107 THE ATKINSONS THE MEANING AND ORIGIN OF THE NAME According to the Internet Surname Database: “This Worcestershire, dated 1327, and John Atkinson was famous surname is regarded as being of Anglo-Scot- listed in the Assessments relating to the feudal lists of tish origins, although with Norman antecedents. the county of Westmorland in 1402. Further examples Found in the spellings of Atkinson, Aitchison, Ache- are those of James Aitchesoun, master of the Scot- son, Aicheson, and Aitcheson, it is as a patronymic tish Mint in 1553, and Marc Aichesone or Acheson of form of the medieval male given name Atkin or Adkin, Achesounes hevin (now Morrisons Haven), in 1609. itself a double diminutive of the Hebrew name 'Adam', A very interesting recording is that of John Atkinson, meaning 'red earth'. Adam (as a baptismal name) is aged 24 yrs., who embarked from London on the ship first recorded in the English Domesday Book of 1086, "Bonaventure", bound for Virginia, on Janaury 15th suggesting that it was an introduction after the 1066 1634. He was one of the earliest settlers in the New Invasion. World Colonies. The coat of arms granted in 1604 “Certainly thereafter it became steadily more popular has the blazon of a red field, charged with a gold creating further diminutives such as Adcock and At- bend cotised, and thereon three red helmets. The cock, with the same meaning. Early examples include crest is a wolf head erased. The first recorded spelling Adekin filius Turst (Adekin the son of Turst) in the of the family name is shown to be that of John Atkyn- 1191 Pipe Rolls of Norfolk, and John Adekyn in the soun, which was dated 1387, in the "Records of North 1296 Records of Crowland Abbey, Cambridgeshire. Berwick", Scotland, during the reign of King Robert William Atkyns was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 11 of Scotland, 1371 - 1390.” Cordelia Atkinson was Florence Smurthet (born 1670) of Ripley, Typical Darley countryside Watson’s mother, and our great, who were indeed married on Ja- great grandmother. nuary 14, 1709. But the information Florence herself was born in Man- isn’t very well substantiated, and so ningham, Bradford, but her mother I only include it here as a possibi- gives two places of birth, West End lity. and Thruscross, which are two tiny and adjacent villages in West The theory is that Robert and Alice Yorkshire, about 12 miles west of were the parents of Henry Atkin- Harrogate. son who married Mary Parker They appear on the map above, (born 1706) in Darley, Yorkshire in along with Thornthwaite and Fews- 1733. Henry Atkinson died in 1776. ton, and it is from this area of villa- All of these events are recorded, ges that several generations of and Darley is another of the villa- Atkinson had lived before Cordelia. ges on the map, just up the road For example, in 1651 “it was de- from Thruscross, but there doesn’t manded by ..... Grane or bedell of seem to any reliable evidence to the forest or their deputies should suggest that there really was a link. summon sixteen customary te- That is not to say that it isn’t quite nants of the Lords theird of the plausible. neighboroughood of the Forest that by his writ he was commanded to at Newby, but about 1659 removed they should be at this court to abut do”. to Thruscross in the same county, It is also claimed that they had six limit and seesorts to that aforesaid Just what all that means is hard to he was among the earliest of the children: John Reynard one sufficient and work out, but one of the tenants in converts to the tenets of George Ann Atkinson (1736 – 1776), Ro- common way from acretoyne moss questions was called Robert Atkin- Fox in Yorkshire, and he had at bert Atkinson (1738 – 1739), a se- in Thruscross aforesaid unto one son. least two sons, both of whom came cond Robert Atkinson after the first acre of land and meadow in Thrus- to Pennsylvania (John and Tho- had died (1740 – 1741), James At- cross aforesaid called heist and A study of the various Quaker At- mas).” kinson (1742 – 1760), Henry At- Longridge and Cothams and ac- kinson families of West Jersey, kinson (1744 – 1812) and Alice cordingly to this court came William USA, concludes that “John Atkin- One internet source claims to have Atkinson (1748 – 1749). Bentley Guaine of the said forest son, founder of the line at present traced our Atkinson line all the way Again, I can only assume that there and made his returns of the custo- under consideration, was a Yorks- back to Robert Atkinson (born is evidence somewhere to support mary tenants he has summoned as hireman who lived for many years 1689) of Yorkshire and Alice this, because I have not found it. 108 Henry Atkinson (1744 - 1812) and Jane Meadley (1752 – 1806) It is then claimed that Robert and Alice’s son Henry Atkinson (born in 1744 in ne- arby Hampsthwaite) was the one that was recorded as marrying in the same vi- llage in 1769, as testified by the local parish records: “Mar. 27 Jas. lllingworth Wit. Wm. Bramley, Fran. Graham Henry Atkinson & Jane Meadley both of this par. by banns April 20.” The witnesses were Robert Petty and William Petty. This seems to be the first claim in the Atkinson line that really does seem likely to be correct. This couple definitely had two children, recorded in the Hampsthwaite parish re- cords, Jane Atkinson (1773), who seems to have died just one year later. Then came Henry Atkinson (1774). It might seem unusual that they took four years to have their first child, but the Hampsthwaite records also state that a Henry Atkinson was also father of Mary Atkinson (1770), Thomas Atkinson (1771 – 1832), William Atkinson (1772 – ), Ann Atkinson (1776 – ), Robert Atkinson (1780 – ) and James Atkinson (1782 – 1853). That would be eight children in total. However, the possibly odd thing is that Jane and Henry are registered to Henry Atkinson Jr. and the other six to simply Henry Atkinson. Whether that matters is unclear, but maybe the other six were born to a different Henry Atkinson of Thornthwaite. But I think that’s unlikely. Hampsthwaite, with the Henry and Jane would be likely to have their first child immediately after marr- school on the left. One of ying, and it seems odd that they should start having children precisely when this the village’s claims to fame other Henry Atkinson took a four-year break from producing offspring. is having six consecutive Henry died in 1812, six years after his wife Jane. consonants in its name. Henry Atkinson (1774 - ) and Elizabeth (1752 – 1806) It is their son Henry who continues our story, one of the two children who were definitely born to Henry and Jane. This Henry apparently married to a lady ca- UK CENSUS 1841, THRUSCROSS lled Elizabeth (born 1784 in Ripon) and is the man who appears in the 1841 census as a farmer in Thurscross. He is there with two children, Jane (1816) and James (1828). That’s a massive gap between children, but that’s what it says on the census. Maybe there were other children. They had another child before Jane, Robert Atkinson (1815), who would be Cordelia Atkinson’s father. The reason he doesn’t appear on this census is be- ‘retired shoemaker’ and not a farmer as he was before. cause he was already married by this point and appears elsewhere. But his son, Robert, who lived at Stone House after Henry moved back The address given is a curious one – Stone House. That is the name of the to his home village, was recorded as both a farmer and shoe maker, Stone House Inn, in an isolated spot, but that still exists today. which shows that the Atkinsons were both. But there is no indication here of any publican working at Stone House, just the Henry Atkinson died a year after that entry was made, aged 78. Metcalfe’s down the road at the Gate Inn (1699-1960). I can’t work out what became of either James or Jane, their two youn- After a bit of investigation (see following page), I have discovered that some un- ger children. founded claims have been made as to the antiquity of the Stone House Inn. No There are Atkinsons called James and Jane all over the place for the it hasn’t been an inn for three centuries, as some have claimed. In the early next few decades, many of which don’t give any more accurate place 19th century it was Henry Atkinson’s farmhouse. of birth than ‘Yorkshire’ and there are none that are immediately ob- In 1851, Henry and Elizabeth are still around, now recorded as living just up the vious as being either of them. road in Thornthwaite, now on their own. There seems little doubt that these Neither can I find any further record of his wife Elizabeth, who must are the same people, so it is curious that Henry now gives his profession as a have died fairly shortly after. UK CENSUS 1851, THORNTHWAITE Henry Jane Meadley Atkinson 1744 Jane Atkinson Henry Elizabeth Atkinson Atkinson 1773 1774 ~1784 Robert Harriet Jane Atkinson James tkinson tkinson A A Atkinson ~1815 - 1891 ~1816 - 1880 ~1816 ~1828 Sarah Ann Elizabeth Mary Atkinson Henry James Cordelia William Atkinson Atkinson Atkinson Atkinson Atkinson Watson ~1837 ~1839 ~1842 ~1847 ~1849 ~1849 - 1913 1851 - 1883 109 THE STONE HOUSE INN, THRUSCROSS - THE TRUE STORY Henry Atkinson was a farmer and cobbler who in 1841 was living at a century and later applied for a beer licence.