Geoge and Sarah March

George and Sarah Hillary March

George March and Sarah Hillary, the parents of Margaret White, were married October 11, 1811 in Grinton in the North Riding of Yorkshire England.¹ (Click here for a link to the parish maps of the North Riding of Yorkshire.)

George March was christened May 11, 1791 in the Parish of Marrick in the North Riding of Yorkshire, England.² He was the son of George March and Dorothy Ridley.³ George March, Sr. was the son of John March and Margaret March⁴ who were married in Marrick, October 23, 1757.⁵ It would appear from the same parish records that Margaritt March was christened November 26, 1732 in Marrick and was the daughter of Jon. March.⁶ Assuming that John March was also born and christened in Marrick, there are several potential entries in the Marrick Parrish records for his christening and I have not been able to determine which, if any, is "our John March." (A good project for further research would be to order the microfilm of the Marrick Parrish records in to a local LDS Family History Center and do a careful extraction of the March and White and allied surnames. I have not looked at the film in over 25 years. A review may well provide more information.)

Sarah March was the daughter of Thomas Hillary and Mary Blades.⁷ She was christened November 30, 1794.⁸ Thomas Hillary and Mary Blades were married May 14, 1792, in Richmond Near Leyburn, Yorkshire, England.⁹

According to family record, the parents of Thomas Hillary were George Hilliary and Ann Petty.¹⁰

I am very grateful to Art and Eileen Wendt for this wonderful photograph of George and Sarah March. In the process of preparing this web site, I sent them an email. In response, I received a reply with the above photo attached. They had been able to copy the original at a March Family Reunion in Shullsburg, WI last year. My thanks to whoever made the photograph available!

I have not found a parish christening record of a Thomas Hillary son of George Hilliary that appears to be "our Thomas Hillary." However, there is a May 5, 1747 marriage record in the Parrish of Kirkby Ravensworth in Yorkshire for George Hillary and Ann Petty.¹¹

To me, the most endearing quality of George and Sarah March was their outspoken love for their children as evidenced in several letters written and signed by them and addressed to their daughter and son-in-law, Thomas and Margaret March White. Click here to read transcriptions of those letters. I suppose we often think that our own generation has the monopoly on expressing parental love--perhaps even that it is a new skill. Now I see that George and Sarah March "wrote the book."

George and Sarah March were the parents of twelve children all christened in the Marrick Parish Church.They were:

	Christened¹²
Margaret	March 14, 1812
Ann	November 8, 1814
William	March 8, 1817
George	April 12, 1820
Mary	April 22, 1822
Dorothy	November 10, 1824
Sarah	June 10, 1827
Thomas	October 24, 1829
Catherine (Katherine)	October 24, 1829
Edward	March 19, 1832
Barbara	August 31, 1834
John	February 28, 1837

Marrick Priory 2004

Established in in about 1165, as a priory for Benedictine nuns, the priory was used as the Marrick Parish Church from about 1811 until 1845, making it the christening place of the children of George and Sarah March and the first six children of Thomas and Margaret March White.

We thank the Marrick Priory for these photos and the permission to use them here. Please visit their website to learn more about the current use of the priory as a non-profit, outdoor education center.

http://www.marrickpriory.co.uk/

For more information about the early history of the priory see

http://www.leeds.ac.uk/library/spcoll/marrick/marrick.htm

The March family home in Yorkshire was a farm near Swaledale called Schoolmasters Pasture.¹³The March family left England for Wisconsin sometime before 1845 when they wrote letters back to their daughter and son-in-law, Margaret and Thomas White.

My husband, son and I visited Schoolmasters Pasture in 1978 and spoke with the current occupants who were, by coincidence, name White. They were not knowledgeable about their family history but were gracious and allowed us to look around. Other family members have since visited as well and I understand they were also welcomed and invited in for tea. In 1978, it was a bit remote. Five months pregnant and wearing platform sandals, I had to walked about a quarter of a mile uphill on a dirt track to reach the farm.

Schoolmasters Pasture May, 1978

Schoolmasters Pasture, May 1978

Browsing the Internet for Marrick in Yorkshire has left me hoping for another trip to the area. I found that the Marrick Priory was first a convent for the Benedictine Sisters. After several centuries, it became the parish church for the village of Marrick. This would be the place our ancestors were christened, married and buried. It eventually fell into disuse and was occupied primarily by sheep and goats. In the 1960's, the Priory buildings were converted into a kind of hostel for visiting groups. Check out their website at http://www.marrickpriory.co.uk/index.html There is a picture of the priory on the home page. Clicking on the Location button will give a map of the area as well. For more about the parish of Marrick, click here http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Marrick/ For a map of the North Riding of Yorkshire, click here http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/Misc/Maps/ParishMaps.html then choose the North Riding Parish Map thumbnail.

I found another intersting place to stay in the area at http://www.twochapels.free-online.co.uk/. Then I found a photojournal of a walking trip that passed through Swaledale at http://www.walkingenglishman.com/coastb4.htm

And finally, the Swaledale Folk Museum has "displays that tell the tale of life in this area." http://www.yorkshirenet.co.uk/visit/swlfolkm/

I am ready for another trip to Yorkshire!

Endnotes

1) Church of England. Parish Church of Grinton (Yorkshire), Parish Registers 1640-1891 Microfilm of original records in the County Record Office, Northallerton, Yorkshire, microfilm no. 0468808, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

2) Church of England, Parish Church of Marrick (Yorkshire) Bishop's transcripts, 1645 -1851, Microfilm of original records in the Central Library, Leeds, and at the West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheepscar, Leeds, microfilm no. 0207558, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah

3) March ?, Ancestors of George and Sarah March The one page document is a handwritten record of the ancestors of George and Sarah March found in a box of family papers from the attic of the old Signal Hill Farmhouse. Though it is undated and unsigned, I was told by Bob Leher (Gyrlie White Lehr/Edward Ocean/Thomas White) that it was written by a daughter of George and Sarah March. This is confirmed by the heading "Father & Mother" under which is written, George March and Sarah Hillary (maiden name.) It was photographed in 1981 by Nancy Custer and was, at that time, in the possession of Bob Leher of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Click here to see a scan of that photo.

4) March ?, Ancestors of George and Sarah March, undated

5) Church of England. Parish Church of Marrick (Yorkshire), Bishop's transcripts, 1645 -1851,, Yorkshire, microfilm no. 0207558, [FHL].

6) Church of England. Parish Church of Marrick (Yorkshire), Bishop's transcripts, 1645 -1851,, Yorkshire, microfilm no. 0207558, [FHL].

7) March ?, Ancestors of George and Sarah March, undated

8) Church of England, Parish Church of Marrick (Yorkshire) Bishop's transcripts, 1645 -1851, \microfilm no. 0207558, [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

9) Church of England. Parish Church of Richmond (Yorkshire), Bishop's transcripts, 1636 - 1869, Microfilm of original records in the Central Library, Leeds, and at the West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheepscar, Leeds, microfilm no. 0207579, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

10) March ?, Ancestors of George and Sarah March, undated

11) Church of England, Parish Church of Kirkby-Ravensworth (Yorkshire). Bishop's transcripts, 1663 - 1869, Microfilm of original records in the Central Library, Leeds, and at the West Yorkshire Archive Service, Sheepscar, Leeds, microfilm no. 0207550, Family History Library [FHL], Salt Lake City, Utah.

12) Church of England. Parish Church of Marrick (Yorkshire), Bishop's transcripts, 1645 -1851,, Yorkshire, microfilm no. 0207558, [FHL].

13) March, ?, "Places in England near where George and Sarah March lived" This one page document is a handwritten record of the ancestors of George and Sarah March found in a box of family papers from the attic of the old Signal Hill Farmhouse. Though it is undated and unsigned, I was told by Bob Leher (Gyrlie White Lehr/Edward Ocean/Thomas White) that it was written by a daughter of George and Sarah March. The page was photographed in 1981 by Nancy Custer and was, at that time, in the possession of Bob Leher of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Click here to see a scan of that photo.

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