A mystery hoard of documents

Frank Watkinson’s father, William, owned a pile of 22 old documents, shown right, most written on parchment and dating from 1631-1896, the majority from the 18th century. It is not known how William came by the documents. He was certainly interested in local history and kept the documents safe before they passed eventually to his son. Frank has now handed them to the Society to hold until Doncaster Archives reopens when the documents will be deposited there. Nor is it known why the documents should have been kept together. All but one document, a receipt from 1896, were numbered 1-21, suggesting they were part of a collection. There is no known connection between the people (all from this area) named on the documents and the Watkinson family.

What can we learn about local people and their activities from this collection? At the outset, people were eager to have a written record of their transactions, even if they could neither read nor write. Various documents were signed with a X, as Thomas Parsison did in 1740, left, so not even a signature was possible for some. Also, in most cases parchment was chosen rather than paper for the records as its durability was much greater, even if the ink used faded.

Thomas Parsison, a Tickhill tailor, was named on four of the documents between 1740 and 1746. Essentially, he was borrowing money first from Ann Wilkinson of Hesley and then from Robert Banks of Bawtry. Ann Wilkinson (who also used a X mark instead of a signature) loaned him £5/12/- in 1740 and in return Thomas gave his property on Westgate as a surety. Ann was repaid then Robert Banks loaned Thomas a total of £22 using his property as surety.

Three documents related to George Yates, a Tickhill woodman. In 1790 John Rowbotham of Sheffield assigned a cottage with outbuildings, a barn and garden in Westgate for 999 years to George who paid £50 for the property. The transaction was registered at Wakefield on 16 May 1791. Another document is the grant of probate on 7 January 1803 for George’s will. (George was buried in Tickhill churchyard on 2 September 1802.) A copy of the will is shown right with the attached probate grant signed and sealed at the Exchequer Court of the Archbishop of York. George shared his estate equally between his children, George, Elizabeth and Ann. He also named one grandchild, Elizabeth Wood, who received £5. A third document is from 1862 when one of George’s grandsons makes a declaration that one of his brothers is presumed dead as no one had heard from him. Other documents are chiefly about mortgages and transfers of property, all witnessed as proof of the transactions.