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Topic: Woodhouse Varney (Read 1030 times)
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redrock
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I am researching the Varneys for my Aunt who is a direct descendant of Woodhouse Varney (the grandson), his daughter Theresa (b 1855) and her illegitimate son William Henry Varney (born Windermere 1874 & registered in Ulverston, Cumbria as William Henry Fricke). I'll save the full (very interesting) story of his birth for another day but for now maybe I can add, confirm and correct a few details in the messages so far.
Firstly Woodhouse (the grandson) did marry Louisa Burtonshaw in West Butterwick and had four children - Henry (1850), Edwin (1852), Theresa (1855) and Emma (1858). The Burtonshaws were blacksmiths and I have no evidence of a previous barging connection. As you say, Henry moved to Hull. The other three children all moved to Halifax, Yorkshire with Theresa married to Sutcliffe Greenwood and Emma married to William Robinson. Did Woodhouse also end up in Halifax? - Maybe, but I haven't found him yet.
Secondly I ask myself the question where did Woodhouse the grandfather get his unusual christian name from? Normally an unusual christian name would be from the bible or his mother's or a grandparent's surname. We dont have any evidence of that in this case but he did marry at Eckington and his wife Elizabeth came from Beighton - both places are next door to a place called Woodhouse. It is possible that our Woodhouse was named after the place, either formally or as a "nickname" that stuck. He may actually have been christened with another name.
Thirdly I have had a look at the quarter session information and it seems to me that there were probably two Samuel Varneys, one a nailor and one a labourer. One lived in Duffield and one in Belper. One was charged with assault & riot offences and the other with theft offences. One died in Rotherham in 1840 (your information) and one was a nailor still living in Duffield in 1851. The question is which Samuel was the father of Woodhouse the grandson?
Fourthly I think the census dates quoted by Bovar are all 10 years adrift. (We've all done it). According to Ancestry, Woodhouse was at Castleton, Rochdale (not Castleford, Yorkshire) in 1851, Holyhead, Anglesey in 1861 and at long Drax near Selby in 1871. At Rochdale he would be on a (narrow?)canal boat. At Holyhead he would be on a coaster or other sea going vessel. At Long Drax it could have been either a large barge or a small sea going vessel - ships go up river as far as Goole and Selby.
Lastly there was another Woodhouse Varney who was born and died in Ashton under Lyne, Lancashire in 1850. I don't know how he links in but he must do, perhaps as a descendant of one of Samuel's brothers and therefore a second cousin of our Woodhouse Varney (the grandson).
I am sorry that I don't have any answers to the big important questions about the ancestry of Woodhouse Varney, but if everyone has a piece of the jigsaw, together we may find the picture.
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Bovar
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First, apologies Redrock, I did get my census details out by 10 years in an earlier contribution to this thread....I was working from memory rather than hard copy! I have now subscribed to an on-line source for the UK census so can check my details now!
An interesting question about which Samuel was the criminal, and which the father of Woodhouse junior.
I have seen the parish records and confirm that a Samuel Varney was christened in Belper on August 4th 1799, son of Woodhouse and Elizabeth. This would make him around the same age as the Samuel Varney who died in Rotherham, although perhaps not exactly in line with the death certificate. There is evidence from records of the Belper Poor Law Union that they were aware of a Samuel Varney being ill and dieing in Rotherham. There are instructions to bring the family back to the Workhouse, as would have been the law at the time for the descendent's of men born in the parish and his family who sought parish relief. There are no Varney's listed at the workhouse in the 1841 Census, but Mary Varney appears to be lodging with her 3 young daughters in a house in Swinney Lane, which is close to where other Varney's were living. She has employment in the local cotton mill.
A Samuel Varney married an Ann Jackson at the parish church in Duffield around 1821. I have not seen the microfiche record of this yet, but hope to confirm this when I next visit the Derbyshire record office. Woodhouse junior was christened on Jan 16th 1824, son of Samuel and Anne Varney, and I have seen this record. There is an Anne Varney buried in Belper in the 1830s, but I want to check the exact date and details. So it is possible for Samuel to re marry and have a second family.
I am not aware at present of any other Varney's in Belper that could fit the dates for the Rotherham death. The eldest of Mary's daughters was born outside Derbyshire, the two youngest in the county, according to the 1841 Census, so it is possible she married in Belper. Another point to check!
I am not sure Ruthy about Woodhouse junior having a sister called Elizabeth. I didn't make a record of any Elizabeth christened in Belper in 1826 when I was going through the parish records, but it is so easy to miss things when trying to read those microfiches! Can you give me any details?....I will add this to my check list. A possible candidate for Elizabeth is the one born about 1830 to Thomas Varney. He was the second (surviving) son of Woodhouse, so this Elizabeth was the grand daughter of Woodhouse senior. She can be seen in the 1841 Census living in Belper, and was employed in the local cotton mill, so could have got employed in the same industry as a factory hand....
You are quite right Rocky, I cannot be sure which Samuel Varney was the one imprisoned. Firstly, there is the possibility that he never returned to Belper after release. Looking back over what records I have collected so far, their are two possibilities other than Woodhouse senior's son. One died and was buried in Belper in 1841 (before the census), but he was 77 so the least likely candidate. The Samuel Varney you found in the 1851 census, born in 1786 is possible. He also appears in the 1841 census, although his entry seems to have missed transcription.
He has a wife Isabella in 1841, so is unlikely to have been the person who assaulted his wife, Anne, unless he had remarried.
The Samuel sentenced in 1826, although described as a labourer in the Wirksworth record, is described as a nailor in the pop up note attached to the Derby assize record. At this time the township of Belper was still in the parish of Duffield, which is close by....the registration district was not invented until 1837. All the census records you saw for 1851 are definitely for Varney's living in Belper.....most of the addresses are still identifiable to this day, and the terraced cottages they lived in. Duffield is declared as a sub registration district of Belper on the 1851 Census transcript....I think that this just means that Duffield held a record book where their citizens could record births, marriages and deaths which were later transferred to the main one at Belper.
Unless I can find a record from contemporary sources giving the age of the Samuel sentenced in 1826, I guess it won't be possible to definitely identify which one it is.
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Bovar
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Some speculative thoughts about Woodhouse junior.
Arkwright had a canal built to carry goods to and from his cotton mill, and this passes not too far from Belper. It connects to the Erewash valley canal, which in turn connects to the navigable stretch of the river Trent north of Nottingham, and to the Trent and Mersey canal which goes into Lancashire. It is likely that Strutt used this canal network to move his goods, at least until the railway came in the 1840's. So it is possible that Woodhouse had contact with the watermen on the canal, and got 'apprenticed'.
Ruthy, I wouldn't be sure that Woodhouse would know, or cared if his father was dead. He probably had no fixed abode until he was married, and illiterate, so didn't send letters home. His mother may have died when he was around 10, and if his father WAS imprisoned, may not have had much of a bond with him. Most sons followed their fathers into the nailmaking trade....Woodhouse was I think the only Varney not to do so in this generation.
Louise, his wife, came from West Butterwick, which is on the banks of the river Trent, not far from modern day Scunthorpe. I worked there in the 1970's and remember walking along the Trent bank as far as East Butterwick, and looking across to where his family were born.
It is small even today, and would have been an isolated spot. Perhaps Woodhouse met her when he stopped to have his barge horses shod. George Fish, who was master of the boat he was on during the 1861 census, lived there. George was a mariner 'up the river' in 1851 when Woodhouse was on the canal in Lancashire. Perhaps Woodhouse had crewed with George before this, and met Louise when they stopped off at his home. Louise lived 2 doors away from George's house in 1851.
George was the publican in W Butterwick in 1871.
Trade continued on the Trent and through into the Ouse up to at least the end of the 19th Century.
What happened to Woodhouse after the 1871 census entry? I am trawling through the Yorkshire Vessels records for 1881 census in case his entry has not been transcribed. I have not found an entry for him in the BMD index up to 1881.
Thanks for the info on the Woodhose family, Redrock. Like the transcriber, I had missread the Edwin entry in the 1861 census. He had renamed himself Edward by 1881. He had lived in Lincolnshire until then, although two of his children were born in Yorkshire. Have you found an entry for him in 1891? He reappears in 1901, a widower living near Halifax. He had a substantial fAM
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Bovar
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Continued.....
He had a substantial family......so more research potential there!
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waterloo
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this varney family is getting more and more interesting I think that the elder woodhouse could have been what the termed a foundling and as was often the case and someone had the bright idea of naming him after probably the place he was found. I also think the grandson escaped the mill where he was sent age10 by being taken on the canal boats which called at the mill. look forward to hearing some more to the varney saga
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redrock
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Hello all. I've done some more digging in the censuses and analysed the evidence so far - unfortunately I think we are still missing some vital information.
1)Edwin Varney(b 1852) appears in the 1891 census as Edwin Varley at Clough, Mixenden, Halifax and his death (as Edwin Varney) is recorded in Q3 1918 in Halifax
2)Emma Varney(b 1858) appears in the 1891 census as Emma Rolinson (aka Robinson) at Woodhead Street, Pellon, Halifax. Also present was Emma's illegitimate son (registered Fred Varney in 1875 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire). Emma seems to have come to Halifax around 1876 or 1877 - about the same time as her sister Theresa - as she married William Robinson in Halifax in 1878. By 1891 Fred appears to have taken his stepfather's surname Robinson / Rolinson.
3) I still can't find Woodhouse junior in the censuses or BMD after 1871 - I've looked under every possible alias and mistranscription of christian name and surname without success.
4)Until your recent post Bovar I was inclining towards the circumstantial conclusion that the Samuel Varney aged 65 in the 1851 census at Gutter, Belper was Woodhouse's father. This was on the basis of Woodhouse being born at Belper (not Duffield), the quarter session records, Samuel being a nailor and alive at the time of Woodhouse's marriage in 1848 and Gutter seeming to be where all the local nailors lived. However this Samuel's age does not fit with Bovar's christening date of August 4th 1799 (and to me that is good hard evidence that we can't ignore)
5)Woodhouse was christened 16th January 1824, the son of Samuel Varney and Anne Jackson. Of the known contenders, Samuel (1) was in 1840 maried to Mary. Samuel (2) was in 1841 married to Isabella. If either is the correct one they must have married again. But, as Agatha Christie would say, "there is always the possibility of MR X - Samuel (3), that we don't yet know about"
6)I believe "Gutter" - the address in the 1851 census is about 1 mile north east of the centre of Belper, whereas Duffield is about three or four miles south of Belper. I understand what you are saying Bovar about "Belper" covering a wider area but in those days four or five miles was a long way and the people themselves would almost certainly have identified with one or the other. (the quarter session records also make the distinction between Duffield and Belper). Detailed location is a factor that should always be considered when trying to make sense of sketchy and conflicting information.
7)In the quarter session records the Samuel who was charged with assault & riot was a Nailor of Belper (but may not be Woodhouse's father - see point 3 above) The Samuel who was charged with theft and sentenced to transportation was a labourer of Duffield and does not fit the description of a nailor of Belper. Bovar mentions that a pop up note indicates he may actually have been a nailor, but how reliable is the note? Where does it come from?
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redrock
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Just one further thought. One of the contending Samuel Varney's died in Rotherham in 1840 and his daughter Thirza was born there (Listed as Thorsey in BMD). The location may be more than co-incidence because Samuel's mother Elizabeth Nightingale came from Beighton (near Rotherham) and is probably the Elizabeth Nightingale listed in the IGI as christened in Rotherham on 30th April 1760.
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redrock
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Hello Folks. I have a bit more information for you.
Firstly, thanks Bovar for pointing out that Samuel (2) was married to Isabella in the 1841 census. He's not indexed in Ancestry, so for the benefit of others he and Isabella are at census district 10 page 5. I have found his marriage record to Isabella Wain in the IGI for 27th September 1810. His age (65 in 1851) and marriage to Isabella from 1810 to 1841 enable us to rule him out as the father of Woodhouse Varney.
Secondly, I now believe that the Samuel Varney who died in Rotherham in 1840 was actually married to Mary Lander in Duffield (Belper?) on 12th June 1835 (source IGI). This is supported by the fact that Thirza / Thursa / Thorsey Varney who was born in Rotherham in 1840 was living with her uncle John LANDER in Gascoignes Road, Derby in 1861. Alice Varney (her sister) was also living elsewhere in Derby in 1861 as a lodger with George Garrett and his wife. I haven't found any trace of their sister Harriet or mother Mary after 1841 - perhaps she married again. Another fact that supports the Mary Lander theory is that in 1841, Mary, the presumed widow of the Rotherham Samuel Varney, was living next door to George LANDER in Swinney Lane, Belper. George was her brother.
So, my current view of the life of Samuel Varney is: born in 1799, married to Ann Jackson in 1821, twice charged with Assault in 1821, had three children with Ann (Martha, Woodhouse & Elizabeth), charged with theft and sentenced to transportation in 1826, released from prison ships in Chatham in 1833, returns to Belper and marries Mary Lander in 1835, had children Harriet and Alice born Belper, Thirza born Rotherham, Samuel dies Rotherham 1840. Widow Mary returned to Belper under Poor Law provisions before 1841. My guess is that Mary and her three children moved to Derby prior to 1851 as I can't find any record of them in the 1851 census at Commonside, Swinney Lane, Gutter, Laund Hill etc.
The only problem with this scenario is that Julie Workman in New Zealand and to an extent the IGI attribute Harriet, Alice and Thirza to another Samuel Varney (b 1808) and Mary Hunt - there is a suitable marriage record in the IGI for 2nd September 1832 at Pentrich. I can't believe that two Samuel Varneys both married to Mary, both christened their three children Harriet, Alice and Thirza. For me the critical piece of evidence is that in 1861 Thirza was living with her uncle John LANDER in Derby. Julie also attributes the christening of William H Varney in Chesterfield in 1838 to the same Samuel Varney and Mary Hunt and this is definitely not correct. This William H Varney was living with his parents Samuel Varney (b 1816 in Rudford, Nottinghamshire) and Mary (b 1813 in Mansfield) in Sheffield Brightside in 1861
For the record Thirza Varney (b 1840) went on to marry Jno Ramsey in 1866 (Burton on Trent) and eventually moved to London. She is recorded as Thirza Ramsey in the 1901 census in Wandsworth, London as widow and mother-in-law of Edward Bassano.
I hope this all helps. The question is does it sound right?
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