MIDGLEYNEWS                                          Do you have any news of people or places?                                          Do let me know and I'll post them up -T.M.

* 19th January 2012

More information regarding Sir William de Midgley has come to light and why he was granted the manors of Shelf and Frisley near Halifax. Indicated by on the page http://midgleywebpages.com/knight.html

* 10th October 2011

Recent study of the Thornhill ancestors' pedigree has provided evidence for the source of a least one early branch of the Midgley name as ealy as  the 1100's.  In addition we find a 'miracle' associated with Essulf's family.  Essulf was a resident of  Yorkshire who had extensive land holdsings and was a friend of the martyr St. Thomas a' Beckett. A large painted-glass window in Canterbury Cathedral celebrates this occasion.  http://midgleywebpages.com/thornhill.html

* 1st July 2011 

Derek Midgley has added a little more to his branch of the Midgleys of Bradford. http://midgleywebpages.com/bradford.html

* 30th June 2011 Midgley of Crigglestone, Royston & Swinton, Yorkshire have been added. One branch of this family migrated to Melbourne Australia in 1919. See http://midgleywebpages.com/barnsley.html or  http://midgleywebpages.com/australia.html 

A photograph of the tombstone of Catherine Middleton's Midgley antecedents has been placed at: http://midgleywebpages.com/westyorks.html

* 20th April 2011

With the interest engendered in Catherine Middleton's family tree by the forthcoming  royal wedding, it appears that Catherine has Midgley genetics in the 12th to the 7th generations on her father's side. Middleton is a township between Leeds and Wakefield W.R. Y. This is 'Robin Hood' and 'merrie men' country and not just because the nearest township is 'Robin Hood'.

7th great grandparent Ester Midgeley, b. ... 28 April 1669 [IGI], d. ... 1726 [Lupton Pedigree 3] who married Francis Lupton of Leeds.
8th great grandparent Ralph Midgeley, of Breragh b. ... , d. ... [Ibid.] 
9th great grandparent Robert Midgeley, of Breragh, b. ... , d. ... [Ibid.]  
10th great grand parent John Midgeley, b. ... , d. ... [Ibid.]  
11th great grandparet Richard Midgeley, of Breragh, b. ... , d. ... [Ibid.]  ''Breragh' is Breary Hall near Bramhope and Harewood House north of  Leeds. The parish church was Adel.
12th great grand parent Edward Midgeley, of Midgeley, near Halifax, b. ... , d. ... [Ibid.] 

Source: The Ancestry of Catherine Middleton, written by William Addams Reitwiesner

The coat of arms above was created recently for Catherine and will be impaled [sinistrally] with Prince William's arms [dextrally] after their marriage.*  If the Middletons  knew anything about their family history then the Midgley arms at least in part should perhaps be included!  Catherine is often described as a 'commoner', however this term has a different meaning today than when used in its original context. The term commoner was applied by the Normans in England and their descendants  meaning there were more of the English than  the ruling Norman class. That is the commoners were the true English. So if we reinterpret the term commoner in its original context it means a truly English person. Importantly from our genealogy, any children born of this union will have Yorkshire Midgley heritage. William has genetics not only from the vast repository of the Scots, English and Hanoverian, Greek royalty  &c. but also of course the Spencer genetics through his mother. These genetics and the name descend from the Despensers, one notable being Hugh Despenser the younger, a favourite of  the unfortunate King Edward II. * Note: The 'shield' is always described as if it were being held by the owner, not the spectator.

An hilarious if somewhat irreverent parody of the royal wedding

* 11th January 2011 Simon Jackson's photographs of Arthur Midgley's loving cup are at http://midgleywebpages.com/loving_cup.html

*7th January 2011 Allen Midgley of Canada has started  the MidgleyWorld on FACEBOOK.

* Simon Jackson has come into the possession of a loving cup 'which was painted in underglaze blue by Arthur Midgley in 1914, for his niece Winifred (who I think it says on the mug was born 28th November 1882).  It is a quite charming piece decorated with the Midgley arms, and also with Haworth on there as well as other designs.' Simon has offered to forward some photographs  of the cup which shows similarities to those made by Arthur at http://midgleywebpages.com/rochdale.html and http://midgleywebpages.com/quakers.html.

* Stephen Douglas Burton has added more information concerning the Midgleys of Almondbury who joined a wagon train across the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains  in 1855 See http://midgleywebpages.com/almondbury.html and  http://midgleywebpages.com/midg_beau.html

*13th December 2010 Further information regarding William Waller Midgley, first curator of Bolton Museum, Lancashire at http://midgleywebpages.com/selby.html - near the bottom of the page is a broad outline of the family, including William's, stemming from William Midgley, farmer of Brayton and Elizabeth Fielder.

*12th December 2010 An updated & zipped Gedcom  file of Midgley of Cawthorne, Hambleton, Normanton, Thorpe Willoughby, Brayton, Acaster Malbis, Acaster Selby, Pickering, York, Copmanthorpe, Elvington, Askham Bryan, Rufforth, Wistow &c. can now be downloaded from http://midgleywebpages.com/midgedcom.html or directly from http://midgleywebpages.com/hnc.zip  Many thanks to Steven Midgley who has added greatly to these various branches by his exhaustive searches at the Borthwick Institute, York.

* Stephen Douglas Burton of Maine has a connection to Ann Midgley who is connected to the Beaumont line of Yorkshire. Details will be available later as they are being delivered by 'donkey post'.

*1st December 2010 William Waller Midgley and his son Thomas were the first curators of  the Chadwick Museum at Bolton, Lancashire. Their story is told at the external link: Bolton Museum. William was a son of William Walter Midgley snr. and Sarah Peace and grandson of  Joseph Midgley of Hambleton and Susannah Cheesbrough of Kirk Smeaton, Yorkshire.

*8th August 2010 The important gateway genealogy web sites have been renewed. 

See http://midgleywebpages.com/genesites.com

*27th April 2010  External link: Midgley's of the North Yorkshire Wolds by Kath Bonson

*7th March 2010  
The Rochdale Midgley pedigree has been added as a zipped Gedcom. This line led to the U.S. chemist Thomas Midgley jnr.
Download the file directly here.

*5th March 2010
The full text of the 1294-1297 Wakefield Court Rolls can now be downloaded and searched in a PDF document where you will find many references to the early Midgley name, especially John de Miggeley who was the son of Adam de Migge[ley]. John is described as being a forester in the forest of Sowerby, residing at Hathershelf, Mytholmroyd. Adam appears to have been appointed the Grave of the Graveship, an unusual administrative unit found only in Yorkshire. See http://www.archive.org/download/recordseries29yorkuoft/recordseries29yorkuoft.pdf
Also examine the extractions from this roll

*3rd March 2010
Jay Midgley has an embroidery sampler made by his great great grandmother Sarah Midgley, nee Clegg of Rochdale showing the large house, 'Summer Castle', once sited in Rochdale, Lancashire. See http://midgleywebpages.com/rochdale.html

*6th December 2009
Steven Midgley has located more information  re Midgleys of Brayton, Thorpe Willoughby and Burn near Selby which has been added to the updated Gedcom file. Download  the  file at  http://midgleywebpages.com/midgedcom.html

David Clark has sent some photographs of two oil paintings depicting Yorkshire rural scenes painted in 1905 by an Arthur Midgley. This does not appear to be the Arthur Midgley painter and photographer of Rochdale and Saffron Walden. The two paintings were presented to David's great grandfather as a prize for finishing top of the cricket batting averages in the Bradford league. Images of these two paintings can be viewed at
http://midgleywebpages.com/arthur05.html

Additional information relating to Sir William de Midgley has been located in the Yorkshire Feet of Fines which throws some light on his faimily, a son by the same name and two daughters.  See http://midgleywebpages.com/felkirk.html or  http://midgleywebpages.com/knight.html

Google Books have placed Samuel Midgley's book "The History of the Town and parish of Halifax" 1789 online which can also be downloaded as a PDF.
*19th November 2009

Jaqui Bell has revised her research on  Midgley of Allerton & Horton, Bradford, See   http://midgleywebpages.com/bradford.html  

Derek Hindle has added a little more to Midgley of Farsley and Pudsey, See  http://midgleywebpages.com/westyorks.html
*5th August 2009  Thanks to Janet Ogden who has added more through transccription of Wills , Releases &c. for Midgley and the manor of Haworth. See  http://midgleywebpages.com/haworth.html
*3rd July 2009  Data has been gathered concerning Midgley of Barmby, East Yorkshire, the family emigrated to Canada and then the U.S. after 1850.  See http://midgleywebpages.com/eastyorks.html

*16th April 2009
More detail has been added to the Midgley line of  Burn, Brayton & Hambleton &c. by Dave Sunman on the Selby page at   and direct download as a zip file at

*15th March 2009
More information has been gathered by Sandra McAllister regarding the Midgley's of Armley, Leeds. See under Leeds at:

*19th September 2008
A connection has been made between William Midgley of Rochdale [b. 1758] a Quaker mill owner and his youngest brother Eli [b. 1771]. Eli is the progenitor of a line which emigrated to the U.S.A in 1850 and 1869 and led to Thomas Midgley jnr. the U.S. chemist who discovered how to extract bromine from seawater, 'ethyl' and freon refrigerants. A Gedcom is in the process of being constructed which unites these two Midgley branches of Lancashire and Yorkshire.
* Jackie Hendrie and Glen Midgley are researching William Midgley of Todmorden, Calderdale b~ 1827 . William married Mary Sagar of Sagar Fold near Burnley.
See

*20th July 2008
Thomas Midgley IV, the grandson of Thomas Midgley Jr., the Chemist, is kindly forwarding more information concerning this intriguing scientist whose life details are contained in the book, From the Periodic Table to Production, published in 2001. Thomas Midgley Jr. was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in the U.S.A in 2003. Thomas IV's great grandmother travelled to England in the 1920's with an instruction from her son to investigate the family heritage. This she did and in the process produced a small diary of tthe genealogy of  this family branch. With this diary and other resources Thomas IV hopes to identify  his predecessors who are believed to have worked with James Watt.
*27th March 2008
An updated gedcom of Midgley of Hambleton, Normanton and Cawthorne has additions for Hambleton and Brayton care of Steven Midgley who has been searching the Borthwick Institute at York for the Brayton Parish register, near Selby.
*24th February 2008
Julia Scott  is searching for any information concerning Abraham Midgley local Wesleyan preacher  in Thornton  near Bradford.
See http://midgleywebpages.com/thornton.html
*4th December 2007

The primary objective of  Ian and Stephen's project is preparing two books. These publications cover the history of Midgley township and the Midgley surname :  

   June(ish) 2006: transcripts of wills and inventories of Midgley  township identities, covering the period 1531 to 1731 are expected to be available. Ian and Stephen have transcribed about 40 of these, the most commonly occurring family name being Midgley. This will be a small, partially colour illustrated soft backed book that would be a useful historical resource. It’s unlikely to be everyone’s idea of an entertaining read, but as far as Midgley surnames are concerned there are at least seven, including some large inventories that detail all their possessions.

·  June 2007: this is the major publication. It will be a hard back book published to a very high standard in full colour. It will cover all ages in the history of the township and will be visually appealing, containing a large number of images: photographs old & new, sources of local history (e,g census) and maps.

HOME                               Previous - 'Archived' Recent Events page 1