roe

THE STORY OF THE ROES ROWES RAWS OF EGTON

Recusancy in this family is almost entirely confined to the parish of Egton. Like the Whites they seldom moved their homes, so much so that all occurences will be deemed to be from Egton unless specifically stated otherwise.

'John Roe, labourer - his wife' is the entry on the list for 1604 and ten years later it is more explicit, giving 'John Rowe, Elizabeth wife and Christopher and Matthew sons.' The parents are stated to be both 50 years old and the boys over 9 years. Looking over the ages given on the full list it is obvious that all the ages are estimated so that the boys were born shortly after 1600, their parents not long after the accession of Queen Elizabeth I in 1558, and had been recusants since 1598. What appears to be one of the boys Matthew, taylor, and Grace his wife are presented in 1635 just before the Civil War. These two together with John Rawe, mason, and Mary his wife are the only representatives of the family on the list for 1641, and both families are still there on that of 1674 with the addition of Mary, widow. By 1680 they had disappeared but the family is there again in 1691 when the names were Mary Row, twice, Matthew and Ursula. At the same time George Raws and Margaret his wife, ? and Elizabeth Raw are presented from Eskdaleside.

Israel, Malthus, Michael and Thomas appear in 1716 and an increase in 1735 as follows:

Matthew Roe, Margaret wife, and Margaret daughter spinster; Matthew son tailor, and George, son, weaver.

Michael and Agnes wife, and Israel butcher, and Alice wife.

Ten years afterwards Michael, Matthew, William and Goerge continue to refuse to attend the parish church, George being reported again the following year. The first marriage to be found is that of William and Elizabeth Garbutt not in the church of St. Hilda at Egton but clandestinely at Ugthorpe by Rev Fr. Hervey on November 11th 1741. Mary a daughter of George appears in the parish book of baptisms and sundry others follow of the children of other Roe families. Meanwhile the Cary Elwes list of 1753 reveals still more 'obstinate papists' named Roe:-

The appearance of two Roe marriages in the parish registers is the outcome of the Hardwicke Marriage Act 1753 declaring all unions illegal that do not take place in the Parish church. Others followed.

Matthew married Ann Harrison on June 5th 1765 and

William married Elizabeth Harland on June 20th 1765.

There are even more on the last list dealt with in 1780:-

The same list for Whitby shows George Raw widower and Mary and Catherine children. Just before the turn of the century a spate of Roe marriages occurred. These are on the list of all Roe marriages discovered to date and appended herewith. About the same time the various spellings of the surname seem to crystallise out into two, the Roes and the Raws and although both are discussed here they remain separate in the future.

The first Easter Communion list for Ugthorpe shows that there was very likely only one Roe family there in 1781, that of Matthew and Ann with Elizabeth possibly a daughter, and Mary Roe. That for 1788 shows Elizabeth the priest's housekeeper and other families spreading out. Matthew and Hanna are at Briscoe and William, Catherine and Elizabeth are at Kettleness. Between 1795 and 1805 the communicants have been classified according to surnames without any reference to homesteads so the names are Michael, John, William senior and junior, Nancy, Mary, Matthew, Catherine and Hanna. During the next ten years the two Williams are seen to have wives named Ann, a Stephen appears all in the Ugthorpe area. By 1825, still in the same area William and Ann are there but Ann junior is a widow with eight children between 21/2 and 22 years, and still another Ann has four children between two and twelve years.

ROE RAW MARRIAGES BETWEEN 1600 AND 1875

This list is not exclusive.

Marriage two seems almost certainly to be a papist one, Christopher being the son of the recusants in marriage one, who goes to the trouble of reporting the births of his children to the minister, perhaps at one visit, some time subsequently. This is evident from the manner of entry in the register. Each is interlined at the correct place between the entries already there and includes the word 'natus' and not 'baptisatus'. He has second thoughts too about his marriage which occurs in the register twelve years after the registration of his first child.The entry reads 'Christopher Roe & Isabel Hodgson married November 14th 1643.

Marriage three parties were recusants all their lives and died respectively in February 1687 and August 1680. The burial of an unbaptised child of Matthew Roe on May 5th 1682 indicates the existence of another Matthew perhaps a child of this marriage.

Twins Agnes and William were born to Michael and Agnes, marriage 7, on December 7th 1757, the father dying aged 86 on April 29th 1806, the mother on May 15th 1785.

Israel Roe was the tenant of Francis Pearson and farmed at Egton which farm may have been part of the bequest of William Hodgson who died in 1730, (see Hodgson story). A second Israel, son of William was born on September 14th 1772, very likely a grandchild, William son of William was born on January 28th 1775 making it imperative to sort out these people at once. Fortunately Fr. Hervey's records help here. Marriage 10 refers. Two children are baptised:-

Elizabeth on September 16th 1742 and

William on February 3rd 1745.

This William is the father of William 1775.

Another help is the will, dated July 1794, of Matthew Roe yeoman. It reveals that he was the owner of Lawson Closes Egton; that his only son was another Matthew; that he had three daughters, Mary, Ellin, and Margaret and that the witnesses were Robert Hutchinson, Matthew Readman and William Roe. This ties in well with the information from the recusant list of 1735 on a previous page. The testator is the tailor, the brother of George the weaver and both the children of Matthew and Margaret in marriage 9. Three Williams and three Matthews for a start. A good deal of attention has been given to the spate of Roe marriages that took place during the last decade of the eighteenth century, and the first years of the next. Marriages 17 to 24 refer. Using the various witnesses and the godparents to the children of the various couples together with their ages at death, an attempt has been made to fit children to the marriages 13,14 and 15, the parties to which were recorded as recusants in 1780. A number of 'baptisms' helped too.

Fr. Hervey stated that William (marriage 10) was from Ugthorpe but no Roe recusancy has been noted from that village. Before, therefore, discussing the Egton Matthews the William story will be put together using numerical identification prefixed by the letter U.

William Roe married at Ugthorpe 7/11/1741 Elizabeth Garbutt

No other children known, as yet.

U2. William Roe married at Egton 20/ 6/1765 Elizabeth Harland

At this point it will be useful to bring in the information derived from two subseqent marriages which required dispensations for consanguinity. Sundry baptismal entries from U.P.R. were used as well. Following previous practice the relationship will be worked backwards to the common parents.

John Gallon second cousin of (marriage33) Catherine Roe

son of Luke Gallon & Mary Roe(m 23) cousin of William Roe & Ann Harrison (m 24)

daughter of Matthew & Ann (m 13) brother William & Elizabeth (m 14)

children of William Roe and Elizabeth Garbutt (m 10)

In the same way

'Bacon' John Harrison second cousin of Margaret Readman

son of Joseph Harrison & Dorothy Roe ccousin of Eliz. Roe

daughter of John Roe & Eliz. Harrison brother Elizabeth & Wm. Roe

children of William and Elizabeth Garbutt.

Should this analytical attempt be correct it makes John and Matthew children of William and Elizabeth Garbutt, identified therefore, by the numbers U4 and U3 respectively.

U3. Matthew Roe marriage 13 Ann Harrison

Ann the mother died a widow on October 3rd 1786 but Matthew's death has not been seen.

U4. John Roe marriage 15 Elizabeth Harrison

As the end of the century is approached, the great-grandchildren of William and Elizabeth Garbutt are being baptised and entered in the first registers of Ugthorpe and Egton. The offspring of the females, however will not be listed.

U21. John Roe marriage 28 Charity Leckonby

U22. George Roe marriage 18 Hannah Thompson

No children are known of this marriage.

U25. Elizabeth Roe marriage 2O John Readman

The children of this marriage are listed 141/14Y in the Readman story.

U26. Willian Roe marriage 24 Ann Harrison 511

U41. George Roe marriage 22 Ann Barker

U43. William Roe marriage 26 Dorothy Shaw

U44. Dorothy Roe marriage 29 Joseph Harrison 623

The children of this marriage are listed 623/1ff. in the Harrison story.

For fourteen years 1820 to 1834 the Roe burials are entirely from Egton:-

U2. William on December 26th 1820 aged 75

Dorothy U43. William's wife on November 3rd 1824 aged 38

On March 11th 1825, John U4 aged 82

George aged 46 on July 1st 1825, cannot be placed as yet

Mary possibly the wife of Francis with whom she was presented as recusants in 1780, was buried on December 6th 1827 aged 80 and her husband on August 6th 1829 aged 82. As William witnessed his marriage (16), and as he was born in 1747, he could be U5. He was a blacksmith and Jane his daughter was buried on August 4th 1795.

Thomas, aged 27 was buried on March 31st 1829 and being born in 1802, could fit any of the marriages 17/19 and 22.

A child Mary aged 11 was buried on May 12th 1829 but she was not U435. above.

Matthew was buried on July 7th 1829 aged 55 and he cannot be placed as yet.

Neither can Mary aged 56 who was buried on January 26th 1830.

U4. John's wife Elizabeth was buried on Boxing Day 1830 aged 86.

U41. George followed on June 26th 1832 aged 65.

William aged 54 was buried on November 11th 1833, and as yet unidentifiable.

Stephen died young aged 19; he was U434. and was buried on November 22nd 1834

A number of Egton burials from Whitby occured about this time:-

Mary aged 80 buried on July 30th 1836

Mary Raw on October 24th 1837 aged 86

Joseph Raw aged 68 at Whitby poor house on May 16th 1838

Ann on September 6th 1843 aged 68.

Meanwhile tragedy struck Brockridge Glaisdale when two infant Roes were buried, Elizabeth on April 20th 1859 aged two and Joseph on May 12th the same year aged four.

However Mary U455. survived her namesake eleven years being buried on October 2nd 1839 aged 22.

Another infant was buried from 'Tunnel' Eskdaleside on December 20th 1842; he was Thomas aged 16 weeks.

It is of interest to know where the people lived and it is surprising to find that of all the above deceased the home was Egton village, only Whitby, Brockridge and 'Tunnel' being variants. Mary U435 lived at Moorside farm a mile from Egton on the Guisborough Road just above 'Mally Harland's Slack' This is a good enough clue to the home of William Harland and his wife Molly, marriage 21. In fact they were there in 1826.

Now to tackle the Matthew saga, where the prefix E will be used.

Matthew Roe (died 12/4/1745) marriage 9 Margaret ? (died 2/3/1758)

E1. Matthew Roe marriage 12 perhaps.

No children are yet found of this union.

E2. George Roe marriage 11

Upon reflection it is quite possible for one of the Georges U22 or U41 to be a son of this George since both were born in 1769 before this man's death in 1777. The earlier 'tie-in' with E1. and Matthew who made the will is wrong since the testator was a yeoman and El. Matthew was a tailor.

Matthew yeoman - marriage unknown - wife unnamed in will, prefix Y

Y1. Matthew Roe marriage 19 Frances Lyth

The first children of this marriage have not been traced. Perhaps seven preceded John.

There is still some confusion concerning these Mathews. Matthew E1. is not his namesake U3 because Ann U3's widow died in 1786. In the same way the husband of Eleanor another Matthew (E.R.R.1780) is not E1. because Eleanor died a widow in 1788. Leaving this for a moment and reconsidering the possibility about the Georges again, it is noted that William and George witness each other's wedding (marriages 17 and 18) so that they are very likely brothers; and also since William (m.17) is a weaver he could be following his father's trade and therefore become E23 and U22 become E22. Be this as it may, no light is shed for U22 George's children are unknown, nevertheless should U22 eventually be proved to be E22, his children, if discovered, will only have to change their prefix.

E23. William Roe marriage 17 Ann Kiplin

Before proceeding further, a few earlier deaths can be considered:-

Agnes Roe widow of Michael was buried on May 15th 1783

Elizabeth, wife of William Roe Lythe, Cooper, on May 6th 1793. This is interesting because it seems to be from marriage 10

Jane, widow of Thomas Roe of Ewe Cote Whitby is from a marriage that has been missed

Matthew Roe from Briscoe with two death entries, June 7th 1801 in U.P.R. and the next day in the parish church.

Ann the widow of Mouchael Roe, on September 27th 1801

Hanna on October 5th 1803

Peter, son of William, weaver on March 4th 1809

William Roe, a shoemaker was buried on April 25th 1809. This is the first mention of this trade which was carried on by the family well into this century.

Ann U41's wife was buried on December 12th 1847

Whilst less than a forthight separated the burials of U22 and his wife Hannah in April 1849 both reaching the eighty mark.

Frances, the wife of Matthew the yeoman's only son went on May 17th 1853 aged 78

Charity U21's wife on May 29th 1851 aged 71.

Thomas U265 was buried on September 14th 1865 aged 53

William, as yet unknown, on November 5th the same year, both from Egton.

The census returns which have been of considerable use already will clarify some points above:-

U416. William Roe marriage 38 Elizabeth Roe (born in 1810) Egton village

In 1851 he was a shoemaker.

William senior paid £6/15s a year for 'house buildings and land 3a 2r 9p at Egton.

Frances above had a son John whose marriage was identified by the age and place of birth given for his wife Elena.

Y18. John marriage 42 Helen Heslop Egton village

The Egton Bridge marriages give the parents of the contracting parties, which, together with the census fit in some more pieces. In this way a child of U22 George was found:-

U221. Matthew Roe marriage 39 Ann White Egton village

In 1851 he was a farner of 25 acres (l6 acres, £17/10s rental in the estate records)

He was born in 1810 and his wife in 1814.

From the same sources it is found that Thomas was the son of William and was born in 1812. He was also a shoemaker and paid £7/10s a year for a 'cottage outbuildings and land' comprising 5a 2r 33p.

U265. Thomas Roe marriage 40 Mary Ann Frankland Eg.Vill.

William Roe was the postman at Egton one hundred and fifty years ago. He had a 'cottage, outbuildings and land' 7a 0r 21p for which he paid £9/10s a year. He married the widow Sleightholme and was born in 1792.

E232. William Roe marriage 45 Ann Sleightholme Eg. vill.

William Sleightholme his stepson was born in 1838 at Egton.

There was still room at Egton for more Roes as U21 John is there having seen better days. He is described as a pauper formerly haberdasher and his wife was a native of Houghton, County Durham.

The family at Brockridge will now be considered. In the first place Dorothy Harrison was a witness to the wedding of her brother John to Mary Leng, Dorothy being U42 above. John was born in 1799. When the tragedy struck in 1839 his wife was pregnant and having lost two children she was anxious to replace them so naturally when her baby girl was born the next year, she christened her Elizabeth. She did not replace her son Joseph until 1846. John died aged 80 in 1879 at Glaisdale Green. There seems to be some movement of the family as no trace of the first children has been found althouth they are included in the return of 1851. Some are in the Ugthorpe and some in the Egton Bridge records. An interesting reference to the farm is in The Whitby Advertiser, Volume One, No.7 dated Saturday August 14th 1858 where is is announced that Mr. William Harrison will sell by auction on Glaisdale Green on Monday 16th of August at 3 oclock in the afternoon a quantity of wood namely 500 oak spokes 500 oak posts etc., and at Brockridge Glazedale the same person will sell by auction at 6pm the same day a crop of wheat. It will be noted that Mary Harland, nee Roe is Godmother to one child and Matthew Roe godfather to another. This fits in with the other children of U4 John, so that this Matthew can be given U45, and John of Brockridge U46, bearing in mind of course that there may be others yet.

U46. John Roe marriage 32 Mary Leng Glazedale

In 1861 George was a bachelor farming 52 acres, William was a saddler and also a bachelor and Jane was a spinster. William however married Margaret Clemmit (marriage 48) who came from Fryup. U46Y Thomas did the same marriage 47 whilst Mary U469 married William Readman marriage 49.

Finally U26 William is found, an old man living with his son and daughter-in-law in Ugthorpe. The son is Henry the youngest U26X, and the young lady is Jane. William is a widower by this time Ann his wife having died four years earlier aged 78 on December 8th 1848. The couple were members of the parish group called the Guild of St.Hedda an institution which provided help in times of sickness and bereavement much like the present day insurance companies except that they ran it themselves, and, a much more important point, the spiritual needs of the members were by no means neglected. Ann died in Egton and their marriage at Ugthorpe has not to be taken to mean that that was their home. In fact William endorses it himself when he states his birthplace as Egton on the census return even while residing at Ugthorpe at the time. The marriage of Henry and Jane has not been traced so the maiden name is not known; they had however, a little daughter aged one, called after her grandmother. As Jane was 28 years of age when the returns were made she was born in 1823 and a glance at the Ugthorpe baptisms for that year gives a double choice. Two girls of that name were born, Jane Headlam the daughter of George and Elizabeth Robinson on February 10th and Jane Wedgewood the daughter of William Wedgewood and Catherine Robinson on August 1st. If Henry married a local Jane then the more likely one is the former because Jane Wedgewood would only be 27 years old at the census date March 20th 1851. Anyway this is merely idle speculation for there is nothing to show that Henry did not marry a lady from outside the parish altogether.

A glance at the 187l census reveals Christopher Breckon and Ann Roe living at Whitby. He states that his wife was born at Egton in 1798 where they were married in August 1823, John Roe being a witness. He was a shoemaker born in Staithes in 18O3. No family were present on the night of the census. They were found in three places showing they moved from Egton to Whitby via Ugthorpe. Their home in the town was 11 Flowergate, Rose and Crown Yard. It is from the names of the godparents to these children that some clues as to the identity of their mother's family come.

Christopher Breckon married at Egton 9/6/1823 Ann Roe

This gives John the witness, Thomas, Elizabeth, William, Jane as possible brothers and sisters of Ann the mother, who, being born in 1798 could be the first child of either U22 George or Y1 Matthew. However, Y18 John was born in 1815 and could not be a witness aged eight so it may be that U22's family have turned up en-bloc! Now one child of this family is certain and that is Matthew marriage 39 where the godparents of his child John are Joseph Harrison and Ann Roe. If it be argued that these two may not be the same as those in the Breckon family above the multitude of persons similarly named must concede the point. Nevertheless, if it proves anything, 623 Joseph Harrison is the husband of Dorothy Roe U44 already discussed. Having found out the date of birth of U4 John's wife Elizabeth, namely 1744 the question arises whether John and Ann above mentioned could be her children born when she was 54? So there is more liklihood of U22 George being the father, and John of Brockridge, born in 1799 according to his own statement in the census, becoming U222 instead of U46. Similarly Matthew above classified as U45 and, according to the census, born in 1810 must be re-classified as U228 to leave room for the others as yet not fitted in.

Another almost identical case showing how first attempts at family patterns have later to be revised in the light of subsequent knowledge, occurs in the Orange family of Littlebeck. The story starts, strangely enough at Cucket- Nook on the night of the 1851 census March 20th. This farm is now the home of Joseph Welford and his wife Elizabeth. John and Mary Orange his in-laws are there too, having been married at Whitby on July31st 1813, and having some of their children baptised at Egton and some at Whitby. Once again the names of the godparents are very helpful:-

John Orange married Mary Roe, William and Ann Roe & Mary Gallon wit.

Other children have not been found to fill the gaps but there are plenty of Roes to be going on with. The father John states that his wife Mary was born at Egton in 1794. Her possible brothers and sisters are the witnesses Wil1iam, Ann and Mary Gallon nee Roe and the Roe godparents John, Ellen, Joseph, Hannah and Elizabeth. It is of course possible that the godparents are married couples. The date 1794 and the names almost certainly fix the family as that of the Egton weaver E23 William marriage 17.

A number or other marriages involving female Roes can be mentioned:-

James Brough m. Jane whose brother John sponsored John her son on 22/5/1840

Nicholas Hedley m. Sara whose son Nicholas was bapt. on 23/7/1794 at Whby. non-par. regs.

James Muckel m. Mary whose brother Geo. sponsored Alice 31/8/1795 at Whby. non-par. regs.

David Gibson m. Ann before 1813 at Whitby.

Joseph Raw m. Ann Winter before 1826 at Whitby.

John Hutchinson m. Esther Raw before 1833 at Whitby.

William Roe m. Jane Fay (or Wray) before 1834 at Whitby whose children Frances-Jane 34, Mary-Ann 37, Thos. 38, Matt. 4O, John 45, Susanna 47, Martin 52, were sponsored by John, Ellen, Martin and Catherine Roe among others. Parents married at Whitby 13/7/1833.

The story will not be complete without an account of the Raws which name so spelt has been seen since 1691. It is not considered that marriage 2 refers to a true Raw. George Raw and Margaret his wife are found at Eskdaleside as recusants three years after the departure of King James the Second. The new government requires new and up to date lists of recusants and the parish constable among fifteen others presents George and Margaret and Elizabeth for conviction at Thirsk Quarter Sessions. Nothing was stated regarding the status of Elizabeth whether she was a daughter or an aged mother. The name moreover was written with a final letter s. The family is not present on the list for 1674 which gave the parents of the child at whose baptism Fr. Nicholas Postgate was arrested nor are the same parents mentioned on the list for 1691. Two things are important namely George seems to be a family name and the home at Eskdaleside is in the parish of that name with Ugglebarnby.

Strange as it may seem no Raw occurences are to be found in either Egton or Ugthorpe before 1830, that is no no n- recusant ones. The earliest reference comes in the Danby marriages where John Raw marries Ann Harrison the daughter of Richard Harrison of Danby on January 16th 1783, John being a native of Lythe parish. Danby also shows a son William born to John Raw farmer on November 10th l800 but this is clouded by two previous births at Danby namely a daughter Rebecca to John Raw tanner, and a son John to John and Mary both in 1783 April and June respectively. Whitby shows George son of Joseph Raw and Ann Winter baptised on July 26th 1826 and the godparents were George Burnett and Ann Hoggarth. Mary the daughter of Ann Raw was baptised on Augtist 14th 182? when the godparents were William and Ellin Raw. These two entries came from the 'Non-Parochial' registers of Whitby in the P.R.0. London. Whilst dealing with Whitby, two Raws from there were buried at Egton:-

Mary Raw R.C. Whitby aged 86 on October 24th 1837.

Joseph Raw R.C. Whitby poorhouse on May 16th 1838 aged 68.

Lythe burials are more helpful for Ann Raw of Ugglebarnby passed away aged 81 in February 1824 and what appear to be the burials of John and Ann above are there too:-

May 29th 1836 Ann Raw Barnby aged 82

June 21st 1837 John Raw Barnby aged 86.

It is clear therefore that the Whitby Raws are the descendants of George the Widower who was a recusant in 1780 and that the Barnby, Danby and Ugglebarnby ones are not, descended from recusants that is. However John Raw, ironstone miner, who was born at Danby in 1824 was living with his wife Mary at Eskdaleside Hollins in 1851. At the same time in Ugglebarnby village there lived George Raw and Sarah his wife who were married at Whitby on April 21st 1810, Sarah's maiden name being Sleightholme. Now according to the information given by George the householder on the census form, he was born at Ugthorpe in 1777 and Sarah was born at Ugglebarnby in 1776. Again in the same village at nearby Hall Garth House there lived John Raw and Mary his wife, John being born in Ugthorpe in 1768 and Mary at Ugglebarnby in 1778.They had a son Stephen a bachelor who was born in 1816. But, believe it or not, there was another George and Sarah living in Fryup. He stated, in effect, that he was born in Glaisdale in l804 and his wife also, in 1805, and that his mother Ann was born in Staithes in 1770 and was then a widow.

To return to Ugglebarnby a son William was born to George and Ann on January 14th 1838. George was a labourer and his birth and marriage have not, as yet been traced but everything points to the parents being George or John with the probability of the former. William grew up in his native village and eventually married a young lady named Mary, but who she was is not known for this marriage too has still to be discovered. Her children as known are Elizabeth, born in l856, March 31st to be precise, Thomas 31st January l858, Mary Jane November 2nd, l860 and Sarah (after her grandmother?) December 21st 1862 all at Ugglebarnby.

This brings us to marriage 56 for Thomas is the groom. The children are:- (as known)

Arthur born November 12th 1881 married Emma Readman daughter of L261 John of Grosmont.

Mary - married 'Joiner' George Harrison 62 1871 eldest assumed.

William born May 6th l886 nicknamed 'Buller'

Thomas Henry born February 29th l888

Edmund born October 26th 1890 an official of the Guild of St. Hedda until his death.

Teresa born July 24th 1893

Agatha

A last note about the Raws is that Elizabeth Harrison became the wife of ? Raw according to 7 John her father's will in l780. Elizabeth herself was identified as 73.