THE HUTCHINSON STORY
This family enters the recusant lists for Egton in these terms:-
Henry Hutchinson papist, married a Protestant wife who never since appeared at church. They have two children.
Such was the description of his crime penned by Rev. Jonathan Robinson in 1753. The first appearance was in 1660 when the marriage of another Henry took place, this was not for recusancy, it was merely a register entry. Since then the family occurences appeared quite regularly, showing quite a versatility in occupation such a husbandman, fuller, sailor, householder, labourer, joiner, shoemaker, schoolmaster, tailor, farmer, gamekeeper, basketmaker, and last of all the village shopkeeper.
Actually Henry is found amongst thirty eight of his fellow villagers in the small list for 1745 when he was perhaps single. Persevering into old age he is still presented for Egton in 1780, being accompanied this time by his wife Rebecca and two Johns and their wives and unnamed children and Mary Harrison a servant. He certainly persevered to the end for his death look place two years later, ten years before his wife. Nothing yet is known about the children who could be named in any will he might have made, but it may be that one of the Johns was a son. Something is known about the one who married Ann Harrison in 1781 but it is immediately surrounded in doubt because John and Ann had three children according to the 1780 return and Ann wife of John was buried on April 16th 1784. The fortunate endorsement R.C. which was common practice in the early nineteenth century, the numbers of papists having increased considerably, is helpful here for better identification. Egton burials show that Ann Hutchinson R.C. predeceased her husband John R.C. by exactly six weeks in 1822, being respectively 73 and 67 years of age. Their home was Stangbridge. The loyality of this homestead long forgotten it seems, turned out to be none other than the present Beckside Farm in another name, always bearing in mind, of course the possibility of an earlier homestead on or near the same site. This Ann is already well known being 76 the daughter of 7 John Harrison and Helen Lyth of Greenhouses.
The Egton registers are of little help in finding out about the other recusant John whose wife Margaret was named with him. The marriage is not there but a clue may be found in the burial of Eleanor, daughter of John a tailor of Shorefoot in 1786 and the baptism of Eleanor daughter of the same John the next year. There is a period, Feb. 14th 1809 to November 15th 1822 during which no single Hutchinson occurence took place except the burial of John R.C. of Whitby aged 23 on January 19th 1817.
The recurrence of the family names is of some interestand between 1700 and 1830 is seen as follows:-
Thomas five times, John six, Matthew and Robert three and Oliver twice, whilst Elizabeth is the favourite name for girls.
The peculiarly named homestead, the whereabouts of which is still not known, Horsemireheads occurs again in this family. Mary the daughter of Thomas, a fuller was born there in 1719. It may be recalled that the homestead sheltered The Harland Family during the same decade. No idle speculation is it to say that it could well have been the abode of a number of fullers and no doubt the source of the earth so necessary in their trade. The parallel is continued in that John Hutchinson R.C. died there more than a century later on August 19th 1824 aged 82 so that Mary may be his aunt, and he be the grandson of the fuller himself. Another item of continuity comes from the hamlet of Newbiggin where Thomas Hutchinson died in August 1696 to be followed by Matthew and Hannah. As Mathew had a son of the same name Hannah dying in 1757 would likely be his daughter-in-law. Robert was the schoolmaster the son of another Robert and there were William son of William, and Oliver son of Oliver on two occasions fifty four years apart. The second was a shoemaker and the third tried farming tailoring and the art of gamekeeping though these gentlemen are not necessarily papists.
William was at Sleights in 1756 probably the forebear of the strong papist family there at the turn of the century and perhaps of the number of like families at Whitby. The missing recusant Margaret, the wife of John above also persevered to the end being buried R.C. aged 75 on November 27th 1825. Her husband therefore would be born about the middle of the 1700's and the other John was actually born in 1755, and the confusion persists. Unless there is evidence to the contrary the remark above about non-papists may be taken to refer to the greater part of the Hutchinson occurences discussed above.

HUTCHINSON MARRIAGES BETWEEN 1660 AND 1840
DateParishPartiesHome or witnesses
1.5/1660EgtonHenry Hutchinson & Ann Oliver
2.16/11/1692EgtonThomas Watson & Jane Hutchinson
3.27/10/1696EgtonRichard Hill & Susanna Hutchinson
4.7/11/1704EgtonThomas Hutchinson & Sara Marsingdale
5.5/ 4/1719EgtonMatthew Hutchinson & Catherine Wilson
6.8/ 8/1726EgtonThomas Hutchinson & Mary TheakstonGoathland
7.23/8/1742EgtonFrancis Hutchinson & Hannah Hutchinson
8.22/11/1753EgtonRobert Hutchinson & Elizabeth Backhouse
9.23/ 7/1754EgtonOliver Hutchinson & Ann Hutchinson
10.EgtonHenry Hutchinson & RebeccaRecusants Egton 1745/53/80
11.13/10/1765EgtonWilliam Hutchinson & Ann Johnson
12.18/ 6/1781EgtonJohn Hutchinson & Ann Harrison Recusants Egton 1780
13.EgtonJohn Hutchinson & Margaret Recusants Egton 1780
14.13/12/1790EgtonJohn Hutchinson & Hannah Jackson
15.28/11/1793EgtonRobert Hutchinson & Mary Hill
16.26/11/1795EgtonOliver Hutchinson & Mary Hodgson
17. 4/12/1825EgtonJohn Hutchinson & Jane Brilly
18.30/ 8/1827EgtonFrancis Hutchinson & Elizabeth BlackburnEgton Village shopkeeper
19.19/10/1830EgtonJohn Hart & Elizabeth Hutchinson
20.SleightsJohn Hutchinson & Jane Womprey
21.WhitbyRich. Stainthorpe & Elizabeth Hutchinson
22.WhitbyThomas Walker & Elizabeth Hutchinson
23.WhitbyWilliam Hutchinson & Jane Swales
24.1827Wby CplGeorge Harrison & Mary Hutchinson
25.William Hutchinson & Susan Law
26.William Harrison & Mary Hutchinson
27.Fran.Cornforth & Elizabeth Hutchinson
28.John Harrison & Ann Hutchinson

Two points arising from these marriages are firstly the maiden name of the 'brides' in marriages seven and nine. Both are Hutchinson. It is seriously considered that they are instances of clandestine marriages, for the curbing of which the Hardwicke Marriage Act was introduced in 1753. Secondly marriage 12, that of John and Ann. They were listed as having three children in 1780, yet were not officially married until 1781. This appears to be another case. The phenomenon has been seen before in the course of this study and what happens looks to be this wise.The pair are secretly married by a popish priest and later on, because of the fear of being outside the law or of gossip or both, they remarry in the parish church. The similar case is when they register but not baptise their infants. The relevant penal clause reads 'for being married by any other than a minister £100' The clause relating to baptism has already been mentioned. The question now arises, were these peasants so illiterate that they were unable to read? That may have been the case but ignorant of the matter they most certainly were not. Hearsay would see to that. They probably came to the conclusion that they were so poor that they could not be prosecuted against on that score, and were probably right. Nine or ten illegally baptised children and an illegal marriage to boot had a fine of £1000 altogether! It is clear that the financial clauses of the penal laws were inoperable against the inhabitants of these secluded moorland valleys and the central government concentrated on squeezing the papist gentry dry. The possibility that the local officials turned a blind eye upon the 'misdeeds' of their neighbours even regarding the twelvepence fine each Sunday for non-attendance at the parish church, must not be overlooked. When a lamb cost sixpence it is easy to realise that a shilling a week fine would soon bring destitution. When the trouble began the churchwardens were themselves often papists. The omission of Papist occurences from the returns to the Archbishop of York gives weight to this opinion. On the other hand the gentry were very often ruined.
Even so, should all this be true, how explain the very few localities in the country where the ancient faith was never extinguished. The answer very likely lies in the interacting of many different circumstances, varying from place to place.
To enumerate the various families child by child is impossible and may ever be so. The children of the 1780 recusants are still hidden in obscurity and only one other reference to the Shorefoot family has come to light. Ugthorpe St Anne's earliest list gives the baptism of Elizabeth Hutchinson of that farm on December 7th 1790, but no trace is found amongst the tenants of the district four years later. A Heline was baptised from a family at Lealholme on February 9th 1791, this from the early book above.

John Hutchinson, tailor m. 13 Margaret? Shorefoot
1.Eleanorb.d. April 19th 1786not necessarily the first child.
2.Eleanorb. 22/ 4/1787
3.Elizabethb. 7/12/1790U.P.R.not necessarily the last child.

John Hutchinson (b. 1755 d. Dec. 29 th 1822 aged 67) - m. - 12. Ann Harrison (b.1749 d. 1 Dec.l5th 1822 aged 75.) Stangbridge.

Wm. Hutchinson m. 25 Susan Law latterly at Whitby.
1.Williamb. 15/ 8/1823Gpts. Thomas Lyth & Margaret Hutchinson
2.Annb. 21/ 4/1825Gpts. Francis Hutchinson & Jane Hutchinson
3.Margaretb. 28/ 3/1827Gpts. Matthew Hutchinson & Jane Hutchinson
4.Francisb. 3/ 7/1829Gpts. Francis Hutchinson & Mary White
5.Francisb. 24/11/1831Gpts. Thomas Hutchinson & Eliz. Walker nee Hutchinson

A clear relationship becomes apparent here where William's brethren are seen to be Margaret, Francis, Matthew, Thomas and Elizabeth and John, for one of Elizabeth's children had him for a baptismal sponsor. If this Francis is the shopkeeper then his fainily is known, but none are found in the early book.

Francis Hutchinson m. 18 Elizabeth Blackburn
1.Jane Annb. 20/ 7/1828date of baptism at Egton parish church.
2.Eleanorb. 25/ 4/1830date of baptism at Egton parish church.
3.Elizabethb. 1831census return 1841.
4.Johnb. 1833census return 1841.
5.Sarahb. 1835census return 1841.
6.Maryb. 1837census return 1841.
7.Francisb. 1839census return 1841.
8.Robertb. 1844census return 1861.
9.Aliceb. 1847census return 1861.
10.Harrietb. 1849census return 1861.
11.Williamb. 1851census return 1861.
12.Thomasb. 1855census return 1861.

As Elizabeth Walker was a sponsor of one of the children of William and Jane of Whitby their family follows:-
William Hutchinson m. 25. Jane Swales
1.Margaretb. 28/7/1818Gpts. William Hutchinson & Margaret Laidler
2.Annb. 25/11/1819Gpts. Francis Hutchinson & Jane Hutchinson
3.Janeb. 31/ 5/1822Gpts. John Hutchinson & Grace Watson
4.Johnb. 20/8 /1824Gpts. George Wood & Susanna Hutchinson
5.Mary Annb. 23/ 2/1827Gpts. William Laidler & Elizabeth Harrison
6.Elizabethb. 13/ 4/1829Gpts. John Harrison & Elizabeth Walker
7.Thomasb. 13/10/1835Gpts. Ambrose Lyth & Anna Hutchinson

John Hutchinson m. 20. Jane Womprey Sleights.
1.Mary Annb. 3/ 3/1802Gpts. John Lyth & Margaret Hutchinson
2.Johnb. 27/ 7/1805Gpts. Francis Hutchinson & Bridget Leng
3.Maryb. 17/ 1/1808Gpts. William Hutchinson & Amelia White
4.Johnb. 8/ 5/1810Gpts. William Hutchinson & Jane Hutchinson
5.Philipb. 10/ 4/1812Gpts. William Leadley & Elizabeth Walker
6.Elizabethb. 17/ 2/1815Gpts. Thomas Walker & Margaret Leadley
7.Annb. 25/ 1/1818Gpts. Francis Hutchinson & Ann White

Mary 1808 became the wife of George Harrison of East Row who was born in 1806 marriage 24 refers. Philip was killed by a mare when he was 15, and his father died aged 48 on February 10th 1826. Both deaths are in the first Whitby register.

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