Researching COXONS

-18c.Northumberland and 19c.County Durham, England.

If anyone is researching the name COXON, I have a database with over 5,000 names on it, which I have compiled along with a very good friend of mine and fellow Coxon researcher, Lois Saleeba from Australia. I also have hundreds of COXON weddings from the 16c.to the 19c. along with hundreds of old Northumberland place names.

I am researching at the moment, my great,great,great grandfather, THOMAS COXON, who was married at Longhorsley, NBL on Dec.11th.1814 to Mary Crawford, who was born at Widdrington, NBL in 1788, daughter of Andrew & Ann Crawford.

Thomas died at Hetton-le-Hole, DUR, on Dec.13th.1827, aged 44 years. This would make his date of birth - 1783, and the only Thomas I have been able to find who was born in that year, was Thomas, son of Thomas a coal-miner, who was baptised at Newcastle All Saints, on July 29th.1783. His wife Mary, died at Thornley, DUR on May 1st.1843.

He had 7 sons, two of them,Michael (b1815) and William (my paternal line, b1817), were born at Longhorsley and John (b1818), Mark (b1820), Thomas (b1821) & James (b1824) were born at Medomsley, DUR. Andrew (b1826), at Tynemouth. Thomas died at Hetton on Nov.14th.1827, aged 6 years and Andrew, died on Oct.26th.1827, aged 1 year 3months.

At the moment I am looking for Thomas's parents and I have been working on a few theories I have. One of which is the calling of the banns in January 1780 at Newcastle St.Johns of Thomas Coxon and Isabel Wilkinson and the wedding never took place as far as I can find out. They were both from the same parish and even though I looked through the deaths for one year after the banns had been called, I couldn't find anything. Another possibility I looked at for the father of Thomas, was a Thomas Coxon who was born at Shieldhill, Hebron, NBL on Feb.15th.1761. He was in the right area and about the right age. He was the son of Thomas Coxon and Isabel Davison, who were married at Woodhorn, NBL in 1752. Their other children were Richard (b1754), William (b1759), Sarah (b1764) and Samuel (b1768).

The other theory I am working on is whether Thomas's family originally came from Durham to Northumberland and settled there, looking for work. There was a Thomas Coxon who married a Jane Foster at Tanfield, DUR in 1777 and lived for a while in Lanchester, DUR and had three children, Mary (b1777), Thomas (b1779) and Matthew (b1781). With Thomas being born in 1779, that would have knocked my theory of it being the same family, but I found out that Thomas died in 1780, so there was a possibility that the family could have moved to the Newcastle area, and that my Thomas was born there.

William Coxon married Mary Ann Pearson, ( b1818 at Gateshead) at Hetton-le-Hole on Feb.24th.1838. She was the daughter of Simpson & Mary Pearson. William & Mary Ann had 10 children - Thomas b1839 at South Hetton; Christopher Crawford b1840 at Thornley; Simpson Pearson b1843 at New Thornley and died 1847 at Blackhill; Mary Ann b1845 at Blackhill, died 1846 at Blackhill; Mary Ann b1846 at Blackhill; Elizabeth b1849 at Conside and died 1852 at Thornley; Richard Crawford b1851 at Broomside, Durham; William Crawford b1853 at Carrville, Durham - my paternal line; John Simpson b1856 at Carrville and died the same year and Elizabeth Crawford b1858 at Carrville.

William Coxon, according to the 1871 & 1881 census, had moved to Willington, with some of his family. He died at Gateshead on Sept.17th.1890, aged 73 years and his wife Mary Ann also died at Gateshead on Oct.29th, aged 84 years. William worked as a coal-miner all his life.

William Crawford Coxon, (my paternal line), married Mary Ann Harrison on Nov.14th.1874 at Durham and his first son William Pearson Coxon was born on Nov.7th.1876 and another two sons died in infancy - Robert Joseph Coxon born 1878 and Andrew Coxon born 1880. His first wife died March 29th.1880 at Willington, DUR. He married his second wife Isabella Brown Hutchinson on March 11th.1893 at Durham. Their son Thomas was born in 1894 at Willington: Richard was born in 1895 and Joseph, who died in infancy, was born in 1899

William Crawford Coxon, died at Willington on March 1st.1914

William Pearson Coxon, my paternal grandfather, married Isabella Balmer (daughter of Stephen & Hannah Balmer) on April 11th.1903 at Durham. His family consisted of Mary Ann b1903, William b1905, James b1908 - my father, Thomas b1912, Margaret b1914 & Isabella b1920 Two other children, Richard & Ann died in infancy. William Pearson Coxon died at Willington on March 13th.1937.

All of my ancestors worked as coal-miners.

That is the paternal side of my family and now I will try to fill in what I know of the rest of the family

Michael who was born at Longhorsley in 1815, married Sarah Young at Houghton-le-Spring, DUR on Nov.4th.1837 and the following family - Michael b1838 South Hetton, John b1840 New Durham, Mary b1843 Thornley and Sarah b1846 Medomsley. Michael's first wife Sarah died Apr.24th.1846 at Blackhill and he married his second wife Hannah Frater on Aug.17th.1846 at Medomsley and had a son William born in 1848 at Blackhill. Hannah died July 13th.1848. Michael married again to Margaret ????? and had the following family- Mark b1852 Sunderland, James b1854 Shilbottle, NBL, Jane b1855 Houghton-le-Spring and Andrew b1856 Thornley

John who was born at Medomsley in 1818, married, I believe, Ann Chapman (nee Horne) on Oct.14th.1843 at Kelloe, DUR and had the following family - Robert b1842 Thornley, Thomas b1844 Thornley, Mary Ann b1846 Blackhill, Elizabeth Ann b1848 Leadgate, Ann b1850 Thornley, Elizabeth b1852 Thornley, Samuel b1854 Thornley, Jane b1857 Thornley, Isabel Crawford b1858 Thornley & John b1860. John died, aged 72 years at Bearpark Colliery, DUR in 1891.

Of the two other sons, Mark b1820 married Mary Ann Porter on June 21st.1845 at Thornley and went on his own to America to look for work, as he was on the American 1850 census. Mary Ann stayed with her parents and her two children, George Porter Coxon and Thomas Coxon. They appeared on the 1851 Thornley census. Mary later followed him to America and had another son, John, out there. James, the other son, was working as a coal-miner at Thornley on the 1841 census and living with his widowed mother and brother John.

Thomas, who was born at Hetton in 1839, married Eleanor Dove on July 9th.1859 at Belmont, DUR. Eleanor was born in 1840 at New Thornley and was the daughter of John Dove & Margaret Anderson. I think Eleanor died without any family and Thomas married again on March 10th.1863 at Durham to Phoebe Holt Musgrave, daughter of Robert Musgrave & Phoebe Holt. He had the following family:- William Robert b1864 Tanfield, DUR, Phoebe Holt b1868 Brancepeth Colliery, DUR, Sarah b1872 Prussia (British Subject), Elizabeth b1874 Cambois, NBL, Thomas b1879 Cambois, Andrew Crawford b1880 Willington, Isabel b1882 Byers Green, DUR & Richard Crawford b1884 Byers Green I have been trying to solve the mystery of Sarah being born in Prussia. It looks as though Thomas must have gone to Prussia for about two years, as he was back in Northumberland for the birth of his next child. I have contacted the Durham Miners Union, the Goethe Institute(German Embassy in London) and the Anglo German Family History Society to try and solve the mystery, but up to this point, I am still puzzled by it.

Christopher Crawford Coxon born in 1840 at Thornley, married Ann Oswald at Belmont on March 16th.1862.Ann was born in 1841 at Herrington, Dur. Their family was Simpson Pearson b1862, Elizabeth Jane b1865 Tanfield, Mary E. b1868 Lanchester, Isabella b1871 Tanfield, Elizabeth Crawford b1875 Willington & John William Crawford b1877 Shotton. I believe Christopher and Ann must have been parted, as she appeared on a census as a Housekeeper to a coal miner, along with her children. Christopher died, aged 44 years in a Sheffield Workhouse, on Sept.1st.1885.

Richard Crawford Coxon, who was born in 1851 at Durham, married Mary Edgar, aged 24 years at Durham Register Office on Feb. 14th.1880. Living at Victoria Street, Willington at the time, and his second marriage was to Ellen Murtagh, aged 38 years, a widow, at Durham Register Office in Aug.1894. They lived at Willington, DUR. I know that he lodged with his brother Christopher Crawford at Tanfield (according to the 1871 census) and with his brother Thomas and family at Whitworth, Spennymoor, DUR (according to the 1881 census). There must have been an error on the 1881 census, as it has Richard down as unmarried, whereas he married in 1880.

Elizabeth Crawford Coxon born in 1858 at Carrville, DUR married Ralph Eales on Sept.18th.1875 at Willington and had as far as I know the following family - Ralph Eales b1879 Willington, William Eales b1881 Willington, Dinah Eales b1885 Byers Green & Mary Ann Eales b1887 Byers Green.

Elizabeth died on the 13th.April 1898.

Richard Coxon, who was born on Oct.3rd.1895, married Hannah Gotts and had a daughter Isabella Crawford b1922 Willington.