Lancasters of Childwall, Lancashire

[MrStephen]

Dear all,

I've hit a bit of a dead end with one line of my family treeing. I'm descended from a Thomas Fleetwood who was born 1795 Childwall and was one of three brothers born to Robert Fleetwood (b. 1770 in Huyton) and a Margaret Lancaster.

Now, Robert and Margaret married in Childwall in August 1792, but I can find no other records at all relating to her. No birth record, nothing. I suppose there's a chance she's a widow, but still I can't find anything to prove this.

I would have thought the recorded history of the Lancaster family would be quite easy to trace, being the Landed Gentry that they were, but it seems not to be the case...unless anyone here has any ideas/insights...?

Stephen

[Christine in Herts]

Have you looked at any of these?

http://www.lancasterfamily.fslife.co.uk/

http://www.lancasterfamilytree.com/

http://www.lancasterfamilytree.com/treeinfo/ghtindex.html

I'm surprised that it doesn't seem to be in the Guild of One Name Studies list yet.

Christine

[MrStephen]

Thanks for that, Christine. Nothing strikes me as linking up with 'my' line yet, but I'll have a good look through that hefty gedcom and see if anything jumps out!

[MrStephen]

Hmm...nothing doing there, sadly. Only a handful of Margarets, and none of them fit the bill!

[Olde Crone Holden]

Uhhhhnnnn...how do you know she was landed gentry?
OC

[MrStephen]

How odd - I lost my reply somewhere!

OC, I don't know - or even necessarily believe - that Margaret would have been landed gentry herself, but the Lancasters are one of the big eight or nine land owning Liverpool families. If she is of that name, then somewhere she will be related. Just the same as if you found a 'Plantagenent' on your tree - you'd know that somewhere you'd be linking up to royalty.

[Olde Crone Holden]

Not necessarily related. the surname Lancaster would also be given to foundlings etc, or to male workers on the manor lands, pre 1400.

What I'm trying to say is that the history of the Lancaster family may be of no use whatsoever in tracing this family, if she is from the peasant side, lol.

OC

[MrStephen]

Ah yes, hadn't thought of that.

Looking for the Lancaster tree was just one avenue, really. Seeing as I'm stumped as to where to find her baptismal record...

[Olde Crone Holden]

Do you know when/where she died? Or even he? There may be something on a gravestone to help, or maybe a Will.

OC

[MrStephen]

Sadly not, no. Just sometime between the birth of the couple's third child in 1797 and the 1841 census on which she doesn't (seem) to appear.

All very vague, I know.

I'd guess a father's name as either James, John or Thomas based on the names of her kids, but that's about it for origins.

[kylejustin]

have you tired the lancs opc website? or is that where the info comes from? ok, so i couldnt find the marriage or a burial for them. maybe the registers for childwall are on cd? parish chest is a good site to check.

[MrStephen]

I tried Lancs OPC, yup.

Will check Parish Chest...hadn't previously heard of it.

Ahh...it's a pricey thing! I'll have to give that a miss then, sadly. Money is for food and heating, not for genealogy this year it would seem!!

[MrStephen]

Ahh...and the Childwall disc doesn't cover the years I want anyway...

[MrStephen]

And to further confuse things, I've just stumbled across a record on someone's ancestry tree (to which I am not subscribed) stating:

Name:	Sir Robert Fleetwood
Birth:	dd mm 1770
Marriage:	date - city, Lancashire, England
Spouse:	Margeret Lancaster

Robert is a knight of the realm? And his children are agricultural labourers? This is very odd indeed. Yet the records definitely give us:

Robert Fleetwood

marriage: 09 Aug 1792 Childwall, Lancashire, England

spouse: Margeret Lancaster

And the three children arrive at Walton -

John Fleetwood	christening: 16 Jul 1797 CHILDWALL,LANCASHIRE,ENGLAND	parents: Robert Fleetwood, Margaret
Thomas Fleetwood	christening: 26 Apr 1795 CHILDWALL,LANCASHIRE,ENGLAND	parents: Robert Fleetwood, Margaret

And there's also a Childwall birth for a James Fleetwood in 1793.

If anyone can lend a fresh pair of eyes to that...I'd be fascinated!

[Elaine ..Spain]

And to further confuse things, I've just stumbled across a record on someone's ancestry tree (to which I am not subscribed) stating:

Name:	Sir Robert Fleetwood
Birth:	dd mm 1770
Marriage:	date - city, Lancashire, England
Spouse:	Margeret Lancaster

I cannot see a tree with this on. Can you give the link?

[Olde Crone Holden]

The marriage of Robert and the baptisms of Thomas and John are on the familysearch website. They are extracted records, which means they are probably accurate.

Nothing about SIR Robert. I think that's probably a figment of someone's imagination, lol. I have vast experience of looking at Lancashire parish regs and I can tell you that whenever a Sir or a Lord does anything, his title is written extremely large, as is the entire entry!

OC

[ozgirl]

It could be this one, except the children are Robert and John, not Thomas and John.

http://trees.ancestry.co.uk/tree/968...00179879?ssrc=

Doesn't give any real info for Margaret though.

[ozgirl]

The 1793 christening for James, 28 july 1793, father Robert, mother Margret (sic) in Childwall. Looks a definite possibility.

[clematised]

Without looking through the links I live in Southport near Churchtown by Meols Hall the Hesketh Family Home Fleetwood and Hesketh are a big Family in the area so it may be worth contacting the NMFH Soc. http://www.nmfhssouthport.co.uk/

I can remember searching for this once before perhaps on the BBC or maybe here but it has been checked

Edna

[clematised]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meols_Hall

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1479804/Robert-Hesketh.html

Something of the Hesketh Family of Meols Hall, not so old as I had thought though.

Edna