Cookson Family of Applethwaite, Undermillbeck and Troutbeck

[Susan Blackstone]

Hi, I have done extensive research on my grandfather x 4, George Cookson, who was an Excise Officer in the early 1800's.  I have tried to research his origins hoping I have been on the right track.  George died in Penrith on 08/01/1823 and was buried there on 11/01/1823 aged 45.   I found a baptism for George on 25/01/1778 at Troutbeck to parents George Cookson and Jane.  George married his first wife Jane Bradshaw on 25/11/1806 by licence in Kendal.  I obtained a copy of this licence and it indicates that George was living in Halifax and his bondman was George Cookson Husbandman of Applethwaite.  I requested the Will of George Cookson Sen Husbandman of Undermillbeck dated 30/05/1803.  His Executors were John Braithwaite and William Fisher both yeomen and from Applethwaite.  His beneficiaries were his wife Jane, sons George and Robert, spinster daughter Jane and married daughters Ann (married to Joseph Ellis of Ambleside) and Mary (married to Miles Walker of Applethwaite).  Also his granddaughter Jane (married to John Bigland previously of Cartmell Fell - George did not think much of his granddaughter's husband by what is mentioned in the Will).

I was puzzled by the mention of a granddaughter.  George Senior married Jane Martin by licence dated 20/02/1776 and there is no mention of him being previously married.  He is aged 35 and an husbandman of Troutbeck.  John Borwick was his bondsman a gentleman of Borwick Ground in the Parish of Hawkeshead.  John Borwick was also a witness at the wedding.  Jane Martin was a spinster of Belmount in the Parish of Hawkeshead. 

I hope this information may be useful and perhaps someone may be able to provide some answers.

[PaulineJ]

Re-reading your post, no wonder I got confused.

What dates & where did Jane Martin & the George who died 1803 sprog their kids?
& if George at that marriage was 35, it's more than feasible for him to be a widower, even if not mentioned.

[Susan Blackstone]

Looking at the will of George Cookson senior husbandman, his estate was wound up on 14/07/1807.  His children were baptised in Troutbeck,  Jane 05/01/1777, George 25/06/1778, Mary 13/08/1780, Robert 13/08/1782.  I don't have Ann's date, might possibly be 1784.

[FELLSMAN]

Hi

John Borwick the bondsman was a forefather of the famous Baking Powder and Custard makers George Borwick and Sons a son Robt Hudson Borwick 1845 -1936 was Knighted and became 1st Baron Borwick of Hawkshead

[Susan Blackstone]

Hi, Thanks for the information.  I have just looked on the internet and found quite a lot about the company.  I did look further into John Borwick and found him mentioned on the website hawksheadbenefice.co.uk/inscriptions where there is a memorial plaque placed by 2 of his children Mary and Rebecca in 1844.

As for my own ancestors, George Cookson Senior was a widower when he married Jane Martin although I do not know who was his first wife.  He had 2 children from this marriage, both baptised at Troutbeck, Elizabeth  30/10/1744 and Ann 15/02/1747.

[nicolajr20]

Hi Susan,
Fascinated to find this thread as I’m descended from George Cookson and Jane Martin through their son, Robert.
I’m a bit confused about your idea of George having been married before.  The marriage to Jane was in 1776 and George was 35 at that time, making him born around 1741, so Elizabeth in 1744 and Ann in 1747 are possibly his sisters, rather than daughters.  I’ve not managed to find any likely baptism for George so wondered if you’ve had any luck in finding his parents.

[Susan Blackstone]

Hi Nicola,

I have often wondered what happened to Robert Cookson.  I did find a marriage in Manchester in 1819 for a Robert Cookson coach proprietor to Nancy Paulden Hardy.  He died in 1829 aged 45.  When is four daughters married he was mentioned originating from Ellory Westmorland. 

Looking at a copy of George and Jane's marriage licence and bond 27/2/1776, George is 35 although the wording also includes  'and upwards' and Jane is 25.  There is no mention of him being a widower.  I did find the baptisms in Troutbeck for Elizabeth Cookson 30/10/1744 father George and Ann Cookson 15/2/1747 also father George.  In George's Will of 30/5/1803 it definitely mentions my daughter Ann wife of Joseph Ellis of Ambleside and my daughter Mary wife of Miles Walker of Applethwaite.  The grand daughter Jane, wife of John Bigland, I can only assume is the daughter of Elizabeth Cookson.  I also found a baptism in Troutbeck for George Cookson 27/2/1726 parents Robert (blacksmith) and Elizabeth.  Robert Cookson's will of 10/3/1741 mentions his children James, George, Thomas and Agnes.  His wife is Janet, although I did find a marriage for Robert to Jennet Dixon 5/3/1738, I can only assume he was a widower.  The further you go back the more it gets confusing!

[nicolajr20]

Hi Susan,
Firstly, thank you so much for pointing me in the direction of the clue I missed!  I read that George Cookson was 35 years old, not that he was 35 years and upwards, this new idea makes a lot of other things fall into place now.  I had been going round in circles wondering why I couldn't find a baptism for him, and setting him up with a possible father who would only have been around 15 at the time of his birth.  Now that I realise that there is just the one George Cookson, born around 1726, and who almost certainly was married twice, it makes much more sense.  I also have his father as Robert, who also seems to have been married twice, firstly to Elisabeth, and then, in his old age, to Jennet Dixon.  So far I've not got any further back than that, but I was wondering if there are any more clues in the two wills you mentioned.  Is there any property mentioned in both wills which would confirm the link between Robert and George?
You are correct in you research for George's son Robert, it is him who married Nancy Paulden Hardy  in 1819.  The mention of Elleray in Westmoreland in relation to Robert had eluded me for many years, as I could find no mention of the place at all.  It was only a few months ago that I searched again and Google came up with Elleray Bank, and I checked out the baptisms in the area and discovered one for Robert at just the right time.  Since then I've had DNA matches come up with other descendants of George and Jane, so I feel confident in the link now.
For many years I have had a black and white photograph of a painting of four young girls, with a scribbled note that these were "The Cookson sisters - At the back Mrs Pease, then after Mrs Pickford, on the left Mrs Lillie, On the right Mrs Athill, sitting, aged 2/3, Mrs Hutchinson".  I had always known that the young girl, Mary Ann Cookson married my 2x great grandfather, William Henry Heap Hutchinson, but it took me a while to find names for her three sisters, Martha, Jane, and Sarah, and their husbands.  Sadly, their father, Robert, had died a few months before Mary Ann was born.  Robert had run what appears to have been a successful coaching business in Manchester for around 20 years.
I'd be interested to learn where you fit into the Cookson family and work our how we are related, and maybe see if we can work together to take the family back a bit further.
Best wishes, Nicola

[Susan Blackstone]

Hi Nicola, Sorry for not contacting sooner.  I will have a look at the wills and any information gathered.  I don't know whether you looked at Lancashire online parish project for the baptisms of Robert Cookson's children and marriages of his daughters.  I looked at newspapers and censuses for further information.  I also saw the picture of his daughters.