George Craik or Creak, Tweedmouth

[Pennines]

Hello Everyone,
I am trying to assist a friend with her family history and I am in unfamiliar territory in the Northumberland/Durham area.

George Craik or Creak and his wife Margaret (maiden name unknown) had at least the following children baptised in Tweedmouth;

Nicholas (transcribed as Nichol on FindMyPast)  1798 (my friend's direct ancestral line).
Thomas 1800
Robert 1806

I obtained these baptisms from the Northumberland/Durham records on Find My Past, where in all 3 cases the surname is shown as CREAK. (In the case of Nicholas it later became CRAIK).

These baptisms do not appear on FreeReg.

I wondered if anyone had access to Parish Registers for Tweedmouth please - other than those on FindMyPast and FreeReg.

I would like to find at least a burial for George Creak or Craik and his wife Margaret -- the parents of the boys shown above.
I cannot find a marriage for him or a baptism -- but suspect this could be in Scotland in view of the surnames recorded at the baptisms of the couple's children -- accent and all that!

Any help, no matter how small, would be very much appreciated as I am stuck!

Many thanks indeed for at least reading this.

[Tickettyboo]

George Craik or Creak and his wife Margaret (maiden name unknown) had at least the following children baptised in Tweedmouth;

Nicholas (transcribed as Nichol on FindMyPast)  1798 (my friend's direct ancestral line).
Thomas 1800
Robert 1806

I obtained these baptisms from the Northumberland/Durham records on Find My Past, where in all 3 cases the surname is shown as CREAK. (In the case of Nicholas it later became CRAIK).

These baptisms do not appear on FreeReg.

Unfortunately not, the entries on Free Reg for Tweedmouth were transcribed from the Bishop's Transcripts not the original Parish Registers.

I have just double checked the BTs image on Family Search and Nichol Creak is not on the page though 4 other baptisms which are dated Aug 1798 are on there.

The same for the other two children you mentioned.

The original register is held at Woodhorn and someone may have time to check it for you when they visit.

I'd be interested to know the details too, I transcribed Tweedmouth for Free Reg and automatically thought I'd dropped a clanger when I read your post, but it appears not (at least, not in this case !)

I'm wondering if the entries may have been in the PR but took place in a chapelry and therefore were omitted on the BT for the Parish Church? Don't know but would be interested to find out.

Boo

[Pennines]

Boo -- thank you so much for your speedy reply AND for all your hard work transcribing registers for FreeReg.

Your suggestion that the baptisms may have taken place at a chapel of ease is a good thought.

On Find My Past - it simply states that the baptisms are transcripts taken from the original baptism records and have been provided by the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society.

[Tickettyboo]

Boo -- thank you so much for your speedy reply AND for all your hard work transcribing registers for FreeReg.

Your suggestion that the baptisms may have taken place at a chapel of ease is a good thought.

On Find My Past - it simply states that the baptisms are transcripts taken from the original baptism records and have been provided by the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society.

The Chapelry thought was just me clutching at straws, its puzzling that all three are missing from the BTs., that's a very big coincidence if its just a line jump by the vicar whilst transcribing the original for the BTs.

Yes the data on FindMyPast will have been transcribed from the original register - which is the best source to get the info from, but they are not available outside of the Archives, so the BTs - images on Family Search were the best available at the time to get as much as possible into the database.

So, wait a while and someone may be along to offer to check the original register,  it would be helpful if you also post the dates you have for the baptisms of these children - that may make it easier to do.
a look up.

[Pennines]

Hi again Boo,

It's not so much the baptisms I am interested in -- I am more wanting to find perhaps a burial for George Creak/Craik and his wife Margaret.

Or a marriage would be great too.

However the details of their children's baptisms are;
Nichol Creak 12 Aug 1798 (birth date 30 Jul 1798)
Thomas Creak ? ? 1800 (birth date 12 March 1800)
Robert Creak 20 June 1806 (birth date 11 June 1806)

I would have expected more children - amd maybe there were more born before Nichol (Nicholas) -- possibly elsewhere.

[Tickettyboo]

Yes I realise that but anther odd thing about that baptism transcription on Free Reg, (given the dates) is that there is no mention of where each child came in the family (1st son, 4th son whatever) and no information about where the parents were born, the mother's maiden name, sometimes the name and abode of the mother's father etc etc. This is what I'd expect as they were in the Barrington* years .

* the Bishop at the time, Shute-Barrington, had an interest in genealogy and set a requirement for the parish registers to include such details. It didn't last many years but for the period that it was recorded its an invaluable pointer to tracing the families backwards. The BTs for Tweedmouth that are on Free Reg have this sort of detail for the entries.

IF the parish register has this sort of detail it could help you a lot.

Using a combination of Free Reg and the BTs on Family Search I can find  a George CRAKE, age 60, abode Tweedmouth buried at Tweedmouth 18th Nov 1832

image on Family Search is here
http://www.rootschat.com/links/01io2/

Not enough info to say one way or another if he is the man you are looking for, but the age would be ok for him to be the father of the children you mentioned. I'd shove it in the 'possibles' box.


another 'possible'
1841 census HO107/piece318/book12/folio16/page26

Margaret Craik age 65, born in County, living in Church Lane, Tweedmouth

Boo

[Tickettyboo]

Do you know if Nicholas (born 1798) was a stonemason? If so, this 'may' be his will if you don't have it already

http://www.rootschat.com/links/01io5/

Boo

[Pennines]

Boo --- you absolute STAR! Thank you so much.

Yes that is Margaret Craik on the 1841 census - Nicholas is nearby. I had found that actually, but she seems to have died Q/E Dec 1851 - and I haven't found her on the 1851 census. I'll just have to send for that death cert I think. I was hoping a burial record may state 'Widow of George' then I would know.

The Will DOES belong to Nicholas as well -- he did die in 1855 and was a Stonemason. His wife was Elizabeth Wilson. I had no idea that Durham Wills were available on Family Search. What a bonus, as he names children I haven't found. Thank you SO much for finding that and for alerting me to that set of records.

---
Re your reply about the mysterious baptism records. From what you say then - it is even more peculiar. I know the type of very useful records you mean. I know them as Dade Registers and there were several examples in some of my own parishes in Yorkshire. They are SO useful, but did cause complaints from the clergy who had more recording to do!
I wonder then about those Tweedmouth transcripts. Has an incorrect 'reference number' or something been input thereby bringing up the parish as Tweedmouth, whereas it's really somewhere else. I know that happened on Ancestry with some Lancashire Records from Lancashire Record Office - hence baptisms recorded as - say Langho -- were really somewhere else several miles away (or vice versa, can't remember now).

From what you say - it doesn't sound like they should be Tweedmouth though.

Thank you again so very much for your help - I really do appreciate it. It makes a difference to someone from outside the area - floundering between Durham and Northumberland. They did like changing these counties around didn't they!

[jora]

George Craik, labourer of Tweedmouth and Margaret Johnson his wife had a daughter baptised at Shaw's Lane Presbyterian Chapel in Berwick on 18 September 1814, born 9 September and named Martha Katherine ( writter Keteron).

George Creak and Margaret Johnstone both of Berwick Parish were married at Coldstream Bridge (irregular marriage) on 2 July 1797.