Wrathalls of Durham

In November 2002, Cheryl Borrowdale of Chicago, who can be reached at cheryl(at)panix(dot)com, contributed the following Wrathall information:
I am a great-great-great-granddaughter of Thomas WRATHALL, and was hoping that someone might be able to help connect him to a branch of the WRATHALL family tree. Here is the information I have:

Thomas WRATHALL, b. West Houses, Westmoreland Co. (?); m. Elizabeth GLENDENNING (b. Darlington, Durham Co.), on Aug. 17, 1828 in Darlington, Durham Co., and had the following children:

  1. Sarah WRATHALL, b. Jul 10, 1836, ENG; m. Thomas BORROWDALE May 24, 1863, in Barnard Castle, Durham; emigrated to Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois in 1878 or 1879; d. June 2, 1906, Chicago, IL. (Three children, Thomas, Sarah, and Charles William; the elder two survived to adulthood; I am the decendant of Thomas.)
  2. Elizabeth WRATHALL, b. approx. 1837 in Darlington, Durham; m. Andrew TULLEY (b. 1831), and emigrated to Sangamon Co., Illinois, prior to 1881.
  3. Mary WRATHALL, b. approx 1839, Barnard Castle, Durham Co.
  4. Ann (Anne) WRATHALL, b. approx. 1840 in Barnard Castle, Durham Co.; m. Matthew (Mathew) GRAHAM (b. approx. 1845, ENG) about 1866 in Pennsylvania; d. in Chicago, IL. (Four children.)
  5. Grace WRATHALL, b. Nov 13, 1847 in Darlington, Durham Co.; m. Anthony SMITH (b. Jun 29, 1849 in Darlington) on Oct. 8, 1866, at St. Mary's, Barnard Castle, Durham Co.; emigrated to Sangamon Co., Illinois, between 1873 and 1876; d. Jul 22, 1885, in Springfield, Sangamon Co., Illinois
We have traced the GLENDENNING line back several generations, with part of it extending into the mid-1600s, but have had little luck, thus far, finding any further information about our WRATHALL roots. It also seems probable that Thomas and Elizabeth WRATHALL might have had children prior to Sarah, given the eight-year gap between their marriage and her birth; we have not found any information indicating such, however.

The information on Thomas WRATHALL and his children came from the 1851 census index for Barnard Castle, Durham Co:

Surname Given name Age Birthplace County
Wrathall Thomas 45 West Houses WES

Elizabeth 45 Darlington DUR

Sarah 16 Newcastle NBL

Elizabeth 15 Darlington DUR

Mary 12 Barnard Castle DUR

Anne 10 Barnard Castle DUR

Grace 7 Barnard Castle DUR
Notice that the oldest child listed is 16, and given Thomas & Elizabeth's marriage date, it is likely they have older children whose identities are simply unknown - perhaps sons who have moved out, or daughters who have married. Also, I am not aware of a "West Houses, Westmorland" in existance -- an internet search has yielded nothing, but this is by no means definitive -- and believe this might be a transciption mistake (either then or now), as there is a Westhouse in Yorkshire, not far from Thornton-in-Lonsdale, where many of your WRATHALLs originated.

A Thomas WRATHALL was born 19 Jun 1805, Westhouse, Yorkshire, to Thomas WRATHALL and Jenny GRIME, which is about the right date and possibly the correct Westhouse, but I have not successfully confirmed that this is the same Thomas WRATHALL, and it may be no more than wishful thinking. Strangely, however, his parents' marriage is listed in LDS Church info as performed in "Westhouse, Bas-Rhin, France," which further adds to the confusion over Westhouse(s), esp. since just three years later, this family lived at a Westhouse, Yorkshire. What is the probability of someone living in two separate Westhouses, in two countries, within a three-year period?

The marriage record was found in the Durham Marriages Index 1813 - 1837:

17 Aug 1828 Darlington: Thomas Wrathall and Elizabeth Glendenning
Cheryl's census record gives Thomas Wrathall's age as 45 in 1851, indicating year of birth as 1805 or 1806. The British IGI has the following data:

Thomas WRATHALL

Christening: 01 SEP 1782 Thornton-In-Lonsdale, Lancashire, England
Father: Stephen Wrathall
Mother: Mary Robinson
Spouse: Jenny GRIME
Marriage: 08 JAN 1803 Thornton-In-Lonsdale, Lancashire, England
Husband Age at Marriage: 20
Children
1.Thomas WRATHALL
Birth: 19 JUN 1805 Thornton-In-Lonsdale, Lancashire, England

If this child 1 is the Thomas in question, then his grandfather Stephen Wrathall is the first son of Thomas Wrathall (1729 - ), whose line is listed here: Descendants of John Wrathall and Anne Pickersgill.
In Dec. 2004, the FamilySearch Internet Genealogy Service: 1881 British Census had Wrathall data for the following places: Barnard Castle, Darlington and North Bedburn
In June 2005, Clare Costello of Darlington contributed the results of her research concerning her ancestors James Miller and Mary Anne Wrathall.
In June 2003, Roy Wrathall forwarded a PML Digest from Rootsweb's DUR-NBL mailing list concerning Robert James Jarvis Wilkin, born in Gaywood (Norfolk) in 1851. Robert moved to Darlington, where he married Elizabeth Hannah Wrathall. The following information was available in Sept. 2005: