Hi Gen Ever thought that you might not be able to find anything on the web about the name "Bewhinney" because it didn't really exist? If the Parish Clerk didn't know these people, he would just spell their name the way it sounded, and Mewhinney sounds very much like Bewhinney if you say it few times! Cheers Pat =================================== Mrs Pat Pierpoint Hon. Secretary and Genealogy Officer Clan Johnston/Johnstone Association (U.K.) =================================== > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of gen listlass > Sent: 24 April 2009 10:42 > To: [email protected]; DUR-NBL list > Subject: Re: [DUR-NBL] Whinney surname > > > Hi Roy > > > > Been there, done that:-) > > > > Didn't make myself clear, I wondered at the change of name > from Bewhinney to Whinney. It's quite clear in the parish > registers. The two surnames seemed to co-exist for a while > then the Be... prefix disappeared totally. Cannot find > anything on the web about a Bewhinney surname, only > Mewhinneys from Ireland. > > > > Gen in NBL > -- I am using the free version of SPAMfighter. We are a community of 6 million users fighting spam. SPAMfighter has removed 5045 of my spam emails to date. Get the free SPAMfighter here: http://www.spamfighter.com/len The Professional version does not have this message

> Ever thought that you might not be able to find anything on the web about > the name "Bewhinney" because it didn't really exist? >Pat Had crossed my mind :-) But....... how did an Irish? family get to Elsdon in the late 1600's. If they were Irish? Suppose anything is possible but is it likely? Elsdon isnt exacty the centre of the universe now but I think it was more important in the past. There seem to be many Whinneys in Cumberland, maybe they were strays from there and previously from Ireland? Gen in NBL _________________________________________________________________ View your Twitter and Flickr updates from one place – Learn more! http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/137984870/direct/01/

From: gen listlass <[email protected]> > There seem to be many Whinneys in Cumberland, maybe they were strays > from there and previously from Ireland? > I am unsure as to what period you are talking about, but I can tell you that in the 1881 census there most certainly were not many Whinneys in Cumberland (and I find the 1881 to be a fairly reliable guide to surname distributions in other periods of history generally). Using Surname Atlas (the program that draws distribution maps from the 1881 data), I first of all entered the name WHINNEY by itself. There were only 86 entries in total throughout the country and, of these, the largest number - 32 - were in Middlesex. Then followed Co Durham with 15, Suffolk with 9, and Cumberland was fourth with only seven people of the name. Switching to numbers by Poor Law Unions (registration and enumeration districts) all of the Cumberland entries were in just one place, Wigton, whilst the largest number overall, 23, were in St Pancras, London. Of course, you would have to examine the 1881 census CDs place by place to discover how many of them in other places were actually born in Cumberland, for it is certainly possible some of them might have been. I then included variants of WHINNEY - WHINEY, WHINNY, WINEY, WINNEY, WINNOW and WINNY. This brought the total up to 424, with still only 11 entries for Cumberland, Suffolk this time going to the top of the table with 76. In terms of Poor Law Unions, there were 10 in Wigton and just 1 in Whitehaven. On the evidence of Surname Atlas, the surname does not appear to be predominantly a Cumberland name in any way. -- Roy Stockdill Professional genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE

Progressive migration from Ireland - Cumberland - NBL seems a reasonable hypothesis in this case, if there are significant numbers of Whinneys in Cumberland. Ag labs, shepherds and hinds were a mobile lot. Otherwise there are a number of reasons I have encountered for the Irish getting to NBL that early. Some as seamen (probably not a good explanation for Elsdon), some as soldiers (and the 1600s were turbulent times), some as seasonal agricultural labourers returning to Ireland in between hirings, and then there have been Irish travellers/ tinkers for a long time also. I have found instances of the latter in NBL rural parish burial records from the late 1600s. If it is just an individual and perhaps their family, then perhaps they came as servants to a wealthy NBL person or family who had land or other interests in Ireland. In other parts of NBL I might wonder if they had been imported as cheap labour for the early coal mining industry. It is an intriguing puzzle and I hope you find the answer. Good luck, Ingrid On 25/04/2009, at 7:59 PM, gen listlass wrote: > > But....... how did an Irish? family get to Elsdon in the late > 1600's. If they were Irish? Suppose anything is possible but is it > likely? Elsdon isnt exacty the centre of the universe now but I > think it was more important in the past. > > > > There seem to be many Whinneys in Cumberland, maybe they were strays > from there and previously from Ireland?

Thank you Ingrid for your input. I had wondered about soldiers as there was probably quite a lot of activity in that Elsdon area in the mid 1600's to early 1700's! I have spent all day today at the Northumberland Archives and I found a Whinney in Elsdon called Guilbert Bewhing who was on the 4 & 20 in 1702 but he could only make his mark. Their name is spelt Bywhinney. Bewhinney/Whinney/Whiney..........etc etc. These Whinneys were millers around Elsdon. Plodding along, hoping for more but evidence is getting thin on the ground in the 1680's. Gen in NBL > Otherwise there are a number of reasons I have encountered for the > Irish getting to NBL that early. Some as seamen (probably not a > good explanation for Elsdon), some as soldiers (and the 1600s were > turbulent times), some as seasonal agricultural labourers returning to > Ireland in between hirings, and then there have been Irish travellers/ > tinkers for a long time also. I have found instances of the latter > in NBL rural parish burial records from the late 1600s. If it is > just an individual and perhaps their family, then perhaps they came as > servants to a wealthy NBL person or family who had land or other > interests in Ireland. _________________________________________________________________ Share your photos with Windows Live Photos – Free. http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/134665338/direct/01/