It was kindly drawn to my attention, by Mr Ian Lloyd, that the Parish Registers of Mirfield, just 3 miles west of Dewsbury, show a JOHN Tattersal, who had 9 children. He was baptised in St Mary, Mirfield on 21 Aug 1715, son of JAMES Tattersal (1680-1737). JOHN married, probably Sarah Scolfield, in Kirkheaton, some 2 miles from Mirfield, on 16 July 1739. They had the following 8 sons and 1 daughter:
| Name | Date of Baptism | Comment |
| James | 14 Oct 1739 | |
| Job | 7 Mar 1742 | Buried 4 May 1743 |
| John | 9 Sept 1744 | |
| Thomas | 2 Mar 1747 | |
| Elizabeth | 18 June 1749 | |
| David | 16 Feb 1752 | |
| Daniel | 3 Jan 1755 | (father a clothier) |
| Joseph | 2 Dec 1758 | Buried 2 Feb 1760 |
| Samuel | 12 July 1761 |
These dates appear to dovetail very well with the five marriages listed in the essay entitled Tattersal – Tattersfield ?, and with other Tattersfield records. Every one of the nine baptisms spelled the name as Tattersal (single l). The only description of the father JOHN was in the baptism record of DANIEL, as Clothier. The name of the mother was never mentioned.
The probable mother Sarah was buried in Mirfield on 11 Aug 1768. The burial of JOHN has not been identified.
From each of the 9 baptisms, only that of JAMES, and, perhaps JOHN and THOMAS, was followed by a possible related marriage in the area, and only two by a related burial (infants JOB and JOSEPH), in Mirfield. It is conceivable that the family migrated elsewhere, perhaps to Lancashire, where the Tattersal name is fairly common, and they cannot be identified. There is no known evidence for this.
The suggested relationships are tentatively shown on Chart 16. Owing to uncertainty, it does not necessarily contain all the following material.
The following study of each child is a best assessment.
1 JAMES.
Of the 9, JAMES Tattersal is the most problematic for this theory.
It is complicated by the fact that there was another JOHN Tattersal, in nearby Lepton, in Kirkheaton Parish. His birth and parentage have not been discovered. He had 7 daughters and 2 sons between 1737 and 1751. Three of these were baptised with names matching those of similar age in Mirfield. One was JAMES, baptised 17 Mar 1741. This raises the problem of deciding which JAMES had subsequent families. There seem to be three marriages which might be relevant.
A. One JAMES married Nancy Shaw of Lepton, on 14 Feb 1763 in Kirkheaton, 2 miles from Mirfield. JAMES was described as “from Mirfield.” His occupation was not recorded. He signed as JAMES Tattersall, and a Witness was JOHN Tattersal, presumably the father.
They had one child, JOSEPH Tattersal, baptised Mirfield on 26 Dec 1765. It is just possible that JOSEPH, as Tattersfield, first married Martha Longley in Dewsbury Church on 5 Nov 1789 by Banns, both “of this Parish”, and that she was buried as Martha Tattersfield in Mirfield on 19 Feb 1809. No record has been found of any children.
JOSEPH Tattersall married, perhaps for the second time, Sarah Tattersall in Mirfield on 12 Mar 1809. Their seven children were all baptised Tattersfield, the first four, from 1809-1816, in Mirfield, and the last three, 1818-1825, in Dewsbury. The last child William, was baptised in Dewsbury in 1825, but buried in Mirfield in 1827. There are no male descendants of JOSEPH, so no Y-DNA test could be carried out for this family. JOSEPH and SARAH are at the head of Chart 11.
Nancy, born Shaw, was buried in Mirfield on 20 Apr 1769, as “wife of JAMES Tattersal”.
B. Secondly, a JAMES Tattersal, labourer, married Maria Bedford, widow, in Mirfield, on 28 Mar 1779. In both the Banns and the Marriage Certificate, the vicar wrote the name of JAMES as Tattersal. However, JAMES signed his own name on his marriage certificate as Tattersfield. Maria was buried in Mirfield, “wife of JAMES Tattersall” on 11 Dec 1798, aged 59. They had one daughter JOANNA, who was baptised as Tattersfield in 1780, and married as Tattersal in 1799, both in Mirfield. She married Michael Drake on 25 Mar 1799. They had 11 children between William Drake, born 1800 and Martha, born 1821. The second, Betty, married Mark Lives. They were to have 5 children, the second being named Josiah Tattersfield Lives (1827-1865).
If the above two marriages were of the same JAMES, JOANNA would have been half sister to JOSEPH, baptised 26 Dec 1765 (Chart 11). It is interesting to note that JAMES and his daughter JOHANNA Drake, buried in 1813 and 1821 respectively, were both resident at their death in Snake Hill, a very local part of Mirfield.
C. Thirdly, a JAMES Tattersfield, a clothier and bachelor, married Mary Dransfield in Dewsbury Church, on 28 Nov 1788. They had children JOHN and WILLIAM Tattersfield, plus two who were buried as infants in Dewsbury. JOHN married in Halifax on 15 May 1816, and from him the Lancashire Tattersfield family descended (Chart 9).
JAMES was buried in Dewsbury on 6 May 1800. His occupation was not recorded.
There are 5 known signatures of a JAMES, three as groom at the above marriages, and two as Witness at the two marriages of THOMAS, possibly his brother (the Y-DNA results from Lancashire and York participants match at GD0). They were signed over a period 1763-1788, and it is not clear which are by the same hand.
As JAMES in the third of these marriages was a bachelor and clothier, and it overlaps in date with the second, these two marriages cannot be of the same JAMES. Two possibilities are considered:-
(i) the first two of the above marriages were by JAMES baptised 17 Mar 1741 in Kirkheaton, who died aged 47 in 1800, and the third by JAMES baptised on 14 Oct 1739 in Mirfield, who died at Snake Hill, Mirfield, and was buried on 24 Dec 1813. This would mean that the Lancashire family in Chart 9 are descended from JOHN, son of the latter JAMES Tattersal, but that JOSEPH in Chart 11 was not. This conclusion is consistent with the fact that the Chart 9 family shows a Y-DNA match with Charts 5-8.
(ii) the first and third marriages were of the same JAMES, to Nancy Shaw and Mary Dransfield. This would mean that both Chart 9 and Chart 11 are descended from JAMES who was baptised on 14 Oct 1739, and that JOANNA was descended from the other JAMES. However, the fact that JAMES was described as a bachelor in the third marriage, and would have been 49 years old, makes this combination unlikely.
On balance option (i) above seems the more likely, but is not conclusive.
Because of the uncertainty about JAMES, Chart 16 does not show any of the possible marriages and descendants for him, pending further clarification.
2 JOB.
Baptised 7 Mar 1741, buried 4 May 1743, both in Mirfield as Tattersal. One transcript shows a JOB baptised 4 May 1743 in Mirfield. No related marriage or burial has been found. This is considered to be a transcription error for the burial of JOB.
The only other JOB found in Mirfield was baptised 23 June 1779 as Tattersal. He was the son of THOMAS (below), and moved to York as Tattersfield. See Chart 5.
3 JOHN.
There are two “marriage” records of a JOHN which could be relevant, consistent with a birth in 1744.
A. Banns were called for the marriage of JOHN Tatterfield (sic), Batchelor of Huddersfield, and Mary Pearson of Elland, in St. Mary Church, Elland on 23 and 30 Oct and 6 Nov 1774. Then, on 19 Feb 1775, a child SALLY Tattersfield was baptised. Her parents were “rept” (ie reputed) to be Mary Pearson and Jno Tattersfield. The child was clearly illegitimate, and no marriage of the parents has been found. There are no related marriages or burials in or near Mirfield.
It has not been possible to identify who this JOHN was. He may have been born JOHN Tattersal.
B. Similarly there is no known origin of JOHN Tattersfield, who married in Holborn, London, in 1772, and started the London Tattersfield family on Chart 7, so a Mirfield origin as JOHN Tattersal is conceivable.
4 THOMAS.
There is no record of the birth of a THOMAS Tattersfield in the years 1730-55, so subsequent marriages must have been of a Tattersal at birth. Three marriages are possibly relevant.
A. Marriage of THOMAS Tattersall to Marcey Wheeler in Huddersfield St. Peter on 12 Aug 1770.
B. THOMAS Tattersfield married Mary Crossley in Dewsbury on 30 Dec 1770. THOMAS signed with a cross. One of the Witnesses who signed the Marriage Certificate was JAMES Tattersfield, suggesting a close relationship. THOMAS and Mary had sons JOHN (1771) and JOB (1779-born Mirfield) plus two in between, who have not been traced. JOHN and JOB began the York Tattersfield family-Chart 5. Was the name JOB given in memory of THOMAS’s deceased older brother?
Mary, born Crossley, was buried on 8 June 1781, in Dewsbury Church.
C. THOMAS, a clothier of Mirfield, married Mary Durrans in Mirfield on 27 May 1782, as Tattersal. THOMAS signed with a cross. Here again, a Witness was JAMES Tattersfield. They were to have three daughters between 1783 and 1788, all baptised Tattersal. The eldest, Sarah, baptised 2 Feb 1783, married John Parkinson on 3 Nov 1785 in Mirfield.
It seems most probable that cases B and C, both involving JAMES Tattersfield as a Witness, relate to THOMAS, who was baptised on 2 Mar 1747 in Mirfield. The Y-DNA Project showed the closest relationship, at GD0, between the branches descended from THOMAS (Chart 5) and JAMES (Chart 9).
5 ELIZABETH.
No related marriage or burial has been found for ELIZABETH Tattersal, or Tattersfield.
6 DAVID.
No related Tattersal records have been found in the area. However, DAVID Tattersfield married Martha Hall in Dewsbury Church on 3 Dec 1771. They had 13 children baptised in Dewsbury Church as Tattersfield, between 1772 and 1799. DAVID was buried in Dewsbury in 1799 as Tattersfield, but the Bishop’s Transcript called him Tattersal. A son MARK became a soldier, and eventually started the Hull Tattersfield family on Chart 6.
7 DANIEL.
No related marriage or burial as Tattersal has been found in the area. However on 17 Sept 1780, DAN Tattersfield (called DANIEL in the Banns), married Sarah Burley in Campsall, Yorkshire. They had one daughter Sarah in 1781, and the mother died in 1784. DANIEL, called Tattersley, was buried in Campsall in 1798. There were no male descendants, and hence no participant in the Y-DNA Project. See Chart 16.
8 JOSEPH.
Baptised 2 Dec 1758, buried 2 Feb 1760, both in Mirfield as Tattersal.
9 SAMUEL.
No relevant marriage or burial records as Tattersal have been found in the area. However SAMUEL Tattersfield married Rachel Senior on 9 Apr 1786 in Dewsbury Church. They had 9 children, baptised Tattersfield, between 1787 and 1806. The family moved to Leeds about 1800-1803, and this started the Leeds Tattersfield family, on Chart 8.
ABRAHAM.
Though not a son of JOHN, an ABRAHAM also seems to have converted from Tattersal to Tattersfield. His ancestry is shown in CHART 15a. His parents were ABRAHAM, baptised 21 Mar 1752 and Elizabeth North, who married in Mirfield 1 July 1773. Their first two children, Mary (1773) , and Sarah (1775) were both baptised in Mirfield. Their third Ann (1777) and fourth ABRAHAM (7 Sept 1780) were both baptised in Kirkheaton as Tattersal, as on Chart15A . ABRAHAM married Elizabeth Gains on 30 July 1804, in Mirfield, as Tattersal. She was buried in Mirfield in April 1826 as Tattersfield. They had 4 children. The eldest THOMAS was baptised Tattersal in Mirfield in 1805, and was Tattersall in the 1851 Census. In 1841, and at his burial in Mirfield on 4 Sept 1860, he was Tattersfield.
The next son JOHN was baptised Tattersal in Mirfield in 1808, but married in Pontefract as Tattersfield in 1832. He died in Wakefield prison from a cholera epidemic in 1832, named Tattersfield.
The third son, WILLIAM THOMAS, was baptised Tattersfield in Mirfield in 1813, and remained so called throughout his life in Mirfield. The last child, JOSEPH was baptised in 1824 as Tattershall, and buried in 1830 as Tattersfield, both in Mirfield.
The father ABRAHAM married Sarah Hallas in 1840, and was buried in 1848, both in Mirfield and as Tattersfield. There are no male descendants from ABRAHAM, and hence no participant in the Y-DNA Project.
This family descend from CHARLES Tattersall and Jane Clarkson, who married in St Mary, Mirfield on 26 Jan 1721, as shown on CHART 15a. Many PUBLIC FAMILY TREES available online show CHARLES as being the son of THEOPHILUS in CHART 16. However, the birth and baptism records for CHARLES cannot be found, so he cannot justifiably be linked to CHART 16, although it is very likely the two groups of Tattersalls were closely related to each other.
The above theory, though circumstantial, appears to be credible, especially in the absence of any other sources for Tattersfield, and of any descendants of John Tattersal. It seems to point to the origin of the Tattersfield families of York, Hull, London, Leeds and Lancashire as being Tattersal. It does not, of course, shed any light on the ancestry of the Heckmondwike family.
John Tattersfield.
Updated 25 Jan 2024
Header Image: Unravelling the relationship between surnames Tattersfield and Tattersal is a complex task, as this essay shows. Modern approaches to such questions include well-designed DNA testing projects and data-driven studies. An example of the latter is analyzing geographic dispersion, as in these "snapshot" distributions of Tattersall, Tattersfield and Tattersal derived from telephone records in the late 20th century. One sees clearly that Tattersall is a predominantly Lancashire name, while Tattersfield is associated with Yorkshire. But what of Tattersal? We reach no specific conclusion from this data about the relationship between the three surnames, but the potential value and interest of the approach is apparent. The images shown here draw on the remarkable Surname Map project of Stefano Ravara.