Hi, Michelle, Sorry to have taken so long, but there was a lot to go through. It does seem that George Jackson and Mary Gray are a ‘common ancestor’ for both of us. My husband did a bit of tracing for me at Northallerton Record Office, and he reckons there are several ‘strands’ from these two having children christened in Kirkbymoorside about the time of Hannah’s birth, including a couple you haven’t mentioned, viz:- Descendants of John and Elizabeth Dobson – this is as you suggest my family, descending to Hannah, whose illegitimate son John married Hannah Holmes in 1846. Their son became a tinner and brazer in Pickering, and ultimately moved to Leeds. Descendants of William and Jane Sturdy – you know all about them. Descendants of Thomas, son of William and Elizabeth Moon, whom you don’t mention; he married Jane Barker (at a date not yet checked) and had several offspring. William and John could also possibly have another brother, Miles; a John, son of Miles, appears in the Kirkbymoorside Register in 1769-70, and John (b.1739) had a son called Miles. The name isn’t common. Additionally, a George Jackson married one Polly Yoward and produced several children at about the same time; his father is also given as George, and it’s not impossible that this grandfather could be William and John’s brother (b. 1729). I have also checked back into the early period of the Parish Register for Jacksons living in Farndale in the early 18th Century. The oldest marriages I can find are of an Ann Jackson to William Dook (or Duck) in 1701 and a John Jackson to Mary Watson in 1711. In a similar period seven Jackson children were christened in Farndale – Sarah (1711), Hannah (1713) and Eliza (1715), all daughters of William, Rose (1718) and John (1722), children of John, John (1723) son of Richard and William (1726) son of George. It’s notable that the names John, George and William are repeated in at lest four generations. I’m hoping to check these and some of the others again, either at Northallerton or in the Bishop’s transcripts at the Borthwick Institute (although those can be very hard to read!) The coal-mining connection to the Jacksons is by marriage. Hannah Holmes’ father William (1779-1837) was shown as a collier on her marriage certificate. There was a large number of colliers called Holmes living in Bilsdale at the turn of the 19th Century, and William Holmes married his wife, Jane Hornby, in Helmesley. The Holmes family can be traced back in Bilsdale to 1594. The coal was mainly mined on the ridges to the north of the North York Moors, notably on Blakey Rigg, Rudland Rigg and above Bilsdale. It was worked in bell-pits, which followed the seams, and their remains can still be found. The land was owned by the Favershams of Duncombe Park, who rented out concessions to colliers; most of these combined mining with farming. The coal wasn’t very good; it was only mined because it could be used locally for lime-burning and domestic heating, and not much was transported any distance. The peak years of mining were between 1771 and 1820, but many mines were still working in the 1840s and 1850s and the last pit closed just after the First World War. I got a lot of information from Scarborough Library on the local coal mining, including a list of seven ‘collieries’ rented out by the Favershams in 1786. From our point of view two are of special interest – Bilsdale Colliery was rented to Isaac Holmes, and Rudland Colliery to William Sturdy. The others were at Swinicle H. Baldwin/J. Craven), Blakey (J. Featherstone), Anknes (L. & W. Normington), Wethercote (B. Barraclough)) and Harland Head (T. Ward). William and Jane Holmes eventually settled at Swinicle Rigg in Farndale Low Quarter, where William died in 1837. In the 1841 Census his widow Jane is listed as a cow-keeper, living with her son John, a coal miner, and daughter Mary; living in an adjacent dwelling are Thomas Jackson (55), farmer, and his son Robert (35), coal miner. Another connection between the branches of the family is that Hannah Jackson eventually (in 1824) married a Sturdy – Jeremiah Sturdy of Hagg. Sorry if this is a bit long-winded, but there’s a lot to go at. I’ve also got a book of land surveys of Bilsdale, done for the Favershams of Duncombe Park, which record their tenants at various dates between 1637 and 1851. If you think there might be anything in it of interest, please get in touch. Mary Lamport --------------------------------- Yahoo! Messenger NEW - crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail

Hi Mary, I have been following this thread with some interest. My 4th Grt Grandfather is I believe Mark Jackson who married Margaret Ware at Kirkbymoorside in 1801. The children I know about were all born at Bonfield Gill, nr Helmsley including my GGG Grandma Margaret Jackson in 1802. We have as yet been unable to satisfactarily prove Mark Jackson's or Margaret Ware's ancestry. Margaret Jackson married John Teasdale and the Teasdale's were also very prominent Coal Miners in the area from the late 1800's until more or less the early 20C . I am very interested in the information you got from Scarborough library on the history of coal mining in the area. Can you recall any of the names of the books. I would be very interested in seeing if there is anything further about any of my lot. Regards Karen