I am researching the Grange side of my family, and have arrived at three brothers who all give Fellbeck, Pateley as their place of birth on the various Census returns. What I am attempting to do is clear up uncertainty as to who their parents were. All were born in the early 1800s. Their names were Benjamin (born circa 1811), Abraham (born circa 1813) and Thomas (born circa 1818). There is a record of the Baptism at Hampsthwaite of a Thomas Grange in 1818, with the parents named as Benjamin and Mary Grange. There is also a record of the marriage in Hampsthwaite, in 1817, of a Benjamin Grange (1796 - 1820?) to Mary Hardisty (Hampsthwaite Parish Church Marriages 1801-1837). It is probably fair to assume that this couple were Thomas' parents. But what about sons Benjamin and Abraham, born before the Hampsthwaite marriage. They could be illegitimate, or the older Benjamin could have had a previous marriage. Indeed it has been suggested, (but I cannot find any evidence to support this), that he married a Sarah (surname unknown) in 1814. Benjamin would have been 18 at the time so this is possible, and Abraham could have been a child of this marriage. Perhaps the three were not all brothers, although there is good evidence that Abraham and Thomas were, or at least they could have been half-brothers. Having said this I have not been able to find any corroboration of who were Abraham's parents, nor of the 1814 marriage. But what about Benjamin the younger? He would have been born when Benjamin the older was at most 15 and unmarried. Is this likely?
I was prompted to write this, having just about run out of ideas, when I saw the posts about Fellbeck cemetary. It is not likely that I will be able to get there any time soon, so if anyone has any information about Grange burials there, or anything else that might be relevant, I would be very grateful to receive it.
