Mathison in Berwick-upon-Tweed Parish Baptism records

[c-side]

Pleased that you are finding freereg useful.

I think Unthank Engine is the name of the place, not a house.  Unthank is an Old English word for squatter or a place where squatters live.  There are one or two such named places in Northumberland - dating from around 1200.  Engine is a post industrial revolution term usually indicating some mechanical process - iron works perhaps or some such.  So I would surmise that there was some industrial work going on near to Unthank - hence the identity of the place.

As to landowners paying pensions - it would not be common.  In fact I would have said not at all - very little philanthropy about at that time but as he is listed as an annuitant then someone was paying him for some reason.  Do you know who the landowner was - there may be some estate records at the archives.

[reubencat]

I got started because of an old farm book I inherited which refers to Unthank which I thought was the name of the farm. Ralph is described as a farmer and Unthank itself is 3 miles out of Tweedmouth and has one or two farm houses and farm cottages. And it also has Unthank Mine which I think is one of the oldest - a mineral mine I think. So maybe the place was so small that it got named after whatever was considered the most important work going on there at the time?

I might be able to find out the land owner because I have just downloaded a book written in 1851 about the area. At least who it was at that date. I expect it was owned by one family for generations. It would be good to know where the money was coming from. I know it didn't help the family prosper because they went bankrupt and the sons became miners and the girls went into service. I think there was a period when corn prices went into slump and a lot of people gave up farming.

[reubencat]

Pleased that you are finding freereg useful.

I think Unthank Engine is the name of the place, not a house.  Unthank is an Old English word for squatter or a place where squatters live.  There are one or two such named places in Northumberland - dating from around 1200.  Engine is a post industrial revolution term usually indicating some mechanical process - iron works perhaps or some such.  So I would surmise that there was some industrial work going on near to Unthank - hence the identity of the place.

As to landowners paying pensions - it would not be common.  In fact I would have said not at all - very little philanthropy about at that time but as he is listed as an annuitant then someone was paying him for some reason.  Do you know who the landowner was - there may be some estate records at the archives.

Hi again Christine,
Apologies If I am using the wrong posting technique but I'm not very experienced with forums. I actually wanted to post a question but didnt know how to, hence my including the quote, which isn't strictly relevant.
My question relates to the baptism record of Ralph Watson, b. 1779 his father was John Watson of Beal (then in the county Durham) and he is described as a 'Waiting Man'. Would you know what that term meant by any chance?
Best wishes, Reubencat

[c-side]

Hi there,

First things first - to start a new topic is simple - go to the FORUM section (button above), curser down to the England section and click on Northumberland.  At the bottom of the first Northumberland page you will see a button marked NEW TOPIC - click on that and start    That's assuming you want your topic to be in Northumberland, of course!

As for a Waiting Man - I'm not sure.  A Wait Man was a nightwatchman and a Waiter (or Tide Waiter) was a type of customs officer.  Could it be either of these?

Christine

[c-side]

Just had a quick look at National Archives - apparently a Waiting man was a servant.

C

[reubencat]

Great, thanks Christine! I think it might mean servant too. But I am surprised because his sons Ralph and John at Unthank. They leased the farm from Prideaux John Selby who was the landowner at that time (1822). But possibly John Watson senior was a servant of the Selbys. I will have to see if I can find out more. If I do I will let you know. And thanks for the guidance on posting, it should be more straightforward next time 😊

[belfordian]

Just a few more bits of info to add. I live near your ancestors' places so am familiar with many of them. The mine at Unthank was a coal mine, one of many very small ones in North Northumberland where the coal seam was quite near the surface. They are all closed now.

A member of our local Family History Society lives at Unthank.

Beal, Cheswick and Fenham are all very close. Beal was large enough to support a school for children living on surrounding farms and so was Cheswick. Children from Fenham went to Fenwick school -I know that because my grandfather lived at Fenham and walked to school in Fenwick. Places in this area which were classed as part of North Durham were part of the Diocese of Durham  which can be confusing for people not familiar to the area.

My ancestor William WATSON was born at Cheswick in 1739, married Isabel Sibbit, had several children and died at Cheswick in 1822, buried at Ancroft. Most people from Cheswick are connected to Ancroft Church. Fenham and Beal are usually connected to Kyloe Church, now closed.
If I can help in any way, just ask!
Val

[reubencat]

Hi Val, thanks for getting in touch! It's exciting to hear from you because I don't know the area at all, although it turns out that my ancestors lived there for over a hundred years! I knew nothing about them growing up and it was only after inheriting an old farm book that I began researching them. I have learnt a lot in the last six months thanks to the help and mentoring I have had from friendly forum members on sites like this I'm pretty sure our ancestors must have known each other and may possibly have been related.

The furthest back I have got is with a recetly discovered marriage bond dated 1765
Watson, John, Beal, Kyloe, 21 yeo
Wallice, Marg. wooler, 21, wid
Stavert, Thomas, Norham, Yeo

There is an old administrative bond that shows that John and Margaret farmed both at Fenham and Unthank.

John and Margaret's family were Jane, John and my direct ancestor Ralph Watson b. 1779. They are sure to have had siblings but I haven't yet identified them.
Jane married Thomas Mathison who farmed at Fenham. On the Bond, her father John Watson is down as being farmer, Little Mill, Longhoughton.
John, their son, married Jane Humble and was known as John Watson farmer of Unthank
Ralph married Grace Temple and was known as Ralph Watson farmer of Unthank

In 1841 Ralph was recorded as living at Unthank with his wife Grace and grown up children: Patience b. 1815 John b. 1821 James 1826, Elizabeth 1826 and Ralph 1827. Two other daughters Margaret and Susannah died in childhood.
In 1851 Ralph is 72 and recorded as an annuitant, born at Beal and living at Unthank Moor House with his adult children, none of who seem to have been involved in farming.

Ralph Watson jnr b. 1827, my GGG became an accountant, then a banker and married a woman called Jane Dick. They lived at Tweedmouth.

Ralph and Jane's son George Temple Watson was my GG grandfather and his daughter Amy Grace my grandmother.

I'd be very curious to know if people's names relate to your family tree. And it would be really great to have some guidence on the geography - proximity of villages etc.

Best wishes, Val ( my name too! 😀)