Thanks for your comments Chris. I.m sure that you are correct about Pickring Hewer and I have found the Wright Green connection both tantalizing and elusive. I'll just have to keep working away at it. By the way, I eventually had quite a lot of success tracing Peter Sumpton's maritime record and now have quite e detailed account of his career from the late 1820s until his death in 1843. Thanks again, Tony.

Tony O'Grady wrote: <snip> >The earliest records that I have are for PICKERING & MARY SUMPTON. Both were buried in Lamplugh (Pickering in 1724 and Mary in 1742.) Their son, ISAAC (1702-1776) <snip> Isaac would appear to be a younger child, the oldest (Mary) being baptised in 1687. There isn't any mention of Pickering's baptism in the registers of Lamplugh. One problem about these registers, though, is that there is a gap c1660-c1685. It's possible, if unlikely, that Pickering could have had a daughter at a very young age (17). Another possibility is that he was baptised at Dean or Arlecdon. There are no registers at all for Arlecdon at this time; and Dean, though its registers did go back into the sixteenth century, may also have had a gap about then (I know there is a mid-17c gap for Dean but don't offhand know when - can anyone enlighten me?). Another problem with the Dean registers is that a transcript exists for the pre-1620s, and a LDS film for the post-1690s (?), but anything between requires a trip to the record office at Whitehaven or the use of the Cumbria Research service. I haven't checked for Pickering. One quite likely father was William Sumpton. A William Sumpton of Lees had a son John baptised at Lamplugh in 1654 (buried 1655). Lees was farmed by the Sumptons of Wright Green. I've come across mention of a William Sumpton of Wright Green at about this time, and a William was a beneficiary (as son) in the will of Lancelot Sumpton of Wright Green in 1689. If these were all the same William and your Pickering were his son, then your ancestry would be: William, Lancelot, Tristram (buried 1663) of Wright Green, and back from there. It would also make us likely 9th cousins! :-) Chris chris@dickinson.uk.net

Jill Coulthard jjcoulthard@btinternet.com seems not to able to get through to the list at the moment. This is her message - please reply to her or to the list, not to me. *** Following a further dig through my files I have established which CLEMENT MOSSOP married Elizabeth Lowden and was presumably the one listed as the Landlord of the Sun Inn in 1897. He was a very distant cousin of your Clement Mossop who married Martha Sumpton and a grandson of the Clement Mossop who married Mary Watson. Interestingly though at their marriage on 26 January 1895 at Arlecdon it was ELIZABETH whose profession was given as a Publican at Arlecdon whilst Clement was a farmer of Frizington, Arlecdon. Elizabeth was about ten years older than Clement and their ages were given as 40 and 49. The witnesses were Alfred Robinson and Mary Robinson and Clement's father was given as John, farmer. Elizabeth had previously been married to Charles Lowden, an Iron Miner living at Winder, Arlecdon in an iron mining community. Clement died on 31st October 1903 at Skelscough, Arlecdon aged 45 years and was buried on 3rd November. He is recorded on an MI in Arlecdon Churchyard with his parents, a brother and a sister. His mother was presumably living at Skelscough where she died a couple of years later. Funnily enough I haven't been able to find Clement on the 1881 census nor 1901 census anywhere in the country. In 1881 his parents were living in Whitehaven with some of their children and two brothers were in Liverpool. It is confusing as the Clement Mossop who married Martha Sumpton also lived earlier at Skelscough where he died in December 1881. Elizabeth's maiden name was THOMPSON, daughter of John. I know nothing else about this family or why she should be the Publican in 1897. Mary Elliott nee Sumpton was a Publican in Arlecdon on the 1881 census. It definitely does not seem though that the transfer of the license was through family reasons unless the Thompsons can be connected in to the Sumpton line. The third Clement Mossop I suggested was married to Jane and farming in Warwickshire in 1901. I hope this might give you some leads as to when the Sumpton/Elliott line finished at the Sun Inn and when the Thompson/Lowden line started there. I do not have the 1891 census to check who was Publican there on that date. Best wishes, Jill Coulthard PS. My mail service has crashed so I am sending this from BT's website. I can only read mail without attachments from this so have been browsing the archives to keep up to date. I hope to have the problem sorted out very soon. - Famous last words!