Jenny's Family History Pages

Jenny Cowling's Family History Pages

This website is dedicated to all my ancestors; Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone....

The limbs that move, the eyes that see,
These are not entirely me;
Dead men and women helped to shape
The mold which I do not escape;

The words I speak, my written line,
These are not uniquely mine.
For in my heart and in my will
Old ancestors are warring still,

Celt, Roman, Saxon, and all the dead
From whose rich blood my veins are fed,
In aspect, gesture, voices, tone,
Flesh of my flesh, bone of my bone;

In fields they tilled I plough the sod,
I walk the mountain paths they trod;
And round my daily steps arise
The good and bad of those I comprise

(Written by English Author Richard Rolle, over 600 years ago).

My family history section is divided into 4 sections, one for each of my grandparents.



Please note: I hope all the details included on these pages are accurate, but recommend you recheck all information.
Also please let me know if you find anything incorrect.
(See below for more details on each section)

The fascination of Genealogy

To me family history research is not just about names and dates, it is trying to get an understanding of what life was like for our ancestors, how they made a living, what events affected their lives. Most of my ancestors weren't grand or famous, they were ordinary hard-working people, but their history tells us much about the times they lived in - and also ourselves. Genealogy is certainly an additive hobby. Sadly for many of our ancestors we may only find little snippets of information, which help us, like detectives, to add a piece to the jigsaw. However each clue seems to generate more questions than answers, perhaps this is what makes genealogy so intriguing!

One thing that is fascinating about ancestry research is the sheer variety of people we are descended from and related to. Amongst my family members I have found:

If you are lucky enough to trace your family back to around 17th century, you start to realise just how vast your gene pool becomes. And I am convinced that if any 2 people (from the same country) were able to trace all lines of their tree back for about 500 years - they would find a distant relationship somewhere along the line. My father was born in Leeds and my mother in Newcastle, their genealogy was completely separate for 200 years before they met. But during the mid-1700's a branch of each family was living in Darlington, in those days a small town. So I suspect possibly somewhere in the 1500's or 1600's there would be a connection. It really brings it home to me, what a small world we live in, and how very closely we are actually all related...

Ancestry research can mean hours spent looking at seemingly endless reels of microfilm in a record centre, scouring dusy old books in a library or surfing the internet. But sometimes you hit gold and find something that really makes it all worth while. Sadly it does help if the family were wealthy, as wills and property deeds can be great sources, they also give one of the best insights into lifestyle and sometimes character. All sides of my family history are equally important to me, but unfortuantely for some there are simply no surviving records. A lot of luck is involved.

I cannot believe the luck I seem to have had in searching the various branches of my grandma Hopton's tree. I have found some perfect clues that have helped to tie up all the loose ends, such as:

Details on the families connected to my 4 grandparents.


(I have not included information on more recent generations, as these people are still living and know who they are!)


This section also includes;
BARBER, BROOKS, COWLING, HARDCASTLE, LONGSTAFF, LUPTON, PARKER, PARKINSON, SHEPHERD, TAYLOR and WOOD from Pateley Bridge
COWLING from Leeds and Kansas, USA (after 1850)
BATTERSON, GRAY, GREEN, HOWSON, PAIN, TODD and WAYLOR from Bedfordshire/Buckinghamshire area.
SMITH from Yorkshire (Scarbrough/Meanwood, Leeds areas).
TODD, PATERSON, MELVILLE, ORME & GILMER from Scotland (Before 1826)


This section also includes;
APPLEYARD, BENN, BENTLEY, BRIGGS, BUTTERY, CLIFF, FARRER, HALL, HARPER, MARSHALL, ODDY, OATES, and POLLARD from Yorkshire
EASTGATE (or ESKETT), SIMPSON from Darlington, Co. Durham


This section also includes;
ATKINSON, CHAMBERS, JACKSON, MOLE, PENMAN, QUARRY, SCOON, SIMPSON, SMEILLE, STEWART and STRAKER from Northumberland, the Scottish borders and Fife.


This section also includes;
ADDISON, ATKINSON, COOKE, DUNN, GRIEVES, HUTCHINSON, SOWERBY, STAINSBY TWEEDY and WISEMAN from Durham, Yorkshire and Northumberland

For more information on each of these families, please click on the buttons above.

If you are thinking of testing your DNA for family history research, see:

Some useful websites:

The IGI on line: Family Search
The Public Record Office: PRO
Public Library resources: Familia
US Imigration: Ellis Island website
UK Genealogy: GENUKI
Old Maps
Free BMD Free search of Births/Marriages/Deaths (not complete)
Leeds Indexers
English Surnames
Joiner Marriage Index of Northumberland & Durham


And finally if you are looking for a gift, why not look at Curig Welsh Gifts for Welsh Crafts and Woollens

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