Thomas (1736-1820) and Hannah (1744-1819) WILLIAMSON of Allonby
Page created April 2018, amended July 2019
Links:
Immediate ancestors: Jonathan and Rebecca WILLIAMSON and Joseph and Frances ROBSON
Immediate descendant: William WILLIAMSON
The Williamson story - WILLIAMSON 1 research notes
index of surnames
Thomas and Hannah are recorded as the parents of my next ancestor William in the Quaker registration of his marriage (RG6/22 page 22 or 23). Thomas also names William, Hannah and other family members in his will (Cumbria Archives Service, Carlisle, PROB/1820/W449). Research note: do I not have William's birth record?
Thomas's parents were Jonathan and Rebecca WILLIAMSON of Allonby.
Hannah's parents were Joseph and Frances ROBSON of Thurstonfield.
Thomas was the eldest of five children born to Quaker parents in Allonby, growing up with sisters four and seven years younger, and brothers eleven and thirteen years younger. His childhood is covered more fully at his parents' page.
I don't know anything of his younger adulthood so far but he probably helped to run his father's farm. He married aged 30, which wasn't unusually old in a culture where men like him came into their independence only when their fathers began to retire.
Hannah was also from a Quaker family I think, in Thurstonfield, further north in the county of Cumberland. I don't yet have details on her family beyond the names and residence of her parents.
Hannah was 22 when they married, on 6 November 1766 at the Friends' meeting in Kirkbride (Hannah's regular meeting, but not Thomas's).
Thomas and Hannah lived at Allonby. They had five sons and six daughters, though two of the girls died in infancy (and their names were given again to the next-born daughter):
Jonathan, 2 August 1767
Frances/Fanny, 23 October 1768, died 2 Aug 1769
Frances/Fanny, 8 April 1770
Rebecca, 2 July 1772
Sarah, 1 Jan 1775
Hannah, 30 June 1776, died 30 July 1776
William, 18 October 1777
Joseph, 7 November 1779
Hannah, 30 April 1782, died 1806
Thomas, 26 November 1783
John, 12 February 1787
In 1776 and 1783 (on birth records of his children), Thomas is described as a husbandman, meaning that he worked in agriculture. I think this somewhat under-states his position, since his father Jonathan owned land and, in his 1777 will, left Thomas his husbandry gear, ie the farm equipment, which usually indicates that the recipient has already taken ownership of the farmhouse and land. I think Quakers tended to avoid giving themselves airs, so perhaps he meant to describe himself just by his daily occupation, and not claim any elevated status through land ownership.
In later life (his son William's 1815 marriage record), and at his own burial, Thomas is described as a yeoman, which was the more usual term for someone who owned his farm. Perhaps he had by 1815, aged 78, retired from active farm work and could no longer in honesty claim to be a working husbandman. He made his will late that year.
Hannah died on 9 November 1819 at the age of 75, and was buried in the ground of the Quaker meeting house at Allonby on 11 November.
William survived her by less than six months, dying at the age of 83 on 7 May 1820, and also being laid in Allonby Quaker burying ground, on 10 May.
Thomas left a fairly substantial estate: 'under 3000 pounds' in value, without his main house or agricultural land. His son eldest Jonathan gets the farming equipment, which as I said is usually a sign he already has the property. Jonathan also gets his father's writing-desk, which perhaps signifies that he takes control of the family affairs. Thomas's next son William (my ancestor) gets some other land in Allonby, largely acquisitions of Thomas during his lifetime, identified in the will by previous owner as well as by locality name. The next brother Joseph (aged 35 when the will was made) gets an annuity of fifteen pounds. The next brother young Thomas gets the old family farm in Tallentire, in the parish of Bridekirk, which I think belonged to their great-great-grandfather. I'm not sure why an older son doesn't get land when a younger does: perhaps he followed some occupation other than agriculture? Or perhaps he was out of favour for some reason. The youngest brother John is not mentioned, so I assume has died, though I haven't found the record of it yet.
Thomas's surviving daughters share a house in Allonby (apparently not the one he was living in) for their lifetimes or until they marry. The two older ones (Frances and Rebecca) get lump sums of five hundred pounds each, while Sarah gets an annuity of twenty pounds.
Thomas's wife Hannah was to get the contents of his house, plus two cows and a horse, but in the event died before him. She apparently was not going to get the house itself or any other real estate or cash. I suppose the house had gone to Jonathan along with the associated land and Thomas trusted him to look after his old mum. Perhaps her owning all the furniture was to give her an extra hold...
It appears possible that only one of Thomas and Hannah's children married or had children of his own. William married Ann BEEBY in 1815. BEEBY was another Allonby Quaker family, certainly well-known to the Williamsons and possibly already allied to them by a marriage a couple of generations back. Daniel BEEBY (Ann's father I think), described in Thomas's will as a gentleman, was a trustee of the capital that provides the annuity legacies, and had been a trustee of other property bought by Thomas and left to his children. For details's of William and Ann's life together and family, see their own page. I will just also note here that William, in his own later will, seems to leave most of the property bequeathed to his brothers by their father, which is part of why I think they did not have families of their own but left their property to William, the longest survivor of them.
Jonathan and Thomas junior lived long bachelor lives in Allonby. In the 1851 census they are living together, with a housekeeper. Jonathan died the following year, aged about 85. I haven't yet found Thomas's death.
Rebecca also remained single and in Allonby. She died in 1825 aged 53. Sarah died in 1847 aged about 72; I do not have any indication that she married either.
I have no further information on Frances or Joseph, except that they must have been alive when their father mentioned them in his will in 1815. Likewise I have no information on John, but as he is not mentioned in the will I infer he died by 1815.
If you are interested in this family I'll be pleased to hear from you. Click this link to email me at deletethis.ianwilliamson161@gmail.com but delete everything up to and including the first dot, leaving just my name and number @ service provider.
Links:
Immediate ancestors: Jonathan and Rebecca WILLIAMSON and Joseph and Frances ROBSON
Immediate descendant: William WILLIAMSON
The Williamson story - WILLIAMSON 1 research notes
index of surnames