A History of the Ellwood Family, from 1550 in Cumbria, England to the United States in 1900. The direct line of Ellwood ancestry will be traced from Edward Ellwood of Dufton, Westmorland, to his 12th generation descendants in Illinois and Kentucky in 1900. Other Cumbrian Surnames included in the history of this ancestral line are: McAllister, Benn, Lowrey, Ward, White, Boadle, Hutchinson, Rudd, Watson, Dobson, and Gargatt. The origin of the surname Ellwood is from the Old English AElfweald or "Elf Ruler". The name is found in Northern England and the Scotch Borders in a variety of spellings as early as the 13th century. Elwold was a common spelling found by the 16th century in Cumbria. Elwood or Ellwood become the most standard spellings after 1700, and seem to be interchangeable depending on the generation. To maintain consistency, I have used the later double " L" spelling for all entries, beginning with Edward Ellwood of Dufton, the first generation in the direct line. My personal interest in making a study of the Ellwood ancestral lines began in 1987 with the desire to trace the lineage of my great-grandmother Hannah Ellwood McAllister. Hannah Ellwood was born in Whitehaven, England in 1848, and died in Streator, Illinois in 1934. She was a direct descendant of the early Ellwood families which are the subject of this study.

I. Edward Ellwood and Ellyn Edward Ellwood was a yeoman class farmer living at Dufton during the latter half of the 16th century. Dufton is a small village at the foot of the Pennine Mountains in Westmorland. The earliest references to Dufton begin in 1298. Edward Ellwood's wife was named Ellyn. As their marriage was prior to the earliest parish records in 1570, her maiden name remains unknown. Edward is the only male Ellwood to be found in Dufton of his generation. Ellwoods are found in nearby Penrith during this period, but any direct relationship to this group cannot be established. The children of Edward and Ellyn Ellwood were: Richard born about 1567; Lancelot about 1569, (died in 1580); EDMUND born in 1573; and Janet born in 1575. (Janet married Robert Blaymire in 1595). Edward Ellwood died in 1591, and was buried in the parish churchyard. An inventory of his possesions can be found in the probate records at Carlisle. Ellyn Ellwood died in May of 1597 at Dufton.

II. Edmund Ellwood and Elizabeth Howe Edmund Ellwood, born in 1573, married Elizabeth Howe in May of 1595 at St. Cuthberts Church in Dufton. He would die at Dufton in 1657, being well over 80 years of age. Because of this fact, his age at death is recorded in the parish records, something rarely done in the 17th century registers. Through two sons of Edmund Ellwood and his wife Elizabeth, a double line of direct descent occurs in the Ellwood family. In 1742, we will find an Ellwood-Ellwood marriage, with both bride and groom tracing to their common ancestor, Edmund Ellwood. The female Ellwood line, descended from son Thomas listed below, will be discussed at that point in the narrative. Children of Edmund and Elizabeth Ellwood were: CHRISTOPHER (1598-1664); Janet (1599-1638), who married Lancelot Walton; THOMAS (1600-1655), who married Margaret Atkinson; Margaret (1602-?), who married Richard Parkin; William (1605-1671); Edward (c.1608-1677), who married Margaret Ewbank; and Mark (1611-1654). A number of the above children had wills at the time of their deaths, which provides us with considerable information on this next generation of Ellwoods in Dufton. The male line of ancestry will continue through Christopher, eldest son of Edmund and Elizabeth Ellwood.

III. Christopher Ellwood and Bridget Dobson Christopher Ellwood married Bridget Dobson on July 17, 1625 in Dufton. The Dobsons were a large and prominent family in Dufton, dating well back into the 14th century. (note: William Dobson and John Dobson appear in the 1366 will of Willam Brampton, Rector of Dufton Parish). Bridget Dobson was born in 1607, the second of six children born to Reginald and Margaret Dobson. Bridget's grand-parents were John and Jane Dobson, and we find her great-grandfather was Reginald Dobson, born about 1510, who died at Dufton in 1567. Reginald Dobson left an extensive will probated in 1567. The Dobson family also produces a double line of direct descent through William Dobson, brother of Bridget. This double descent will occur through a later generation Ellwood-Dobson marriage in the female Ellwood line already mentioned. The children of Christopher and Bridget Ellwood were: Edmund born 1625; Janet born 1628; CHRISTOPHER born 1631; Reginald born 1634; Mark born 1640; Bridget born 1642; and John born 1647. Christopher Ellwood died at Dufton in January of 1664. His wife Bridget Dobson had died on Dec. 27, 1662. The given names of Christopher, Edmund, Thomas, and Mark will be used multiple times in each generation of Ellwoods over the next hundred years in Dufton.

IV. Christopher Ellwood II and Jane Gargatt Christopher Ellwood was born in 1631, the third child of Christopher Ellwood Sr. and his wife Bridget. He married his wife Jane about 1662, no wriitten record being found. Her maiden name and lineage were discovered in the will of William Gargatt of Dufton probated in 1668. In the will he mentions Christopher Ellwood as his son- in- law, and as the husband of his daughter Jane. William Gargatt's wife was Jane Natteras, whom he had married in 1629. The Gargatt lineage is traced to Edward Gargatt of Dufton in the mid-16th century. Christopher Ellwood II died in August of 1676. From his will, we learn he was a yeoman farmer and property owner. His wife Jane is still living in 1676, and the names of his surviving children are given. The will also requests that he be buried in the churchyard of St. Cuthberts in Dufton. The children of Christopher Ellwood II and Jane Gargatt were: Christopher, born 1664, who died young; EDMUND born 1667; Elizabeth, born 1669, who died unmarried in 1743; Mary, born c. 1672, who married George Thornborough; and John, born c. 1674. The numerous wills of the Ellwoods in Dufton provide a picture of prosperous, and property owning farming families over many generations. This remains a consistent pattern from 1600 until well into the 19th century. The lead mining industry would expand to a great extent in Dufton and throughout the Pennines by the start of the 18th century. This mining industry will have a direct effect on the future course of the Ellwood line we are following. In the present day, Dufton is a small and attractive village set at the foot of the Pennine Mountains. It has a large central Green, with an unusual and distinctive fountain erected in the mid-19th century. The current population of the village is 158. After the end of the lead mining era, farming remains as the principal occupation in the parish.

St. Cuthberts Church, Dufton, England

The parish church is first mentioned in 1298. St. Cuthberts is located one mile west of the village of Dufton. Photo by author, May 12, 2000.

V. Edmund Ellwood and Anne Rudd Edmund Ellwood first married Dorothy Spedding in 1689. She died in 1695, and the couple had three children: Frances, John, and Bridget. Edmund then married Anne Rudd of Sandford in Warcop Parish on June 1, 1696. Anne Rudd was christened Feb. 3, 1667, and was the daughter of Thomas Rudd and Catherine Atkinson. Anne Rudd's grand-parents were William and Isabel Rudd; her great-grandparents were William Rudd and Margaret Gibson; and her great-great-grandfather was John Rudd of Sandford, who died in 1591. Edmund Ellwood and Anne Rudd had six children, all born in Dufton: THOMAS (1697-1785); Christopher (born and died 1699); Edmund (born 1700, who married Eliz. Robinson in 1725): William (1702-1789): and Dorothy (born 1706, who married Joseph Richardson in 1735). Edmund Ellwood died in 1730 at Dufton. Anne Rudd died at some point after his will was probated in 1730. His children and grand-children, along with their residences which are all listed in the will, provide the proof of the next two generations in the direct Ellwood line.

VI. Thomas Ellwood and Jane Thomas Ellwood resided at Murton, a small village 2 miles south-east of Dufton in the parish of Appleby-Bongate. The will of his father Edmund in 1730 had stated his son Thomas lived at Murton, and named his grand-children living at Murton. Thomas Ellwood married at an early age, his first child Thomas being born in late 1715. His wife was named Jane, but a parish record of the marriage has not been found. With his wife Jane, Thomas Ellwood had four children: THOMAS in 1715; Ann in 1720, (she died unmarried in 1755); Edward in 1721; and Jane in 1724. Jane, the wife of Thomas, died on Feb. 5, 1727. In 1729, Thomas Ellwood married Elizabeth Wilson as his second wife. They had two sons named Edmund, both of whom died in infancy. Thomas Ellwood was listed in records as a yeoman, and also as church warden of Bongate Parish. He died June 6, 1785, at the age of 88. Thomas is the sixth, and last generation of our Ellwood direct line to be a yeoman farmer. His is also the last generation to remain an entire lifetime in the Dufton area.

VII. Thomas Ellwood and Mary Ellwood Thomas Ellwood married Mary Ellwood at Dufton on Feb. 5, 1742. Mary Ellwood was a distant (4th) cousin of Thomas. They shared two common great-great-great grandfathers in Edmund Ellwood (1573-1657), and Reginald Dobson (1575-1626). Thomas Ellwood had been born at Murton, but was a lead miner living in Dufton at the time of his marriage. He was most likely an employee of the London Lead Mining Company. This large company had extensive holdings throughout the Pennine region. Thomas and Mary Ellwood had one child born at Dufton in 1742. This child, named Joseph, died in 1743. The following year, the couple moved to the small village of Knarsdale in Northumberland. A daughter named Jane was born here in 1745. Jane would later marry Thomas Reid in 1775 at Alston. Thomas and Mary Ellwood would now move to the nearby large lead mining town of Alston in the county of Cumberland. Their remaining children would all be born in Alston: John in 1748,( he would marry Mary Gibson at Whitehaven in 1775, and later return to Alston. In the 1790's he would move to Paisley, Scotland.); Frances (Fanny) born in 1751; THOMAS born in 1753; Mary born in 1755; Elizabeth born in 1758, (married John Brown in 1782.); and finally, two daughters named Ann who died in infancy. Mary Ellwood would die at Fairhill in Alston Parish in 1789. Thomas Ellwood would then move to the town of Whitehaven and die there in 1801. The next section will discuss the lineage of Mary, our other direct Ellwood ancestor.

Mary Ellwood was born at Dufton in 1723, the daugher of Thomas Ellwood and Frances Watson. She had three sisters: Isabell, who married John Cooper; Anne, who married George Doten; Barbara, who married Henry Bell; and one brother, John, who married Anne Blenkarn. Thomas Ellwood was born in 1698, and died at Dufton in 1757. His will mentions all of the above children along with his wife Frances. Mary Ellwood's maternal lineage is quite interesting. Her mother, Frances Watson, was born at Kirkland Parish, which is near Dufton, but over the county line in Cumberland. Frances Watson was the daughter of Thomas Watson and Barbara Hutchinson, and was born in 1700. The earlier Hutchinson family held the lease of Skelling in Kirkland. The Hutchinsons were of the landed-gentry class, and can be traced in Kirkland and the adjoining parish of Ousby to the late 15th century. Mary Ellwood's great-grandparents were Joseph Hutchinson and Anne Thomson of Skelling. A number of early wills found in the Hutchinson line give a good picture of their relative wealth and social class. Robert Hutchinson of Ousby is the earliest of the family recorded, being an adult in the 1490's. Mary Ellwood's paternal ancestry is listed below. It shows the connection to Edmund Ellwood, the common ancestor she shared with her husband Thomas.