Copeland History from Leigh

THE COPELANDS – A BRIEF HISTORY

Our family of Copelands appear to have nothing to do with Copeland Castle in Northumbria, the town of Copeland in Cumberland, or the Copeland potteries of Staffordshire. The earliest records show that they came from an area east of Hull (Kingston on Hull), East Yorkshire, around a cluster of villages or hamlets – Burstwick, Skeckling, Ryhill, Camerton, Nuthill and Ridgmont – and Thorngumwald and Paull, nearby. The name Copeland is often spelled Copland or Coupland. The family probably worked as agricultural labourers until a generation went into the merchant navy in Hull.
The church records aren’t definitive, but our most likely ancestor is Gregory Copeland, who married Elizabeth Buckles at Skeckling with Burstwick on 23 May, 1734. They had a son William, christened at Paull, 4 May, 1738. He married Jane Buck at Keyingham, just past Ryhill, on 8 December, 1766. William and Jane had a son John, christened at Paull on 14 June, 1772. The earliest confirmed records for our Copelands are for a John Copeland, probably this one, who married Nancy Ware at Skeckling with Burstwick, East Yorkshire on 13 Feb, 1805. Nancy Ware came from a village to the north-west with the unfortunate name of Swine. The family name Ware was used as a first or middle name for several generations, providing a valuable lead in the search for the Copeland origins.
The first British census with worthwhile records was taken in 1851, and then every ten years. They provide valuable information – except that there are a lot of discrepancies in the ages given, either because of mistakes by the informants, the collectors or the transcribers.
At Hull, Holy Trinity St Mary Folio 0401v

John Coupland 83 b. Thorngumwald

Nancy Coupland 69 b. Hull

James Coupland 30 b. Ryhill

[NOTE: This must be John Copeland/Nancy Ware, living with their son James- his age and birthdate fit. Nancy would be 39 at his birth. John appears to be 14 years older than Nancy, which is unusual. Would give 1768 as birthdate for John. Thorngumwald is in the parish of Paull, and there is a John Copeland chr. there in 1772. Could be that age is wrong in census, or christened later? Nancy should be born 1782 by this – but chr. Sept 1784. And born Swine, not Hull. Her death certificate indicates a birth year of c.1784.]

John and Nancy had ten children, all christened at the Skeckling with Burstwick church. Of the children found in the 1881 census, Edward and John give their birthplace as Ryhill, but William gives his as Hull. Burstwick is 8 miles from Kingston-upon-Hull. In 1881, the sons John and William are retired Master Mariners – i.e. Ship’s Captains – and Edward is described as Agricultural Labourer, resident at the Union Workhouse, Patrington.

John and Nancy’s eldest child was John Copeland, chr. 29 Jan 1809. This John Copeland married Jane Dales on 26 April, 1830, at the Holy Trinity Church, Hull. On the 1861 census, John is a mariner on board the "Perseverance" in Bridlington. Of their five children, all sons, four were christened on the same day in 1837, also at the Holy Trinity Church. Henry was christened 2 years later.

[This is intriguing. Were the first three children born elsewhere? Their father was a merchant seaman. Or were they not initially baptised in the C of E because the family were Protestant? Compulsory registration started in 1837, and registration by christening might have given some benefit in regard to education. We know from his NSW parliament record that Henry was educated at Trinity House School, Hull. This was a school famous for 'turning out the ablest and most adventurous captains in the Eng­lish merchant service'. The other brothers may have been similarly well educated. George Dale Copeland makes his appearance in the 1881 census as an Anglican minister, Bachelor of Divinity, living in a manse in Surrey. William Wells Copeland was a Brewers Agent in 1881, and a retired hotel keeper in 1901. None of the family can be found in the 1851 census for the area.]

Two children, George Dale Copeland and William Wells Copeland, did not migrate to Australia, but three of them did. Joseph, Ware and Henry.