Hi, I’ve been researching my family tree for some time, I’m from Wigan in Lancashire and my mums side of the family, as I’ve discovered are from Shifnal in Shropshire or (Salop) until 1850’s. From the 1850’s they seem to have left Shropshire and headed north to my hometown of Wigan. My great-great grandfathers occupation was a coal miner and Wigan had plenty of the ‘black stuff’.
So my search through census forms lead me to Shropshire which is ironically where I’ve now moved to. I had no idea. I will try to add a photo of my links and my ancestors through my family tree, I’ve tried to search for names and I have a feeling that one of my ancestors was a John ONIONS who was the owner of forges around modern day Telford in Shropshire around the early 1800’s. The last relative I have who is my great-great-great grandfather John ONIONS who lived in shifnal and was born 1796 and died in 1852 his parents were John ONIONS 1763 - 1799 and mother Margaret JONES 1755 - 1856 (101 wow) I’d be interested to hear from anyone else who can offer any more information to the ONIONS or possible BOTFIELD Family.
Regards Dan.
I forgot to mention, I am in the USA, where Joseph and Ann (PICKERING) COOPER immigrated at least twice (early 1830s and mid-1840s), for opportunities in Pennsylvania coal mining.
Jeryl
Hi Dan.
The ONIONS Family were prominent Ironmasters in Broseley, just to the south of what is now Telford. The name John ONIONS occurs 40 times (and the surname ONIONS 83 times) in a thesis by Stephen Hudson INDUSTRIALISATION AND AN EARLY MODERN TOWN: BROSELEY IN SHROPSHIRE 1600-1820 which can be viewed or downloaded free of charge from https://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/7814/1/Hudson17MAbyRes.pdf
John
Hi Dan,
I have a Thomas ONIONS in my tree who married Mary (Maria) BOTFIELD in Dawley in 1713, I know they had at least 3 children baptised in Wellington Shropshire. This is all I have on the ONIONS family but have lots of information on the BOTFIELD family if you are interested?
Judy
Hi Dan, I have several generations of BOTFIELDs in my paternal Great grandfather family. I to returned to Shropshire and live in the village of my Ancestors, I lived here 27 Yrs before I discovered my fathers Yorkshire Family came from here. There was mining, coal, stone, lime etc. On the Brown Clee, Shropshire Hills during the 17 and 18th centuries, then the workforce moved to what is now Telford around the time of the Industrial Revolution. Dawley Magna being the census area, Madeley Wood is now Ironbridge. Shifnal and Broseley from there the miners moved to Yorkshire and Lancashire, the metal workers/chain makers moved into the Midlands. If my family tree research is correct, I start with john BOTEVYLE 1410 to 1469 BOTEVYLE Shropshire. Son William 1440 1508 BOTEVYLE, son Thomas 1492 1568 BOTEVYLE. Son John 1550 Leighton died 1612 Shrewsbury, son William 1585 ,Leighton, died 3 May 1639 Abdon. Son Thomas BOTFIELD born shropshire 1630 died Abdon 6 July 1674, son Thomas born Abdon 1654 Died 1707 Much Wenlock. Daughter Agnes BOTFIELD born Dawley 1706, died Madeley 1779. NOTE THE NAME CHANGE WITH THOMAS BOTFIELD 1630. Abdon is now a small village in the slopes of the Brown Clee. Hope this is helpful I have Agnes' siblings if your interested.
Hi Jeryl,
I don’t have Cooper or Pickering in my direct family tree, maybe they’re a branch off my tree but I’m not sure. Yes I had had a test with My Heritage. Regards Dan
Hi Judy, thanks for replying. I’m very interested in your reply and what you have found. THOMAS ONIONS who married MARY botfield or (Botfeld) as I’ve seen it sometimes written, anyway, they are my 7x great grandparents. I know nothing about them. All I know is that they were a very well renowned family in Shropshire at their time. That is literally all I know. Are you able to provide more details? We must be related even distantly. I hope you’re well in these difficult times. Regards Dan
Hi Judy, this is what I have in my tree.
Hi, I hope you’re well, I apologise, I don’t know your name. I’ve had another look over my family tree and we are on the the same line so we may be somewhat distantly related. I’d very like to discover what you have but I’m not sure how to do that without putting personal details on here. I’ve had another look at my family tree and this is as far as I have got. This is my direct ancestry line, William BOTEVYLE is my 10th x Great Grandfather. Regards Dan
Hi Dan Admin have phoned me and are going to pass my email address onto you. Look forward to hearing from you.
Hi Dan,
Thanks for coming back to me, while I can read your messages I cannot see the family history information you have mentioned, it just appears as a square.
Thomas Onions & Mary (Maria) Botfield married Thomas Onions in Dawley on 28 Sep 1713 and they had at least 3 children in Wellington - Thomas, Alice and Jane. Mary (Maria) Botfield was baptised 16 Apr 1689 in Dawley to Thomas Botfield and Abigail Fowler. Mary (Maria)'s father Thomas Botfield was the son of Thomas Botfield who married twice, once to Mary (Burreyy?), these are the parents of your Thomas Botfield. Thomas's 2nd wife Mary was Mary Morris who he married in Eaton Constantine, Shropshire on 11 Feb 1666/67 according to the marriage licence. My 7x g grandfather John Botfield was the son of Thomas Botfield & Mary Morris and was born abt 1672 in Eaton Constantine (church registers are missing for this time period) while your Thomas was the son of the same Thomas but by his first wife. Thomas Botfield Snr left a will which confirms many of the family relationships and the whereabouts of his children. My ancestor John settled in Much Wenlock
Have you come across the "Stemmata Botevilliana" yet? It is a book you can download for free from places like Google and it goes through the pedigree of the Botfield/ Botvyle/ de Botvyle families and explains the names changes plus how we are are related to the Thynne family & the Marquis of Bath.
I am quite happy for admin to pass on my email address to you if you would like more information,
Judy
Hi Judy,
Thanks for taking the time to reply and I apologise it's taken me so long to reply to you.
I'd be very happy for admin to share my email address with you if you would still be so kind to send the information you have.
I'd be very grateful.
Regards
Dan
Dan - Your email address has been sent to Judy.
Mike (Admin)
Hi Dan,
Just to say I now have your email now so will send you one or two things about the Botfields over the weekend.
Judy
I have Catherine Onions who married into my family 1780s
I trace my connection to the Botfields back to John and Joan(Jane) Botvyle b 1550 married in 1573. In Eaton Constantine. Thomas Botfield and Abigale Fowler are my 7 x gt grandparents their daughter Agnes married Beriah Bough who wrote the Stemmata Botevillian book mentioned above they are my 6 x gt grandparents.
Mary Thompson was the daughter of their great granddaughter, Martha Maria Bough, she married Thomas Onions 1791-1837 of Lincoln Hill, Madeley He was killed in an accident in his lime quarry they were my 3 x gt grandparents
I have included this for interest. This Thomas Botfield was a gt nephew of Agnes so a grandson of Agnes's brother Thomas
Thomas Botfield FRS (14 February 1762 – 17 January 1843) was an English metallurgist, geologist, magistrate and deputy-lieutenant of Shropshire, and inventor of a method of smelting and making iron using the principle of "gas flame or heated air in the blast of furnaces".[1] Botfield's 1828 patent seems to have anticipated most of the elements of the blast furnace as it was used in the 1830s and 1840s.[2]
His father was Thomas Botfield (1738–1801) who acquired a fortune from collieries and iron manufacture, his mother Margaret, only daughter of William Baker of Bromley, Worfield, Shropshire.
Thomas Botfield, the younger, born at Dawley, Shropshire, in 1762, was educated at the endowed school of Cleobury Mortimer. He worked as a colliery manager and married in 1800. Seated at Hopton Court in Hopton Wafers, whose manor he purchased in 1812, he funded the rebuilding of Hopton's parish church in 1825.[3] He served as High Sheriff of Shropshire in 1818[4][1]
He was elected F.R.S. on 18 April 1833.
He was one of the original members of the Geological Society, and early a fellow of the Society of Arts. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society, and of the Horticultural Society, a member of the Royal Institution, and of the Royal Geographical and Agricultural Societies. He was a frequent attendant at the meetings of the British Association, and in his visits to the metropolis rarely missed a meeting of any society to which he belonged.[1]
In 1842, the year before his death, he was appointed treasurer of the Salop Infirmary in Shrewsbury.[5][1] He died in January 1843 aged 80.
There is a possible link from these later Onions family to William Onions aged 12 the youngest of the 1864 "nine men of Madeley" disaster. He was from Lincoln Hill according to the census
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Greetings, Foster. -
I have identified my 3rd great grandmother as Ann PICKERING (1805 - ), daughter of Allen and Sarah RIGBY (1772 - ) PICKERING of Shropshire. I used DNA (and records) to come to this conclusion, by comparing DNA results with other descendants.
During this time, I have found a number of matching DNA results from descendants of the ONIONS Family of Shropshire. I suspect it may be from the families associated with Ann PICKERING's husband, Joseph COOPER (b. About 1805). As COOPER is such a common name, I have not yet narrowed down whether he was from Shropshire, or perhaps Staffordshire.
Do you have the name COOPER or PICKERING in your lineage?
Also, have you done DNA testing? If so, to which site are your results posted?
Thank you,
Jeryl