The Holy Island Brighams
The voyages are detailed in the Berwick port books. Copyright National Archives
The first definite documentary reference to John Brigham found appears in the Newcastle port records of 1716. But his origins can be traced back to the parish of Welwick in East Yorkshire, where he held property until his death.
It is possible he is the John Brigham cited in the 1691 will of John Brigham of Welwick, which includes the line: “….I do give to John Brigham… soun to my brother Steven Brigham foure acres and a half of land arable midon or pasture.”
The Victoria History of the County of York refers to a deed showing: “An estate in Weeton, partly freehold and partly copyhold, descended in 1723 from Thomas Harland to John Brigham, whose daughter Mary married George Lawson. In 1743 the estate, including freehold of circa 70 acres, one bovate and two beast gates, was sold by Lawson to Henry Maister.”
It is possible he is the John Brigham cited in the 1691 will of John Brigham of Welwick, which includes the line: “….I do give to John Brigham… soun to my brother Steven Brigham foure acres and a half of land arable midon or pasture.”
The Victoria History of the County of York refers to a deed showing: “An estate in Weeton, partly freehold and partly copyhold, descended in 1723 from Thomas Harland to John Brigham, whose daughter Mary married George Lawson. In 1743 the estate, including freehold of circa 70 acres, one bovate and two beast gates, was sold by Lawson to Henry Maister.”
John is named as the master of the Owners Goodwill, which left Newcastle on December 20, 1716, with a cargo bound for Berwick. The corresponding port book for Berwick records the payment of duty for the cargo was made on January 4. For the following 17 years, John Brigham sailed the east coast of England, transporting goods between Berwick and the major ports, mostly London.
Yorkshire family
Within three weeks of his first known appearance in the port books, John wed his first wife, Elizabeth Suersby, or Sewersby, in the parish church of Owthorne, a coastal village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, around five miles north of his childhood home.
The groom and his 23-year-old bride were described as "of this parish" in the register and were married on January 9, 1717, after the publication of banns in the church, which, like the rest of the village has now been lost to the sea.
The birth of fist daughter Mary followed in 1718, and first son Christopher, in 1718. Both were christened in the parish church of Bridlington, with their father described as a mariner.
A second son, John, was born in 1723, but the birth appears to have left his mother mortally ill. Elizabeth was buried in Bridlington within a few days of his baptism. The baby survived only another month and John returned to Welwick to bury him..
Now a widowed master mariner with two very young children to care for, John must have found himself in a difficult position.
Bladder of Turpentino
Almost exclusively John mastered the same ships, firstly the Owners Goodwill of Berwick, later the Corn Merchant of Burlington (Bridlington). Sometimes he was also listed as the “bondsman”, i.e. the merchant involved in the transaction.
He often took peas, oats and calves’ skins to London, but the cargo was varied. On one return from the capital we find him carrying 18 barrels of soap, two barrels of oil, five chests of earthenware, three chests of tobacco pipes, eight bags of hops, aniseed water, a cask of white lead, a box of confectionery, 120lbs of tobacco and “a bladder of Turpentino”.
During one of his trips to London in 1724, he obtained a marriage licence from the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry Eleanor Hope of Holy Island. In this document, he describes himself as a widowed mariner of “Bonnington in the County of York”. Eleanor is also described as a widow.
We are not certain as to what present day place the name of Bonnington refers, We know that John owned land and had business dealings in Weeton, in the parish of Welwick. But we also know that he was based in Bridlington - certainly between 1718 and 1723, when his children were born there. It seems feasible that a clerk mishearing "Bridlington" or "Burlington" could render it on paper as "Bonnington".
Jacobite rebellion
After John’s death, first his son Christopher and later his daughter Mary were admitted by the Weeton manorial court as they, in turn, inherited the land (Christopher died soon after his own admittance). John Brigham “of Holy Island” is also named as a party in a land deal in Weeton in 1728 and is listed in the local tax records between 1728 and 1733.
There were a number of Brighams living in the Weeton area in the 17th and 18th centuries but the ancestry of John is not yet clear.
Although John Brigham and Eleanor Hope were licensed to marry in Bamburgh, they in fact wed on Holy Island on December 15, 1724.
Eleanor had previously been married to Willam Hope, a gunner. He briefly found fame locally by being in a small party who challenged the Jacobites who had seized Holy Island castle in 1715.
William and Eleanor, born Eleanor Ord, married in 1718 and had a daughter Isabell, who died in infancy. When William died in 1722, he left his wife, the sole executrix of his will, his “freehold estate on Holy Island”.
John Brigham already had two children from his previous marriage (or marriages), Christopher and Mary. They were both under the age of 11 when John married Eleanor. The couple had two more children, Elizabeth, born in 1727 and John, born in 1729.
Yorkshire real estate
John Brigham made his last journey from Berwick on the Corn Merchant in December 1733. Six months later he was dead. He was buried on June 28, 1734 on Holy Island.
His will reads:
“In the name of God Amen. I John Brigham of Holy Island in the County Palatine of Durham Master & Mariner being sick & weak in Body but in perfect and sound Judgement & Memory Thanks be to God therefore Do make and Ordain this my last Will & Testament in manner following.
“First I bequeath my Soul to God, and my Body to the Earth to be Christianly buried at the discretion of my Executrix hereafter named: And as for my Worldly Goods I give and dispose thereof as followeth.
“Imprimis I give unto my Well beloved Wife Eleanor all my personal Estate (to) pay out of it Sixty pounds to my daughter Mary at the time of Her Marriage or as soon as (she) shall attain to the age of Twenty One years.
“Item. I give unto My Eldest Son Christopher All my Real Estate in Yorkshire at his attainment to the age of Twenty One years to him his heirs or assigns for ever, paying out of it to my other Children as follows Viz I Order him to pay unto my Daughter Mary Fifteen pounds as soon as she shall be of the age of Twenty Four years.
“Item. I Order him the said Christopher to pay unto my daughter Elizabeth Fifteen pounds as soon as she shall be of the age of Twenty One years, and also I order him to pay unto my Son John Fifteen Pounds as soon as he shall be of the age of Twenty One years.
“Item. I constitute and appoint Eleanor my Well beloved Wife my Only and Sole Executrix of this my last Will & Testament. Lastly I do hereby revoke & disannul all former Wills & Testaments by me heretofore made, Ratifying & Confirming this & None Other for my last Will and Testament.
“In Witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Twelfth day of June in the year of Our Lord God One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Four.”
Bed and bedding
John’s son Christopher died in October 1735, probably without inheriting his father’s land in Yorkshire, which he was to receive on becoming 21.
John’s daughter Mary married George Lawson at Berwick’s Holy Trinity church in November 1737. They had a son John a year later, but mother and child were both dead within 18 months.
Elizabeth, daughter of John and Eleanor, married William Taylor on Holy Island on 1748. The couple had three children before William died in 1753. After this, the family appear to have left the island.
Eleanor did not remarry after John’s death. She died in 1743, leaving all her real estate to her son John, “consisting of a freehold house on Holy Island situate on the south side of a street there called Marygate with back buildings, privilege of pasture in the Town fields of Holy Island with all other the appurtenances thereunto belonging”.
She also left him £50, a bed and bedding. She left another £50 to her daughter Elizabeth and the rest of her household furniture and “other personal estate”. Eleanor’s sister Elizabeth Ord was named as executrix of the will.
Yorkshire family
Within three weeks of his first known appearance in the port books, John wed his first wife, Elizabeth Suersby, or Sewersby, in the parish church of Owthorne, a coastal village in the East Riding of Yorkshire, around five miles north of his childhood home.
The groom and his 23-year-old bride were described as "of this parish" in the register and were married on January 9, 1717, after the publication of banns in the church, which, like the rest of the village has now been lost to the sea.
The birth of fist daughter Mary followed in 1718, and first son Christopher, in 1718. Both were christened in the parish church of Bridlington, with their father described as a mariner.
A second son, John, was born in 1723, but the birth appears to have left his mother mortally ill. Elizabeth was buried in Bridlington within a few days of his baptism. The baby survived only another month and John returned to Welwick to bury him..
Now a widowed master mariner with two very young children to care for, John must have found himself in a difficult position.
Bladder of Turpentino
Almost exclusively John mastered the same ships, firstly the Owners Goodwill of Berwick, later the Corn Merchant of Burlington (Bridlington). Sometimes he was also listed as the “bondsman”, i.e. the merchant involved in the transaction.
He often took peas, oats and calves’ skins to London, but the cargo was varied. On one return from the capital we find him carrying 18 barrels of soap, two barrels of oil, five chests of earthenware, three chests of tobacco pipes, eight bags of hops, aniseed water, a cask of white lead, a box of confectionery, 120lbs of tobacco and “a bladder of Turpentino”.
During one of his trips to London in 1724, he obtained a marriage licence from the Faculty Office of the Archbishop of Canterbury to marry Eleanor Hope of Holy Island. In this document, he describes himself as a widowed mariner of “Bonnington in the County of York”. Eleanor is also described as a widow.
We are not certain as to what present day place the name of Bonnington refers, We know that John owned land and had business dealings in Weeton, in the parish of Welwick. But we also know that he was based in Bridlington - certainly between 1718 and 1723, when his children were born there. It seems feasible that a clerk mishearing "Bridlington" or "Burlington" could render it on paper as "Bonnington".
Jacobite rebellion
After John’s death, first his son Christopher and later his daughter Mary were admitted by the Weeton manorial court as they, in turn, inherited the land (Christopher died soon after his own admittance). John Brigham “of Holy Island” is also named as a party in a land deal in Weeton in 1728 and is listed in the local tax records between 1728 and 1733.
There were a number of Brighams living in the Weeton area in the 17th and 18th centuries but the ancestry of John is not yet clear.
Although John Brigham and Eleanor Hope were licensed to marry in Bamburgh, they in fact wed on Holy Island on December 15, 1724.
Eleanor had previously been married to Willam Hope, a gunner. He briefly found fame locally by being in a small party who challenged the Jacobites who had seized Holy Island castle in 1715.
William and Eleanor, born Eleanor Ord, married in 1718 and had a daughter Isabell, who died in infancy. When William died in 1722, he left his wife, the sole executrix of his will, his “freehold estate on Holy Island”.
John Brigham already had two children from his previous marriage (or marriages), Christopher and Mary. They were both under the age of 11 when John married Eleanor. The couple had two more children, Elizabeth, born in 1727 and John, born in 1729.
Yorkshire real estate
John Brigham made his last journey from Berwick on the Corn Merchant in December 1733. Six months later he was dead. He was buried on June 28, 1734 on Holy Island.
His will reads:
“In the name of God Amen. I John Brigham of Holy Island in the County Palatine of Durham Master & Mariner being sick & weak in Body but in perfect and sound Judgement & Memory Thanks be to God therefore Do make and Ordain this my last Will & Testament in manner following.
“First I bequeath my Soul to God, and my Body to the Earth to be Christianly buried at the discretion of my Executrix hereafter named: And as for my Worldly Goods I give and dispose thereof as followeth.
“Imprimis I give unto my Well beloved Wife Eleanor all my personal Estate (to) pay out of it Sixty pounds to my daughter Mary at the time of Her Marriage or as soon as (she) shall attain to the age of Twenty One years.
“Item. I give unto My Eldest Son Christopher All my Real Estate in Yorkshire at his attainment to the age of Twenty One years to him his heirs or assigns for ever, paying out of it to my other Children as follows Viz I Order him to pay unto my Daughter Mary Fifteen pounds as soon as she shall be of the age of Twenty Four years.
“Item. I Order him the said Christopher to pay unto my daughter Elizabeth Fifteen pounds as soon as she shall be of the age of Twenty One years, and also I order him to pay unto my Son John Fifteen Pounds as soon as he shall be of the age of Twenty One years.
“Item. I constitute and appoint Eleanor my Well beloved Wife my Only and Sole Executrix of this my last Will & Testament. Lastly I do hereby revoke & disannul all former Wills & Testaments by me heretofore made, Ratifying & Confirming this & None Other for my last Will and Testament.
“In Witness thereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this Twelfth day of June in the year of Our Lord God One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Four.”
Bed and bedding
John’s son Christopher died in October 1735, probably without inheriting his father’s land in Yorkshire, which he was to receive on becoming 21.
John’s daughter Mary married George Lawson at Berwick’s Holy Trinity church in November 1737. They had a son John a year later, but mother and child were both dead within 18 months.
Elizabeth, daughter of John and Eleanor, married William Taylor on Holy Island on 1748. The couple had three children before William died in 1753. After this, the family appear to have left the island.
Eleanor did not remarry after John’s death. She died in 1743, leaving all her real estate to her son John, “consisting of a freehold house on Holy Island situate on the south side of a street there called Marygate with back buildings, privilege of pasture in the Town fields of Holy Island with all other the appurtenances thereunto belonging”.
She also left him £50, a bed and bedding. She left another £50 to her daughter Elizabeth and the rest of her household furniture and “other personal estate”. Eleanor’s sister Elizabeth Ord was named as executrix of the will.
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