EARNSHAW OF
OVENDEN, HORBURY AND WORTLEY
My
connection with the family of Jonathan and Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw is
not apparent from paper trail evidence, but my father and I have multiple
significant DNA matches with descendants of the Earnshaws so it seems clear
that we are related to the family reasonably closely, probably as a result of a
non-paternity event.
My
father’s paternal ancestors in recent generations were not from Yorkshire, so
it is much more likely that the Earnshaw connection is through my father’s
mother, Doris (Dixon) Davies, whose immediate ancestors lived mostly in the
Leeds area, especially around Wortley and Holbeck, where some of the Earnshaws
also resided.
As
my father has matches with Fothergill descendants where the common ancestry
seems to be further back than Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw, it seems unlikely
that he descends from Jonathan and Elizabeth (Ingham) Earnshaw without also
descending from their son Jonathan who married Susannah Fothergill. On the
other hand, my father has a match of 32 cM with a descendant of John Earnshaw
(a brother of the Jonathan who married Susannah), matches of 15 and 10 cM with
descendants of William Earnshaw (another brother), 18 and 14 cM matches with
descendants of Thomas Earnshaw (another brother), and a 10 cM match with a
descendant of Betty (Earnshaw) Barber (a sister). The most likely explanation
seems to be that my father descends from the husband and wife Jonathan and
Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw. This is also suggested by the size and number
of matches with descendants of Jonathan and Susannah. If this is the case then
it is most likely that one of their sons was the biological father of one of my
ancestors.
It
is possible that one of the Earnshaws was the father of my ancestor Ann
(Sowden) Greenwood who was born in Stanningley in 1836. However, it is more
probable, based on ages and locations, that the non-paternity event occurred in
the next generation and that an Earnshaw was the father of one of Doris (Dixon)
Davies’s grandparents: Mark Dixon (1859-1942), Polly Baldwin (1861-1935),
Edward Williamson (1866-1936) or Sarah Jane Greenwood (1859-1929). There is
some support from DNA matches for three of the grandparents’ paper trail
fathers being correct. The exception is Mark Dixon, as there are no obvious DNA
matches through his documented father, James Dixon (1825-1892).
Four
sons have been traced for Jonathan and Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw. David
Fothergill Earnshaw (1813-1871) lived in Australia from the 1830s onwards so is
an implausible father of a child born in Yorkshire in the period in question.
Jonathan Earnshaw (1828-1845) died well before the likely date of the
non-paternity event. Joseph Fothergill Earnshaw (1831-1899) would have been
alive at the time but the one DNA match my father has with a traced descendant
(in this case a great-great-grandchild) of Joseph is only 15 cM, smaller than
most of the other matches located with descendants of this Earnshaw family. The
remaining known son of Jonathan and Susannah is Thomas Earnshaw (1818-1887),
who in the relevant period was an unmarried cloth dresser, living with his
widowed mother in Wortley and Hunslet.
My
hypothesis is that Thomas Earnshaw was the biological father of Mark Dixon,
although further evidence would certainly be desirable to clarify the
situation.
Figures
in red below are the size in cM of DNA
matches my father (Derek Vincent Davies) has with individuals whose descent is
traced from the person named.[1]
My father has a very large match of 125 cM with another descendant of Elizabeth
(Earnshaw) Dunderdale, but I have not included that match below as I believe it
results from more than one relationship with the tested individual. My father
also has a match of 66 cM with an additional person who may descend from this
family, as another Earnshaw descendant shows as a shared match. However, I do
not currently have enough information about the ancestry of the 66 cM match for
the relationship to be determined.
I
have not yet found a birth or baptism record for Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw,
but as mentioned above, my father has some DNA matches with Fothergill
descendants where the common ancestry appears to be at least one generation
further back than Susannah. He has a match of 24 cM with an apparent descendant
of David and Ann (Illingworth) Fothergill who were married at Dewsbury in 1781
and who later lived in Ossett where Susannah is said to have been born. My
father also has a match of 20 cM with a descendant of Jonathan Fothergill (born
at Ossett about 1781) and matches of 13 and 11 cM with descendants of Benjamin
Fothergill (born at Ossett about 1795). It is possible that Susannah was a
daughter of David and Ann (Illingworth) Fothergill but there is at least one
plausible alternative couple for her parents in Jonathan and Elizabeth (Wilby)
Fothergill who were married at Dewsbury in 1776.
I welcome comments on this
page. My e-mail address is on my home page.
EARNSHAW
1 ABRAHAM EARNSHAW of Ovenden,
Yorkshire, weaver, married on 21 April 1728 at Halifax, MARY MIDGLEY.[2]
Children of Abraham and Mary (Midgley)
Earnshaw:
i ISAAC EARNSHAW of Ovenden, weaver,
bap 14 Jul 1728, Illingworth;[3]
m 15 Apr 1754, Halifax, SUSANNA BRIGG.[4]
ii ABRAHAM EARNSHAW, bap 16 Aug 1730,
Illingworth.[5]
iii TIMOTHY EARNSHAW of Ovenden,
weaver, bap 18 Mar 1732/33, Illingworth;[6]
m 6 Oct 1757, Halifax, HANNAH FIRTH.[7]
2 iv JONATHAN EARNSHAW (1735-1811); m
SARAH DEAN.
2 JONATHAN EARNSHAW of Ovenden, weaver,
was baptised on 24 August 1735 at Illingworth[8]
and buried on 21 July 1811 at Illingworth.[9]
He married on 4 January 1757 at Halifax, SARAH DEAN.[10]
Sarah was buried on 4 August 1808 at Illingworth.[11]
Children of Jonathan and Sarah (Dean)
Earnshaw:
i ISAAC EARNSHAW of Ovenden, weaver,
bap 17 Jul 1757, Illingworth,[12]
bur 15 Sep 1803, St Peter, Leeds;[13]
m 16 Aug 1784, Halifax, MARY SHARP.[14]
ii MARY EARNSHAW, bap 25 Nov 1759,
Illingworth,[15]
bur 29 Jun 1762, Illingworth.[16]
iii TIMOTHY EARNSHAW of Ovenden, weaver,
bap 9 Nov 1760, Illingworth,[17]
d 17 Feb 1847, Ovenden;[18]
m(1) 7 Sep 1789, Halifax, SARAH HORSFIELD;[19]
m(2) 6 Aug 1792, Halifax, SARAH PRIESTLEY.[20]
iv JOHN EARNSHAW of Ovenden, weaver,
bap 11 Oct 1761, Illingworth;[21]
m 2 Jan 1786, Halifax, BETTY FOSTER.[22]
v BETTY
EARNSHAW, bap 1 May 1763, Illingworth,[23]
bur 28 Jun 1765, Illingworth.[24]
3 vi JONATHAN EARNSHAW (1764-1824); m
ELIZABETH INGHAM.
vii SALLY EARNSHAW, bap 10 May 1767,
Illingworth[25];
m 21 Jul 1788, Halifax, JONATHAN WILKINSON.[26]
viii HANNAH EARNSHAW, bap 23 Jul 1769,
Illingworth,[27]
bur 3 Sep 1780, Illingworth.[28]
ix MARTHA EARNSHAW, bap 3 May 1772,
Illingworth,[29]
bur 17 Aug 1780, Illingworth.[30]
x RACHEL EARNSHAW, bap 29 Oct 1774,
Illingworth,[31] bur
2 Dec 1847, Illingworth;[32]
m 10 Jun 1814, Halifax, MATTHEW BAIRSTOW.[33]
3 JONATHAN EARNSHAW of Ovenden and
Horbury, weaver, was baptised on 30 December 1764 at Illingworth[34]
and buried on 9 September 1824 at Horbury.[35]
He married on 16 July 1786 at Halifax, ELIZABETH INGHAM.[36]
Elizabeth was born ca 1764 and died on 19 August 1841 at Leeds.[37]
Children of Jonathan and Elizabeth
(Ingham) Earnshaw:
i WILLIAM EARNSHAW (15, 10) of
Horbury, shopkeeper, b 3 Apr 1787, Ovenden,[38]
d 25 Oct 1870;[39] m(1)
25 Dec 1811, Wakefield, ANN SHEARD;[40]
m(2) 1 Sep 1815, Wakefield, SARAH TURTON.[41]
ii ESTHER EARNSHAW, bap 10 May 1789,
Halifax,[42]
bur 31 Dec 1826, All Saints, Manchester;[43]
m 5 Sep 1814, Wakefield, WILLIAM HURSTWAITE.[44]
4 iii
JONATHAN EARNSHAW (1792-1832);
m SUSANNAH FOTHERGILL.
iv JOHN EARNSHAW (32, 25) of
Low Wortley, greengrocer, bap 4 May 1794, Halifax,[45]
d 7 May 1844, Lower Wortley;[46]
m(1) 3 Jun 1816, Wakefield, HANNAH MORRIS;[47]
m(2) 13 Mar 1826, Wakefield, ALICE ANDERSON.[48]
v THOMAS EARNSHAW (18, 14) of
Ossett, weaver, b Ovenden, bap 11 Dec 1796, Halifax,[49]
bur 18 Oct 1863, Ossett;[50]
m 23 May 1825, Wakefield, ELIZABETH HAIGH.[51]
vi JOSEPH EARNSHAW, b 13 Dec 1799, bap 27
Jan 1800, Halifax,[52]
bur 23 May 1818, Horbury.[53]
vii BETTY EARNSHAW (10), b Horbury, bap 12 Sep 1802, Horbury;[54]
m 26 Dec 1822, Wakefield, HENRY BARBER.[55]
4 JONATHAN EARNSHAW of Wortley and
Beeston, weaver, was baptised on 1 April 1792 at Halifax[56]
and buried on 19 February 1832 at Wortley.[57]
He married on 3 November 1811 at Wakefield, SUSANNAH FOTHERGILL.[58]
Susannah was born ca 1791 at Ossett[59]
and died on 2 December 1875 at Armley.[60]
Children of Jonathan and Suannah (Fothergill)
Earnshaw:
i DAVID FOTHERGILL EARNSHAW (33, 28, 26, 18, 18, 17, 8) of Vasse, Western Australia, sawyer and
publican, b 6 Nov 1813, bap 27 Dec 1813, Ossett,[61]
d 25 May 1871, Vasse;[62]
m 28 Jul 1842, Picton, Western Australia, MARY POMEROY.[63]
ii MARY EARNSHAW, b 13 Jan 1816,
Huddersfield,[64]
bur 14 Apr 1816, Huddersfield.[65]
iii THOMAS EARNSHAW of Hunslet, cloth
dresser, b 18 May 1818, Wortley,[66]
d 20 Nov 1887, New Wortley.[67]
iv ANN EARNSHAW, b 23 Sep 1821;[68]
m 3 Nov 1838, St Peter, Leeds, JAMES FIRTH.[69]
v ELIZABETH EARNSHAW (52, 20), b
Beeston, bap 1 Feb 1824, Beeston,[70]
bur 15 Feb 1874, Wortley;[71]
m(1) 20 Feb 1842, Rothwell, WILLIAM DUNDERDALE;[72]
m(2) 1867, Kirkstall register office, BENJAMIN WHITAKER.[73]
vi SELINA EARNSHAW, b 14 Apr 1826, bap 7
Jul 1826, Ossett,[74]
bur 30 Dec 1829, Wortley.[75]
vii JONATHAN EARNSHAW, bap 20 Apr 1828,
Beeston,[76]
bur 26 Nov 1845, Wortley.[77]
viii JOSEPH FOTHERGILL EARNSHAW (15) of Holbeck, spinner, b 6 Apr 1831, Wortley,[78]
bur 5 May 1899, Holbeck Cemetery;[79]
m 24 May 1851, St Peter, Leeds, ANN CLIFF.[80]
[1] Results from AncestryDNA.
[2] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). An Abraham Earnshaw, perhaps the same person, married Mary Gledhill on 25 July 1736 at Halifax. It seems likely that the Abraham baptised in 1730 survived to adulthood as an Abraham Earnshaw of Northowram was buried at Illingworth on 24 Mar 1816 aged “87”. However, another Abraham, son of Abraham Earnshaw of Ovenden, was baptised on 26 Dec 1738 at Illingworth. It is not unprecedented for two surviving half-siblings to have the same name, but there are other possibilities which will need to be considered in this case to clarify the identities of the various Abraham Earnshaws in the area. The one baptised in 1738 was probably the Abram Earnshaw, cabinet maker, born at “Ovingwood” (Ovenden Wood) in the parish of Halifax, who was discharged from the army in 1797, aged about 59 (National Archives, WO 120/10, WO 121/146).
[3] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[4] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The witnesses were Abraham Earnshaw and Abraham Earnshaw junior.
[5] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[6] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[7] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[8] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[9] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[10] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The witnesses were Isaac Earnshaw and Timothy Earnshaw.
[11] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[12] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[13] St Peter, Leeds, parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[14] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The entry describes her as “Betty Sharp” but identifies her mark as “Mary Sharp’s Mark”. The latter name appears, from their children’s baptism entries, to be correct.
[15] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[16] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[17] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[18] Death certificate.
[19] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[20] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[21] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[22] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[23] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[24] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[25] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[26] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). Jonathan Wilkinson signed the banns register for Timothy Earnshaw and Sarah Horsfield in 1789.
[27] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[28] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[29] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[30] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[31] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[32] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[33] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[34] Illingworth parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[35] Horbury parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[36] Halifax parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The banns register gives Elizabeth’s residence as Thornton in Bradford. Thomas Dunham Whitaker, The History and Antiquities of the Deanery of Craven (London, 1805), gives a pedigree which includes the 1719 marriage of Rebecca Heber to Jonas Ingham of Thornton in the parish of Bradford. However, it is not known whether this is relevant to the ancestry of Elizabeth (Ingham) Earnshaw.
[37] Death certificate.
[38] Registers of Kipping Chapel, Thornton (National Archives, RG 4/2202); 1851 census returns, Horbury (National Archives, HO 107/2328, fol. 70).
[39] Monumental inscription at Horbury.
[40] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[41] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[42] Registers of South Parade Wesleyan Chapel, Halifax (National Archives, RG 4/3011); registers of Zion Methodist Chapel, Ovenden (National Archives, RG 4/3407).
[43] All Saints, Manchester, parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The 1861 census returns for Bradford (National Archives, RG 9/3316, fol. 22) show William Hurstwaite, born at Wakefield, with two daughters born at Manchester, lending some support to a connection with that area.
[44] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[45] Registers of South Parade Wesleyan Chapel, Halifax (National Archives, RG 4/3011); registers of Zion Methodist Chapel, Ovenden (National Archives, RG 4/3407).
[46] Death certificate.
[47] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). One of the witnesses was William Hurstwaite, which supports this being a marriage of the John Earnshaw whose sister Esther married William Hurstwaite. The bride’s name is given as Ann Morris in the marriage entry, but she seems to be called Hannah in other records. William, son of John and Hannah Earnshaw, was baptised at Horbury on 20 Oct 1816. He married Charlotte Harrop at Leeds in 1844, when one of the witnesses was Henry Barber. This supports a connection with Betty Earnshaw who married Henry Barber.
[48] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[49] Registers of South Parade Wesleyan Chapel, Halifax (National Archives, RG 4/3011); 1861 census returns, Ossett (National Archives, RG 9/3414, fol. 93).
[50] Ossett parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[51] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[52] Registers of South Parade Wesleyan Chapel, Halifax (National Archives, RG 4/3011).
[53] Horbury parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[54] Horbury parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com); 1851 census returns, Leeds (National Archives, HO 107/2320, fol. 534).
[55] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[56] Registers of South Parade Wesleyan Chapel, Halifax (National Archives, RG 4/3011); registers of Zion Methodist Chapel, Ovenden (National Archives, RG 4/3407).
[57] Wortley parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[58] Wakefield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[59] 1851 census returns, Wortley (National Archives, HO 107/2314, fol. 313).
[60] Death certificate.
[61] Ossett Independent registers (National Archives, RG 4/3076). His baptism record does not give him a middle name, but Fothergill appears as such in later records including an 1871 report of his death. This helps to identify the Vasse resident as the son of Jonathan and Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw. See also The Western Mail, 5 May 1932, and Rica Erickson, ed., The Bicentennial Dictionary of Western Australians (Nedlands, 1987-88), 937.
[62] The Herald (Fremantle), 24 Jun 1871; monumental inscriptions at Busselton Pioneer Cemetery (www.findagrave.com/memorial/155747501/david-fothergill-earnshaw; www.findagrave.com/memorial/155747487/d-f-earnshaw).
[63] Marriages in the Wellington district; Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950 (online at www.ancestry.com); The South-Western News, 25 Aug 1905.
[64] Ossett Independent registers (National Archives, RG 4/3076).
[65] Huddersfield parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[66] Ossett Independent registers (National Archives, RG 4/3076); 1851 census returns, Wortley (National Archives, HO 107/2314, fol. 313).
[67] Death certificate.
[68] Registers of Westgate Baptist Chapel, Bradford (National Archives, RG 4/1910).
[69] St Peter, Leeds, parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The entry gives the parties, both residing in Wortley, as James Bellforth, of full age, warehouseman, son of John Bellforth, plumber, and Ann Earnshaw, minor, daughter of Jonathan Earnshaw, joiner. However, the surname Bellforth seems to be incorrect as it does not occur elsewhere with any appreciable frequency. Moreover, the 1851 census returns for Wortley (National Archives, HO 107/2314, fol. 313) show a granddaughter Selina Firth, aged six, living with Susannah (Fothergill) Earnshaw. Selina, daughter of James Firth, warehouseman, and Ann, was baptised at Holbeck in 1845: Holbeck parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[70] Beeston parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com); 1851 census returns, Wortley (National Archives, HO 107/2314, fol. 313).
[71] Wortley parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[72] Rothwell parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[73] Yorkshire BMD (www.yorkshirebmd.org.uk); 1871 census returns, Wortley (RG 10/4533, fol. 7).
[74] Ossett Independent registers (National Archives, RG 4/3076).
[75] Wortley parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[76] Beeston parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[77] Wortley parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com).
[78] Ossett Independent registers (National Archives, RG 4/3076); 1851 census returns, Wortley (National Archives, HO 107/2314, fol. 313).
[79] National Burial Index (online at www.findmypast.co.uk).
[80] St Peter, Leeds, parish registers (online at www.ancestry.com). The marriage entry gives the names of the bridegroom and bride as Joseph Henshaw and Ann Clough, but a comparison with census returns and civil registration records confirms that this was Joseph Fothergill Earnshaw and his wife, whose maiden surname is usually given as Cliff in the civil registration records.