Cumberland Placename

[catfordcrooner]

There are two baptisms around the right date at Kirk Andrews Upon Esk

[barryd]

I am off to McDonalds before they take the breakfast menu off or I would do it myself. Try as many sites as you can....  ancestry.com, family search.org and findmypast and see how they have transcribed it as.

[*Sandra*]

No clue on the marriage document - presuming it is James Graham (bachelor of the Parish and town of Manchester) who married Mary McMillan 9 February 1823 Manchester, St Mary, St Denys and St George.

Transcription given as Kirkwell on the 1851census -  ancestry.


Sandra

[clearly]

Just looked at the original message and immediately thought of Kirkandrews on Esk, mainly because the parish is right in the heartland of the Graham family. Netherby Hall, the seat of the head of the Graham clan is only a few hundred yards from Kirkandrews church.

More remotely, there is Kirkandrews on Eden but although a parish, the church was ruinous two hundred years ago and Graham's are thinner on the ground. Beaumont took over as the parish church.

Related fact: until telephone directories became selective about ten years ago, Smith was the commonest name in all the English volumes except Cumbria and North Lancs where Graham's outnumbered Smiths two to one.

[craven481]

Hi All

Many thanks for all the prompt suggestions.

I can see the possibility that Kirkoswald could sound something like Kirkusal, as some miles north of Manchester lies the Lancashire town of Oswaldtwistle which locals pronounce something like ozzel-twissel - no 'd' sound at all.
 
Family Search have no James Grahams christened at Kirkoswald about the time I'm searching, and given that the surname Graham was more popular than Smith [see above], I think I'm not going to get any further back until I find some other evidence.

Thanks again to all.
Ken

[clearly]

Does this help:

From Kirkandrews on Esk Parish Registers (transcript)

19 June 1791. James son of James and Ann Graham (late Bell) of Phillipstown, Baptised.

The following year there is another James Robert George Graham baptised, the son of Sir James Graham of Netherby but I cannot imagine him ending up as a joiner in Manchester.

[craven481]

clearly

Thanks - the date is about right so I'll keep a note of that one as a possibility and hope that somehow I locate James's siblings and they may link in with the same parish.

Cheers
Ken

[Mike in Cumbria]

Locally, Kirkoswald is pronounced something like K'kozzle.

Kirkusel would seem to be good attempt at spelling an unfamiliar name.

[JeanGris]

Graham came originally from Scotland, they were well known Border Reivers, so more likely to be Kirkandrews on Esk. Kirkoswald is known locally as KO.