The best online resources for Stoney Middleton Genealogy

The best and most professional website to assist with Stoney Middleton genealogy and local history is that of Ms. Rosemary R. Lockie, nee Goddard. Ms. Lockie maintains a genealogy site, and also a local history site, both of which cover extensively material related to the history and families of Stoney Middleton.  Ms.  Lockie’s materials include databases of Stoney Middleton-related families; lists of vicars, licensed voters, and licensed victuallers; an article authored by Ms. Lockie  on the histories and family ties of Stoney’s public houses; information on other area businesses and industries; and transcriptions of the census for Stoney Middleton from 1841 to 1901, among other detailed data.

Ms. Lockie also has been able to secure permission to present transcriptions of a number of  printed materials about Stoney, including memorial inscriptions from both churchyard and cemetery, and the full text of A History of Stoney Middleton by Edwardian schoolmaster Thomas Cowen (with Mr. Cowen’s genealogy errors included!)  Ms. Lockie’s site is invaluable to all seeking information on Stoney Middleton genealogy.  This page on the Stoney Middleton Village Heritage Centre website is not meant to replicate or replace Ms. Lockie’s site but rather to provide a summary on Stoney Middleton genealogy and to offer a forum for questions from interested but perhaps less experienced researchers.

Other excellent websites with information germane to Stoney Middleton genealogy research include those of Ms. Marjorie Ward on northwest Derbyshire, especially the Hope Valley, but also on the Derwent Valley, of which Stoney Middleton is historically a part. Her website includes summaries of wills, census returns, various parish register entries for communities in the Hope Valley, and a host of other material.  Ms. Ward also operates an excellent separate website www.disley.net, which covers several towns on the Derbyshire/Cheshire border, including Taxal and Whaley Bridge, whose inhabitants had occasional interactions with Stoney Middleton villagers.

A vital presence on the DERBYSGEN genealogy listserve on www.rootsweb.com has been Mr. Mike Spencer.  His various contributions of data on Stoney and on many surrounding towns include:   lists of more recent wills; parish resettlement certificates; various applications to area almshouses; records of illegitimate births; and a host of other material.  Mr. Spencer’s various data summaries may be found at his current website.

Mention must be made also of the stupendous website of Mr. John Palmer. The website is the envy of Derbyshire genealogy researchers everywhere as it is dauntingly exhaustive.  Among other subpages, Mr. Palmer has listings of the Derbyshire Petty and Quarter Sessions, where some of the legal infractions of Stoney Middleton and other area residents may be found.

A very helpful website with information about Sheffield, including Stoney Middletonites who migrated there to work as cutlers, is that of Mr. Eric Youle. In addition, researchers interested in Stoney Middleton genealogy will also want to look at data on the website of the LDS/Mormon Church.  While a for-pay site, www.ancestry.com is a vital resource in helping follow Stoney folks who left the village for the wider world.  In terms of printed resources not yet online, the village Millenium book Stoney Middleton: A Working Village has much useful material relevant to genealogy, and along with Cowen’s History of Stoney Middleton is required reading for Stoney Middleton genealogy.


5 Comments

  • Alyson Angus says:

    Is there a website for the Furness Family Interest Group? My husband is an Eyam/Stoney Middleton Furness descendant and we’re planning a visit to Stoney Middleton and other ancestral villages. We have a written history of ancestors by descendants Joy Clifford and Jane Clayton, but I believe some of it may be incorrect.

    • Glenn Trezza says:

      Hi, Ms. Angus,
      no, the Furness Family Interest group is a group of folks with similar research interests who share information–they (we, actually, I’m a member) don’t have a website. The coordinator is Mr. Simon Goodwin. I can ask Mr. Goodwin if it’s okay for you and your husband to be in touch with him. I’m also happy to review those possibly incorrect parts of that written history you’ve got if that would be helpful. Best wishes, Glenn T.

  • Petra says:

    Hi, is it still the case that there is no website for The Furness Family Interest Group? I have discovered we are related and am very much interested to see how far back the family line is.

    Kind regards

    Petra

    • Glenn Trezza says:

      Hi, Petra, no the Furness Group has always been just a group of like-minded researchers with an interest in the far-flung Furness family. The earliest Furness’s we know about are from the mid-1500s at Eyam and in Calver. There were also Furness families in Wardlow and Foolow. Probably all connect back in the 1400s somewhere–all tended to use the man’s given name of “Martin” a lot, suggesting a common ancestor with that name way way back, but the records, unfortunately, don’t go back that far, and if the early Furness are in, say, the medieval Pipe Rolls or court rolls, any info there doesn’t allow us to make many definite connections. If you have a specific question, let me know and I’ll see what I can find in my files. Best, Glenn T.

  • Glenn Trezza says:

    So, correct, still no website; don’t know that there would ever be one. Simon Goodwin is the group moderator for the Furness Family group. He’s quite computer literate but he’d have to decide if the group ever set up a website.

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