Following the Line: Charles - Isaac - John - Isaac - ?

Here's the Brick Wall: Isaac Law and Martha Parkinson were married in Felkirk Parish, Yorkshire, England on May 8, 1764. Prior to his marriage we really don't know where Isaac came from: where he was born, where he lived, etc.

The marriage record is very brief: "May 8th. Isaac Law & Martha Parkinson of this Parish & Banns."

Marriage by banns indicates that the impending marriage was announced for three consecutive weeks prior to the ceremony so that any objections from the Parish could come forth.

Isaac died September 15, 1819 and was buried 2 days later on the 17th. He died in South Hiendley, a village in the Felkirk Parish. The burial record indicates that he was 89 years of age, placing his birth sometime about 1730.

So in 1764 Isaac was of the Parish of Felkirk, but this only means that he had resided in the parish for the minimum of a few weeks. He could have been there for a few weeks, a few years, or decades. However, careful inspection of the parish registers reveals no birth record for Isaac in the Felkirk Parish.

So where was he born? In an attempt to come up with some good possibilities I culled from FamilySearch 5,000 Laws born in Yorkshire. I would have limited to a specific range of years, except the search engine won't allow that without a given name. After deleting some some that were women whose married name was actually something other than Law (or Lawe, Lawes, or Laws) I have a list of just over 4,600 Laws. Here are the top 22 towns and cities for Laws being born and/or christened in Yorkshire.

Todmorden, Yorkshire, England	701
Sheffield, Yorkshire, England	632
Halifax, Yorkshire, England	275
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England	136
Yorkshire, England	112
Birstall, Yorkshire, England	104
York, Yorkshire, England	93
Wath-upon-Dearne, Yorkshire, England	89
Wakefield, Yorkshire, England	88
Leeds, Yorkshire, England	80
Cantley, Yorkshire, England	77
South Hiendley, Yorkshire, England	77
Bradford, Yorkshire, England	72
Hartshead, Yorkshire, England	71
Horbury, Yorkshire, England	63
Egton, Yorkshire, England	50
Elland, Yorkshire, England	50
Swinton, Yorkshire, England	47
Brampton, Yorkshire, England	40
Sedbergh, Yorkshire, England	39
South Kirkby, Yorkshire, England	39
Walsden, Yorkshire, England	38
Heptonstall, Yorkshire, England	37
Heck, Yorkshire, England	36

Obviously Todmorden and Sheffield have the "Lion's Share" of Laws. I've contacted a researcher who has connected up most of the Laws in Todmorden and our Isaac doesn't fit in anywhere.  Some of the other localities here remain good possibilities. Isaac married Martha Parkinson who was born in Hunslet, which was a Chapelry of Leeds until 1719 when it was made a parish itself. Hunslet is 130th in the ranking of places with Laws in Yorkshire, having only 4 in the IGI. The four entries are all for Hannah Law with two records indicating her birth on 12 Aug 1759 and two other records indicating her christening on 12 Aug 1759.

It's also worth noting that the last entry in the list shows that some of the Laws came from Heck (is that a good place to be from?).

The following map shows the proximity of Hunslet and Leeds to South Hiendley and Felkirk.

To see this map on FamilySearch's English Jurisdictions project click Here.

Martha Parkinson Law - Christening and Burial Records

The record of Martha Parkinson's marriage to Isaac Law (1730-1819) appeared in the previous post. Now let's examine Martha's christening and burial records.

Martha was christened in the chapelry of Hunslet in the parish of Sheffield, Yorkshire, England.

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This brief entry in the Sheffield parish registers, listing christenings in Hunslet indicates "Martha d. of Wm Parkinson 25" The 25 refers to the day of the Month, which was October of 1734 which details appears elsewhere on the page.

Martha Parkinson was born and christened in the parish of Sheffield but was later married to Isaac in his parish, the Parish of Felkirk. This is where she spent the remainder of her life. The burial record which follows shows her burial date of 28 Jan 1798 in the Felkirk Parish (she is the second entry in the list).

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Marriage of Isaac Law (1730-1819) and Martha Parkinson (1733-1798)

Isaac Law and Martha Parkinson were married by banns in the Parish of Felkirk, Yorkshire, England, on 8 May 1764. The entry indicates that they were both "of this parish" at the time they were married.

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This marriage entry comes from FHL film 919298, item 3.

Siblings of Isaac Law (1803-1876)

Previously I posted the christening record of Isaac Law (1803-1876). Here are the christening records for his siblings: Martha, Abram, Mary Ann, and Charlotte. All of these are from FHL film 919298, item 3, "Bishop's Transcripts for Felkirk, 1598-1834"/ Church of England. Parish Church of Felkirk (Yorkshire).

The following record indicates that Martha Law was born on 3 Apr 1796 to John and Sarah of South Hiendley and was christened on 1 May.

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This next entry is for Abram Law born 2 Dec 1797 to John and Sara of S. Heindley and was christened 25 Dec.

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Mary Ann Law was born 10 Mar 1800 to John and Sarah of S. Hiendley and was christened 13 April. Anyone know if Mary Ann married, who she married, when and where? Anyone know when and where Mary Ann died?

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The last sibling prior to Isaac was Charlotte who was born 13 Dec 1801 to John and Sarah of S. Heindley and was christened 14 Feb 1802.

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Does anyone know if Charlotte married? Who did she marry? When? Where? I've seen some indication that she died in 1877 but I don't know exactly when or where this took place. Does anyone have this information?

Christening Record of Isaac Law (1803-1876)

Isaac Law was born on December 19, 1803 in South Hiendley, Yorkshire, England and was christened February 5, 1804 in the Felkirk Parish. Here is a copy of the christening record:

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Image from FHL 919298, item 3

Isaac is the last name in this (cropped) image. It indicates that he was born in 19 Dec 1803 and was christened on 5 Feb 1804. His father's name was John and his mother's name was Sarah. John and Sarah were living in South Hiendley.

Christening Record of Charles Law (1832-1862)

Charles Law was born December 19, 1832 in South Hiendley, a small town in the West Riding of Yorkshire. There is no record of his birth--this was still several years prior to the beginning of civil registration and the Church records only provide his christening information. Charles was christened January 27, 1833. Here is a copy of the record:

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Image from FHL 919298, item 3

This image comes from the Bishops' transcripts of the Felkirk parish records. The originals are in the Borthwick Institute in York. We learn from this record that Charles, was the son of Isaac and Mary Law. He was christened on January 27, 1832. The parents lived in South Hiendley. Isaac was a cordwainer (a shoemaker). I can't quite make out the beginning of the curate's name, but the "bachcroft" is the ending portion of the name.