The Usher Story by Steve Barrett

Exactly where the Ushers originated from is a mystery. It is likely that they were north countrymen from around the wilds of Northumberland.

We can track them back to Nawton in Kirkdale parish only as far back as 1746 (William Usher)
Investigations into adjacent parishes, like Thirsk and Kirkbymoorside reveal no Ushers registered at any time. Of course it may be that they lived there but were never registered.
However the unusual thing about the Ushers, looking through the Yorkshire Parish Registers is that the name is scattered through a relatively limited area around the periphery of York.
A Matthew Usher is mentioned as the sole Usher in the register of Kirk Deighton marrying an Alice Browning in 1605.
Ann Usher daughter of George Usher is the sole entry for Ushers in the register of Easingwold - baptised on February 25th 1608.
In the Parish register of Cowthorpe, Elizabeth Usher married a J Fearby of OverPoppleton in 1664.
Elizabeth is described as being ‘of Wighill’, in York Ainsty.

Henry Ellison of Walsford & Elizabeth Usher of Wighill were
marryed the last day of Aprill 1664.
Access to the Parish Register of Wighill is difficult,as it has not been transcribed as far as I know, though I am checking.
A Thomas Usher whose occupation was as a gardener of St Mary Bishophill Junior in York was buried in 1795 aged 93, so making him born in 1702 though this is not registered.
A Robert Usher aged 22 and a widower of York was married to a Sarah Bretton in 1808 at Bishopthorpe. He signed the register. She left her mark.
My own view will have to wait until we can check the Wighill Register for the family.
But as to what we probably know as fact…..

From Kirkdale to York

Sarah Atkinson was a native of Nawton in Kirkdale, North Yorkshire. Her father John Atkinson is not registered at his birth in Nawton, but was probably born in the 1720’s. She married William Usher born in 1746 at Kirby Moorside Church in November 1776, at the time of the American war of Independence.

 
William experienced the ups and downs of the agricultural revolution. Described as ‘a farmer of Wombleton’ near Kirkdale between 1782 and 1785. By 1788, he was a farm labourer at Nawton, resumed his farming career in 1791, but finished his days in 1831 aged 85 as a farm labourer. 

They had eight children between the years 1782 when Sarah was thirty and 1796.
Their youngest son, James born in 1796 is our direct ancestor and it was he together with his friend John Walkington that were to leave their parish of Kirkdale and travel south to York, probably in the 1830’s or 40’s during the agricultural depression.

St. Gregory's Minster, 1821, Kirkdale

Like John Wilkinson from Mapplewell and Samuel Barrett from Sutton Bridge and John Battle from County Mayo, this was the period when the families moved towards their inevitable destination,York in search of a better life.

In the 1851 Census of York two agricultural labourers both born in the north country village of Nawton  near Kirby Moorside , are  registered. Namely James Usher and his friend, John Walkington.
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There James Usher became a Walmgate greengrocer in St Peter le Willows parish.

By 1861 he was described as a ‘dealer’. He married late in life. He was 43 before he married Dinah Spence in 1839 in York. Dinah was the daughter of Simeon Spence who was from a family of farmers of Low Catton. James and Dinah Usher had three children all boys, Sam born in 1840, William born 1842 and James Junior, born in 1844.

Sadly Dinah died in 1852 and three years later James Senior married Sarah Hodgson, a spinster of Ampleforth. They had no children.

By this point, James was described as a coal merchant of Long Close Lane, a particularly notorious area of York – a far cry from the rural tranquility of Kirkdale.
Close neighbours were the Ogelsbys and the Battles, who married into the Shread family.

This is also the first point at which the Ushers and the Wilkinsons who were eventually to connect in 1922, lived in the same City. John Wilkinson was a nail maker in Walmgate, presumably with his own smithy belching out smoke in the heart of the town. It would be nice to speculate that the coal he was provided for his forge came from James Usher! As the Oglesbys were also coal merchants it could also be that they knew each other well.

James’s oldest son, Samuel Usher born in 1840 married Jane Somerset from an ancient York family at St Marys Bishophill in 1870, when Sam was 30 and Jane 29.
We can trace Jane’s family back to 1719 in the Castlegate area of York. (Their oldest child Arthur Usher carried the family name ‘Somerset’ as his middle name.)

They had six children: Arthur Somerset Usher born in 1872 who died in 1944, James born in 1874, Mary in 1876, Emily in 1878, Sam in 1880 who died in 1960 and Annie, born in 1881.

Annie represented the oldest of five generations in a photograph at the wedding of Mam and Dad in 1953. She died in 1956 and is buried in the same grave as George Isaac Wilkinson in York Cemetery.

Arthur born in 1872 became  a butcher and on July 1st 1895 married Mary Snowdon.

The Snowdons could be traced back to 1685, farm labourers around Huby, Strensall and Haxby. Sam Snowdon, Mary’s father was born in Haxby in 1832 and was originally a farm servant at Tilmire but by 1861 lived out at Skelton, a farmer of 210 acres.

He appears to have have had 5 boy scholars lodging with him and a teacher, it may have been that the farm provided a school house. Sadly he was later reduced to working as a farm labourer living at Scotts Farm and tannery in Strensall. 

Arthur and Mary Usher had six children, the eldest Aunty Emily born in Thirsk in 1896 and named after her Aunt Emily born in 1878, followed by my Nan Alice born in 1900 followed by Arthur in 1902, William 1904, Sam in 1908 and James, the youngest born in 1911.

In February 1908, old Sam Usher, born in 1840 died, a wealthy ironmonger with his shop at 8 High Petergate. In his will, he left £1070
to a ‘William Middleton, schoolmaster’. We have no information on this person, nor why he should be bequeathed such an amount.

In later years, in the thirties, Mary Snowdon apparently left Arthur and lived with another man, who ran a sweet shop in Walmgate.  Arthur went to live with her daughters  family Alice and George Wilkinson who had married in 1922. Arthur was now suffering from Parkinson’s disease - finally going into St Mary’s hospice.

Sam and Jane’s youngest son Samuel Wilfred Usher born in 1880 married Susannah and had two boys, Simeon Spence Usher born in 1906,( named after Sam’s grandfather Simeon Spence) and William Usher born in 1910.
Samuel Wilfred Usher was a tinsmith and lived with his family at 33 Granville Terrace, Hull Road, York.

Alice Usher, Arthur’s daughter married George Isaac Wilkinson in 1922 and had five daughters, Pom (Florence) Dot, Joan, Mam and Aunty Pat.  Sadly their only son died as an infant, named after his father.

George Isaac died after much ill health in 1942 and is buried at York Cemetery in the same grave as Annie Usher, Alice’s aunt who died in 1956. We have no knowledge as to the reason for this. There is a mystery found in the 1901 and 1911 censuses though.

 In 1901 Emily Usher aged 5 is located in Milton Street, Walmgate the daughter of Arthur and Mary Ann Usher.  In 1911 she is now living at 137 East Parade, now described as the daughter of Annie Usher, who is described as single. It is the same Emily, born in Thirsk.

In 1911, Arthur and Mary Ann were living at Stammergate in Thirsk apparently running a boarding house and part time ‘waggoner’. The house had 6 Bavarian Musicians boarding with them and the family including Nan. Emily is not amongst them,living as she is at 137 East Parade and working as a packer in a local ‘Cocoa Works’.

Nan’s brother Arthur born in 1902 married Nellie Wood of Topcliffe and had ten children, including Kenneth, Granville and Christine Usher. Ken Usher, born in 1943 and a York bus driver for many years married Claire Rickell at Escrick in 1964 and two years at Fulford Hospital Nick Usher was born with whom I am in touch.

Nan’s brother Sam married Elizabeth Steele and had one son, Paul who still lives in York and is manager of Hartrigg Oaks, where Aunty Poms husband Bill Grosvenor lived in later life. Sam died in 1978. Elizabeth or Betty hailed from Bradford and worked as a seamstress in the York County Hospital.

The Steele family had originally hailed from Knaresborough and were handloom weavers, but in the mid-nineteenth century had moved to Bradford to work in the textiles factories there. Betty carried on the skill when she moved to York to marry Sam.

William or Bill Usher emigrated to Australia and died there. He had no children.

James the youngest son of Arthur and Mary Usher married Constance Calvert in 1933 and had three sons, Michael, born in 1936, Stuart born in 1939 and Keith born in 1941 who became Financial Director at York City Football Club.
James died in 1970. He had been a very successful manager for Cooperative Milk.

Through Nicholas Usher the family line carries on in York.

A cloud with a silver lining!
The real villain in this account was my great-grandfather, John Webster, whose background I am still trying to pin down accurately. However we have been intrigued to find along the way what I think of as the “Webster Drewery Saga.”
In August 1845 John Webster “borrowed” a horse and gig from an inn at Wakefield, and gave his name as Drewery, a druggist from Hull (who was an acquaintance of his.) Unfortunately for Mr Drewery, when this happened he was not at home in his shop, where presumably witnesses could have vouched for him, but rather away in Leeds for a few days. To cut a long story short, he was not believed and was sentenced to 7 years’ transportation, spending nearly two years in Pentonville prison before setting sail for Port Phillip [Geelong/Melbourne] on the Joseph Somes.
By the time the ship arrived in Hobart, en route for Geelong, John Webster himself had been sentenced to ten years for a similar offence, and was working and living in what is now Swansea, a town on the east coast of Tasmania.
Meanwhile, family and friends of Drewery had been working very hard up in Hull, trying to secure a pardon for him, but the final piece of  evidence was lacking and their efforts seemed as though they were in vain. However, all was not lost. Below are some excerpts from a letter Drewery wrote to his wife in October 1847 and which was printed in the Hull Packet in April 1848.
(All the convicts on the Joseph Somes were treated as exiles on arrival, rather than convicts, because the Colony of New South Wales was no longer accepting convicts as such, so Queen Victoria pardoned them as long as they remained in Australia.)

“...I shall not attempt to describe the occurrences during the passage. The sailors say it was a very good one. As respects myself, I never had better health, and very fortunate it was so, for I can assure you I had sufficient to do for others both night and day – but much to my benefit, as it gave me an opportunity to improve in my profession.  .... On arriving at Melbourne I called upon Surgeons and Druggists, and got a situation. Engaged for one month until something better offered; during which time the situation I now fill became vacant – I applied, and by the influence of Dr Elliot and Mr Cooper [*the surgeon and religious instructor on the Joseph Somes*], was successful. The situation is to manage the business at the Melbourne Medical Hall. I have agreed for twelve months at 50 pounds per year, with a house to live in, and all found. ... You will be somewhat happy to learn your husband is so comfortably situated,  for I can assure you, were you and my dear children with me, I should be made truly happy. God grant it will be soon! On our arriving at Hobart Town, Mr Cooper went on shore, and, on looking over a book kept at the government station for prisoners to make any remarks, found therein something to this effect:- “John Webster states that a person named Drewery, formerly a druggist in Hull, has been transported for seven years, charged with an offence of which he himself is guilty – and that the said Drewery has not the slightest knowledge of the same.”
My dear, here are fresh proofs of your husband’s innocence...The only compensation I ask is, that government will send you and my children out to me respectably, not as the wife of a convict, but as one who has been shamefully used . I have no wish to return as yet – I can do better here. ... if you would rather remain at home, I will return immediately I can, and remit for your support, but I would much rather that you came. .... There is no scarcity in this country, the only thing wanted is persons to populate it, for I assure you hands cannot be had at the following rate of wages:- Joiners, painters, masons, bricklayers &c., are getting from 7s. to 10s. per day. Living is very cheap. Good mutton and beef 1d. per pound. Legs of mutton 6d. Each. House rents are very high, clothing about the same as at home. A female servant cannot be had under 30 pounds a year. Melbourne is about the size of Cottingham.
... hoping soon to see you all, together with my dear family, in THIS land of plenty. Dear friends, I invite you all to come immediately; you are sure to do well with care. I promise you all one month’s keep to begin with, do not delay; remember beef 1d. per pound, and wages good. ... It appears John Webster, after getting the gig from Wakefield, went to Yarmouth, tried the same trick and was taken and convicted three months after me. He formerly was a grocer and tea dealer, in Cogan-street, the person that offered me a month’s bill for my pony...”

Thomas Drewery was officially pardoned in January 1848, and his family came out to join him. His words “I can do better here” certainly proved to be true – in December 1852 he was elected to the Melbourne City Council, and a few months later he had notices in the Argus newspaper advising that he was moving his chemist shop from Swanston Street in Melbourne to “larger premises at 109 Elizabeth St”, and he also advertised for more staff. A lane in Melbourne named after him is there to this day.

In common with many convicts transported here, John Webster’s family too, seemed to suffer no disadvantages – his 4 sons who lived to adulthood ran a popular coach service in the Hobart area – one of his sons remained with the firm for 38 years, until they became fully motorised, and at least two grandsons were also involved in the business. His daughters both married  well - one to the previous owner of the coach service – and had families.
Margaret Pinniger (Please contact via the Secretary)

Help is needed by Paul Davies. (Please contact via the Secretary)

The following are direct ancestors of mine who lived in your area. The one/ones of particular interest is John Jonas who was the Superintendent of Police for Pickering Lythe Division from the inception of the North Riding Constabulary in 1856 until 1878.

THE POLICE CAREER OF JOHN JONAS

In the early 1800s Britain did not have a professional Police Force so in 1829 the Metropolitan Police Act was passed which provided permanently appointed and paid Constables.
These men became the model for the creation of all the provincial forces; at first in the London Boroughs, and then into the counties and towns, after the passing of the 1839 Rural Constabulary Act which permitted Justices to appoint Chief Constables for the direction of the police in their areas and allowed for one policeman per 1,000 population. It gave shire counties like Essex the opportunity to establish their own full-time police forces if they chose to do so. Essex was not the first county force to be formed, but was certainly one of the earliest, following Worcestershire, Wiltshire, Gloucester and Durham.
The first recruits to the Essex Constabulary in February 1840 had to meet certain standards: Under 40 years of age, to stand 5’7” (1.45 M) without shoes, to read and write and to keep accounts, to be free from bodily complaint, of strong constitution and generally intelligent. The applicant was also required to provide a certificate of character from one or more respectable persons who had personal knowledge of him during the last 5 years that he was “sober, honest and of good temper, that his connections and associates were respectable.” If he was passed “fit for police duties” by the police surgeon, the applicant was then sworn in as a constable before the magistrates at Shire Hall in Chelmsford.
Initially 100 Constables receiving a salary of 19 shillings (95p) per week and 15 Superintendents, paid £80 per year, were appointed whilst the Chief Constable warranted a salary of £400. It was not until the October of 1840 that the rank of Inspector was introduced and a further 15 years before Sergeants appeared.
Constables were provided with a basic uniform, which included a blue dress coat with embroidered collar, dress trousers, ‘undress’ trousers, waterproofed greatcoat, cape, pair of boots, pair of shoes and a black stove pipe hat (it was not until the 1870s that the familiar helmet was adopted). In addition the constable was issued with a rattle (to raise the alarm), truncheon and a pair of handcuffs. Constables were also required to supply themselves with 2 pairs of white drill trousers which were to be worn “…whenever the Superintendent may direct, between 1 May and 1 October.”
The force purchased a number of cutlasses for use by constables but only if two magistrates certified that it was necessary for the officer’s personal protection in the performance of his duty. The cutlasses could only be worn at night time or when rioting or serious public disorder was taking place.
From the outset stress was laid upon securing the goodwill and co-operation of those living in areas where the police had to operate. An early instruction stated “Constables are always to take the outside of the footpath, and when walking along the streets should not shoulder past respectable people but give way in a mild manner, for the more respectful and civil the Constabulary are, the more they will be supported and respected by the public.”
Constables worked long hours, often under difficult conditions. The average working day, performed seven days a week, consisted of three or four hours in the daytime followed by a night shift between 10pm and dawn.
All patrols were on foot and it was not uncommon for a constable on a rural beat to walk over 20 miles each day. Horse patrols were avoided where possible, except for supervisory purposes, since the Chief Constable considered them “most inefficient in the detection of crimes; the very noise of a horse’s feet upon the road will disturb a depredator, and he will conceal himself, it is a beacon for him to avoid.” A horse and cart was however provided in every division for the conveyance of prisoners and the use of constables who were being posted.
Attendance at “Divine Worship” was also encouraged by the Chief Constable “duties would be so arranged as to allow the attendance of the Constabulary at Divine Service, and Constables are expected to show an example of due respect for the observance of the Sabbath day.”
There were no refreshment breaks and it was left to the ingenuity of the constable to obtain refreshment where he could – often in a beer or public house. This led to high incidents of drunkenness amongst police officers, resulting in many dismissals from the force. By the end of 1840 some 40 men had been dismissed from the force, many for drunkenness.
If the constable hadn’t enough to do he could also be given a variety of other tasks such as Inspector of Weights and Measures, Nuisances or Common Lodging Houses, Assistant to H.M. Revenue Officers, Relieving Officers for Casuals under the Poor Law, Inspectors under the Explosives Acts and many others.
A superannuation scheme was introduced from the outset, but a pension was not granted as an automatic right; only men recommended by the Chief Constable and approved by the Justices received one. After 15-20 years’
service an officer was entitled to a half-pay pension; a two thirds pension being received after 20 or more years’ service.
John Jonas, whose occupation was cordwainer, or shoemaker, joined Essex Constabulary on 22/4/1842 (probably aged 22) although there is no record of where he was based and when until 1851 when the Census shows that he was living in Sible Hedingham. Later that year he was involved in an incident which is the subject of a short history from the Essex Police Museum.
On a summer night in 1851 three Essex policemen lay in wait near the county boundary between Suffolk and Essex as three burglars approached a lonely Essex farmhouse. According to the local newspaper for 13th June 1851 - about 1 am on Tuesday 10th January the dwelling house of Mr Cook (senior), a farmer of the parish, was burglariously entered by three men. It appears that the premises were under police observation, after an attempt of a like character had been made on the same premises a month previously. The local police had vigilantly guarded them and on Tuesday night were on watch, when the parties appeared. Having tried at several places, ineffectually, with a long iron chisel, to gain an entrance, they at last succeeded in removing an iron bar from a back kitchen window and entered.

One of them went to the front parlour, followed closely by a second, who on being stopped by PC 115 inflicted a terrible blow on the officer's head with the chisel. The robber in the parlour was then attacked by John Flower, a labourer in the employ of Mr Cook, and for some minutes the parties were engaged in the most desperate encounter, blood flying in all directions. The constable succeeded in getting his man down in the passage and handcuffing one of his wrists, whilst the labourer called loudly for his master. Mr Cook, hearing his cries, hastened to his assistance with his loaded gun, and when in the act of crossing the passage, the robber seized the gun, and in the scuffle discharged the contents, which unhappily entered one of the arms of the labourer. The gun was then wrenched from Mr Cook, who received a blow from it. The policeman had now to contend with both the burglars, with whom he fought single handed in a most gallant manner, though sorely belaboured by them with the gun and his own staff. The report of the gun brought to their aid PC33 and PC45, discovering whom the two burglars retreated, with a third who was watching outside the premises. Superintendent Hoy, from Halstead, on inspecting Mr Cook's premises, found that part of the dwelling in which the encounter took place was in a state resembling a slaughter house, from the desperate nature of the attack and defence.
Information was immediately forwarded to the police station at Sudbury and medical aid was procured when it was found necessary to amputate the wounded man's arm. The newspaper rejoiced to add that later information enabled them to announce the apprehension of three suspects by PC Cross from Sudbury. Their names were Stephen Prike, William Poole and James Dawson, all of whom, it was believed, would be identified by the police. Poole's head was so much cut that he could not be removed and the handcuffs were still on Dawson so there was little doubt that he was one of the party. Readers of the paper had to wait another week to learn that the fighting troops from the Essex Constabulary were Constable 33 John Eldred, 2nd Class Constable 115 John Jonas of Sible Hedingham and Constable 45 William Humphreys.
While Prike and Dawson were in custody, awaiting the next Essex Assize, Poole was taken into Castle Hedingham Police Station, where despite medical attention, he died. The inquest upon him recorded a verdict of "accidental death".
At the Summer Assize at Chelmsford in July 1851 Dawson was sentenced to death, though the judge told him commutation was likely, while Prike, who it can be inferred from the account of the incident and arrest was the look out, was transported for ten years.
Eldred was a constable until 1864, when he was superannuated with a file marked "physical incapacity." Humphreys was permitted to resign in 1852 with three years service, his file marked "Drunkenness." Hoy resigned in 1852. John Jonas was promoted to Inspector on 1 January 1853.
By that year of 52 counties only 22 had police forces with Yorkshire the poorest served with one division of the East Riding having only nine policemen. The 1856 County and Borough Police Act meant that all areas had to have a Constabulary (County force) or Police (Borough or town force) and the North Yorkshire Constabulary was established on 14 October 1856.
John Jonas resigned, as he would have been required to do if he was transferring to another force, from the Essex force on 30 November and, aged 39, started with the North Riding Constabulary on 1 December 1856 as a Superintendent based at Pickering. This promotion would have required a level of educational attainment as well as ambition but John did not progress any further. With the exception of 1859 and 1860 when the records show another Superintendent in place at Pickering John remained there for the remainder of his career in the North Riding.
At the time John joined, the force had 56 officers and constables, soon to almost double in number, under a Chief Constable. It was organised in eight divisions, with the boroughs of Middlesbrough, Richmond and Scarborough having their own forces, and was controlled by a committee of Quarter Sessions. Entrance requirements, uniforms, working conditions and so on were similar, if not identical, to Essex. The principal activities of the force were connected with what we call “street crime” notably violence and drunkenness, rather than burglary.
In the Pickering Lythe division, which was later disbanded, John had two Inspectors and 11 constables (which had increased to 15 by 1866) who were based around the area. This extended from Helmsley in the west to the Scarborough boundary in the east, from Rosedale in the north to Kirby Misperton in the south and also included Cayton, East Ayton, Falsgrave, Hutton le Hole, Kirkbymoorside, Lockton, Osbaldkirk, Scalby, Snainton, Staintondale, Thornton le Dale and Wrelton.
John retired, aged 60, on 30 June 1878 with an annual pension of £61 17s (85p) based on a North Riding service of 21 years 6 months (there are no records available to show whether he received any pension from the Essex force which was anyway unlikely as his service there was probably considered insufficient for this).
Until 1890 policemen served until they were old men unless deemed unfit for service, after medical examination, so John was retired on infirmity grounds. At the time his rank was recorded as Inspector but he had been a Superintendent as recently as 1876 when the last record available was produced so there might have been a mistake in the Pensions and Gratuities records or he may have been demoted possibly after the death of his wife in October 1876 which was probably relatively sudden and surely premature and might have caused issues he found difficult to manage.

A request for help from Elizabeth Watson of Bridlington

The first name on the family tree is John Warwick (Warrick) and Mary Wharton who lived in Terrington, Yorkshire. Married 22nd April 1776. Their children are Edward ch 25.11.1776, John ch 27.2.1779, Thomas ch 25.9.1781 and William ch 21.10.1784. All were born at Terrington.

John Warwick married Elizabeth Lion born circa 1781 at Benithorp. They had a farm called Newstead Grange Farm at Thornton Dale or Marishes. Two children show up on the 1841 census, George born 1825 and Jane born 1828. This would have made John 44 at the time of George's birth. I suspect that there are earlier brothers and sisters who are missing. The 1851 census form refers to grandchildren of John and Elizabeth Warwick being at their address. Can these siblings be traced through Thornton Dale parish records?

George married Hannah Ireland of Ebberston on 11th August 1855 at Ebberston (copy marriage certificate obtained), and they had the 11 children listed on the family tree. If any details of christenings or marriages could be found in the parish records that would be good. Also, I understand that there are nine burials mentioned in the parish records prior to 1907. Again, this would be interesting to have. However, if time is short, I would prefer to have information on the following, which is proving a bit of a mystery.

I would be interested to know if anything could be found out about Mary born 7.1.1856. She is John Warwick's wife. He was born 14.7.1856, married 1.2.1881, and died 8.1.1888. Both were born at Thornton Dale. She gives the name of Warwick on the marriage certificate and there is no name or profession in the column for father. However, there is a George Spenceley listed as a witness and, in the 1871 census, John Warwick is living as a boarder at George Spenceley's address.

I initially received this information from a cousin who had been researching his Warwick ancestors for some time. He provided me with certain certificates, but I am unsure how he determined Mary's exact date of birth as there is some mystery about her surname. This cousin has jumped to the conclusion that, because Spenceley was a witness, he was a relative of Mary's but it is possible that she was also called Warwick.

Mary Warwick (Who perhaps may have been a Spenceley) her date of birth was in a family bible.   The bible also recorded the date of death of a Mary Spenceley, which it why it was thought Mary may have been a Spenceley although her marriage certificate did not give the name of her father.