John Hodgkinson Family Tree Born 1796 in England
In my last mail, I summarized the basic vital information about John Hodgkinson, United Empire Loyalist (U.E.), that I believe is supported by bear witness from the historical record. However, in that location are quite a few family trees out there that make some unusual claims and connections to this family, and offer no evidence to support those assertions. Today, I'd similar to discuss a few of the mutual claims regarding the origins and immediate family of John Hodgkinson.
Let's begin with a few of the most pop statements found in family copse pertaining to John Hodgkinson, U.E.:
- John Hodgkinson was born 29 November 1750 in London, England.
- John Hodgkinson was born 29 December 1753 in Mansfield, Nottingham, England to John Hodgkinson and Sarah Godley.
- John Hodgkinson was married to Sarah Carey Marle on 6 June 1781 in St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London, England.
- John Hodgkinson died on 26 October 1826.
- John Hodgkinson had other children besides the ones discussed previously (namely, Samuel, Ellender, Francis, and Robert).
Let's examine these individually.
Statement 1: John Hodgkinson was born 29 November 1750 in London, England
Records from the Hodgkinson Family Burying Basis bespeak that John Hodgkinson, U.E., was built-in in 1750 and died in 1832,ane just there is no specific birth date suggested by Canadian records, nor exercise we take whatever definitive evidence for where he might have been born. Certainly, as a Loyalist, he was living in the American Colonies prior to the showtime of the Revolutionary War, but that's about all nosotros know for sure. The lack of promising matches for John'southward nascence or baptism in indexed collections of American Colonial records suggests that there might be some merit to the hypothesis of a birth in England, even so. Moreover, the Greater London area was something of a hotspot for this surname in 1881, based on the surname distribution map shown in Figure ane.2 Unfortunately, data for years prior to 1881 are not available, but assuming information technology's rubber (?) to extrapolate these data to the previous century, then we tin can infer that the Hodgkinson surname was also quite prevalent in Lancashire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Cheshire, Yorkshire, and Staffordshire at the time of John Hodgkinson's nativity. (The popularity within those counties varies based on the the specific parameter in consideration—incidence, frequency, or rank within the expanse.)
Unfortunately, geographic surname distributions are not especially helpful at predicting a family's origins when it comes to relatively popular surnames. Information technology doesn't matter if at that place were only nine Hodgkinsons living in Northumberland in 1881; if you tin definitively trace your beginnings back to them, then you don't care that the surname is relatively rare in Northumberland. So, while information technology's entirely possible that John Hodgkinson, U.E., was born in London on 29 November 1750—and plenty of people seem to believe this to be true, based on all those online trees out there—there needs to be some evidence for this assertion, considering that's certainly not the only place he could have been born. In fact, a quick search of indexed records on FamilySearch for "John Hodgkinson" built-in in London, England in 1750, produces a slew of possible vital records from all over England. "Hodgkinson" is but non an especially unique surname, and so it's not articulate to me how a certain pct of the Genealogical Community at Large decided that this information was reliable.
Argument 2: John Hodgkinson was born 29 December 1753 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England to John Hodgkinson and Sarah Godley
This second hypothesis is possibly fifty-fifty more popular than the outset, and what makes it so intriguing is that some evidence is offered for this assertion. Several Hodgkinson trees online cite nascency records for John Hodgkinson, William Hodgkinson, and a purported sister, Mary Hodgkinson, all baptized in Mansfield, and all of whom were recorded as children of John and Sarah Hodgkinson.three Moreover, there's a union record for John Hodgkinson and Sarah Godley, who are causeless to be the parents of these children.4 John's "birth record" is shown in Effigy 2.
On the surface, these data fit the inquiry problem nicely, and information technology's very highly-seasoned to hope that this hypothesis might be truthful. Mansfield in Nottinghamshire lies squarely within that "Hodgkinson surname hot zone" shown in Figure ane. Although no maiden name was reported for the mother on the baptismal records of John (baptized 29 December 1753), Mary (baptized 6 April 1755), and William (baptized ten Apr 1759), it's logical to suppose that they might be siblings since the parents' names are the same in all cases, and they were all baptized in the same place. The spousal relationship of John Hodgkinson "Senior" and Sarah Godley in Mansfield England on 25 June 1752 would fit nicely with the timing of the children's births, suggesting that this groom and bride might exist the same John and Sarah Hodgkinson that were identified in the baptismal records. But how does this family unit group compare with existing information for the Loyalist Hodgkinsons?
Well, John's baptism in 1753 is sufficiently close to his documented birth date of 1750 as to brand this plausible, particularly since the birth engagement recorded in the Hodgkinson Burial Ground records may have been calculated from his supposed historic period at the time of death, which may have been "off" by a few years. The construction of this family grouping is consistent with Canadian bear witness indicating that John Hodgkinson was older than his brother, William, as well. It's also possible that the Mary Hodgkinson identified in the baptismal record could exist the "Mary Huskinson" who was recorded equally the godmother to Ellender "Huskinson" in the records of the Dutch Reformed Church in Schaghticoke.5 However, if this hypothesis is right, and so William was baptized quite a long fourth dimension after his birth on 12 August 1751, which is the engagement cited past the transcript of grave markers from the Hodgkinson Family Burying Basis.6 Could it be that he was actually born in 1751, only baptized as tardily as 1759? That seems unlikely, in calorie-free of existing bear witness that the vast majority of babies were baptized within a week after nativity in 16th- and 17th-century England.7 Nonetheless, exceptions did exist, and some families were more lax than others in baptizing their children soon afterwards birth. Furthermore, if this were true for the Hodgkinson family of Mansfield, it would likewise help to reconcile that discrepancy between John'due south date of birth according to his grave marking (1750) and his appointment of baptism.
Whatever time we detect an "index only" tape, such equally these records for the baptisms of the Hodgkinson siblings and the matrimony record for John Hodgkinson and Sarah Godley, it's useful to go to the source and view the original documents from which the indexed information was taken. John Hodgkinson's nativity record was found in Ancestry's "England and Wales Christening Index, 1530–1980" database, and the union record for John Hodgkinson ("Senior") and Sarah Godley was similarly institute in Ancestry's "England and Wales Marriages, 1538–1988" database. As the source for the information in both these databases, Ancestry cites the British Isles Vital Records Index, 2nd Edition, published by the Genealogical Society of Utah (the progenitor of FamilySearch) as the source. So in this case, the source of the information is an index citing another alphabetize.
A like situation occurs when searching for these individuals at FamilySearch. William's and Mary'southward birth records can be found in the database, "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," and I doubtable that John must be in there as well, although he was curiously absent in searches of the database, both wide and narrow. Mary's search result is shown in Figure three.
This detail database is ane of FamilySearch'due south "Legacy" databases. Unlike collections of indexed historical records from i item place, FamilySearch's Legacy collections are compilations of records obtained from a multifariousness of sources, including user-contributed (i.e. unverified) data previously published in the International Genealogical Index (IGI). As FamilySearch cautions on their Wiki commodity about this database, "As this is an index of records compiled from diverse sources,information technology is strongly recommended that y'all verify any information you notice with original records."
Where to observe those original records? An easy style to do that is to click on the drib-down arrow for "Document Data." This displays important information about the original source, equally shown in Effigy iv, including the digital binder number and the microfilm number.
FamilySearch has recently fabricated some updates to their website, and that may exist why some of the search features and links seem "glitchy" to me. Y'all'd think, for instance, that clicking on the microfilm number shown in Effigy 4 would take you to the itemize entry for that film number. Unfortunately, it links instead to a "No Results Found" folio in the Records search. That means we have to accept matters into our own hands and navigate to the FamilySearch Catalog, and from there, choose "Search for Motion picture/Fiche Number," and and then paste in (or retype) the motion picture number, 503789. That brings upwards the page shown in Figure 5.
This tells us that Flick number 503789 contains Bishop's transcripts from two different parishes in Nottinghamshire, Linby and Mansfield. Since the indexed entry stated that the Hodgkinsons were from Mansfield, nosotros tin can assume it's that 2nd collection, "Items 2–3: Bishop's transcripts, Mansfield (Nottingham), 1598–1903" that must contain the images of the baptismal records for John, William and Mary Hodgkinson. (In fact, as an alternative to looking up the pic number independent in the Document Information, we could too search according to Identify [Mansfield] in the FamilySearch Catalog and discover the original images that way.)
Following through with either one of those methods volition bring us to the page shown in Figure 6, which contains details on the available Bishop'due south transcripts from the parish of Mansfield.
At last, our efforts are rewarded with the information that items ii–3 on film 503789 comprise "Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1598–1760," which is right where nosotros would expect to discover the three Hodgkinson baptismal records and the parents' matrimony tape. Since the images are non bachelor for habitation viewing, I had to visit my local FamilySearch Affiliate Library in order to obtain copies. Unfortunately, the original images comprise no additional information across what was indexed. William Hodgkinson's nascence is shown in Effigy vii as an example.8
And so what does this do for us in evaluating the hypothesis that John Hodgkinson, U.E., was baptized in Mansfield on 29 December 1753 and was the son of John Hodgkinson and Sarah, whose maiden name was probably Godley? As far every bit I'm concerned, the jury is notwithstanding out. Reasonably exhaustive research is one of the criteria required by the Genealogical Proof Standard before we can consider this hypothesis to exist proven. While prove from Canadian records may well have been exhausted, there may nevertheless be some insight that can be gained from deeper inquiry in British records. Do John, William and Mary Hodgkinson "disappear" from British records, or can potentially relevant marriage or death records be found, which might imply that these individuals did not emigrate? Exercise the original parish vital records (not bishop's transcripts) incorporate any information non plant in the copies? Can evidence for the departure of John, William and Mary Hodgkinson be found in parish chest records from Mansfield? Tin can probate records be discovered for John Senior or Sarah (Godley) Hodgkinson, which mention children living in the American Colonies? Until answers are found to these questions, I think it can only be said that this is an interesting—and plausible—hypothesis in need of further research.
Argument 3: John Hodgkinson was married to Sarah Carey Marle on 6 June 1781 in St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London, England.
Moving right along, there are a number of family trees that comprise the claim that the Sarah Hodgkinson who was married to John Hodgkinson, U.East., was in fact, Sarah Carey Marle (1782–1854). According to these copse, Sarah was the mother of Samuel, Robert, and Francis Hodgkinson of Grantham, Upper Canada. These claims originate with this union record for John Hodgkinson and Sarah Carey from St. Leonard'due south Church building (besides known as Shoreditch Church) in London (Figure 8).9
This wedlock record can exist considered every bit solid evidence that a John Hodgkinson, widower, married Sarah Carey on half dozen June 1781 in the presence of Mary Stoneley and William Burgess at Shoreditch Church, but it'southward an obvious example of mistaken identity to assume that this tape has anything at all to do with John Hodgkinson, U.East.. Sarah Spencer was conspicuously identified as the married woman of John Hodgkinson in his land petition, and in 1781, John was presumably in agile service with Butler'southward Rangers, since they did not disband until 1784.10 It'due south unlikely that he took a quick jaunt back to England to enter a bigamous spousal relationship with Sarah Carey. Distressing, folks, you've got the incorrect John Hodgkinson.
Statement 4: John Hodgkinson died on 26 October 1826.
John's grave marker stated that he died in 1832, with no specific date given.11 He does non appear in the index of wills for Lincoln County, Ontario (1796-1918), which is good bear witness that he did non leave a will, which might have been helpful in narrowing down a engagement of death.12 Barring the discovery of any previously-unknown church death records or newspaper obituaries, the appointment on that grave mark seems to provide the best estimate for John Hodgkinson's date of death. And then where does the date of 26 Oct 1826 come up from? I suspect that this error stems from confusion with the engagement of death of John'southward married woman, Sarah Hodgkinson. There's good evidence that she died in 1826; her death notice was published in the Farmer'southward Journal and Welland Canal Intelligencer on Midweek, 1 November 1826, stating, "Died…In Grantham, on Tuesday last, of dropsy, Mrs. Sarah Hodgkinson, wife of Mr. John Hodgkinson, at an advanced age. The funeral will take identify at his residence tomorrow, at 12 o'clock, at noon."xiii Although "Tuesday last" seems to advise the previous solar day, 31 October 1826, it could be argued that mayhap the previous Tuesday, 24 October, was meant. Regardless of which date you lot prefer, it was conspicuously Sarah Hodgkinson who died in Oct 1826, and non John, since the wording of the death notice strongly suggests that he was however alive and would be nowadays at his wife's funeral on 2 November.
Statement v: John Hodgkinson had other children besides the ones discussed previously (namely, Samuel, Ellender, Francis, and Robert).
There are quite a few family trees out there that attach boosted children to John Hodgkinson, U.East., and either of the two wives, Mary Moore and Sarah Spencer, who are supported by prove from historical documents. Some affirm that John had a son, William James Hodgkinson, or a son, Spencer Hodgkinson. Others claim that he had a daughter, Rebecca, or a daughter, Sarah. No sources are cited for these claims, and I believe that's because there aren't any to cite. Permit's remember that there was an important monetary advantage to beingness the son or daughter of a Loyalist in Upper Canada in the late 18th- and early on 19th centuries, since each son or daughter of a Loyalist was entitled to a free land grant (typically 200 acres) from the British Crown. It would exist unusual for any children of John Hodgkinson who survived to adulthood to neglect this opportunity for free land, and no other land petitions exist for children of John Hodgkinson except for those already cited, for Samuel, Francis and Robert. You don't have to take my word for that; consider evidence from William D. Reid's volume, The Loyalists in Ontario: The Sons and Daughters of the American Loyalists of Upper Canada, in which he, also, identifies only these children of John Hodgkinson (Figure 9).xiv
Of grade, i could contend that William James, Spencer, Sarah, or Rebecca were still children of John Hodgkinson, just that they died earlier reaching an age at which they could petition for a land grant. After all, there is no land petition for Ellender Hodgkinson, nonetheless I'chiliad of the opinion that she was a child of John Hodgkinson and his first married woman, Mary Moore. However, the difference is that in that location is a baptismal record identifying Ellender as a child of John and Mary "Huskinson," as discussed in my last mail service, whereas I can find no evidence that these other putative children actually do belong in this family group. It's not enough to say, "Hmm… I've got a Rebecca Hodkginson who was supposed to have been born in Canada in the right time frame for her to exist the daughter of John Hodgkinson, U.East… I estimate she must be his daughter!" Essentially, that is proposing a hypothesis, and it's perfectly okay to practice that, as long as your online tree indicates in some manner that this is your own, unproven, pet theory. To avoid disruptive newbies, nevertheless, it's probably more prudent to keep those trees private, and then that yous can provide appropriate cautions about the hypothetical relationships in your tree when curious people write to you for more information.
Although the Hodgkinson family presents only ane example, the event of hasty, careless, or poorly-reasoned inquiry is pervasive in the world of genealogy. I want to emphasize that I'm not trying to "name and shame" anyone. In fact, I deliberately avoided citing specific online trees where these errors are institute. Instead, my promise is to encourage family historians to be a chip more disquisitional and discerning when evaluating prove from historical sources, rather than jumping on the "aforementioned name" bandwagon. We all make mistakes, and in our enthusiasm for pushing dorsum but ane generation further, information technology can be easy to overlook pesky facts that don't fit our hypotheses very well. Even so, we owe it to ourselves and to our ancestors to become their stories right, to the best of our ability.
© Julie Roberts Szczepankiewicz 2021
Sources:
i Maggie Parnell,Hodgkinson Family Burying Ground, (St. Catharines, Ontario: Niagara Peninsula Co-operative, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1998), p two.
2 "Hodgkinson Surname Distribution Map," Forebears (https://forebears.io/surnames/hodgkinson#place-tab-1881 : x October 2021), showing distribution for England in 1881.
3 "England and Wales Christening Index, 1530–1980," database, Beginnings (https://ancestry.com/ : 10 October 2021), John Hodgkinson, baptized 29 December 1753, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England; and
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database,FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ane:i:NVHB-VVZ : ten October 2021), William Hodgkinson, baptized ten April 1759; and
"England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975," database,FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/ane:1:JSF3-JJ2 : x October 2021), Mary Hodgkinson, baptized vi April 1755.
four "England and Wales Marriages, 1538–1988," database, Ancestry (https://ancestry.com/ : 10 October 2021), John Hodgkinson and Sarah Godley, 25 June 1752, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England.
5 "U.S., Dutch Reformed Church building Records in Selected States, 1639-1989," database with images,Beginnings (https://beginnings.com : x October 2021), Ellender Huskinson, baptized 23 November 1778; citing Holland Gild of New York; New York, New York; Deer Park, Vol Ii, Book eleven.
vi Parnell, p. 2.
7 Sally Castor, "Research Note: When Were Babies Baptized? Some Welsh Evidence," Local Population Studies (http://www.localpopulationstudies.org.uk/PDF/LPS72/Article_Note_Brush_pp83-87.pdf : 10 Oct 2021); and
Stuart Basten, "Birth-Baptism Intervals for Family Historians," FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Birth-Baptism_Intervals_for_Family_Historians : 10 Oct 2021).
viii "Bishop's transcripts, Mansfield (Nottingham), 1598-1903," Baptisms, marriages, burials, 1598-1760, 1759, Baptisms, William Hodgkinson, son of John and Sarah Hodgkinson, 10 Apr 1759; browsable images, FamilySearch (https://world wide web.familysearch.org : 7 October 2021), FHL film no. 503789/DGS no. 7565515, image 551 of 566.
nine "London, England, Church of England Marriages and Banns, 1754-1936," database with images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/ : 10 October 2021), John Hodgkinson and Sarah Carey, 6 June 1781; citing London Metropolitan Archives; London, England;London Church building of England Parish Registers; Reference Number:P91/LEN/A/01/MS 7498/12.
x Authorities of Canada, "Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865)," 1797, no. 32, Land Petition of John Hodgkinson, Vol. 224, Bundle H-3, Reference RG i L3, Microfilm C-2043; browsable images,Library and Archives Canada (https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&q2=29&interval=50&sk=0&PHPSESSID=rgi7t06a60or2jdheocn6v65f4 : ten October 2021), Microfilm C-2043 > images 766 and 767 out of 990; and
Ernest Cruikshank, The Story of Butler'south Rangers and the Settlement of Niagara (Welland, Ontario: Tribune Printing Firm, 1893), p. 113; ebook, Projection Gutenburg Canada (https://gutenberg.ca/: x October 2021).
11 Parnell, p 2.
12 Lincoln County (Ontario) Registrar of Deeds, "Will Index, 1796–1918;" browsable images, FamilySearch (https://world wide web.familysearch.org/ : x Oct 2021), surnames outset with "H," images 55–68 of 160.
13 Farmers' Periodical and Welland Canal Intelligencer (St. Catharines, Upper Canada), 1 Nov 1826 (Wednesday), p 3, col four, death notice for Sarah Hodgkinson; online images,Google News (https://news.google.com/ : 10 October 2021).
fourteen William D. Reid, The Loyalists in Ontario: The Sons and Daughters of the American Loyalists of Upper Canada (Lambertville, NJ, U.s.a.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1973), p 150, Hodgkinson, John of Grantham; ebook, Ancestry (https://www.beginnings.com/ : x October 2021).
Source: https://fromshepherdsandshoemakers.com/2021/10/12/myth-busting-what-we-dont-know-about-john-hodgkinson/
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