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I'm hoping someone has the expertise with Canadian records to help me track down what became of a Robert Brown who arrived in Canada in 1910.  He was born 29 March 1893 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England the son of James Brown and Isabella nee Pattie but was orphaned at 6 and adopted into his uncle William Lyall's family.  The Lyalls arrived in Canada in August 1910 on the Virginian and the following year Robert and his elder brother John can be seen living with the Lyalls in Vancouver.  He's actually listed as "Wilbert Lyall" but I'm sure this is him, employed as "messenger".  I can see a Robert Brown in 1921 too, a bachelor still and a boarder, employed as a telegraph operator at Shuswap Lake, B.C.

I have access to Ancestry and Findmypast subscriptions but I can't really see any resources there that would help me follow the trail further.  Hence my throwing myself on the mercy of any BC experts here who might be able to help me!  Any info on Robert, or indeed on brother John or the Lyalls would be much appreciated.

Jon

You might be in luck - there is a will for a Francis Hunt of York, gentleman, available at the Borthwick Institute in York.  Unfortunately, these York Prerogative Court wills are not freely available anywhere online (nor are they likely to be for the foreseeable future) ... only the index entries ... so they have to be ordered from the Borthwick either from their website or via the link provided on findmypast (look for 'Prerogative & Exchequer Courts Of York Probate Index, 1688-1858' under the All Record Sets link).

The Borthwick reference is vol.143, f.42 May 1799, index ref. 1793011799120139.tif/33

As Francis Hunt is a 'gentleman' and his son (assuming this is John's father) an attorney, there is a good chance the will might provide some rich genealogical detail.

Ian et al.,

Just noticed today that Henry Leonard Stephenson (b. 1859) appears on the front cover of this book published as long ago as 2006.  He's top row middle photograph.

Jon

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victorian-Villains-Prisoners-Newcastle-1871-1873/dp/1857951085/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=victorian+villains&qid=1600534565&sr=8-1

Jora, you star!!  That is indeed the right couple.  I looked at the Lamberton Toll records when last at Woodhorn but they're very scrappy and I don't think complete.  I will check again armed with that date.

This restores my faith in logic because, as I said above, the parish clerk at the time for Scremerston seems to have been quite fastidious in distinguishing between legitimate and illegitimate offspring. Their daughter (born 18th Feb 1849) was baptized on the 15th April, a week after this marriage date, and yet still is denoted as illegitimate.  Although the baptism makes clear that Andrew Pattie was the father, she was stuck with her mother's maiden name as surname until her own marriage.

Huge thanks for this - I've been looking for it for years.  You mention your source but the Berwick Advertiser for the 1840s is not yet included in the run on the British Newspaper Archive.  Are these extracts of irregular marriages also reproduced elsewhere? 

I would say that, by a process of elimination, John Beck, shipwright, has to be your No. 1 candidate.

The only other John Beck in Newcastle at this time is John Beck, grocer (c1790-1830), who can be almost ruled out because his first wife, Mary Lowes, who he m. by banns at St. John on 11 Oct 1819, died in September 1820 (buried on the 29th at St. Nicholas) ... the same year that he was declared a bankrupt ... and he only looks to have had one child by his 2nd wife Elizabeth Talentyre (m. 22 May 1824 at St. John) - Jacob Wilson Beck (x 3 Apr 1825 at St. John). 

This John Beck died c. 1 Jan 1830 and was buried 3rd Jan 1830 (from St. Nicholas parish) at St. Andrew.  His widow re-married to Thomas Mowbray the following year and received a nice inheritance from her half-brother John Bulman Armstrong in 1834.  Son Jacob Beck can be seen in the 1851 census with his half-brother Thomas Mowbray.

So it seems very unlikely that your John Beck hails from that lot.  As for the intriguing Ann Gleghorn, she is described as 'servant', and perhaps that is all the relationship was although it's unusual at that date for a servant to have followed her master from Westoe to Cowpen.  Perhaps she was a sort of nanny to John - he's very young in 1841 - as it's not often you come across coal miners with domestic servants.  I think she's probably the Ann Leaming/Leeman/Lemon who married Thomas Gleghorn at Earsdon in 1795 and who died 11 Oct 1857 at Blyth ("At Blyth, 11th inst., aged 89, Ann, widow of Mr. Thos Gleghorn, tailor." [Morpeth Herald, 17 Oct 1857].  Maybe there's a clue in there somewhere ... hope so.