Nicholson's Holyhead

[rosielewis]

Just discovered that my G G G Grandmother was a Mary Nicholson born in Holyhead seems to be a lot of Nicholson's in the Holyhead area in the 1800's wondered did anyone else have them in their tree's or if anyone knew the origins of the Nicholson name.

[graf]

The first Nicholson was probably Robert Nicholson who married
Anne Williams at Holyhead on 9 December 1787. He is described
as an innholder in the Quarter sessions for 1793 and a warrant
was issued by the High Sheriff of Anglesey to "take" Nicholson
the same year. The Poole papers at Gwynedd Archives mention
a case Smith v. Nicholson in 1793 which might also be him.

Further snippets of information about the Nicholsons of Holyhead
can be found in the records of the Anglesey Quarter sessions.

I could speculate a little and suggest that his wife may  be the Anne
Nicholson who was still alive aged 85-9 in 1841 and his children may be
daughter Anne living with the old lady, son Jared (married to Judith Owen
in 1816) who lived next door, and daughter Frances (married to Philip Walsh
or Welch in 1814). The younger Anne Nicholson had a son John with John
Spenser in 1819 and he presumably took her surname, but Jared's earlier
child out of wedlock with Sidney Rowland in 1814 presumably took the
mothers name.

If I am right these families would account for all the Nicholsons in
Holyhead in the 1851 census.

Further info at:
http://www.a2a.org.uk/
       global search for Nicholson Holyhead
http://www.gwynedd.gov.uk/DATRhagorol/rhagorol/index.english.pl
       search for Nicholson
http://isys.llgc.org.uk/
       search for Robert Nicholson
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~hughwallis/IGIBatchNumbers/CountyAnglesey.htm#PageTitle
       see the marriages & christenings for Holyhead

Bob

[rosielewis]

Dear Bob,
Thank you so much for your information which has been an incredible help to me in my search of the Nicholson's.
It is definately my lot because the name Jarred pops up time and time again!
I wonder where they hailed from originally, Nicholson does not sound very welsh.
You say when Robert  Nicholson was "taken" I can't find reference of this, but am probably not looking properly,what had he done?
Once again thank you so much, and also for the links to some very useful web sites.
Regards
Rose

[graf]

One omisson from the previous discussion was Robert Nicholson, born about 1814.
I don't see any record of his baptism but he married Margaret Hughes in 1838
and had a child Anne in 1840, so there is some indication to suggest he might
have been related to Robert & Anne Nicholson.

At the Quarter Sessions in 1814, Jared Nicholson was accused of fathering
the child of Sidney Rowland.  Sidney seemed to have ended up as an unmarried
pauper in 1851, so perhaps Jared took over the upbringing of this child       
and gave him his surname. But I have no proof of this.

The second Robert Nicholson had another child William, born in Holyhead
April 1844, who has an entry in the Dictionary of Welsh Biography, where
he is described as an Independent Minister, known for his eloquence
and poetry, as well as the cause of a split in the church in Liverpool
where he was buried (in Toxteth Park cemetery) in 1885.

The High Sheriffs Warrant is in the papers of Arthur Ivor Pryce in
the NLW (Ms 975). Pryce was a solicitor in Bangor who collected
old manuscripts and died in 1940. I don't know anything other than
what is written in the catalogue.

Bob

[rosielewis]

Thank you again for all the amazing information you sent. I will now find out where my g g g Grandmother Mary Nicholson 1823 fits in to all this, and which branch of the Nicholson's she belongs to. She married my g g g Grandfather Owen williams and had their first child Robert Nicholson Williams b 1844 on the Island, and then moved to Toxteth Park.
I am in awe of all the sources you find to track records,but I am quite new, but becoming totally addicted to family history already!
Many,Many Thanks
Rose

[genijean]

I am researching this family too and have found the baptism entry for Jared senior which states that his father is Robert Nicklson a waiter and Mother Ann Williams. By following this different spelling for his surname I have found two brothers Thomas Nicklson and two sisters Anne and Frances in the Holyhead parish registers, Robert died in 1806. I don't know if this is the same Robert that was a publican but every entry I've found for him states that he is a waiter. I love all the information that is on the Welsh registers that help you to identify the right person.

[dragonT]

Hi genijean and welcome to RootsChat.

There have been two other posts about this family on the Anglesey board recently.

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=736966.0

http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=735715.0

[Skoosh]

Scottish name, Nicholson in Skye & Nicolson in Shetland.

Skoosh.