Johnson / Bryans Families

Tracing the ancestry of Pamela Murdoch Bryans and Maurice Alan Johnson

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The Beckwiths of Masham

Introduction

The Beckwiths come into our tree relatively long ago, at the 6th great grandparent level in the 1700s, when Mary Beckwith (1703-1739), daughter of William Beckwith of Lambhill, married John Lonsdale (1701-1784) of Masham. What piqued my interest is that John Lonsdale's mother was another Beckwith: Margaret, daughter of Michael Beckwith of Nutwith Cote. Some digging around quickly turned up the fact that Masham parish was absolutely awash with Beckwiths, making it hard to determine whether those of Lambhill were related to those of Nutwith Cote. So I sat down to some proper work to see if I could see if and how these families (Beckwith of Lambhill and Beckwith of Nutwith Cote) linked together, and the results are presented here.

Some Background

We can locate three branches of the Beckwiths which are described in one or more of the standard pedigree works and which all share a common heritage:

  1. Beckwiths of Thurcroft and Trimdon (covered in Burke's Landed Gentry)
  2. Beckwiths of Acton (covered in the Visitations of Yorkshire and in subsequent pedigree works, including Foster's Pedigrees of Yorkshire)
  3. Beckwiths baronets of Aldborough (covered in Burke's Extinct Baronetcies, in Cokayne's Complete Baronetage and in Betham's Baronetage of England) who descend from the Beckwiths of Clint. Betham's entry also mentions in passing that the Beckwiths of Lamb-Hall [sic] are related to this family.

In addition, the family of Beckwith of Nutwithcoat pedigree is given in the Visitations of Durham: this family would appear to be directly relevant to the Michael Beckwith in our tree, though the Visitation's pedigree ends before he was born.

Fisher's Masham has this introduction to the Beckwiths of Aldborough:

The Beckwiths were formerly a very numerous race, the main stock of which was settled at a very early period at Clint in the Parish of Ripley. Their moated mansion (which is now in ruins) was situated on an elevated spot opposite to the village of Hampsthwaite, commanding charming prospects of the lower end of the Vale of Nidderdale. There they flourished until about the close of the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century; but their last days were clouded by misfortunes.

The circumstances which occasioned the sale of the old family estate and mansion at Clint, were of a melancholy character. William Beckwith of Clint (who was the father of Huntingdon Beckwith of Clint) having succeeded his father in the Clint estate in 1575, married Jane daughter of William Tancred, Esq., of Boroughbridge, sister of his father's second wife. By this incestuous and unholy alliance he had a son, William (who died without issue) and two daughters, Elizabeth and Anne, of whom the latter was twice married, and had issue. Whilst he was serving in Ireland as captain in the army, his wife proved unfaithful to him. In consequence of this painful circumstance, he not only repudiated her and cast her off as his wife, but, during her lifetime, married Mary daughter of Anthony Salmon, of Annesley Woodhouse in Nottinghamshire (chambermaid to the Countess of Huntingdon). By this marriage he had issue, Huntingdon, William, Henry, Catherine, and Isabel. His second wife died in 1601, and he lived to survive her but some six years, having died in 1607. His eldest son, Huntingdon, married in his parents' liftime, viz., on the 19th of February, 1589, Margaret daughter of Thomas Mering, of Mering in Nottinghamshire, who became insane, and, having survived her husband, died without issue, and in great poverty, as appears by a memorandum to that effect placed opposite to the registration of their marriage at Ripley, viz., "in great poverty, at Ripley church, 4th of May, 1655. The family of Beckwith both gone, and Mering."

Roger Beckwith ... appears to have saved something out of the wreck of the old family estate at Clint, and to have invested it in the purchase of the Aldburgh estate.

Beckwiths of Lamb Hill

We begin by trying to identify the heritage of Mary Beckwith, the daughter of William Beckwith of Lamb Hill as described in Fisher's Masham who married John Lonsdale. Using the various sources above described, plus Beckwith's Beckwiths and guided by the hint in Betham's Baronetage of England we reach the conclusion that the Beckwiths of Lamb Hill descend from Marmaduke Beckwith (from whom also descend the Beckwiths of Aldborough). The resulting pedigree is as follows:

1 Marmaduke Beckwith of Dacre and Clint sold his lands in Clint in 1597 and bought Featherstone and Acton. By his first wife Anne Dynly he had:
2a Thomas of Acton m. Frances Frost
...from whom descend the Beckwiths of Acton, now extinct
2b William of Dacre-Pasture
3a Thomas1 of Aldborough and Sutton Grange m. Sarah Beckwith (who d. 1673) of Pontefract; he purchased the Lamb Hill estate with his son Thomas on 7th May 1656
4a Thomas of Lamb Hill
5a William of Lamb Hill m. Dorothy Pickersgill (1675-1747) of Kirby Malzeard
6a William of Lamb Hill (1700-1762) m. Catherine Lister (1707-1776)
7a Mary
7b Catherine
7c Elizabeth
7d Dorothy
6b Mary (1703-1739) m. John Lonsdale (1701-1784)
6c John (1707-1761) dsp?
4b Samuel Beckwith of Aldborough2, and afterwards of High Burton, m. daughter of Rowland Walker of Masham, related to the Rev. George Walker of Londonderry
2c Roger of Aldborough, sold lands at Clint and purchased Aldborough; d. 1634
...from whom descend the Beckwiths of Aldborough, of whom we shall treat in the Nutwith Coate section below
2d Symon3 of Pontefract m. 1584 Catherine Austwicke; no issue
2e Jane m. John Thorp
2f Alice m. 1581 Robert Bannister and/or James Smith of Rippon
2g Grace m. John Nesfield of Hasby-by-Craven
2h Anne
2i Matthew4 (b. c. 1610), emigrated to New England in 1635
2j Catherine m. Henry Pudsey of Arnsforth
2k Barbara m. Matthew Lockwood of Sowerby

Notes: 1. He died 1683 according to Beckwith's Beckwiths (p.52), which conflicts with the date (1672) given by Fisher (p.389). I've not been able to find either burial record so can't confirm or deny either account. I assume both are speaking about the same person because both reference a son Samuel (4b) who marries a Walker, related to Dr Walker the defender of Londonderry. 2. Samuel is described in Beckwith's Beckwiths as "Samuel Beckwith of Aldborough, and afterward of High Barton, died in 1694; he married Margarette, daughter and heiress of Rev. George Walker, who was afterwards Bishop of Derry, which town he defended against King James.". Now there's a bit of confusion here, as Fisher's Masham claims Samuel's wife was daughter of Rowland Walker. I think Beckwith's Beckwiths is mistaken because George Walker apparently didn't have a child called Margaret and secondly seems not to have lived anywhere near Masham. Instead, I trust Fisher who claims a relationship between the two Walker families without being more explicit. That said, because of the similarity in details, it looks likely to me that Beckwith's Samuel Beckwith is the same person as Fisher's Samuel Beckwith. Instead, it's possible that Margaret was the sister of George walker the 'Defender of Derry' as suggested here. Note that these Walkers also link directly into our tree through the Vesey family 3. Burke's Extinct Baronetcies only mentions 2a Thomas, 2c Roger and 2e Jane; the rest are mentioned in the Visitation of Yorkshire (1666) 4. Matthew is mentioned only in Beckwith's Beckwiths so I'm not entirely sure if he is correctly placed here (Beckwith uses him to trace through to subsequent US generations)

Beckwiths of Nutwith Cote

Fisher (p.508) notes the following:

It appears ... that the Beckwith family had settled at Nutwith Cote long before [1540]; and that a Richard Beckwith was holding the Grange of Nutwith Cote, and keeping certain of the Abbot's cattle and sheep there as early as in the year 1453, and was at the same time holding the office of Forester within the manor of Aldborough. It appears also by the Compotus Stauri of Fountains, that in 1481 a Richard Beckwith was living at Nutwith Cote, and that he annually appeared at the Abbey with his accounts from the year 1481 to the year 1494, with the exception of the year 1489 ; when he was represented by his son James. It is also stated in Abbot Huby's Rental of 1496, that Richard Beckwith held this Grange for a term of years at the annual rent of 30s.—he being also bound to keep 20 cows of the stock of the Monastery, and to return of their annual proceeds 13st 41bs of butter at 12d per stone; 26st 81bs of cheese at 8d per stone; with 10 stirketts, each to be worth 4s.

By a Lease dated 4th July, 1495, the Abbot and Convent of Fountains demised to Richard Beckwith, Catherine his wife, and Richard their son "All their Graunge or Loge called Nutwith Cote, with all the appurtenances in the Parish of Masham in ye shire of York," and also a tenement in the same Parish called Thwate-house, with its lands and appurtenances, to hold the same from the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross, then last past to the end and term of 48 years, upon the same terms as is mentioned above; and by another Lease dated the 4th July, 1538, the Abbot and Convent of Fountains demised to Richard Beckwith, Lucy his wife, and Christopher his son ... at the old rent of 30s., and £4 the Graunge of Nutwith Cote, with the tenement of Thwaite-house from the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross then last past for the term of 48 years.

Firstly, we start with the very brief pedigree provided by Fisher in Masham: Michael Beckwith of Nutwith Cote, near Masham, Tailor had Margaret, who m. 1698 John Lonsdale of Masham, grocer. This Margaret is actually noted as "of Roomer" in her marriage record with John. Roomer or Rowmer (or Rowmoore) Common was a pasture area a few hundred yards west of Nutwith Cote, which itself lies a few miles south of Masham, just west of the river Ure (and across the Ure from Aldborough Hall). Armed with the information that Margaret (and so probably her father Michael) were probably more correctly from Roomer, rather than Nutwith Cote, we're able to find Margaret's baptismal record, where her father Michael is also indeed "of Roomer". Working backwards, we can find a baptismal record for a Michael Beckwith, son of Christopher of Roomer (bapt. 1643). The church register trail goes cold at this point, leaving us unsure who the father of Christopher Beckwith of Roomer was.

Luckily, the Visitations of Durham have a pedigree for Beckwith of Nutwithcoat. Combining this with the information quoted from Fisher above and a search of parish registers for Beckwiths noted "of Roomer" we can build the following pedigree:

1___ Beckwith of Clint
...some unknown number of generations
2 Richard Beckwith of Nutwith Cote b. bef. 1435, fl. 1453
3 Richard Beckwith1 of Nutwith Cote fl. 1481-1496 m. Catherine ___
4a James2 fl. 1489, poss. died bef. 1495
4b Richard of Nutwith Cote b. 1490s, m. Lucy Conyers, dau. of ___ Conyers of Marske3
5 Christopher of Nutwith Cote b. 1520s, m. Catherine Tunstall
6a Thomas of Nutwith Cote b. 1550s, m. Margaret Johnson
7a Christopher4 of Nutwith Cote, son and heir, b. 1580s, m. 1612 Julian Spense
8a Thomas, son & heir, b. 1613
8b Roger, b. 1616
8c Christopher, b. 1618/9
7b Anthony of Nutwith Cote5, 2nd son, b. 1580s, m. 1600? Margaret Loftis
8a Anne6, b. 1601
8b Mary, b. 1608
8c Jane, b. 1609
8d Sarah, b. 1611
8e Christopher of Roomer, b. 1612 m. ?
9a Sarah, b. 1630
9b George, b. 1635
9c Dorothy, b. 1638
9d Christopher, b. 1641
9e Michael of Roomer, tailor, b. 1643, m. 1679 Elizabeth Milner
10a Margaret b. 1680, m. 1698 John Lonsdale of Masham
6b Robert m. Isabella Birke

Notes: 1. I've inferred a Richard father of Richard to account for the large time spans noted by Fisher 2. Assume he died or left the area prior to 1495 and the estate passed to his younger brother Richard. 3. Possibly a descendent of William Conyers of Marske who married Elizabeth Cleysby, noted in the 1563/1564 Visitation of Yorkshire (see Conyers and Cleysby, pages 74 and 76) 4. Fisher (p.508) mentions the following, which might apply to this person: on the 18th August, 1624, Christopher Beckwith of Nutwith Cote, and Ann Smyth, alias Beckwith, were presented in the same Court for "being married in a Priest's house without their Parish Church, without licence or banns asking." 5. The Visitations of Durham make Anthony the son of 5 Christopher of Nutwith Cote, but this wouldn't allow Anthony's sons to be born in the early 1600s. The fact that the visitation describes him as a "second son" suggests strongly to me that he was actually the brother of 6a.7a Christopher of Nutwith Cote.Fisher (p.508) has the following salacious tidbit about Anthony: On the 22nd April, 1594, Anthony Beckwith of Nutwith Cote was excommunicated by the Peculiar Court of Masham "for that a proper young woman was brought to his house and there bare a child begotten in fornication, and he hayth suffered her to depart unpunished." 6. Anne's birth 7 years before her sister Mary is slightly problematic as it implies Anthony and Margaret were married by 1600, which is ten years before 6a.7a Christopher married Julian Spense. Given that Anthony is the younger brother it's hard to imagine that he would have married so many years before his elder brother, unless perhaps Christopher's marriage to Julian Spense was his second marriage.

The remaining question is whether we can find a link from 2 Richard Beckwith back into the Beckwiths of Clint. Richard would have been born in roughly the 1430s. Unfortunately I find no trace of any Richard Beckwith born into the Clint family at around that time.

Bibliography

  • Beckwith's Beckwiths: The Beckwiths, by Paul Beckwith, Albany NY (1891)
  • Betham's Baronetage of England: The Baronetage of England, or the History of the English Baronets and Such Baronets of Scotland as are of English Families, by Rev. William Betham, Ipswich (1801)
  • Burke's Extinct Baronetcies: The Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies of England, Scotland & Ireland, by John Burke and John Bernard Burke, 2nd Edition, London (1841)
  • Burke's Landed Gentry: multiple editions, e.g. 4th Edition, Volume 1, Beckwith of Thurcroft and Trimdon
  • Cokayne's Complete Baronetage: Complete Baronetage, ed. GE Cokayne, Volume 4 (1665-1707), Executor (1904)
  • Fisher's Masham: The History and Antiquities of Masham and Mashamshire, John Fisher, London (1865)
  • Foster's Pedigrees Yorkshire: Pedigrees of The County Families of Yorkshire, Compiled by Joseph Foster, Volume 3 (North and East Riding), London (1874)
  • Visitations of Durham: Pedigrees Recorded at the Visitations of the County Palatine of Durham, ed. Joseph Foster, privately printed in London (1887)
  • Visitations of Yorkshire: Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire, With Additions, ed. JW Clay, Exeter (1899)