Anthony & Lesley Green Home Page:Information about Thomas Wrightson
Thomas Wrightson (b. August 1729, d. September 11, 1808)
Notes for Thomas Wrightson:L.D.G. January 16, 1995
WRIGHTSON FAMILY HISTORY
1. These notes record information found from the following sources:
Family History Library of the Mormon Church: microfilm #1564061: Records of William Turner Hospital, 1676-1808 transcribed by Mary Williams, 1984
Microfich of marriages and baptisms (I.G.A. families index) in L.D.S. Family History Library, for Yorkshire, England
Handwritten records of tombstone inscriptions found among Green family papers, presumed to be from Kirkleatham cemetery.
2. The following family members were identified:
Ralph Wrightson of Neeson, father of Thomas Wrightson, Sr. below.
Thomas Wrightson, Sr. born 1729 (bp. 17 Aug. 1729) died 1808.
Sarah, wife of Thomas W. Sr., born c.1732/33 died 1817.
Thomas Wrightson, Jr. born c.1765 died 1828.
Elisabeth, wife of Thomas W. Jr., born c.1787 died 1863 at Scarborough.
Henry Alfred Wrightson, son of Thomas W. Jr., born 1820 died 1907 at Scarborough.
Dorothy Wrightson, wife of H.A.W., born 1821, daughter of John and Hannah Unthank of Boscroft, Nr. Loftus, N. Yorks., died 1907 at Scarborough.
(Henry and Dorothy were the parents of William James W. and grandparents of William Henry W.)
3. Mary Williams prefaces her transcription of Kirkleatham Hospital register with this introduction:
SIR WILLIAM TURNER HOSPITAL
KIRKLEATHAM
The Hospital at Kirkleatham was founded in 1676 by Sir William Turner (1615-1692) a native of Cleveland, Lord Mayor of London in 1668, "for the relief of ten poor aged men and ten poor aged women and for the relief and bringing up of ten poor boys and ten poor girls." (letters patent, 2nd. March 1678)
To qualify for entry, the old people had to be either single or widowed, baptised in the Church of England and over the age of 63 years. Until recent times they were always referred to as 'brother' or 'sister' of the Hospital.
The boys and girls, also required to be baptised in the Church of England, were not necessarily orphans. There is evidence in the Register that the majority had at least one parent living at the time of their admission, usually at the age of 8 years, though there are examples of children being given places at the age of 5 or 6.
They were given a basic education and were expected to remain at the Hospital until their 16th birthday. Those that left at this age were given £5, a new outfit of clothes and a Bible.
The old people were each accommodated in their own room, on the ground floor of the hospital. Children were housed in dormitories on the first floor of the building. (For American readers: this means the first and second floors, respectively.)
The Hospital was governed by successive members of the Turner family until 1810, after which it became the responsibility of the owner of the Kirkleatham Estate. When the estate was sold in 1950, the Hospital passed to the Charity Commissioners, under which it now operates, being run by a Board of Trustees. It still provides 'sheltered accommodation' for 20 elderly people.
March 1984M. Williams.
4. From the records of Sir William Turner Hospital comes the following story:
Thomas, son of Ralph Wrightson of Neesom, entered the hospital in July 1740, probably around his eleventh birthday. It may be presumed that his mother had died. He "went out" in November 1745 at the age of sixteen to an apprenticeship, but to which trade is not stated. In 1775, Thomas Wrightson of Deighton was admitted Master of the Bluecoat boys belonging to "Cha. Turner Esq. Hospital", Charles Turner evidently being the Governor at that time. From his baptismal date it seems most likely that this is the same former pupil. Thomas would then have been just forty-five years of age. He died in 1808 at the age of eighty and his tombstone states that he held the offices of both Master and Steward for the last thirty-three years of his life. Thomas Wrightson junior was appointed to succeed his father in 1808.
5. List of references to Wrightson father and son in the record:
Abbreviations: bp = baptised
e= entered
s= son of
w = went out of the Hospital
Pg. 19 9th Master. Thomas Wrightson of Deighton appointed June 19th 1775.
Pg.55 IX MASTER. Thomas Wrightson master of the Hospital died Sept. 1808.
Pg. 184 Thomas s Ralph Wrightson of Neeson bp 17th Aug. 1729 e 24th July 1740.
Pg. 193 IX MASTER. Thomas Wrightson of Deighton was admitted Master of the Bluecoat boys belonging Cha. Turner Esq. Hospital 19th June 1775 himself having been bp 17th Aug. 1729, O. Stile.
Pg. 200 X MASTER Thomas Wrightson s the late master was admitted Master at the Hospital 1808.
Pg. 225 Thomas s Ralph Wrightson of Neeson w 9th Nov. 1745 to his apprenticeship the same day.
Pg. 236 IX MASTER. Thomas Wrightson died 1808.
6. Information from memorial inscriptions:
Here the Hospital record ends, but the tombstone records that Sarah, widow of Thomas Wrightson, Sr. died in 1817 at the age of 84 and that their son Thomas junior died in 1828 at the age of sixty-three having held the office of Master "for the space of twenty-two years". However, the inaccuracy is probably due to the fact that the Turner family no longer governed the hospital by then and Thomas junior's wife, Elisabeth, did not marry him until he was already Master and so might not have known the exact date of his appointment. Thomas junior would have been born around 1765 but his wife was twenty-two years younger. She died in Scarborough in 1863.
Tombstone inscriptions from Kirkleatham cemetery
I know that myRedeemer liveth
This Stone
Records the Death
and Memory of
Thomas Wrightson late Master and
Steward of Turners Hospital who
held those United Offices for a period
of Thirty three years and died the 11th
of September 1808 Aged 80 Years
And of
Sarah his wife who died the 11th
of January 1817 Aged 84 years
Also of
Thomas their son late Master
of Turners Hospital which situation
he held for the space of Twenty
two years and died the 30th of October
1828 at the age of 63 Years
In Remembrance of Elisabeth
Widow of the late Thomas
Wrightson of Kirk Leatham
who departed this life at
Scarborough on the 24 day
of August 1863 Aged 76 Years
Henry Alfred Wrightson Born at
Kirk Leatham North Yorkshire
June 14 1820
Died Jany 31 1907 at Scarboro
Aged 86 Years Interred in the
New Cemetery
Dorothy Wrightson His Wife
Born at Boscroft Nr Loftus
June 3rd 1821 And died
Augst 5th 1907 Aged 85
Interred as above
C:wpdocsargwrightsn.wpd 6/19/97
The following is an extract from Arthur Mee's book "THE KING'S ENGLAND: YORKSHIRE, NORTH RIDING."This area became the county of Cleveland under the rearrangement of counties some years ago.
The Lord Mayor's Good Deed
KIRKLEATHAM.It is a place of noble trees.The great house with its embattled parapet stands in the park, and facing the lovely gates is the church with its creepered walls.The first church was old enough to come into Domesday Book, but this one was rebuilt in 1763, from designs by a village architect.It is in classical style, with six columns supporting the roof, and has an unusual appearance outside owing to the huge mausoleum dwarfing the chancel.The roof is like a stumpy spire crowned with a vase.
Chomley Turner built the mausoleum in 1740 as a resting-place for his son Marwood William Turner, who had died the year before at Lyons when on his way to Italy; we see him standing with his books about him.Chomley's own monument, by Scheemakers, shows him standing at an urn.Westmacott's monument to Charles Turner of 1810 has the figure of a woman by a sarcophagus.In the middle of the mausoleum is a marble sarcophagus to one whom Kirkleatham has good cause to remember, Sir William Turner. woollen draper and Lord Mayor of London; he founded the beautiful almshouses here, and died in 1692.In a rich recess in the sanctuary is the marble statue of his brother John, wearing the robes of a serjeant-at-law, and carrying his gloves.
The small brass portrait of a child, looking like a little Queen Elizabeth in her quaint dress, is of Dorothy Turner, who was only four when she died in 1628, a few years after William Turner acquired the estate.There is a fine brass portrait of Robert Coulthirst in rich robes; he was 90 when they buried him here in 1631, having lived in six reigns.To the 14th century belong a gravestone carved with a cross and a dagger, and the worn figure of a wimpled lady who was probably Eva de Bulmer.The stone coffin of a child in the mausoleum is said to be Danish.
An ironbound chest with carving of tracery and birds above leafy gables is medieval.To the 18th century belong the oak seats, the inlaid pulpit and reading desk, and the graceful font with a fine oak cover adorned with foliage, cherubs, and pinnacles like acorns.There is rich modern carving in the poppyheads of the stalls, and the altar is enriched with cherub-heads.On the altar is beautiful plate given by Sir William when he was Lord Mayor, and a silver dish said to have been washed ashore at Coatham in 1740.The church register goes back to 1559.The east window has A. K. Nicholson's lovely glass showing Our Lord with a rainbow, St Hilda with a goose beside her and a picture of Whitby Abbey, and St Cuthbert with a spade and an otter, on a rocky shore.On a rich mosaic ground in another window are Ruth and Naomi, and Moses with the Children of Israel.
Built round three sides of a square, with splendid gates and railings on the fourth side, the Lord Mayor's Hospital for poor folk and young folk is most imposing.By the gates is the stump of an elm planted in 1705 and now grown into a great tree, and in the courtyard is a statue of Justice by Christopher Wren.In the central range of the brick buildings is the stone chapel of 1742, crowned with a domed tower, and here and there on the walls are two sundials, statues of a boy and a girl, an old man leaning on his stick, and an old woman drawing her shawl about her shoulders.The chapel is delightful, with a small gallery, a marble floor, a fine roof, mahogany stalls, ornate candelabra, and two gilded chairs given to Sir William by Charles the Second.In the beautiful glass of the east window (glowing with orange and scarlet) are the Wise Men bringing gifts to a smiling Jesus in the arms of a blue Madonna, and beside them are Sir William in his mayoral robes and his brother John in scarlet.
Among hundreds of books in the library are many priceless first editions, an old service book from Salisbury, a rare set of Van Dyck etchings, and a manuscript translation of Boethius, every page illuminated with gold and colour.Here also are Sir William Turner's account books, kept in his own neat hand; at the top of every page written during the Plague are the words Praise God, and on another page a balance of £50,000 is followed by the words, "Blessed be Almighty God who has blessed me with this estate."
There are many treasures in the museum of the hospital, but the most amazing of all is a piece of boxwood believed to have been carved by an English sailor imprisoned in France.About 20 inches high, it is crowded with a host of tiny people, rearing horses, and lizards.St George is slaying the dragon, the princess turning away; and below the castle is a cave in which queer creatures are hiding.No Chinese ivory is more astonishing than this small carving, for which the British Museum is said to have offered £6000.We were told that the captive sailor spent 12 years on it, and that every detail is carved out of a single piece of wood.
The foregoing account is extracted from Arthur Mee's bookTHE KING'S ENGLAND: YORKSHIRE, NORTH RIDING.This area became the county of Cleveland under the rearrangement of counties some years ago.
___________________
In autumn 1995, Mary Ellinger Green and Lesley D. Green ( wife of Mary's brother Anthony Raymond Green) visited Kirk Leatham and were given a tour of the church which is now closed for regular worship but was specially opened for our visit.We were also welcomed at Sir William Turners Hospital by the Administrator, Mr. Alan Wordsworth and were given a tour to see the former Master's House, now made into two apartments, and the former schoolroom where the boys were taught.The Hospital housed ten poor men, ten poor women, ten orphan boys and ten orphan girls.One wing housed the men and boys with a house for the Master who apparently was both the schoolmaster and the administrator of the establishment under the direction of the Governor who was the current descendant of Sir William Turner until 1810 when the line died out. The opposite wing housed the women and girls with a house for the Mistress.
More About Thomas Wrightson and Sarah (Wrightson):
Marriage: Unknown
Children of Thomas Wrightson and Sarah (Wrightson) are:
- +Thomas Wrightson, b. 1765, Yorkshire, England, d. October 30, 1828, Kirk Leatham, Yorkshire, England.