CROFTS OF
ECKINGTON
John
Daniels and Ann Crofts were married at Rotherham in 1798. There was an Ann, daughter
of John Croft, baptised at Sheffield on 29 September 1776. However, Ann,
daughter of John Croft was buried there on 25 May 1777, so she cannot have been
the individual who married in 1798. When Ann (Crofts) Daniels died in 1802, she
was buried at Eckington, over the county border in Derbyshire, which is
suggestive of a family connection with that parish. The Eckington registers
show that Ann, daughter of John and Mary Crofts, was baptised there on 27
February 1774. John Crofts and Mary Haslam had been married at Eckington on 26
December 1760.
Another
relevant circumstance is that the marriage of Mary Crofts and Samuel Witton
(sometimes spelt Whitham or variants) in April 1798 at Sheffield was witnessed
by an Ann Crofts who, from a comparison of signatures, seems to be the Ann who
married John Daniels a few months later. Samuel Witton in turn was a witness at
the marriage of Hannah Crofts and Charles Richardson at Sheffield in 1803.
Ruth
Margaret (Daniels) Davies, a great-great-great-granddaughter of John and Ann
(Crofts) Daniels, has some pertinent DNA matches.[1]
She has significant matches of 53 cM and 32 cM with two siblings who are great-grandchildren of Mary
Ann (Whitham) Powell. Mary Ann was evidently a daughter of Emily Whitham,
daughter of John Whitham, son of Samuel and Mary (Crofts) Whitham. Ruth also
has a 33 cM match with a
great-great-great-great-grandchild of Godfrey and Sarah (Crofts) Haslam.
Another match Ruth has is of 21 cM with a
great-great-great-grandchild of Elizabeth Haslam who married Jeremiah Bolsover
at Sheffield in 1796. The parentage of Elizabeth is not entirely clear[2]
but she appears to have been connected with the Haslams
of Eckington as she had children baptised there and the Haslams
of Eckington had other connections with Sheffield in that period.[3]
The 21 cM match does seem to be through John Daniels
or Ann Crofts.[4]
The
parentage of the John Crofts who married Mary Haslam is complicated somewhat by
a baptism entry in the Eckington parish registers for Elizabeth, daughter of
John and Rebecca Crofts, on 4 July 1776. This indicates that there was another
John Crofts in the area having one or more children around that time, although
I have not found any other clear evidence to confirm the existence of John and
Rebecca. A Thomas Crofts and a Godfrey Crofts were baptised at Eckington in
1779 and 1786 respectively as sons of John Crofts but the mother is not named
in the entries so it is not certain whether they were sons of John and Mary
(Haslam) Crofts.
John
Crofts, husband of Mary Haslam, appears to be the sicklesmith
of Ridgeway in Eckington whose sons George and John became freemen of the
Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in 1791 and 1792 respectively. The older John
therefore would seem to be the one of that name who was apprenticed to John
Booth of Ridgeway, sicklesmith, in 1750, and who was
a son of George Crofts of Mosborough, husbandman.[5]
The
surname of this family is often spelt Croft in the early part of the period
covered here, with Crofts subsequently becoming more common.
I welcome comments on this
page. My e-mail address is on my home page.
CROFTS
1 PETER CROFT of Staveley, Derbyshire,
married on 6 July 1626 at Staveley, DINAH HOPKIN.[6]
She was buried on 21 December 1690 at Staveley.[7]
Children of Peter and Dinah (Hopkin) Croft:
i ALICE CROFT, bap 17 Nov 1626,
Staveley.[8]
ii WILLIAM CROFT, bap 1 May 1629, Staveley.[9]
2 iii HUGH CROFT (1632-1698); m(1) ELIZABETH NEWBOLD; m(2) MARGARET WHITE.
iv CROFT, bap 25 Aug 1639, Staveley.[10]
2 HUGH CROFT of Handley, Staveley,
husbandman, was baptised on 22 April 1632 at Staveley[11]
and buried on 16 September 1698 at Staveley.[12]
He married first, on 15 July 1654 at Chesterfield, ELIZABETH NEWBOLD.[13]
She was buried on 8 June 1666 at Staveley.[14]
Hugh married second, on 19 May 1668 at Staveley, MARGARET WHITE.[15]
She was buried on 28 May 1728 at Staveley.[16]
Children of Hugh and Elizabeth (Newbold)
Croft:
i ELIZABETH CROFT, bap 2 Nov 1655,
Staveley.[17]
ii BARBARA CROFT, bap 21 Feb 1657/58,
Staveley,[18]
bur 3 Apr 1661, Staveley.[19]
iii PETER CROFT, bap 29 Nov 1660,
Staveley,[20]
bur 23 Dec 1661, Staveley.[21]
iv HUGH CROFT of Chesterfield,
fellmonger, bap 8 Mar 1662/63, Staveley,[22]
bur 1 Mar 1744/45, Chesterfield;[23]
m(1) ca 16 Jul 1687, ALICE BAGSHAW;[24]
m(2) 11 Apr 1729, South Wingfield, SARAH FLETCHER.[25]
v JOHN CROFT, bap 16 Apr 1666,
Staveley.[26]
Children of Hugh and Margaret (White)
Croft:
vi PRISCILLA CROFT, bap 3 Oct 1669,
Staveley;[27] m
30 Nov 1695, Staveley, JOHN PEARSON.[28]
3 vii GEORGE CROFT (bap 1672); m SARAH
GILL.
viii GODFREY CROFT of Staveley,
blacksmith, bap 26 Jul 1674, Staveley,[29]
bur 4 Feb 1731/32, Staveley;[30]
m 11 Jul 1706, Staveley, MARY MARTIN.[31]
ix FRANCIS CROFT of Staveley, bap 3
Dec 1676, Staveley;[32]
m 28 Feb 1703/04, Chesterfield, ANN HARRISON.[33]
3 GEORGE CROFT of Mosborough,
Eckington, was baptised on 11 August 1672 at Staveley.[34]
He married on 21 May 1695 at Dronfield, SARAH GILL,[35]
daughter of William and Alice (Rodger) Gill (see here). Sarah was baptised
on 13 January 1674/75 at Dronfield and buried on 6 October 1729 at Eckington.
Children of George and Sarah (Gill) Croft:
i SARAH CROFT, bap 30 Sep 1696,
Eckington.[36]
4 ii GEORGE CROFTS (bap 1698); m
ELIZABETH LEE.
iii JOSEPH CROFT, bap 1 May 1701,
Eckington,[37]
bur 5 Jul 1723, Eckington.[38]
iv HUGH CROFT, bap 18 Apr 1704,
Eckington;[39] m
18 Apr 1733, Eckington, MARY BATE.[40]
v ELIZABETH
CROFT, bap 13 Feb 1705/06, Eckington,[41]
bur 25 Feb 1705/06, Eckington.[42]
vi JOHN CROFT, bap 17 Sep 1707,
Eckington.[43]
vii WILLIAM CROFT, bap 21 Sep 1710,
Eckington.[44]
viii GODFREY CROFT, bap 1 May 1713,
Eckington,[45]
bur 28 May 1721, Eckington.[46]
ix FRANCIS CROFT of Eckington, scythesmith, bap 26 Dec 1717, Eckington,[47]
bur 26 Jan 1796, Eckington;[48]
m 7 Apr 1743, Eckington, ANN STANIFORTH.[49]
x PAUL CROFT, bap 9 Feb 1720/21,
Eckington,[50]
bur 17 Mar 1725/26, Eckington.[51]
xi GODFREY CROFT, bap 6 Feb 1723/24,
Eckington,[52]
bur 14 Apr 1731, Eckington.[53]
4 GEORGE CROFTS of Mosborough,
Eckington, husbandman, was baptised on 27 December 1698 at Eckington.[54]
He married on 12 May 1726 at Dronfield, ELIZABETH LEE.[55]
Children of George and Elizabeth (Lee)
Crofts:
i GEORGE
CROFTS, bap 3 Apr 1727, Beighton.[56]
ii WILLIAM CROFTS, bap 11 Apr 1729,
Eckington.[57]
5 iii JOHN CROFTS (bap 1736); m MARY
HASLAM.
5 JOHN CROFTS of Ridgeway, Eckington, sicklesmith, was baptised on 28 June 1736 at Eckington.[58]
He married on 26 December 1760 at Eckington, MARY HASLAM,[59]
daughter of Godfrey and Phebe (Bird) Haslam (see here). Mary was
baptised on 10 September 1740 at Eckington and buried on 7 October 1810 at
Eckington.
Children of John and Mary (Haslam) Crofts:
i GEORGE CROFTS, bap 13 May 1762,
Eckington.[60]
ii JOHN CROFTS, bap 18 Aug 1765,
Eckington.[61]
iii HANNAH CROFTS, bap 1 May 1768,
Eckington;[62] m
25 Jul 1803, Sheffield, CHARLES RICHARDSON.[63]
iv SARAH CROFTS, bap 6 Oct 1771,
Eckington[64]
bur 28 Aug 1825, Eckington;[65]
m 15 Oct 1798, Sheffield, GODFREY HASLAM.[66]
v ANN CROFTS, bap 27 Feb 1774,
Eckington,[67]
bur 21 Apr 1802, Eckington;[68]
m 27 Aug 1798, Rotherham, JOHN DANIELS[69]
(see here).
vi MARY CROFTS, bap 26 Dec 1776,
Eckington;[70] m
23 Apr 1798, Sheffield, SAMUEL WHITHAM.[71]
vii ELIZABETH CROFTS, bap 20 Oct 1782,
Eckington,[72]
bur 4 Dec 1783, Eckington.[73]
[1] Results from AncestryDNA.
[2] There was an Elizabeth, daughter of Matthew Haslam, baptised at Sheffield on 5 Apr 1772. However, she was buried there on 14 Jun 1772 so she could not be the wife of Jeremiah Bolsover.
[3] Godfrey Haslam and Sarah Crofts were married at Sheffield in 1798 and later had children baptised at Eckington. Godfrey was baptised in 1777 at Eckington, son of Godfrey and Christian Haslam.
[4] The 21 cM match testee and Ruth Margaret (Daniels) Davies have one individual who shows as a shared match and that individual is descended from a brother of Ruth’s paternal grandfather Lancelot Daniels, so it appears that Ruth’s connection with the 21 cM testee is through Lancelot. Furthermore, the immediate ancestry of three of Lancelot’s grandparents was from Devon and Cornwall, whereas the 21 cM testee does not have any traced recent ancestry from that part of the country. Therefore it is probable that the connection is through Lancelot’s remaining grandparent, Henry Daniels, son of John and Ann (Crofts) Daniels.
[5] Robert Eadon Leader, History of the Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire, 2 vols (Sheffield, 1905-06), 2:180.
[6] Staveley parish register abstracts; Staveley parish registers.
[7] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[10] Staveley parish registers. The child appears to have been a daughter but her name is not visible due to damage to the register.
[12] Staveley bishop’s transcripts. Will dated 28 Jun 1698, proved 19 Oct 1698 (Dioceses of Lichfield and Coventry Wills and Probate 1521-1860, online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[13] England Marriages, 1538–1973 (www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NNZG-NJB).
[14] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[15] Staveley bishop’s transcripts. She is stated in the marriage record to be of Whitwell. Hugh’s will mentions his wife Margaret.
[18] Staveley parish registers.
[19] Staveley parish registers.
[20] Staveley parish registers.
[21] Staveley parish registers.
[22] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[23] Chesterfield parish registers.
[24] Dioceses of Lichfield & Coventry Marriage Allegations and Bonds, 1636-1893 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[25] South Wingfield parish registers; Dioceses of Lichfield & Coventry Marriage Allegations and Bonds, 1636-1893 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk). It is possible that Hugh had an additional marriage, to Elizabeth Statham on 25 Aug 1721 at Chesterfield, but the bridegroom on that occasion may have been a son of the same name. The will of the older Hugh confirms that his wife was named Sarah.
[26] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[27] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[28] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[29] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[30] Staveley parish register abstracts. Will dated 29 Aug 1731, proved 11 May 1732 (Dioceses of Lichfield and Coventry Wills and Probate 1521-1860, online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[31] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[32] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[33] Chesterfield parish registers; Dioceses of Lichfield & Coventry Marriage Allegations and Bonds, 1636-1893 (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[34] Staveley bishop’s transcripts.
[35] Dronfield parish registers. George is stated to be of the parish of Staveley.
[36] Eckington bishop’s transcripts.
[37] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[38] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[39] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[40] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[41] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[42] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[43] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[44] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[45] Eckington bishop’s transcripts.
[46] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[47] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[48] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com); will dated 7 Jan 1796, proved 14 Apr 1796 (Dioceses of Lichfield and Coventry Wills and Probate 1521-1860, online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[49] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[50] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[51] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[52] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[53] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[54] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[55] Dronfield parish registers.
[56] Beighton parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[57] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[58] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[59] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[60] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). He may have been the George Crofts who married Ann Whitham on 20 Sep 1781 at Sheffield.
[61] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[62] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[63] Sheffield parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk). This is not the only Hannah Crofts marriage in the period and area but Samuel Witton being a witness suggests a close connection with Mary Crofts who married Samuel Witton or Whitham in 1798.
[64] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[65] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[66] Sheffield parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[67] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[68] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[69] Rotherham parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[70] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[71] Sheffield parish registers (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[72] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[73] Eckington parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).