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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Westmorland => Topic started by: Talmage on Monday 03 December 07 14:35 GMT (UK)
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I am looking for a family named Gaskill, living in or near Kendal in the 1830s. The father's name was Thomas, the mother Margaret, and they had a daughter Ann who was baptised in Kendal on 6 October 1836. Her date of birth was 10 February 1836.
The father was possibly a school teacher and they may have had another daughter called Elizabeth or Betsy.
Any information would be very welcome.
Thanks
Talmage
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Is this the family? No father present though :-\
Margaret Gaskill 30 Y
Thomas 11 Y
John 10 Y
Ann 7 Y
Richard 3 Y
Tinkle/Finkle? Street, Kendal, Westmorland
HO107/1163/4 Folio 8 Page 8
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Hi,
Thanks for replying so quickly and it seems that this could well be the family. I suppose that the father could have died and, with luck his death would have been registered so I will have to try and look it up.
Thanks again
Talmage
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oh, I see this must be the one you mean?
1851 HO107/2442 Folio 428 Page 14
Smithy House, Underbarrow, Westmorland
Thomas Gaskell 47 Schoolmaster Kendal
Jane 35 Kendal
Richard 13 Scholar Kendal
Thomas 21 Ag Lab Kendal
Mary J Prickett stepdau 6 Scholar Kendal
Ages match for Thomas and Richard......... Did Margaret die and he remarry?
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Marriage?
Thomas Gaskell June 1850 Kendal Vol 25 Page 552
4 brides listed including Jane Prickett
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Thanks again - this is brilliant. I certainly think it looks right although I am wondering what happened to Ann after her father remarried as I can't find her on the 1851 census. If this is the right family Ann married my great-great uncle in Manchester in 1857 and on the marriage certificate her father is given as Thomas and his occupation as school teacher. One of the witnesses was a Betsy Gaskill but perhaps she was an aunt, rather than a sister as I had thought.
Thanks again
talmage
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Ann went to live with an aunt -will post census in a mo
Suz
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Heres 1861 -
RG9/3973 Folio 5 Page 5
Belle Vue, Underbarrow
Thomas Gaskill 56 School Teacher
Jane 43
Isabella 10 Scholar
Jane 8 Scholar
Mary 6 Scholar
Elizabeth 3 Scholar
Robert 1
All born Westmorland
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It has just occurred to me - why was Thomas not listed with his family in 1841?
By 1861 Ann, if it is the right one had emigrated to New York where she died in 1863 leaving one daughter. I have also found a Richard living there who could be her brother.
Thanks again
Talmage
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1851
Claife Lancashire
address(difficult to read -looks like Sauney House?)
Margaret Tower head W 65 Landed poroprietor Underbarrow Westmorland
Isabella Towers daughter U 27 Lancs Lainy?
Ann Gaskell niece 15 Scholar Underbarrow Westmorland
Agnes Cawell servant 18 House Servant Lancs
HO107 2275 493 34
Suz
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Hi Suz
Many thanks. Looks like the right Ann - perhaps she didn't get on with her step-mother!
Talmage
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Hi :)
I think the servant is Agnes Coward, probably from my Coward family, not done much on this line yet though.
Will see if we can find Thomas in 1841
Catherine :)
Her aunt is a landed proprietor so maybe her prospects were considered better staying with a wealthier relative......
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How amazing if you had also found someone. I will wait to hear from you about Thomas and will hope you can find something. I had tried looking for some time previous to staring up this correspondence but had had no success.
Talmage
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here are the Tower(s) in 1841
Sawney(?) House
Caife
lancs
Thomas Towers 50 Ind yes
Margaret 50 No
Richard 20 Student of St Johns Cambs Yes
Isabella 15 yes
Jane 40 Ind yes
Amelia Dixon 14 F.S.
a few doors away
William Towers 40 Yeoman Yes
Agnes no
Alice 10 yes
Sarah 8 yes
William 6 yes
Thomas 4 yes
Jane Wilkinson 72 Ind No
George benton 15 M.S. No
HO107 529 13 20
Suz
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Thanks for this. I presume that Margaret Towers was Thomas Gaskill's sister. They seem to have been a fairly well-off family if a son was studying at Cambridge (unlike most of the ancestors I have discovered)!
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:-\ the only one I can find in 1841 is a Thomas Gaskill 35 "Ag Lab" Y in a Hall (Tullthwaite?) Milnthorpe, Kendal, home of Richard and Elizabeth Willison plus their children, Robert, Thomas + servants. I wonder if he was a visitor and the occupation was entered incorrectly....... or he could be somewhere else in the country, which means searching every Thomas/Thos/Tho. Gaskel/Gaskell/Gaskil/Gaskill born c1804/5 :-\
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Hi Catherine
This is very interesting as I have found a baptism on Family Search of a Richard Willison Gaskill. He was born on 31 July 1838 and baptised on 26 August. His father is given as Thomas Gaskill and his mother as Elizabeth!
It seems possible that this is the right Thomas you have found although who knows how it might fit together. Now I have found out so much about Ann's family prior to her marriage I think I will drw this to a close as I don't think we will find much more.
Many thanks to you and Suz for your efforts.
Talmage
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That's the only one I could find. CatOne
Searched all Thomas gaskill's of abt same age -found a few "boarders" b. lancs -but none married.
I wonder if margaret Towers was really Ann gaskills great Aunt -she could be the Aunt of Ann's mother margaret ?????
Think there's a lot more research needed to "tie " them together
Have you thought of making a post asking for baptism records of all the children -Father Thomas /Mother possibly margaret/Elizabeth???
It's worth a try
Suz
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Many thanks for your help and suggestions. I may do as you suggest in due course but, at the moment what I have found out is great. Ann Gaskill was only related to me through marriage and her daughter did not have any children so her line died out. Having got her marriage certificate and knowing that she died at a very young age in New York I was just curious to find out more about her. Also, the fact that her father was a school teacher intrigued me as nearly all my other relations were ag labs or definitely of the working class.
Thank you again for all your help.
Talmage
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A bit late in the day, but re reply #1 it's Finkle Street in Kendal, still there today.
Best of luck with your search.
Gillg
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Many thanks. I hope to be able to visit the area at some point soon and it would be really good to see where she lived.
Talmage
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Hi All
I'm pretty sure it will be Sawrey House you want, under Scaife Heights at Sawrey in the Lake District, the village which has links to Beartrix Potter and also to William Sawrey Gilpin, Landscape Garden Designer etc.
It's now a hotel though, and all the web I've found is linked to that - Sawrey Country House Hotel. You can find pictures though on their site - I think a link would be advertising, but easily found - and also the Frith site.
Good luck and Happy New Year.
Emms
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PS This link will give you views around Sawrey
There's also a link to Scaife Heights
Best wishes
Emms
http://www.visitcumbria.com/amb/sawrey.htm
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Thanks for sending these links. I have had a quick look at them and sawrey House looks very grand - very different from what I know of other branches of the family.
Regards,
Talmage
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Hi,
Sorry to enter your discussion at this late stage, but I have just joined the website.
A lot of this information already stated ties in with my findings also, as a distant cousin.
Reverting back to the beginning of your conversations, according to my information Thomas' first marriage was to Margaret Wildman at Holy Trinity (Parish Church) Kendal on 12 May 1829. They had 4 children - Thomas (1830), John Wildman (1831), Ann (1836) and Richard Willison (1838) before Margaret sadly died in 1839.
This is where I became slightly confused, re the census entry in 1841. If Margaret died in 1839 how could she be at Finkle Street, with the children, in 1841 unless the information given to the ennumerator is incorrect or I have the death of a different Margaret Gaskill. The missing father Thomas can be found as an ag. lab. working at Tullythwaite House, Underbarrow, with his mother's family the Willisons.
I think I can also shed light on the Towers connection (re 1851 census at Sawrey, near Hawkshead), as I have Thomas Towers married to Margaret Willison (Thomas' aunt). By this time, Thomas had been remarried to Jane Prickett at Holy Trinity, Kendal on 27 April 1850, and they proceeded to have another 5 children (plus an illegitimate daughter of Jane's from 1844).
It seems to me that we are talking about the same family. What do you think?
Best Regards
Chris
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Hi Chris
Thanks for contacting me. I am sure we have been looking for the same family as, since I posted my original enquiry I have found out quite a lot more, all of which matches your findings. The only thing which I hadn't found is Margaret's death which I assumed had happened after the 1841 census was taken. I thought it was odd that she and the children appeared to be living in Kendal while Thomas was working on the farm in Underbarrow but all the indications seemed to be that it was the family I for which I was looking.
In 1857 Ann Gaskill (or Anne as she also seems to have been known) married my great-great uncle Thomas Marchant in Manchester Cathedral. He was a private in the 7th Dragoon Guards and was stationed there. However, later that year he deserted and they eventually ended up in Brooklyn, New York where they had a daughter Elizabeth, known as Lillian. Anne died in 1863 but I have not been able to obtain any record of this from New York although I saw her grave in the Greenwood Cemetery in Brooklyn when I visited it last year. Lillian married twice, the first time when she was 48, but had no children so that branch of the family came to an end.
I looked up Tullithwaite Hall on the internet and it appears that Willisons are still farming there! The other thing which I found surprising was that Thomas Gaskill moved from being an ag. lab in 1841 to being a schoolmaster by 1851 - I wonder how he managed that.
Thanks again for contacting me as it is good to have my researches confirmed. If I find out anyhting about Margaret's death I will let you know.
Best wishes
Talmage
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Hi,
Yes, Margaret is a mystery which we are unlikely to resolve without ordering the certificate, but as we are both quite distant, it is probably not worth the cost involved. I can remember looking at over 20 church burial records within the parish boundary, but still unable to find it!
Thomas only has one sibling, a younger sister Isabella. I imagine that they were both educated as there was money in the family at that time. This could explain why they both became school teachers during the 1840s. Thomas didn't seem to get involved in his father's businesses of woollen drapery, pawnbroking or insurance.
Thanks for the info. about Ann(e). Could you please advise her abode on the marriage certificate? Was she still in GB and on the census in 1861?
I would also like to ask about one of the witnesses you mentionned, namely Betty Gaskill. The only Elizabeth I can find is a cousin of her father's in my line. Although born in the Lancaster area, she is shown as single and landowner visiting someone in Bury in 1861 (father & mother having died in 1850 & 1855 respectively). Could this be her? An interesting possibility!
Thanks again,
Chris
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Hi Chris
Many thanks indeed for sending me this extra information about Thomas Gaskill which I hadn't found. It certainly explains a lot about his later life and also how Margaret Tower had money.
On the marriage certificate of Ann and Thomas Marchant her addressis given as Sykes Street in Hulme, Manchester and he was stationed at the Hulme Barracks. They married in May 1857 and in the muster roll for his regiment Thomas is recorded as having deserted on 8th September 1857 but then it says that he was sent to the "Depot troop" on 1st October but I have not been able to find out what this meant. Their daughter Lillian (Elizabeth) was born on 14th June 1858 and on every US census record which I have found for her, her birthplace is given as New York. I have therefore assumed that they went to the USA shortly after Thomas left the army. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find them on the 1860 US census or any immigration record for them but I gather that this is not unusual.
The Elizabeth Gaskill you have found certainly looks a possible candidate. By the way, she is called Betsy not Betty on the marriage certificate. I thought that maybe she was an aunt but a cousin is quite likely and I also thought it probable that Ann was living with her. I tried to see if there were any local directories for Hulme around that time but have not been successful. Ann's daughter was probably named after this person; on her marriage certificate her name is given as Elizabeth M and I like to think that the M stands for Margaret, Ann's mother.
I think that is all the information I have for now but will let you know if I find anything else.
Best wishes
Talmage
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Hi Talmage,
Am trying to get back in touch with you concerning Anne Gaskill Marchant. Don't know if you ever found her death certificate. Just returned to genealogy after retiring last year. Tried your email with no luck and then found you on Rootschat! Have sent for Lillian's death certificate and then
found why we could not find Anne's.
Hope you get this. Can't post a PM until I have made 3 posts.
Darlene
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Hi Darlene,
Welcome to RootsChat.
I am very sorry but your reply to Chris's posts has bounced back to us too, it looks like the email address we have for him is no longer working either :-\
Regards
Sarah