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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Durham => Topic started by: J11 on Monday 21 July 14 19:01 BST (UK)
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I am looking for a monumental inscription for Hugh Miller. He was married to Elizabeth Taylor in Sunderland in 1796 and had a daughter Mary Ann who was married from Sunderland in 1819. The Newcastle Magazine for 1825 reported his death as follows:
At Lancaster, Mr Hugh Miller of Sunderland, spirit merchant aged 69.
I'm assuming he was away on holiday/business and would have been buried back in Sunderland.
Many thanks.
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There is what appears to be a burial record for him at the High Street Independent Chapel in Lancaster:
May 21 1825, Hugh Miller aged 69, Common Brewer of Sunderland.
The grave reference is given as 165. J5. 195, which looks like it may have been a common grave as it isn't unique to Hugh Miller, but this has then been crossed out and the words "removed to Caton" added.
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Thank you very much for that. Very intriguing. It looks as if he was temporarily "parked" and then moved to Caton in Lancashire... but why Caton? Maybe he had a child living there and was visiting. I'm desperate to find his stone in case it mentions his parents. I believe him to be Scottish, the son of William Miller and Elizabeth Cummings of Knockando but can't prove it yet. Thanks for your interest.
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Ah, well Im not sure if this helps or hinders then. The Lancaster Gazette for 21 May 1825 has a death notice as follows:
"On Tuesday last suddenly, in this town, Hugh Miller of Wrexham, Father-in-Law to the Rev S Bell of this town"
On then on 4th June 1825 in the Durham County Advertiser:
"At Lancaster on the 17th Ult, while on a visit to his daughter, Mr Hugh Miller of Sunderland, Spirit Merchant aged 69"
In 1820 there are various notices about Hugh Miller selling his property / properties but I haven't had a chance to properly read them and have to dash off now for half an hour or so. If no one else posts I will add them a bit later.
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Definite clarification. I have the Newcastle Magazine of 24th Aug 1819
Marriage: At Sunderland, the Rev S Bell of the Independent Chapel Wrexham, to Miss Mary Ann Miller daughter of Mr Hugh Miller of Sunderland, spirit merchant.
Thank you very much. I'm hopeless at English records, Scottish are my thing, and I've been flapping around for ages trying to work out whether this Hugh Miller is one of 3 Miller brothers, Hugh, John and Charles (my 4xG Grandfather) who came down from the Highlands in the late 18thC. I was hoping an MI might sort it out!
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Does this help at all?
From the Newcastle Courant 13 Aug 1796: "The partnership of John Miller, late of Keeper? deceased and Charles and Hugh Miller of Sunderland, brick makers and wine and spirit merchants having in the month of December last been dissolved by mutual consent......" there's more if you want it but that's the interesting bit.
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Thank you so much. That is wonderful. It confirms that the three brothers were there (which I'd got from the Kirk Session records in Knockando, Morayshire referring to a James Grant who had been working for the Miller brothers in Sunderland, South Britain - I got the three brothers' names from their parents' gravestone) and that the Hugh Miller spirit merchant is my Charles Miller's brother. I'd been wondering what he'd been doing down south.
I hate to trouble you further but I really struggle with English records. Is there any reference to a marriage or death for Charles Miller? The gravestone says sons John, Charles and Hugh and I'm assuming that is the age order. Hugh died in 1825 aged 69 so that makes him born about 1756. Their parents were William Miller 1719 - 1794 and Elizabeth Cumming 1716 - 1788 of Nether Tomdow in Knockando.
Thank you so much for what you've unearthed to date. It's the first real progress I've had on this for ages.
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You're very welcome. I've had a look on www.durhamrecordsonline.com but there's no marriage or childrens baptisms, for Charles in Sunderland but there's a possible burial in 1817 of a Charles Millar of Whitburn born approx 1754.
Hugh married at Holy Trinity in Sunderland on 7 Feb 1796 to Elizabeth Taylor by licence, which can be seen on FamilySearch at http://tinyurl.com/p4h5rm6 (and the image following).
Hugh and Elizabeth had four children baptised at the Robinsons Lane Meeting House (Presbyterian (Scotch)) in Sunderland, Margaret in 1797, Elizabeth in 1798, John Thomas in 1800 and Thomas in 1802. This looks like a second marriage.
There's a 1777 burial for a James Miller of North Britain (Scotland) in Sunderland, I wonder if he's one of yours or just a coincidence as there are a lot of Millers.
Hugh left a Will (Charles didn't) it will be on FamilySearch it's ref DPRI/1/1829/M14 I'll see if I can post a link for you.
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Here's the link http://tinyurl.com/lhor6oj It might not be a second marriage for Hugh, as there was no baptism in Sunderland for Mary Ann I assumed she was baptised elsewhere but the codicil explains Mary Ann.
I should've said that Charles didn't have a Will proved at Durham, there may be one elsewhere.
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That is fantastic. Thank you so very much. My reading of the situation is that the brothers came south and had a partnership which grew and acquired disparate businesses. John died in or before 1796 and Hugh and Charles dissolved the partnership with the brothers going their separate ways. Hugh stayed in Sunderland and seemed to have done well judging by his will. Charles may have moved on. Coincidently, Nether Tomdow Farm is now the site of the Tamdhu Distillery which started up at the end of the 19thC. Thinking of Hugh the spirit merchant, I wonder if father William had a distillery there a century earlier.
James could be a relative, possibly uncle to the brothers. That could be Charles in Whitburn, not too far away but who knows. Still, I've made more progress on this in the past few days thanks to the two of you than I have in the past few years!
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Glad to help. If you have any more info on Charles to make him easier to identify in newspapers etc and want to post it I'm happy to have another look.
I couldn't get on to the Durham Record Office site last night to see if I could find anything, there should be something with all the property and business dealings.
Hugh had also been in partnership with Thomas Taylor as common brewers, there's a notice on the London Gazette site issue 17003 page 709 (15 Apr 1815) dissolving that partnership.
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That is a very kind offer, only if you are at a loose end. All I have on Charles is as follows:
Parents, William Miller 1719-1794 and Elizabeth Cummings 1716-1788 of Nether Tomdow Farm, Knockando, Morayshire
Illegitimate children Sarah 1785 and James 1787 who he had in Knockando with the widow Janet McAllister alias McDonald of Nether Borlum Farm.
His brothers are Hugh and John
His sisters are Isabella and Margaret ?-1789.
There is no record of brother John on the stone so he is likely to have died after his father, between 1794 & the mention of him as deceased in 1796
According to Kirk records when the illegitimate births were discussed, Charles visited Knockando regularly on business from Durham, South Britain. He isn't buried in Knockando. There was a fire in the 1780s and all Kirk records before that date are lost.
And that is it!
I feel fairly sure he must have a wife somewhere as he didn't marry the widow but if he married the wife in Knockando before 1783 the record will have been lost. I must try to get into those Kirk Session records again to look for more clues but unfortunately they're in Edinburgh and I'm not. You are so lucky to have all of those records on-line in Durham. I'm going to have to try to get to grips with them. Thanks for all you've done.
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Accidental duplication! Deleted it.
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Sorry, but I've drawn a blank so far on both the Durham Record Office site and in the newspapers. If no one else finds anything I'll look again in a couple of days when Charles might've let his guard down.
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Charles still appears to be in Sunderland in 1798.
In the Newcastle Courant on 02 June 1798 there is notice of a sale by auction of a freehold brewery at Low Street Sunderland currently in the occupation of Mr Robert Blakiston and also a freehold Close or Parcel of Ground situate at the East end of Sunderland called Chapel Garth and containing by estimation one acre and a half with the houses and other buildings thereon ... now in the several occupations of the said Robert Blakiston, and Charles Miller. Further particulars were available from Mr Raisbeck in Stockton.
Nothing to absolutely confirm its your Charles but the connection to the brewery make it a good possibility. I'll see if I can find anything more.
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Thanks for looking. I've been giving Durham records online a go and have come up with a possible death for John:
Burials Sunderland 1796 John Miller abt 1749
Is there any way I can see if I can find a gravestone for him? And if I register on the site and purchase credits, what more would I get on the death entry for John Miller, for example.
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The record is also on FindMyPast but doesn't say a lot:
JOHN MILLER aged 47 buried 12 April 1796. Parish of Sunderland / Holy Trinity
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Sorry, my laptop crashed. Link to BT:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11076-34922-35?cc=1309819&wc=9K5M-GP6:13618101,32548301,1077225001
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Just to add to the earlier posting by Angelfish, the article in the Newcastle Courant 13 Aug 1796 does refer to John as "of Keeper" and goes on to say that Hugh Miller will continue the Wine & Spirit Business and also the Brickyard at Keeper.
The implication is therefore that John ran the brickyard, although Keeper isn't anywhere Ive come across before, although there are some very knowledgeable people on here who I'm sure can help further.
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Thank you, Jomot.
That would make that John Miller born about 1749 with Hugh about 1756, fitting in with the name order on the parents gravestone, and plenty of room for Charles in the middle. The 1817 Charles Millar of Whitburn born approx 1854 looks a contender. All three are compatible with a mother born in 1716. And there may be more daughters in Scotland who aren't on the gravestone as they were still living. Margaret was named, died in 1789, and I came across Isabella as sponsor on Charles's illegitimate daughter's birth entry. The farm at Nether Tomdow passed out of the family on William Miller's death in 1794 so the brothers had no financial reason to return.
Had a quick look into Keeper, couldn't find it but wondered if it might have become Keepershield where there was a brickworks for a short time at the end of the 19thC. Thinking of N and S Shields, it seems to be a local term. Once again thanks for all your help.
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There is what appears to be a burial record for him at the High Street Independent Chapel in Lancaster:
May 21 1825, Hugh Miller aged 69, Common Brewer of Sunderland.
The grave reference is given as 165. J5. 195, which looks like it may have been a common grave as it isn't unique to Hugh Miller, but this has then been crossed out and the words "removed to Caton" added.
Just as a clarification for anyone else researching this line, the grave at Lancaster contained Hugh Miller and two Bell children. Hugh's daughter had married the Rev Samuel Bell who took up the parish at Caton where Hugh and the children ended up. I've a copy of the microfiche for Caton with Littledale, Lancashire, St. Paul's: Monumental Inscriptions. The inscription reads:
In the vault beneath deposited the remains of Hugh Miller of Sunderland in the County of Durham Gentleman who died at Lancaster the 17th day of May 1825 aged 69 years. Thomas Miller who died in the County of Middlesex..... the younger son of the above who departed this life the 19th day of August 183? aged 29 years.... (rest unreadable)
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Just to add to the earlier posting by Angelfish, the article in the Newcastle Courant 13 Aug 1796 does refer to John as "of Keeper" and goes on to say that Hugh Miller will continue the Wine & Spirit Business and also the Brickyard at Keeper.
The implication is therefore that John ran the brickyard, although Keeper isn't anywhere Ive come across before, although there are some very knowledgeable people on here who I'm sure can help further.
Looking at this again and just came across the UK poll book of 1790 with the following entries under Freeholders in the Easington Ward:
Freeholders Name Place of Abode Place of Freehold Of What consisting Occupier
Miller Hugh Sunderland Sunderland House Thos Stafford + others
Miller John Kepier Sunderland House John Branson + others
Miller Charles Sunderland Sunderland House Safford + others
I believe that Kepier/Keyper is in Durham itself?