About Mountsorrel > History > Genealogy
Tracing one's ancestors is a very popular pastime and a number of people use the web to research their family tree. The aim of this page is to provide some information about previous inhabitants of the village and give links to other sites that can help you find your ancestors.
We also plan to act as a Bulletin Board for anybody researching Mountsorrel family histories. Send in your question and e-mail address to the Bulletin Board and we will collect the genealogy entries and paste them on to this page.
Many genealogy websites are now available for tracing your family.
You should try FreeBMD for
births, marriages and death records since 1837, FamilySearch
for Parish records (The Church of the Latter Day Saints) and several
other fee paying or subscription services such as Findmypast. These now offer
all the UK censuses from 1841 to 1911 but costs can mount if you view
lots of images. You can also download genealogy software, sometimes for
free, which will enable you to keep all your records in a standard
database.
Many thanks to Harvey Bates from Australia, who answered reader's
enquiries about Mountsorrel families for over 30 years but has now
decided to "pull the plug". Many thanks Harvey for your service to the
village!
The Mountsorrel Townwomen's Guild have recorded all the visible gravestone inscriptions in St Peters and Christchurch churchyards and you can see them by following the links below. The list is ordered by surname and the number is shown on the accompanying plan. We hope you find this list useful and would like to thank the Guild for their efforts.
St Peters graves and churchyard plan
Christchurch graves and churchyard plan
Mick Foreman is willing to e-mail photographs of any gravestones as a free service to anyone not able to get to the local cemetaries. Contact him on MickForeman@aol.com
William White's Directory of 1846 "History, Gazetteer and Directory of Leicestershire and the small County of Rutland" gives a list of the prominant trades people in Mountsorrel. The population at that time was 1536 inhabitants, 821 in the North End and 715 in the South End. The Directory gives a brief history of the village including some details of the granite quarrying. The list of trades carried out in the village is interesting as was the number of shops. The village even supported a coffee house, portrait painter and a bookseller! The hosiery trade was still continuing with a worsted spinner, a framesmith, lacemaker and two hosiery manufacturers.
The list of trades' people is given below with spelling and punctuation as printed in the Directory.
Ackroyd Samuel, net maker
Adderly Robert, gentleman
Barrs Charles, gentleman, Green
Barrs Joseph, cooper
Biddles Wm. gentleman, Green
Bramley Wm. slate merchant
Buckley George, portrait painter
Buckley Wm. K. house painter
Burton Sarah, dressmaker
Daft John, saddler, &c
Ellis John, worsted spinner
Feirn Wm. druggist
Gill John, lockkeeper, &c
Glover Edw. & Saml. cattle dealers
Herbert Samuel, framesmith
Jacques Robt. P. needle maker and
bookseller
Kirk Zaccheus, coal and salt
merchant, Wharf
Larrard Maria, coffee house
Padmore Thos. More, relvng. officer
Page Richard, wheelwright
Palmer Thomas, carrier
Pritchard Rev Wm. Gee, M.A. incumbent
of South end
Prior Samuel, chandler and agent to
the
Sun Fire Office
Pruen Rev Thos, B.A. incmbnt. of
North
end, and chaplain of Barrow Union
Satchwell Sarah, clothes dealer
Scott Jph. gent; Spicer Mrs Sarah
Webster Wm. draper, hatter, &c
Woolley John, brickmaker
INNS AND TAVERNS.
Anchor, Daniel Warner
Black Swan, John Gilbert
Bull and Mouth, John Morley
Bull's Head, Thomas Wilford
Crown and Thistle, John Irons
Duke of York, Joseph Jelley
George III., George Ratcliffe
Griffin, John Gill, and hairdresser
Nag's Head, Lydia Briggs
Plough, Wm. Johnson
Red Lion, Joseph Antill
White Swan, Joseph Atherley
Wm. IV, John Brown, (post office)
Academies.
Free, Michael Bunney, Castle hill
Jacques Lydia
Welby Wm.
Bakers, &c.
Briggs Thomas
Cuffling Wm.
Everard Wm.
Mitchil Chas.
Mitchil John
Wale John, (and lace maker)
Basket Makers.
Gee Geo. (mats)
Shaw Joseph
Ward Walter
Beer Houses.
Antill George, (pig jobber)
Balm James
Spencer Mary
Woolley George
Blacksmiths.
Peet Thomas
Potter Wm.
Varnum Wm.
Woolley John
Wilson George
Boot&Shoe Mkrs
Allen George
Bilson George
Bilson Thomas
Clarke Wm.
Street Henry
Wilford Chas.
Butchers.
Burrows Rt. Hy.
Forman John
Simpson Thos.
Snow Mary
Corn Millers.
Cuffling Wm.
Everard Richd. Water mill
FARMERS
Adderly Robt.
Barrs Thomas Woodroffe
Bramley Wm.
Cuffling Wm.
Priestley Joseph
Granite Merts.
Cuffling Wm.
Jackson George
Lockwood Thos.
Martin Charles Benj.; house Steward's
Hay
Grocers, &c.
Brown Ann
Cuffling Wm.
Ellis John
Hassall Thos.
Leake Chas. F.
Lee John
Smith Thomas
Squire Joseph
Hosiery Mfrs.
Brewin Simeon, (and draper)
Smith Wm.
Joiners
Gilbert Jph and church clerk
Johnson Wm.
Smith Wm.
Maltsters.
Mitchil John
Priestley Jph. & brickmaker
Plumbers and Glaziers.
Cape Wm.
Harrold Chas.
Surgeons.
Atherley Joseph
Wright Samuel, (regr. & agent to
the
Atlas Fire Office)
Tailors.
Bates Wm.
Turlington Geo.
Warner Wm.
POST OFFICE
at J. Browns. Letters daily from
Loughbro', Leicester, &c
RAILWAY
See Barrow
BOATS
from Kirk's Wharf to all parts.
CARRIER.
Thos Palmer,
to Melton. Tues; Loughbro', Thu;
&
Leicester, Sat
Genealogy Enquiries
The following messages have been posted in the visitor's book and are included here for family researchers. If you have enquiry post a message on the Visitor book.
From Sally1will@aol.com
[mailto:Sally1will@aol.com]
Sent: 25 November 2002 17:24
Subject: TRANSCRIPTION OF GRAVESTONES AT
CHRISTCHURCH
BY MOUNTSORREL TOWNSWOMEN'S GUILD
As a subscriber to
LEICESTERSHIRE-PLUS-L@rootsweb.com
I have done extensive genealogy research on my Bowler ancestors (and
continue
to do so), most from Leicestershire - especially Mountsorrel. If you
would
be interested in the research I have done to date, I would be happy to
share
it with you.
As an addendum to my
previous
message, I thought you might want to pass the following on to the
Mountsorrel
Townswomen's Guild. It is part of my Bowler Family genealogy research
and
comes from Bowler family research done by my late first cousin once
removed
and relates to all their fine, dedicated work of transcribing the
gravestones
at Chirstchurch.
In "Our Family," a genealogy history done by Winifred Alice (Bowler)
Wright
in 1990, she writes, "George, Sr. was a paving cutter, as were all the
boys. The boys went to work with him at about the age of nine cleaning
up the
chips in what they call paving cutters girth, which is the area in
which
huge stone is brought to them by derrick, then cut into paving blocks.
I didn't ask my father much about his parents, but there was one little
incident that I always remembered. When Dad was young, he earned almost
no money, but he wanted to save a little bit and buy something special.
So he found a loose brick in the fireplace and whenever he could he'd
drop
in a penny. Later on when he went to get the money, it was gone - he
was
not very happy with his mother about that. They always lived in Mount
Sorrel
where they would go up the hillside to pick the wild English violets
which
smelled beautifully and are very different from American violets.
There's
a very nice thing that Grampa Bowler did when he and my brother,
Herbert,
owned Bowler and Son's Quarry at the upper end of Oak Street [Milford,
New
Hampshire]. Together they cut a monument from stone in our quarry
and
shipped it to Mount Sorrel in January of 1922 to mark the grave of his
mother
and father [George and Elizabeth (Barrs) Bowler]."
Kind
regards,
Sarah Louise "Sally" (Bowler) Williams
Magnolia, Delaware USA
Name: Sarah Louise (Bowler) Williams
E-Mail: sally1will@aol.com
Location: Magnolia, Delaware USA
Comments: I feel a bit closer to my
father's
birthplace
as a result of discovering this website! He immigrated to the USA c.
1909.
MANY of my ancestors were born, married, and died in Mountsorrel, and I
am sure I have many living relatives still there whom I have neither
had
the opportunity nor pleasure of meeting. It is my dream to one day
visit
my father, grandparents, and other ancestors' homeland and, hopefully,
meet
cousins who remain there. Surnames include BOWLER, ANTILL, CHAPMAN,
WHYE,
BAUM, BRAYBROOK, BARR and WHIDDECOMB or WHITECOMB. I would be pleased
beyond
belief to hear from anyone with these surnames.
Name: Chris Seaton
E-Mail: chrisseaton@peaceworks.org.uk
Homepage Title: peaceworks
Homepage URL: http://www.peaceworks.org.uk
Location: Bognor Regis, UK
Comments: I signed in last year for the first time. For those who missed my last post, my Dad is Brian Seaton, b. 96 Loughborough Road in 1939, all-rounder for MCCC, pupil at St. Peter's, then Loughborough College before National Service then joining the National Provincial Bank which eventually exiled him & us to darkest Essex. My Grandpa was George Henry Seaton 1911-1988, quarryman to his retirement in the mid-1970s.
I wonder if anyone can answer my
question: who is the CJ Seaton on the Sorrel War Memorial who died in
1914/18? I have quite decent records of the Seatons in Mountsorrel in
the 19th century but
can't find a CJ. Replies by email if anyone knows.
Name: Roger Lamson
E-Mail: rlamson@conknet.com
Location: No. Sutton, New Hampshire, USA
Comments: Thank-you for the fine web site.
I would
like
to suggest that you host a genealogy page. Because of my family's
connection,
my wife and I had a very enjoyable visit to your town in 1990 as did my
Mother in 1970. I enjoyed seeing it again--wish it could be for real.
I welcome any contacts with or
information
on the ancestors and descendants of:
SARAH (CLARK)HUNT (ca. 1849-1924), and her husband, WILLIAM HUNT (ca. 1850-1934). They married about 1867 in Mountsorrel.
SAMUEL CLARK, 32, and MARY A., 29, of Mountsorrel, South-end, were the parents of SARAH, according to the 1851 census.
WILLIAM HUNT, 44, and SARAH, 44, of Mountsorrell, South-end, were the parents of WILLIAM, according to the 1851 census.
Many from this family came to New
England
in the early part of the 20th century
Name: Robert Herrick
E-Mail: robherrick@aol.com
Location: Billericay, Essex
Comments: Having traced my family tree
back to
Mountsorrel
in the early 1700s, I just thought I'd see what was on the web about
the
place! Very pleasantly surprised. Now need to make time to visit!
Name: Maurice Perkins
E-Mail: mauriceperkins@btinternet,com
Location: 81 Pulford Drive, Thurnby, Leicester LE7
Comments: I think my father CHARLES SIDNEY PERKINS was born here
in
1911.I know he lived here as a child. He told me stories of seeing
people
walking across the fields in toes and thrays and about the football
matches
against Quorn. His father, my grandfather was Mayor of Loughborough
1944-45
and I am trying to get as much information on my family as I can. Could
you help me PLEASE.
E-Mail: Liblob@btinternet.com
Comments: My husband's family, the Baums, came from Mountsorrel so I was very interested to read up on the history of the village. A great site that I would recommend to fellow family history enthusiasts.