Kathleen Mary Melson and her Ancestry
athleen, known for most of her life as ‘Kay’, is descended from the Melson, Raithby and Richardson families on her paternal side and from the Allerton, Cater and Smith families on her maternal side. We will take each of these branches in turn and outline what we know of them.
The Melson Branch
11018AM: John MELSON (b.1744) Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
*
12056BM: Joshua MELSON (b.?) Great-Great-Grandfather
*
13021AM: Joshua MELSON (b.1831) Great-Grandfather
*
14025AM: Tom Raithby MELSON (b.1863) Grandfather
*
15036AM: Joseph MELSON (b.1899) Father
*
16021AF: Kathleen Mary MELSON (b.1926)
John Melson (11018AM), the earliest member of the Melson family that we can trace, was born in England around 1744 and married Susanna Parker at the church of St. Mary & Peter, Mabelthorpe, Lincolnshire, UK on 22 May 1764. We know that Susanna was born at Mabelthorpe, quite possibly in 1744, and that she bore her husband six children. IGI records show a John Melson baptised 10 November 1744 with parents William and Ruth Melson, but we cannot be sure that this John is the John (11018AM) listed above.
John and Susanna’s Family
MELSON DESCENDANCY CHART 1
11018AM--- John MELSON (b.1744 ) NOTE: 11018AF sp-Susanna PARKER (b.1744 ) b. = year of birth
*
1/)12059AF--- Isabella MELSON
2/)12060AF--- Ruth MELSON
3/)12061AM--- Joshua MELSON
* 4/)12056AM--- Joshua MELSON
d. = year of death(b.1771 ) (b.1775 ) (b.1777 )
(b.1780 d.1867) Great-Great-Grandfather
** 12056AF sp1-Harriet UNKNOWN *
- *
- 1/)13105AF--- Mary MELSON (b.1823 )
- *
- 2.)13106AF--- Harriet MELSON (b.1825 ) *
- *
- 12056BF sp2-Maria CARDEN (b.1797 ) **
- *
- 1/)13107AF--- Ruth MELSON (b.1827 )
** 13107AM sp-Thomas WILSON (b.1823 ) **
- *
- 2/)13097AM--- John MELSON (b.1829 ) **
- *
- 3/)13021AM--- Joshua MELSON (b.1831 ) Great-Grandfather
** 13021AF sp-Mary RAITHBY (b.1837 ) * * * +))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))), * * .)))1 TO MELSON CHART 2 p.05 & 18 *
* * .)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))-
- *
- 4/)13098AF--- Eliza MELSON (b.1833 )
- *
- 5/)13099AM--- Joseph MELSON (b.1835 )
- *
- 6.)13100AF--- Frances White MELSON (b.1837 )
* 5/)12062AM--- Joseph MELSON (b.1783 ) 6.)12063AF--- Martha MELSON (b.1790 )
The information about John’s six children came from the IGI which does not record infant deaths and not all births might have been recorded. Sometimes a child is not baptised in the year of birth. Any of these might account for the seven year gap between marriage and the first child. Note also the gap between the 5th and 6th child.
THE MELSON ANCESTRY 2
ne of the frustrating things about researching one’s ancestors is that the further one goes back in time, the less one can usually discovered about them. We might know names, dates and places of birth but often can discover little else. And so it is with both the early members of the Melson family and of the Raithby family.
Although John Melson and his wife Susanna had six children we know little about any of them. All six children were born at Authorpe in Lincolnshire. Their Christening date in Authorpe has been recorded:
| Christening Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 12059AF | Isabella Melson | 27 October | 1771 |
| 12060AF | Ruth Melson | 30 April | 1775 |
| 12061AM | Joshua Melson | 29 June | 1777 |
| 12056AM | Joshua Melson | 6 August | 1780 2nd Great Grandfather |
| 12062AM | Joseph Melson | 9 March | 1783 |
| 12063AF | Martha Melson | 24 January | 1790 |
When two children are given the same name, such as Joshua, it is likely that the first died in infancy so that the name was bestowed again on the next son born. It is from the second Joshua Melson that our Melson line is descended. Joshua married twice but we know nothing of the marriage or possible descendants of the other children.
uthorpe is a small village south east of Louth. It is likely that John Melson was engaged in agricultural pursuits. Lincolnshire, the county in eastern England in which he lived, extends along the North Sea coast from the Humber Estuary to The Wash. The county comprises seven districts: East Lindsey, North Kesteven, South Kesteven, West Lindsey, South Holland, the borough of Boston, and the city of Lincoln.
Lincolnshire contains two prominent upland areas, which cross it from north to south. The more westerly, and narrower, is Lincolnshire Edge, a limestone escarpment rising abruptly on its western side and on which the city of Lincoln is situated. Separated from the Edge by a clay lowland are the Lincolnshire Wolds, an area of rolling chalk hills. Between the Wolds and the coast lies an area known as the Lincoln Marsh; this merges at its southern end into the low-lying area of the Fens, which surrounds The Wash and which has been the scene of drainage and reclamation efforts at least since Roman times.
The Anglo-Saxons, who followed the Romans, used the River Trent as a route for penetration from the sea and established the kingdom of Lindsey. Danish influence was also widespread; the county contains two Danish boroughs--Lincoln and Stamford--and also many villages established by the Danes. Medieval Lincolnshire became prosperous by its farming, as is attested by a number of large churches, abbeys, and monasteries.
With the coming of the Industrial Revolution, however, there was a shift of population to cities and coalfields and the county in the 19th century began to find itself outside the main lines of circulation across England. Partly isolated by the deep indentations of the Humber and The Wash at its northern and southern boundaries, the county had to rely exclusively on its agriculture and the processing industries that it brought into being. Grain, sugar beet, and vegetable crops are the main farm products of the county today.
The Industrial revolution would have affected the children and grandchildren of John Melson. Starting in Britain, from 1760 to 1830 it was largely confined to Britain. It brought about many technological changes such as: the use of new basic materials, chiefly iron and steel; the use of new energy sources, including both fuels and motive power, such as coal, the steam engine and later, electricity, petroleum, and the internal-combustion engine; the invention of new machines, such as the spinning jenny and the power loom that permitted increased production with a smaller expenditure of human
THE EARLY MELSONS 3
energy; a new organization of work known as the factory system, which entailed increased division of labour and specialization of function; important developments in transportation and communication, including the steam locomotive, steamship and, later, the automobile, airplane, telegraph, and radio; and the increased application of science to industry.
There were also many non-industrial changes such as: agricultural improvements that made possible the provision of food for a larger nonagricultural population; economic changes that resulted in a wider distribution of wealth, the decline of land as a source of wealth in the face of rising industrial production, and increased international trade; political changes reflecting the shift in economic power, as well as new state policies corresponding to the needs of an industrialized society.
With this came sweeping social changes, including the growth of cities, the development of working-class movements, and the emergence of new patterns of authority, and cultural transformations of a broad order. The worker acquired new and distinctive skills, and his relation to his task shifted; instead of being a craftsman working with hand tools, he became a machine operator, subject to factory discipline. Finally, there was a psychological change: man's confidence in his ability to use resources and to master nature was heightened.
Joshua Melson’s Family
oshua Melson (12056M) was the fourth child of John and Susanna and our Great-Great Grandfather. Born at Authorpe in 1780, he lived to the age of 87 and died at Alford in Lincolnshire on 13 December 1867. The name on his coffin plate was given as ‘Millson’. Alford is about 8 km south of Authorpe and 15 km from the coast. Towards the end of his life he was described as a farmer and then as a ‘dealer in oils’, but during his life society was being transformed, as noted in the following table:
YEAR Joshua’s age Event
| 1789 | 9 | Storming of the Bastille |
|---|---|---|
| 1799 | 19 | Napoleon becomes first consul |
| 1805 | 25 | Battle of Trafalgar |
| 1807 | 27 | Abolition of the slave trade |
| 1811 | 31 | The Luddites break factory machinery |
| 1815 | 35 | First gas lights in London |
| 1819 | 39 | First factory act in Britain |
| 1825 | 45 | First railway: Stockton to Darlington |
| 1837 | 57 | Queen Victoria crowned. Early photography. |
| 1838 | 58 | First steamship crosses the Atlantic |
| 1840 | 60 | First postage stamps introduced. |
| 1840 | 60 | Iron stoves replace hearth cooking |
| 1856 | 76 | Steel developed. |
| 1860 | 80 | First wooden washing machine |
| 1861 | 81 | American Civil War begins |
| 1865 | 85 | Lister introduces antiseptic surgery |
As a farmer he would have observed, but not been greatly affected by these changes. He married twice, firstly to Harriet by whom he had two children all of whom were christened at Ulceby in Lincolnshire, about 4 km south-west of Alford.
| THE MELSON ANCESTRY | 4 | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Child | Born | Christened | |
| Mary | 1823 | 30 November 1825 | |
| Harriet | 1825 | 14 November 1825 | |
e do not know whether Joshua’s first wife Harriet died in childbirth but we find that he remarried on 13 November 1826, his second wife being Maria Carden who was born in 1797 at Candlesby. Joshua had a further six children.
Child Born Christened
Ruth 1827 30 September 1827, Ulceby. John ~1829 21 August 1829, Wesleyan bap., Alford. Joshua 1831 23 October 1831, Scremby. Eliza 1833 25 August 1833, Scremby. Joseph ~1835 2 August 1835, Scremby. Frances White ~1837 4 June 1837, Scremby.
Ruth married Thomas Wilson at Sheffield on 8 November 1860, the witnesses being John Melson and Frances Melson. Her husband, Thomas, was born in 1823 at Croxton, Lincolnshire but nothing else is known either of him or of Ruth.
Nor is anything known of the other children except Joshua from whom we are descended.
A typical farmer, in
the early 1800s
The Melson children grew up in a small village atmosphere and the sketch on the left of an 1810 Merry-Go-Round at a village fair, might be typical of simple amusements of ordinary folk .
But life was changing: The railway was emerging - as shown by the “North Star” above with its train of early carriages. The Liverpool to M anchester line, opened in 1830, ushered in a new era, of which the Melson family would have become increasingly aware.
THE EARLY MELSONS 5
Joshua Melson and Mary Raithby
oshua Melson (13021AM) the third child of Joshua Melson and Mary Carden was born early in 1831 at Scremby, Lincolnshire, not far from Spilsby. He was christened in Scremby on 23 October 1831. Spilsby is about 10 km south of Alford and about 15 km inland from the well-known coastal town of Skegness.
Little is known of Joshua’s early life except that he married Mary Raithby on 22 December 1859 at the age of 28 in Asterby, Lincolnshire. Asterby is a tiny village just outside Goulceby which is 20 km west of Alford and 10 km north of Horncastle. Mary had been born at Goulceby in 1837 and christened there on 23 April in that year. Witnesses to the marriage were recorded as Job Raithby and Betsey Dawson. Job was
an older brother of Mary. At the time of his marriage Joshua wa s living at Pitsmoor but by 1871, at the age of 40, he was at 31 Cliffe Street, Sheffield.
Changing time s an d increasing industrialisation, together with more efficient farming methods caused many young people to drift to the bigger cities.
Reaping Machine of 1826: Beginning mechanisation
By 1881, when he was 50, census records showed that he and Mary were living at 13 Blast Lane, Attercliffe, Sheffield, Yorkshire. In 1863 he was described as an ironmonger and in 1867 as a labourer. By 1887 his occupation was shown as a carter, green-grocer, general dealer, shop-keeper and herbalist, living at 145 Tinsley Road. At one time he was a labourer in a steel furnace in Sheffield. By 1881 he was described as a “labourer - not able to work.”
Joshua and Mary had seven children:
13021AM--- Joshua MELSON (b.1831 ) Great-Grandfather 13021AF sp-Mary RAITHBY (b.1837 )
*
1/)14152AF--- Jane MELSON (b.1860 d.1934)
2/)14025AM--- Tom Raithby MELSON (b.21.03.1863 ) Grandfather
3/)14153AM--- Joseph Raithby MELSON (b.29.05.1865 )
4/)14151AF--- Frances Raithby MELSON (b.29.05.1867 )
5/)14154AF--- Ruth MELSON (b.1873 )
6/)14155AF--- Susan MELSON (b.1874 )
7/)14156AM--- Joseph MELSON (b.1877 )
8.)14157AM--- John MELSON (b.1882 )
Before we look at this family and, in particular, the life of our grandfather Tom Raithby Melson, we will go back and look at the Raithby Ancestry.
[The story of Joshua and Mary’s family Continues on page 23. ] Bicycle of 1839
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 6
The Raithby Branch
NOTE: GGrandfather = Great-Grandfather
07007AM: Thomas Raithbie (d.1680) 7th GGrandfather
*
08023AM: Thomas Raithby 6th GGrandfather
*
09017AM: John Raithby (b.1686) 5th GGrandfather
*
10018AM: John Raithby (b.1726) 4th GGrandfather
*
11027AM: Marshall Raithby (b.1756) 3th GGrandfather
*
12257BM: Thomas Raithby (b.1792) 2rd GGrandfather
*
13021AF: Mary Raithby (b.1837) 1st GGrandmother 13021AM: Joshua Melson (b.1831) 1st GGrandfather
*
14025AM: Tom Raithby Melson (b.1863) Grandfather
*
15036AM: Joseph Melson (b.1899) Father
*
16021AF: Kathleen Mary Melson (b.1926)
e have record of the Raithby family to much further back in time than we do for the Melson family. The earliest record we have is that of
Thomas Raithbie (07007AM) whose date of birth we do not know,
but who died in 1680.
He was probably born in the early 1600s, a time well before the Industrial Revolution started changing the physical and social face of Britain. But if Industry was not yet changing the country,
it was a period of intense political strug
gle. The beginning of the 17th century
saw the death of that famous queen, Eliz
abeth I (1558-1603); In 1605 there was the
Gun-Powder Plot of Guy Fawkes to blow
up Parliament and, with it, King James I
(1603-1625). Charles I then came to the
throne probably at about the time when
Thomas Raithbie was born. Civil war
broke out in the country in 1642 and
Charles was executed in 1649.
Schoolmaster, 1631Then came the period of Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658), followed by the restoration of the crown with king Charles II (1660-1685) . Thomas Raithbie died in 1680 but probably he and his friends discussed these events and had some fear for their future.
Officer of the 5th Foot 1688 Stage wagon 1675
THE EARLY RAITHBY ANCESTORS 7
Thomas Raithbie - his Children & Grandchildren
s shown in the chart below, Thomas Raithbie had four children of whom we know next to nothing - not even their year of birth. We do know that three of them married but apart from the first child, Thomas, whose spelling of his family name changed to “Raithby”, we know no more than is shown in the chart.
RAITHBY DESCENDANCY CHART 1
07007AM--- Thomas RAITHBIE ( d.1680) 07007AF sp-Sarah UNKNOWN
*
1/)08023AM--- Thomas RAITHBY
** 08023AF sp-Mary UNKNOWN *
* 1/)09017AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1686 d.1757)
- **
- 09017AF sp-Mary WILKINSON (b.1689 ) ***
- **
- 1/)10019AM--- Thomas W RAITHBY (b.1720 )
- **
- 2/)10020AF--- Mary RAITHBY (b.1722 d.1728) ***
- **
- 3/)10018AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1726 d.1795)
*** 10018AF sp-Jane MARSHALL (b.1730 ) ****
* * * .))) TO RAITHBY CHART2 p.9 ***
** 4.)10021AM--- William RAITHBY (b.1730 ) **
* 2.)09021AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1689 ) *
2/)** 08024AF--- Mary RAITHBIE 08024AM sp-Edward MELTON *
- *
- 1/)09019AM--- Thomas MELTON
- *
- 2/)09020AF--- Sarah MELTON
- *
- 3.)09018AM--- William MELTON
* 3/)08025AF--- Christian RAITHBIE
** 08025AM sp-Adrian BURCH
4.)08026AF-- Elizabeth RAITHBIE
Coach and Four, 1675
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 8
Thomas & Mary Raithby - Their Children and Grandchildren
homas (08023AM) was probably born in the mid-1600s around the time, or within a few years of the execution of King Charles I. He married Mary and raised two children, both of whom were born at Hallington, Lincolnshire, about 4 km south-west of Louth, and were christened there. Nothing else is known of Thomas and Mary.
| Christening Date | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09017AM | John Raithby | 6 March | 1686 | 5th GGrandfather |
| 09021AM | Thomas Raithby | 10 June | 1689 | |
We do not know the year in which their first child, John, married Mary Wilkinson but the first of John’s four children was born in 1720 when he was 34 years of age and his wife, 31. Mary had been born at Withcall, a little village within 2 km of Hallington. She was christened there on 21 April 1689. We do not know John’s occupation, but it likely to have been in the agricultural area, as his life was spent in small villages in farming districts. He died at Swaby, about 7 km west of Alford, on 13 May 1757 at the age of 71.
John and Mary’s children are listed below:
| Christening place & Date | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10019AM | Thomas Raithby | Withcall | 14 March | 1720 | ||
| 10020AF | Mary Raithby | Swaby | 17 March | 1722 | ||
| 10018AM | John Raithby | Swaby | 7 October | 1726 | 4th GGrandfather | |
| 10021AM | William Raithby | Swaby | 11 December 1730 | |||
Soldier, 1742
THE EARLY RAITHBY ANCESTORS 9
John Raithby and Jane Marshall and their children
ohn Raithby (10018A M) married Jane Marshall at Belleau, about 5 km north-west of Alford, on 8 May 1750. Nothing else is known of John or of Jane except that they had eight children, as shown in the chart below, and that he died a pauper at Swaby on 5 March 1795.
RAITHBY DESCENDANCY CHART 2
th
10018AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1726 d.1795) GGrandfather 10018AF sp-Jane MARSHALL (b.1730 )
* 1/)11028AF--- Mary RAITHBY (b.1751 ) 2/)11029AF--- Jane RAITHBY (b.1753 )
* 3/)11030AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1754 )
- *
- 11030AF sp-Ann GAINSBOROUGH (b. d.1846) **
- *
- .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 3 p.10 *
4/)11031AM--- William RAITHBY (b.1756 ) *
th
5/)11027AM--- Marshall RAITHBY (b.1758 d.1847) GGrandfather
- *
- 11027AF sp1-Ann SIBRIT (b. d.1802) **
- *
- 1/)12068AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1789 ) **
rd
- *
- 2.)12057AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1792 d.1877) GGrandfather
- *
- 12057AF sp-Susanna SPENCER (b.1788 d.1814) **
- *
- .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 4 p.14 * *
** 11027BF sp2-Mary BROMFIELD *
* 1.)12069AF--- Jane RAITHBY (b.1806 d.1807) * *
6/)Q11032AF--- Elizabeth RAITHBY (b.1759 d.1760) 7/)Q11033AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1761 d.1763) 8.)Q11026AF--- Elizabeth RAITHBY (b.1772 )
All eight children were christened at Swaby:
| Christening date | Death Date | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11028AF | Mary Raithby | 17 February | 1751 | |
| 11029AF | Jane Raithby | 21 January | 1753 | |
| 11030AM | Thomas Raithby | 25 December | 1754 | |
| 11031AM | William Raithby | 8 November | 1756 | |
| 11027AM | Marshall Raithby | 1758 | ||
| 11032AF | Elizabeth Raithby | 4 February | 1759 | d. 24 January 1760 |
| 11033AM | John Raithby | 17 March | 1761 | d. 11 June 1763 |
| 11026AF | Elizabeth | 4 October | 1772 | |
The third child, Thomas, married and had four children. Since these are not on our direct descendancy line, we present only a simple chart of his descendants. Our line is descended from the fifth child, Marshall.
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 10
Descendants of Thomas Raithby (11030AM)
(This branch of the Raithby family is NOT on our direct line of descendancy)
Thomas Raithby married Ann Gainsborough and had four children of whom we know little:
RAITHBY DESCENDANCY CHART 3
11030AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1754 ) 11030AF sp-Ann GAINSBOROUGH
*
1/)12064AF--- Sarah RAITHBY (b.1797 )
- *
- 12064AM sp-Unknown UNKNOWN **
- *
- 1.)13108AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1817 )
- *
- 13108AF sp-Maria JANNEY (b.1826 d.1854) **
- *
- 1/)14159AM--- George RAITHBY (b.1848 d.1926)
- **
- 14159AF sp-Essington PAUL * **
- **
- 1.)15163AM--- Charlie RAITHBY (b.1874 d.1907) **
* 2/)14160AF--- Eliza RAITHBY (b.1850 )
- **
- 14160AM sp-Elijah SCARGILL * **
- **
- 1/)15164AM--- Abner SCARGILL
- **
- 2/)15165AM--- Ernest SCARGILL
- **
- 3/)15166AM--- Jesse SCARGILL
- **
- 4/)15167AF--- Hannah SCARGILL
- **
- 5/)15168AF--- Marian SCARGILL
- **
- 6/)15169AF--- Emily SCARGILL
- **
- 7.)15170AM--- Fred SCARGILL **
* 3/)14161AM--- Charles RAITHBY (b.1852 d.1934)
- **
- 14161AF sp-Ellen Willey NEEDHAM (b.1859 d.1928) * **
- **
- 1/)15171AF--- Bertha RAITHBY
- **
- 2/)15172AF--- Nellie RAITHBY (b.1881 ) * **
- **
- 3/)15173AM--- Thomas Willey RAITHBY(b.1882 d.1944)
* ** 15173AF sp-Ada HALL (b.1887 d.1943) * **
- **
- 4/)15175AM--- Frank RAITHBY (b.1884 )
- **
- 5.)15176AM--- Ernest RAITHBY (b.1887 d.1960) **
* 4.)14162AM--- Mark RAITHBY (b.1854 d.1856)
* 2/)12065AF--- Mary RAITHBY (b.1798 ) 3/)12066AF--- Frances RAITHBY (b.1801 ) 4.)12067AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1804 d.1841)
All four children were born and christened at Grimoldby near Louth:
Sarah (12064AF) Christened on 23 July 1797. She had a base-born son, Thomas, in 1817 at Kirkby-on-Bain, Lincolnshire. Thomas married and had four children.
Mary (12065AF) was christened on 18 December 1798.
Frances (12066AF) was christened on 1 February 1801
Thomas (12067AM) was christened on 25 January 1804. He died at Grimoldby on 19 January 1841
THE EARLY RAITHBY ANCESTORS 11
Marshall Raithby and his family
(This branch of the Raithby family IS on our direct line of descendancy)
arshall Raithby (11027AM), the fifth child of John Raithby and Jane Marshall, was born in 1758 and married twice. We are descended from the first marriage which was to Ann Sibrit who bore him two children: John in 1789 and Thomas in 1792. Both
| were born and christened in Great Carlton. | We reproduce below part of Chart 2 on | |
|---|---|---|
| page 9: | ||
| 10018AM--- John RAITHBY 10018AF sp-Jane MARSHALL | (b.1726 d.1795) (b.1730 ) | 4th GGrandfather |
*
th
5/)11027AM--- Marshall RAITHBY (b.1758 d.1847) GGrandfather 11027AF sp1-Ann SIBRIT (b. d.1802)
* 1/)12068AM--- John RAITHBY (b.1789 ) *
rd
2.)12057AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1792 d.1877) GGrandfather 12057AF sp-Susanna SPENCER (b.1788 d.1814)
* .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 4 p.12
11027BF sp2-Mary BROMFIELD
* 1.)12069AF--- Jane RAITHBY (b.1806 d.1807)
Ann Sibrit died at Roston, Staffordshire on 25 February 1802. Three years later Marshall married Mary Bromfield on 15 April 1805 at Great Carlton. They had a daughter, Jane, born at Great Carlton on 1 September 1806, christened on 17 September 1807 and died on 20 September 1807 at Great Carlton. We know nothing of the livelihood of Marshall; he lived to the age of 89 and died at Goulceby on 17 November 1847.
Butcher’s shop in 1790
During Marshall’s long life the Industrial Revolution was slowly having its impact on society. His great-great grandsons Edward and Joseph Melson, both of whom became health inspectors, would have been horrified at the insanitary conditions of the butch-er’s shop depicted above.
We devote the next two pages to some images of change during this period.
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 12
Spinning at home, 1700s
Cottage industries, such as spinning at home still persisted but industry was developing rapidly and the steam engine was put to many uses - particularly to revolutionise transport.
THE CHANGING LIFESTYLE: INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION 13
It was not long before, in large cities like Edinburgh and London, the steam omnibus made its appearance.
“The Great Eastern”, launched in 1858, combining steam and sail, soon gave way to steam only.
Even the modern bath of 1855 with its overhead shower, shown at the bottom, right, brought creature comforts and convenience to the
domestic scene.
US Mail Steamship Humboldt 1850
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 14
Thomas Raithby and his Descendants
Marshall Raithby’s second son Thomas (12057A M), our Great-Great-Great Grandfather, married twice - and had 11 children by the second marriage.
RAITHBY DESCENDANCY CHART 4
12057AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1792 d.1877)
12057AF sp1-Susanna SPENCER (b.1788 d.1817) * 1.)13109AF--- Sarah/Susan RAITHBY (b.1816 ) 13109AF sp-Unknown UNKNOWN
* 1/)14163AF--- Susanna RAITHBY (b.1842 )
- *
- 14163AM sp-Samuel LEAVY **
- *
- 1.)15177AF--- Sarah Ann LEAVY (b.1869 ) * 2/)14164AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1846 ) *
3.)14165AM--- Peter RAITHBY (b.1861 d.1937) 14165AF sp-Ellen UNKNOWN ( d.1927)
* 1.)15178AM--- David RAITHBY (b.1890 d.1957) 15178AF sp-Unknown BUXTON
* 1.)16158AM---Peter RAITHBY (b.1920 ) 16158AF sp-Rose UNKNOWN
*
1/)17205AM---Christopher RAITHBY(b.1948 )
2.)17206AM---Barry RAITHBY (b.1952 )
12057BF sp2-Susan TAYLOR (b.1799 d.1879)
* 1/)13110AM--- William RAITHBY (b.1819 ) * 2/)13111AF--- Jane RAITHBY (b.1821 )
- *
- 13111AM sp-William BARELL **
- *
- 1.)14185AF--- Eliza BARELL (b.1849 ) * 3/)13112AM--- Marshall Valentine RAITHBY (b.1824 d.1824)
* 4/)13113AM--- Moses RAITHBY (b.1825 )
- *
- 13113AF sp-Harriet WRIGHT (b.1822 d.1855) **
- *
- .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 5 p.16
* 5/)13101AM--- Aaron RAITHBY (b.1827 d.1912)
- *
- 13101AF sp-Ann HALL (b.1828 ) **
- *
- .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 6 p.17 * 6/)13102AM--- Job Joab RAITHBY (b.1829 d.1895)
* 7/)13103AF--- Susan RAITHBY (b.1831 d.1854)
- *
- 13103AM sp-Unknown UNKNOWN-1998 **
- *
- 1.)14170AF--- Ann Bradley RAITHBY (b.1849 d.1849) * 8/)13114AF--- Mary RAITHBY (b.1833 d.1835)
* 9/)13104AM--- Marshall RAITHBY (b.1835 d.1912)
- *
- 13104AF sp-Ann JACKSON (b.1834 d.1877) **
- *
- .))) TO RAITHBY CHART 7 p.17
* 10/)13021AF--- Mary RAITHBY (b.1837 )
- *
- 13021AM sp-Joshua MELSON (b.1831 ) **
- *
- .))) TO MELSON CHART 2 p.5 & 18
* 11.)13115AM--- Thomas RAITHBY (b.1839 d.1839)
RAITHBY AND MELSON: OUR DIRECT DESCENDANCY LINE 15
homas Raithby (12057AM), who became an agricultural labourer, was christened at Great Carlton on 17 January 1793. When he was about 24 he married Susanna Spencer at Asterby on 16 May 1816, possibly because he had to, as their child Sarah (or Susan) was born soon after on 1 September 1816. Susanna had been born in 1788 but died at the age of 29 at Goulceby on 8 June 1817.
The child Sarah (13109AF) survived to grow up and have three children all of whom were recorded as “base-born” - the term used in those days for an illegitimate child. Little is known of these three children and their descendants other than what is stated in the chart on page 14.
t did not take long for Thomas to remarry, this time it was a long and successful marriage to Susan Taylor. Susan had been born in 1799 at Withcall and married Thomas on 8 October 1818 at Goulceby when she was 19. They had eleven children - as shown in the chart on the previous page. Their first child, William, born late in 1819, was clearly legitimate, being christened at Withcall on 12 November 1819.
Our own family is descended from Mary Raithby (13021AF), the tenth child, born in 1837. She married Joshua Melson, which takes us back to the chart on page 5 and, in more detail, on page 18.
Before we return to study Joshua and Mary M elson and their descendants, we will complete the picture of the Raithby family by presenting the descendancy charts for Moses (4th child), Aaron (5th child) and Marshall (9th child).
McCormick’s first Reaping Machine (1834)
THE RAITHBY ANCESTRY 16
RAITHBY DESCENDANCY CHART 5
(Moses Raithby is NOT on our direct line of descent.)
13113AM--- Moses RAITHBY (b.1825 ) 13113AF sp1-Harriet WRIGHT (b.1822 d.1855)
* 1.)14171AM--- Job RAITHBY (b.1852 d.1932) 14171AF sp-MaryAnn BLADES
* 1/)15182AM--- Moses H. RAITHBY (b.1880 d.1916) 2/)15183AM--- John Robert RAITHBY (b.1882 d.1966)
* 3/)15184AM--- Arthur RAITHBY (b.1883 d.1933)
- *
- 15184AF sp-Lily WOULD (b.1885 d.1960) **
- *
- 1/)16163AM---James Wilfred RAITHBY (b.1915 )
- **
- 16163AF sp-Barbara SHARMAN ***
- **
- 1/)17207AM---John A. RAITHBY (b.1947 )
- ***
- 17207AF sp-Christine UNKNOWN ****
- ***
- 1/)18162AM---Kevin RAITHBY
- ***
- 2.)18163AF---Sabina RAITHBY ***
** 2.)17208AM---Paul RAITHBY (b.1951 ) **
* 2.)16164AF---Susan RAITHBY (b.1916 )
* 4/)15185AM-- Tom E. RAITHBY (b.1885 d.1950) 5/)15186AM--- Charles RAITHBY (b.1887 d.1967)
* 6.)15187AF--- Mary A. RAITHBY (b.1889 ) 15187AM sp-Ernest Fred MOORE
13113BF sp2-Jane MUNDY (b.1835 d.1907)
* 1/)14172AM--- Tom RAITHBY (b.1859 d.1928)
- *
- 14172AF sp-MaryAnn GREEN **
- *
- 1/)15188AM--- John Thomas RAITHBY (b.1881 )
- *
- 2/)15189AM--- Edward Green RAITHBY (b.1883 d.1963) **
- *
- 3/)15190AF--- Susan Green RAITHBY (b.1887 )
- **
- 15190AM sp1-Unknown RUSHBY
- **
- 15190BM sp2-George GRANT **
- *
- 4/)15191AM--- James William RAITHBY (b.1891 d. WWI)
- *
- 5.)15192AF--- Charlotte RAITHBY (b.1894 )
* 2/)14173AM--- Edward RAITHBY (b.1860 d.1911) 3/)14174AF--- Susan RAITHBY (b.1862 d.1879) 4/)14175AF--- Sarah Jane RAITHBY (b.1864 ) 5/)14176AF--- Fanny RAITHBY (b.1867 d.1867) 6.)14177AF--- Eliza RAITHBY (b.1874 )