Whitby Brokets - The Broket Archive

Brokets of Whitby, Goathland and Hartlepool 18-20 C

Starting with one or two incomers in the late 18th a clan flourished in and around the North York Moors—especially in Whitby and Hartlepoolthrough the early 20th C. Despite the large families, it seems as though there may only be one, or perhaps two, male descendants still living.

  1. Parish Registers 1559-1900
  2. Mid 18th C – 1820s
  3. 1827-1860s
  4. 1870-1926

The clan perhaps began with a seafaring settler, or 1 or 2 immigrants maybe from Richmond, Newcastle or Durham. No Parish Register in the area recorded Brockets before a marriage and baptism in Pickering 1774-5. These were followed 1790-1820s by 4 families, with descendants mainly in Whitby up to 1926, but also in the moors behind at Goathland up to 1896. Thereafter none are recorded. From the 1820s most families with seafaring male Brockets migrated up to Stranton in Hartlepool, Co Durham, where a sub clan flourished mid 19C to mid 20C. No Wills from either area have been found before 1901.

Some of the places they lived were:

Fylingdales: Between Whitby and Scalby
Goathland: In the moors c 5 m SW of Whitby
Hartlepool: c 25 m up the coast from Whitby
Lythe: W of Whitby
Newholm: c 4 m W of Whitby
Pickering: c 20 m S of Whitby
Robin Hoods Bay: c 4 m down the coast from Whitby
Roxby: c 8 m W of Whitby
Scalby: 7+ m from Whitby
Sleights: c 3 m SW of Whitby
Whitby: just N of the N York Moors and c 25 m down the coast from Hartlepool

Members of a family that had migrated from Durham to Wales early in the 19C, returned north later in the century to Sheffield, Stockton on Tees, Middlesbrough and—coincidentally, as they were not obviously related to the Whitby clan—to W Hartlepool.

1. Parish Registers 1559-1900

The surname was mostly spelt Brocket up to the early 19th C, thereafter mostly Brockett, and after 1853 always. Otherwise only the variants recorded were Brockit in 1827 and Brochet in 1775. The Whitby Parish Registers date from 1608, Pickering from 1559, Fylingdales from 1653, Goathland from 1669/70, Lythe from 1634, and Scalby from 1556. Following are all their entries:+Read more

2. Mid 18th C — 1820s

The first record is of Thomas, a poor Sailor who died in Whitby workhouse 1782 aged 78.3 He probably came from elsewhere. He could have been the father of Charles, first recorded marrying in Pickering in 1774 and born in the early 1750s at the latest.

NE Brokets Mid 18th C – 1820s—suggested reconstruction

Between 1790-1820s there were 4 heads of Broket families in the area:

  1. Charles in Lythe, s/o Charles and Jane ADAMSON
  2. Thomas in Whitby, s/o Charles and Jane ADAMSON
  3. Robert in Whitby, ?s/o Charles and Jane ADAMSON
  4. Thomas of Scalby.

Two, probably three, were brothers and the 4th—Thomas of Scalby, SE of Whitby—was possibly a cousin. He was first recorded 1806 when he and Ann BROWN married in Fylingdales—the parish between Whitby and Scalby. Thomas could have resided anywhere in Scalby parish, but possibly as little as 7 m from Whitby. Parish Registers record his occupation as: Husbandman in Scalby 1806, Labourer in Raw in 1808 and 1815—a hamlet about 5 m SE of Whitby—and Farmer there in 1817 and 1840.4 He was recorded in 1841 as a Farmer in Fylingdales, aged 62, with Ann, 50, Mary, 20, and William, Farmer, 50—all born in the County.5 Mary was Thomas and Ann’s daughter, but it isn’t clear who William was—a younger brother of Thomas perhaps. The death recorded in Whitby 1859 was probably Thomas.6 Ann who married William WEATHERILL in Scalby in 1812 was probably Thomas’ sister. Children of Thomas and Ann BROWN:

  1. Jane bap 1808 Fylingdales; m 1836 Whitby Francis WILSON, Farmer of Whitby
  2. Ann bap 1815 Fylingdales; m 10 Jul 1840 Whitby William Harrison ROBINSON, she aged 23, Spinster, he aged 23, Bachelor, Farmer.7“]
  3. Mary bap 1817 Fylingdales; ?m Whitby 1849.8

The parents of at least 2 of the 4 heads of households were Charles and Jane ADAMSON. Mary, Robert, Jane and Hannah were probably also their children—no other couple is known to have been in Whitby at the time. Charles progressed from Servant to Farmer. Children of Charles and Jane ADAMSON:

  1. Charles bap 1775 Pickering; m 1804 Whitby Hannah HARLAND. Charles worked on the land first as a Labourer then Farmer in the moors c 8 m W of Whitby in Tranmire. Died before 1852.9 Hannah died 21 Oct 1852 Thornton, Pickering, aged 73, ‘Widow of Charles Brocket Farmer’ of hepatitis chronicus 3 years, abscess, informant John WARDILL, of Thornton.10 Children:
    1. John bap 1808 Lythe; m 1st Elizabeth HARLAND; 2nd Mary COCKERILL.
    2. James bap 1813 Lythe; m Mary WORMAULD.
    3. Jonas bap 1815 Lythe; m Mary GARBUTT.
  2. Thomas b 1780, bap 1783 Fylingdales; m Hannah … Thomas was a Cordwainer/Shoemaker. He died before 24 Jan 1847,11“] when his Widow Hannah Brocket died in Whitby, aged 88 [ie b c 1759], of apoplexy 2 days, William CLARK of Church St present.12 If her age was correct, she was 21 years older than Thomas and mother of John at 47. Hannah was head of a household in Kiln Yard, Whitby, in 1841, aged 82, with William CLARK, 18, Ship Wright Apprentice, Hannah ROBINSON, 16, and William BROCKET, 3, all b in the county.13 Children:
    1. Sarah d 1807 Whitby. In both the transcript and the original Parish Register it says ‘d/o Thomas, Cordwainer, and Hannah, aged 17’, ie b c 1790. If this isn’t a mistake then Thomas s/o Charles and Jane was not Thomas the Cordwainer—however there were no other Thomases recorded born.
    2. ?Hannah m 1819 Lythe Thomas ROBINSON.
    3. Mary d 1801 Whitby, aged 3, ie b c 1798.
    4. Robert b 1801 Whitby; Sailor; m 1821 Whitby Isabella GARRETT. Robert died by Dec 1830 when Isabella remarried.
    5. William b 1803 Whitby; d 9 May 1872 Fylingdales, Farmer aged 66—ie b c 1806—of small pox anasarca (after vaccination) not certified, Thomas RUSSELL present at death.14
    6. John b 1806 Whitby; m Susanna SHADFORTH.
  3. Mary m 1808 Whitby James ROBINSON, Carpenter.
  4. Robert, Cooper, married first Margaret …Child:
    1. Elizabeth b 1810 Whitby

    Robert married second Alice …. Robert’s occupation: Cooper 1842,15 Mariner 1855.16 No apparent record of his or Alice’s death in the GRO. Children:

    1. Robert b 1820 Whitby; m 20 Sep 1842 Ann DONKIN, in the Parish Church, Whitby, he aged 22, Bachelor, Mariner, residing Haggersgate, she aged 36 [ie b c 1806], Widow, residing Church St, d/o William HUTTON, Sailor.17 Ann died 1866 Whitby, aged 60, ie b c 1806.18 Robert died Whitby 1898, aged 75.19 Census records for Robert and Ann: +Read more
    2. Hannah b 4 Oct 1822 Whitby, bap 11 Oct. As unlikely as it seems, this Hannah wasn’t the one who married Walker DIXON on 23 Nov 1857 aged 36 [ie b c 1821] because she was d/o John BROCKET Farmer20 and probably baptised 1834, aged c 13.
    3. ?Ann bur 1824 Whitby aged 1
    4. Jane b 1824 Whitby. The 1851 census shows her in St Ann’s Staith, Whitby, unmarried aged 25, Cook, along with a Governess and 2 Housemaids in the home of Thomas Stephenson, unmarried, 18, Solicitor’s Articled Clerk and his 2 sisters, Scholars at home [with the Governess] aged 9 and 7. Child: Stephenson Brockett, s/o Jane was baptised on 7 Sep 1851—son perhaps of Thomas—and died the same year very soon after.21 Jane married 27 Jan 1855 in Whitby Parish Church Matthew COVERDALE, Bachelor, Farmer, aged 34, she 30, Spinster, both residing Church St.22
  5. Jane m 1811 Whitby George HUNTER, Farmer.
  6. Hannah m 1813 Whitby William OXLEY, Sailor.

3. 1827-1860s

Between 1827-1860s there were 4 heads of Brocket families in the Whitby area:

3.1. John Brocket, Shoemaker b 1806
3.2. John Brocket, Farmer bap 1808
3.3. James Brocket, Cabinet Maker bap 1813
3.4. Jonas Brocket, Innkeeper bap 1815

3.1. John, Shoemaker

John b 1806 Whitby, s/o Thomas and Hannah; married 1827 Whitby Susanna SHADFORTH. She was born c 1807 in Robin Hoods Bay.23 John was a Shoemaker, like his father. The 1851 census shows John and Susannah in Church St, Whitby in their mid-40s with 2 teenage sons already in trades and 2 younger children at school. The couple were the progenitors of a large number of descendants, the majority at Hartlepool. Susanna died 1890 Whitby, aged 84.24

John died 31 Mar 1892 Whitby, aged 85,25 Will proved London 14 May, estate £281 16s 3d, to Thomas BROCKETT, Master Mariner and Matthew ROE, Furniture Broker.26 Census records for John and Susanna’s family: +Read more


Children:

  1. Thomas, b 1828. Married 17 Jan 1853 Isabella DAWSON Whitby Parish Church, he aged 24, Bachelor, Mariner, she 23, Spinster, both residing Church St, Whitby, she making her mark.27 Thomas and Isabella were witnesses to brother Francis’ marriage in 1866, Isabella making her mark. Census records for Thomas and Isaballa’s family: +Read more
    Thomas’ wife Isabella ?died 1898 Hartlepool, aged 69 ie b c 1829.29  Thomas died 28 Feb 1910, Ward St, W Hartlepool, Will proved Durham, estate valued £4378 8s 4d.30Child:

    1. Charles Brockett, bap 1853.31 Married 1883 Hartlepool Margaret Irene Eliza WRIGHT.32 Charles drowned off the Hook of Holland in the sinking of SS Berlin 21 February 1907, aged 53 years—monument erected by his masonic brethren.33 Census records for Charles and Margaret Irene and family: +Read more
      Margaret Irene Elizabeth died at Glenroyd, Elm Grove, W Hartlepool, 9 Jan 1931, aged 70 years, Will proved Durham 4 Feb to Charles Tait FORTUNE [son-in-law], Chartered Accountant, and Freda Brockett, Spinster, effects valued at £4313 14s 8d.34 Buried in North Road Cemetery, Hartlepool.35 Children:

      1. Thomas Charles b 1887,36 aged 13 in 1901. No GRO marriage record. Died 13 Dec 1966, aged 79, at St Catherine’s Nursing Home, Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, residing 1 South Drive, W Hartlepool, Administration Durham 20 Jun 1968 to Eric Brockett HENDERSON [nephew?], Dental Surgeon £3,252.37
      2. Margaret Irene b 1889,38 aged 11 in 1901; m Charles T HENDERSON 1917 Hartlepool.39 Margaret died 1947 in Durham.40
      3. Isabella b 1894,41 aged 6 in 1901; m Robert ROBINSON 1920 Hartlepool,42 She died Morningside, Edinburgh 1974, aged 79, husband’s occupation Garage Proprietor.43
      4. Freda b 1897,44 aged 3 in 1901. Unmarried in 1931.45 Died unmarried 3 May 1961, aged 68, at 1 South Drive, W Hartlepool, Will proved Durham 10 Dec 1962, to Stanley Welsh FORTUNE [nephew] and Frederick George HILL, Chartered Accountants, effects valued at £26,112 8s.46
      5. Olga b 10 Dec 1899,47 aged 1 in 1901; m Charles Tait FORTUNE 1924 Hartlepool.48 Charles died 1944 and Olga in 1989. 1 son.
  2. John, b 1830. No 1881 census record or apparent GRO entry.
  3. Robert, b 1832. Married 1861 Hartlepool Elizabeth M MARSHALL.49 Robert was on HMS Curacao in the Crimea in 1853 and in the Baltic.50 Census records for Robert and Elizabeth’s family: +Read more
    Robert died Hartlepool 1918, aged 85.53 Elizabeth Brockett died 1921 Hartlepool aged 85 ie b c 1836,54 and was buried on 17 Mar 1921 in North Road Cemetery, Hartlepool, Durham, England.55 Children:

    1. Elizabeth b 1864;56 m 1888 Hartlepool.57
    2. James b 1866;58 ?d 1937 Hartlepool aged 70.59 Probably a Sea Captain.
    3. William b 1869;60 m 1895 Hartlepool Mary Ann FRYER.61 Mary Ann died 1950 W Hartlepool Durham, aged 81.62 William died 1956 W Hartlepool Durham, aged 86.63 Census records for William and Elizabeth’s family: +Read more
      Children:

      1. William b 1895 Hartlepool,64 d 1898 Hartlepool.65
      2. Frederick Stanley, b 21 Jan 1898 Hartlepool Durham.66 m 1926 Hartlepool Durham Amy WARNABY.67  ?Emigrated to USA 1923.68 In 1965 he was a retired ICI Foreman Process Worker.69 Frederick Stanley died 24 Feb 1973 at 5 Southbrooke Ave, Hartlepool Durham, aged 75, Administration Newcastle 19 Jul, estate valued at £846.70 Amy d 31 Oct 1974 at 5 Southbrooke Ave, Hartlepool, Will proved Newcastle 22 Nov, estate valued at £13,987.71 They had twins that died at birth and then had no more children.
      3. Robert, b 12 Mar 1905 Hartlepool Durham. 72 Joined the Hussars. Married 1931 Hartlepool Durham Barbara Buglass SMITH.73 He died 28 Oct 1984 at 32 Lawson Rd, Hartlepool, Will proved Newcastle on Tyne 20 Nov estate not exceeding £40,000.74 She died 1985 at 32 Lawson Rd, Hartlepool, aged 82.75 Children:
        1. Derek, b 10 Sep 1931 Hartlepool.76 Was in the RAF and then the Merchant Navy. Died 1980 Stepney, London, aged 49 [ie b c 1931] renal failure.77
      4. Elizabeth, b 1907 Hartlepool Durham,78 . Twin (not identical). Married 1932 Hartlepool Durham Fred LEE.79. Lived in Thornaby. 1 dau, 1 son.
      5. Ethel, b 1907 Hartlepool Durham.80  Twin (not identical). Married 1929 Darlington Durham … ORCHARD.81 Lived in Weymouth, Dorset. 1 son.
    4. Mary Hannah b 1872;82 d unmarried 1935 Hartlepool aged 63.83
    5. Susanah Frances b 1874;84 d unmarried 1941 W Hartlepool aged 66.85 .
    6. Robert b 1877.86 Died 22 Jan 1965 at the General Hospital, W Hartlepool, residing 176 Sheriff St, W Hartlepool, Durham, aged 87,87 Administration Durham 10 Mar to Frederick Stanley Brockett, retired Foreman Process Worker and Mary Elizabeth NEWBEGIN, Widow, estate valued at £211.88
  4. Isaac, b 1834. Married 1858 Ann MARSHALL Stockton, Durham.89 Isaac’s occupation 1870 Seaman, Merchant Service, signed with ‘X’.90 Ann died 1915 Hartlepool aged 85.91 Isaac died 1920 Hartlepool aged 86,92 and was buried 27 Nov 1920 in North Road Cemetery, Hartlepool.93 Census records for Isaac and Anne’s family: +Read more
    Children:

    1. Ann Elizabeth, b c 1861.94 ?m 1886 Hartlepool.95 
    2. Hannah Mary, b 1861l96 m 1883 Hartlepool97
    3. John, b 1864.98 Married 1893 Mary Ellen PEACOCK Hartlepool.99 Census records for John and Mary’s family: +Read more
      They appear to have joined John’s uncle Richard and his 2nd family, who were also in Hutton Henry in 1901. John’s occupation 1899, 1904 and 1919: Master Mariner.100 Children:

      1. Nellie Marshall, b 1893.101 No apparent further GRO entry.
      2. Mabel, b 1895;102… MALLABY 1916 Hartlepool.103
      3. John Peacock, b 1896;104 m 15 Mar 1919 Beatrice May RENWICK, Spinster, aged 20, of 96 Flixton Road, by licence in the Parish Church, Urmston, Barton upon Irwell, c 5 m W of Manchester, John, Bachelor, 22, of 45 Scarborough Street, West Hartlepool, 2nd Mate Merchant Service.105 Beatrice died 1932, Barton upon Irwell, aged 33.106 1 dau. Did John marry again to … DOWNS 1932 Stoke on Trent, Staffs?107 No issue in the GRO.
      4. Isaac James, b 11 Jan 1899, 41 Scarbro Street, West Hartlepool.108 Died 1899 Hartlepool.109
      5. Isabel, b 1900;110  m 1918 Hartlepool … FRANKLIN.111
      6. Susan Irene, b 1902 Sedgefield Durham;112 m 1926 Stockton Durham … TROTTER.113
      7. Isaac, b 29 Jul 1904 Ship Inn, Trafalgar Street, Thornaby on Tees.114. Died 1912 Hartlepool, aged 8.115
      8. Violet, b 1909 Hartlepool;116  m 1930 Stockton Durham … WILKINSON.117

      Mary E died 1939 Bucklow, Chester, aged 67.118 John married again on 17 Jan 1942 to Lily JONES, at the Register Office, Bucklow, he aged 77, Widower, Retired Master Mariner, residing 90 Crofton Ave, Timperley, she 44, Spinster, Domestic Servant, residing ‘Beechthorpe’, St Margaret’s Rd, Bowden.119 John died 1947 Bucklow, aged 82.120 

    4. Isabella Marshall Brockett, born 1866 Hartlepool.121  Not at parents’ home, aged 15, for the 1881 census. She must have been the Isabella Brokett, aged 14, ie b c 1867, living separately in Stranton in 1881 as a Domestic Nurse in the household of Edward CORNER, Teaman, 5 Cambridge Terrace. There was another Isabella Brocket, born 1867 Hartlepool,122 whose parents are not known, and who died at sea 10 Jul 1872, of a convulsive fit, aged 5, on vessel Ebor.123 Isabella Marshall Brockett married 7 Nov 1886 William Henry ELNER, St. Paul Hartlepool.124 In 1891 the family were at 37 Park St, Stranton: William Henry ELENER, Head, aged 25, Railway Signalman; Isabella M, Wife, aged 24, and 3 sons William G, 4; Henry Thomas, 2; Isaac J M, 10 months; all b W Hartlepool.125
    5. Isaac, b 11 May 1870, Park St, West Hartlepool; died 1870 Hartlepool.126  By coincidence another Isaac, perhaps very distantly related, had died in Hartlepool in Feb the previous year.
  5. William, b 1836. An unmarried seaman, aged 35, living with elder brother Robert in 1871.127 No 1881 census record or apparent GRO entry.
  6. Francis, bap 1839; d 1914 Whitby.
  7. Richard, bap 1841. Married 1863 Hartlepool.128. The 1881 census recorded the family in Stranton: Richard aged 39, b Whitby, Seaman, wife Eliza b 1842 Whitby, and 2 children John H, aged 16, Seaman, and Eliza J, aged 15, both b W Hartlepool. Eliza died 1881 Hartlepool aged 39.129  Children:
    1. John Henry b 1864,130 unmarried aged 16, Seaman, in 1881. He drowned off Finnieston Quay on the River Clyde 1888, aged 24, Merchant Seaman.131 His mother’s maiden name was given as Elizabeth CORNFORTH.
    2. Eliza Jane b 1866,132 unmarried aged 15 in 1881; m 1887 Hartlepool.133
    3. George, b c 1875. Not apparently recorded in the 1881 or 1911 censuses. Married 25 Apr 1908 Edith ROBINSON at the Register Office, S Shields, Durham, he aged 33, Bachelor, Mariner Merchant Service, she, 26, Spinster, both of 89 Eglesfield Rd, South Shields.134 George Brockett died at sea 24 Oct 1910, of malarial fever followed by heart failure, aged 33, Boatswain, vessel Harlyn, registered London.135 Edith d 1910 S Shields, aged 27.136

    The 1901 census recorded Richard as a Licensed Victualler in Hutton Henry, Durham, aged 59, with wife Elizabeth aged 41 b Hamburg, Naturalised British Subject and 2 children both b W Hartlepool. Richard of the Plough Inn, Hutton Henry, Durham, d 4 Sep 1902, Will proved Durham 1902 by Elizabeth widow, estate valued £461.137 Elizabeth of the Plough Inn, d 23 Mar 1909, Will proved Durham 27 Sep by Thomas Brockett Publican, estate valued £316 14s 8d. Children:

    1. Zena May b 1884 Hartlepool;138 aged 16 in 1901.139“] Emigrated to Canada, arrived Quebec 1 Jun 1901 on Ship LAURENTIC, White Star as Zena Mary BROCKATT, aged 43.140 In 1911 assisting in the business of the Plough Inn, Hutton Henry, Durham, with brother Thomas, she aged 26, Single, b Durham, W Hartlepool.141 Unmarried 1914 (brother’s death).
    2. Thomas b 1887 Hartlepool;142 aged 14 in 1901. In 1911 Innkeeper of the Plough Inn, Hutton Henry, Durham, with sister Zena, he aged 23, Single, b Durham, W Hartlepool, 8 rooms, entry signed by Thomas.143 Died 1914 Easington Durham aged 27.144 Thomas of Hutton Henry and District Club, Co Durham d 11 Sep 1914, Admon Durham to Zena May Brockett spinster, estate valued £160 10s.
  1. Anne Elizabeth, bap 1843, a daughter after 7 sons. Married 18 Dec 1866 Henry BREWSTER inWhitby Parish Church, she aged 24, Spinster, residing Church St, Whitby, making her mark, he 25, Bachelor, Labourer, residing Scarborough.145 2 daus, 2 sons.

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3.2. John, Farmer

Bap 1808 Lythe; s/o Charles and Hannah HARLAND. John was a Farmer at Goathland Head, moving to Partridge Hill by 1841, a farm of 62 acres.146 m 1st 1833 Pickering Elizabeth HARLAND. Both were from Goathland. At this time, Goathland marriages were in Pickering. No Pickering record of Elizabeth’s burial. Child:

  1. Hannah, bap 1834 Goathland. Unless John had an earlier daughter Hannah, this baptism would have been when Hannah was c 13 years old. The age of 36 [ie b c 1821] on the marriage certificate of Hannah, d/o John BROCKET Farmer, on 23 Nov 1857 to Walker DIXON Fylingdales, Whitby District, he a Bachelor, Farmer, aged 24, and she a Spinster must have been in error for 26.147

John married 2nd 1836 Pickering Mary COCKERILL. John died Goathland, aged 76, 6 Jan 1886, Will proved 9 Mar York by Mary, Widow, sole executor, personal estate £333 9s.148 Mary died Goathland, aged 78, 17 Mar 1892.149 The male line has died out. Census records for John and Mary’s family: +Read more


Children:

  1. Ann b 4 Oct 1837 Goathland,150 d Goathland 1859 unmarried.
  2. Jane bap 1839 Goathland, d Goathland 1859 unmarried. ?Child:
    1. Stephenson b and d 1851 Whitby.151 ?s/o Robert STEPHENSON, a witness to Jane’s uncle Jonas’ marriage in 1846.
  3. Mary bap 1841 Goathland, ?m 1870 Scarborough.152
  4. Charles bap 1843 Goathland. Agricultural Labourer 1861, Farmer’s Son unmarried 1881, Farmer with no family 1901.153. No GRO marriage. No apparent 1911 census record. Died 1926 Whitby, aged 82, ie b c 1844.154 
  5. Elizabeth bap 1847 Goathland. Recorded in 1851, aged 4 in Goathland; in 1861, aged 14 in Whitby District and in 1881 aged 32 in Goathland155 Dressmaker 1871.156 Died Goathland 1896 unmarried.
  6. John bap 1848 Goathland. Census records for John: +Read more
    Drowned 15 Nov 1893, dead body found in River Colne near Flood Gate, Middle Mill, All Saints, Colchester Essex, aged 40 [actually c 45], Clerk at Colchester Post Office, under water 9 hours, certificate received from Coroner, inquest held 15 Nov.157 Probably unmarried.
  7. Margaret bap 1850 Goathland, d Goathland 1881 unmarried.

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3.3. James, Cabinet Maker

James bap 1813 Lythe; s/o Charles and Hannah HARLAND; m 1837 Pickering Mary WORMAULD of Whitby. James’ main occupation was Cabinet Maker,158 but later Water Bailiff/Gamekeeper.159 All records indicate that James was the brother of John and Jonas—there was no other recorded James in the area. The male line has died out. Census records for James and Mary’s family: +Read more


The 1871 census recorded 3 Marys in Yorkshire: aged 67, ie b c 1804, 57, ie b c 1814 and 53, ie b c 1818. They were the wives of the 3 brothers. The one born c 1818 was Jonas’ wife and the one b c 1814 was John’s wife—she died 1892, aged 78—so perhaps James’ wife wished to minimise her age, since she was about 9 years older than her husband. Mary died 1878 Whitby District Yorks, aged 76, ie b c 1802.160 James ‘of Glaisdale’ d 29 Mar 1901, Will proved York 25 Apr, by nephew Charles, farmer, estate valued £106 16s 11d.161 Children:

  1. Hannah Elizabeth, b 4 Jul 1838, informant father James, Cabinet Maker, Haggersgate.162 She died 11½ pm 16 Sep 1847 Whitby, aged 9, of Disease of the lung and heart.163 Neither her birth nor death were recorded in the Parish Register.
  2. Henry bap 1841 Whitby. Married 7 Mar 1882 Martha ANDERSON at the Register Office, Whitby, he aged 40, Bachelor, Cabinet Maker, residing Silver St, Whitby, she 42, Widow, residing the Pier, Whitby and making her mark.164 In 1891 Henry, aged 49, Water Bailiff, was at 8 Arncliffe Terrace, Glaisdale, Whitby, with wife Martha, 50, and granddaughter Emma PAYLOR, 4—all b Whitby.165 Henry died Whitby 1899.166 

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3.4. Jonas, Innkeeper and Farmer

Jonas bap 1815 Lythe; s/o Charles and Hannah HARLAND. Married 9 May 1846 Mary GARBUTT in the Parish Church Pickering, he a Bachelor, Labourer, she a Spinster, Dressmaker, both of full age residing Pickering, one witness Robert STEPHENSON.167 The marriage certificate is also recorded under the name James, because the reproduction of the signature is given as James. The copyist made [corrected] errors elsewhere on the certificate. Jonas died 1870, aged 55.168. No surviving issue. Census records for Jonas and Mary: +Read more

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4. 1870-1926

Francis was the only son of John and Susanna SHADFORTH who stayed in Whitby. He was baptised Whitby 1839 and died there 1914.169 Seaman Merchant Service 1867,170 Master Mariner,171 Captain,172 Ship Master 1893.173 He married 1st 13 Mar 1866 Hannah GALLEWAY in Stranton Parish Church, Hartlepool, he aged 27, Bachelor, Master Mariner, she 23, Spinster, both residing Stranton, witnesses eldest brother Thomas and his wife Isabella.174 Hannah died in Whitby 1872 aged 29,175 the same quarter as Arthur James was born and died. Did she die in childbirth? Children:

  1. Francis William, b 11 Oct 1867 in [grandfather] William GALLOWAY’s house in Newholm [c 2 m W of Whitby].176 Married 18 Dec 1893 Annie Rees BEEDLE at the British Consulate General at Algiers, he aged 26, Bachelor, Shipchandler, of 6 Rue de la Liberté, Algiers, she 25, Spinster, of Hotel Beausite Mustapha.177 Annie Reece, daughter of William Robson Beedle, Mariner, and his wife Sarah, residing Church St, was baptised in Whitby 14 May 1868.178 Francis William died 11 Apr 1896, aged 28, Shipchandler, at 6 Rue de la Liberté, Algiers.179 Admon London 26 Aug 1896 to Annie Reece Brockett, widow, £224 10s 8d.180 On 24 Apr 1900 in the British Consulate General, Algiers, Annie Reece Brockett, aged 31, Widow, of 6 Rue de la Liberté, Algiers, daughter of William Robson Beedle, Master Mariner, married Anny PAUL, aged 32, Bachelor, of 36 Rampe Magenta, Algiers, Manager of Seaman’s Reading Room, Algiers, son of Gerrit Paul, Farmer.181 No record of the couple has been found in the 1901 census, but in 1911 they were recorded at 77 Galloway Rd, S Bush, Fulham, London, he aged 42, Head, Liftman on the Central London Railway, b Canada, Montreal, she as his wife, aged 42, b Yorks Whitby, with daughter Muriel BROCKETT, aged 15, b Algiers, and daughter Marjorie PAUL, 10, b Algiers (but no son).182 Children:
    1. Muriel, b 11 May 1895 Algiers. Married 8 Sep 1923 Robert Edward DOBLE, Hammersmith St Luke’s, London.183 She died in Worthing, Sussex, 12 Mar 1971.
    2. William Francis, born posthumously 23 Jul 1896 Algiers.184 He wasn’t with his mother in London in the 1911 census, aged 15, nor apparently elsewhere in England—perhaps he was at sea already? Married 15 May 1937 Dorothy Ellen DOBLE, Brentford.185 He was probably the W F Brockett, witness to 1st cousin’s marriage 1947. He died 6 Jun 1954 Ruislip/Northwood, Middx, Merchant Seaman, estate £2974 18s 4d to Dorothy Ellen Brockett widow.186 She died in Worthing, Sussex, 20 Nov 1980, aged 84.187 No issue?
  2. John Thomas b 1869 Newholm.188 Married Sarah Hannah TOSE, Whitby 1908.189 Master Mariner Merchant Service 1911,190 Sea Captain.191 Census records for John and Sarah: +Read more
    John Thomas died at sea 22 Apr 1911, aged 43, of supposed consumption, Master Mariner/1st officer on board steamship Ethelwynne, registered Whitby, sailing from Hull to Las Palmas, Admon York to widow Sarah of 3 Poplar Row, Whitby, estate valued £259 1s.192 Sarah remarried 1913 Whitby to … AGAR.193 Children:

    1. Francis, b 1 Jul 1910 Whitby District.194 Married 2 Oct 1943 Elizabeth EVANS in Christ Church Parish Church, Milton next Gravesend, Kent, he aged 33, Bachelor, Corporal RAF, of 15 Kings Avenue, Seaburn, Sunderland, she 22, Spinster, of 151 Whitehill Rd, Gravesend, [sister] H Brockett a witness.195 Francis died 1997 St Austell, Cornwall, aged 87.196  Elizabeth died 2006 St Austell, Cornwall, aged 85.197
      1 dau.
    2. Helena, b 7 Nov 1911, 3 Poplar Row, Ruswarp, Whitby, father deceased198—the last Brockett birth in the GRO for Whitby. Married 4 Oct 1947 William Henry Radford COOKE in Ewell Parish Church, Surrey Mid E, she aged 35, Spinster, of 11 Walsingham Gardns, Stoneleigh, d/o Helena [sic] Brockett, Sea Captain, he 55, Widower, Profession: Press, of 21 Manor Drive, Ewell, [first cousin] W F Brockett a witness.199 Helena as father is an obvious dittography in place of John Thomas.
  3. Robert Edwin b 1871 Newholm.200 Robert received his Certificate of Compentency as Master on 20 September 1897.201 Married Sarah MORRIS in Sunderland 1900.202  On 31 March 1901 Robert E Brockett, Head, aged 30, Master Mariner, b Whitby, was at 25 Woodbine Street, St Paul’s, Sunderland, with Wife Sarah, 21, and her brother Mathew MORRIS, 9, both born Sunderland, occupying 3 rooms with another family of 7 occupying 4 rooms.203 Robert died Sunderland 1906.204  No issue. On 9 Oct 1910 Sarah Isabel Brockett, Widow, aged 29, residing 11 Norfolk St, Sunderland, married Edward FITZSIMONS, 29, Bachelor, General Labourer, residing 50 Hope St, Sunderland, in St Mary’s Catholic Church, Sunderland.205
  4. ?Arthur James b 1872 Whitby.206 Died Whitby 1872.207

Francis married second on 25 Dec 1873 Mary Ann TINDALE, in St Nicholas Chapel, Parish of St Margaret, Kings Lynn, Norfolk, he aged 34, Widower, Master Mariner, residing St Ann’s Fort [Kings Lynn, Norfolk], she 31, Widow, residing St Nicholas St, d/o Joseph AVITT, Shoemaker.208 Census records for Francis and family: +Read more


Francis, of 7 Esk Terrace, was listed among the Master Mariners of Whitby in 1890, and as one of the secretaries of the Whitby Young Men’s Christian Association, New Temperance Hall.209 Francis and Mary Ann died within a week of each other: Francis 16 Apr 1914 and Mary Ann 23 Apr. Francis’ Will was proved York, estate valued £4905 0s 6d210 Mary Ann’s estate was valued £316 16s 9d.211 They may not have had any Brockett grandchildren. Children:

  1. Lillie b 1875 Whitby.212  Married … HESELTON Whitby 1913.213 Lillia in 1881 census.
  2. Sarah Ann b 1876 Whitby.214  Probably married Whitby 1905215—not in 1911 census as Brockett, but possibly as Sarah Ann MAW at 34 George St, Ruswarp, Whitby, aged 34, born Whitby, Wife, married 6 years, no children indicated, on her own in the house.
  3. Fanny b 1878 Whitby.216 Probably married … CARLING Whitby 1912.217
  4. Helena b 1879 Whitby.218 Eleanor in the 1881 census. Died unmarried 18 May 1963 Whitby aged 83.219  Will proved Newcastle 24 Oct 1973, estate valued at £120, of Pencraig Ash Grove, Stakesby Rd, Whitby.220
  5. Joseph Avitt b 1883 Whitby.221 Died 6 Oct 1912, 7 Esk Terrace, Whitby, retired Mariner, Admon York 29 Oct, by father, valued £392 8s 5d.222

In 1881 there were 3 families in Stranton, W Hartlepool,223 those of the brothers: RobertRichard and Isaac.

John Brockett, aged 20, Ordinary Seaman (i.e. an unlicensed member of the deck department of a merchant ship, apprentice able seaman) was recorded dying of consumption at sea 3 Apr 1876 on the vessel Point, official no.10767, docking next at Poplar, the net amount due to his estate being £2 2s 10d.224 His parents are not known, nor where he came from. He may not even have come from the UK. No suitable birth record has been found in the GRO.

Page Last Updated: March 19, 2021

Footnotes

For full bibliographical details please see the sections Publications or Glossary.

Expand

[1] Index of Parish transcript; IGI.

[2] Birth certificate.

[3] Unless otherwise indicated, all records of births, baptisms, marriages and burials come from the Parish Registers.

[4] Marriage certificate of daughter.

[5] census.

[6] GRO qtr 2.

[7] Marriage certificate. The marriage was not in the Parish Register.

[8] GRO qtr 1.

[9] No GRO record, so before 1838?.

[10] Death certificate.

[11] No GRO record.

[12] Death certificate.

[13] census.

[14] Death certificate.

[15] Marriage certificate of son.

[16] Marriage certificate of dau.

[17] Marriage certificate—marriage not in Parish Register.

[18] GRO qtr 4.

[19] GRO qtr 1.

[20] Marriage certificate—marriage not in Parish Register .

[21] GRO qtr 3.

[22] Marriage certificate.

[23] 1881 census.

[24] GRO qtr 3.

[25] GRO qtr 1.

[26] LPR.

[27] Marriage certificate.

[28] UK Census 1861 (RG9) – 7 April 1861 RG9 Piece 4442 Folio 67.

[29] GRO qtr 2.

[30] LPR.

[31] IGI.

[32] GRO qtr 4.

[33] The North Cemetery monumental inscriptions book for West Hartlepool.

[34] GRO qtr 1; LPR.

[35] Ancestry.com – Find a Grave.

[36] GRO qtr 4.

[37] GRO qtr 4; LPR.

[38] GRO qtr 4.

[39] GRO qtr 3.

[40] GRO qtr 3.

[41] GRO qtr 4.

[42] GRO qtr 4.

[43] BMD Scotland.

[44] GRO qtr 3.

[45] Mother’s Will.

[46] LPR; GRO qtr 3.

[47] GRO qtr 1 1900.

[48] GRO qtr 1.

[49] GRO qtr 3.

[50] War medals.

[51] UK Census 1861 (RG9) – 7 April 1861 RG9 Piece 4442 Folio 67.

[52] UK Census 1871 (RG10) – 2 April 1871 RG10 Piece 4920 Folio 9 Page 11.

[53] GRO qtr 1.

[54] GRO qtr 1.

[55] Ancestry.com Find a Grave.

[56] GRO qtr 4.

[57] GRO qtr 3.

[58] GRO qtr 4.

[59] GRO qtr 4.

[60] GRO qtr 4.

[61] GRO qtr 3.

[62] GRO qtr 3.

[63] GRO qtr 1.

[64] GRO qtr 4.

[65] GRO qtr 3.

[66] GRO qtr 1.

[67] GRO qtr 2.

[68] Ellis Island records.

[69] Death of uncle Robert.

[70] GRO qtr 1; LPR.

[71] LPR.

[72] GRO qtr 2---index for his death.

[73] GRO qtr 1.

[74] LPR.

[75] GRO qtr 2.

[76] GRO qtr 4

[77] GRO qtr 3

[78] GRO qtr 2.

[79] GRO qtr 1.

[80] GRO qtr 2.

[81] GRO qtr 2.

[82] GRO qtr 1.

[83] GRO qtr 4.

[84] GRO qtr 4.

[85] GRO qtr 2.

[86] GRO qtr 3.

[87] GRO qtr 1.

[88] LPR.

[89] GRO qtr 4.

[90] Birth certificate of son.

[91] GRO qtr 3.

[92] GRO qtr 4.

[93] Ancestry.com – Find a Grave.

[94] No GRO record.

[95] GRO qtr 2.

[96] GRO qtr 3.

[97] GRO qtr 3.

[98] GRO qtr 3.

[99] GRO qtr 1.

[100] Birth certificate of sons; Marriage certificate of son.

[101] GRO qtr 4.

[102] GRO qtr 3.

[103] GRO qtr 1.

[104] GRO qtr 3.

[105] Marriage certificate.

[106] GRO qtr 1.

[107] GRO qtr 4.

[108] Birth certificate.

[109] GRO qtr 3.

[110] GRO qtr 2.

[111] GRO qtr 3.

[112] GRO qtr 4.

[113] GRO qtr 4.

[114] Birth certificate.

[115] GRO qtr 3.

[116] GRO qtr 2.

[117] GRO qtr 2.

[118] GRO qtr 1.

[119] Marriage certificate.

[120] GRO qtr 2.

[121] GRO qtr 2.

[122] GRO qtr 1.

[123] BMD_ATSEA_BT15845_00181-RIGHT.

[124] GRO qtr 4; Findmypast England Marriages 1538-1973.

[125] census.

[126] GRO qtr 2.

[127] census.

[128] GRO qtr 3.

[129] GRO qtr 2.

[130] GRO qtr 3.

[131] BMD Scotland.

[132] GRO qtr 1.

[133] GRO qtr 3.

[134] Marriage certificate.

[135] BMD_MTM_BT334_0046_001-111; BMD_MTM_BT334_0054_001-260.

[136] GRO qtr 3.

[137] LPR.

[138] GRO qtr 4.

[139] Mistakenly transcribed as Lena in the census.

[140] www.collectionscanada.gc.ca Immigration Records 1925-1935.

[141] census.

[142] GRO qtr 1.

[143] census.

[144] GRO qtr 3.

[145] Marriage certificate.

[146] 1871 census.

[147] Marriage certificate---marriage not in the Parish Register .

[148] LPR; GRO qtr 1; Parish Register.

[149] GRO qtr 1; Parish Register.

[150] Birth certificate.

[151] GRO.

[152] GRO qtr 3.

[153] censuses.

[154] GRO qtr 2.

[155] census.

[156] census.

[157] Death certificate.

[158] 1837, 1841 and 1861 censuses.

[159] 1881 census.

[160] GRO qtr 3.

[161] LPR.

[162] Birth certificate.

[163] Death certificate, as Ann Elizabeth.

[164] Marriage certificate.

[165] census.

[166] GRO qtr 2.

[167] Marriage certificate.

[168] GRO qtr 3.

[169] GRO qtr 2, aged 75.

[170] Birth certificate of son.

[171] 1871 census.

[172] 1881 census.

[173] Marriage certificate of son.

[174] Marriage certificate.

[175] GRO qtr 3.

[176] Birth certificate.

[177] Marriage certificate.

[178] Whitby parish records, image accessed from FMP 2- Oct 2020.

[179] Death certificate.

[180] LPR.

[181] Marriage certificate, with many thanks to Martijn Oudega, The Netherlands, for a copy.

[182] census.

[183] GRO qtr 3.

[184] British Consular record, image accessed from FMP's Merchant Navy Seamen records, Sep 2014.

[185] GRO qtr 2.

[186] LPR; GRO qtr 2.

[187] GRO qtr 4.

[188] GRO qtr 2; 1881 census.

[189] GRO qtr 4.

[190] Birth certificate of dau; Marriage certificate of son 1943.

[191] Marriage certificate of dau 1947.

[192] LPR; BMD_MTM_BT334_0049_001-047; BMD_MTM_BT334_0055_001-115.

[193] GRO qtr 3.

[194] GRO qtr 3---and death index.

[195] Marriage certificate.

[196] GRO qtr 2.

[197] GRO qtr 1b 30 Apr 1921.

[198] Birth certificate.

[199] Marriage certificate.

[200] GRO qtr 1; 1881 census.

[201] Ancestry.com – UK and Ireland, Masters and Mates Certificates, 1850-1927 from the Greathead family my One-Name Study at goo.gl/Ay9QXg (accessed 12 Sep 2018).

[202] GRO qtr 2.

[203] census.

[204] GRO qtr 2, aged 34, ie b c 1872.

[205] Marriage certificate.

[206] GRO qtr 3.

[207] GRO qtr 3.

[208] Marriage certificate.

[209] Bulmer’s Directory.

[210] LPR.

[211] LPR.

[212] GRO qtr 2;1881 census.

[213] GRO qtr 1.

[214] GRO qtr 2; 1881 census.

[215] GRO qtr 1.

[216] GRO qtr 1; 1881 census.

[217] GRO qtr 1.

[218] GRO qtr 4; 1881 census.

[219] GRO qtr 2.

[220] LPR.

[221] GRO qtr 1; 1901 census.

[222] LPR.

[223] census.

[224] BMD_MTM_BT153_0016_001-176.