John Heslop (1804 - 1879)

Born 15 Sep 1804 in Leake, Yorkshire, England

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Ann (Wood) Heslop — married 31 Aug 1829 in Leake, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Husband of Tabitha (Wood) Heslop — married 22 Jun 1838 in Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 7 Jan 1879 at age 74 in York, Natal, South Africa

Biography

John Heslop was born in Yorkshire in 1804.

John married Tabitha Wood on 23 Jun 1838 in Topcliffe, Yorkshire. Their fathers were named as John Wood and John Heslop. Tabitha already had a young son, William Wood (1836-1874), born out of wedlock.

In 1850 John joined Dr Boast's party, members of which intended to found a settlement near Greytown in Natal, South Africa, to be named 'York'. This party became known as the York Settlers or the 1850 Settlers, who were to follow the better-known 1820 Settlers who went to the Eastern Frontier of the Cape Colony, which now is the Eastern Cape.

THE HISTORY OF THE SETTLERS AT YORK The Province of Natal boasts many little country churches tucked way in out-of-the-way places, standing isolated in rolling grassland, or hidden by great plantations of trees. The Anglican Church of St John the Evangelist is one of these. It lies, sheltering under the towering hills of the Karkloof, about 3 kilometres from the main highway from Pietermaritzburg to Greytown. Its story is rather sad, because it is a relic of what, even half a century ago, was a happy little village, York. Now the people who lived there are gone, their houses non-existent or in ruins — and except for the store, the old library building, a couple of cottages, and the Church of St John, it is a ghost-town. The settlement of the township of York took place at the end of 1850 when the sailing-ship Haidee arrived carrying emigrants from Yorkshire on board. During the 1840s, Britain had suffered a succession of poor harvests - the period is known as 'the hungry forties' and people were interested to hear glowing reports from various speakers and to read equally wonderful accounts in the press of the excellence of the climate of Natal, the fertility of its soil, and the beauty of its scenery. Natal had but lately come under British rule and there was no danger of war with any native tribes. It seemed to be the ideal place for colonization, and when Mr Henry Boast, (who was born at Dalton, England) a landowner of Osgodsby in Yorkshire, decided for health reasons to emigrate to Natal, 246 of his neighbours and tenant farmers decided to accompany him to the land of plenty. They gathered in Hull in order to board the Pallas, the ship he had chartered for £2000. The Pallas, however, was declared by the underwriters to be unseaworthy, so they had to await a replacement. In a court case, Mr Boast was declared to be responsible for the £2000 charter money for the unseaworthy ship. The delay caused the settlers to become destitute and Mr Boast was forced to support them. All this proved too much for his health, and he died in Hull, at the age of 34, before the Haidee was chartered. His wife, Mary, and their three daughters, as a guarantee of his good faith, together with her father and cousin-in-law, Dr Charles Boast, still led the settlers and accompanied them to the British colony of Natal. [Information from a brochure published on the Centenary of the Church of St John the Evangelist at York (1877-1977)]

John Heslop was granted a plot of land which was no.17 in the new Township of York.

My aunt Dorothy Heslop copied the following from a tombstone in York Cemetery: In memory of John Heslop who died January 7 1879 aged 80 years.

John Heslop Jr 1804–1879 • KHG2-HBH​​

Marriage: 31 August 1829 Leake, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Mary Ann Wood 1810–1836 • K87B-DZ9​​

Children of Mary Ann Wood and John Heslop Jr (4)

Catharine Heslop 1830– Dec. • M5WH-FFZ​​

John Heslop 1831–1904 • LVZX-JWS​​

Martin Heslop 1833–1908 • GQT5-JR1​​

William Heslop 1836–Deceased • L1ZX-MDK ​​ ^[1]

John Heslop Jr 15.9.1804 Leake – 7.1.1879 York, Natal • KHG2-HBH​​

Marriage: 22 June 1838 Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom

Tabitha Wood 1812–1910 • G73G-3PP​​

Children of Tabitha Wood and John Heslop Jr (7)

Robert Heslop 1839–1940 • M5W8-V32​​

Mary Anne Heslop 1841–1926 • GDQK-4TB​​

Elizabeth Heslop 1843–1848 • M5W4-48W​​

George Heslop 1844–1848 • M5WW-RNP​​

Elizabeth Heslop 1848–1928 • GQYD-L47​​

George Heslop 1850–1925 • GQCS-PHN​​

Ellen Heslop 1853–1854 • GDQV-GBD​​

Parents and Siblings

John Wood 1785 Yorks.– 6.2.1841 Knayton • K4F6-S36​​

Marriage: 21 November 1807 Leake, Yorkshire, England

Catharine Smyth 23.2.1791 N Yorks. – 17.2.1844 Knayton • K4GT-FR5​​

Children of Catharine Smyth and John Wood (7)

Mary Ann Wood 1810–1836 • K87B-DZ9​​

Tabitha Wood 1812–1910 • G73G-3PP​​

Catharine Wood 1813–1910 • GMDY-BTV​​

John Wood 1815–1920 • M5WH-W27​​

Maria Wood 1817–1893 • K817-3F9​​

James Wood 1819–Deceased • M5XB-Y2M​​

Martha Wood 1820–1893 • GMDY-18T​​ ^[2]

Sources

1. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G73G-3PP Added on 5 Jul 2022 by Ian McArthur
2. ↑ https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/G73G-3PP Added on 5 Jul 2022 by Ian McArthur

• Marriage: "England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers, 1538-2016", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:66GL-5Y5W : 17 February 2022), Tabitha Wood, 1838.

• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/KHG2-HBH