John Rycroft's Note

Date: About 1755 to 21 Jul 1897
Location: Yorkshire, England
Surname/tag: Rycroft Askham Empson

The following is a transcription of a brief account of his family written by John Rycroft (1822-1905). The source is probably several copies away from the original. It has a couple of insertions which must have been added by a grandchild and a couple of mistakes which could be by the author or introduced in earlier copying stages.

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John Rycroft who was born in some part of the North Riding¹ of Yorkshire was a carrier by stage-waggon between London and York on the old North Road. (Our great, great, Grandfather)²

On this road, two stages South of York, is the village of Fairburn in which lived John Ascham³, a descendant of Roger Ascham (Queen Elizabeth's tutor and author of 'The Schoolmaster'), who was a farmer and Innkeeper.

One of his daughters, Sarah, was married to John Rycroft, father of Thomas Rycroft. Another daughter married John Empson of York, father of Charles Empson. John and Sarah Rycroft afterwards settled at Barnsley where he continued his business of carrier and, in conjunction therewith, that of Innkeeper at The Royal Oak Inn. In those days it was usual for carriers to be also Innkeepers. There were no Hotels - people preferred to use the good old English name of Inn and to secure therewith good old English comfort; as they needed the Inn yard for their waggons, the stables for their horses and the Inn itself for housing drivers, ostlers, etc. Each Inn had also its contingent of farmers from the surrounding country - who rode or drove in, on market day, for whom a good table d'hote dinner was provided.

John and Sarah Rycroft had two sons and four daughters. The Elder son, John, died young. The younger son, Thomas, succeeded to the business of carrier and added to it that of farmer and corn-miller but, after a few years gave up the Inn. Of the daughters one was married to Richard Parkinson, draper; another to Richard Carr, grocer of Barnsley. Hence our connecton with the Parkinsons and Carrs.

Thomas Rycroft married Harriet, younger daughter of Richard Jennings, yeoman of The Levels near Thorne, Yorkshire, who lived on his own estate. Their only son was the present John Rycroft. Other daughters of Rd. Jennings became Mrs. Heigham and Mrs. Oliver; hence our connection with these two families. Another daughter was Mrs. Hammond of Leeds, whose son is the Rev. Joseph Hammond, vicar of St. Austell, Cornwall. (Later vicar of Beckenham, Kent.)² Thomas Rycroft's first wife, my mother, died young; and he married secondly Elizabeth Woodcock of Barnsley. Their only son was Dyson Rycroft, now vicar of Christ Church, Canon of Liverpool and Rural Dean.

Rev. George Harrison was minister of a Nonconformist Chapel at Thorne, and also kept a School, at which some of the children of Rd. Jennings were taught. So commenced the intimacy of the families. He afterwards was minister of Netherfield Chapel near Penistone, Yorks. where he died.

His son George commenced business as a bookseller at Barnsley where he married Sarah Taylor, a cousin of Miss Rowley - Miss Rowley is still living, in her 88th year. George Harrison in 1885⁴ removed to Leeds and commenced business as a Share broker losing in 1 year, through the over-speculation and subsequent collapse in Railway Shares (not of himself but of his clients) all the savings of 30 years of steady industry. His only daughter, Eliza, was married on June 1st 1848 to John Rycroft. The offspring of this union is Known to all men, and need not be detailed.

WRITTEN BY JOHN RYCROFT in HIS 75th Year. JULY 21, 1897.

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[1] It appears he was actually born at Rothwell, in the West Riding.

[2] Presumably added by an earlier copier - a grandchild of the author.

[3] The parish registers indicate that Sarah Ascham's father was William, not John.

[4] This should be 1845. George Harrison died in 1849.