Older Scholfield Monument

Photo by Brian Zolak, 2012, used with persmiison

Another not to be missed photo of a Scholfield monument in Raymond Hill Cemetery in Oakdale (Montville), Connecticut with the newer monument in the background nearer the classic Connecticut stone wall. Thanks to Brian Zoldak for taking these gravestones and showing the position in the cemetery.

Notice that the headstones are in the same plot as this monument. Many granite headstones just have a first name on them or have the person's initials. This is why it is important to have a list of persons names with you when you go out to the cemetery. This way you can look for specific positioning such as husband and wife together or babies who are mentioned on the large stone and may not be in your charts at all. 

You might get a clue for a woman's maiden name if her initials reflect her birth name. Sadly many women's initials are reflect her married name and not her maiden name.

Opening Day Cemetery Season

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Spring!

Sometimes, you just have to admire the wonderful carvings on larger monuments. I wonder how they chose this elegant design? 

Thanks to Brian Zoldak for taking such a clear and perfect photo of this granite monument and its base in the Raymond Hill Cemetery  in Oakdale (Montville), Connecticut and for sharing it with me. Taken in July, 2012

You can today the first day of spring, I call it opening day of cemetery season. I am hoping for an excellent spring and summer in the graveyard, aren't you?

Marriage Records

Learning About Marriage Banns 

Title Page of Register Book for St. Chad's in Saddleworth (Ancestry.com)

Recorded Marriage of John Schofield and Hannah Fox, St. Chad's Saddleworth, (Ancestry.com)

#1075 John Scholefield, of this Parifh [parish], and Hannah Fox of the same [parish] were married in this Chapel by Banns this twenty-fifth Day of February in the Year One Thoufand [thousand] seven Hundred and eighty two by me, Charles Hague.

The Marriage was folemnized [solemnized]  between us John Scholefield and Hannah fox [their signatures]. In the Prefence [presence] of Arthur Scholfield [ likely his brother, signature] and Benjamin Brierley's [his mark indicating he could not write his name.

So, they were wed. John and Hannah came to America after having six children and had more born here.

Process of Banns and Marriage

Learning About Marriage Banns and Marriages

To learn more about banns, I turned to George G. Morgan's book, How to Do Everything with your Genealogy. McGraw Hill/Osborne (2004) that I have handy in my office bookcase.  

On pages 75-78, Mr. Morgan tells me that the clerk (or ordinary) is responsible for the actual licence or certificate of marriage which is taken to the clergy, justice of the peace, or judge who performs the ceremony. When one of those people who are authorized to perform the marriage signs it, the document is returned to the courthouse where the clerk transcribes it into the record (or today, the computer). This is why it is known as a marriage return.

Of course, the age of consent for marriage differs from country and to state and parental permission is required for marriage of very young persons in some cases. It is considered "contract law".

Banns are a public announcement. They may be read out loud by the clergy or put in a paper church announcement. I expect my Schofield-Fox banns were announced during the service on those named three consecutive Sundays. 

In the "Old Country", couples were married in the bride's parish and were married "by banns" or if they were in a hurry married "by license". Banns took three weeks and license could be quicker. If the couple lived in different parishes, banns were probably required. If some person objected, such as they knew one person was already married, they could tell the clergy and the marriage would be investigated.

Intent to Marry

Learning About Marriage Banns 

Banns of Marriage for John Schofield and Hannah Fox, cropped 
Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 at Ancestry.com

John Schofield and Hannah Fox Intend To Wed

As you can see, the bann (an announcement of an upcoming marriage) is thrice announced from the pulpit on three consecutive Sundays. In this case: 27 January, 3 February, and 10 February 1782.

St. Chad's

Photo by David Barton, Flickr
 non-commercial, attribution, share-alike license, 4 Mar 2014. Link to license

The best part of this record is that I now know this was announced in the Chapel of Saddleworth (Saddleworth, St Chad, Yorkshire, England) and that Hannah Fox (whose parents are unknown to me) was from Bourkhouse and John from Ralphs.

David Barton, photographer, is helping me understand the location of Saddleworth through maps and his photos. He had located Bourkhouse (Bowk House) and Ralphs on both old and recent maps. Both are found in the village of Denshaw in Saddleworth. 

In this case, geography matters because Saddleworth which was in Yorkshire when John and his brother Arthur left for America, is is now part of Greater Manchester. (Family Search Help) 

Yes, there is an area nearby set off for gravestones (upper graveyard) and was cleared in 2003 of brush and debris. (Photo) I wish I could see the gravestones!

The church (since 1215 AD) where the marriage took place is majestic, still standing and is well photographed. I would expect that they married in the Chapel and not in the huge section reserved for worship.

Another interesting thing is that I have decided that this family remained members of the Church of England (Anglican) and joined Episcopal churches in New England whenever they could.

Source: Ancestry.com. Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2013.

Original data: Anglican Parish Registers. Manchester, England: Manchester Libraries, Information and Archives. Images produced by permission of Manchester City Council. Images may be used only for the purposes of the family history research in accordance with Ancestry’s website terms of use. At the request of the Manchester Diocese it is highlighted that the use of images for retrospective or proxy baptism is not permitted.

Marriage Banns

Learning About Marriage Banns 

The tradition of Marriage Banns came to the New World from religious practice in countries of the Old World.

 When I attended a mock ceremony at a (Denison-Gallup) family reunion a few years ago, I noticed that the notice of this marriage was posted on a pole outside the tent. I wondered how many people noticed it so I took a photo of it and blogged about it. It amazes me that it is my MOST read blog post. As of today, more than nine hundred people have read it even though there was no photo of a gravestone included.

In my genealogical research and reading books about certain types of records, I have come to understand that it may not be possible to find a record of marriage but you might find a record of banns.  Marriage banns are NOT evidence that a marriage took place. They are separate from an actual marriage record.

Title Page (page 1) of Marriage Banns for the Parish of St. Chad in Saddleworth (Ancestry.com)

In my recent travels, I stumbled over a new group of databases from the area of Manchester, England. This group of records have wonderful images attached and on the main page of this group of databases (Ancestry.com calls them "data collections") is a resource of explanation of what is contained in these databases. From now on, I will spend more time reading these explanations which were minimal in the past when I did so much of my research. Going back over and over is hard to do.

The database "Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns 1754-1930" gave me BOTH the banns and the marriage of my ancestors, John Scholfield and his wife Hannah Fox who are buried in the Raymond Hill Cemetery in Connecticut.

Photos by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

What I knew about this couple was from a undated, not sourced newspaper clipping (transcription) found in my family Bible. 

With the great help of others, I have researched this couple from their arrival in New England down to me. 

Because, John and his brother Arthur, came to build the first woolen mill in America, they are "famous" and that makes it easy to find out more about them. If only the spelling of the name Schofield had been consistent, they would have been a whole lot less trouble.

Mercy NEWBURY

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Newberry_Mercy, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

4th great grandparent

Mercy,/ wife of/ Joseph Scholfield/ died July 26, 1863/aged 73.

Mercy NEWBURY, daughter of Nathan Newbury, Sr. and  his wife Wealthian GREENE. Born 20 Apr 1790, she died of lockjaw after falling from a wagon, which broke her hip, at 73 years old.

Mercy and Joseph had 9 children the oldest of which was Joseph Arthur Scholfield, Sr. who is buried at Elm Grove Cemetery in Westerly, RI near his son Joseph A. Schofield who is my 2nd great grandfather. 

Brian Zolak was very kind to drive to Raymond Hill Cemetery to take these and other gravestones in this family. I have plenty to blog about at a later time.

It should be noted that I have all of the gravestones in this line that came from England. I find that quite amazing! 

Joseph SCHOLFIELD

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Schofield_Joseph, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Joseph SCHOLFIELD

Joseph Scholfield/ DIED/ March 12, 1869, /In the 80th year/ of his age.

This is the first Joseph Scholfield (my 4th great grandfather) in my line as his son Joseph Arthur Scholfield and his son Joseph A. Schofield  were also my ancestors.

Born in England on 23 March 1789, young Joseph was only four years old when his parents and uncle left England to come to America. When he grew up, he lived in Stonington as a merchant of his family woolen business until 1834 when he moved to Montville.

Joseph's wife was Mercy NEWBURY and when she died, he moved to Uncasville where he died on 12 March 1869 quite close to his 80th birthday.

This gravestone, void of decoration is typical of this period.  The lines on it may be from weathering or from the lawn mowing equipment scarring the surface. 

Hannah FOX

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Fox_Hannah, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Immigrant Ancestor

IN/Memory of/Hannah Scholfield/Relict of/John Schofield/who died/ March 29. 1845/ Aged 32 years. (notice how hard it is to read the numeral 4 in 1845)

 5th great grandparent and my immigrant ancestor. 



The Parish records of Saddleworth (at Google Books) list their marriage on 25 January 1782. This date is not recorded in any compiled genealogies, The History of Montville, Connecticut, or the New London Genealogical and Biographical Record. I discovered this by sheer luck while trying to find out more about this place in England.

Widow Hannah Scholfield died at the home of her son, Thomas while visiting him there.

Hannah and John had eleven children. The first six were born in England and came with them to this country along with Arthur Scholfield, bachelor, who was John's brother.

John SCHOLFIELD

Photo by Brian Zoldack, used with permisson

John SCHOLFIELD, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Tombstone Tuesday

Immigrant Ancestor

Industry, prudence and charity were
conspicuous traits in his character.

In memory of /Mr. John Scholfield, / who died/ Feb. (28) th. 1820. /aged 62 years.

5th great grandparent

Born in Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England about 1758, he married Hannah Fox in 1781 and traveled with his brother, Arthur to America, perhaps on the ship "Perseverance" (New London Genealogical and Biographical record, p. 300) to eventually set up the first woolen mill in America.
  

Surname Scholfield

Photo by Brian Zoldak, used with permission

Scholfield Monument, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

 Saddleworth Scholefield Family

This crop of the Scholfield section of the Raymond Hill Cemetery in Oakdate, New London, CT. shows this lovely granite monument which has the original "American" name of this family.

In Saddleworth, Yorkshire, England, they came from Standishfoot, or foot of Standish or Standedge or Stand Edge Foot and they might have been called Scholefield. Letters in this name keep getting dropped.

The father, Arthur, was a spectacle maker who died in 1812 at about 78 years of age leaving to his children about 25 pounds sterling. (New London County Genealogical and Biographical Record, p. 301)

The sons, Arthur and John came to America. Later on, their brother Isaac came to America and was a sucessful merchant.

Wild and Wooley Scholfield

Schofield Notebook, a photo by midgefrazel on Flickr.

Wild and Wooley Scholfield

Not to be called an overachiever or anything, I started to gather some of my Schofield research for a short term Project Based Genealogy Adventure.

In the past, I have done a lot of work on this line! So, this short term project will ONLY be about the gravestones that my friend Brian Zoldak has found for me so I won't be giving you a lot of background. You didn't think I was going to tell you all about what I have in this huge notebook, did you?

Short term projects are not meant to be all encompassing. So, I wanted to show you what I have to do to be able to write about just a few gravestones.


The first thing I had to do was to encourage Brian to go to Montville and take the gravestone photos for me. (That was easy!) and then I spent several days organizing the huge notebook you see here so that I can find everything. It is still not as organized as I liked. The Vital Records of Montville (to 1850) (at Ancestry.com) are incomplete. The History of Montville (Google Books) is wonderful as it was written by a descendant who was the town clerk.

Dorothy Hanna found the missing pages (300-303) from the New London Genealogical and Biographical Record at the Mystic River Historical Society. Count Curtis compiled a family genealogy which I purchased. I am grateful for all the help.

Then, I scanned the badly photocopied article from my Family Bible that tells the story of the Scholfield Brothers who came to America to create the first woolen mill. The story in this article repeats over and over everywhere I look. Where it originated I can't be sure. Here's a previous post where I transcribed the article.

But most of all, did I mention that I am allergic to wool?