In search of James Dufton born in Leeds in 1787, his ancestry & descendants.

A couple of days ago I made contact with Michael Dufton in Melbourne Australia. I went searching on the net for Pierre de Vlassow, the second husband of a Mary Emily Dufton Fitzroy. She was the first child of Charles Augustus Fitzroy & Elizabeth Dufton, daughter of James Dufton. The net found Michael straightaway-http://www.duftontree.com/  and then I remembered that a few years back whilst doing some Dufton research I had made contact with Michael before. I went hunting upstairs in my family history box and found all the material that he and I had shared. In those days I was following a different line of the Dufton Family. In an earlier blog I wrote about Thomas Tatterson Readman, the pioneer engine driver, born in Scarborough Yorkshire to his parents John & Hannah Readman.  He went to live in Selby, and married an Elizabeth Dufton, below is the marriage record.

This research was in 2001; later I made contact with a John G. Dufton, and eventually Michael Dufton.

So moving from George, James & Thomas Dufton I have been following the life of Elizabeth Dufton, the daughter of a James Dufton, a tailor, as opposed to broker as were the other Dufton line I was following. Elizabeth Dufton was born on 22 August 1824 in Selby, Yorkshire and baptised 4 days later in Selby Abbey, one of 7 children born & brought up by James Dufton & his wife Elizabeth Mellard. I suppose the only reason they didn't have anymore children was because James Dufton died in 1827. Looking at the marriage record above Elizabeth does not name her father nor his occupation. Surely she would have known his name, but of course she would have been brought up knowing Peter Ward as her father figure-her mother married him after the death of James Dufton.  Using Ancestry I soon discovered that Elizabeth had several siblings:Mary in 1811, Joseph in 1814, James in 1816, he died in 1819, Hannah in 1819, Jane in 1822, then Elizabeth in 1824, and John in 1826.  All these names were on also on a family tree sheet put together several years ago by a Bernard Dufton.

The tree shows that Elizabeth Dufton's parents were James Dufton & Elizabeth Mellard, who were married in Selby on 11 October 1810. James Dufton was a tailor, though this information is not on the marriage record, it probably is on the baptismal records of their children. So this is what I have to discover next, the baptism of the children, and his marriage record, but not on a digital format but from the microfilm/fiche record which will probably at Borthwick Institute in York. I was there at that library/record office on Tuesday looking into the will of the other Dufton family that don't seem to be connected with this Dufton family apart from the same surname. I have discovered that James Dufton was born in Leeds, in an area of Leeds called Tenters, in the district of Mill Hill, Leeds. His baptism record reads:-"Baptisms at Leeds St Peter May 1787"-John DUFTON, of Tenters, presented his son James, born April 7, 1787 for baptism on 13 May, 1787"
A few years ago in 2006, I took part in a course about the History of Leeds, and was given a copy of an early map of Leeds published in 1725. Below is a section of this map showing Low Tenter & Upper Tenter under where now is the railway station of Leeds. I know that when the cloth had been washed it was hung on tenterhooks to dry. The map shows some of these tenter hooks just above the word Swine Gate.

You can also see Mill Hill, which refers to the Castle Mill which can also be seen on the map, just near where Mill Hill & Swine Gate meet. This mill was where the Lord of the manor of Leeds ground his corn, and where anyone paying rent to the Lord had to grind their corn too. The water to this mill came from the High Dam which was to the left of this map (not shown), but there is a new mill on a mill race to the south of the Manor Mill. The water from the Manor Mill flowed into the River Aire near Leeds Bridge. All this area now is covered with roads, & buildings, but most likely the mill stream is culverted.

James was the son John & Ruth Dufton, one of at least 4 children born to this couple between when they married on 5 March 1781 at Leeds St Peters. That record reads

John DUFTON of this parish, Miller, and Ruth Hillyard of this parish, spinster married in this church by banns on fifth day of March 1781, witnessed by John Duffton & John Lockwood. Notice that DUFTON is spelt DUFFTON then. So maybe James's father was the miller at the new mill or at the Manor Mill, or at another one altogether. Maybe that is the cue for another line of research. 

http://www.gatehouse-gazetteer.info/English%20sites/1745.html

James is left an orphan aged 7

 The witness John DUFFTON, could well mean his father who was still alive in 1787-he died in 1794. James  DUFTON, the husband of Elizabeth MELLARD had 3 siblings, the last one, Mary being baptised on 31 May 1789,  born at Tenters on 22 May 1789. She died of smallpox on February 26 1792, aged 2 years 7 months. His eldest brother was Joshua born 13 March 1782, then came his brother Joseph on 21 July 1784, then James in 1787, and then his sister Mary. John, his father died in 1790, the record states he was buried at Leeds St Peter's Parish Church from Tenters having died of fever aged 31.So James DUFTON is aged 3, when his father died, and then only 4 years later his mother dies-the record reads: Ruth DUFTON widow, of Tenters, 35 years, buried 9 January 1794 of dropsy. So at the young age of 7, James Dufton is an orphan, probably being cared for by his grandfather John DUFTON until he too died in 1794, so then maybe by his elder brothers Joshua & Joseph, or one of his many uncles if any of them were alive in 1794.On the other hand his grandmother, Alice Dufton, born Alice Fielding was still alive in 1794-she died 1799 in Woodhouse. 

So yes, it looks like Grandmother Dufton(Duffton), looked after all the children after 1794.

James then brought up by his grandmother Alice, and at some time goes to Selby, because that's where he meets and  later marries Elizabeth Mellard. Elizabeth in subsequent census states she was born in Menthorpe, Yorkshire. That sent  me searching through my old OS maps to see if I could find Menthorpe. 

Yes there it was on an old map I had of 1977, on the west bank of the river Derwent. Menthorpe doesn't have a parish church, so just wonder where Elizabeth was baptised. Looking on Genuki Hemingbrough, http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/ERY/Hemingbrough/ I found that Menthorpe was in this parish, so tried a church for Mellard persons being baptised in Hemingbrough, though I did find some, no sign of Elizabeth. I even looked on the surname Millard, but still no success. So more work at the Borthwick methinks.

So getting back to Elizabeth Dufton and her siblings, I went looking for their marriages etc.

So looking at the family tree above, James & Elizabeth's first child was Mary, and thinking about it, why did they name their first daughter Mary, when James'e wife was called Elizabeth & his James's mother was Ruth, so maybe she was named after Elizabeth Mellard's mother. So that's another clue to follow for Elizabeth. Mary, according to chart 8A, was born August 22 1811 & baptised August 25 1811 at Selby, but so far using electronic means I can't find a record-so back to the Borthwick I think. I am going to have to make a list of the information to get for my next visit there. 

Their next child was Joseph, born to them in March 1814, baptised at Selby on March 4, 1814. Again, maybe that's another clue, as to Elizabeth's family-I would have thought James & Elizabeth would name their first born son James or even John after James's father-Joseph was James's brother of course, or maybe they just liked the name. Usually there was a naming pattern of some sort in these 19th century families. Anyway can't find any else about him after his birth yet.

Then was born James in November 1816, baptised 17 November 1816, but he died in 1819, being buried at Selby, according to that family tree above on 7 October 1819. 

Then came Hannah, born in 1819, baptised 22 November 1819, and she survived infancy & childhood, marrying on 13 October 1839 a John Whitehead, who in 1851 was described as a tile maker.John Whitehead was also from Selby, but judging from the evidence of their first born child Ellen, who was baptised at West Acklam, Middlesbrough on 29 March 1840 soon after their marriage they move to Middlesbrough, but that doesn't work out because they move back to Howden where there second child James is born in January 1842, baptised there on 28 January 1842. The family then move back into the Selby area again, John Whitehead on the census of 1851, was born in Barlow, Yorkshire, which is a small village to the south of Selby. So far I can't find too much more about him. Then there seems to be a gap between John and his sister Elizabeth who was baptised in Brayton, near Selby on 29 October 1848. Here there is an Anglican Church, there isn't one in Barlow. It turns out that Brayton Parish church of St Wilfred's is the Parish church for a number of little villages including Barlow where there was a Chapel of Ease, which means A chapel of ease (sometimes chapel-of-ease) is a church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. (Seehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_ease. 

 Maybe there were other children born to John & Hannah between 1844 & 1848, but they died, so not shown on the census. So there was Elizabeth baptised in Brayton, near Selby, the original might show where the family were living then & John Whitehead's occupation. The next child is Mary, again baptised at Brayton, Selby, on 29 December 1850. 

In April, 1851, the census of that year shows the family living in Shipyard, Selby. Now this isn't what I thought it a shipyard, but an area of housing near the river called ShipYard. According to these baptisms, John & Hannah took their children to Brayton to be baptised, just about a mile from where they were living at Shipyard, Selby. Maybe these maps will help identify both Brayton & Selby.

First of all Shipyard (These maps can be found at http://maps.nls.uk/os/6inch-england-and-wales/index.html)

Note the place Ship Yard, not shipyard, close to the river Ouse, at the end of Shipyard Lane. There is a graving dock nearby, then a series of buildings as we move along the river front towards the town. You can see the railway line that carried coal trucks to the coal staith and then the station of the "Leeds & Selby Railway" which was opened in 1834. Then the bridge carrying the railway line to Hull, then more buildings and the swing bridge over the Ouse, then Selby Abbey.

The map below shows a little more of the town and still Ship Yard.

The map below shows Brayton village, with its church and Selby and "Ship Yard" right on the river.

In 1851 Census, the Whitehead family are living in Ship Yard, Selby.

I went to the Borthwick Institute in York today mainly to look for Whitehead's & Dufton baptisms, marriages & burials. Researching the Whitehead family, I looked at the microfilm record of baptisms for Brayton parish church, but couldn't find the record of baptisms stated above which is a bit unusual-maybe I had the wrong church, so will have to try again sometime. I then consulted Microfilm number 769, Baptisms at Selby Abbey 1808 to 1885, number 1068399.

Here I found the baptism of John Whitehead: 15 April 1818, John son of William & Ellen Whitehead of Selby, father's occupation Taylor, baptised by John Turner, curate. So that explains why they named their first daughter Ellen, born to them in West Acklam on 29 March 1840. 

On the same record there was these Whitehead baptisms: 

3789, 29 January 1854,Jane daughter of John & Hannah Whitehead, of Selby Outside, father's occupation, Tile maker, by F. W. Harper, curate.

3944, 31 July 1855, Thomas son of John & Hannah Whitehead, of Selby, Ship Yard,  father's 

occupation, grocer.

5066, 20 December 1857, Emma, daughter of John & Anna Whithead, of Selby Outside, father's occupation tile maker, by F. W. Harper, curate

So these baptisms show that the Whitehead family stayed in Ship Yard, but took their children to Selby Abbey to be baptised. That is the large building on the first map above, a website explains more about the abbey and its history. http://www.selbyabbey.org.uk/

Then I looked for records of baptisms for the Dufton family and this was where I really struck gold!

Looking at the Dufton family tree above, you can see the word tailor after James Dufton's name. I did always wonder where this information came from, it wasn't on the marriage of Elizabeth DUFTON to Thomas Readman in 1845 in Selby-she didn't name her father or his occupation. 

So on the same microfilm above, baptisms at Selby Abbey from 1808 to 1885, I found this baptism:-

Mary DUFTON, daughter of James DUFTON, sailor (yes sailor, not tailor, such a difference one consonant can make), & Elizabeth daughter of Geo. Mellard, farmer of Selby by Jane his wife, born 22 August 1811, baptised 25 August 1811. I had to look twice, and compare the writing of S & T in various other names, but yes it was an "S", not a "T", and further entries confirmed this too.

So that was why James DUFTON left Leeds when his grandmother Alice DUFTON died in 1799, he went to Selby, only a short distance away, and became a sailor, not a tailor. 

So I looked up the rest of the DUFTON family born to James & Elizabeth.

4 March 1814, Joseph, son of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, father's occupation, Sailor, by John Turner, curate.

17 November 1816, James, son of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, father's occupation, Sailor, by John Turner, curate.

22 November 1819, Hannah, daughter of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, father's occupation, Sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate.

23 February 1822, Jane, daughter of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, father's occupation, Sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate.

22 August 1824, Elizabeth, daughter of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, father's occupation, Sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate.

14 August 1826, John, son of James & Elizabeth DUFTON, of Selby, Sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate. 

Then this entry: BURIALS at Selby Abbey:

James DUFTON, of Selby, buried January 21 1827, aged 41, by J. Muncaster, curate.

There was this entry too:

Marriages at Selby Abbey: James DUFTON, of this parish, aged 22 years, Bachelor, & Elizabeth Mellard, of this parish, aged 22 years,  spinster, were married by banns, by John Turner, on 11 day of September 1810. Witnessed by John Dickinson & John Hayes (these 2 witnessed several different marriages).

So James Dufton died in 1827, leaving Elizabeth to cope with several children, very little money, but still quite young, and soon she was married again.

On 20 July 1828, Elizabeth DUFTON & Peter Ward married at Selby Abbey, he was a sailor, too. I saw the record at the Borthwick today, but didn't record it, but I did record the baptisms of their 2 children.

27 March, 1832, Thomas, son of Peter & Elizabeth WARD, of Selby, father's occupation, sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate.

27 July 1834, Sarah, daughter of Peter & Elizabeth WARD, of Selby, father's occupation, sailor, by J. Muncaster, curate. Maybe there were more, but maybe Peter wasn't always at home if he was a sailor.

Whilst at the Borthwick with this microfilm in the reader, I looked for other descendants of James Dufton-this time of his baby son John, his last to be born in 1826. He like other members of the family, with the proximity of the railway at Selby joined it for work. Whist his sisters Elizabeth & Jane married engine drivers, he became a guard and worked on the line between Leeds & Thirsk. He married a Ruth Pratt, from Knaresborough on 24 August 1851-247: John DUFTON, full age, Bachelor, Railway Guard, of Park lane, Knaresborough,, son of James Dufton a tailor, & Ruth Pratt of full age, of Windsor Lane, Knaresborough daughter of Joseph Pratt a Mason were married at the parish Church. 

I bought the marriage record in 2002 whilst researching his descendants. I have now re-read that marriage record knowing now that James Dufton was in fact a sailor, not a tailor. Now I can see the record says just that 

They had a son called John James DUFTON born in April quarter of 1853-John after his father & James after his grandfather maybe. That's another baptism to find I see. John James Dufton is the little boy staying with his aunt Elizabeth Readman in New Holland in 1861 as referred to in the blog about Thomas Readman the engine driver. John Dufton, his father died suddenly at work on 1 June 1853; his death was recorded in a number of different newspapers and by the coroner at an inquest. 

Fatal Accident on the Leeds Northern Railway:- Reynolds's Newspaper (London, England), Sunday, June 5, 1853; Issue 147.

One of those fatalities which are now of rather frequent occurrence on the different railways in the country happened on Wednesday morning last to a train running between Knaresborough and Ripon, which resulted in the death of John Dufton, the guard, who was killed on the spot, his whole body being horribly mangled. A train leaves Knaresborough every morning at half-past seveno'clock and proceeds to Ripon whence it returns at 8-10am, to Knaresborough, and thence forward to York, on the East and West Yorkshire railway. On Wednesday morning the train left about the usual time, and on its arrival at Wormaldgreen, which is about five miles on the Harrogate side of Ripon, the tire of the leading wheel of the engine broke, the train being at that time in motion. The broken tire was passed over by the engine, but it struck the guard's van and the the engine and tender were severed from the rest of the train; and they proceeded about 300 yards along the line towards Ripon before they were brought to a stand, the driver and stoker escaping unhurt. Almost at the same moment that the engine and tender broke away, the guard's van was thrown over upon its side, and it was then that the guard was killed, he being found on the line about 100 yards behind the carriages, the van having passed over him as it was forced along the rails, altough in a prostrate position, by the impetus of the carriages. The van and carriages were stopped by coming in contact with the tender, but happily none of the passengers were hurt.

At the inquest the coroner summed the death up as follow;-Whitcliffe with Thorpe, Ripon, North Yorkshire

1853 Death in sub-district of Ripon: 162: First June 1853, Whitcliffe with Thorpe, John DUFTON, Male, 25 years, Accidentally Killed on the Leeds Northern Railway by a railway van in motion falling upon him. Informant: John THOMPSON, deputy coroner Liberty.

Mother Ruth Dufton and son John stay in Knaresborough but on 26 May 1856 she marries a William Upton at Selby Parish Church, where they were both living then. 

The marriage record states: 1856 Marriage at Selby Parish Church, Yorkshire, 192, May 26 1856, William UPTON, full age, Bachelor, Joiner, of Selby son of William UPTON & Ruth PRATT, full, spinster, of Selby, daughter of Joseph PRATT,mason, were married in the parish church.

Note how Ruth doesn't call herself a widow, but a spinster. Anyway they marry and between them have a couple of children, Edward Pratt Upton in 1857 & Tom William Upton in 1860.

The microfilm above at the Borthwick provided me with his baptism at Selby Abbey.
Number 5031:18 July 1857, Edward, son of William & Ruth UPTON, of Selby, Wheelwright, by F.W. Harper.

Number 98: 4 December 1860, Tom William, son of William & Ruth UPTON, of Selby, Millgate, Joiner, by F. W. Harper. Note that a year later, her son John James Dufton is in New Holland, with his aunt Elizabeth Readman, who had been living in Selby up to around 1852. Her 8 year old son John James DUFTON died at their Millgate home on 1 April 1862, certified by a doctor of Congestion of the brain and was buried at Selby Abbey.

James Dufton's daughter Elizabeth, married Thomas Tatterson Readman, an engine driver of Selby at Selby Abbey as seen at the beginning of this blog. The marriage record shows the spelling of Thomas as Redman, whilst the baptism of their two sons in Selby Abbey on that microfilm show the surname as Readman.

3072: 27 December 1846, John James, son of Thomas & Elizabeth READMAN, of Selby, Engineer, by J. L.Walton.

3358: 1 July 1849, Joseph Thomas son of Thomas & Elizabeth READMAN, of Selby, Engine Driver, by J. L. Walton, incumbent.

At this time Thomas & Elizabeth were living in Ousegate, or Ouse Street, on the waterfront as it were. On the map above showing Ship Yard, the houses before the railway station are all on Ousegate. Thomas's engine depot was just close by, so not far too walk. Maybe his house that he paid rent for was owned by the railway company. Below is a photograph of the old station buildings with the doors which would have given access for the track to reach the waterside as shown on the plan of 1851.

Below is a photograph of the houses in Ousegate, one of which I am sure that Thomas & Elizabeth lived in 1851.

So to conclude this section, I have much more to discover about James Dufton's wife Elizabeth Mellard, and her family; I think I now know the identity of her father, but where she was brought up is a bit of a mystery-she wasn't baptised at Hemingbrough, I did look at the baptisms at that place at the Borthwick but no Mellard around that time was listed or any name that resembled it. I now know that James was a sailor by trade and that made it good in the end despite his earlier setbacks. Now it's time to move on to a different person I think.