Some final notes from me on the Joseph Burnside who prompted this post…. Firstly the 1841 Mainsforth Census is correct for him, it seems Uncle Robert Burnside is on the census twice which I have seen elsewhere, Joseph is working for John Hall whose mother was Mary Burnside the sister of Uncle Robert, Mary had married another John Hall. Mary Burnside’s son John Hall did very well, he was the servant of Robert Surtees the historian from Mainsforth Hall and rose to the rank of butler, Surtees loved him and mentions him in his will and gave him a farm to run when he left service, John married the Surtees’ housemaid and a poem exists that Surtees wrote to them on their wedding day. John didn’t like the farm he was given- East Chilton Farm in Kirk Merrington parish- it was right next to a railway track and still is- and so he came to farm lands in Mainsforth for Robert Surtees’ widow. I have a tithe map for Mainsforth and John Hall is listed as farming most of it, no wonder he called in the Burnside clan. Joseph Burnside is on the 1841 census with John Hall, Joseph’s mother’s cousin.
Coming back to Joseph Burnside, I found a newspaper article from 1851 for a Hannah Rigg being born, the daughter of Hannah Rigg of Staindrop, single woman fathered by “Joseph Burnside of Cockerton”. Hannah is the same age as the Joseph of this post who married a different lady this same year. The baptism for little Hannah is in the Cockfield records. It would seem Joseph had a child before his marriage. Hannah Rigg the elder married Jonathan Taylor a few years later. Staindrop is just slightly north of Alwent toll bar on Staindrop Road which that same year was ran by Mary Burnside, this Mary’s father was Joseph Burnside the brother of Lavinia, Robert, Mary et al. The Alwent toll cottage where Mary lived is still on the road. It may explain why Joseph was in the area, this Mary Burnside was Joseph’s mother’s cousin.
We established Joseph was the son of Hannah Burnside the daughter of Lavinia Burnside before Lavinia married George Cowley. Lavinia also had another llegitimate child, a son called Robert- she is the Violetta that stumped us way back on this thread, whether she went by this name as well or if it is a misreading of Vianer which she also went by is unknown, her death cert however gives her name as ‘Violet Cowley’ which might show she used them both just to be fickle. I have located Lavinia and George’s house in Walworth Gate from tithe maps, it is still there. Anyway, this Robert Burnside married Mary Goldsborough, Robert was a coal miner but died young, they had a son born in Walworth where Lavinia was living called William. This William Burnside was later arrested for housebreaking and attempting to shoot a police officer, he was transported to Australia. I found two photos of him in Australian convict records. This William Burnside is Joseph’s cousin and not his mother’s cousin for once! Hope this helps someone.
