T H E J O U R N A L O F T H E N O R T H U M B E R L A N D A N D D U R H A M F A M I L YH 1 8 T O It Y S O C I E T Y Vol 3 No 2 January 1978 CONTENTS EDITORIAL 32 SECRETARY'S JOTTINGS 32 MORE STRAYS? T . Chilvers 33 "JOHN THE COACH" Iain Pattison 34 MILITARY TOMBSTONE 1 38 A HEXHAMSHIRE FAMILY Ruth Wheeler Grant 39 FAMILY MADNESS 41, NORTH COUNTRY DIARIES, II G. Blaylock 42 A DURHAM BIOGRAPHICAL INDEX 43 MILITARY TOMBSTONE 2 43 BISHOP JOHN LEYBURN'S CONFIRMATION TOUR, 1687 F .J . Vaughan 44 MILITARY TOMBSTONE 3 46 DISTANT WARS AND DISTANT PLACES 47 THE SEPTEMBER MEETING - MILITARY RECORDS AND FAMILY HISTORY S . Shannon 48 THE OCTOBER MEETING - HERALDRY Mrs M . Gardner 51 MEMBERS AND THEIR INTERESTS 53 SECOND TIME AROUND 56 THE FOUNDERS OF NEW ZEALAND 57 HEREFORD PROBATES 57 CONFERENCES AND COURSES 58 NO TURNING SPACE 58 ODD BORDERERS 59 FUTURE PROGRAMME 6o All items in this Journal are the copyright of the Northumberland and Durham Family History Society or its contributors . Correspondence connected with the Journal should be addressed to the Editor, Mr G. Nicholson, 57 Manor Park, Concord, Washington, Tyne & Wear, NE37 2BU . All other correspondence should be addressed to the Secretary, Mr J .A. Readdie, 38 Archery Rise, Neville's Cross, Durham, DHl 4LA. PLEASE always include stamps for return postage when writing (two Inter- national Reply Coupons from overseas members) . EDITORIAL In our first Journal, published in October 1975, we regretfully found it necessary to bemoan the collossal increase in Certificate charges brought in shortly before by the Registrar General . Now a rumour, and at the time of writing (early November it is still only that, has reached your Editor's ears that a further rise is planned early in 1978 . It may be this rumour is unfounded but since very few items, apart from this Society's Annual Subscription, have not increased in price in the last two and a half years, it seems likely that this is all too true . By the time you read this it may be too late to do anything about it but in case there is still time - you have been warned ; An attempt could well be made to avoid the last minute rush for certificates which occurred last time by increasing the fees overnight, so if you have been considering lashing out with any money you have left after Christmas, and if it is not now too late, our earnest advice is - do not delay another moment! Our meetings in the period covered by this issue seem to have had a military flavour about them . In September Mr Shannon treated us to an absorbing talk on Military Records, mainly of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries . The nest month we were reminded by Mrs Gardner of the military origins of the vast subject of Heraldry . It was inevitable, therefore, that this Journal should have a somewhat military feel about it and we offer no apology for increasing this by publishing also the article on "Distant Wars and Distant Places" by a member whose name, rank and number the Editor has sworn not to divulge . An attempt has also been made to give a military - or naval - twist to the short tailpieces and "filler items" to be found on various pages . The job of collating the last issue was accomplished without too much trouble, thanks to our band of volunteers . The same cannot be said, how- ever, of the "follow-up" jobs of stapling and putting copies into envelopes . Volunteers (preferably a whole Regiment of them) are now required to help with this job also . Our Recruiting Officer for these campaigns is Mr D .E . Rounce, 40 . Salcombe Avenue, Jarrow, NE32 3SY (Phone Jarrow 898474) and volun- teers should enlist with him . The task of indexing the Journal has been undertaken by member 230, Mr D.G . Linley, to whom we are very grateful . SECRETARY'S JOTTINGS Enclosed with this Journal is a supplement to the Directory of Mem- bers' Interests which the Society published in March this year . Members who have joined fairly recently may not have this Directory, but might like to note that it is available from me for 75p . including postage . I am constantly being; asked "Do you have any members who are interested in the family of such-and-such?" and I can only reply properly if the in- formation I have is complete and up-to-date . If you wish to update your interests as shown in the Directory, would you write to the Librarian, Dr Margaret Wilson (33 Archery Rise, Durham), if possible using the pedi- gree chart at the back of the Directory . The July Journal mentioned the opening in Sunderland of a Branch Genealogical Library of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and a note about the vast range of records available was in the April Journal . There are now other Branch Libraries in the UK as follows :- Merthyr Tydfil (contact Mr B.A . Morton, 38 Gilfach Cynon, Twyny Radyn, Merthyr Tydfil, Glamorgan) ; Leicester & Nottingham (Mr C .W . Winfield, 133 Station Road, Loughborough, Leicstershire) ; London (Mr G. Matthews, - 32 - 7 Narboro Court, Romford, Essex) ; Leeds and Huddersfield (Mrs P . Eagland, 36. Greenhead Road, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire) . Please note that these libraries cannot undertake research by mail ; you are asked to go personally to one of the libraries and it is worth repeating that the facilities are open to all and not only to members of the Mormon Church . Mr J .D . Becket (34 Eastwood Avenue, Droylesden, Manchester is com- piling an index of Scots born before 1855 who lived, married or died in England . If you come across a Scot marrying or dying in England, whose birth would have been pre-1855 - and there are plenty of them in this area - please send them to him . ` He already has a large number and will search for a 50p . fee . MORE STRAYS? T . Chilvers We conclude Mr Chilvers' list of persons, mainly from north Northum- berland, who were resident in Hartlepool at the time of the 1851 census . We will be publishing some strays from the 1871 census found in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough in a future issue . 151 Stanley Buildings Samuel GAITEY Lodger 27 Joiner Berwick 183 Chapman Street William HODGSON Head 28 Dock labourer Brampton Cumberland Ann do Wife 27 Clay (NK) 41 Darlington Place James WATSON Head 30 Blacksmith Durham Charlotte do Wife 24 Yarmouth 160 Everard Street Margaret GORDON Head 41 Seaman's wife Tweedmouth Isabella do 41 do Elizabeth 9 do John MEAN 36 Shipwright Sprawswood (Nd) Jane do Wife 43 Tweedmouth James do Son 9 do William do do 6 do Jane do Dau 4 do 25 Victoria Place Margaret POUNDER Head 77 Housewife Berwick 36 Princess Street James ALDER Head 38 Master mariner Berwick Sarah do Wife 32 Whitby (Yks) Ralph do Son 13 Hartlepool Mary do Dau 10 do Catherine do do 8 do James do Son 4 do 69 Hardwicke Street John MIDDLETON Head 36 Seaman Berwick Margaret do Wife 30 - 3 3- "JOHN THE COACH" lain Pattison Luck helps in a family hunt . Both kinds of luck . The unrelated incident plucked out of nothing, and the luck defined by the man who said : "I have always been lucky, but tree harder I work the luckier I seem to be ." Luck helped to discover a great-great-grandfather Pattison, now known affectionately as John the Coach . Eight years ago ignorance of my origins was as complete as of geneal- ogy . Both parents had been dead for more than thirty years . They left no biographical details, and few relations . For years this was of little consequence for I was too busy keeping body and soul in one piece and feed ing my family to wonder from whence I had come . Then in my mid-fifties, with the nest empty and the fledglings creating children's children, I had time to pause . What were my origins, I wondered? All that I could recall of family tradition (a fragment of conversa- tion overheard between my father and his brother was that a dairyman and a coach proprietor were among my ancestors . I remembered vaguely my father's father and mother in Stockton-on-Tees . The former because he was gentle and smelled pleasantly of tweed and tobacco . The latter because she had on her chin a mole with bristles that pricked when she kissed me . I remembered grandfather Pattison as a dabbler in second-hand books in a little shop in the Empire Buildings, Bridge Road, Stockton . I turned first to the local library, and was surprised to find so much about family hunting . I read avidly, .and tried to follow the advice about neat and careful notes ; advancing step by step ; no guessing ; and If so on and so on . In a few weeks at Somerset House I was back a hundred years . My father was Henry Jacob Pattison ; his father, I found, was Henry, and his grandfather was Jacob . So that tied that up neatly . My father married Annie Oliver ; his father married Elizabeth Andrew ; his grandfather married Margaret Battensby . All indications were that the birth dates of my great-grandparents Jacob Pattison and Margaret Battensby would pre-date legal registration of births, marriages and deaths . The first big hurdle was looming . I had to find the family parish prior to 1837 .