MITCHELSON OR MIDGLEY ?

There is credible evidence that our original family name was Mitchelson and that this was corrupted to Midgley between 1798-1808.

One ancestor appears to have been known by both names before Midgley became entrenched. Such a change in surname was not unusual. Until the nineteenth century and universal education there were no rules about the correct way to spell names or words. In 1800 less than half the population could write their own names or check the spelling.  A local dialect or a speech impediment would cause problems to a vicar or clerk who would try to spell a name as he heard it pronounced.  Moreover, a ‘clerk’ may have been deaf, semi-literate or have written with a trembling hand!  Another person copying out the name may have mis-spelt what he too misread. (Very occasionally people have misheard my name as 'Mitchell').

This Midgley line can be traced back to 1796-8, but no further The earliest reference to an ancestor named Midgley appears to be the burial of Anne Midgeley, wife of Christopher, at Huttons Ambo on December 11, 1796. Nearly two years later there was this Bishop's Transcript entry for Christopher Midgeley’s second marriage:

'Christopher Midgeley of the parish of Huttons Ambo and Mary Layton of the parish of Acklam married by licence October 8 1798'. 

However, to be married  by licence, a marriage bond and allegation had to be drawn up and in this case the groom of Mary Layton of Acklam was named as a Christopher Mitchelson of Huttons Ambo. [The allegation stated that there were no legal impediments to the marriage, and the bond was designed to ensure that the information was correct by imposing a large financial penalty on the parties if an impediment was later found]. These documents described Christopher Mitchelson as a ‘widower’. The groom and John Wilson, a miller from New Malton, were the bondsmen. Christopher Mitchelson placed his mark on the documents on the 6 August 1798, two days before the wedding.

The Huttons Ambo parish register does nothing to contradict the idea that Mitchelson was the original family name, to be later supplanted by Midgeley.   In the second half of the eighteenth century there were no other Midgley baptismal, wedding or burial entries, but there were references to the wedding of John Mitchelson and Margaret Frear (8 January 1757), and the  baptism of Christopher Mitchelson, son of John (7 February 1758). After the 1798 wedding, there were entries for Elizabeth Midgelay (baptised 23 March 1800 & buried 3 May 1802),  and Thomas Midgeley (baptised 26 December 1802 & buried 16 May 1804), as well as John Mitchison (baptised November 5, 1798) and Henry Mictchelson (baptised 7April 1805). Christopher (a farmer) was the parent named in each case.

Further evidence to support the view that the name of Mary Layton’s spouse was written as Mitchelson and Midgeley appears in the land tax assessment forms for Acklam. Mary Layton was the daughter of Thomas Layton, who owned and rented land in Acklam. In 1805 he rented land from Robert Berry assessed at 4s. 2d., as well as occupying his own land. Below are the entries for 1806 (1807 was unchanged) and 1808 which indicate that Christopher and Mary moved to her home village by 1806:  

The fact that the only change on the form is the surname Midgeley to Michelson seems to lend more weight to the idea that both surnames refer to the same person.

Midgley was firmly established as the family name before the introduction of civil registration in 1837. There are no references to Mitchelson in the Acklam parish register, but several of Christopher’s children were baptised with various spellings of the modern name (see the example on page 10). It seems probable that the John Midgeley (son of Christopher) buried at Acklam on August 23, 1816 aged 17, was the John Mitchison baptised in November 1798 at Huttons Ambo. Christopher was buried as a Midgeley on 3 March 1825 and his widow was named as Mary Midgley on her death certificate.

Click here for a certified copy of Mary Midgley’s death certificate