Routledge family of Bewcastle Cumberland

My mother, when she was talking about family, would often refer to our Routledge family and most of what I know about this family (other than my researching of the last few years) has come down directly from her. Her father was John Routledge Pincombe and thus named for his mother's six uncles/ five of whom she knew as a child. Although the emigrant Thomas Routledge was still alive when she was a child that particular memory was not passed down to my mother (her grandmother would have been only five years old when Thomas died). Although Thomas Routledge and Elizabeth Routledge had six sons only one of them married. The passing down of the Routledge name did not continue into the next generation of my line.

My Routledge family of Bewcastle Cumberland appears to be readily traced backwards due to them being known as the "Oakshaw" Routledge family. This family tended to marry 1st, 2nd, 3rd cousins in order to keep all of the property that they had accumulated by the 1700s in their hands. They were very efficient at doing so in actual fact. In my Routledge line I have at least six lines and in all likelihood quite a few more before they eventually descend back to a likely singleton ancestor for these lines back in the 1400s.

My cousin Thomas Routledge, thus far cousin several times over on both the Routledge and Tweddle lines) has done an enormous research on the Routledge lines and his webpage for anyone interested is:

http://www.everymansprey.com/

To him I have left the accumulation of information prior to the early 1700s.

My great grandmother Grace Pincombe (née Gray)'s mother was Elizabeth Mary Ann Routledge. Her older sisters Margaret and Grace received only one forename but Elizabeth was the eighth child with four brothers before her so perhaps the parents decided to give to her the remainder of the names which they wished to use for their daughters. This family appears to have obeyed the naming custom often found in Scotland.

Elizabeth Mary Ann Routledge was baptized 14 Feb 1804 at the Scotch Church in Bewcastle and she was born at Parkhead, the family farm. She emigrated to Canada with her parents in the summer of 1818 likely as the family were still on their property at the beginning of 1818. Her older sister Grace and her husband Robert Kennedy had their last child born in Bewcastle baptized 28 Jan 1818 at the Scotch Church. This family is known to have come with them to Canada. We know they are in London Township by the fall of 1818 as Thomas Routledge is named Poundkeeper in the Minutes of the London Township meeting in January 1819.

Mary Ann (as she was known) was married to Robert Gray around 1835 at St Paul's Church (now St Paul's Cathedral) London, Ontario. She was buried 28 Aug 1875 at St John the Divine in Arva. This is close to where they farmed.

The parents of Mary Ann were Thomas Routledge and Elizabeth Routledge who were married 23 Jun 1785 at Bewcastle Cumberland. Family lore from my mother said there were three first cousin marriages in the Routledge family through the generations back. However, Thomas and Elizabeth were not first cousins although their fathers were both of Oakshaw (Henry and George); they do not appear to be brothers. It is more likely that they were third cousins and I have not yet found that connection. Again, it is before 1700 and I have left that research, for the moment, to my cousin Thomas. I need to go to the Carlisle Record Office to sort these families out back into the 1600s.

Thomas and Elizabeth had a large family - seven sons and three daughters. One son (a twin) died shortly after birth (buried the same day).

Margaret baptized 12 Jul 1786 at Bewcastle and married to Thomas Carling Oct 1820 in London Township, Middlesex County, Upper Canada. Now that I have learned about the Upper Canada Society, I shall join it for my Routledge ancestors and my Gray ancestor since he too arrived in Canada before 1841. Sir John Carling was one of their sons.

Henry baptized 24 Oct 1787 at Bewcastle; he never married.

Grace baptized 17 Nov 1789 at Bewcastle and married to George Arthur Kennedy 14 Jun 1810 at Bewcastle.

George baptized 30 May 1792 at Bewcastle and married to Jane Summer in 1821 in London Township, Middlesex County, Upper Canada.

William baptized 20 Mar 1795 at Bewcastle; he never married.

Thomas baptized 31 Jan 1798 at Bewcastle; he never married.

Allen (twin to Elizabeth Mary Ann and baptism missing)

Elizabeth Mary Ann (above)

Joseph baptized 4 Jan 1809 at Bewcastle; he never married

John baptized 23 Oct 1808 at Bewcastle; buried 23 Oct 1808 at Bewcastle

The naming convention generally followed in Scotland is as follows:

The 1st son named after the father's father. (1st son Henry named after Thomas' father)

The 2nd son named after the mother's father. (2nd son George named after Elizabeth's father)

The 3rd son named after the father or uncle. (3rd son William named after Thomas' brother)

The 1st daughter named after the mother's mother. (1st daughter named after Thomas' mother)

The 2nd daughter named after the father's mother. (2nd daughter named after Elizabeth's mother)

The 3rd daughter named after the mother or an aunt. (3rd daughter named after Elizabeth's grandmother Mary perhaps; after herself perhaps with the name Elizabeth)

That left me with a number of names to work with looking at the family as they tended to always name children after family members.

Thomas was the name of both Thomas and Elizabeth's grandfather. Joseph and Allen are the names of two of Elizabeth's half brothers. John is a mystery still not yet solved.

I do hope to learn more about the Routledge family when we next visit England.

The parents of Thomas Routledge (baptized 1763) were Henry Routledge and Margaret Tweddle who were themselves married 3 Oct 1759 at Lanercost.

The parents of Elizabeth Routledge were George Routledge and Grace Routledge who were themselves married  16 Jun 1763 at Bewcastle. The parents of Grace Routledge were Thomas Routledge and Mary Routledge who were married 18 Nov 1733 at Bewcastle.

This last was proven by this will abstract recorded at the Cumberland Record Office in Carlisle:

Carlisle Record Office Will of Archibald FORRESTER of Cleughside, Bewcastle [Bc] 1767, pg 63.    [I’ve included this one since it names many Routledges with places]

Grace Forrester, deceased poss. The mother of John Routledge

John Forrester, Wit

Adam Routledge s o Mary, Wid

George Routledge, of Oakshaw, Bc, father of 2 children

Grace Routledge, daughter of [d o ] Mary Routledge, Wid

Henry Routledge, s o Mary R*

Henry Routledge of Borderrigg, dec., father of 3 children

John Routledge s o Mary R*, Wid

John Routledge, my “sister’s son, possibly s o Grace

Leondard Routledge of Oakshaw

Mary Routledge of Crossgreens or Strandsheads, Wid, mother of Grace, Mary, Adam, John & Henry

Mary Routledge, d o Mary, Wid

William Routledge of Oakshaw, deceased, father of William R*

William Routledge of Oakshaw s o late William Routledge

Francis Armstrong, Wit

Catherine Dowglass of Ash w o Thomas Douglas

Thomas Dowglass [sic Douglas] of Ash husband of Catherine

Catherine Henderson d o Robert & Helenor Henderson

Helenor Henderson wife of Robert and mother of Catherine

Robert Henderson husband of Helenor & father of Catherine

Alexander Kennedie  of Cleughside, Friend husband of Sibella

Catherine Kennedie of Cleughside, d o Alexander

Elizabeth Kennedie of Cleughside

John Kennedie of Cleughside s o Alexander

Sibella Kennedie of Cleughside w o Alexander

William Kennedie of Cleughside s o Alexander

This will thus links George back to Oakshaw, Henry already being linked back to Oakshaw by other documents which I shall add later. I found the Kennedy family being mentioned rather interesting in that Grace Routledge (daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth) married a Kennedy.

Next session I will start to transcribe the Routledge wills that I have at hand - a project that has been hanging for several years and would add greatly to our Routledge research group which consists of a number of Routledge descendants.