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Weigh

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Origin of the surname

The source of the name is probably the parish of Hawarden in Flintshire, North Wales, where it appears as early as 1566. However the name is probably not Welsh as it has none of the characteristics of a patronymic. It has been suggested that it may be English and that they may have come over the border from England in the 13th century.

Variants include 'Wigh' and occasionally 'Wiegh'. 'Waigh' is often seen as a mis-transcription, but is also a family which is not descended from Weigh itself, but from Wagg which may be another origin for Weigh.

Family Trees

This is One-Name study and the aim to find all people of this surname and place them on a tree. I have 5 separate family trees (Main, Joseph, Thomas, Peter, Elizabeth), which I am endeavouring to combine, and over 80 draft family groups which are not yet linked. They cover the majority of people in the UK who share the surname and some families which have emigrated. They do not include those born less than 100 years ago and not known to have died. A description of how to read these trees can be found here.

Main Family Tree

This is the largest of the trees and the one from which I am descended. This tree contains 843 individuals , though there are several cousin marriages. The following is a description of my own descent, but there are many more branches on the tree itself.
The tree is Weigh no living.pdf (last updated 8 January 2024)

Generation 1

The top of my tree is Edward[4062]. I do not have his baptism or death date nor his marriage and his wife's name. I only know him from his children's baptisms. Edward lived in Ewloe, Flintshire. Edward had four children: I know nothing of the daughters and I do not know when Edward or his wife died.

Generation 2

Edward[1423] married Mary WRIGHT[1426] in 1731 at Hawarden. There were 8 children baptised at Hawarden: Edward was buried in 1749 and Mary in 1791 both in Hawarden.

Generation 3

Robert [669] married Sydney WRIGHT [670] in 1764 at Hawarden. They had eight children: Sydney was buried in 1814 and Robert in 1823, both at Hawarden.

Generation 4

Robert [115] married Sarah Jones [528] in 1815 at Hawarden. They had 11 children: Robert was buried in May 1860 and Sarah in the December, both in Hawarden.

Generation 5

Stephen [104] married Mary Whittaker [105] in 1856 at Wrexham, Denbighshire. They had 8 children: Stephen was buried in 1877 and Mary in 1883 both at Hawarden.

Joseph Weigh Family Tree

This tree was built from information from a possible cousin who has not (yet) been linked to the main tree. It is smaller having 122 individuals on it. The earlier generations are found in Chester, but the later generations can be found in Lancashire. The following is a description of most of the branches on the tree.
The tree is Weigh Joseph no living.pdf (last updated 3 March 2024)

Generation 1

The top of the tree is an unknown Weigh [18357], who married an Elizabeth and had a son Thomas[10992]. Thomas was born about 1704 probably in Chester and when he died his mother Elizabeth is mentioned in his will.

Generation 2

Thomas [10992] was apprenticed in 1719 in Chester to Peter Weigh [11000] (see the Peter Weigh tree) a currier and later became a Freeman of the City of Chester. He married Margaret Williams in 1725 in Chester. They had 4 children: Margaret died in 1739 and was buried in Chester.
Thomas then married a widow, Mary Baker, in 1740 in Chester, but they had no children. Thomas died about 1741 between 1740 when his will was written and 1742 when the probate was issued. His burial has not been found. Mary died after him, possibly in 1783.

Generation 3

Thomas [9950] married Sarah Humphreys in 1761 in Chester. They had 9 children: Thomas was a Freeman of the City of Chester by birth and a currier. Sarah was buried in 1790 and Thomas in 1798, both in Chester.

Generation 4

Joseph [2421]
Joseph married Mary Randles in 1806 in Liverpool and they had 7 children all in Chester: Joseph was a painter, probably of houses, and was made a Freeman of the City of Chester in 1803. Mary died in 1840 and Joseph in 1844. Both were buried in Chester.

Richard [9958]
Richard [9958] married Elizabeth Bedson (nee Dykes) in 1802 in Chester; he was a joiner. He was made a Freeman of the City of Chester by birth in 1802.
Richard and Elizabeth had 8 children: Elizabeth died in 1831 and Richard in 1846, both in Chester.

Generation 5

John Randles [2424]
John married Esther Bell in 1840 at the Cathedral in Manchester, but they lived in Chester where their 6 children were born: John was made a Freeman of the City of Chester by birth in 1845. He was a painter of houses and signs. John died in 1859 and was buried in Chester.

Frederick [2427]
Frederick was born in 1815 in Chester, Cheshire and baptised at Holy Trinity Church.
In 1833, at the age of 19, Frederick was convicted of burglary and sentenced to death, which was commuted to transportation for 14 years. He eventually arrived in Van Diemen's Land (now known as Tasmania, Australia) in February 1835 onboard the ship Lady Kennaway. His conduct was not very good; in 1840 he received an extra 2 years on this sentence for absconding from the Chain gang. However in 1845, after 14 months with a Ticket of Leave and having rendered essential service he was given a Conditional Pardon.

In 1846 he appears to have returned to a life of crime as he received a sentence of transportion for Life for burglary. This also included a 4-year sentence to the Penal colony of Norfolk Island, which is a small island about 1000km from both Australia and New Zealand. He returned to Tasmania in 1850 and worked as a (house) painter. He eventually received a (second?) conditional pardon in 1855.

He married a fellow convict Mary Ann Joyce (nee Croake) in 1854 (with permission from the authorities). She had been convicted in 1851 at Stafford of stealing a pair of gloves and a sovereign at Wolverhampton Market. She was sentenced, after a delay of several months for her to have her baby, to 7 years transportation. Frederick and Mary Ann appeared to have had two children - Joseph Frederick in 1855 in Hobart, Tasmania and James Edwin R in 1857 in New South Wales. The family were in Sydney in 1868 when Frederick is described a painter, but had probably moved to Adelaide by 1874 according to various Directories and Citizens Rolls. Frederick died in Adelaide (registered as Frederick Randles Weigh, though his Administration was as James Randle Weigh) in 1880 and was survived by Mary Ann.

Edwin [2428]
Edwin married Ellen Chapman Shuttleworth in 1840 in Chester, but she died in 1841 in Liverpool. Edwin married Jane Andrews in 1850 in Chester and they had 5 children: Edwin died in 1880 and Jane in 1919. Both were buried in Manchester General Cemetery.

Generation 6

John Randles [2450]
John married Elizabeth Williams in 1874 in Bronington, Flintshire. He was a steward on board ship. They had 5 children:
Edwin Walter [2442]
Edwin Walter was born in Twickenham, where his father was a National Schoolmaster. No marriage has yet been found for Edwin Walter and Mary Ann Fisher. He was a photographer in the Manchester/Salford area and seems to have used the surname Wade. They had 6 children: Edwin Walter died in 1938 and was buried in Manchester General Cemetery; both gave his surname as Weigh. Mary Ann Weigh died in 1952 in Blackpool.

Thomas Weigh Family Tree

This tree was built from a group of Weighs in London and Surrey, though they have an origin in Hawarden. The following is a description of most of the branches on the tree.
The tree is Weigh Thomas no living.pdf (last updated 3 March 2024)

Generation 1

The top of the tree is Thomas [17862]. His year and place of birth (1797, Hawarden, Flintshire) are taken from the censuses and his military record. There is a baptism in Hawarden in January 1797 of a Thomas, son of Ann Williams by Thomas Weigh, but more research on it is required before it can be confirmed. Thomas joined the 29th Regiment of Foot in Dover, Kent at the age of 15. He re-enlisted with the 1st Life Guards and was based at Windsor. He married Mary Street in 1822 in London and they had 3 children: Thomas left the Army in 1839 and moved to Richmond, Surrey, where his wife was a laundress in the Royal Laundry.
Thomas died in 1856 and was buried in Ealing. In 1858, Mary married Robert Renwick, a widower, at St Georges Hanover Square, London.

Generation 2

William [17867] was born in Windsor while his father was in the 1st Life Guards. He married Mercy Street in 1853 in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire and they had 4 children: Mercy died in 1880 in London.
William married again in 1880 in Westminster to Emma Sullivan and they had 2 children:

Generation 3

Thomas [17870] was born in London in 1854 and baptised at St Martins in the Field, Westminster. He signed on with the Navy in 1872 for 10 years as a boy sailor, but in 1873 he deserted from his ship, HMS Spartan, in Jamaica.

He is next seen in New Zealand in 1882 where, as Thomas William Renwick, he married Elizabeth Margaret McGuiness. On the marriage certificate his birth place is given as London and his parents as William Renwick, a surgical instrument maker, and Mercy (nee Street), which match the parents of Thomas Weigh.
Thomas William and Elizabeth Margaret moved to Sydney in New South Wales, Australia and had 6 children, all surnamed Renwick: Thomas died in 1916 and Elizabeth Margaret died in 1950, both in Sydney.

Peter Weigh Family Tree

Peter Weigh [11006] was married to Jane Weigh [10993] on the Joseph Weigh tree. The tree only includes his siblings and his parents.
The tree is Weigh Peter no living.pdf (last updated 8 January 2024)

Generation 1

The top of the tree is Peter [11000]. He was made a Freeman of the City of Chester after apprenticeship in 1711. He married Dorcas Williams in 1712 Chester. They had 5 children: Dorcas died in 1730 and was buried in Chester.
Peter married again in 1732 in Chester to a widow, Elizabeth Milner. They had no children. Peter died in 1766 and was buried in Chester. It is not known what happened to Elizabeth.

Generation 2

Peter [11006] married Jane Weigh [10993] in 1743 in Chester and they had 3 children: He was made a Freeman of the City of Chester by birth in 1743. Peter died in 1790 and was buried in Chester.

Eliabeth Weigh Family Tree

Elizabeth Weigh [2282] was married to Samuel Weigh [617] on the main Weigh tree. The tree only shows her grandfather's descendants, as his baptism has not been found.
The tree is Weigh Elizabeth no living.pdf (last updated 8 January 2024)

Generation 1

The top of the tree is William [2281]. He married Martha Shaw in 1835 in Chester. They had 2 children: Martha died in 1887 and William in 1891. Both were buried in Hawarden.

Generation 2

Elizabeth [2288] was unmarried, but had 1 child:

Last modified on 3 March 2024