How many ways do you think you could spell the surname Wheldrake? I’ve found over 40 so far including some mistranscribed as Hildrakes and Hildricks (the old fashioned way of writing W looks like H!) It started in medieval York as Qweldrake, Qweldryke – then the more modern spelling of Wheldrake. In the 1600’s/1700’s there are family groups around Leeds, Selby, Howden, Hayton (just north of York), Stubbs Walden (just south of Selby) and Beverley. My direct line Robert and Susanna Weldrake (7x great grandparents) pop up in Birstall, near Huddersfield in 1708 (marriage place and birthplace unknown – though connections to the Leeds group seem most likely) and their name gradually evolved into Weldrick though one or two stayed as Weldrake. So, generally the eastern Yorkshire families keep Weldrake or Wheldrake – apart from the family who changed their name to Wheldrick after a family row over land; the West Yorkshire branch, which spread to Grimsby and Norfolk tend to be Weldrick (sometimes Welldrake). The Weldrake who went to Dublin in the 1600’s –his descendants have now evolved into Weldrick and there are families in Canada who were Weldrake who have evolved into Weldrick and another family of Wheldrake who stayed as Wheldrake. Just to show how fluid things were when spelling wasn’t standardised Robert Weldrake married Ann Medcalf – their son Nathaniel Weldrake, born 1764 married as Welldrake and had a son William Weldrake in 1784. Nathaniel died, then his widow Mary Wildrake died in 1789. William married as Weldrick in 1804 – his widow Mary Welldrake was buried in 1833 – he married again in 1834 as Weldrake – and he and his wife Sarah were buried as Welldrake in 1853 and 1854. In the 1841 census they are Weldrick and in the 1851 census Weldrake. In 1809 their second daughter Mary Ann is baptised as Wildrick... and buried in 1815 as Weldrick and in 1811 daughter Harriet is baptised as Welldrake (at the same church in Southowram near Halifax). Mary married as Welldrake, Harriet married as Willdrake, So if anyone comes across the marriage of a Robert and Susannah in the late 1600’s, early 1700s and thinks the name could look anything like Wheldrake, please let me know – I’ve been chasing them since 1991! Or if you have any clues on how to find them....? happy hunting folks! Jane