Appendix Q. The Hoggarts of Holme (see **132132)               

 

   Bellasis i.162 (per JMH) quotes an inscription on an E. altar tomb in

Burton-in-Kendal (SD5376), the parish church for Holme also:

          To Mr George Hoggan and Richard his brother, both of Holme.

                        G.H. died 17 June 1750 aet. 55

                       R.H. died 26 August 1773 aet. 69

           George H. Toulmin out of gratitude to the above gentlemen,

                     his relatives, erected this monument.

[I could not find this when I visited the church recently: it was extensively

restored in 1844 and again in 1872.] As George Hoggart Toulmin (**132132) was

apprenticed at Burton, in 1771, it was presumably he who erected the monument.  The

name Hoggan seems to be unknown.  Not only is it not in the PR of Burton, but it

happens that there was in effect a census in 1695, in connection with a tax on

batchelors and widowers etc, of which the records for some Westmoreland parishes are

preserved (in magnificent condition) at Kendal (WD/Ry), so I can say positively

there were no Hoggans in Holme (or Burton) then.  There was, however, a family of

Hoggarts (Hogart in WD/Ry, for which "George Hogart" was one of the assessors, but

Hoggart in PR), which can be reconstructed thus:

                 George Hoggart bur 9 Aug 1689                 Christopher Beetham

    ___________________|_____________________                        of Burton

   |        |          |                     |                           |

 Jane    Richard     Alice                 George          =      Margaret Beetham

 d.unm.  [butcher,   [living with Richard] [butcher] m. 25.1.1693/4    c.16.8.1664

 26.2    batchelor]  bur.unm. 15.1.1710/1  bur.11.5.1734   |

 1684/5  bur.26.5.1713                                     |

     ______________________________________________________|_____

    |             |               |              |               |

 *George        John           Richard        Edward         *Richard

 c.21.3.1694/5  c.24.4.1697    c.27.10.1699   c.4.10.1701    c.17.10.1703

 bur.1.7.1750   bur.1.2.1721/2 bur.16.11.1702 bur.4.1.1702/3 bur.28.8.1773

 

Notes in [] from the 1695 return; other details from PR (Kendal, WPR/10/1,2); I have

not checked baptisms ("c.") before 1670 systematically, so Jane, Richard, Alice, and

George may well all be there.

   With 3 Georges & 3 Richards involved, there is some guesswork about putting them

together. There is no doubt at all that the two marked * were GHT's "G.H." and

"R.H.".  I guess G.H. may have d. 27 June, not 17th, as he was undoubtedly buried on

1 July.

   I found, however, no indication at all of how they came to be GHT's relatives.

His grandmother was "Mrs Margaret Todd" when she married, presumably a young widow

(though she is not so described, and the "Mrs" is not conclusive), but I found no

Miss Hoggarts who might have married a Mr Todd about 1709. Before learning that

GHT's father Robert married a Miss Harvey, I made a check of baptisms to 1756,

finding no daughter of GH or RH who might have been his mother.  There were no

Toulmins or Todds in the 1695 return (card-indexed, luckily), which covers Kirkby

Lonsdale as well as Burton and other parishes in the area (but not necessarily as

thoroughly). There is also at Kendal a return for 1787 (WQSP/C) covering Holme,

which lists no Hoggarts or Toulmins.

   GHT's "gratitude" is also puzzling, especially since GH was buried four years

before GHT was born.  One guess is that the Hoggart brothers gave GHT's grandmother

some assistance, and perhaps a home, in what must have been a very difficult time

for her after her husband, the Rev. Thomas Toulmin, died leaving her with 7 children

under 16.  As she was still living (apparently at Ravenstonedale) when GHT was

apprenticed to the surgeon in Burton (14 Nov 1771), he would surely have seen her

and heard the story. 

   The name Hoggart was quite common in the area.  There was also a George Hoggart

at Silverdale, parish of Warton (SD4675) in 1696 (Oaths), and there was,

intriguingly, an Alice Hoggart (or Hoggard or Huggard) who had a bastard son Thomas

by John Toulmin of Slyne in 1679: see App.B, section 5a.