The Braithwaite Genealogy Page

Part of the Jackson Family History

Alternative web address: www.hilarymaryjackson.co.uk/Braithwaite.htm

Updated 15 April 2012

Researching the Braithwaite family has proved interesting in that there seems to be quite a few people researching the same 'branches' as me.  Cousins and second cousins who have close connections with West Melton. 

My mother was Mary Alice Irene Hickling who was born in Rawmarsh, near Rotherham, Yorkshire, in 1902 (the Hickling Family website can be accessed by following the above link); she married my father, Albert Braithwaite, who was born  in West Melton, Rotherham on 27 June 1896 at 26 Winterwell Road.  They were introduced to each other by Great Aunt Emma Gash who had moved to 69 Winterwell Road when she married Herbert Simms. (Please see the Gash Family website - above, for further information.)

52 Kilnhurst Road was the home of Willie and Mary Hickling's, Irene's parents; Edith M Gash was my Mother's cousin and Norman Hickling was her brother.

Clicking on a photograph will give a larger, clearer image, press your 'BACK' button to return here.

Picture 1 was taken outside in the back yard of 52 Kilnhurst Road, Rawmarsh, the home of Mary and Willie Hickling - my mother and father's wedding group photograph.

Picture 2 - identifying the guests in picture 1 (see table below)

Picture 3 the bride and groom, this photograph was kindly sent to me by my newly found distant cousin Susan Principe who lives on Vancouver Island in Canada.

We can't identify everyone on the wedding group, so if anyone can fill in the blanks or know that we have wrongly identified someone, please use the email address at the bottom of the page.

Key to Picture 1:

I knew my father's father was called Josiah Braithwaite and that he had married Hannah Cupit.  Dad had told me that Hannah's mother, Annice Cupit, had been raped whilst working as housekeeper for a schoolmaster in Dronfield.  The Schoolmaster had paid her a sum of money to leave Dronfield.  I have not found anything yet to substantiate this. 

Dad went on to tell me about David McPhaden - he said that David was a collier who had come to board with them in Winterwell Road at West Melton.  Dad said that he spoke with a local accent, so did not originate from Scotland or Ireland.  He had been lodging at Great Houghton, near Barnsley working at Houghton Main, then at Wath Main Colliery.  He also added that David had then changed his name for some reason to 'David Johnson' - Dad said he did not know of any reason why this had happened.

David, according to dad, had become 'friendly' with his mother, and when Josiah died, they eventually married in 1918.  Dad emphasised that his Mother had been unhappy because Josiah was unfaithful and that David had comforted her.

At first, I could not  find a record of Hannah's marriage to David.  My cousin, Doris thought that they did not go through a marriage ceremony.  When the BMD index records became available on 1837 on line, I was able to locate my Grandmother Braithwaite's second marriage to David.

I knew that Josiah and Hannah had 11 children - Jim, Beattie, Annie, Billy, George, Harry, Edith, Albert, Gertie, Lucy and Effie.  My Father maintained that some of these children were David's.    However, his sister Lucy disputed this - she said they were all Josiah's children. 

My Great Aunt Emma, who had lived in Winterwell Road and had introduced my Mother and Father, was the source of Dad's story.  Other members of the family believed that only Lucy was David's child.

This was all I knew when I started to research the Braithwaite family tree.  I began by looking in the 1881 Census at Family Search and I found Josiah living with his brother Thomas in Brampton Bierlow (West Melton), near Rotherham -

1881 Census - Living at New Street, Brampton Bierlow, Yorkshire

* My Grandfather

Thomas Braithwaite had married Sarah Marsh registered in Wortley, in the December quarter of 1873 V9c page 366.  It was shortly after the 1881 Census, that Josiah Braithwaite married Hannah Cupit.

Josiah Braithwaite = Hannah Cupit

My paternal grandparents

Their Marriage Certificate shows -

Hannah's picture is on Photo Gallery 2.    The witnesses were Thomas, Josiah's brother and Ann Marsh may have been the sister of Thomas's wife, Sarah.

William Cupit = Annis Skevington

My Great Grandparents

After purchasing Josiah and Hannah's marriage certificate, I was then able to locate Hannah's Mother and Father's marriage on the BMD website and obtain their marriage certificate detailing -

for further information regarding the Cupit/Skevington connection please visit their page.

Josiah's birth certificate was the next to be obtained -

This contained a name which I had never heard connected with our family before - a Micklethwaite! I then searched the BMD website for Robert and Harriet's wedding and promptly sent off for the copy of the certificate.

Robert Braithwaite = Harriet Micklethwaite

My Great Grandparents

Robert and Harriet's wedding certificate revealed -

Robert and Harriet Braithwaite (nee Micklethwaite) lived in Green Moor, Hunshelf after they were married. Searching the 1841 Census for Witness, Mary Blackwell, I have found a 'Blackwell' family on the entry above the Micklethwaite family living in Greenmoor, the entry being headed by Francis Blackwell, 'Inn Keeper' - and there is a Mary Blackwell, but her age is shown as 7 years (she would have been 15 in 1849).  There was a Joshua Illingworth, age 13 living at Crane Moor. 

Alongside Harriet's father's name, it should state "deceased" as Benjamin died in 1848; unfortunately, I do not know if Cristopher was alive at this time.  I have obtained a death certificate for a Christopher Braithwaite, Farmer who died in 1844 whilst living at New George Street, Sheffield but I can't be certain whether this is Robert's father until I obtain more information - details found on this certificate and another possible candidate can be seen here

My research to find Cristopher and Robert Braithwaites' early life appears further down this page.

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Wanting to find out more about the Micklethwaite family, I typed "Micklethwaite" into the Google Search engine and eventually came across the Rootsweb Worldconnect Geology Project -

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com:80/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?includedb=bolsterstoneorig I then keyed in Harriet Micklethwaite into the search and found her almost straight away and also I found the Bolsterstone web site - http://www.bolsterstone.de

On this site I found information about two other people who were researching the Micklethwaite family.  One was a descendant of my father's sister Beatrice Braithwaite who married Charles Chapman.  Beatrice and Charles were Carl Chapman's grandparents.  Although Carl Chapman provided an email address, he has not responded to any of my efforts to contact him.  I have also found  Carl Chapman on a site connected to Nottinghamshire where he is researching the Cupit/Skevington branch of the family tree.  This time I found an address and posted a letter, containing my postal and email address.  However to date he has not responded.  I really did want to contact him because he has published his version of our family on the web and has mistakes regarding several of the families of the children of Josiah and Hannah and in particular he has quoted wrong information about my father, Albert Braithwaite.

I also contacted Connie Goldring who is also researching the Micklethwaites and Connie has been extremely helpful. 

Thanks to Connie, I now have quite considerable information on the Micklethwaite ancestors and on Benjamin Micklethwaite especially.  This information, can be found on the Micklethwaite Family page.

Included in the World Connect Project information was the birthplace of Robert Braithwaite, given as Hartwith, Yorkshire.  Looking on the Internet for Hartwith, I found a website with a link to Hartwith.  This looks like a page to bookmark as they have formed a Hartwith Heritage Group - details of this are shown below. 

I contacted the Hartwith Heritage Group and in their reply they included their website address -  http://www.hartwith.org.uk/ they also enquired about my interest in the area and offered their help.  This link is no longer working but there's a pdf document about their work on http://www.lhi.org.uk/docs/st_judes.pdf 

Incidentally I went on a residential holiday with Rawmarsh Haugh Road Secondary Modern School to Bewerley Park Camp School at Pateley Bridge when I was 12 in 1952.  The picture on the right is a copy of the post card showing the Camp School - this is taken from my booklet which was produced during my stay there.  The centre is quite close to where the Robert Braithwaite was born.  The School is still an active Outdoor Centre, their website can be accessed here -

 http://northyorks.outdoored.co.uk/bewerleypark/ unfortunately there is nothing now mentioned regarding the history of the school, but I did manage to obtain a booklet which contained photographs of courses held before the 1970's.  I have included some information about my experience at Bewerley Park on my School Days page.

Robert and Harriet Braithwaite's children were:

*My Grandfather

Looking through Penistone fiches at Barnsley Archives, I found the birth of Robert and Harriet's first child

The above baptism record shows Robert Braithwaite's occupation as Farmer, whereas on his marriage certificate it states "Farmer's man", but by 1851 he was described as "Labourer at Quarry" -

1851 Census

The Braithwaits (no 'e') shown as living at Wellhouse, Hunshelf -

See photographs below for picture of Wellhouse Farm and cottages on Hunshelf Bank.  Click here for a map showing this area - scroll down for the actual map but note the option of a much older map is not working. 

There were four families on the 1851 Census with the address Well House and on the next page was Joshua Illingworth - this was the name of the male witness at Robert and Harriet's' wedding.  Joshua was unmarried, born Thurgoland and living at Burton under Edge which is quite close to Well House on Hunshelf Bank, as can be seen on the above mentioned map; Joshua's occupation was 'Quarry labourer' and he was living with his brother William, who was also a labourer at the quarry.  Both brothers were probably workmates of Robert Braithwaite.  At this time there were several quarries being worked in the area.

1861 Census

The Brethwkaite's (another unique Ancestry.co.uk spelling!) shown as living in Greenmoor, Hunshelf -

Note Harwthwith = Hartwith                                                                         *My Grandfather

Robert and Harriet's sons, Joseph and Benjamin, died between these Census dates. 

Another Micklethwaite researcher, Andrew Shaw has found Joseph's burial in Bolsterstone St Mary's Churchyard, the date of burial was  10 Jan 1863, the place of death noted as Horner House - Joseph would have been 5 years old.  I have found the death of Benjamin in the FreeBMD lists, the death being registered at Wortley, during the March Quarter of 1865. 

1871 Census

The Braithwaites shown as living in Haywoods - close to Stocksbridge, just down the hill from Hunshelf

*My Grandfather

Jane Braithwaite married in 1873, a marriage being registered at Wortley in September, but to date I have only been able to speculate regarding a spouse for Jane.  she later married Joe Bancroft a shoe maker. See 1881 Cenus

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On a visit to Sheffield Archives, I found some original manuscripts of Joseph Kenworthy, the Stocksbridge historian  and included in one of his booklets was -

I wonder if they used the service?!  Joseph and Benjamin Braithwaite had died before this scheme was in place.

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The following photographs of Hunshelf and Green Moor were taken on a dull day in March 2005:

The above photos are of the Hunshelf area as it is today; where the Micklethwaite and Braithwaite Families lived and worked.

Photo No.1 shows Wellhouse Farm - Robert and Harriet Braithwaite were living at Wellhouse at the time of the 1851 Census.  This area is known as Hunshelf Bank.

Photo No.2 is taken from the drive of Wellhouse Cottage - showing Deepcar/Stocksbridge in the background.   Wellhouse Farm is just up the hill from Wellhouse Cottage - after talking to Phyllis Crossland, author of 'Echoing Hills' and 'Years of Grace', I believe that the Braithwaite family probably lived within the cluster of buildings around Wellhouse Cottage; these are clearly shown on the Alan Godfrey Old Ordnance Survey Map of Stocksbridge for the year 1903.  This was also where Benjamin Micklethwaite's second school was situated, his first school being just up the road at Burton under Edge.  Wellhouse in earlier times was called 'Gin House'.

Photo No.3 & 4 - Wellhouse Cottages; picture number 4, clearly shows Wellhouse Farmhouse in the top left corner of the photograph.

Photo No.5 - the stocks are still available in Hunshelf, not in their original position but moved to a prime spot on the main road near the pub.

Photo No.6 - this photograph shows a stone plaque which is in the wall in front of the old school at Greenmoor.  "This SCHOOL was BUILT BY SUBSCRIPTION 1836" is engraved on the stone.  That school was where my 2 x Great Grandfather Benjamin Micklethwaite lived and taught.  Read Benjamin's story   The Braithwaite children may have gone up the hill to this school or down the hill to Stocksbridge.

Photo No.7 and 8 shows two views of what was the second school building erected in 1879 but is now a residential property, I think divided into several dwellings.

Photo No.9 and 10 Above left are two photographs of The Rock at Greenmoor.  Connie Goldring remembers going to a pub at Hunshelf with her husband and her in-laws, and one saying that one of the relatives was the publican at some time.  The Rock is an old pub and presumably the Braithwaite or the Micklethwaite family could well have had a pint or two in there.  We visited The Rock in 2006, but unfortunately it was closed and did look unoccupied - not very good when you're hungry and thirsty!

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Below is the 1881 Census Entry for Robert and Harriet Braithwaite (but note the spelling)

Living at Fanshaw Road, Dronfield, Derbyshire - Dronfield is about seven miles from Hunshelf:

The above entry is Josiah's mother and father, my Great Grandparents; the spellings are different, but nevertheless this is the family in 1881.  Looking at the original census return though, I believe the age of Robert to be 57 as according to Carl Chapman's research, he was born about 1824 in Hartwith, the son of Cristopher Braithwaite - my Great, Great Grandfather.  It is hard to read with the digits 5 and 7 placed so close together. 

* I have received an email from Colin Briggs, who found this website while, as he wrote - "chasing my wife's ancestors".  Colin's wife's Great Grand Uncle was the Boarder, William James Smallbone, living with the Braithwaite's in Dronfield.  He was the brother of her Great Grandfather, Henry William King Smallbones who at this time lived on Mill Lane, Dronfield. 

Colin added that the Post Office Lane, mentioned in the following census entry for John Braithwaite and his family, cannot be found on Dronfield maps because it was a local temporary name for a section of Mill Lane where a post office was situated..  Colin and his wife are members of the Old Dronfield Society and they have carried out some research into the area around Mill Lane and the section named "Post Office Lane" in this and other Census records.

Also living in Dronfield on Post Office Lane were Robert and Harriet's eldest son John.  John had married Annie Silverwood, the marriage shown on BMD as being in the Dec. quarter of 1873.   Their 1881 Census entry shows:

The following entry shows Robert and Harriet's daughter Jane married to Joe Bancroft and living in Green Lane, Dronfield:

Visiting Stocksbridge Library I found a book "Steel Town Dronfield and Wilson Cammell 1873-1883" by John Austin and Malcolm Ford.  This book explains why some of the Braithwaite family moved from Hunshelf/Deepcar to Dronfield and subsequently to Workington.  The Dronfield steel rail making plant owned by Wilson Cammell was set up in March 1873 on Callywhite Lane, Dronfield and workers came from all over the country to work there, houses were built for these migrant workers, including Fanshaw Road where Robert and Harriet lived. 

The company flourished and were doing well even when there was a recession, but they were lured to close the Dronfield works and move "lock, stock and barrell" up to Workington.  The Braithwaite families living in Dronfield migrated with them up to Workington. 

According to the Dronfield Web:

For ten years the town enjoyed boom conditions. The population rapidly increased, new areas of housing were built and many shops were opened.

The coal and the steel industries both suffered a decline in the 1880s and by 1883 the rail making plant had been removed to Workington in Cumberland in an operation which astonished the commercial world.

The economic slump and the Wilson Cammel removal left Dronfield a stricken town with hundreds of empty houses and it was many years before there was a return to relative prosperity.

http://www.dronfield-jun.derbyshire.sch.uk/logbook.htm is a link to extracts from the school log book of Dronfield Junior School - this emphasises the devastating effect caused by the steelworks when they abandoned the town for Workington.

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I have been unable to trace Robert and Harriet after the 1881 Census and was working out how I could access the Dronfield Parish Registers to see if they had died, when I thought I'd check FREEBMD once more.  It does say on this site that updates are occurring all the time and this week (July 2005), I found both Robert and Harriet had died, not in South Yorkshire or Derbyshire but in Cumberland!  So I sent for their Death Certificates and repeat this information here:

and two years later Robert died:

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1891 Census

 My Grandparents - Living at 43 York Street, Brampton Bierlow, Rotherham, Yorkshire

               * this is David McPhaden under his assumed name! (Referred to by my father here.)

Please visit David McPhaden's Family Page for more information.

Hannah Braithwaite's mother, Annis Cupit, my Great Grandmother, died soon after the 1891 Census -

Column 7 - Betsy Bradley was a neighbour living next door at No 45 York Street.

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In 1891 Josiah's brother Thomas Braithwaite had moved back nearer to his birth place and was now living in the Parish of Bradfield at No. 7 Haywood Park, close to Stocksbridge, in Deepcar, just down the hill from Hunshelf.

* Robert Raynard Braithwaite - This states Robert Raymond on the transcription but looking at the Cenus schedule its definitely Raynard.                                                                                                                                             ** Sam Marsh was Sarah's brother

Jane and Joe Bancroft were at Manchester Road, Stocksbridge in 1891, but note that their two youngest children were born in Durham and Cumberland, so it looks as though they may also have migrated to Workington, but came back to live in Stocksbridge -

Robert and Harriet Braithwaite's younger children had moved from Dronfield up to Workington, Cumberland and were living at 18 Gray Street, St John's -

Robert and Harriet's son John and his family had also moved up to Workington and in 1891 were found at 16 Roper Terrace, Workington:

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Picture 1 - Schoolhouse at West Melton, with school just behind - my Father and his brothers and sisters could have gone to this school

Picture 2 - This is Winterwell Road - the houses unfortunately have been demolished.  Josiah and Hannah were here at the time of the 1901 Census.  I remember visiting my Auntie Beattie here with my Mother and Father when I was a girl.  York Street, where the family lived in 1891 is also gone, 'York Gardens' though is where York Street might have been.

Picture 3 - This is Princess Street - this street was especially built and paid for by local businesses to house new families coming from other areas to work in the collieries.  My Great Aunt Lucy and Uncle Charlie Simms lived here at the time of the 1901 Census. Information on the Simms Family page.

1901 Census

Josiah and Hannah had moved to 26 Winterwell Road, West Melton:

* My father - please follow the hyperlink to read about my father Albert Braithwaite in World War I.

In 1901, Josiah's brother Thomas was still living at No 7 Haywood Park, described now as Deepcar -

There is an entry which I think might be Thomas and Sarah's daughter Frances, living in Thurgoland at the home of widow Mary Raworth and her son Robert; Frances Braithwaite is described as being Mary's niece; looking back at other census records Mary's husband was Joseph Raworth and he was a Stone Cutter; they were shown in other records to be born Hunshelf. 

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Jane Bancroft (nee Braithwaite) by 1901 was a widow and living with her children, still on Manchester Road at Stocksbridge,

Joseph's death aged 40, in 1891 was registered at Wortley, July/Sept Quarter; Rosena was born Apr/June 1897 registered at Wortley - whose daughter is Rosena? 

Tragedy struck the family after the 1901 census, Jane's death was registered at Wortley in the July/Sept Quarter at the age of 47.

Missing from the above family is Sarah and Ruth - Sarah was in Stoke Newington working as a General Domestic servant

Ruth was a little closer to home in Normanton, Derbyshire, working as a Domestic Servant:

* I have received an email from a descendant of Willie Bancroft - Max Bancroft who lives in Sydney, Australia. Max has informed me that Willie left South Yorkshire to live in Scotland - Willie was Max's grandfather; Willie's son - Joe Bancroft, born 1928 was Max's father.

John and Annie Braithwaite had settled in Workington and were living at 325 Snapes Row:

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The Internet has proved to be a wonderful source for me, for instance, I typed "John Braithwaite" into the Google search engine and one of the items listed was the Guest Book of Jane Lach's Bolsterstone website.  There was an email dated 2002 from Elizabeth Nash, part of which I repeat below:

"Just found your site and am particularly interested in the descendents of Cristopher Braithwaite. I am the Great grandaughter of John Braithwaite and Annie Silverwood and have information of their children,  grandchildren etc." 

With this message was an email address, however this 'bounced' but I found a 'Nash' telephone number on the BT website and tried it.  And I found another distant cousin! 

Elizabeth's connection is John and Annie's daughter Clara, shown above in the 1901 Census, aged 17.  Clara married John Cartwright and they have four daughters, Thora, Ruth, Barbara and Clara.  Elizabeth's mother is Ruth and she kindly sent me the photographs shown above.

Picture 1: John and Annie Braithwaite nee Silverwood.  John was Robert and Harriet Braithwaite's eldest son.

Picture 2: John and Annie's daughter Clara with husband John Cartwright and daughters (from left: Thora, Ruth, Barbara and Clara. 

Elizabeth sent me more information regarding this 'branch' of our Braithwaite family:

John Braithwaite's birth was registered March quarter 1850 at Wortley; he married Annie Silverwood on 6 Oct 1873 in Penistone - both signed the register and their witnesses to their marriage were James Moorhouse and Ann Ayres; Their residence at the time of the marriage was given as Heywoods.  Annie's parents were Benjamin Silverwood and Annis Morton.  Their children were:

John Braithwaite died 23 June 1931 and was buried at Salterbeck Cemetery, Workington; and his wife Annie died in Workington on 24 August 1937.

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The 1901 Census record shows Robert and Harriet's son, Robert Raynard Braithwaite had moved to 4 Albert Street, St Michaels, in Workington  -

But no George! 

There was a death for a George Braithwaite on Free BMD in 1900, I sent for this and I'm 99% certain this is George:

I have contacted the Bereavement Services for the District of Workington, at Allerdale Borough Council.  They informed me that Harriet, Robert and George were buried at Harrington Road - they wrote:

"they are all buried in Harrington Road cemetery in council owned graves. Because the graves are not purchased they will not have headstones on them.

Robert Braithwaite was 67 years old when he died and is buried in section 10E grave number 32

Harriet Braithwaite was 61 years old when she died and is buried in section 10D grave number 55

George Braithwaite was 32 years old when he died and is buried in section 12B grave number 57"

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After the 1901 Census, Josiah and Hannah Braithwaite's family increased to 11 children:

*my Father                                       

I need to check the registers for the dates on my next visit to Doncaster Archives. 

Although I have since checked the Wath Parish Registers I have not been able to find the Braithwaite family as yet.  They may have been christened at West Melton or may be at a non-conformist church or chapel.

Please see photo galleries two and three for photographs of this branch of the Braithwaite family.

James Arthur Braithwaite married Martha Hellewell; their children were:

Beatrice Braithwaite married Charles Chapman

William Braithwaite married Sarah Sanderson

Annie Braithwaite married Arthur Hall in 1910 and their children were:

Annie and Arthur Hall died in the 1918 flue epidemic and Joseph and Joseph were 'adopted' by Annie's sister Lucy and her husband Walter Kenworthy.

George Braithwaite married Mary Hannah Beevers in 1915 and their children were:

Paul Hadfield married Len's daughter Anne Denise Braithwaite and informed me that George and his son Len were miners at Wath Main and Manvers; Len worked 49 years at Wath Main and lived mainly in Barnsley Road, West Melton.  Len who had moved to live closer to his daughter and son in law in Wakefield, sadly died in March 2008.

Harry Braithwaite married Martha Anne (surname might be Utley) and their only son:

Edith Ellen Braithwaite married William Stanley and their daughters were Renee, Ethel and Marion.

Albert Braithwaite married Mary Alice Irene Hickling on 26 December 1925 and their children were:

Gertrude Braithwaite married Reginald Clift Evans 9 February 1916 and their children were:

Lucy May Braithwaite married Walter Kenworthy in 1920 and their son was:

Ethel (Effie) Braithwaite married George Haywood on 28 February 1927 and their daughter was:

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The 1911 Census has been published early and I have found the family on the Household transcript living at 26 Winterwell Road, West Melton:

*My Dad.  There was extra information available in this Census, but not all is shown in the transcript - it does however state that Josiah and Hannah Braithwaite had been married for 29 years. 

Josiah's brother was still living at 7 Haywood Park, Deepcar and the transcript included the number of years Thomas and Sarah were married as 37 -

I then searched for Thomas and Sarah's son Robert and found that he was now married to Elizabeth and they were living in Stocksbridge at 26 Haywood Park, Deepcar and had been married for one year:

Free BMD has a marriage registered at Wortley in June 1909 for Robert Raynard Braithwaite and Elizabeth Illingworth

I was in Doncaster Local Studies Library trying to find the Jackson family in Carcroft in the 1918 electoral roll, when I found the following entry:

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Josiah died in 1914 - I obtained a copy of the death certificate - here are the details:

When Josiah died, it must have been assumed that Hannah would have married David McPhaden.  I eventually found their marriage whilst trawling through 1837online - Oct/Dec quarter 1917 Rotherham 9c 1430:

Please following this link for more information on Hannah and David McPhaden

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Visiting West Melton churchyard, I found the graves of Josiah and another grave some distance away which had a gravestone with David and Harriet McPhadens' burials recorded.

Picture 1 - Christchurch, West Melton - the graves of Josiah, Harriet and David McPhaden are to be found in the church graveyard here.

Picture 2 and 3 - The headstone of Josiah Braithwaite - this is one of several gravestones which have been moved to the edge of the churchyard - I remember my Father receiving notification that this was to happen, however, I can't remember the reason why they were moved.  Josiah's headstone reads "In loving memory of JOSIAH beloved husband of HANNAH BRAITHWAITE who died October 11th 1914".  The gravestone of Harriet and David can be seen by following the above link.

The index for Probate records are now on Ancestry.co.uk and this gives the following information for the wills in the name of McPhaden:

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Visiting North Yorkshire - searching for Christopher and Robert Braithwaite

Barry and I travelled North on 21 October 2004 in search of my Braithwaite ancestors.  We first of all visited Cundall, just off the A1 near Dishforth.  I took a few photographs of the village and the church.  Cristopher Braithwaite, who I believed was baptised at Cundall Church.  We looked round the churchyard examining the gravestones, but could not find any graves with Braithwaite names on except for one - Jane Braithwaite who died 7 July 1920 aged 74 years and her husband Thomas who died 22 July 1924 aged 83 years; with their son Edward Thomas aged 76 died 3 Oct 1948. 

These could of course be relatives of Cristopher Braithwaite - I had found a Cristopher Braithwaite born 1814, Cundall, Yorkshire on the Internet and made a note, but I cannot remember which website I found this information.  Robert was born about 1824, so this could not have been my 2 x Great Grandfather.

I had telephoned the North Yorkshire County Record Office at Northallerton and arranged an afternoon visit.  This Record Office holds the Parish Registers and Ecclesiastical records for Cundall and for Hartwith where according to Census information, Robert Braithwaite was born.  We arrived there earlier than anticipated so I spent three hours there going through the relevant microfilmed records.

The early records for Cundall were very hard to read, being very faint.  The index did show a surname of a Braithwaite born in 1818 but with no other information, so I searched on the microfilm for this entry.  I found that on page One of this series of entries dated 1813 to 1814 that there was some hand writing down the right hand margin of the almost empty page.  This read -

The Original Entries of which the Surnames alone are here copied are in a former Book, of Parchment, bound in Rough Calf; intermixed with entries of Burials.

The heading on page one revealed - "BAPTISMS folemnized in the Parifh of Cundall (alias Cundale) in the County of York in the years 1813 & 1814."

As already mentioned there was no entry for Braithwaite until Page 5 -

And in the right margin, written vertically was - "Surnames of Entries In a former Book."

I noticed that the Microfilm was from The Church of Latter Day Saints.  The Archive Clerk told me that I might find more information at the Leeds Archives Office as they hold the Bishop's Transcripts.  Another visit for the diary!

Continuing through the register I did find evidence of a Christopher Braithwaite - and this was a fully completed entry -

Christopher was spelt with 'Ch' not as shown on Robert and Harriet's wedding certificate. Their home was given not as Cundall, but as Norton.  Looking on the map, this was probably Norton le Clay.

Christopher and Kezia Braithwaite could be related - I now know that they are not my 2 x Great Grandparents.

I did find two more Braithwaites though, the first was "Geo Braithwaite".  He appears in three Banns of Marriage entries as a witness, he actually signed his name too.  No 'X' for George!  He might have been a Churchwarden. Also a marriage which appears to be our Braithwaites and possibly the parents of Christopher -

Thomasin's REYNARD surname has been used in the Braithwaite families of South Yorkshire as a second forename leading me to believe that these just might be my 3 x Great Grandparents.

Looking on FreeBMD I discovered a death for a Thomasin Braithwaite, registered at Knaresborough, Vol 23, page 203.

I then browsed through Knaresborough entries for the 1841 Census and found an entry which might be the same Thomasin Braithwaite living in Blucher Street; shown as age 75 in the female column, however the forename was abbreviated to Tho with a small letter above which did look like an 's' followed by 'Braithwaite' and a dash in the occupation column.  I can't make out whether she was born in County or not.  This is the entry: 

I have now received Thomasin's Death Certificate:

The writer of the above certificate wrote "Thomas Braithwaite", then inserted 'in' between the two names.  I still have to find evidence of a connection to Thomas and Thomasin Braithwaite and our Braithwaite family.  The Jane Wilde who was present at the death of Thomasin is shown on the above 1841 Census record, presumably wife of Jonathan Wild(e), Hatter. 

January 2008 - On  the Message Boards for Harrogate, Yorkshire I had seen a message advising someone to get in touch with Nidderdale Museum in Pateley Bridge as they had documents relating to families who used to reside in the neighbourhood in the 1800's and earlier.  I contacted the Museum to see if they had any information about my Braithwaite family.  I am very grateful to them for sending me an Excel spreadsheet file containing mentions of the Braithwaite name in Knaresborough, Hartwith and other villages in the area.  These included Thomas Braithwaite and his widow, also a Jane Braithwaite and a Robert Braithwaite.  These were for the relevant dates which could well be my Braithwaite family.  I need now to follow this up by obtaining the Knaresborough Parish Records or even the Poor Law Records at the LDS Church to find if I can prove that it is 'our' Braithwaite connection.  The Nidderdale Museum in Pately Bridge is well worth a visit - see their website  - www.nidderdalemuseum.com

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I have found a Christopher Braithwaite in the 1841 Census - living in Sheffield:

They were living in ED10, Sheffield (South) at Charles Street; there is also a death for a Christopher Braithwaite - District Ecclesall Bierlow; June quarter 1844 Vol 22 page 73, age 83; and the National Burial Index has a Christopher Braithwaite listed - burial date 20 June 1844, age 83, at Sheffield, St Mary. Here are the details found on the above Christopher Braithwaite's death certificate:

Robert and Martha Aveyard appear in the 1841 Census living in Eldon Street, Sheffield, both aged 45, both born Yorkshire and Robert was a Chappel Keeper (sic) and at the same address was Elizabeth Richards, age 15, 'Ind' born Yorkshire.  In the 1851 Census, Robert and Martha Aveyard are shown living at the address shown on the death certificate, 27 Button Lane, Sheffield: 

A Robert Aveyard was a claimant for compensation after the Sheffield Flood claiming "out of business" for a business premises at 209 Burton Terrace, Attercliffe Road.  Robert claimed £28.17s.6d, but was awarded £15 on 21 February 1865.  In the 1861 Census he is living at 209 Attercliffe Road:

I found Christopher's death recorded in St. Mary's Church, Bramall Lane, Burial Register:

On the A2A index I found that Rotherham Archives were holding four files for property purchased and later sold by a "Christopher Braithwaite of Rotherham, shopkeeper".  These were dated from March 1820 to July 1825 and covered a property in Westgate, Rotherham named "Welsh Lass".  Christopher had purchased this property from William Craven of Rotherham, Gent, paying £200 on 20 March 1820 and a further £49 in May 1820.  Three documents covered this sale and the fourth document was for Lease and Release of the same property, Christopher giving up the property on 20/21 July 1825.  One of the Archivists at Rotherham Archives thought that the premises were probably used by Christopher as a Beerhouse similar to what is now called a "Beer-off".

The Indenture describes Christopher as being "late of Awkley in the County of Nottingham but now of Rotherham".  "Awkley" now Aukley is now in Yorkshire, east of Doncaster, near Finningley. 

I have found a marriage on IGI for a Christopher Braithwaite to Elizabeth Hancoats taking place on 14 December 1818 at Doncaster.  This could well be the same Christopher Braithwaite.  Looking up this marriage at Doncaster Archives, Christopher and Elizabeth were married at St George's Doncaster:

The compiler of the register had spelt Christopher's forename differently; Braithwaite without the 'e'. There were no clues to prove conclusively that these are my 2 x Great Grandparents, so the search goes on  . . .

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Consulting FreeBMD list for deaths, I found two other entries for Christopher Braithwaite, both were in Cockermouth, Cumberland and I sent for the first one which was an 1845 death.

Unfortunately this was not my 2 x Great Grandfather, this was Christopher Braithwaite age 16 months, son of John Braithwaite of Waterloo Street, Cockermouth.  The second entry for Cockermouth was June 1855 Vol 10b page 287.

The second death certificate has arrived and it is the death of a Christopher Braithwaite age 64:

In the 1851 Census Christopher is shown as an inmate of Cockermouth Workhouse:

I am trawling through the 1841 trying to find both Robert and Christopher, to date I have only found the previously mentioned entry for Christophor and Mary Braithwaite in Sheffield.  I am copying details of every BRAITHWAITE I find in the 1841 Census for Yorkshire - these are to be found on "Searching for the Braithwaites" page as they may be of use to someone.

Some of our Braithwaite Family are included within Andrew Shaw's Family History please follow this link.

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Updated 15 April 2012