Leeds Mystery

[cnosni]

grumpytramp wrote: Hannam-Girl wrote: Hi there! Thomas was a miner (no mines in Leeds, so must come from somewhere else!), supposedly age 29 in 1841, so hopefully born about 1810/2 (if he told the truth).{snip}Can anybody tell me where Thomas came from??? An educated guess ........ clearly there are family connections with Nidderdale and Pateley Bridge. Now this rang bells as I have traced family to this neck of the woods and gotten utterly confused. This area was a real hot bed of the lead mining industry throughout the 18th and 19th century through the various fluctuations in demand and was spread throught the Nidd, Darley and Washburn valleys. The nature of Dales lead mining at this time is a slightly more 'pastorial' type of industry and employment. The workings were generally on a relatively small scale and miners suplemented their wages (which was mostly contract work) with basic subsistence farming. This resulted in Dales mining communities being more scattered than would be expected So a quick check of Thomas Hannam born around 1810 at the Family Search website led me to parish records for the parish of Hampsthwaite which is situated in the Darley Valley just 3-4 miles south of Pateley Bridge. Here you will find an excellent resource at:http://www.calverley.info/hampsthwaite.htmChecking the baptism records in the church records section shows:14th April 1809 the baptism of Thomas Hannam son of William and Ann Hannam, resident at Redlish in the parish which is here:http://preview.tinyurl.com/2ujpfpfIt is perhaps no coincidence that Greenhow Hill to the immediate north west was the centre of lead mining activity in the area (excellent publication regarding these mines available here http://www.nmrs.org.uk/publications/60.html )There are a lot of reference to Hannam here which I will leave you to enjoy following.I would also direct you to the Greenhow website at:http://www.sowerby-bridge.org.uk/greenh ... .htmlwhich has loads of interesting stuff about the area and what appears to be a really useful geneaological resource here with their Greenhow Family Tree Project (invitation only but has 54 Hamman references ):http://www.sowerby-bridge.org.uk/greenh ... ily.htmlOh aye, if this is the wrong Thomas at least there is some good reading! Whoah,i worship at the shrine of Grumpytramp for facts,but,and its a big but,Thornthwaite is much closer than Hamptheswaite is to Pateley.I suspect that in depth research will produce a connection for this family name in all these places in earlier generations,probably only 2 or 3 generations previous.

[grumpytramp]

cnosni wrote: Whoah,i worship at the shrine of Grumpytramp for facts,but,and its a big but,Thornthwaite is much closer than Hamptheswaite is to Pateley.I suspect that in depth research will produce a connection for this family name in all these places in earlier generations,probably only 2 or 3 generations previous. Steady Cnosni due reverence will be sufficient ;-)Our reference to Thornthwaite and Hampsthwaite baptism are almost certainily one and the same. The parish of Hampsthwaite extends to include the villages/hamlets of Thornthwaite, Padside (and presumably Redish House), Darely, Birtswith, Kettlesing and of course Hampsthwaite itself. Redish House is an actual fact much closer to Thornthwaite (to the NW) than Hampsthwaite.One thing that strikes me about this thread is names!Hannam to my ears is a really unusual "sounding" surname and one that I would not expect to be a dales surname, yet the Hannam's appear to be a very important local family name. Even in the early 19th Century it is clearly a very well established surname in Nidderdale. I wonder if it is an immigrant name (perhaps mining or textile specialists drawn to the area in the 17th or 18th Century to support the growing mining and textile industries?). I wonder what its origins are?Equally the two community names we are discussing are wonderful; Thornthwaite and Hampsthwaite ......... their -thwaite suffix reminding me of their probable 1000+ years of occupancy and names linking back to scandanavian settlers!

[Hannam-Girl]

Guys.....................my heart sings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I established this, my family tree some years ago, worked on it full time for about 18months to help me get over some family trauma (worked wonders!!), but although I made heaps of progress, Thomas & Mary are a nut I just couldn't crack and as the "serious tree hounds" among you will know, that is something that buggs you for ever! I am really excited about chasing all those little alleys you have pointed out for me and hope that somewhere down there is "my man"!This morning I am going through all the printouts I have made over the years, reading bits of notes and re-organising my filing and folders. With other words, I am on the case!!!! You have re-ignited my fire and I will get there yet!!!!By the way, I have a tree with about 4000 people and about 12 generations and if anybody finds they are related to me, I would be only too happy to share whatever I have. I hope you can see me smile from wherever you are!!!!Have a really great day!!!!!! See ya

[Hannam-Girl]

Hello again, well, I have been pretty much all day now checking all those leads you sent me and I am nearly cross eyed!A lot to cross reference! My gut feeling is the trail leads to Pateley Bridge , Greenhow Hill or thereabouts.I made loads of notes and have decided to try and make up family trees going back to abt 1750 even if they don't belong to me, that way I can cross people off and narrow the field. I have also contacted all sorts of people who's website looked promising, fingers crossed, something there will fit the bill.If anybody has some more ideas where to look, please let me know!See ya D