Jack Priestley’s Family History
This site is a work-in-progress. There is a massive amount to cover. I have included both male and female lines, and some go back 30 generations. Keep coming back for more.
I have numbered the generations working backwards from my own as (1)
RICHARD and MARY HARLAND (6)
RICHARD HARLAND was the son of the cabinet-maker Thomas Harland and Esther Wardale. He was born on 29 Jan 1800 and baptised in Whitby on the North Sea coast on 4 February. He was the sixth of eight children.
He became a flax dresser.
A flax dresser broke and swingled flax, to prepare it for the spinner. Flax plants were uprooted and piled in the field before they were then either beaten with a flail (or swingle) or combed (rippled) to remove any seed pods. The stems were then allowed to rot or were soaked in a stream to remove resins (retting). This loosened the bark from the bundles which were then beaten (scutched) to crush the inner woody core leaving long fibres. The final step was to draw the fibres through a comb (heckling) to remove the remnants of the fibrous core and outer bark. The flax was then ready for spinning.
In spring, the fields would have been blue with the flowers of the flax.
Some time in the 1820s he moved a considerable distance from his place of birth, to Mickley, near Kirby Malzeard, on the other side of the North York Moors.
Their first two children were baptised in Whitby, so it is possible that Richard and Mary married there, and later moved to Mary’s birthplace in Mickley.
Or Richard may have been single when he made this move, met his future wife there and returned to Whitby for the baptisms.
A Topographical Dictionary of England gives the following description of Kirkby Malzeard: “The surface is beautifully diversified with hills and dales, and the scenery abounds with interesting features; the soil in the valleys is fertile, and in good cultivation, but a considerable portion of the parish is high moor, affording only tolerable pasture.”[i]
MARY BANKS. We do not have the record of Richard and Mary’s wedding.
Mary says in some censuses that she was born in Kirkby Malzeard, a village north-west of Ripon, and in others that she was born in Mickley. Mickley is now a village with its own parish church, but was then a hamlet within the parish of Kirkby Malzeard.
The ages she gives place her birth around 1806.
Because we do not have the marriage of Richard and Mary, we have no clear evidence of her maiden name. However, they called one of their sons William Banks, making it likely that Banks was her family name.
There are a number of Marys born in Kirkby Malzeard around 1806, but only one Mary Banks. In addition, her family were living in Mickley. We can be fairly confident that this was Richard’s bride.
Baptism. St Andrew, Kirby Malzeard.
1807 June 28 Mickley. Mary daughter of Thomas Banks.
The mother’s name was given at the baptism of her younger brother as Ann. This leads to the marriage of Thomas Banks of Well to Ann Barnett of Kirkby Malzeard.
Mary was the oldest of three children born in Kirkby Malzeard. She had an older sister born in Well, her father’s parish. There may have been others.
We learn something of flax mill in Kirkby Malzeard from the Leeds Intelligencer 25 November 1811.
Flax Mill
Tomlinson bankrupt
New erected factory used as a line or flax spinning mill and a manufactory for making machines for flax spinning with an iron foundry and a blacksmith’s shop.
Mills supplied by River Ure. Premises on lease to Mr Chippindale.
Lately occupied by Tomlinson.
From Masham Peculier wills.
1811 Dec 14 John Tomlinson schoolmaster Kirkby Malzeard made 1809 May 23 one executor bankrupt and fled beyond the seas.
We know of eight children from Richard and Mary’s marriage. The first two were baptised in Whitby.
Baptism. St Mary the Virgin, Whitby.
1837 Nov 11 William son of Richard and Mary Harland. Flaxdresser.
1831 Aug 24 Samuel son of Richard and Mary Harland. Flaxdresser.
For the remaining six baptisms, the family were living in Mickley.
Baptisms. St Adrew, Kirkby Malzeard.
1834 Feb 2 Thomas. Mickley. Flaxdresser.
Their eldest child, William, died in 1835.
Burial. St Adrew, Kirkby Malzeard.
1835 Aug 18 William Harland, aged 9.
Another William was born two years later.
Baptisms. St Adrew, Kirkby Malzeard.
1837 May 7 William Banks. Mickley. Flaxdresser.
1839 Sep 22 Richard. Mickley. Flaxdresser.
1842 Sep 11 Robert. Mickley. Flaxdresser.
In 1841, Mickley got its own church. St John the Evangelist was funded by the family of Colonel Dalton of nearby Sleningford Park, in memory of Elizabeth Dalton. The church served this small village nestled on the south bank of the River Ure. It is built of cobblestones taken from the river Ure, which runs the length of the village on the north side.
Their youngest children were baptised in Mickley.
Baptisms. St John the Evangelist, Mickley.
1845 Aug 10 Elizabeth. Mickley. Flaxdresser.
1848 Apr 17 John. Mickley. Flaxdresser
During the Great Potato Famine of Ireland in the 1840s, a wave of Irish immigrants moved to this part of Yorkshire and found work at the local Mickley flax mill. The milloperated via a mill-race drawn from the River Ure. When these, mostly Catholic, workers passed away, they were buried in the parish churchyard, leaving a permanent record of the diaspora in the village. The ruins of the old flax mill can still be seen near the river today.
Subsequently the mill was owned or operated by a family who already had a similar mill at Tadcaster. They were Catholics and built a small chapel and a few cottages for the workers.
The Harland family were living in Mickley at the time of the 1841 census.
1841 Census: Mickley, Kirkby Malzeard, Azerley, Yorkshire
| Richard Harland | 40 | Flax dresser | Yorkshire | ||||
| Mary Harland | 35 | Flax carder | Yorkshire | ||||
| Mary Harland | 12 | Yorkshire | |||||
| Samuel Harland | 10 | Flax doffer | Yorkshire | ||||
| Thomas Harland | 8 | Yorkshire | |||||
| William Harland | 4 | Yorkshire | |||||
| Richard Harland | 2 | Yorkshire |
We have not been able to identify the younger Mary Harland. She appears to be a daughter of Richard and Mary, but we have not found her baptism. The 1841 census does not give relationships.
The inhabitants of Mickley seem to be divided between working in the flax industry and in agriculture. Despite her five children, Mary is helping with the family income. Young Samuel is at work at 10 years old. Probably the younger Mary helped with the smaller children.
By the 1851 census, three more children, Robert, Elizabeth and John had been born.
1851 Census: Mickley. West Riding
| Richard Harland | Head | Mar | 50 | Flax Dresser | Whitby, Yorkshire | ||||
| Mary Harland | Wife | Mar | 45 | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | |||||
| Thomas Harland | Son | Un | 17 | Mechanic | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | ||||
| William Harland | Son | Un | 13 | At Home | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | ||||
| Richard Harland | Son | Un | 11 | At Home | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | ||||
| Robert Harland | Son | Un | 9 | At Home | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | ||||
| Elizabeth Harland | Daur | Un | 6 | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks | |||||
| John Harland | Son | Un | 2 | Kirby Malzeard, Yorks |
Mary is no longer working at flax carding. She now needs to look after the children. The younger Mary is no longer with them. At 22 she may be married.
The teenage Thomas has got work, not working with the flax itself, but as a mechanic, probably with the machinery at the mill. The mill was also used to make machinery for the spinning of flax.
Richard died in June 1857, in Mickley, at the age of 57.
Burial. Mickley.
1857 Jun 20 Richard Harland. Mickley. Aged 58.
In the 1861 census we find the widowed Mary living in a cottage in Mickley with three of her children. She is supporting herself as a cleaner. The two eldest children still living at home are also working.
1861 Census. Cottage, Mickley, Azerley.
Mary Harland Widow 55 Charwoman Mickley, Yorks
William Harland Son Un 23 Carrier (Common) Mickley, Yorks
Elizabeth Harland Daur Un 14 Assistant Laundress Mickley, Yorks
John Harland Son 12 Scholar Mickley, Yorks.
Later that year we find the son William in trouble with the courts.
Yorkshire Gazette. Sat. 14th Dec 1861.
RIPON. Borough Court. – On Wednesday last, William Hoben, of Manchester, hawker, summoned William Harland, of Mickley, for having assaulted him at Ripon, on the 5th inst. During the afternoon of that day, complainant met the defendant coming out of the Green Dragon public-house. Defendant inquired the price of some umbrellas complainant was selling, and then without any provocation, struck him on the hat and under the ear, and then knocked him down, and, while laid, kicked him. Convicted in the penalty of 20s. and 22s. 6d. costs, which he paid.
In the next census, ten years later, we find Mary living alone in a cottage in Mickley.
1871 Census. Mount Pleasant Village Street
Mary Harland Head W Charwoman 68 Mickley, Yorks
Two doors away is her second son William and his young family: his wife Mary, his children Eliza 6, Louisa 5, Frederick 3 and Lilley 1. Also with them is William’s orphaned nephew, 14-year-old Alfred. He is the child of Mary’s older son Thomas. William is still a carter.
William continued to be in trouble for violent behaviour.[3]
York Herald. Sat 17th October.
LOCAL AND DISTRICT.
Ripon West Riding Petty Sessions – Yesterday William Harland, of Mickley, labourer, was charged with assaulting William Stainthorpe, of the same village, labourer, on the 6th inst. Fined 10s, and costs £1 12s.
Mary died at the end of 1875.
Burial. Mickley.
1876 Jan 1 Mary Harland. Mickley. Aged 73.
Mary’s age is three years out, but this was not unusual with older people.
William was described in the previous court case as a labourer, but his next brush with the law shows him still to be in possession of a horse. He probably worked at odd labouring jobs between employment as a carter.
York Herald. Sat 26th July 1879.
LOCAL AND DISTRICT.
Liberty Court. – William Harland, of Mickley, was charged with cruelly ill-treating a horse whilst in an unfit state. Defendant pleaded guilty, and was fined 10s. with 11s. costs, or in default 14 days imprisonment.
In the 1881 census for Mickley, William is described as a carrier. Living with him are his wife Mary, three of his younger children and his widowed brother John, who is an agricultural labourer.
In June 1882 William met a violent end:[4]
North Stainley is a hamlet only a mile from Mickley. His age at his burial matches the birth date for Richard and Mary’s son,.
Fatal Accident near Ripon. – An inquest was held on Wednesday night, the 21st inst., before Charles Husband, Esq., coroner of the Liberty of Ripon, touching the death of Wm. Harland, of North Stainley, labourer, who died the previous day from injuries sustained from being crushed by a horse and cart. The evidence of Francis Bolland, who had been working with Harland, showed that on Tuesday the 21st inst, he was in the yard behind the kitchen at Sleningford Grange. He saw Harland filling a tank- cart, out of the tank: he was going to take it to the manure heap at the low end of the kitchen-garden. In doing so he had to go down a steep hill, nearly at the bottom of which there is a gate. Witness went across the lawn where he expected to find Harland, but on arriving there he found he had not reached the place. He then went in search of him, and hearing him crying out as if in pain, found him at the left side of the road, at the gate. The near side of the gate and fence were down, and the tank cart was 60 or 70 yards lower down in the field, one shaft was stuck in the ground, and the horse was grazing at the far side of the pasture. He believed it was a very quiet horse. Harland was laid on the road, and bleeding from the mouth. He told him he had been crushed, witness got assistance and had him removed to the carriage house. Mr. J. Hartley, of Ripon, surgeon, was sent for. Sarah Sly, a servant at the place, was called and said: She was working at Sleningford Grange. On the day mentioned she saw the deceased filling the cart at about a quarter to 12, as stated by Bolland, and about 10 minutes after on account of something the housemaid told her, she went to the road leading to the garden, she saw Harland laid on the road. Bolland was trying to hold him up. Harland’s hands and face were all bloody. She asked him what was the matter, when he told her he was going to die. He said he could not get the gate open. Mr. Hartley said the deceased’s heart was injured, and two or three ribs might be broken. Harland died at about a quarter past-three o’clock in the afternoon. It was supposed that deceased had tried to get the gate open before the horse and cart arrived, but failing this, he had not been able to stop the horse with heavy load on the steep road.-Verdict, accidental death.
[i] A Topographical Dictionary of England. Originally published by S Lewis, London, 1848.[1] www.heritageopendays.org.uk
[2] John Hebden, archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com › YORKSGEN
[3] Court cases from British Newspapers 1710-1950 accessed via findmypast.
[4] Jean Etheridge.
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