The LOCKWOOD family of Crayke and Easingwold, NRY
The LOCKWOODs appear regularly in the parish registers of
St Cuthbert’s, Crayke, NRY back to the earliest in existence. They married into
a number of local families, most notably the MORTIMERs and LEEFEs. In the early
1700s one William LOCKWOOD left Crayke to pursue business in Leeds, WRY. He was
a wine merchant in Kirkgate and his son, also William, followed in his
footsteps. According to Mortimer Sarah LOCKWOOD, 3x great-granddaughter of the
first-mentioned William, who wrote a potted family history in 1879, the family
lost much of their fortune in an earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal on 1
November 1755. How much truth lies in this claim remains to be determined.
William LOCKWOOD, b 1725, married Elizabeth KING, the aunt of Lt James KING who
travelled to Australia with Capt James COOK in 1778. Their son, also William b
1752, returned to Easingwold, NRY to have and raise his family. It seems that
after his wife’s early death, his formidable mother Elizabeth came to live with
the family, presumably to help raise the young children. The family lived in
Easingwold marketplace and maintained their contact with family remaining in
Crayke.
I would like to acknowledge the contributions to this branch of my family tree
of Mortimer Sarah LOCKWOOD who had the foresight to write her potted family
history – she left some interesting insights into the family. I would particularly
like to thank Helen Kirk for her enthusiastic help and for the enormous
headstart she provided me with when I commenced researching this branch, though
her book “Ye dear Object of my desire,” the annotated transcription of William
LOCKWOOD (b 1778)’s diary and named from William's own text. Thanks are also due to Marie Cameron, Sally Simpson and Stuart
Saunders for their contributions.
St Cuthbert’s Church, Crayke, NRY "The Villa," Easingwold, NRY (built by William LOCKWOOD)
This Web Site was Created 18 Feb 2008; updated 8 Dec 2008