Coal Miners in Cockfield, Bishop Auckland

[Edwin Spencer]

Can anyone explain why my great-grandmother Mary Ann Million 1859-1920 has Polish Ancestry? She was born in Cockfield, Durham Co., daughter of Thomas Million 1835-1902 (or Charles Million 1822-1904) and either Hanna Sutton 1823-? or Catherine ? 1840-79. Were there any Polish women in Durham Co (or Cumberland) in the 18th/19the century?

[Spelk]

The GRO index shows that the Mary Ann MILLION born in q1 1859 had mothers maiden name as MCADAMS. Her birth certificate will give her fathers name.
Alternatively Freebmd will probably give you the marriage of her parents and their names.
Why do you think she had non UK ancestry?
Added Catherine MCADAMS married Thomas MILION 1858.

Edit - odd I can see the family in Cockfield in 1861 census with Mary Ann age 1. I can see the birth of her sister Dorothy in q3 1856 in Teesdale with mmn SUTTON but not Mary Ann. Was she adopted?
Also who is the the Elizabeth MILLIONS born  the quarter after Dorothy whose mother was also SUTTON.

I see Mary Ann Million was baptised 25 Dec 1859 in Cockfield to Charles and Hannah.

[AlanBoyd]

There are Million records at Cockfield going back to a marriage in 1740 when John McMillon married Margery Vepon. This couple baptised several children at Cockfield under the name Million.  Variations of the name then continue as Mackmillion, McMillion, Milleons, Milleon, McMilleon, but by the 1820s the name has 'stabilised' to Million.

Margery Vepon is the only occurrence of Vepon at Cockfield, but there is a Lancelote Veponn buried at Witton-le-Wear in 1576 and many Vepons/Veponds plus variations after that in various locations.

[Edwin Spencer]

Dear Alan

Thank you so very much for this information. I think this information solves the problem. Again, thanks.

Best, Edwin

[fiddlerslass]

The 1859 registration found for Mary Ann mmn McAdams was at Durham registration district which includes Lanchester, which is given as the birthplace of this child on the 1861 and 1871 censuses, parents Thomas and Catherine.

Either Mary Ann b. Cockfield, which should be under Teesdale reg district (although some of her siblings were registered at Auckland) was not registered, or her surname has been totally mangled.

[Edwin Spencer]

My great-grandmother Mary Ann Million 1859, from the coal mining district of Cockfield, Bishop Auckland, had some female Polish ancestry because the people with whom I share mtDNA (which is inherited through the mother) are of Polish ancestry. These Poles all originated in Pomerania. This means that one of Mary Ann's female ancestors must have been Polish, but since the family never left Durham Co. how can this be? How did this Polish women end up in Durham Co and produce daughters who later were the mothers of women who were the mother of Mary Ann Million? There is confusion because her mother may have been Hanna Sutton or Hanna Million or Catherine McAdams.

[AlanBoyd]

You’ve reminded me of the story of Count Boruwlaski, a Polish dwarf who ended his days in Durham.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B3zef_Boruw%C5%82aski?wprov=sfti1


and the German swordmakers of Shotley Bridge

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotley_Bridge?wprov=sfti1

[fiddlerslass]

 Haplogroup H is the most commonly found Haplogroup in modern Poles , which is also the most commonly found maternal Haplotype in Europe . The next most common in modern Poles are U, J and T.
In England the most common are also H, followed by J and U


Mitochondrial DNA is useful in that it can point to general migrations of people thousands of years ago. It does not mean that because you may share haplotypes with people of Polish ancestry that your recent ancestors were Polish.

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/Haplogroup_H_mtDNA.shtml

Further down this page there's information about J T and U haplogroups

https://www.eupedia.com/europe/origins_haplogroups_europe.shtml#JT