William Cartwright of Kington (1700s)

[cimbrio]

I'm going round in circles trying to pin down the origins and ultimate fate of William Cartwright, who married Mary Harpur in Kington in 1746. They had eight children, all born in Kington: Monteleon (1747), Alexander (1748), Mary (1751), William (1753), Henry (1756), a second Mary (1759), Anne (1760) and Jonathan (1762). William's wife Mary Harpur was likely the daughter of Jonathan and Mary Harpur who was born in Kington in 1721.

I don't know what William's profession was, nor can I be certain whether he was from Kington or elsewhere.

I did momentarily think he could be the William Cartwright born in Leominster in 1713, son of William and Victoria, but this William was probably the same William Cartwright who lost his first wife Anne in Leominster in the early 1750s, remarried to Sarah and left her as the sole heir and executrix of his will in the early 1780s in Leominster (therefore this William Cartwright does not seem to have connections to Kington).

The names of my William's two eldest sons, Monteleon and Alexander, aren't common in the area. Several descendants bore variations of the name Monteleon (Mantilian, Montilion...) but I have no idea where the name came from or why my ancestors would have chosen it for their first-born.

I can only assume both William and Mary died in Kington sometime after 1762, when their son Jonathan was born, but any guidance you can offer would be much appreciated!

[ColC]

There is this very broad baptism on family search, I cannot find it elsewhere?

William Cartwright
Birth Date:   07 Oct 1723
Birthplace:   Herefordshire, Worcestershire & Wales
Father's Name:   William Cartwright
Mother's Name:   Mary Cartwright

There are a few other children, same information.

Samuel Cartwright & Margaret Meredith had children in Kington, same period.
They married 1741 Yazor, Herefordshire but I cannot find a connection.

Monteleon  seems to be a surname originating in Italy.

Colin

[cimbrio]

Thank you Colin! I have found the same information you have provided and I am still unable to draw any conclusions.

The 1723 baptism you have located refers to a Quaker family in Alcester/Evesham (see below extracted from FindMyPast), which is quite far from Kington and I haven't found any indications of Quaker connections in my family.

I agree the name Monteleon sounds positively foreign and I wondered if this might indicate a possible connection to recusants. In 1705 Victoria Powell (whose family were recusants) married William Cartwright in Hereford. They had four children in Leominster including two sons, both called William (one b. 1711 and one b.1713).

I thought the younger William could be the one who married Mary Harpur in Kington in 1746, but the existence during the same period of a William Cartwright in Leominster who marries Anne and then Sarah and dies in the early 1780s throws a spanner in the works. It is not conclusive evidence but I think he is likely the same man who was baptised in 1713.

This means my William Cartwright's date and place of birth remain a mystery. Was he from Kington, or elsewhere? Could he still be the same person baptised in Leominster in 1713?


First name(s)   William
Last name   Cartwright
Birth year   1723
Birth date   07 Oct 1723
Father's first name(s)   William
Mother's first name(s)   Mary
Meeting place   Evesham, Alcester
Monthly meeting   Evesham, Alcester
Quarterly meeting   Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Wales
County   Worcestershire, Warwickshire
Country   England
Archive reference   RG6/1375
Description   HEREFORDSHIRE, WORCESTERSHIRE AND WALES: Evesham and Alcester
Record set   England & Wales, Society Of Friends (Quaker) Births 1578-1841
Category   Birth, Marriage, Death & Parish Records
Subcategory   Parish Baptisms
Collections from   Great Britain, England

[Rena]

lol, the only thing we know for certain is that when William the Conqueror instructed everyone to give themselves a surname - your ancestor made waggons and carts and gave himself the surname of Cartwright., as did many other people throughout the land with the same occupation but were not related.

I suppose you noticed when you were surfing the net, that there was a writer cum preacher, in Shakespeare's time, by the name of William Cartwright.  A wandering preacher/actor/writer could explain births in different places.   
A Catholic preacher trained in Rome, Italy, could also explain the foreign given name.  (Preachers started turning against Rome and what was considered to be harsh punishments doled out by the Catholic church about the mid 1500s.

Also shown on the web; there was a plague in Italy in the early part of the 1600s when a quarter to one fifth of the population of part of the country died and I expect an Italian sailor could have decided to take his family abroad and not to go back home.

Have you looked in one of the Historical Directories to see if  the family's occupation is shown?  Leicester Uni. have them on their website:
http://specialcollections.le.ac.uk/digital/collection/p16445coll4 

I came across the place called Kington a couple of decades ago when researching my OH's ancestors in Wales.  If you look at the Genuki website, it shows the place is on the route to London and Wales.  Herefordshire was famous for its cattle - your family might have owned and/or rented farmland to raise cattle and were in the right place to deliver to a couple of large markets

[Dave Jones]

"I don't know what William's profession was, nor can I be certain whether he was from Kington or elsewhere."

A possibility:
Herefordshire Archives hold a lease dated 19 November 1766.
1) Edward Greenly of Huntington Park, co. Herefs. esq.;
(2) William Cartwright of Kington, shoemaker.[;
Cottage and garden, late inclosed out of the road from Kington to Lyonshall.; 99 years.; 7s 6d. p.a.; 2 To maintain property.;

[Slipper]

In the National Archives Discovery there is a counterpart lease of a cottage and land between Kington and Lyonshall which names William Cartwright, shoemaker of Kington.  The date is 1766.  This might help.