Paul: IF Henry was of the Netherwitton family, then according to Hodgson's pedigree, there is really only one candidate. That was Henry Thornton, 4th son of Nicholas Thornton, who died (Nicholas) in 1700. Hodgson says Nicholas married Ann, daughter of John Swinburn of Capheaton, but he gives the date of the marriage settlement as being 1687. However, Hodgson also lists five of their sons who were alive on 25 December 1688! Possibly they were married for some years before the settlement was finally agreed (unlikely) or, more likely I would have thought, Ann Swinburn was Nicholas' second wife (although Hodgson doesn't mention a first one). No other details are given of Henry, but he would fit nicely with what you say. I should, perhaps, have stated the obvious, which it would not be necessary to mention to anyone familiar with the history of Northumberland. That is, that most Northumbrian landowners remained Roman Catholic even after the Reformation. I think they saw the Church of England as just a temporary "London fashion" and nothing to do with them. As a result they were all heavily involved in the various rebellions, either openly to replace the Protestant monarch/government with a Catholic one or more indirectly to replace the Hanoverians with the Stewarts (the Jacobite rebellions). The Thorntons of Netherwitton had been Royalist (of course) during the civil war of the 1640s and for that they had suffered financially. It seems one of their ways of off-setting their losses was to neglect the upkeep of their parish church, for which, as the major (or only) ratepayers of the parish, they were liable, Catholic or not. As fourth son, Henry would have received little or nothing of what remained of the family fortune, so he would have had to fend for himself somehow. Also I can quite understand him, if he did not have a particularly strong religious commitment, allowing his Catholicism to lapse and conforming to the Established Church. Geoff Nicholson -----Original Message----- From: Paul Hood <[email protected]> To: northumbria <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, 5 Jun 2013 16:33 Subject: Re: [NMB] Thornton Family My direct ancestor was Edmund Thornton b1810 Meldon, in 1851 he was a miller employing 2 men at Bedlington. In 1857 debts caught up with him and assets were sold, in 1861 he was a cartman. His father was John Thornton b1779 at Rivergreen Mill, his mother was Mary Yellowley. Now as far as I can see John's father was Henry Thornton baptised at Hartburn in 1738 and his father was Robert b1703 at Netherwitton and died in 1773 at Donking Ridge which I am told is a farm about 4 miles NW of Hartburn. There is a Henry Thornton b1680 at or around Hartburn who married a Jane Read in 1700, possibly Roberts father. With so many Thornton's in the area it is difficult to pin point the exact one I need. Paul .. Please remember to snip most of the earlier message before you post any reply...... Thank you! The NORTHUMBRIA FAQ page is located at http://www.bpears.org.uk/NorthumbriaFAQ/ ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message