the history of the kelsall family of buckley, flintshire · 2019-03-16 · the history of the...

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©Peter Kelsall, 2019

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The History of the Kelsall Family of Buckley, Flintshire

By

Peter Kelsall

Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. 4

Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5

Fourteen Generations .......................................................................................................... 6

Family Recollections .......................................................................................................... 9

Family History in Buckley ................................................................................................ 11

Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks ....................................................................................... 11

Neston Connection ........................................................................................................ 12

Robert Kelsall and Mary Jones ......................................................................................... 18

Joseph Kelsall and Esther Thornton ................................................................................. 24

....................................................................................................................................... 26

Joseph Kelsall and Mary Fennah ...................................................................................... 29

Joseph Kelsall and Hannah Beckett .................................................................................. 35

Charles Kelsall and Margaret Evans ................................................................................. 38

Buckley Survey and Census Records ............................................................................... 40

1811 Hawarden Parish Survey ...................................................................................... 40

1815 Hawarden Survey ................................................................................................. 40

1815 Hawarden Survey of Children ............................................................................. 40

1821 Hawarden Survey ................................................................................................. 40

1825 Hawarden Survey ................................................................................................. 40

1841 Census Records .................................................................................................... 41



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1840 and 1841 Registers of Voters ............................................................................... 42

1851 Census .................................................................................................................. 42

1861 Census .................................................................................................................. 43

1871 Census .................................................................................................................. 44

1881 Census .................................................................................................................. 44

1891 Census .................................................................................................................. 45

1901 Census .................................................................................................................. 46

1911 Census .................................................................................................................. 46

World War Service ....................................................................................................... 46

John Kelsall and Sarah Jones - Kelsall in Spon Green and Pennsylvania ........................ 48

John Kelsall ................................................................................................................... 49

Joseph Kelsall ............................................................................................................... 51

The Kelsall Family of Audley, 1530 to 1750 ................................................................... 53

Origins of the Kelsall Name ......................................................................................... 54

James Kelsall of Audley, Staffordshire (died 1583) ..................................................... 54

William Kelsall (1565-1649), Vicar of Audley ............................................................ 55

Richard Kelsall of Balterley (1606-1683) and Dorothy Booth ..................................... 57

Richard Kelsall of Halmerend (1650-1717) and Catherine Sherratt (1648-1723) ....... 59

John Kelsall of Halmerend (1688-1746)....................................................................... 60

Hall o’ Wood................................................................................................................. 61

The Move to Flintshire; Richard Kelsall (1713-1780) and Mary Birks ....................... 63

George Kelsall the Claimant ......................................................................................... 64

Later Kelsalls in Audley ............................................................................................... 65

Other Descendants of James Kelsall of Audley ............................................................ 66

Other Family Lines ........................................................................................................... 67

Coal Mining History ......................................................................................................... 68

Buckley History ................................................................................................................ 72

References ......................................................................................................................... 74



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Foreword

A pottery was established in Buckley in 1757 and by 1780 there were

fourteen potteries in the district, a development which gave rise to one

of the most interesting communities in Wales.......

As a result of the demands of the metal-works and the needs of the

Buckley potteries, the coal miners of Flintshire were freed from their

dependence upon the markets of Chester and Dublin, and they

enjoyed considerable prosperity in the last decades of the 18th

Century.

John Davies

A History of Wales



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Acknowledgements

The connection to Audley was originally obtained from the family history of Richard

Kelsall found in the LDS Ancestral File submitted by John McNamara of Queensland,

Australia. John kindly sent me copies of materials he had obtained from Stella Meaton of

Crewe, including George Kelsall’s petition and pedigree charts. I later received many

significant documents obtained by Andrew Kelsall Pearson.

I am especially indebted to Pat Spode, Robert Speake and Stan Brassington of the Audley

Family History Society for obtaining and translating wills from Lichfield and for

translating additional wills I had obtained from Chester. I have also obtained assistance

from many others including: Helen Kelsall Wilson, Margaret Pember, Ian Bailey, Robert

Mayer, Ian Bloor, Joan Dobson, and David Kelsall. Last, but certainly not least, I am of

course indebted to my parents, Charles and Joan Kelsall of Buckley.



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Introduction

Our Kelsall family can be traced with reasonable certainty to James Kelsall and Johanna

Short who were married in Audley, Staffordshire in 1563. James moved to Audley from

Cheadle in Cheshire sometime before 1539 and died in Audley in 1583. Originally the

Kelsall name was derived from the Cheshire village of the same name, and traces back at

least to Adam de Kelsall in the 1290’s. From James to my children, Angie and Ian, we

can trace 14 generations of the Kelsall name.

The Kelsall history in Buckley is traced back to the late 1700s through family records, the

Hawarden parish registers, and the 1841 to 1881 censuses. It appears that the family

originated in Buckley with Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks who moved with their

children from Staffordshire to Buckley most probably between 1750 and 1755. Richard

Kelsall was involved with coal in Audley and it is likely that the family moved when new

coal mines were opening in the Buckley area.

The connection to Audley was originally obtained from the family history of Richard

Kelsall found in the LDS Ancestral File submitted by Mr. John McNamara of

Queensland, Australia. I have since verified or corrected part of this by reference to the

Mold, Hawarden and Audley parish registers. The Kelsall history in Cheshire and

Staffordshire is obtained from these main sources:

➢ The Kelsall family tree in Audley prior to about 1720 is largely derived from the

“Kelsall Pedigrees”, a manuscript held by the Staffordshire Record Office1.

➢ various “Kelsall Pedigrees”, originally compiled by William Kelsall (1641- 1720)

and used by George Kelsall in 1833 in connection with a property claim; these

pedigrees and related historical papers were sent to me by John McNamara who

had obtained them from Stella Meaton of Crewe, copied I believe from the

William Salt Library in Stafford2.

➢ a survey of Audley parish prepared by Richard Parrott in 1733

➢ a history of the Parish of Barthomley, by The Rev. Edward Hinchcliffe, published

1856.

➢ a history of Audley, edited by Robert Speake in 1972.

1The original book includes hundreds of family trees and this introduction. “An alphabetical genealogy of all the

persons which are in any whitt a near neighbour unto me as far I know or can get information of.” The original

manuscript is delicate and not available for open inspection, but the SRO is in the process of preparing a complete

transcript. The Audley Family History Society holds hand-drawn copies of some of the pedigrees relating to

Audley Parish, but their holdings do not include any Kelsall families. The author commissioned a transcript of

the sections relating to the Kelsall name in 1999. According to Parrott [Ref. 3], William Kelsall of Hall o’ Wood

compiled the Kelsall Pedigrees between 1680 and 1690. In the Kelsall sections the latest dates written in the original

hand are from 1711 while dates starting in 1714 appear in a different hand. William Kelsall died in 1720 2 A note in David Kelsall’s web site indicates that the main pedigree, “The Descendants of Richard Kelsall”

is in the William Salt, Ref. MSS 389



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Fourteen Generations

Through various sources I have now traced 14 continuous generations in the Kelsall line

from James of Audley to my children, Angie & Ian:

1. James Kelsall (died 1583)

James Kelsall moved to Audley, Staffordshire from Cheadle in Cheshire sometime before

1539 and married Johanna Short in Audley in 1563 (Kelsall Pedigrees). James was in

Audley in 1539 when he was listed in the Muster Roll. This was a list of ninety-five men

who could be called to arms to help suppress a rising in the reign of Henry VIII. James is

listed as possessing “a bill and a peir of splentes” (i.e. a 5 or 6-foot staff topped with a

hook and spear head, and splints for tying broken bones. (Audley, An Out of the Way,

Quiet Place edited by Robert Speake). James was buried at Audley, June 29, 1583 as

recorded in the Audley registers where he is identified as “Jacobus”. The register records

that he was the father of William Kelsall, Vicar of Audley. According to the Pedigrees,

James “died A.D. 1583 at the extraordinary age of 107 years, having a numerous family”.

To reinforce the implausibility of this longevity, James would have been 89 when his son

William was born in 1565!

2. William Kelsall (1565-1649)

Inscriptions at Audley Church show that William Kelsall was Vicar of Audley from 1592

(when he succeeded his father-in-law, Andrew Beech) to 1619, and in 1646 when he was

ejected by the Parliamentary Committee together with his son John who was also his

curate. William’s baptism (January 11, 1565), marriage to Ann (September 21, 1592),

daughter of Andrew Beech (clericus, Audley) is recorded in the Audley registers. The

following note appears in the Audley registers: “April 3, 1646 - ends the handwriting of

William Kelsall...He died in exile and was buried at Audley 1653”. William’s will was

Name Born Birthplace Occupation Wife

1 James before 1539 Cheshire Johanna Short

2 William c. 1565 Audley Vicar of Audley Ann Beech

3 Richard c. 1606 Audley Dorothy Booth

4 Richard c. 1650 Audley Catherine Sharratt

5 John 1688 Audley Hannah Henbury

6 Richard 1713 Audley Mary Birks

7 Robert 1758 Buckley Machineman collier Mary Jones

8 Joseph 1791 Buckley Collier Esther Thornton

9 Joseph 1823 Buckley Collier Mary Fennah

10 Joseph 1854 Buckley Collier Hannah Beckett

11 Charles 1885 Buckley Collier/steelworker Margaret Evans

12 Charles 1921 Buckley Brickworks manager Joan Iredale

13 Peter 1949 Buckley Geologist Barbara Butler

14 Angie/Ian 1988/1991 Denver



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prepared on June 8, 1649 and the inventory attached to the will refers to “William

Kelsall, vicar of Audley, late deceased, taken August 16, 1649.

3. Richard Kelsall (1606 - 1683)

William’s younger surviving son, Richard, was born in 1606 and married Dorothie Booth

on January 10, 1628. According to Parrott, Richard was a shoemaker. Most of what is

known of Richard and his son Richard concerns the “Hall o’ Wood estate. This estate

included a splendid Elizabethan manor house which has been restored and still stands

near Balterley about 2 miles west of Audley near the A52 Audley to Nantwich road.

Richard and Dorothy Kelsall’s deaths are recorded on reasonably well preserved

gravestones set in the path in Audley churchyard.

4. Richard Kelsall of Halmerend (1650-1717)

As related by Parrott, this Richard inherited Halmerend house while his brother William

inherited Hall o’Wood. Richard was involved with John Viggers in mining coal at Scot

Hay, Audley.

5. John Kelsall of Halmerend (1688-1746)

6. Richard Kelsall (1713-1780)

Richard Kelsall was born in 1713 in Audley, Staffordshire and was buried at Hawarden

Parish Church on February 14, 1781. Mary Birks was born in Newcastle under Lyme,

Staffordshire and died in 1791 in Pentrobin (Buckley), Hawarden Parish. Richard and

Mary were married at Newcastle Under Lyme January 19, 1734. The first 7 of their

children up to and including Nancy in 1750 were apparently born in Audley, and the last

three in Mold Parish, probably in Bistre Parish in Buckley. The Mold parish registers list

three Kelsall baptisms from the period all with father and mother, Richard and Mary:

Hannah baptized May 19, 1755; Robert, July 1, 1758; and Sarah, April 25, 1762. This

would mean that the family must have moved between 1750 and 1755. In 1758 Richard

Kelsall was occupying land “by Sandycroft” in Burntwood leased by John Lloyd.

7. Robert Kelsall



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8. Joseph Kelsall

9. Joseph Kelsall

10. Joseph Kelsall

11. Charles Kelsall

12. Charles Kelsall

13. Peter Kelsall

14. Angie Kelsall, Ian Kelsall



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Family Recollections

Our family records trace back through my father, Charles (b. 1921), grandfather Charles

(1885), great grandfather Joseph (1857) and 2x great grandfather Joseph (1823).

My grandfather, Charles (Charlie) Kelsall.............

Joseph Kelsall (1857-1939) ...........

Joseph Kelsall’s wife was the former Hannah Beckett who died in 1941 in sad

circumstances. On 29 May, 1941 a German bomber en route to Liverpool was shot down

and crashed into a field at Ewloe Place, Buckley. The following story was relayed by

Elvet Parry (my father’s cousin) in an article by Tyson in Buckley Magazine (Further

Evidence on Buckley’s German Bomber Crash in 1941):

“At that time Elvet Parry lived with his father in the row of yellow brick houses also

owned by Mrs. Gerrard. He was sleeping downstairs and, fortunately, did not go to the

window to see what was happening, but stayed under the bedclothes. He suffered

concussion but had only one small cut when the wall and window fell in on him. Luckily,

his father was working night shifts, for a large sliver of glass speared his pillow. His

grandmother lived in the house nearest to the crash, with a daughter. They were saved

but trapped when the old brass bedstead collapsed over them and partly protected them

from falling debris. The old lady had been in failing health and never really recovered

from the experience before her death a few weeks later. The gable wall of their house

bulged badly but was subsequently pushed back into position rather than being rebuilt.

One of the aircraft's engines landed right beside the gable.”

My father, Charlie Kelsall, was away in the Army at the time, stationed at Larkhill in

…… He was given compassionate leave to return to see his grandmother who had been

moved to the cottage on Higher Common to stay with her son, Charlie Kelsall senior. The

trip home took Charlie two days. As soon as he returned he saw his grandmother who

died in his arms within minutes. This was the only trip home that Charlie made during his

five and a half years in the Army that included service in Burma and India.

Joseph Kelsall (1823-1901) ...........



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Family History in Buckley

There is no direct family recollection of my 3x great grandfather, Joseph Kelsall (b.

1791). His marriage to Esther Thornton, December 24, 1812 at St. Deiniol’s, Hawarden

(Buckley St. Matthew’s was not consecrated until 1822) is recorded in the Hawarden

registers. Joseph’s birth date, February 26, 1791, is also recorded in the Hawarden

registers which identify his father and mother as Robert Kelsall, a machineman collier,

and Mary Jones. Robert Kelsall was the tenth of 11 children for Richard Kelsall and

Mary Birks. As described below, Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks are the link from

Buckley to the previous family home in Staffordshire.

Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks

Richard Kelsall, 1713 - 1780 Born 1713, Audley Audley registers (date not clear)

Christened 31 March 1713 G. Kelsall pedigrees

Married 19 Jan 1733/34, Newcastle under Lyme Newcastle registers

Died Buried 14 Feb 1780, Hawarden Hawarden registers3

Son of John Kelsall and Hannah Henbury

Mary Birks Born Unknown, see BIRKS file

Christened

Married 19 Jan 1733/34, Newcastle under Lyme Newcastle registers

Died Buried 3 July 1791, Mary Kelsall widow,

Bistre age 72

Hawarden registers

G. Kelsall pedigrees


Parish Church on February 14, 1780. Mary Birks was born in Newcastle under Lyme,

Staffordshire and died in Pentrobin (Buckley) in 1791. Richard Kelsall of Halmerend

and Mary Birks of Knutton were married at Newcastle-under-Lyme January 19, 1734.

3 From “The Descendants of Richard Kelsall” pedigree, Richard Kelsall was buried at Hawarden Feb 14

1781 (appears to be a note added after the original).



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I have not been able to determine Mary’s parents with certainty. There are trees on

Ancestry that show parents as Samuel and Elizabeth, but I see no proof for this. While

there was a Mary, daughter of Samuel and Elizabeth Birks, christened at Newcastle, 31

March 1720, I have not found records of known siblings that would confirm this as the

right Mary. Another possibility is Mary Birkes christened in Newcastle, 13 May 1720, to

father John and mother Mary (Adams). This is addressed more in my Birks file.

The first 7 of their children up to and including Nancy in 1750 were apparently born in

Audley, and the last three in Mold Parish, probably in Bistre Parish in Buckley. The Mold

parish registers list three Kelsall baptisms from the period all with father and mother,

Richard and Mary: Hannah bapt. May 19, 1755; Robert, July 1, 1758; and Sarah, April

25, 1762. This would mean that the family must have moved between 1750 and 1755. In

1758 Richard Kelsall4 was occupying land “by Sandycroft” in Burntwood leased by John

Lloyd (reported by Hawkes from the 1758 tax assessment of the Glynne estate.

(Note that Margaret Pember provided a record that Hannah - who married Joseph Peters -

died in May 1841 “aged 90” - this is now confirmed by GRO index. If correct, this would

place her birth as 1751 and would mean that the family moved between 1750 and 1751.

At this point, it is prudent to assume that the “aged 90” was a fuzzy recollection rather

than fact.)

Richard and Mary had 11 children, Richard, William, Mary, John, Joseph, George,

Nancy, Sarah, Hannah, Ann and Robert born between 1736 and 1762. (Interestingly, all

of the 7 children of Robert Kelsall and Mary Jones found in the Hawarden registers were

named after one of these 11 children, further evidence that the connection from Joseph to

Robert to Richard is correct). Most of the children are known to have died in Hawarden

parish.

Neston Connection

By 1758, my 6xgreat grandfather, Richard Kelsall, was involved in coal mining in the

Burntwood district of Buckley. One of Richard’s sons, also Richard, died in Neston in

1764 (burial July 27). From parish registers he had 5 children the first two born in

Buckley (Thomas baptised September 21, 1756 and George baptised 10 March 1758),

and four born in Neston, starting with Richard (baptised 17 August 1760 at which time

Richard was listed as a farmer).

Another son of Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks, John was born in Audley in 1738 and

died in Buckley in 17965. From G. Kelsall Pedigrees, John died w/o issue, but we can

speculate that this was the John Kelsall who married Mary Webster in Neston in 1766

(Dec 15) and had as many as 8 children in Neston between 1767 and 1781. The evidence

for this is circumstantial based on the supposition that two brothers could have moved to

Neston together and that the wife of John who died in Buckley was also Mary. It can also

be said that G. Kelsall’s pedigrees are suspected to be biased in his favor for inheritance

by showing rivals as having no issue. This is certainly the case with respect to Richard (b

4 Could also be Richard’s son born 1736 5 Evidence for this is strong from the Pedigree and the register which records “collier aged 61



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1736) who is also shown on G. Kelsall’s pedigree as having died without issue. A

suggestion that Richard and John in the registers may not have been brothers is that they

both had children baptised Richard (1760 to Richard and Sarah, and 1771 to Mary and

John) and both had children baptised John (1762 to Richard and Sarah, and 1776 to Mary

and John). It also seems that there was another John and Mary in the Neston area. John a

block maker and resident of Parkgate, and wife Mary had a daughter Margaret Howard

Kelsall baptised 2 February 1771 while John a collier and wife Mary had Richard

baptised 11 August 1771. Other Kelsalls (possibly unrelated to our Kelsall family) are

found in the Neston registers preceding the move from Audley6.

One son of John Kelsall and Mary Webster, Thomas was born in Neston in 1769 and died

in Pentrobin in 1820, a machine man aged 527. Thomas’s will is deposited in the National

Library of Wales (only abstract available on line). Another son, Richard, baptised 11

August 1771 was buried at Hawarden, June 1810, Richard Kelsall of Pentrobin, weighing

machineman, age 39. A daughter may be Mary buried 12 Dec 1836 age 52.

Richard and John Kelsall are listed as colliers in the Neston registers. From the locations

of baptisms we can say that Richard and Sarah moved to Neston between March 1758

and August 1760. This coincides with the opening of coal mines in Neston in 1759.8

Entries from the G. Kelsall pedigree and the various parish registers are compared in

Table X (Neston.xls).

Children of Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks.

Richard Kelsall, 1736 - 1764 Born 1736, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 4 April 1736 Audley registers


Married Sarah Shore, Madeley, Staffordshire, May 9

1755


Copy of the Madeley register

included in Wm. Salt Collection

Died 27 July 1764, Neston George Kelsall’s pedigrees9

Two of Richard and Sarah’s children are recorded in the Hawarden registers:

Thomas baptised September 21, 1756 and George baptised 10 March 1758. From the

pedigree other children were Richard10, John and Sarah all baptised at Neston. Also

from one of the pedigrees, Thomas married Sarah Edwards in Stoke in 1778 and had

several children in Stoke11. (Andrew Kelsall Pearson, David Kelsall (b 1922) and

6 A John Kelsall was churchwarden at Neston 1790-1 7 Hawarden registers. 8 From an exhibition in the Neston Public Library viewed in 2009 based on a thesis by Anthony Annakin

Smith, and personal communication with same author 9 From Neston registers (transcribed by Cheshire Parish Register project) Richard Kelsall buried 27 April

1764. Sarah buried 5 Oct 1764 Neston (ibid) 10 a Richard Kelsall was a witness to the will of Joseph Astbury in 1798 (LDS Film 104667) 11 a Thomas Kelsall was witness to the marriage of Mary Thornton and Benjamin Hewitt in Bannel in 1789



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Jane Porter are all believed to descend from John Kelsall, 1781, the son of Thomas

and Sarah Kelsall.)

From the Hawarden registers, George Kelsall, baptised 10 Mar 1758, son of Richard

and Sarah Kelsall of Pentrobin. I believe that this George Kelsall married Jane

Radford, father of 6 children 1788 to 1800 (Ann12, Sarah, Elizabeth, John, Jane,

Thomas13 [Hawarden registers]). This George was the father of Ann Kelsall who

married John Lamb in 180614. Is this the George Kelsall living in Lane End 1815

and 1825 surveys, not listed in 1821?15

William Kelsall 1738 - 1799 Born 1738, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened not in Audley registers

Married Died a batchelor G. Kelsall pedigrees

Died Buried 23 Jan 1799, Hawarden age 61 Hawarden registers

Mary Kelsall 1740 - 1788 Born 1740, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 10 Oct 1740 Audley registers

Married

Died 17 June 1788, Hawarden G. Kelsall pedigrees

died in 1788 in Hawarden parish, without issue according to the “Kelsall Pedigrees”

John Kelsall 1743 - 1796 Born 1743, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 18 Sept 1743 Audley registers

Married Mary Webster, Neston, 1766 IGI

Died Buried 12 Feb 1796, Hawarden age 53 Hawarden registers

John and Mary had at least six children in Neston listed in the Bishop’s Transcripts:

Sally 1767, Thomas 1769, Edward 1771, Nancy 1774, John 1776, Nancy 1781.

(obtained by John McNamara)16. I also believe that this John and Mary are the

parents of Mary Kelsall recorded in the Hawarden registers as christened Mar 5,

1784 in Hawarden. Mary the mother died in 178517 and John in 1796, both at

Pentrobin.18 Mary the daughter died a spinster in 1836 at Pentrobin19. From G.

12 Bapt. 27 April 1788 Hawarden, daughter of George and Jane 13 Possibly the Thomas in Toxteth Park, Liverpool, 1851 age 51. Married Jane Occleshaw according to

Ancestry tree 14 See Lamb file 15 The Mold registers include a George baptised 1787, father John, mother Jane. I have no record of a

marriage John Kelsall and Jane? Could this be a mistake? – should be father George and mother Jane? 16 I have not found these BTs. Ancestry has Richard 11 Aug 1771 17 Mary wife of John Kelsall buried 24 Dec 1785 18 I cannot rule out the possibility of another John here 19.from the Hawarden “Process to call a Court” 1837 (LDS Film 104667)



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Kelsall Pedigrees, John died w/o issue. Thomas bapt. 2 July 1769 died in Pentrobin

1820, buried 10 January20.

Joseph Kelsall 1746 - 1819 Born 1740, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 11 Nov 1746 Audley registers

Married Sarah Mountford, Jan 6, 1772, Wolstanton G. Kelsall pedigrees

Died 1819, Burslem G. Kelsall pedigrees

Born 1746 stayed in Staffordshire (or returned) and married Sarah Mountford in

1772. Joseph and Sarah have many descendants in Hanley, Staffordshire listed in the

Ancestral File. (Joseph Kelsall and Sarah Mountford may be the link to fellow

Kelsall researcher, John McNamara). Father of the claimant George Kelsall.

George Kelsall 1748 - 1811 Born 1748, Audley G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 7 Oct 1748 Audley registers

Married

Died 1811, Hawarden “Kelsall Pedigrees”, Hawarden

registers

Born 1748 in Audley and died 1811, a brickman of Pentrobin. According to the

George Kelsall petition this George died at Hawarden without issue. From the

Hawarden registers, George Kelsall, a brickman of Pentrobin, buried at Hawarden,

August 21, 1811 age 63.

Is this the George who married Ann Read April 5, 1779, witness Robert Kelsall

(Hawarden registers)? Also mentioned in Hawkes (1994, p 18), George Kelsall a

tenant of Lloyd’s married Ann Read. Is this Ann Kelsall, widow (1821 survey)21?

Nancy Kelsall 1750 - ? Born 1750, Audley J. McNamara

Christened 26 Jan 1750/51 Audley registers

Married

Died

Not on G. Kelsall Pedigree

Ann Kelsall 1750 - ? Born Shown bapt Audley w/o date in G.

Kelsall pedigrees

Christened not in Audley registers

Married

20 Will of Thomas Kelsall of Pentrobin, abstract obtained on line at Family Search. No wife or children.

This will refers to sister Mary Kelsall and Sarah Astbury plus children of sister, John Lamb and Mary

Lamb. These relationships raise a number of issues not resolved. 21 Possibly Ann Kelsall buried Hawarden 12 Feb 1840 age 88?



16

Died

Same person as Hannah?

Hannah Kelsall 1755 - 1841 Born 1755 (?), G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 19 May 1755 Mold registers, daughter of

Richard and Mary of Bistre

Married Married: 24 June 1776, Mold, Joseph PETERS

of Hawarden, and Hannah KELSALL of

Molds [sic], after banns. Witnesses: Robt.

KELSALL and Geo. EDWARDS

See Marg Pember for Peters

details. Marriage also shown on

one of Kelsall pedigrees

Died Buried 3 May 1841, St Deiniol’s, Hawarden

Parish, Hannah PETERS, widow

Marg Pember. Also, GRO, J Qtr

1841 Gt Boughton age 90

Joseph and Hannah had children George, Mary, Ann, Joseph, Hannah, Esther, John,

Richard, Sarah, and Susannah. Hannah died in 1841 in Hawarden parish. In 1833, the

claimant George Kelsall reported her as living on the “Burnwood royalty”.22 Found

in 1815 Survey of Hawarden Parish in Burntwood, not found in 1841 census.

Robert Kelsall 1758 - 1828 My 4 times great grandfather, is described below Born 1758 G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 1 July 1758 Mold registers

Married 2 Feb 1784 Mary Jones Mold registers

Died 25 May 1820 G. Kelsall pedigrees

22 From a 1990 letter by Andrew Kelsall Pearson. “It appears from papers at the William Salt Library in

Stafford that your family Bible was not the only family bible; one had existed in the 18th century but ended

up in the possession of a family called Berks, according to an affidavit sworn by one Hannah Kelsall on 6 th

July 1833 at Lichfield, Staffs. (always assuming that the link between the modern family and the old family

exists as I strongly feel it does - see the copies I supplied to Tim last year.) As Hannah refers to that Bible

as containing “my Grandfather’s Children’s names in it”, it would be quite a find. I think that this Hannah

was baptised in the 1750’s possibly as late as the early 1760’s in Mold, Flintshire. Her Grandfather was

John Kelsall (1688-1749) - if it could be found it would help greatly in listing baptismal dates for the

family which are not all given on the pedigree chart showing the continuation from (William) Kelsall’s

Genealogies.



17

Sarah Kelsall 1762 - 184723 Born 1762 G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 25 April 1762 Mold registers daughter of

Richard & Mary

Married Thomas /Hooley/Hooler? 1789

? Dickenson

G. Birks will; Mold registers

Authority to Griffith Williams

1834 and other documents

Died >1841

1847

Alive age 80 in 1841 census; not

found 1851

GRO, S Qtr 1847 Gt Boughton,

Sarah Dickinson 88

Born 1762, still living in 1833 according to George Kelsall's petition “living on the

Burnwood royalty”. Also shown in Authority to Griffith Williams 1834 and other

documents as Sarah Dickenson. Alive age 80 in 1841 census living in Burntwood

with Thomas Hulley and family, listed as a pauper. Died in 1847 age 88 (NWBMD

and GRO) which would give birth as 1758 or 1759.

From the Mold registers, Sarah Kelshall (sic) married Thomas Hooler in Mold 12

May 1789. Sarah Hooley is also mentioned in documents related to the Burnwood

property clearly in the context of sister of Hannah. The connection to Hulley/Hooley

from 1841 further confirms the earlier marriage to Thomas Hooler

George Birks' will (1795) makes reference to Sarah, wife of John Haddock, and to

George Kelsall, brother to Sarah Haddock. Sarah Kelsall, the daughter of Sarah

Kelsall and John Haddock was baptised May 14 1797 at Mold. [George Berks' will

also mentions Sarah Hooley. Is Haddock a third marriage? According to George

Kelsall's petition Sarah married a Dickenson but an annotation on one of the

pedigrees (by Stella Meaton?) states she had first married William Hull and later a

Robinson. No marriage of Sarah Kelsall to a Dickenson found in Mold or Hawarden

registers. No matching marriage found in IGI. In the 1815 Survey of Hawarden

Parish the only Dickenson is William living in Aston; from 1841 census/IGI this

William was married to Mary Hewitt 1790.

Burial 17 Jan 1807, Samuel son of James & Sarah Dickinson, age 3 collier of Bistre

23 From the registers, Sarah Kelsall married William Astbury, 21 November 1788. Is this Sarah the

daughter of Richard Kelsall and Sarah Shore? One Burnwood document (“To William Kelsall a house and

his heirs”) indicates that Sarah Astbury is the sister of Thomas, children of John – further examination of

pedigrees is needed.



18

Robert Kelsall and Mary Jones

Robert Kelsall, 1758 - 1828 Born 1758 G. Kelsall pedigrees

Christened 1 July 1758 Mold registers

Married 8 Feb 1784 Mary Jones Mold registers

Died Buried 25 May 1828 age 68 St. Matthews registers

Mary Jones, c 1765 - 1852 Born c. 1765

c. 1762

Aged 86 in 1851 census

Aged 89 on death certificate

Christened

Married 8 Feb 1784 Robert Kelsall Mold registers

Died 1 Jan 1852, buried 5 Jan Certificate

Daughter of John and Mary

Robert Kelsall was baptised at Bistre July 1, 1758 and died in May 1828. He is

described in the Hawarden registers as a machine man collier.

Mary Jones was born in Hawarden parish in about 1765 and was still alive at the time of

the 1851 census aged 86. She died 1 January 1852 of “decay of nature” age 89 according

to the death certificate, widow of Robert Killsal (sic) with John Killsal present at the

death.

The Hawarden registers and census records suggest as many as 12 children for Robert

and Mary.

Robert Kelsall, 1784 - Born 1784

Christened 31 May 1784 Hawarden registers, son of Robert

& Mary of Bistre

Married

Died

presumably died young

Hannah Kelsall, 1786 - Born

Christened 11 June 1786 Hawarden registers

Married

Died

presumably died young



19

Hannah Kelsall, 1789 - Born

Christened 26 July 1789 Hawarden registers daughter of

Robert & Mary

Married

Died

Joseph Kelsall, 1791 - 1863 Born

Christened 26 Feb 1791 Hawarden registers, son of Robert

and Mary

Married

Died Buried 16 May1863 age 72 St Matthews registers

My 3 times great grandfather, born 1791, see below.

John Kelsall, 1793 - 1864 Born 1793

Christened 25 July 1793, son of Robert Kelsall and Mary

Jones

Hawarden registers

Married Sarah Powell, 23 Dec 1854 Mold register (son of Robert but

could be grandson?)

Died Buried 12 April 1864 age 71 Hawarden registers

Aged 66 in 1861, confirms birth c. 1793

Mary Kelsall, 1794 - Born 1794 Aged 46 in 1841, 50 in 1851 (?),

66 in 1861

Christened not found yet in the Hawarden or

Mold registers

Married George Aston Census, wife’s burial, marriage

not found

Died 1870 St. Matthews register Mary Aston

widow of George Aston buried 1

June 1870 aged 7524

Birth c. 1794 not found yet in the Hawarden or Mold registers. Living with mother Mary in 1841 and

1851 censuses. Married a grocer, Aston, widowed before 1841. Still living in 1861 in Lane End, next

to the Blue Bell.

From Hawarden registers, burial of Mary d/o Robert Kelsall and Mary, 3/31/1803, infant. Does this

suggest Mary born c 1794 not the d/o Robert & Mary? Also, Mary daughter of Robert & Elizabeth

Kelsall, stonemason, buried May 1807

Robert Kelsall, 1795 -

24 I had a previous note St Matthews MIs, Mary Kelsall of Pentrobin died 29 May 1870 aged 75



20

Born 1795

Christened 21 June 1795, son of Robert Kelsall and Mary

(Jones) of Bistre

Hawarden registers

Married

Died

Born 1795, is this the Robert Kelsall who appears in the 1825 Hawarden survey?25, There is no Robert

in Flintshire in the 1841 or 1851 census.

Jane Kelsall, 1797 - Born 1797

Christened 6 July 1797 Hawarden registers, daughter of

Robert & Mary

Married Possibly married Robert Griffiths 23 Nov 1818

Mold

FMP

Died

Richard Kelsall, 1800 - Born 1800

Christened 14 Dec 1800 Hawarden registers, written as

Robert son of Richard & Mary

(Jones)

Married

Died

Born 1800, may be father of Ruth Kelsall, married Edward Jones in 1837 (from

Mold registers}

Thomas Kelsall, 1801 - 1861

25 The survey includes three separate references to Robert Kelsall in Bannel, Pentrobin and Ewloe Town. It

is not clear if this is one, two or three people.



21

Born 1801/1802 Aged 39 in 1841 and 49 in 1851. 59

when he died 1861

Christened not found yet in the Hawarden or

Mold registers. Inferred to be son of

Robert and Mary from reference to

brother Joseph in will 26

Married Ann/Anne Lewis, 2 May 1829

Bistre27

Mother identified from baptism for

daughter Mary Anne.

Died 13 June 1861. Buried 15 June

1861age 60, publican

Death certificate. St Matthews

registers

Born c. 1801, not found yet in the Hawarden or Mold registers, but found in the 1841, 1851 and 1861

censuses living in Lane End. Living with Mary (Kelsall) Aston in 1861 and identified as her brother.

A collier, listed as the publican of the Blue Bell Inn in 185528 and 185629. Will of Thomas Kelsall

probated 8 Feb 186230:

Married to Ann Lewis, had three

daughters, Mary Ann (183031), Hannah

(183232), Elizabeth (183433).

Mary Ann married William Wright from Hagley, Worcestershire in 1855 at St. Matthews, and later

lived at Hagley. Hannah was a kitchen maid at Hagley Hall, in 1855. She married William Edwards in

Hagley in 1855. Elizabeth married John Piercy in 1857. The connection from Buckley to Hagley may

be that Mary Glynne of Hawarden (sister in law of Gladstone) married George William Lyttleton of

Hagley.34 Mother Ann died 5 August 1858 age 5435.

26 There is also some doubt about the parents of Thomas. See further discussion at end of chapter. 27 Elizabeth wife of Thomas Kelsall collier of Pentrobin buried 21 Nov 1826 age 23; first wife of different

Thomas 28 Hannah marriage certificate 29 Index of Names, Flintshire Record Office 30 Will obtained from Georgina Willson 31 Mary Anne Bapt. 7 March 1830 daughter of Thomas and Anne (Lewis) of Bistre 32 Bapt 31 March 1832, daughter of Thomas & Ann of Bistre (Mold registers FMP) 33 Bapt. 19 April daughter of Thomas & Ann 34 Buckley St. Matthews Church was built in 1822 under the patronage of the Glynnes. Henry Glynne was

Rector of Hawarden 1834-1872 and Buckley was “under his care”. I imagine that getting a servant’s

position at Hawarden castle would have been much prized for Buckley girls and their fathers. So, I expect

the Kelsall girls were hired at Hawarden and moved to Hagley when Mary was married 35 Death certificate. Died in Chester Infirmary after fracturing a leg.



22

Ann Kelsall, 1803 - Born 1803/1804

Christened 24 March 1803, daughter of Robert and Mary

12 Aug 1804, daughter of Robert and Mary

Hawarden registers (FMP)

Married

Died 1858

Married William Shepherd, as reported by Brian Hodnett in The Story of William Shepherd , Coal

and Brick Proprietor, and bore at least nine children. (Hodnett provides an interesting history of the

relationship between Shepherd and the Catheralls, one of Buckley’s best-known families.)

Sarah Kelsall, 1808 - Born 1808

Christened 7 Feb 1808 Hawarden registers daughter of

Robert & Mary (Jones)

Married

Buried 20 May 1812, daughter of Robert & Mary Hawarden registers

I received records for Sarah married Nathan Bird Wallasey, died 1843 age 34 – so which Sarah is

this? This came from internet contact, but Sarah born ~1825 and alive in 1851 per census

From the Hawarden registers, Robert Kelsall labourer of Bistre was buried at St.

Matthews, 25 May 182836 age 68.

The National Library of Wales contains a bond issued to Mary Kelsall, William Shepherd

and Henry Parry of Bistre related to the goods, chattels and credits of Mary’s late

husband, Robert Kelsall of Bistre, dated 19 June 1828. This bond does not include any

genealogical information other than wife Mary and to attest that the estate was valued

less than twenty pounds.

Who was Thomas?

There is some doubt about the parents of Thomas Kelsall who married Ann Lewis and

died in 1861. I have assigned him as the son of Robert Kelsall and Mary Jones primarily

from references in his will to brother Joseph. I am not aware of any Joseph in the right

date range other than Joseph 1791 who was definitely a son of Robert & Mary. I have not

found a baptism for Thomas to parents Robert and Mary; he is not one of about 11

baptisms found for children of Robert and Mary. Another issue is that in 1861 Thomas

36 I had at one time recorded the year as 1820 based on one of the George Kelsall pedigrees. I now think

“1820” was added in a later hand and was a misreading of 1828.



23

was living with sister Mary (Kelsall) Aston, the same Mary who was living with mother

Mary Kelsall in 1851. I have not found a baptism for Mary daughter of Robert and Mary,

born about 1794, but there is a burial in 1803.

From the census and GRO records Thomas was born in 1801 or 1802. The only baptism

that I have found that fits is Thomas Kelsall son of George and Jane Radford christened 3

Aug 1800, but I have 6 baptisms for children of George and Jane Radford that do not

include a Joseph or Mary. This Thomas could be Thomas in Toxteth Park, Liverpool,

1851 age 51 born Hawarden (married Jane Occleshaw according to Ancestry tree.)

There is another Thomas who died 1820 in Pentrobin. From Hawarden registers, he was

buried 10 Jan 1820 age 52. Born c. 1767 – 1768 seems to correspond to children of John

Kelsall and Mary Webster born in Neston listed in the Bishop’s Transcripts: Sally 1767,

Thomas 1769, Edward 1771, Nancy 1774, John 1776, Nancy 1781 (obtained by John

McNamara) – and another daughter Mary recorded in the IGI as christened Mar 5, 1784

in Hawarden. died a spinster in 1836 at Pentrobin.

From the will of Thomas had sisters Mary (likely spinster) and Sarah who married ??

Asbury. From FMP, Sarah Kelsall m William Astbury 21 Nov 1788 at Hawarden.

There is a Sarah buried 1785 in Neston father George.

So, is this Thomas son of John Kelsall and Mary Webster?

What fits:

• Projected birth from burial (1767 – 1768) is close to baptism from BTs (2 July

1769)

• Sister Mary spinster when he died

• Sister if “Sally” recorded by John McNamara was really Sarah

What does not fit?

• Will refers to children of sister, John Lamb and Ann Lamb, and nephews Mary,

William, Richard Lamb. From my records these were children of Ann Kelsall and

John Lamb, and Ann was daughter of George – and a first cousin once removed

from Thomas. William Lamb b 1809 would have been a first cousin twice

removed from Thomas. Is it possible that Thomas would refer to these Lamb

children as nephews?

• Ann Kelsall who married John Lamb had a brother Thomas baptised 3 August

1800 (Lamb file). This Thomas had Lamb nephews but he would have been only

20 when he died. He had a sister Sarah b 1789 but to my knowledge no sister

Mary. (see Lamb file for uncertainty regarding George, Ann’s father.

Mystery not solved!

It is clear from the records that there was more than one Thomas Kelsall of about the

same age



24

Joseph Kelsall and Esther Thornton

Joseph Kelsall was christened 26 February 1791 at Hawarden, the eldest surviving son

of Robert and Mary Kelsall. He was a coal miner as listed in the 1851 census. He died

May 1863,.

Esther Thornton was christened May 13, 1790 at St. Deiniol’s, Hawarden and was the

daughter of Robert Thornton and Margaret Read37. She died in February 1834. three

months after the birth of son Robert who would die in June. Esther was 43 when she gave

birth to Robert.

Joseph and Esther were married at St. Deiniol’s, Hawarden on December 24, 1812.

Joseph Kelsall, 1791 - 1863 Born

Christened 26 Feb 1791 Hawarden registers

Married 24 Dec 1812

Died 1863, buried 16 May St Matthews register (FMP)

Esther Thornton, 1790 - 1834 Born 1790

Christened 13 May 1790

Married 24 Dec 1812

Died 1834, buried 22 Feb, St Matthews age 43 St. Matthews register (FMP). An

“unmarked” gravestone for Esther

Kelsall was removed from St.

Matthews in 1980 (MIs)

Hawarden 26 Feb 1791

Hawarden 1812

37 The Thornton family has been researched by Margaret Pember.



25

St Matthews 1863

St Matthews 1834

Joseph Kelsall is listed in the 1841 census with children Ann, Joseph, John and Sarah.

Mother Esther had died in 1834.38 Joseph the father and sons Joseph (18) and John (13)

are all listed as colliers. Their address is given as Bannel Lane and appears in a sequence

that starts in Drury and then runs Knoll Hill, Bannel Lane and Lane End. This location is

clearly not on Buckley Mountain where the family later lived. Their neighbours were

Griffiths and Esther’s brother, Robert Thornton.

In the 1851 census Joseph Kelsall, by now 60, was living in Burntwood with daughter,

Ann who had married Edward Jones.

There are 7 known children of Joseph and Esther.

38 The first child, Robert presumably died young since Joseph an Esther named another child Robert in

1834..



26

Robert Kelsall, 1813 - 1830 Born April 21, 1813

Christened May 14, 1813 Hawarden register, son of Joseph

and Esther

Married

Died Buried 16 March 1830 age 17, son of Joseph

collier of Pentrobin

St Matthews registers

An “unmarked” gravestone for

Robert Kelsall was removed from

St. Matthews in 1980 (MIs)

.

Mary Kelsall, 1815 - 1883 Born 1815

Christened April 21, 1815

Married William Dunn, Chester 1844? Hayes Index

Died

1883 J aged 68 Wirral

GRO

Living in Little Sutton 1851 through 1881

Ann Kelsall, 1817 - 1912 Born August 21, 1817 Hawarden registers

Christened 1 October 1817 Hawarden registers daughter of

Joseph and Esther

Married Edward Jones, 10 August 1844 Hawarden registers daughter of

Joseph

Died 1912, aged 95 St Matthews

In the 1851 census Joseph Kelsall (1791) was living in Burntwood with daughter, Ann who had

married Edward Jones. Ann and Edward had a son, Robert, born about 1850 and a daughter, Sarah,

born about 1855. Both Joseph and Edward were coal miners. Edward and Ann are found in the 1881

census in Burntwood with children Robert and Sarah. Robert is widowed and has a son, William.

Edward and Robert are coal miners. (Note that the Hayes Index lists the marriage of Edward Jones

and Mary Kelsall, daughter of Joseph, in 1844. FreeBMD has Edward marrying Anne Kelsall.)

Still living in Burntwood 1911 aged 93 She was buried 26 Aug 1912 age 95 at St Matthews

John Kelsall, 1820 - 1823

Born Feb 6, 1820 Hawarden registers

Christened Feb 27, 1820 Hawarden registers son of Joseph

and Esther

Married

Died Buried 19 Feb 1823 age 3 Hawarden registers, son of Joseph

and Esther

Joseph Kelsall, 1822 – 1901, my great great grandfather Born 3 Nov 1822 St Matthew registers, son of

Joseph and Esther

Christened 26 Jan 1823 St Matthew registers

Married

Died May 13, 1901



27

John Kelsall, 1827 - 1914 Born 13 Sept 1827 St Matthews registers, son of

Joseph & Esther

Christened 21 Oct 1827 St Matthews registers

Married

Died J Qtr 1914 age 86 GRO

Born about 1828. I have presumed this to be the John Kelsall in the 1851 census, aged 22, living in

the Lane End with wife Sarah, 22, daughter Emma, 2, William Jones, 56, and his wife, Mary, 50. John

is listed as William’s brother in law. From Cheshire BMD, John Kelsall married Sarah Jones at

Chester St. Mary in 185139. Therefore it seems that Sarah Jones was Mary's sister. John and Sarah are

still living in Spon Green in 1901. Son Thomas is living at Monks Coppenhall in 1901, and in 1881 a

John Kelsall, aged 8, is living with Joseph and Elizabeth Jones at Monks Coppenhall. Is this John a

son of John and Sarah, visiting with his older cousin, a son of William and Mary Jones?

From the 1911 census, John and Sarah had 12 children, six of whom were alive in 1911. Known

children born between 1849 and 1876 are:

Emma: Born c. 1849, married Edward Peters, Chester St. Mary, December quarter 187240. Edward

and Emma were living in Church Rd. 1881 with children Arthur 7, Mary 6, and John 4. Emma died

June 5 1882 age 33, 2 days after son Joseph aged 10 weeks. Edward died in 1932. Birth not found in

GRO as Kelsall; possibly Emma Jones 1849 J Holywell mother Jones.

Sarah: Bapt. 17 Feb 1858 Mold, daughter of John and Sarah of Broncoed. Buried 27 Feb.

William: Bapt. 23 July 1851, son of John and Sarah of Bistre: in Cumberland in 1881 working as a

brakeman on the London & NW Railway. In Spon Green in 1901 and 1911, living with mother at time

of her death in 1915. Buried at Broughton 25 Jan 1929 aged 77/7841. GRO lists William 1851 Jun

Holywell mother Jones or William 1852 D Gt Boughton mother Kelsall.

Hannah: married Edward Wainwright 187542, living in Spon Green 1911, died 1927 (ancestor of

Marjorie Houseman)

Mary: not found after 1871. GRO list Mary 1855 D Holywell, mother Jones. Bapt. 8 Jan 1856

daughter of John & Sarah of Broncoed

Joseph: Born Aug 25, 185943 - see below Kelsalls in Spon Green and Pennsylvania

Isaac: Born 1863, died 1867 age 5. GRO 1863 J Holywell mother Jones

Isaac: Born 1868, not found after 1881. GRO 1868 D Holywell mother Jones

John: Born Aug 15 1872, see below

Thomas: Bapt. 4 Jan 1876 Bistre, son of John and Sarah of Bistre. Living at Monks Coppenhall in

1901, married Elizabeth Jane Telford 190944 and living in Nantwich 1911.

Hannah Kelsall, 1825 - 1906

39 Need certificate 40 Edward/Emma Peters from Marg Pember, except 1881 census. 41 Hawarden/Broughton registers 42 certificate 43 Certificate 44 FreeBMD



28

Born 18 Jan 1825 St Matthews registers (age 36 in

1861)

Christened 6 Feb 1825 St Matthews registers, daughter of

Joseph & Esther

Married 21 June 1848, James Wright certificate

Died After 1901

Hannah Wright d 1906 aged 81

Census

FreeBMD

Hannah’s baptism record and her marriage certificate show daughter of Joseph Kelsall. Living with

Edward and Anne Parry in 1841. Married James Wright, living in Lane End through 1891. From a

tree on Ancestry died 1906. They had 7 known sons: Thomas, William, James, John, Joseph Henry,

Alfred and Edward. Edward married Ada Louise Webster and had two sons Frank Edward and

Reginald Mafeking. Frank’s granddaughter is Elizabeth Rule (Burston), Peter Kelsall’s 4th cousin.

(Mother Kelshall confirmed for Edward from GRO)

Sarah Kelsall, 1830 - 1911 Born April 9, 1830

Christened 14 May 1830 Hawarden registers daughter of

Joseph and Esther

Married March 22, 1869

Died Between 1891 and 1901

Likely 1911 aged 81

FreeBMD

Sarah married John Ellis on March 22, 1869 at the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel, St. John St.,

Chester45. John's address given as Mount Pleasant, Buckley. In 1881 Sarah and John were living at

Knowle Lane (Mount Pleasant) with son Joseph aged 11. John was listed as a farmer of 12 acres.

Sarah still living 1901 not found 1911.

Robert Kelsall, 1833 - 1834 Born 13 Nov 1833

Christened 15 Dec 1833 Hawarden registers, Robert son of

Joseph and Esther of Pentrobin

Married

Died Buried 2 June 1834, “infant, son of Joseph &

Esther

St Matthews registers (FMP)

45 Certificate



29

Joseph Kelsall and Mary Fennah

Joseph Kelsall was born 3 November 1822, the fifth known child of Joseph and Esther

Kelsall.

Joseph was a coal miner and the first Kelsall to live on Buckley Mountain. He died May

13, 1901 in Buckley, age 78. From the death certificate Joseph died of “senile decay”

with son Joseph Kelsall, collier present at the death.

Mary Fennah was listed as 18 when she was married in March 1844, and 15 in the 1841

census, indicating she was born in 1825 or 182646. Mary died 23 October 1879 age 52

from the GRO index but listed as 84 on the copy of the death certificate.

From the death certificate Mary died of “aneurism, 3 years” with widower Joseph

Kelsall, collier present at the death.

Joseph and Mary were married March 16, 1844 in Buckley47.The marriage register lists

Mary’s abode as Ewloe Wood and her father as David Fennah, a labourer.

46 Have not found a baptism for Mary, father David. Wales Births and Baptisms has Mary Fennah bapt. 8

July 1826 to Enoch and Elizabeth Fennah of Argoed at Mold. A Mary Fennah was buried at Bistre 1828

age 2. 47 St. Matthews registers, Book No. 1, No. 16 (provided by C. R. Fennah, 1997). Also certificate



30

In 1851 Enock Fennah (sic), age 17, was living with Joseph and Mary in Ewloe Wood,

listed as wife’s brother. This may be the Enoch Fennah born in 1833 in Mold, to parents

David and Hannah Fennah48.

By inference, therefore, Mary’s parents were David Fennah and Hannah

David Fennah and Hannah Wilcock both of Buckley Mountain were married 29 June

1828 at Hawarden. This would seem to be a year or two after Hannah was born.

David and Hannah are not found in the 1841 or 1851 census. I have not confirmed any

records of their deaths. A Hannah Fenna was buried at Bistre 1834 age 24, which would

correspond to age 18 in 1828. Is this Hanna born 1808 to Abraham and Hannah49?

Enoch died in 1856, buried at St. Matthew’s.

48 Enoch’s birth originally provided by Edward Phenna of Llandudno in 1997; now on FMP 49 Mold registers on FMP. See also DNA matches



31

Jane Hopwood provided a tree showing children of David and Hannah Fennah as

Florence (1820), Mary (1826) and Abraham (1831). Abraham was Jane’s great-great

grandfather. In 1841, Abraham age 9 is living with Samuel (71) and Sarah Fennah (70),

presumably grandparents, at Buckley Square. However, two of these children were born

significantly before David and Hannah were married, even more so than Hannah.

In 1841, Mary was living on Buckley Mountain with Hannah Wilcock, aged 70 (actually

72), and her son Charles, aged 25. It seems likely that Mary was living with her

grandmother. (The 1851 census describes Mrs. Wilcock, by then 82, as deaf and blind.).

In 1851 Joseph and Mary were living on Buckley Mountain next door to Mrs. Wilcock.

This suggests to me that the Kelsalls came to live on the Mountain in order that Mary

could continue to take care of Mrs. Wilcock. By 1851, there are three children, Hannah,

Sarah and John. The location appears in the census near to the beginning of the roll for

Ewloe Wood and is followed by entries for Buckley Mountain leading down to the

Alltami Inn and then via Vinegar Hill to Pentre Moch Bridge and Ewloe Green. From this

it appears that the Kelsall home was between Mill Lane and Alltami at the place that my

Dad says used to be called “Kelsall’s Mountain”.

In 1861, Joseph and Mary are living in the same location on Buckley Mountain, with

children John, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph (my great grandfather) and Charles. Joseph is

listed as a coal miner and John, aged 11, as a potter’s labourer. Their daughter, Hannah

aged 16, was living with Joshua Sharratt in Church Road next door to Jonathon Sharratt’s

post office. Joseph and Mary’s neighbours were Smallwood, Price, Wilcox, Edwards and

Bellis.

In 1871, Joseph and Mary, were still in the same location, now with 8 children, having

added Henry, Agnes and Annie. Joseph and sons John and Joseph are listed as colliers.

Daughters Mary and Elizabeth are dressmaker and domestic servant respectively.

Neighbours are Humphreys, Wilcock, Price and Catherall. By now, Hannah, was married

to Joseph Shepherd.

Mary died 23 October 1879.

In 1881, Joseph senior was still living on Buckley Mountain with sons Charles and Henry

and daughters Agnes and Ann. Mother Mary had died in 1879. Joseph is listed as a

machine man, Charles as a coal miner and Henry as a brickworks labourer. Agnes and

Ann are listed as scholars.

In 1891, Joseph senior was still living on Buckley Mountain with son Henry and daughter

Annie. Joseph, by now 68, is listed as a check weighman at a colliery and Henry as a coal

miner. Joseph’s son Joseph (my great grandfather) was living next door with wife,

Hannah, and children, Thomas Henry, Charles (my grandfather) and Mary Elizabeth.

Joseph is listed as a coal miner. Their neighbours in the direction of Alltami were

Humphrey, Williams, Dodd, Bellis, Lewis, Price and Rogers. In the other direction the



32

neighbours were Bellis, Weigh, Price, Foulkes, Jones, Price and George Shone (an uncle

to my grandmother Lily Shone).

In 1901 Joseph senior was living alone on The Common, next door to son Joseph.

Neighbours were Bellis, Fletcher, Humphreys, Wilcock and Jones. Griffith Humphreys

appears as a close neighbour in 1881 and 1901 suggesting that the location is the same.

Joseph and Mary had 10 known children.

Hannah Kelsall, 1844 - 1907 Born 21 May 1844 St Matthews registers FMP,

daughter of Joseph and Mary

(Fennah)

age 6 in 1851

Christened 26 July 1845

Married 28 January 1865, Joseph Shepherd certificate

Died Between 1901 and 1911

Hannah Shepherd d 1907 aged 63

Census

FreeBMD

Married at the Primitive Methodist Chapel, George St. Chester. Living at Buckley Mountain in 1881

(close to father Joseph) with children Mary, Joseph and William; and at Brunswick Rd 1901.

Sarah Kelsall, 1846 - Born 17 Oct 1846 St Matthews registers FMP,

daughter of Joseph and Mary

(Fennah)

age 4 in 1851

Christened 15 Nov 1846

Married 1866 – 1870 John Peers Census, Cheshire BMD

Died After 1911

Living in Mollington 1911

John Kelsall, 1849 - Born 19 Nov 1849 St Matthews registers, son of

Joseph & Mary (Fennah)

age 11 in 1861

Christened 16 Dec 1849

Married

Died

living in 1871 not found anywhere in 1881. Not found in GRO

Mary Kelsall, 1852 -

Born 23 April 1852 St Matthews registers, daughter of

Joseph & Mary

age 8 in 1861

Christened 25 May 1852

Married 1872, John Ellis Free BMD

Died Possibly Mar 1901 Chester aged 48



33

Living at Drury lane in 1881 with children Sarah and Elizabeth. Remarried in 1891 to Joseph Rogers.

Not present in 1901

Elizabeth Kelsall, Born 1854 D Q, Gt Boughton

Christened

Married

Died 17 June 1873 aged 18 Gravestone at St. John's

Joseph Kelsall, Born 1857 GRO 1857 J Gt Boughton mother

Fennah

Christened

Married 24 August 1879, Hannah Beckett

Died 1/22/1939 St John’s churchyard

My great grandfather

Charles Kelsall, Born 1860 Charles Kelshall S 1860 Gt

Boughton mother Fennah

Christened

Married 26 Dec 1887, Elizabeth Beckett (sister of

Hannah)

Elizabeth d 6/6/1938 (St Johns)

Died 11/13/1919 St John’s churchyard

Children Charles, Harry, George, Bessie and Joe. Charles became Charlie Kelsall who owned a

draper's shop on Brunswick Road in Buckley into the 1950's. Charles's son is Richard Kelsall.

Son Charles in Church Road in 1939.

Henry Kelsall, Born M Q 1863 Gt Boughton GRO mother Fennah

Christened

Married 1 October 1892, Amy Peers at Backford certificate

Died 1915

Children William Henry, John, Mary (Polly) and Edna. Moved to Nottinghamshire between 1898 and

190150 Grandfather of Christopher Kelsall.

Agnes Kelsall, Born April 20, 1865 GRO J 1865 mother Fennah

Christened

50 Living at Newcastle St., Hucknall in 1901. Daughter Mary aged 3 born in Buckley.



34

Married 6 April 1890, Sykes Idle at Oldham Patrice Christie

Died 1929

Agnes was a servant with residence at Edward St., St. Johns, Oldham. Agnes and Sykes had six

children: Elizabeth, Ben, George, Herman, Norman and Annie51. George, born on 9 October 1899 in

Gomersal, West Yorkshire was the grandfather of Patrice Christie. Sykes died in 1918 and Agnes

married again52.

Annie Kelsall, Born 1868 1868 J Gt Boughton, mother

Fennah

Christened

Married Possibly Joseph Brown of Chester Banns on FMP

Died Not found Not found in GRO

at home in 1891. Annie is not present in the 1901 census.

51 From Patrice Christie. Children in 1901 census are Mary E (10, born Oldham), Ben, Herman, Joseph,

George (all born Yorkshire) 52 From Patrice Christie Agnes married a Mr. Surgenor in 1919. She believes that Agnes and her second

husband were living on Tong St when Agnes died. Agnes died in the March quarter 1929. Agnes may be

buried at the Gomersal Methodist Chapel with some of the other Idles, but, as she was living on Tong St

when she died, she may have been buried in Tong Cemetery.



35

Joseph Kelsall and Hannah Beckett

Joseph Kelsall was born in 1857, the sixth known child of Joseph and Mary Kelsall.

Joseph was a coal miner and lived on Buckley Mountain. He died 22 January, 1939 in

Buckley. Joseph and Hannah were married 24 August, 1879 in Buckley. Joseph and

Hannah were the grandparents of my father, Charles.

Hannah Beckett was born 15 March 1857 in Gt. Mollington, Cheshire. Her parents were

Thomas Beckett and Elizabeth Maddock. Her sister, Elizabeth, married Joseph’s brother,

Charles, in 1887. She died 12 August 1941 in Buckley. (Three brothers, Joseph, Charles

and Henry all married girls from Mollington)

On 29 May 1941 a German bomber en route to Liverpool was shot down and crashed into

a field at Ewloe Place, Buckley. The following story was relayed by Elvet Parry (my

father’s cousin) in an article by Tyson in Buckley Magazine (Further Evidence on

Buckley’s German Bomber Crash in 1941):

“At that time Elvet Parry lived with his father in the row of yellow brick houses also

owned by Mrs. Gerrard. He was sleeping downstairs and, fortunately, did not go to the

window to see what was happening, but stayed under the bedclothes. He suffered

concussion but had only one small cut when the wall and window fell in on him. Luckily,

his father was working night shifts, for a large sliver of glass speared his pillow. His

grandmother lived in the house nearest to the crash, with a daughter. They were saved

but trapped when the old brass bedstead collapsed over them and partly protected them

from falling debris. The old lady had been in failing health and never really recovered

from the experience before her death a few weeks later. The gable wall of their house

bulged badly but was subsequently pushed back into position rather than being rebuilt.

One of the aircraft's engines landed right beside the gable.”

My father, Charlie Kelsall, was away in the Army at the time, stationed at Larkhill in

Wiltshire. He was given compassionate leave to return to see his grandmother who had

been moved to the cottage on Higher Common to stay with her son, Charlie Kelsall

senior. The trip home took Charlie two days. As soon as he returned, he saw his

grandmother who died in his arms within minutes. This was the only trip home that

Charlie made during his five and a half years in the Army that included service in Burma

and India.

In 1881, Joseph and Hannah were living with Hannah’s mother, Elizabeth Beckett, and

her brother John in the Lane End. The address was listed as Johnson’s Row, which

appears in order in the census between Station Road and The Prince of Wales Inn. Joseph

is listed as a coal miner.

In 1891, Joseph and Hannah were living on Buckley Mountain with children, Thomas

Henry, Charles (my grandfather) and Mary Elizabeth. Joseph is listed as a coal miner.

Their neighbours in the direction of Alltami were Humphrey, Williams, Dodd, Bellis,



36

Lewis, Price and Rogers. In the other direction the neighbours were Bellis, Weigh, Price,

Foulkes, Jones, Price and George Shone (an uncle to my grandmother Lily Shone).

In 1901 the family on The Common has expanded to include Annie, Ernest and Frank.

Joseph senior was living alone next door. Neighbours were Bellis, Fletcher, Humphreys,

Wilcock and Jones. Griffith Humphreys appears as a close neighbour in 1881 and 1901

suggesting that the location is the same.

In 1911 Joseph and Hannah are still living on Buckley Mountain with sons, Frank and

Ernest, and daughter Mary (Polly) Egerton. Mary’s husband George Egerton was

boarding in Rotherham and work as a coal hewer at Donnington Colliery. Thomas Henry

and Charles have married and moved out. Annie is not found in Buckley and may be the

Annie Kelsall domestic servant in Basford, Nottinghamshire.

Joseph and Hannah later lived in Gerrard’s Houses, 31 Ewloe Place. This was the end

house nearest to Kendrick’s field. Brother Charles lived at 27 Ewloe Place. Hannah was

living there as a widow in 1936.

Brother Charles lived at 27 Ewloe Place, but was not there in 1936.

Joseph and Hannah had 8 known children.

John Kelsall, Born 1880

Christened

Married

Died 1880 (born dead) C. Kelsall

.

Thomas Henry Kelsall, Born 8/28/1882 1939 Register

Christened

Married Martha Ann Catherall, 1905

Died 1964 GRO

A miner, lived in Nant Mawr Rd. Children Harry, Amy, Joe, Fred, John. Harry married Bessie

Griffiths and was father of Philip and Jane Kelsall.

From Richard Kelsall, “Fred died in the 1960s childless, Joe died earlier childless, and Amy died in

the 1980s with a son Neal in Neath”. John died 2000 father of Richard.

Charles Kelsall (my grandfather), Born 2 Dec 1885 certificate

Christened

Married Margaret Evans, 21 Dec 1907 certificate

Died 10 Dec 1981 certificate



37

Children Joe, Gwendoline, Charles

Mary (Polly) Kelsall, Born 1889

Christened

Married George Egerton, Chester 1910, Free BMD, George Egerton m

Mary Elizabeth Kelsall June Q

Died 1965 GRO

Mary with parents 1911. Her husband George Egerton was boarding in Rotherham and worked as a

coal hewer at Dinnington Colliery (which opened in 1905). Later lived in Doncaster and Hemsworth,

West Yorkshire.

Joseph Kelsall, Born 1891

Christened

Married

Died Probably Joseph died Mar Q 1892 aged 0,

registered Chester

FreeBMD

Annie Kelsall, Born 1894

Christened

Married William Parry, 1918 NWBMD

Died 1976 funeral

Children Elvet and Frank

Ernest Kelsall, Born 1897

Christened

Married Harriet Jones, 1923

Died 1969 Funeral

Children.

Frank Kelsall, Born 1899

Christened

Married Elsie Kershaw, 1928, Bury Free BMD

Died 1973 Funeral

Children Ronald and Eileen



38

Charles Kelsall and Margaret Evans

Charles Kelsall was born in 2 December 1885 (certificate), the third known child of

Joseph and Hannah Kelsall. Charles started work at the local Catheralls brickyard when

he was 10. Later, he was a miner at Gresford53 and the Elm, and then he worked at John

Summers steel works until he was 70. He died 10 December, 1981 just after his 96th

birthday, in Maelor General Hospital, Wrexham.

Joseph and Margaret were married 21 December, 1907 at Emmanuel Church (Bistre) in

Buckley, aged 22 and 21 (certificate). Joseph and Margaret were the parents of my father,

Charles.

Margaret Evans was born 20 February 1886 in Buckley, one of the 11 children of Jabez

and Eliza Parry. She died 6 February 1971 at home in Buckley (certificate).

The Evans family lived at 5 Bank Buildings, at Buckley Cross. A brother, Joseph, was

killed in WW1. Joseph was a Private in the Royal Welch Fusiliers and died 25 September

1915 aged 24. He is commemorated on the Loos Memorial, Pas de Calais, France. Two

of my father’s cousins were Margery Evans (m. Brian Jenkins) and Kath Evans. Like her

mother in law, Hannah, Margaret was deaf.

In 1911, Charles, Margaret and daughter Gwen were living in Stanley Rd., Buckley

(“The Square”). They lived there until about 1920 when they moved to 6, Higher

Common, the same location as my father’s house. Charles was born there in 1921.

Living at 6 Higher Common in 1939. Charles’s record is closed, Joe has married.

Charles and Margaret had 3 children.

Gwendoline Kelsall Born 2 Feb 1910 certificate

Christened

Married Jack Whitehead, 1940

Died 12 Oct 2003

No children..

Gwen and Jack lived in Tram Road next door to my grandmother, Lily Iredale. Jack was

the son of Richard Edward Whitehead (Cooperative Society Manager) and Sarah Davies

53 The Gresford Disaster was one of Britain's worst coal mining accidents. It occurred on September 22,

1934 at Gresford Colliery when 266 men died. Charles walked to work at Gresford near Wrexham, a

distance of about 6 miles

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal_mining

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gresford

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrexham



39

married in Birkenhead in 1906. In 1911 the Whiteheads were living at No. 1 Pleasant

View, Pren y Brigog. Later, I remember Jack had a small farm in Mynydd Isa, as well as

working at John Summers Steelworks. Jack died suddenly of a heart attack 29 March

1969 (while I was away at a geology field trip).

Joseph Kelsall, Born 16 Aug 1911 1939 register

Christened

Married Euronwy Jones, 1936

Died 22 Mar 1975

Children Alan (1940) and Keith (1947). Alan married Beryl Edwards 1964

Joe, Ron, Alan and Keith lived at 2 Hillside Crescent in Nant Mawr Rd. Joe worked at

Castle Firebrick as an excavator operator in the clay pit. Previously he had been a driver

for one of the Castle Sentinel steam wagons and he had worked on removing the slag pit

from the Buckley Mountain colliery.

Joe was an exceptional amateur football player who gained a Welsh Amateur

International Cap. He played for the Amateurs who used the Horse and Jockey as

changing rooms and played on the field at the bottom of Knowle Lane (which is now

covered by housing estates). The best years of his football were spent at Flint Town Club

for they had “six years of unrivalled success when they won every competition they

entered”. As Joe was the team captain, he had the honour of retaining the trophies. His

display cabinet at home was packed with silver Cups. After Flint he signed for Buckley

Town and became their captain.

Charles Kelsall (my father), Born 4/15/1921 certificate

Christened

Married Joan Yvonne Iredale, 8 June 1948

Died

Children Peter



40

Buckley Survey and Census Records

1811 Hawarden Parish Survey

The 1811 survey of Ewloe and Ewloe Wood lists no Kelsalls.

1815 Hawarden Survey

The complete 1815 survey of Hawarden Parish lists only one Kelsall, George. Only heads

of households are listed in this survey, and presumably only leaseholders not

undertenants. George was living at the bottom of Church Road, opposite the Hancock’s

Brickworks. He is listed with a house and garden and intake, as a tenant of Sir Stephen

Glynne. It is surprising that Robert Kelsall does not appear in this survey, although a

possible explanation would be that he was living in Mold Parish.

1815 Hawarden Survey of Children54

This survey of young children list only one Kelsall family, children Robert and Mary, to

parents Joseph55 and Esther, living in Lane End.


Two Kelsall households are listed in Pentrobin56. Anne Kelsall is identified as a widow,

aged 60 to 70. She is living with one male 20 to 30 and one male 15 to 20. Is this the

former Anne Read, widow of George Kelsall? Joseph Kelsall is listed with one female 30

to 40 (wife Esther), one male <5 (John), one male 5 to 10 (Robert), one female <5 (Anne)

and one female 5 to 10 (a child not identified positively but could be Mary57). George

Kelsall is not listed in 1821.

Elizabeth Kelsall appears in Hawarden in this survey, as she does in the 1841 census.


In Pentrobin, George Kelsall appears in the same house as the 1815 survey. Robert

Kelsall and children (not named) are listed as under-tenants of Robert Thornton. Another

Robert Kelsall is listed in Bannel. One Robert is presumably Robert born 1784, son of

Robert and Mary Jones, and brother of the Joseph who was living in the Bannel in 1821.

The other Robert cannot be the father who died in 1820. Could two different properties

be listed to one Robert, or is there another, otherwise unknown, Robert presumably a

54 Transcribed by Natalia McKenzie 55 The transcription lists Jno usually an abbreviation for John 56 I did not find the survey for Bannel when I visited the FRO in 1998 57 From the Hayes Marriage Index, Mary Kelsall daughter of Joseph married Edward Jones at Hawarden

1844. Mary does not appear with the family in the 1841 census and I have not found Edward and Mary in

any subsequent census.



41

son? It is surprising not to find Joseph in the Bannel in 1825 since he is there in 1821 and

1841. There is another reference to Robert Kelsall in Ewloe Town, for a property with

John Evans listed as under tenant.

1841 Census Records

Joseph Kelsall (1791) is listed in the 1841 census with children Ann, Joseph, John and

Sarah. Mother Esther had presumably died before 1841 and the eldest child, Robert who

would have been 27, had either moved out of the house or died. (I have not found Robert

elsewhere in Buckley or Mold in this census.) Joseph the father and sons Joseph (18) and

John (13) are all listed as colliers. Their address is given as Bannel Lane and appears in a

sequence that starts in Drury and then runs Knoll Hill, Bannel Lane and Lane End. This

location is clearly not on Buckley Mountain where the family later lived. Their

neighbours were Griffiths and Esther’s brother, Robert Thornton. (The Thornton family

of Buckley has been documented in detail by Margaret Pember in Australia with links to

Peters, Shone and others.)

Still in the 1841 census we find Mary Kelsall, aged 75, living with Mary Aston, a

shopkeeper, and George Aston presumably the latter Mary’s son. From her age Mary

Kelsall must be Joseph Kelsall’s mother, formerly Mary Jones, who was married to

Robert Kelsall. In the 1851 census Mary Aston is listed as the elder Mary’s daughter.

The 1841 census includes another Kelsall family: Thomas Kelsall (39), wife Ann (35),

and children, Mary Ann (11), Hannah (9) and Elizabeth (7). From the registers we see

that Thomas’s wife was formerly Ann Lewis. In 1841, Thomas and his family were living

in Lane End with neighbours Hewitt, a farmer, and William Griffiths, a publican. From

Thomas Cropper’s book we learn that William Griffiths was the publican of the old Cross

Keys (This is not the same location as the modern Cross Keys. According to the Buckley

Archive Photographs book the old Cross Keys was located on the Dirty Mile near the

crossroads to Little Mountain, closed in 1943, and is now a private house. .

This Thomas Kelsall can be traced to the 1861 census where he is listed living with his

sister Mary Aston. From this I assume that Thomas is a son of Robert Kelsall and Mary

Jones not yet found in the registers. It is noted, however, that the Hawarden registers

include a Thomas, son of George Kelsall and Jane Radford, baptised August 1800. I

assume that this must be the son (or possible grandson) of George Kelsall (1748-1811).

Thomas’s daughter Mary Ann married William Wright in 185558 in Hagley,

Worcestershire. Her sister, Hannah, was a kitchen maid at Hagley Hall in 1855. She

married William Edwards in Hagley in 1855. Sister Elizabeth married John Piercy in

1857. The connection from Buckley to Hagley may be that Mary Glynne of Hawarden

(sister in law of Gladstone) married George William Lyttleton of Hagley.

Another Kelsall family in 1841 was that of Joseph Kelsall (aged 30), Catherine (25),

Elizabeth (60), Elizabeth (5), John (3) and Joseph (0). This family was living in Wigdale

58 certificate from Georgina Willson



42

Row in Hawarden Village near the Rectory. From the Hawarden registers we see that this

Joseph was an iron moulder and that he married Catherine Hughes but there is no record

of his birth (except the 1851 census indicates he was born Chester). There is also no other

record of an Elizabeth Kelsall, presumably his mother, of the right age. Elizabeth was

already a widow in 1816 as listed in the “Inhabitants of Hawarden”. At this point I cannot

determine Elizabeth’s relationship to the other Kelsalls. Baptisms included John 13 May

1838, Joseph 15 Nov 1840, Thomas 4 June 184359.

The last Kelsall I have found in the 1841 census is Hannah Kelsall listed as aged 15 (but

could be between 15 and 19) living with Edward and Anne Parry in Lane End. This is

presumably the Hannah who married James Wright in 1848 and lived in the Lane End

until at least 1891. From the marriage certificate she was the daughter of Joseph Kelsall.

Mary Fennah, who would later marry Joseph Kelsall (my 2x great grandparents), was

living on Buckley Mountain in 1841 with Hannah Wilcock, aged 70 (actually 72), and

her son Charles, aged 25. Mary was 14 at the time and was presumably a live-in servant.

The 1851 census describes Mrs. Wilcock, by then 82, as deaf and blind.

1840 and 1841 Registers of Voters

Thomas Kelsall is listed as owner of a freehold cottage and garden in Lane End, and was

one of 217 registered voters in Hawarden Parish60. Thomas was not listed in the 1833

register when only 82 voters were listed. Henry Kelshall (sic), resident of Northgate

Street, Chester, is listed as owner of a freehold house and land in Argoed.61

1851 Census

In the 1851 census Joseph Kelsall (1791) was living in Burntwood with daughter, Ann

who had married Edward Jones. Ann and Edward had a son, Robert. Both Joseph and

Edward were coal miners. Edward and Ann are found in the 1881 census in Burntwood

with children Robert and Sarah. Robert is widowed and has a son William. Edward and

Robert are coal miners. (Note that the Hayes Index lists the marriage of Edward Jones

and Mary Kelsall, daughter of Joseph, in 1844. I am assuming that the Ann and Mary

were the same person, and that there was no separate daughter named Mary.)

Joseph’s son, Joseph Kelsall (1823) has married Mary Fennah and they are living on

Buckley Mountain next door to Mrs. Wilcock and her son Charles. This suggests to me

that the Kelsalls came to live on the Mountain in order that Mary could continue to take

care of Mrs. Wilcock. By 1851, there are three children, Hannah, Sarah and John. The

location appears in the census near to the beginning of the roll for Ewloe Wood and is

59 Wales Select Births and Baptisms, Ancestry 60 The list of persons entitled to vote in an election of a knight of the shire, for the county of Flint (LDS

Film 104310) 61 Henry Kelsall was a solicitor with a practice in Northgate St. Chester He is listed in Cheshire Gentry of

1817 and as a subscriber to the Chester Trade Plate and Race Fund in 1844.



43

followed by entries for Buckley Mountain leading down to the Alltami Inn and then via

Vinegar Hill to Pentre Moch Bridge and Ewloe Green. From this it appears that the

Kelsall home was between Mill Lane and Alltami at the place that my Dad says used to

be called “Kelsall’s Mountain”.

Thomas Kelsall is still living in Lane End with wife Ann, daughter Elizabeth, and Sarah

Kelsall who is listed as a visitor but is clearly the sister of Joseph. At this time Thomas

and family are listed in the census next to Mary Kelsall and the Astons. The location

appears in the “Lane End” between the Dirty Mile and Drury and it seems therefore that

the family has moved from the location near the old Cross Keys. Mary Kelsall is listed as

a retired shopkeeper, Mary Aston as a grocer/provision dealer, and George Aston as a

butcher.

John Kelsall, 22, wife Sarah, 22, and daughter Emma, 2, are living in the Lane End with

William Jones, 56, and his wife, Mary, 50 and son Isaac, 8. John is listed as William’s

brother in law. I have presumed this John to be the son of Joseph, who was 13 in the 1841

census, and confirms the marriage of John Kelsall, son of Joseph, to Sarah Jones in 1851.

In 1851, Elizabeth Kelsall is still living in Wigdale Row, Hawarden Village with her

grandson, John. By this time, Joseph and Catherine have moved to Manchester.

1861 Census

In 1861, Joseph and Mary Kelsall are living in the same location on Buckley Mountain,

with children John, Mary, Elizabeth, Joseph (my great grandfather) and Charles. Joseph

is listed as a coal miner and John, aged 11, as a potter’s labourer. Their daughter, Hannah

aged 16, was living with Joshua Sharratt in Church Road next door to Jonathon Sharratt’s

post office. Joseph and Mary’s neighbours were Smallwood, Price, Wilcox, Edwards and

Bellis.

Thomas Kelsall and Mary Aston are listed at the same Lane End address in 1861, next to

the Blue Bell. Thomas’s wife Ann has presumably died by this time and daughter

Elizabeth may have married. Thomas, aged 67, is listed as a coal miner and Mary as a

grocer. Interestingly, this address can be traced as a grocer’s until after 1945 when it was

occupied by Gould’s, and a butcher’s shop next door remained in the Aston family until

Neville Lamb died in 2019. This location is directly across the street from the shop that

would be occupied in 1906 by my grandparents, John and Lily Iredale as bakers, and very

close also to Lamb’s Lane where I lived until I was seven.

Joe Kelsall, 66, and wife Sarah, 54, are listed in Padeswood Lane. I have no other record

for Joe and Sarah and do not know where they fit into the family.

I have not found John Kelsall in the 1861 census; however, this film is in very poor

condition.



44

Elizabeth Kelsall was still living in Hawarden in 1861, aged 82, but I have not found her

son John. Another Joseph Kelsall was also living in Hawarden village in 1861. Joseph,

aged 31 was an engine fitter, listed as born in Denbighshire.

Anne Kelsall, aged 23 born Hawarden, was a servant for a silk milliner in Eastgate St.

Chester. Is this Mary Ann daughter of Thomas, later married William Wright?

1871 Census

In 1871, Joseph and Mary Kelsall are still living in the same location on Buckley

Mountain, now with 8 children, having added Henry, Agnes and Annie. Joseph and sons

John and Joseph are listed as colliers. Daughters Mary and Elizabeth are dressmaker and

domestic servant respectively. Neighbours are Humphreys, Wilcock, Price and Catherall.

I have not found Hannah, presumably married at 26.

Thomas Kelsall and sister Mary no longer appear in Lane End and have presumably died.

George Aston is listed as both butcher and inn-keeper of the Blue Bell.

John Kelsall, Joseph’s brother, was living in Spon Green in 1871 with wife Sarah and

children William, Mary, Joseph and Isaac. Both John and William are listed as coal

miners.

Two Kelsall children, John aged 7 and Joseph aged 4 are found in Ewloe Lane, listed as

the grandchildren of Martha Jones. I don’t know how these are related to either the

Hawarden village or Buckley families. They do not appear in the 1881 census in

Flintshire.

1881 Census

In 1881, Joseph senior was still living on Buckley Mountain with sons Charles and Henry

and daughters Agnes and Ann. Mother Mary had died in 1879. Joseph is listed as a

machine clerk, Charles as a coal miner and Henry as a brickworks labourer. Agnes and

Ann are listed as scholars.

Joseph’s son Joseph Kelsall (my great grandfather) had married Hannah Beckett in 1879

and they were living with Hannah’s mother, Elizabeth Beckett, and her brother John in

the Lane End. The address was listed as Johnson’s Row, which appears in order in the

census between Station Road and The Prince of Wales Inn. Joseph is listed as a coal

miner.

John Kelsall (listed as “Isaac or John”) is still in Spon Green in 1881 with wife Sarah and

children Isaac and Thomas. John’s son, William, was in Cumberland in 1881 working as

a brakeman on the London & NW Railway. Son Joseph Kelsall does not appear and may



45

have already gone to America (where he does appear in the 1900 census). I believe that

the John Kelsall living in Monks Coppenhall was another son of John and Sarah62.

These are the only Buckley Kelsall families listed in the 1881 census. In all there were 22

Kelsall individuals listed, including 11 in Buckley. The other Flintshire families in

Hanmer, Ellesmere and Overton do not appear to be related.

There are three other “strays” in the 1881 census that are tied to one of the Flintshire

families.

• Rachel Kelsall, age 70, living at 5 Kiln Lane Burslem with Charles and Sarah

Millington, listed as sister, born “Arden, Flint”. I have not found a Rachel

Kelsall or Rachel Millington anywhere in the parish records or IGI.

• Nancy Kelsall, age 25, unmarried servant, living 8 Oakfield Walton on Hill

Lancashire, born “Wales”.

1891 Census

In 1891, Joseph senior was still living on Buckley Mountain with son Henry and daughter

Annie. Joseph is listed as a check weighman at a colliery and Henry as a coal miner.

Joseph’s son Joseph (my great grandfather) was living next door with wife, Hannah, and

children, Thomas Henry, Charles (my grandfather) and Mary Elizabeth. Joseph is listed

as a coal miner. Their neighbours in the direction of Alltami were Humphrey, Williams,

Dodd, Bellis, Lewis, Price and Rogers. In the other direction the neighbours were Bellis,

Weigh, Price, Foulkes, Jones, Price and George Shone (an uncle to my grandmother Lily

Shone).

In 1891, Joseph Kelsall’s son, Charles was living in Mill Lane with wife, Elizabeth. From

the marriage registers Charles’ wife was Elizabeth Beckett from Great Mollington,

Cheshire. Charles’ brother, Joseph was married to Hannah Beckett also from Great

Mollington. Hannah and Elizabeth are confirmed as sisters from the 1871 census.

John Kelsall was still in the Spon Green area, now listed at Spital Fields between Spon

Green and Padeswood, living with wife, Sarah, and son, Thomas. As described above,

sons William and Joseph, and possibly also Isaac had left for America in 1886.

From Barbara Forbes found at CRO

1920 Electoral roll

Isaac Kelsall 96 Brook St.

1st book of the Flintshire R.E. Buckley Volunteers dated 1866 - 1900. Isaac Kelsall. Spitalfields, Lane End. age 22, Height 5' 9" chest 36" Enrolled June 17th 1891

62 John Kelsall, age 8, visitor, living with Joseph and Elizabeth Jones, 5 Samuel St. Monks Coppenhall

Cheshire, born Buckley Flint. [Elizabeth aged 58 born Hawarden. Don’t have an Elizabeth Kelsall born c.

1823 John and Sarah’s son Thomas was in Monks Coppenhall in 1901.



46

1901 Census

In 1901 Joseph senior was living alone on The Common, next door to son Joseph.

Neighbours were Bellis, Fletcher, Humphreys, Wilcock and Jones. Griffith Humphreys

appears as a close neighbour in 1881 and 1901 suggesting that the location is the same.

Joseph junior is living with wife Hannah and children Thomas Henry, Charles, Mary

Elizabeth, Annie, Ernest and Frank.

Charles Kelsall is living in Drury with wife Elizabeth and children Joseph, Charles,

Bessie and George.

John Kelsall and wife, Sarah were still at Spital Fields in the Spon Green area. Their son,

Thomas, was in Monks Coppenhall, Cheshire, unmarried.

Henry Kelsall was by this time in Hucknall, Nottingham shire, with wife Amy and

children, William, John and Mary.

William Kelsall, in Cumberland in 1881, was living alone in Spon Green.

1911 Census

In 1911 Joseph and Hannah are still living on Buckley Mountain with sons, Frank and

Ernest, and daughter Mary (Polly) Egerton. Mary’s husband George Egerton was

boarding in Rotherham and work as a coal hewer at Donnington Colliery. Thomas Henry

has married and is living in Nant Mawr. Charles has married and is living in Drury.

Annie is not found in Buckley and may be the Annie Kelsall domestic servant in Basford,

Notts. Henry has moved to Nottinghamshire and Agnes has married Sykes Idle in

Yorkshire.

In 1911, Charles, Margaret and daughter Gwen were living in Stanley Rd., Buckley

(“The Square”).

John Kelsall and wife, Sarah were still at Spital Fields in the Spon Green area. Their son,

Thomas, has married and is living in Nantwich, Cheshire. Brother William is in Spon

Green; census entry is marked “British subject by parentage” but also born Buckley.

World War Service

The register of World War 1 soldiers in the Flintshire Record Office includes the service

record for Joseph Kelsall:

Reg. No. 206752

Welsh Regiment 1914 – 1919

4 years 6 months service

Private at demob

27 Ewloe Place



47

The Index of Names at the Flintshire Record Office contains the following references to

1919 servicemen:

Ernest Kelsall, 31 Ewloe Place

Frank, 31 Ewloe Place

George, 27 Ewloe Place

Joseph, 27 Ewloe Place

Charles, 27 Ewloe Place

Ernest and Frank were the brothers of my grandfather, Charles. George, Joseph and

Charles were their cousins. This Charles Kelsall later owned a men’s clothing shop in

Mill Lane Buckley. (Note duplication of two names in next door neighbour cousins!).



48

John Kelsall and Sarah Jones - Kelsall in Spon Green and Pennsylvania

John and Joseph Kelsall, sons of John Kelsall and grandsons of Joseph Kelsall and Esther

Thornton emigrated to America. John’s daughter Henrietta and granddaughter Blanche

visited Peter Kelsall in Denver in 2005.

John Kelsall was born about 1828. He appears in the 1841 census, aged 13, living with

father Joseph (and brother, Joseph, my 2x great grandfather). John Kelsall married Sarah

Jones at Chester St. Mary in 185163. In the 1851 census John (22) and Sarah (22) are

living in the Lane End with daughter Emma, 2, William Jones, 56, and his wife, Mary,

50. John is listed as William’s brother in law. John and Sarah are traced living in Spon

Green until the 1911 census. Sarah died in August 1915 aged 8864. By this time she was a

widow, living with her son, William. John died in 1914 aged 8665.

From the MIs for Buckley Cemetery, Mary Chapman d of John and Sarah Kelsall,

Buckley, died July 1903 aged 17, also John Kelsall father of the above, died April 10,

1914 aged 67, also Sarah his wife who died 18 Nov 1916 aged __ years. From GRO John

died 86 and Sarah 87, and it seems that Mary Chapman was 47 (from GRO),

corresponding to daughter Mary born 1855.

There is a grave at Bistre for Leonard Kelsall died 16 Feb 1961 aged 62, husband of

Violet Chapman. From FreeBMD Leonard was born Bolton (not found in GRO). Violet

died 1976 aged 81. FreeBMD does not show a Violet born locally. I have not found a

marriage. Not found in 1939 Register.

From the 1911 census, John and Sarah had 12 children, six of whom were alive in 1911.

Known children born between 1849 and 1876 are:

Emma: Born c. 1849, married Edward Peters, Chester St. Mary, December quarter

187266. Edward and Emma were living in Church Rd. 1881 with children Arthur 7, Mary

6, and John 4. Emma died June 5 1882, 2 days after son Joseph aged 10 weeks. Edward

died in 1932.

William: in Cumberland in 1881 working as a brakeman on the London & NW Railway.

In Spon Green in 1901 and 1911, living with mother at time of her death in 1915. Died

1929 aged 7767.

Hannah: married Edward Wainwright 187568, living in Spon Green 1911, died 1927

(ancestor of Marjorie Houseman)

Mary: Born 1855, not found after 1871. Seems she died as Mary Chapman but marriage

not found.

63 certificate 64 Sarah’s distressing end is recorded in the County Herald. 65 FreeBMD 66 Edward/Emma Peters from Marg Pember, except 1881 census. 67 FreeBMD 68 certificate



49

Joseph: Born Aug 25, 185969 - see below

Isaac: Born c. 1859, died 1867

Isaac: Born 1869, not found after 1881

John: Born Aug 15 1872, see below

Thomas: Born 1876. Living at Monks Coppenhall in 1901, married Elizabeth Jane

Telford 190970 and living in Nantwich 1911.

The six children alive in 1911 were apparently Emma, William, Hannah, Joseph, John

and Thomas.

From Ellen Dunn’s diary71:

“William and Joseph Kelsall from America” 21 April 1883

“William and Joseph Kelsall went to America again” in March 1886

“John Kelsall left here” April 28, 1887, also for America.

From passenger lists (Ancestry):

William Kelsall aged 30 arrived New York 17 April, 1882 (identified from

England not Wales). This age is correct for William son of John and Sarah. Also,

William’s census entry in 1911 is marked both born Buckley, and “British subject

by parentage”

John Kelsall arrived New York, 11 May 1887, aged 11. There is nothing in the

passenger list to tie this John to Buckley but the date corresponds well with the

date of John leaving Buckley from Ellen Dunn. John Kelsall son of John and

Sarah should have been 14 in 1887.

Joseph Kelsall aged 43, collier from Buckley destination Philadelphia, arrived 24

Sept 1903. This is fairly clearly Joseph son of John and Sarah, aged 39 in the

1900 US Census.

John Kelsall

John was born in August 1872 as shown by the 1900 US census and the GRO record

which also confirms mother’s name Jones:

According to the marriage license his parents were Joseph and Mary and he was 23 when

married. I cannot explain why these differ from the birth to John and Sarah in 1872 which

I believe to be correct. GRO has a John Kelsall registered Holywell Sept Q 1872, mother

69 Certificate 70 FreeBMD 71 Buckley Magazine 11



50

Jones; no birth in 1870. Joseph Kelsall and Mary Fennah had a son, John, but he was

born in 1850.

John Kelsall is not found with his parents John and Sarah in 1881. We do find John

Kelsall born Buckley, age 8, visitor, living with Joseph and Elizabeth Jones, 5 Samuel St.

Monks Coppenhall, Cheshire. John and Sarah’s son Thomas was in Monks Coppenhall in

1901. Also, is this Jones family related to Emma Jones who married John’s brother,

Joseph?

There is an immigration record on Ancestry which appears to show John Kelsall arrived

New York, 11 May 1887, aged 11. There is nothing in the passenger list to tie this John

to Buckley but the date corresponds well with the date of John leaving Buckley according

to a diary kept by a Buckley woman, Ellen Dunn “John Kelsall left here April 28, 1887,

also for America”. In May 1887, John was actually 14. By proximity on the passenger list

he may have been traveling with Kate and Emma Jones. This would appear to be Emma

who married John’s brother Joseph, the next day, 12 May 1887 in Clearfield County

John Kelsall aged 27 appears in the 1900 US census in Rush, Centre County,

Pennsylvania (near State College) with wife Sarah, and children Joseph and Sarah born in

Pennsylvania in October 1893 and July 1895. John married Sarah Ellen Williams, 8 June

1893 in Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Later, John and Sarah Ellen had children Edith,

Emma, Bertha and Henrietta, and lived in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. John and Sarah

were living in Niagara Falls in 1930. John died in 1938 in Niagara Falls. Sarah died in

Niagara Falls in 1974, aged 101. The mother’s genes for longevity were evidently passed

to four of her daughters. Henrietta lived to almost 100. Emma to 100, Edith to 96 and

Bertha to 87.

It was Henrietta born 1912 who came to visit in Denver72.

72 Before I contacted Blanche and Henrietta I had received an e-mail from Eric Kelly. "The lady we met in

Niagara Falls was Mrs Henrietta (known as "Netty") Geschwender. When we met her - about two years ago

now - she was a very sprightly lady well into her ninth decade. She had driven over to meet us whilst we

were with some other quite elderly folks who are related to my wife. It was only as we were taking leave

that she mentioned - quite casually - that her father came from Buckley. She was born in the US: her

maiden surname was Kelsall and we think that Geschwender is her second married name- if we've

remembered it all correctly, her first marriage was to a Freeman.)



51

John and Sarah were living in Niagara in 1930. Sarah died in Niagara Falls in 1974, aged

101. John died after 193073. Emma died in Niagara Falls in 2005 aged 100. Henrietta was

93 when she visited in 2005.

Joseph Kelsall

Joseph was born 25 August 1859. He married Emma Jones in Clearfield County,

Pennsylvania 12 May 1887, apparently the day after Emma arrived in New York. From

family records, they had no children74.

Joseph Kelsall appears in the 1900 US census in Ashcroft, Clearfield County,

Pennsylvania with wife Emma, both aged 39. From the census, Joseph was born August

1860 but this was actually 1859. From the census, he immigrated in 1880; Ellen Dunn’s

diary shows that he made trips in 1883 and 1886 also, with another brother William who

returned to Buckley. Emma was born in November 1862 and immigrated in 1888. Joseph

and Emma had no children. In 1920, they were living in Patton, Cambria County.

73 Not found in SSDI 74 Blanche Chase



52

Joseph died 20 August 1924 in Spangler, Cambria County, Pennsylvania.



53

The Kelsall Family of Audley, 1530 to 1750

The Kelsall family tree in Audley prior to about 1720 is largely derived from the “Kelsall

Pedigrees”, a manuscript held by the Staffordshire Record Office75. Information on later

generations is obtained from a set of pedigrees76 used by George Kelsall in 1833 in

connection with his claim for the estate of his grandfather, Richard Kelsall (see below)

and from the history of Audley published by Richard Parrott in 173377. Where possible,

these sources have been checked against the parish registers. There are several

ambiguities in the pedigrees and discrepancies with other documents, not least because

all males seem to have been named Richard, William and John! (These names were even

repeated for cousins in the same generation). However, the direct line back to James

Kelsall is not in doubt.

Speake78 provides this general description of Audley over the period when the Kelsall

family lived there.

“From the 17th century onwards there is increasing evidence of farmers being engaged in

other occupations, thus supplementing the poor returns on pastoral farming. As early as

the mid 16th century small industries were to be found in the parish. These were coal

mining, iron making, nail making and shoe making. Some took to linen weaving and rope

making.

“Parrott’s survey in 1733 gives a clear picture of the way in which the land in and

around Audley was split up into small estates. Some of the owners of the estates were

wealthy enough to put money into coal mines or leased their land to coal miners.”

As we shall see, this is an apt description for the Kelsall family, who were involved in

shoemaking, nailing and coal mining.

75 The original book includes hundreds of family trees and this introduction. “An alphabetical genealogy of all the

persons which are in any whitt a near neighbour unto me as far I know or can get information of.” The original

manuscript is delicate and not available for open inspection, but the SRO is in the process of preparing a complete

transcript. The Audley Family History Society holds hand-drawn copies of some of the pedigrees relating

to Audley Parish, but their holdings do not include any Kelsall families. The author commissioned a transcript

of the sections relating to the Kelsall name in 1999. According to Parrott [Ref. 3], William Kelsall of Hall o’ Wood

compiled the Kelsall Pedigrees between 1680 and 1690. In the Kelsall sections the latest dates written in the original

hand are from 1711 while dates starting in 1714 appear in a different hand. William Kelsall died in 1720.

76 Copies of these pedigrees and related historical papers were provided to me by John McNamara of

Queensland who had obtained them from Stella Meaton of Crewe. I believe that the original documents

are held at the William Salt Library.

77

Parrott, Richard, An Account Who Hath Enjoyed the Severall Estates in the Parish of Audley and

Hamlett of Talk in the County of Stafford for 200 Years Past, 1733 78 Speake, Robert, Audley, An Out of the Way Quiet Place, The University of Keele, 1972



54

Origins of the Kelsall Name

The Kelsall name most obviously derives from the village of the same name in Cheshire.

The name means “Kell’s nook or recess” and is derived from the Middle English personal

name Kell (Old Norse Kell or Ketill) and the Middle English hale, a nook, recess or

corner of land (Old English halh)79.

The village is mentioned in the Domesday Book (1086) and the name Adam de Kelsall

appears as early as 127780. William Kelsall was Sheriff of Chester in 1335 and Stephen

de Kelsall was Mayor of Chester in 1350. (Much later, John Kelsall was Mayor of

Chester in 1768 and his name appears on the Eastgate Arch below the famous clock, said

to be the most photographed clock in the world after Big Ben.) Henry Kelsall was Mayor

of Chester 1843-4.

A John de Kelsall was an archer at Agincourt in 141581

James Kelsall of Audley, Staffordshire (died 1583)

The Kelsall family in Audley was established by James Kelsall who “came forth of

Cheshire”82. According to Lysons83 James was related to the Kelsall family of Bradshaw

Hall in Cheadle. Ormerod84 gives a genealogy of this Bradshaw family but it does not

include James.

The earliest Kelsall record in the parish registers is Johanna Kelsall baptized September

7, 1539 at Betley85. Johanna is described as “Viciata” meaning illegitimate. I have not

been able to link this record to any other.

79 Hanks P. and F. Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames, Oxford University Press, 1988

80 The ancient history of the Kelsall name in Cheshire is derived from 3 sources:

− Hinchcliffe, The Rev. Edward, Barthomley: In Letters From A Rector To His Eldest Son, Longman,

Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1856

− Lysons, The Rev. Daniel and Samuel Lysons, Magna Britannia being a Topographic Account of the

Several Counties of Great Britain, 1810.

− Kelsall, John, Notes on the Family of Kelsall, paper presented to The Society of Genealogists, 1916

(LDS Film No. 0990284)

81 Muster Roll Database. http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/database/search_musterdb.php

82 Kelsall Pedigrees

83 Lysons, 1810

84 Ormerod, George, 1882, History of the County Palatine and City of Chester

85 from the Thicknesse transcriptions of the Betley registers reproduced by Patrick Corness

(http://www.betley.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm)

http://www.icmacentre.ac.uk/soldier/database/search_musterdb.php

http://www.betley.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm



55

The earliest mention of James Kelsall is his place on the Muster Roll of 153986. The

Muster Roll was a list of 95 men who could be called to arms to help suppress a rising in

the reign of Henry VIII. James is listed as possessing “a bill and a peir of splentes” (i.e. a

5 or 6-foot staff topped with a hook and spear head, and splints for tying broken bones).

According to the Kelsall Pedigrees “James came to Audley and married Agnes and had

by her Ellen who married John Smith of Park Lane…Then he buried Agnes his wife

November 20 and married Joan Short he being 87 years old February 27 both 1563…”

Continuing from the pedigrees, “James was buried at Audley, August 29, 158387 being

107 years old”. To the present author this longevity is not credible88. At 107, James

would surely have been one of the oldest people alive anywhere on earth; moreover he

would been 93 when his son John was born in 1569!

The Audley registers show two sons born to James, William (1565) identified as Vicar of

Audley and John (1569). John’s will89 made in 1630 identifies him as a “nealer” and

makes bequests to children, James, John, Anne and Joanne. John’s descendants may be

traced through the wills of James and John and via the pedigrees and Audley registers,

but are not considered further in this article.

William Kelsall (1565-1649), Vicar of Audley

Inscriptions at Audley Church show that William Kelsall was Vicar of Audley from 1592

(when he succeeded his father-in-law, Andrew Beech) to 1619, and in 1646 when he was

ejected by the Parliamentary Committee together with his son, John, who was also his

curate. The following entry appears in the Audley registers at the bottom of the page for

baptisms in 1646:

“Here William Kelsall and his curare John Kelsall were sequestrated and ejected for

adhering to the King Charles I and King Charles II returning to his throne John Kelsall

returned to his vicarage August 9th, 1660”

William’s baptism (January 11, 1565), and marriage to Ann (September 21, 1592),

daughter of Andrew Beech (clericus, Audley) are recorded in the Audley registers. The

following note also appears in the Audley registers: “April 3, 1646 - ends the handwriting

of William Kelsall...He died in exile and was buried at Audley 1653”. William’s will was

86 Speake, 1972, p 16

87 As recorded in the Audley registers James identified as “Jacobus” was buried June 29 1583. The registers

also include the burial for Agnes but I have not found a record of the marriage to Joan Short.

88 The author speculates that there may have been a father and son, James, who have become confused

together in subsequent memory. The only original source for the age is the Kelsall Pedigrees compiled

over 100 years after James’s death.

89 The author has obtained more than 20 Kelsall wills from the Staffordshire and Cheshire Record Offices

ranging in dates from 1630 to 1802. The Audley & District FHS holds copies and transcripts.



56

prepared on June 8, 1649 and the inventory refers to “William Kelsall, vicar of Audley,

late deceased, taken August 16, 1649”.90

Speake’s history of Audley provides more information concerning William Kelsall’s role

as a Royalist in the Civil War:

Headed by the Vicar, William Kelsall, many of the villagers were Royalist sympathisers

and had taken an oath against Parliament in favour of King Charles I.. In the Stafford

Committee's Order Book an entry for 21st March, 1643 says of the Vicar: "That Wm.

Kelsall clarke vickar of Audleye havinge delivered formerlye upon the propositions a

mare valued to 8 Ii; and nowe paid in money 20 marks, it shall be further considered

this daye 3 weeks what corse to take with him because of his takinge the oathe against

the parliament." John Kelsall, the curate, was imprisoned but released, by an order

also of 21st March 1643, "upon the undertakinge of his brother Wm. Kelsall that he

shall appear here at Stafford before the Committee there this daie three weeks." John

had by this time paid a £20 fine but the Committee still wished to consider "whether by

takinge the oathe against parliament he be a delinquent and oughte to compound for

his whole estate."

On 6th November 1644 an order was made that "Wm. Kelsall Vicar of Audley shall for

his malignancy pay 30 Ii. without any abatement and to stand committed till he pay the

same or give security for it and his estate to be sequestered for non payment", but less

than a week later, on 11th November, he tried to excuse himself from payment as

"divers of his Inhabitants and others refuse to pay theyr Tithes and other dues". Despite

the Committee's prompt order that "every one of them shall pay theyr said Tithes and

dues unless they can shew sufficient cause to the contrary" these had been paid by only

four Audley people by 13th May 1645.

William Kelsall’s will identifies three sons, William, John and Richard, and a daughter

Margery who married Gabriell Smith91. The inventory amounts to almost £21, the largest

items being £5 for two young cows, £4 for his clothes, £2 for bedsteads, £2 for vessels of

brass and £1 for one large swine. William’s son, John, was Curate of Betley in 165592

succeeded his father as Vicar of Audley after the Civil War. John’s 1668 will refers to his

two deceased wives (Margaret Brook and Elizabeth Haworth), and children John and

Mary (who married Thomas Vernon). His inventory, not including property, amounted to

£424, equivalent to over £30,000 in today’s terms; this included £160 in books, worth

over £11,000 today.

90 I have not found a record of a burial for William in 1649 or 1653. 91 The registers show two more of William’s children, Thomas and Anne, who died before their father.

Anne’s will prepared in December 1638 left all her worldly possessions to her father.

92 From the Preface to the Thicknesse transcription of the Betley registers reproduced by Patrick Corness

(http://www.betley.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm)




57

From A Puritan Survey of the Church in Staffordshire, 1604, the Vicar of Audley Parish

church, Mr. Kelsall, is described as “a mere worldling”. It is speculated that the

description of Vicar Kelsall as a “worldling, i.e. a worldly person, seems to imply a lack

of spiritual conviction”. 93

Richard Kelsall of Balterley (1606-1683) and Dorothy Booth

William’s younger surviving son, Richard, was born in 1606 and married Dorothy Booth

on June 10, 162894. Richard was a shoemaker95. Most of what is known of Richard and

his son Richard concerns the Hall o’ Wood estate. This estate included a splendid

Elizabethan manor house which has been restored and still stands near Balterley about 2

miles west of Audley near the A52 Audley to Nantwich road.

According to a brochure prepared recently for sale of the property, the house was built in

1557 for Judge George Wood of Chester96. From Speake’s history of Betley97, we see

from the Hearth Tax of 1666 that Hall o’ Wood was occupied by Mrs. Wood and was

charged for six hearths. Richard Kelsall occupied another house at Balterley also with six

hearths. It appears that Richard Kelsall became the first Kelsall to own Hall o’ Wood

sometime between 1666 and 1681 when he prepared his will98.

Quoting from Parrott99, “On the north side Halmerend Lane there is a house and land

which has longe belonged to the Kelsalls. Its said that one of the Kelsalls married one

Beeches only daughter, and so came to that estate. Richard Kelsall who was a

shoemaker long enjoyed that estate. He had 2 sons named William and Richard. He gave

William, the elder, the Hall of Wood estate, and Halmerend estate he gave his son

Richard, who married and had 3 sons, Richard, William, and John. William the uncle

93 Published in the Audley and District family History Society Newsletter, February 2007 94 As recorded by an extract from the Audley registers made in 1831. As recorded by the Kelsall Pedigrees

Richard married Dorothy Beech. The pedigrees prepared by George Kelsall give the name as Dorothy

Booth.

95 Parrott, 1733. p. 22

96 In Lysons’ 1810 account, the house was built by Thomas Wood, “lord chief justice of the common pleas”, in the

early part of the sixteenth century. From the Preface to the Thicknesse transcription of the Betley registers (reproduced

by Patrick Cornesse at http://www.betley.fsnet.co.uk/index.htm), “George Woodde "legis peritus" buried in June, 1558,

was one of the Justices of Chester, and is said to have re-built his family mansions at Hall-atte-Wood or Hollywood, in

Balterley, now also owned by Mr. Fletcher Twemlow”.

97 Speake, Robert, Betley, A Village of Contrasts, The University of Keele

98 According to Lysons, the Kelsalls obtained the hall by marriage. In his history of Barthomley,

Hinchcliffe contests this, saying that he could find no record that any Kelsall married a Wood, and he

preferred the view that Richard Kelsall had purchased the estate early in the 17th century. It may be

noteworthy that Richard Kelsall’s nephew, Joseph, married Ann Wood daughter of Ralph Wood of

Balterley c. 1658 [Kelsall Pedigrees]. According to the Kelsall Pedigrees, Richard Kelsall acquired

Halmerend by marriage to Dorothy Beech, daughter of Andrew Beech, and bought Hall o’Wood.

99 Parrott, 1733. p. 22




58

gave to Richard his nephew the Hall of Wood estate, and his son now enjoys it. William,

Richard Kelsall of Halmerend’s second son, is an Attorney at Law and now lives in

Market Drayton in Shropshire. Richard, the father gave that estate in Halmerend to John

his youngest son who now lives at it and is married and has children.”

Tying in this information from Parrott with the Kelsall genealogies, William Kelsall

(vicar of Audley) married Ann Beech and so came to the Halmerend estate. William’s

son Richard (1606-1683) apparently occupied both Halmerend and Hall o’ Wood.

Halmerend passed to Richard (1650-1717) and then John (1688-1746), both direct

ancestors of the author.

After Richard Kelsall (1606-1683), Hall o’Wood passed down off the author’s direct line,

first to William (1641-1720) the compiler of the Kelsall Pedigrees. The interesting

history of Hall o’ Wood culminated in a lawsuit in the 1830’s (see later section).

Richard and Dorothy Kelsall’s deaths are recorded on reasonably well preserved

gravestones set in the path in Audley churchyard. The inscriptions read:

“Here lyeth the body of Richard Kelsall of Hallmerend who dyed the 29th day of April

1683”

“Here lyeth the body of Dorothy Kelsall of Halmerend who dyed 24 Jan and buryed the

27th 1687”

Richard Kelsall’s will was prepared in 1681 two years before his death. The will leaves

“the Hall of Wood and all lands, tenements…. appertaining with ..” to his son William,

and makes bequests to his wife Dorothy, son Richard, and grandchildren Smith, Mary,

Ann and Sarah Childe100, and Elizabeth Poole101. The value of the inventory, not

including any property, was £158.15s.

Dorothy Kelsall’s will was prepared November 17, 1686 a little over two months before

her death. Her bequests were to her older son, William, younger son, Richard and

grandchildren Sarah Kelsall102, Ann Kelsall, Elizabeth Pool, Mary___103, Smith Child,

William Kelsall and Richard Kelsall. (John Kelsall on the author’s direct line was not

born until 1688.) Dorothy’s will includes the following: “My will and mind is that the

chest in the higher parlour shall be an heireloom to them that shall enjoy Halmerend

House, and if any goods in the house are unbequeathed my will and mind is my son

Richard shall have them.” The house itself is not included in the will, presumably

100 Children of Ann Kelsall and Smith Child of Boyles Old Hall in 1660. Their descendants include

Admiral Smith Child (1730-1813) and Smith Child of Rownall Hall near Leek who was Member of

Parliament for the Northern Division of Stafford in 1856 [Hinchcliffe, Ref. 5, p. 169].

101 Daughter of Elizabeth Kelsall and Daniel Pool.

102 From information provided by Robert Mayer this is Sarah Child who married her second cousin, William Kelsall

and caused much confusion for future genealogists.

103 Probably Mary (Maria) Childe



59

because it would have passed automatically to son Richard. Dorothy’s estate was

inventoried at £206.10s, of which £165 was in bills bonds and obligations. Each

grandchild was given between £10 and £30.

Parrott contains the following passage describing Richard Kelsall’s interest in coal

mining.

“The next house on the south Halmerend Lane that is free land, did formerly belonge to

one Mr. Cooke of Drayton, and about 70 years since [i.e. c. 1663] one John Viggers

(nicknamed Thumper Viggers) bought it of Mr. Cooke. Viggers came out of Shropshire,

from Rockardine.) He was a ground collier and became partner with one Richard Kelsall

his neighbour in coalworkes under the Bretts in a piece of land called Scothay, where he

got his money.”

Also, from the will of John Viggars104 of Halmerend (1594 - 1666/7), dated September 1,

1666:

“And I give and bequeath unto John Viggars and Nicholas Viggars, my kinsmen, all tithe,

chyme and interest in the coal mine or coal mines which Richard Kelsall, Edward Stubbs

and I hold from the Mr. William Sneyd and Mr. Edward Brett the Younger”

Thus, the Kelsall family was involved in coal mining from before 1666. The Richard

named in the will is presumed to be Richard (1606 - 1683) since his son Richard would

have been only 16 in 1666.

Richard Kelsall of Halmerend (1650-1717) and Catherine Sherratt (1648-1723)

As related by Parrott, this Richard inherited Halmerend while his brother William

inherited Hall o’ Wood. Richard married Catherine Sherratt and had 3 sons, Richard,

William and John, at least one daughter, Anne (who married William Moore), and

possibly another daughter Mary.

Richard’s epitaph appears on the same flagstone at Audley Church as that of his father:

“Richard son of the above written Richard Kelsall was also interred Feb 17th Ano Dom

1718 ano etat 68”

The will of “Richard Kelsall of Halmerend, Yeoman” was prepared on the 14th January

1718. His bequests were to his sons, Richard, William and John, his daughter Anne

Moore, John’s sons Richard and William, and his wife Catherine105. Richard’s inventory

104 John Viggors was one of the appraisers of Dorothy Kelsall’s will; Henry Viggors was one of the

appraisers of Richard Kelsall’s will (1683). In 1760 Henry Vigars and John Kelsall were partners in a

lease for the Maesyglen and Trelogan lead mine.

105 Anne’s children are mentioned but not by name. There is no mention of any children of Richard.



60

taken 18th February 1718 amounted to £100. 9s, including £85 in money and bonds.

Possessions are listed for the following rooms: the parlour, buttery, chamber over the

parlour, and the shoppe. (One of the witnesses to the will was Joseph Berks. Richard’s

grandson, Richard would marry Mary Birks.)

Catherine’s epitaph is also on the flagstone at Audley Church:

“Catherine wife of the above lait Richard Kelsall was likewise interred April the 18th

Ano Dom 1723 ano etat 74”

Catherine’s will was prepared in 1722. Her bequests were to her sons, John and William,

and daughter Anne Moores. The only grandchild mentioned is William “the son of my

deceased son, Richard”. Her inventory taken April 17th 1723 amounted to £32.12s. 9d,

and included £17 in money.

John Kelsall of Halmerend (1688-1746)

John Kelsall was occupying Halmerend in 1733 at the time of Parrott’s survey. The

Kelsall Pedigrees show John Kelsall married Hannah Henbury while his brother Richard

married Hannah Machin.106 107 108

From the Kelsall Pedigrees, John Kelsall married Hannah Henbury, daughter of Robert

Henbury of Weston, March 29 1712109. Children listed in the Pedigrees are Richard, born

March 2 1712110 and baptized March 29 1713; William 1714, Anne 1715 and Hannah

1716. From John's will, he had another son, also John born about 1719, and a daughter

Sarah born about 1724111, 112.

The burials of both John and Hannah are recorded on inscriptions at Audley Church:

106 The International Genealogical Index (IGI) lists the marriage of John Kelsall and Hannah Machin, 24

April 1706 in Stoke. I have followed the pedigree in reporting John married to Hannah Henbury and

Richard to Hannah Machin. Philip Machin was a witness to the will of Hannah “widow of Hall o’

Wood” and the wife of Richard. John’s will does not provide any evidence. The IGI also includes a

marriage of John Kelsall to Jane Colclough in Audley 1706. I have not found another reference to a

marriage of Richard Kelsall and Hannah Machin. From the Bathomley registers, burial of Mrs. Hannah

Kelsall of Hall of Wood 16 August 1728

107 The Marriage Bonds of the Archdeaconry of Cheshire (posted on the Internet by Carol Woods, Jan 12,

2002, includes for 29 Mar 1712 “John Kelsall of Audley, co. Stafford, yeo. and Hannah Henbury, p. of

Wybunbury, co. Chester, spr. Bndsmn.: John Illidge of Nantwich, co. Chester and John Kelsall of

Audley. Witn.: Henry Gibbons and Geo. Gibbons.

108 From parish registers, John Kelsall married Hannah Machin 1706, Stoke. John Kelsall married Hannah

Henbury 1712 Nantwich.

109 From Wybunbury registers (transcribed by Cheshire parish register Project) Hannah daughter of Robert

Henbury of Wybunbury bapt. 8 April 1691 110 1712 as listed in my transcription. Possibly a mistake? 111 I.G.I. 112 The William Salt Collection includes a extract from the Audley registers made in 1834 for Johanes

baptised 13 September 1719



61

“Here lyeth the body of John Kelsall of Hallmerend who was interred April 29th 1746

aged 58”

“Hannah the wife of John Kelsall was here interred Dec 1 1764 a.63”113

John’s will was prepared April 6th 1746. He makes bequests to his wife Hannah, sons

John, William and Richard, and daughters Sarah Kelsall and Hannah Green. The will

makes cash bequests totaling £135 but Richard receives only a long table, cupboard and

“flying Gun”. By comparison, John and Sarah as joint executors received £40 and £60

respectively. As the eldest son Richard would have inherited the house automatically.

Hall o’ Wood

After Richard Kelsall (1606-1683), Hall o’ Wood passed down to William, the compiler

of the Kelsall pedigrees and the brother of my direct ancestor, Richard. William

apparently had no children (at least any surviving)114. According to Parrott and

Hinchcliffe, after William’s death Hall o’Wood passed back to Richard’s son Richard,

then Richard’s son Thomas, and Thomas’ son William. When William died in 1802 the

estate passed to his sister, Elizabeth who was married to William Tait. Hence, the estate

passed from the Kelsall family to the Tait family, and it has since had many owners.

Hinchcliffe lists some of these owners and describes summer visits to Hall o’ Wood when

he was a boy. At that time the estate was occupied by Mrs. Kelsall, the widow of the last

Kelsall to occupy the house before it passed by inheritance to the Taits.

In 1833, George Kelsall, a grandson of Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks (see below),

petitioned the Lord Chancellor that he was the lawful heir to his grandfather’s estate,

including Hall o’Wood. He appears to have claimed that Hall o’Wood passed to the Tait

family by false pretenses whereas other evidence presented above suggests that it passed

to Tait through Elizabeth Kelsall’s marriage to William Tait. The petition states that Hall

o’Wood had been part of the estate of George’s grandfather, Richard (1713-1780), but it

appears (mostly from Hinchcliffe’s account) that Hall o’Wood would have been occupied

in Richard’s lifetime by his cousins, William and Thomas. Evidently, George did not win

his case although not for lack of pleading as the following transcript of his petition115 will

show.

Burslem Pottery

Staffordshire

Sept. 29th, 1833

113 From the transcription by the Audley FHS. Presented as "a.63(5?). If Hannah was born in 1701 she was

only 11 when married. From baptism 73 is correct. 114 William’s will prepared in 1720 refers to his wife, Margaret (Craddock) and his nephews John and

William, sons of Richard, and William Robinson, his sister Anne’s son. This latter reference is confusing

since his sister Anne married Smith Child.

115 Transcript of George Kelsall’s petition to the Lord Chancellor, obtained from Stella Meaton by John McNamara,

and transcribed by Peter Kelsall



62

My Lord,

I do humbly solicit your Lordship’s attention for a Moment, and hope I may not offend, My Lord,

I am heartily grieved, and wish to lay down before Your Lordship a case, that perhaps my Lord

never heard of. I have a great property, belonging to me, descended from my Grandfather,

Richard Kelsall, near Audley, Staffordshire, by the name of the Halmerend (or Big and Little

Halmerend) the Hollowood, and Gaurgey [Gorsty?] Hill, and the Botchtons [Bottleows?] is

between Hanley and Lane End in the Pottery Staffordshire.

My grandmother’s brother, Robert Birks, was left Trustee, he dying left the Trust to his son

George, he being dead also, Thomas the youngest son of George is now in Trust. These have

withheld all and every Part of the Property from the Kelsall Family. My uncles being all dead,

and I am the heir.

My Lord I have been frequently accustomed to visit Birks’ family and Thomas Birks has told me

that he has got writings and Titles of my Grandfather’s from as low as 5 pounds to a great

amount, a Chest full, and that I should enjoy my property, but instead he has sold several Places

(?) a few years ago, by the name of Joseph Birks my great uncle on my Grandmother’s side who

has been dead upwards of 30 years. Also he has received Mine Rents due from the Burnwood

Royalty near Hawarden, Flintshire, Wales, since my Uncle’s death, that was left by my

Greatuncle, George Birks, which the Kelsalls have had in their own Power ever since my

Greatuncle’s death. The Hollowood where John Tate milks 40 cows, is and has been up for sale

three times, but can make no title. Too this last spring (1833) there was a fall of Ash and 90 great

oak trees. My Lord, these things and more are going on in the face of me, and hearing of your

Lordship’s most excellent benevolence and ??? towards poor individuals particularly, I am come

personally to lay it under my Lord’s Patronage and due pray that my Lord will consider well this

subject. I have got my Pedigree with me and more papers if my Lord will please to investigate

which will explain more fully the affair. Pray my Lord execute this poor and humble petition but

the universal good and the most excellent and praise worthy appellation of your Lordship’s trust,

and hope that My Lord will hear a poor supplicant. May God grant that I may find favor in the

site of My Lord to take it under his protection and to restore my rights,

I am

My Lord

Your most Obedient

And Humble Servant

George Kelsall

In 1881 Hall o ‘Wood was occupied by William Homb, described in the census as a

farmer of 202 acres employing 2 men and 1 boy.

In 1967, Hall o’ Wood was offered as an 85-acre dairy and mixed farm. Main electricity

was “close but not connected”. Later (mid 80s?), the house was described as follows:

“This truly unique Elizabethan Residence stands in 3 ½ acre landscape grounds and

occupies a superb elevated position enjoying unrivalled views over the surrounding

countryside. Its magnificent paneled and beamed interior is beautifully restored and a

major modernisation scheme has recently been completed to provide a house of

enormous character with high quality modern appointments. The well-proportioned and

excellently maintained accommodation includes a fine reception hall, drawing room with

inglenook fireplace, elegant dining room, study, playroom, superbly equipped kitchen,



63

laundry, six bedrooms, three with en suite shower, w.c., two bathrooms and full central

heating. The grounds are mainly lawned and partly walled and contain a hard tennis

court, heated swimming pool, out offices and garages.”

The Move to Flintshire; Richard Kelsall (1713-1780) and Mary Birks


Parish Church in Flintshire on February 14, 1780116. Mary Birks was born in Newcastle

under Lyme and died in 1791 in Pentrobin (Buckley), Hawarden Parish. Richard and

Mary were married at Newcastle under Lyme January 19, 1734117.

Richard and Mary had 11 children, Richard, William, Mary, John, Joseph, George,

Nancy, Sarah, Hannah, Ann and Robert born between 1736 and 1762. The first 7 children

up to and including Nancy in 1750 were apparently born in Audley, and the last three in

Mold Parish, Flintshire, probably in Bistre in present-day Buckley118. The Mold Parish

registers list three Kelsall baptisms from the period, all with father and mother Richard

and Mary: Hannah baptised May 19, 1755; Robert, July 1, 1758; and Sarah, April 25,

1762. This would mean that the family must have moved between 1750 and 1755. In

1758 Richard Kelsall was occupying land “by Sandycroft” at Burntwood in Buckley119.

In 1760, John Kelsall, probably Richard's brother, was a partner in a lease for the

Maesyglen and Trelogan lead mine, with Henry Vigars, Thomas Oldfield and John

Cratchley120.

Most of Richard's children are known to have died in Hawarden parish, but some

connections with Staffordshire were retained.

116 Hawarden registers.

117 Mary died in Bistre (Buckley) in 1791, aged 72. From this, it appears that Mary was born in 1718 or

1719, and that she was only 14 or 15 when she married in 1734. From a search of the IGI (I have not yet

searched the original registers) a possible candidate for Mary is the Mary Birkes christened in Newcastle

31 Mar 1720, father Samuel and mother Elizabeth. (Another Mary, christened in Newcastle, 13 May

1720, to father John and mother Mary, died later in 1720.) George Kelsall’s claim for Hall o’Wood in

1833 indicates that Mary had brothers Robert, George and Joseph. In the 1750s, at the same time that

Richard and Mary Kelsall moved to Buckley, George Birks was manager of the Sandycroft colliery in the

Burntwood area of Buckley. A Joseph Birks, master firebrick maker, was buried 6 October 1801 at

Hawarden, aged 78. Another brother may have been John Birks, senior, a brickmaker of Pentrobin who

was buried at Hawarden, 24 February 1805 aged 87.

118 The present day town of Buckley occupies parts of two adjacent parishes, Hawarden, and Bistre, the

latter being a part of Mold Parish. Hawarden Parish was divided into several townships including

Pentrobin, Bannel, Buckley Mountain and Ewloe Wood.

119 Hawkes, G. I, The Astbury Family of Hawarden Parish and of Galchog Hall , Northop, Buckley

Magazine, 1994, pp. 16 – 31.

120 M. Bevan Evans, Gadlys and Flintshire Lead Mining in the Eighteenth Century, Flintshire Historical

Society, 20, 1962.



64

• Richard, the oldest child born in 1736, married Sarah Shore in Madeley,

Staffordshire in 1755. According to one of George Kelsall’s pedigrees,

Richard died in Neston in 1764121. One of his children, Thomas married Mary

Edwards in Stoke in 1778 and had several children in Stoke122.

• Joseph born in 1746 stayed in Staffordshire (or returned) and married Sarah

Mountford at Wolstanton in 1772. Joseph and Sarah have many descendants

in Hanley123.

Parish records show that the family was also connected to Neston in Cheshire. Buckley is

about 32 miles from Audley, and about 8 miles from Neston. The obvious connection

between all three locations is coal mining.

George Kelsall’s claim for Hall o’ Wood also mentions parts of Richard Kelsall’s estate,

including Halmerend, Gorstyhill (both locations near Audley), The Botchlows (location

unknown, probably Botteslow) and mine rents due from the Burnwood Royalty near

Hawarden, Flintshire. The disposition of these properties is largely unknown. At the time

of his petition in 1833, Richard Kelsall and his family had long since moved to Buckley

or Neston, and George notes that Hannah Kelsall was receiving the Burnwood Royalty.

Did the family sell all the Staffordshire property before they moved to Buckley? It is

clear that the family fell considerably in prosperity; the first five generations in Buckley

lived very humble lives as coal miners rather than coal owners.

George Kelsall the Claimant

• Grandson of Richard Kelsall & Mary Birks (known from his claim)

• Eldest son of Joseph and Sarah Mountford (known from “Pedigree of George

Kelsall” – Pedigree F)

• Living at Burslem Pottery 1833 (known from his claim)

• Baptised 29 September 1776 at New Chapel married with issue (Pedigree E).

Christening confirmed from record on FamilySearch.

• Mentioned in 1835 affirmation by Hannah Peters as her nephew

• Possible deaths from FreeBMD with age from GRO

o Dec 1846 Newcastle L - 33

o 1848 Wolstanton - 0

o 1850 Stoke - 0

o 1852 Stoke - 1

o 1860 Stoke – 0

o 1869 Jun Q Stoke - 88 (is this him? should be 92

121 From Neston registers (transcribed by Cheshire Parish Register project) Richard Kelsall buried 27 April

1764. Sarah buried 5 Oct 1764 Neston (ibid) 122 Thomas Kelsall and Sarah Edwards may be the link to fellow Kelsall researchers, Andrew Pearson and

David Kelsall. 123 As submitted to the Church of Latter Day Saints Ancestral File by John McNamara.



65

• 1841 Cobridge, age 60, collier, m Susannah

• 1851 census, Rushton Grange, Cobridge, George, 68, b Burslem m to Susannah.

• 1861 Hanley, age 80 born Audley, retired coal miner, uncle, with another uncle

Richard, 83 born Audley

Is the George who married Susannah, found in census 1841 to 1861, and died 1869, the

same as George the claimant born 1776?

• The ages do not match, George b 1776 should have been 83 or 84 in 1860 (vs. 80

recorded), and 92 or 93 when he died (vs 88 recorded)

• From Pedigree E George b 1776 at New Chapel did have a brother Richard bapt.

29 Nov 1778 also at New Chapel. This Richard matches the Richard found in

1861 census. Richard died M Q 1863, Stoke age 86.

• George is shown in census to be born Audley vs. New Chapel in Pedigree E.

These locations are 7 miles apart.

• Would a “collier” be capable of petitioning to the Lord Chancellor?

• There is no other record of a George burial in FreeBMD/GRO that fits the age of

George born c.1776 (although we have no records for 1835 to 1837)

Considering all, while there are unresolved issues, it is likely that these all tie to George

the claimant.

Later Kelsalls in Audley

I have not yet traced a continuous line to the present day Kelsall families in the Audley

area who include Mr. Percy Kelsall and Mrs. Elsie Kelsall, widow of Maurice Kelsall. Of

some note, however, Mr. Percy Kelsall’s great uncle, also Percy Kelsall, won the Military

Medal as a Serjeant with the North Staffordshire Regiment in the First World War. He

was killed on the 29th September 1918 and is buried at Bedford House Cemetery,

Zillebeke, Ieper, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium. He was the son of William and Alice

Kelsall of Halmer End Hall, Halmer End. Daniel Kelsall, Percy’s half-brother, was a

Private in the 7th Btn., Norfolk Regiment. He was killed on the 18th September 1918 and

is buried at Epehy Wood Farm Cemetery, Epehy, Somme, France. Percy and Daniel died

only 11 days apart and less than 2 months before the Armistice.

I found no Kelsalls listed in the Land Tax records for Halmerend, 1781 to 1831124.

Correspondence from Mrs. Elsie Kelsall suggests their Kelsall family left Hall o’ Wood

around 1780 to farm at Bignall End. They may have later moved to Chesterton but her

husband, Maurice (Percy’s brother) was born at Halmer End Farm.

In the 1881 census, there are no Kelsalls living in Audley or Halmer End. Halmer End

Hall was occupied by William Glover described in the census as a farmer of 150 acres.

124 Land Tax Assessments, Fenton Vivian, Flashbrook, Hales, Halmer End, Hanchurch and Hanley,

Staffordshire, England (LDS Film 1469244)



66

Other Descendants of James Kelsall of Audley

Families of John McNamara, Andrew Pearson Kelsall, David Kelsall, Andrew Kelsall



67

Other Family Lines

see separate files for

Birks

Evans and Parry

Beckett and Maddock



68

Coal Mining History

It is evident that the Kelsall family moved to Buckley to engage in the expanding coal

industry. In this regard they were part of a great influx of both colliers and potters into

Hawarden parish from the Staffordshire coalfield and Potteries that took place in the

seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Coal mining had been practiced in the Ewloe area since the 1500s or earlier but in

shallow working such as bell pits. The later development has been traced by K. Lloyd

Gruffydd in The Development of the Coal Industry in Flintshire to 1740 (M.A. Thesis,

University of Wales, 1981). Six pits were working on the Hawarden estate in 1739 but

were evidently in poor condition which “no doubt influenced the Glynnes to lease some

mineral rights to a Chester business man in 1749 and become partners with two Salopian

gentlemen in 1750”. Examples of Staffordshire men involved were George Salt of Betley

who was granted a lease to dig for coal in Ewloe Wood in about 1730 and George

Sparrow, a Staffordshire ironmaster who leased Lloyd’s Hills in 1707.

Lloyd’s Hills, later to be known as Sandycroft, was located in Drury north of Drury Lane

and west of Burntwood Road (see James Bentley’s Graphic Map of Buckley). The 1880s

OS map shows a shaft location about 200 ft NW of the intersection of Drury Lane and

Burntwood Road adjacent to the Hills Field shown on the 1839 tithe map (reproduced by

Hawkes). Hawkes states that Sandycroft was located between Woods Field and the Hills

Field which would place it northwest of the noted shaft location in the area occupied by

the Parrot Tavern in 1839. The present day row of houses known as Lloyds Hills is

located a few hundred feet to the north along Burntwood Road.

In 1758 Richard Kelsall was occupying land “by Sandycroft” in Burntwood leased by

John Lloyd (from the 1758 tax assessment of the Glynne estate as reported by Hawkes in

The Astbury Family Of Hawarden Parish And Of Galchog Hall). And from George

Kelsall’s petition concerning Hall o’ Wood we know that Richard’s daughters, Hannah

and Sarah, were “living on the Burnwood royalty” in 1833.

Hawkes provides additional history of mining in Burntwood. Walter Stubbs of Shropshire

obtained the lease of the colliery at Lloyd’s Hills, later to be known as Sandycroft,

sometime before 1753125. In 1750 he obtained a lease from Sir John Glynne. Lord of the

Manor of Hawarden, for mines and coals in the townships of Pentrobin and Bannel.

Stubbs’ collieries at Mancot and Sandycroft were managed by George Berks, described

as a Staffordshire man. In 1751, he obtained a lease from Sir John Glynne to lay a

tramway from pits in Pentrobin and Bannel, and from a colliery he was working in Ewloe

called Cape Britton. Sir John Glynne became a partner at Sandycroft in 1760. Sandycroft

125 According to Willett (1822), on April 20, 1737 John Lloyd of Ewloe leased to James Gartside of Chester

the whole of his coals at Ewloe commonly known as Lloyd’s Hills. The lease was for 31 years, for £633

12s plus 10 tons of coal annually. According to Willett, Stubbs obtained the lease of Lloyd’s Hills from

Gartside in about 1747, and in 1765 he leased the adjoining coals belonging to Sir John Glynne at

Sandycroft



69

produced its first coals in 1753, just 5 tons, and by the end of 1756, production had risen

to 6,517 tons. In 1756, six pits were in operation, Sandycroft New Main Coal Pit, Berks'

Old Engine Pit, the Old Engine by Foxes, the Middle Pit, the Rise Pit and the Deep Pit. In

Willett’s (1822) account, “The Sandycroft Colliery was now carried on to a considerable

extent under the agency of Mr. George Berks, a Staffordshire gentleman, introduced here

by Mr. Stubbs….In 1777 Sir John died, his share being left to his daughters. Mrs.

Crewe’s portion was purchased by Mr. Berks, and the colliery was continued by Messrs

Stubbs, Berks, etc til the expiration of the lease, about 1790.

As noted above, George Berks was the manager of the Sandycroft Colliery. George was

the brother of Mary Birks.

Two accidents at Sandycroft are recorded in the Hawarden registers126. On April 8, 1783

James Davies, Samuel Ellis, Edward Ellis, Thomas Catherall and Thomas Read “burned

to death at Lime Wood Pit, Sandycroft”. On September 3, 1792 William Hewitt and

Samuel Dunn “burnt in the coal pit at Sandycroft”.

There were several factors associated with the expansion of the coal industry in this

period:

1. Opening of the Dee Canal in 1737 provided a route for exports of coal and pottery

and resulted eventually in the tramlines and railways that were constructed to connect

with the Buckley and Ewloe mines.

2. Improvements in technology allowed deeper mines to be dug and drained. One of the

first deep-shaft water pumps in Britain was installed in Ewloe Wood Colliery in 1716,

and a tunnel was dug one mile from Sandycroft Colliery to Hawarden in 1770.

3. Jonathon Catherall started manufacture of firebricks on Buckley Mountain soon after

1737. Buckley was ideally suited to this industry because of the presence in the Coal

Measures Strata of suitable fireclay and coal which was required for firing the bricks.

In turn the increased demand for coal and coke was increasing the demand for

firebricks. In 1756, John Wilkinson, another Staffordshire man, took over the

Bersham iron works and built one of the first coke-smelting furnaces using Buckley

firebricks.

Eventually there would be 31 collieries in Buckley, as listed by Gruffydd. These

included, with their opening dates: Knowl Lane (1756), Spon (1792), Lixwm Green

(1803), Nant Mawr (1806), Buckley Mountain (1828). The following statistics127 from

the 1851 census for the occupations of heads of households show the importance of

collieries to the area.

126 From G. I. Hawkes 127 Compiled for the townships of Ewloe Town and Bistre; not clear whether this includes Pentrobin and

Bannel. From The Buckley Dialect by John Kinnear.



70

A list of mines in 1896 compiled by the Inspector of Mines included 9 mines active in

Buckley:

Buckley’s last colliery, the Elm, was shut down in May 1934.

The family of Richard Kelsall was also linked to Neston across the Dee Estuary in

Cheshire. According to Neston 1840 - 1890, edited by G. W. Place, commercial mining

began in 1757 at Ness Colliery. Hawkes reports that Ness Colliery opened in 1750 and

that other Staffordshire families linked to both Buckley and Neston were Kidd, Hancock,

and Berks. Thomas Kidd, a collier from Madeley, was the grandfather of Emma

Hamilton, mistress to Lord Nelson (Emma, Lady Hamilton, Her Family and Friends on

Deeside).

From information prepared by Anthony Annakin Smith for a MS thesis, the Neston

colliery opened in 1759. 128

One of Richard’s sons, also Richard, died in Neston in 1764 (burial July 27). From parish

registers he had 5 children the first two born in Buckley (Thomas baptised September 21,

1756 and George baptised 10 March 1758), and three born in Neston, starting with John

(baptised 18 June 1762).

128 From an exhibition in the Neston Public Library viewed in 2009 based on a thesis by Anthony Annakin

Smith, and personal communication with same author

Collieries 123 (21%)

Potteries 15

Brick and tile 85

Agriculture 75

Service, retail and professional 286

Total 584

Name U/G Workers Surface Workers

Elm No. 1 260 47

Elm No. 2 92 23

Lane End 78 14

Mount Pleasant 116 22

Mountain 30 13

New Ash 45 10

Oak 42 3

Sandycroft 113 14

South Buckley 24 3

Totals 800 149



71

Another son of Richard Kelsall and Mary Birks, John was born in Audley in 1738 and

died in Buckley in 1796. From G. Kelsall Pedigrees, John died w/o issue, but I believe

that this was the John Kelsall who married Mary Webster in Neston in 1766 (Dec 15) and

had as many as 8 children in Neston between 1767 and 1785.129

Richard and John Kelsall men are listed as colliers in the Neston registers. From the

locations of baptisms we can say that Richard and Sarah moved to Neston between

March 1758 and June 1762. This coincides with the opening of coal mines in Neston in

1759.

129 The evidence for this is circumstantial but seems strong. It is reasonable that two brothers would have

moved to Neston together and I know of no other John who fits the dates. G. Kelsall’s pedigrees are

suspected to be biased in his favor for inheritance by showing rivals as having no issue.



72

Buckley History

The name Buckley first appears at the end of the 13th Century as the name applied to

common land in the Manor of Ewloe. The name may be derived from the Welsh “bwlch

clai” meaning clay hole or it may contain the word “buck”, a male deer. However, K.

Lloyd Gruffydd in The Manor of Ewloe and the Place Name Buckley presents a

convincing argument that the derivation is a “clearing in a beech wood”. Gruffydd has

traced references to the name “Bokkeley” to 1294 and to the present spelling “Buckley”

to 1606.

Buckley was not an early agricultural centre and its development was strongly linked to

the expansion of the coal and pottery industries in the 18th Century. In 1653, only one

cottage stood on the 177 acres of Buckley Common. By 1778 there were 14 potteries

located on the Common but these were kilns only, with people living in the peripheral

hamlets such as Alltami, Bannel, Bistre, Burntwood, Ewloe Green and Pentrobin.

Buckley’s industrial history was strongly influenced in the 18th century by immigrants

from Staffordshire (including the Kelsalls) and Lancashire. Buckley developed as an

industrial enclave within an otherwise largely agricultural area. One view of the

immigrants is given by Dodd130:

“Both potters and colliers flocked in from Staffordshire ‘many of them’

complained the good folk of Hawarden , ‘hackneyed in vicious habits’, and there

Denied the sound of holy bell

and care of scared pastor.

They formed a straggling, squalid, community, neglected by all but the Methodist

preachers, and preserving to this day, in speech and habits, the marks of its

separate origin”.

Richard and Mary Kelsall were among many Staffordshire people who moved to Buckley

in connection with the expanding coal and pottery. For example, George Salt of Betley131

was granted a lease to dig for coal in Ewloe Wood in about 1730132. Thomas Kidd, a

collier from Madeley, was the grandfather of Emma Hamilton, mistress to Lord Nelson133.

Other immigrants in this period may have included Madam Heytel from Newcastle and

130 Dodd, A.H., The Industrial Revolution in North Wales, 1933 131 Parrott [Ref. 3, p. 21] mentions George Salt of Betley in connection with property at Halmerend.

132 Gruffydd, K. Lloyd, The Development of the Coal Industry in Flintshire to 1740, M.A. Thesis,

University of Wales, 1981

133 Hawkes, G. I. Emma, Lady Hamilton: Her Family and Friends on Deeside, Buckley Magazine, 1997, pp.

21 - 32.



73

John Sparrow134. Other names that are examples of the close connections between

Buckley and the Potteries over a wider period include Astbury, Bloore, Allen, Barnett,

Coplin and Heakoe135. An interesting research project could identify other immigrants

based on comparisons of parish registers. In the 19th century, the author’s great great

grandfather, Samuel Shone, spent time as a collier in Longton and married Esther Bloor

before returning to Buckley.

One result of the Staffordshire immigration was the development of a distinctive Buckley

dialect that incorporated Staffordshire, Welsh and Lancashire influences. The dialect

survived in every day usage to the author’s grandfather’s generation but has now been

supplanted by influences from Merseyside.

134

Willett, R, A Memoir of Hawarden Parish, Flintshire, containing short introductory notices on the Princes of North

Wales, 1822

135 Hawkes, G. I, 1994 [Ref. 33]



74

References

Bardsley, C.W., A Dictionary of English and Welsh Names, Genealogical Publishing

Co., 1967

Davies, J., A History of Wales, Penguin, 1994

Dodd, A.H., The Industrial Revolution in North Wales,1933

Griffiths, J.E. & K. Lloyd Gryffudd, Second Lieutenant Frederick Birks, V.C., M.M.,

Buckley Magazine, No. 7, 1983

Gruffydd, K. Lloyd, The Development of the Coal Industry in Flintshire to 1740, M.A.

Thesis, University of Wales, 1981

Gruffydd, K. Lloyd, The Flintshire Coalfield During the Sixteenth and Seventeenth

Centuries, Buckley Magazine, No. 3, 1977

Gruffydd, K. Lloyd, The Manor of Ewloe and the Place Name, Buckley, Buckley

Magazine, No. 5, 1981

Hanks P. and F. Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames, Oxford University Press, 1988

Hawkes, G. I., Extracts from the Hawarden Parish Registers Showing Glimpses of Social

and Economic Conditions up to the Early 19th Century, Buckley Magazine, No.

12, 1988

Hawkes, G.I. The Astbury Family Of Hawarden Parish And Of Galchog Hall,

Northop, Buckley Magazine, No. 18, Spring 1994

Hinchcliffe, The Rev. Edward, Barthomley: In Letters From A Rector To His Eldest Son,

Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1856

Hodnett, B. D., The Story of William Shepherd , Coal and Brick Proprietor

Buckley Magazine, No.22, 1998

Kinnear, John, The Buckley Dialect, Buckley Magazine, No.12, 1988

Lewis, J.B., A Note on the History of the Castle Fire Brick Company, Northop and

Related Brick and Coal Entrepreneurs, Buckley Magazine, No. 6, 1982

Lysons, The Rev. Daniel and Samuel Lysons, Magna Britannia being a Topographic

Account of the Several Counties of Great Britain, 1810.

Parrott, Richard, An Account Who Hath Enjoyed the Severall Estates in the Parish of

Audley and Hamlett of Talk in the County of Stafford for 200 Years Past

Reaney P.H., The Origin of English Surnames, Barnes & Noble, 1967

Speake, Robert, Audley, An Out Of The Way Quiet Place , The University of Keele,

1972

Speake, Robert, Betley, A Village of Contrasts , The University of Keele, 19??

Tyson, Blake, Ellen Dunn (1807-1895) of Bannel Lane: Fifty-four Years a Collier’s

Widow, Buckley Magazine, No. 11, 1987

Willett, R, A Memoir of Hawarden Parish, Flintshire, containing short introductory

notices on the princes of North Wales, 1822

Williams, C.J., The Buckley Trap, Buckley Magazine, No. 4, 1980