on that census return showed me that his father was born in Bedfordshire, so next I stepped back in time to the earlier census of the Bedfordshire area.

Famous Hallworths

 
Made with My Cool Signs.Net


Not that I'm claiming we are related to any of these folk, you understand! The links generally take you to a Wikipedia page on that person.

Albert Hallworth: General Secretary of ASLEF, 1956-1960.

Derek J. Hallworth: Director of TV shows such as Countdown, Mastermind.

Jon Hallworth: b. 1965, Goalie for Cardiff City FC.

Rodney Hallworth: Crime Reporter for Mail & Express Newspapers.

Lydia Hallworth: Claims she was a niece of General George Washington. She died in 1863, in Bedfordshire.

Hallworth Name Origins

There are huge variations in the spelling of the name Hallworth in the old records (almost as many as I get in each postal delivery!).
e.g. Hallworth, Halworth, Hallsworth, Haldsworth, Holworth, Holwith, Aldworth, Allworth etc.


Of course, the names were not really spelled 'incorrectly', but rather, spelling in those times was much more flexible & phonetic.
Spellings of names became more settled from the date 1837 when BMD registration began, though it was still rare for folks to write their own names.

Charles Hallworth: 1785-1853

Charles Hallworth SENIOR was born in 1785 in Pulloxhill, and you can read more about his parents & half-siblings here. His mother was the second wife of a dairyman, Thomas Hallworth, and she had 3 boys altogether.  Charles was the eldest, and his younger brother Philip was to become the publican at the Maulden pub, Dog & Badger (more on him here).  The third brother was named Jonathan, more on him as yet unwritten.


Thanks very much to the delightfully curious Charlotte for getting me started with this family! She found the first record that I couldn't find (because I was looking only for folk with the "correct" spelling, rather than an Alsworth as our Philip is entered).

The parish records quoted below are held on the IGI FamilySearch database. I've typed the names as they occur in the parish records' transcriptions. (Interesting info on Maulden's Wiki page about the church, St. Mary's.)
In 1810, on 17th December, in Maulden, Maria Pennyfather married Chas Halworth.

Their first child, Thomas Halworth was baptised on the 19th of April 1812, in Maulden. Our Philip Alsworth was next (8th May 1814), followed by Samuel Hallworth (baptised Jan 1816, died Feb 1816), Martha Hallsworth (Dec 1816 - a busy year), George Halworth (March 1819), Hannah Maria Hallworth (1821), Maria Taylor Hallworth (1823), Charles Hallworth (1825), Isaac Haleworth (1831).


You can read a little more about what may have been a 'disagreement' between the sons George and Thomas: here, and more about the sons George & Isaac as old millers: here. More on our ancestor, Philip Hallworth: here. And a little more below on some of the others, including speculation & some old documents about disputes over the will after Charles died.

Pennyfathers - a sweet name!
Maria Pennyfather was baptised in Maulden in 1784; born to parents Isaac Pennyfather & Martha Taylor, who married in Maulden in 1779. Maria died (aged ~85) in October 1871, and was buried at Pulloxhill St James church.

Some interesting material on Bedfordshire Archive (newer catalogue) for Pennyfather:

• William Breed. St. Luke Middx. to Maulden. Wm. Breed. In 1809, then unmarried and childless, hired as a yearly servant by Mr Pennefather of Maulden Mill at 3½gns. Served 1yr, Michelmas to Michelmas. (from BLARS PUAV 41/32; 23 Apr 1866)
• Isaac Pennyfather, a miller of Maulden in 1815.  Can write to sign his name. 
• Isaac Pennyfather (Surviving Trustees and Feoffees of the Charity lands in Maulden & Flitton) - named as one of those involved in setting up a charity for relief of the poor of Maulden. (from BLARS P31/25/43-4  21 August 1813)
• Certainly an old Maulden family - 1709 record of "Wm Pennyfather apprentice to Robt Quait, Maulden, Tailor." Also some shoemaker Pennyfathers are mentioned.
• The Bedfordshire Pollbook, dated 1784, shows us that Isaac Pennyfather was a voter living in Maulden.

Patti has the name recorded as Pennyfeather, and has found baptism records for the Pennyfeather male line going right back to John Pennyfeather born ~ 1558. The generations were found living in Millbrook, Maulden, then Clophill and finally Isaac Pennyfeather who was born in Flitton (in 1753, but he moved to run the Maulden Mill by 1815). Thanks for sharing!

In an 1822 License document for the nearby Maulden pub (Dog & Badger), run by Charles' brother Philip Hallworth, we can see that our Charles Hallworth was already a Miller of Maulden, and was confident enough in his finances to put up the surety of £30 for his brother's license.  {Note - I am making an assumption here, I can't be sure it's this Charles.  It could be another relative.}

The 1841 Census
In the 1841 census of Maulden we see a Miller, Charles Hallworth (55) living at Mill Lane. His wife is Maria, and also in the house are Martha (20), George (20), Hannah (20), Mary (20), Charles (15) and Isaac (9).  All of the household was born in Bedfordshire. {N.B. the ages aren't accurate as they were rounded to the nearest 5 in the 1841 census.}

His neighbour is a 25-year-old Miller, Thomas Hallworth and his wife Hannah - Charles' oldest son.
His other son Philip has already moved out by the year 1841 (see his page: here).

This Charles & Maria, then, are the parents of our Philip Hallworth (living in Toddington). I can be more certain of the link now that I have searched for a person in the area named Charles Alsworth who has a similar story - and found none. So that reassures me that Charles' name was simply recorded 'incorrectly' again {more on the name here}.


What happens next to Charles & Maria?
In the 1851 census, we find Charles Hallworth (66, born Pulloxhill) at Mill House, Maulden. He is described as a Miller and farmer of 40 acres (employing 3 men). His wife is Marria, aged 64 in 1851 was born in Maulden. Their sons George & Isaac remain in the household (Farm labourer and Miller).
Next to them (in Mill Lane) is still Thomas Hallworth, farmer of 30 acres.

So then - we could work out that Charles was born in around 1785, which means he would've been around 29 when his son Phillip was born. His wife Maria was born in 1787.
I had the death of a Charles Hallworth in the Ampthill area in either 1853 or 1862. In the 1861 census for Maulden I find Maria is a Retired Miller's widow, so now we can be sure - he was the man who died in 1853.

Thanks to Barbara for the tips and help here -
A will was made for Charles Senior in 1853 and proved on July 13th 1854 on the oaths of Thomas Hallworth and Charles Hallworth.  The estate's value was under £600, to be shared amongst his children after his wife's death.
According to the calculator on this page, then - it was worth about £41,500 in today's money. The estate seems to have caused some problems in the family - but not (presumably) until after their mother Maria had died, almost 20 years later. Value of the estate by then is not known. See below for details on this.

1861 census
At the Corn Mill, Maulden, Maria was a Retired Miller's widow (72), with her sons George (Cow Man) and Isaac (Miller). Also in the house is her grandson Charles R. Chandler (18, born Barton; Miller) {a familiar name from entries in Rowland Hallworth's post}.

• Charles' son Thomas & Hannah are still next door, at Water End. (Doing rather well - he's described as a Miller & Farmer of 76 acres, employing 3 men & 1 boy. Also have a Gentleman Lodger. In the 1851 Census, Thomas had 30 acres & his father had 40 acres - so Thomas seems to have taken on his late father's lands since 1853.)
• Charles' son Charles married Martha Ann (nee Lock, born in Biggleswade, married him in 1847) and living in Pulloxhill?  They had 4 children: Mary, Maria, Martha, Charles (unusual to see both those names, Maria & Mary!). In the 1911 census, Martha Ann was counted in Pulloxhill, aged 91, a widow living with her single daughter Mary (57, born Pulloxhill).  Martha had 4 children, but 2 of those had died by 1911.
• Charles' son Philip was farming at Toddington.
• Charles' daughter Hannah Maria Hallworth married William Chandler at Barton in the Clay, in 1841. They had 4 children (one of whom seems to be a Groom at his Uncle Thomas' place, though he was described as Servant, not nephew.).

1871 census
By now, the Maulden Mill is occupied instead by widower Thomas Hallworth (59, Farmer & Miller, born Maulden), with his daughter Hannah Hallworth (30, born Maulden) & nephew Willm Chandler (24).
(Thomas' wife Hannah had died in 1862.)

Maria is aged 84, living 'next door' at Water End with her sons George & Isaac, as well as 2 granddaughters Mary (20) & Maria (17) who were both born in Pulloxhill.


Maria Hallworth (Pennyfather) dies

Charles's wife Maria didn't appear in the next census. It appears she died (aged ~85) in October 1871 (just a few months after the Census), and was buried at Pulloxhill St James church.

According to her husband's will, the estate was not to be divided amongst his many children until after his wife's death.  One wonders how the considerable passage of time (1853-1871) affected the family.  Presumably the business upon which the estate was based (the mill & farm) either increased or decreased in value in the intervening years.  The Miller in that period - Thomas Hallworth & his family - would have had a difficult discussion with his siblings over who should get what. Particularly as he seems to have combined his father's farmlands with his own, and worked them for many years.

Certainly, the estate of Charles Hallworth Senior was still not settled by the end of 1873. An article here in the London Gazette of 1873 asks for interested parties (creditors) to come forward. It names the executors as Thomas & Charles Hallworth - two of his sons, as we already knew from our reading of his will of 1853. It tells us Charles Senior was a miller of Maulden who died on 8/12/1853.

The National Archives hold some papers about this issue, (notes about it here and I have a copy now) - and the date given is October 1873. The paper is an Administration Summons, in which Philip Hallworth has asked that he should have a part in his father's legacy. The executors (Philip's brothers Thomas & Charles) were summoned to appear at the Middlesex Chancery Court ("at half past 11 of the Clock in the forenoon" on Saturday the 8th of November, 1873) to explain why an order can't be made for Administration of their father's estate.

Next question - did they turn up? What was said?

What happened after that?
According to the Harrod's Trade Directory of 1876 Thomas Hallworth was a farmer & miller of Maulden. But, after only a short while as "Head Miller" he too died in 1877, leaving his mill to his younger son Arthur Charles.
Philip Hallworth died in 1880.

Thomas's son Arthur Charles was recorded as the Miller in Maulden in the 1881 Census, but soon passed the mill &/or farm onto one of his wider family, Samuel Brightman.  (See more on this from a notebook held at BLARS & reproduced on this Mills post: here. Ref. SF39/119 - 1882).

Isaac Hallworth died in 1894, aged 65. George had died in 1897, aged 78. Certainly the other sons were all dead by 1882.

Also not yet sure if the Mill or Farm did pass to their in-laws Samuel Brightman & so remain in the wider family after 1882, but a note from 1911 suggests the Mill is disused. It remained a Farm.



Maulden Local Information, Maps etc.
You can see some wonderful photos & read much more about the watermill at Maulden in this TrunkCalls post: here.
Photos of towns, villages, churches in Bedfordshire are here. Great shot of St Mary's church at Maulden: here.
Old photos of Bedfordshire: here, and a map also is there for 19th C Maulden. Alternatively try Cassini Maps.
If you use a modern OS map, you'll see that we are just a little East of the Millbrook Vehicle Testing Grounds.


Next, move on to read more about Charles' son Philip Hallworth, his grandson John Hallworth, and his great-grandson Charles Hallworth.

Hallworth Ruffians

Some of this material has already appeared on this blog - but much has been added to it this week.  The only folk I've come close to identifying have been the two Hallworth millers mentioned in the 1851 case; and Charles Hallworth mentioned in the 1827 case.

I've been able to find all the following details on Hallworths with a criminal record by searching online using the Bedford Archives Service (BLARS).  The text in each case is largely quoted from the archives, hence the strange language used.

Photos here from the Bedford Libraries of the Gaol & prisons of Bedford, and you can also read a great deal of information here about life in Bedford Gaol in the period to 1877

Dog & Badger, Maulden

DOG and BADGER
The pub named the Dog & Badger in Maulden was associated with the Hallworth family.
That's the Dog & Badger at 109 Clophill Rd/ Badger Hill, Maulden, Bedfordshire, whose website can be found here...

not the Dog & Gun (Saffron Walden), the Dog & Duck (Houghton Regis), the Dog in a Doublet (Biggleswade), or even the Dog & Donut (Luton)!

The brother of our direct ancestor (Charles Hallworth 1785-1853), Phillip Hallworth was the licensed victualler at the Dog & Badger pub in the year 1841. More details later on this: first let's learn about Philip.

Licensing the Victualler of the pubs in Maulden, 1820's

More can be read on this earlier post about our ancestors, Philip Hallworth and his nephew Jonathan Hallworth. They were publicans at the Dog & Badger of Maulden, Bedfordshire from 1822 until around 1864.

Here in this post, we have some more material for you about the licensees of this pub in Maulden, courtesy of some fascinating documents from the marvellous Bedfordshire Archives (BLARS).

Philip Hallworth: 1814-1880

Philip Hallworth was born in Maulden, Bedfordshire in 1814.
(Read more about his parents in this post: here.)

He married a lass from Flitton (baptised in Spring 1813) named Elizabeth Kitchener, in August 1833 in Flitton with Silsoe parish church - where his name was recorded as 'Holworth'.

Philip Hallworth's estate, 1880

Philip Hallworth was born in 1814, and died in 1880 and was buried in Ampthill, aged 66.
His wife Elizabeth Hallworth (nee Kitchener) died before 1890.

In documents seen so far, there is a mention of his will, but I've not found it yet.

It seems that it took a while to sort out the estate to please everyone! There are several documents about this period (1880-1881) in the ever-bountiful BLARS (collection ref SF/39/88/1-6), and thanks again to Barbara for the copies.

The papers refer particularly to the sale at Limersey Farm, Bedfordshire.

• The Limersey area gets a mention in this document all about Ampthill, it seems to neighbour the Maulden parish. "The grange of LYMBOTSEY or LIMERSEY, with its rich pasture lands, was in the possession of the Abbot of Warden by the end of the 12th century." Additionally, in BLARS there is a mention of a stock sale due to Thomas Negus leaving Limersey Farm at the earlier time of 1876 {BLARS ref SF39/77}.

so that would imply that Philip took up the Farm after the late Thomas Negus in 1876, moving from Long Lane Farm, Toddington where he had certainly been the farmer in 1871. 

• Also a more recent document - {BLARS ref PK2/3/1/17} for the sale of entire stock of Limbersey Lane Poultry Farm by Mr Monkhouse in 1940. 
• (Sept 1881, BLARS ref SF/39/88) Limersey {Farm}: Live and dead farm stock, and other goods, by direction of the executors of the late Mr Philip Hallworth - auctioneers catalogue. The numbers of animals don't sound large by today's standards. We can see that his widow, Elizabeth, is not going to stay at the farm - some household furniture is up for sale, so perhaps she is moving somewhere smaller. In the page from within the catalogue (this was the auctioneers' copy) you can see who bought what - some familiar names there.

Other items which went to John Hallworth in the auction were an Iron Pig Trough, 4 dozen churns, a barley chopper, shovel and scuttle.
Also various carts and a quantity of harnesses/tack, as well as a timber Gig house to put it all in.
I particularly enjoyed seeing the notes about some of the animals, as their names were noted.  John bought several sheep & cattle, a Bull (£13/5s.), and 3 horses named 'Gilbert' (£28/7s.) 'Bandy', and 'Diamond'.

George Hallworth also joined in at the auction - he bid for an Iron Plough (£1/5s), an Avery's weighing machine (£3) and a horse rake (£1).
The total amount raised in this Swaffield auction was £525/10s.

Again, I had to look up several of the terms used in this catalogue: a hogshead cask, box mangle, daisy rakes, and beetle & wedges.
But what on earth were the several "Milk Lead", or the marvellous Nine-tine scuffle (sounds like a dance?! I've heard of a scuffle-hoe...)?

A set of valuation notes about the farm also gives details about the crops in each field. North Farm has fields of Wheat, Peas, Barley, Beans, Mangolds, and 15 acres at Wood Close laid for Hay. South Farm has fields of Oats, Wheat, Barley, Beans and more laid for Hay. (A road cuts through the farm, East-West.)

(Talk to me if you would like to see all these documents.)

• (Sept 1881) Letter from Park Farm office in Woburn (The Duke of Bedford, landlord) states that Mrs. Hallworth is behind with her Lady Day Rent (by £63). They look to Swaffield auctioneers for payment of the rent out of the proceeds of the sale.

 

• (Sept 1881) Letter from the Town Clerk’s Office, Dunstable. "Mr George Baker of Toddington, a trustee under Philip Hallworth’s will, objects to the widow and his co-trustee intending ‘to buy in or withdraw from the sale certain portions of the effects to enable Mrs Hallworth to join the son of the deceased in another farm’ and will hold Swaffield {auctioneers} responsible for the sale of the whole." {I know that Philip's daughter Lucy married a gent named Baker. We also know from the Spring 1881 Census that Philip's son John was in Wokingham at Folly Farm, but 'out of business' - was he just arriving or leaving?}

• And on the reverse of that letter, here's another little note by Geo Baker: difficult to read this one, but I think I read, "I do hereby agree for W. Swaffield to pay ... John Hallworth the amount I owe ...". So has he changed his mind?  Or is this to pay for something quite separate?

• And after the sale is complete, John Hallworth writes to Swaffields to authorise them to pay the sums they have agreed to a Mr Geo. Baker and a Mr G. Hallworth {brother-in-law & brother}. Notably misses out the Duke (for the Lady Day Rent) - probably that was in another letter.  You'll see that he is still living at Folly Farm - it's dated 31/10/1881. {BLARS ref SF/39/88}

As I mentioned before, his wife Elizabeth Hallworth (nee Kitchener) died around 1886. Probate records from her will have been made available, and will appear soon.
Now you can read more about his son John Hallworth: here, and his daughter Lucy Baker here.

John Hallworth: born 1836

John Hallworth was the youngest child of Philip & Eliza Hallworth. He was baptised in 1836 at the church of Flitton-with-Silsoe, Bedfordshire.

The 1861 census reveals that John Hallworth (25, described here as born Toddington, Beds {South of Ampthill}) has moved out of his parent's house and settled with Eliza (29, Bucks). They lived in Little Mill House, Ampthill. They had a baby son Robert, and a live-in Nurse Maid. The Mill employed 2 men. This seems to be a time of prosperity for the family! Click here to read more about Eliza.

Searching for Eliza Hammond

We know a lot about Eliza Hallworth from the National Census, and we know that her marriage certificate confirms her maiden name was Hammond. Does anyone out there recognise her? Perhaps you’d be kind and post a comment to let me know?

By the way, if you've just read the post 'John Hallworth', then you already know about Eliza Hallworth - I have simply rewritten it here; this is a condensed version!
Apologies, several links have been lost, I will fix this ASAP.

Rowland Hallworth

Here, a little bit of an introduction to Rowland Hallworth, who is recorded as the brother of our John Hallworth & Lucy.
I am still trying to confirm that these people are all from the same family. If anyone out there can help here, do let me know!


Many Thanks to Evelyn of Quebec, and also to Charlotte for sharing their information.

Wills probate & estates for Hallworths

This post discusses some Wills probate & estates for Hallworth ancestors in Bedfordshire, and also in Berkshire.

Where possible, links to other posts are made, by which I hope to help you understand who each person was.

BEDFORDSHIRE
First to appear in the Probate records (via Ancestry) was Sarah Hallworth, who died in 1861, in Bedfordshire. Estate < £450. Her executors were James Brightman (husband to her niece) and Jonathan Hallworth (nephew, Dog & Badger landlord).

Charles Hallworth died in 1862. He was not of our direct line - he was the butcher and farmer in Pulloxhill. Estate <£2000. His widow was named Hannah.

Next we can see two entries for the will of our ancestor Philip Hallworth, in June 1880 and January 1881.  A note is seen in the margin that there were duplicate entries, though I can't explain why as yet. Perhaps it was due to the codicil.

He was the farmer at Long Lane Farm, Toddington, but the probate records tell us he was late of Maulden (they were at Limmersey Farm, and his wife was there in Spring 1881). He died at Maulden on 26th May 1880. His estate was under £1500.
Useful to read that his son John Hallworth was at Swallowfield, Berkshire in June 1880.


Then Elizabeth Hallworth in 1886. "Our" Elizabeth Hallworth was the wife of Philip Hallworth who had died in 1880, but was not this lady, who was described as a Spinster.
Estate £150, died in Ampthill.

BERKSHIRE
Our line of the family moved to Berkshire, and we do find a few entries filed under Berkshire from 1904.

John Hallworth, of Waltham-St-Lawrence, Berkshire died on 20th September, 1904.  His estate was just under £500.  The executors were baker Phillip Hallworth and coachman William Hallworth (his sons).

Phillip Hallworth, of the Post Office, Paley Street, White Waltham, Berkshire died in June 1917. He was a baker and his estate was £1720 12s 8d. His estate went to his widow Lucy Louisa Hallworth.

Mills in Bedfordshire

Where were the Farms and Mills at which the Hallworths worked?
Windmills or watermills??
Sorry if this post is still a bit rough round the edges.
So far, I only have specific info about a few mills in Bedfordshire (especially Maulden, Heath & Reach).
Get a sense of place about each town in Bedfordshire - start with the list here.

A number of general online sources for information on mills: Windmill World (and Watermills at Windmill World); The Mills Archive;
For more on Bedfordshire's Windmills, visit a Wiki page here.

Hallworth Elders & various Archives

A miscellaneous selection of various information about the Hallworths in Bedfordshire. Mainly bits which I can't fit in elsewhere, or just haven't moved yet.

Mentions of Hallworths in the Trade Directories of Bedfordshire

A site linked here is a useful online source to find ancestors in many local Directories (ye Olde Yellow Pages) from the 1800's. Here I've picked out entries for Hallworths in Bedfordshire.

Charles Hallworth: born 1864

Charles was born in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, 1864 when his parents John & Eliza Hallworth (read about them here) were millers.  He moved with them to Heath & Reach, Swallowfield, and then to Folly Farm, Wokingham - certainly he was living there at the age of 16 (1881).

Kate Shackleford - Senior and Junior

I know from the 1901 Census return mentioned in "Beginnings" that Harry's Mother was Kate, who was born in Middlesex, c.1867. Having spotted a possibility for Kate & Charles' marriage, (in Essex, West Ham, 1893 - we know the bride's maiden name was Shackleford), I searched earlier censuses for a Kate Shackleford.

Sockburn Hall

In the post 'Beginnings', I showed you the fruits of a trawl thru old Census returns.
In 1901, the 36-year-old Charles Hallworth had moved from Chepstow to Sockburn, and was living at "White Houses" with his wife Kate & 4 young children. He was working as a Domestic in his trade of Coachman.

Hallworths in 1911 - at Pepper Arden Hall

The 1911 Census of North Yorkshire has finally become available. We find the Hallworth family of Charles & Kate living in the Northallerton area, although Lilian is in the Bedale area.

Their address is given as Pepper Arden, East Cowton.

Cousin Peter

Here's an interesting connection. Found a posting on a genealogy forum - from a Peter Hallworth (linked here). Curiously, I was about to write to him; I'd just found him in the Phone Book! I had a tip-off that here was a cousin who might know a few things!

So Peter Hallworth is a cousin; another great-grandson of Charles Hallworth (who married Kate & lived in Sockburn). Peter's grandfather was Charles' son George Hallworth (christened Charles George). He was an older brother of our Harry (William). George lived in Stokesley and had a son Fred (who sadly died recently); who had a son Peter. So now we know where we are on the tree! Peter has generously sent this lovely image of the two brothers, and indeed he sent all the images in this post to me.

Brothers Charles George and William Hallworth. Courtesy of Peter Hallworth & The Stokesley Scene Collection.

Hallworth Photos

Further photographs from Peter Hallworth, which I promised in the previous posting. Oh, and did I mention he has a website about his super book on Stokesley local history?


Photo from 16th of February, 1918, of {Left to Right} Florry, George and Lilly Hallworth;

Charles Hallworth - Millers of Maulden

The material on this page now appears elsewhere on this blog.
Apologies for any inconvenience.

Try here for information about Charles Hallworth, or the Pennyfather family.
Try here for information about Mills in Bedfordshire.


Thankyou for your interest.

Cox family history

We know that Violet Cox was born in 1902 and married Harry Hallworth in September 1929, when she was 26 and he was 29. We also know that her parents were Ellen & Richard Cox, who had 3 children - May, Violet & Jack.

Famous Coxes

Here are some famous Cox - with links to a page on Wikipedia if relevant.

Alan Cox: Computer Programmer, co-developer of Linux

Carl Cox: International DJ

Courtney Cox: American Actress, eg. Friends

Jennings Cox: Mining Engineer & Inventor of the daiquiri

Terry Cox: British Drummer for eg. The Pentangle, Elton John, Charles Aznavour.

And Finally: Cox's Orange Pippins!! - named for the brewer & horticulturalist Richard Cox.

Tuthill family branch

Grandad Christopher Mead Tuthill's parents are remembered as William James Tuthill and Anna Mary (maiden name unknown, presumably Mead?).

In fact, I believe that Christopher's mother was named Hannah Mary, and that Mead was his maternal grandmother's name. If you want to find out more about Hannah and her family, go straight to this post.

The Tunstills of Fylingdales

The story begins with our grandfather Christopher Mead Tuthill (photo on right here taken in the 1970's with his wife Mary Bolton.

His father was William Tuthill, whose early years & ancestors are described on this other post.


In this post, I'm going to show you what little I know so far of Christopher's mother, Hannah Mary Tuthill (nee Tunstill).

Bolton Wanderings

In the beginning, we knew that Christopher Tuthill's wife, Mary Louisa was a daughter of John Smurthwaite Bolton and Louisa Bolton (maiden name Seton).
In this post I bring you results of my investigations about John Bolton, and then more about Louisa Seton in a later post.

More on John Bolton's parents

John Smurthwaite BOLTON, c.1917





It was rather difficult to find any details about John Bolton's ancestors, though when I knew the details on his 1898 marriage certificate, I could narrow the search down a little.

He and his young wife Louisa are found in the 1901 census return in Darlington, Co. Durham

Borrowdales of Barnard Castle

Back to Darlington!
While John Smurthwaite Bolton was away in Canada and serving in France, his wife Louisa (was Seton now Bolton) and three children were living in Darlington - so they will show up on the 1911 census when it becomes available. Not sure why he took the step of going to Canada, perhaps he had a family connection there, an offer of a good job? It was a long-term job...he arrived on the Canadian shores March 1911 and enlisted in 1916. Presumably, after his injuries in France (or when the war ended) he returned home to Darlington.

Next step of the search is to turn backwards now from John & Louisa - in order to find their parents. (Easiest and most surefire way would be to get the 1898 marriage certificate, but that's not nearly so interesting!)

Louisa Seton, Wood, Bolton

Going Further
Unlike with other branches of the family, there was only one choice in the 1881 database for this family - so I can be fairly certain that the young Louisa Seton I found in the 1881 Census is the right one. Further checks on full certificates would be good.

Following the discovery of these few details, I was able to go back in time through the National Census returns and piece together the following family history for Louisa's parents:

1911 Census Release

News of the release of the 1911 Census. See also a link here - I enjoyed the 'finds' at the bottom of the page.

Census returns are kept securely until they are 100 years old, to protect the privacy of the people named in them. The 1911 National Census data, however is being released slightly early (Why? - see this article from 2006) - with a column on infirmities blacked out until 2012. What a huge job the achivists have done to get this all online! Especially as this year's data has been stored in the form of the original handwritten sheets from each house, (rather than the enumerators' collated sheets).

North Yorkshire and Durham records have just come online - some details have been added into this blog - so do take a look before you search.

England & Wales Census data: Not all counties are available quite yet - Northumberland & Wales are yet to come online. The index can be searched for free at Find My Past, and images of the original documents can be viewed (pay-per-view).
Scottish Census data: In Scotland, the census data has protected more strongly, and so will only be released in 2011. Previous years - see here.
Irish Census data: can be searched at the National Archives, Dublin. See here.

If any cousins out there decide to go ahead & look further for some relatives (i.e. actually pay to view the whole image & data on a 1911 census return) then it would be very useful if you could share the results with the rest of the family through this blog. You can simply post a comment or send an email to me. That way we don't pay 1911-census-rip-off.com (as some are calling it!!) any more than we must. Actually I think the fee is quite fair - there has been a lot of work done here. Anyone who doesn't want to pay for lots of sheets can simply wait a few months/years; then it will be much cheaper, as was the case with the 1901 census. In my particular case, I'm going to wait until all the English counties become available, then I can better prioritise what I'd like to see in full, or decide to sit on my hands for a while!

Soapbox moment over...