In a message dated 20/09/2009 15:45:32 GMT Daylight Time, abruce@madasafish.com writes: Anyone interested in the HURST family of Swalwell and Winlaton (from about 1741 to 1810) should know that there is volume of letters written to or by them in Bristol Record Office containing a wealth of family history information. Adrian: Do any of the papers mention Blyth Hurst? I'm not related but I came originally from Ryton and he is one of my heroes. Blyth was a Winlaton man who worked as a blacksmith, for Crowleys, and became self-educated in theology and in classical languages. It is said that when learning a language he would write the declensions of the verbs in chalk on the flame-guard of his furnace, and would absorb them as he got on with his work. That led on to his becoming ordained, one of the first "working men" to become an Anglican priest, and that in the mid-19th century. He first came to the notice of the Bishop of Durham when he wrote a pamphlet refuting the arguments of the chartists, who were very active in Winlaton. He subsequently was Vicar at Garrigill, a Parochial Chapelry within the parish of Alston in Cumberland, and later was the first Vicar of Collierley in Co Durham. By the end of his life he had honorary doctorates from several British and continental universities. Not bad for a Winlaton blacksmith! Geoff Nicholson

Blythe Hurst isn't mentioned - the letters give out in 1810 and if I'm reading previous posts on him right, he was only born in 1806? Am I right in saying he married Euphemia Hurst? I have seen a set of trees that identify her with the Euphemia Hurst who was the daughter of James Hurst who married Christian McColvin - James is one of the correspondents in the series of letters but it says nothing about Euphemia other than her name. The compiler of the trees warned me it gets a bit speculative the further back they go but _if_ the earliest links (back in 1713-1723) are correct, then Blythe and Euphemia were 3rd cousins - then again perhaps you know more than I about the truth or not of that! Cheers Adrian -----Original Message----- From: eng-durham-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:eng-durham-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of NEGenealogy@aol.com Sent: Sun 20 September 2009 19:08 To: ENG-DURHAM@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [ENG-DURHAM] HURST family of Swalwell and Winlaton;PURDY of Blaydon In a message dated 20/09/2009 15:45:32 GMT Daylight Time, abruce@madasafish.com writes: Anyone interested in the HURST family of Swalwell and Winlaton (from about 1741 to 1810) should know that there is volume of letters written to or by them in Bristol Record Office containing a wealth of family history information. Adrian: Do any of the papers mention Blyth Hurst? <<snipped>>