Bettisfield and Astbury

This line was based at Bettisfield Hall Farm near Ellesmere, Flintshire from between 1841 and 1851 until at least 1921. My interest in this ancestral line was based on correspondence in 2007 with Derek Kelsall, a well-known yacht designer who died in 2022, and in 1997 with John Harding whose great grandfather lived at Bettisfield Hall Farm. Recently (2023), I have corresponded with Michael Grist who has studied the descendants of Thomas Kelsall and Ann Bennett Ford in detail.

The line is traced through the census to Thomas and Ann Kelsall resident at North Rode, Cheshire in 1841 and 1851. From the census Thomas was born at Somerford Cheshire about 1791 and Ann was born Ann Bennett Ford at Congleton about 1797. From trees on Ancestry Thomas Kelsall married Ann Ford at Gawsworth, 26 December 1815.

Somerford, North Rode and Astbury are all on the outskirts of Congleton. Gawsworth is 7 miles to the northeast close to Macclesfield. [add map] Bettisfield and Bronington are between Ellesmere and Whitchurch, in Wales adjacent to the border with England. North Rode to Bettisfield is about 40 miles.

Descendants of Thomas Kelsall and Ann Bennett Ford

Thomas and Ann had 12 between 1816 and 1840, with three girls dying as infants. From the census we know that Thomas and Ann lived in the Congleton area farming at North Rode before they retired tor Buglawton where Ann died in 1865 and Thomas in 1872.

  1. John (1816) and his younger brother George were the original family occupants of Bettisfield Hall Farm in Flintshire (present in 1851). John married Catherine Wilson m 1857 and they left Bettisfield to live at Stimmy Farm Bronington, Flintshire. After Catherine died in 1861 John married Ellen Birch 1863. John’s daughter Mary Ellen married Charles Price and was the grandmother of John Harding.
  2. William (1818) stayed in the Congleton area, married Eliza Hammersley in 1851 and had sons Thomas 1854 and George 1855. After William died in 1857 Eliza married Jacob Hammersley (sic) who raised the boys as his stepsons. Thomas married Mary Ann Bostock and moved from North Rode to Bettisfield Hall Farm between 1881 and 1891. It seems that Thomas took over Bettisfield Hall Farm from his uncle Thomas who died in 1884. The younger son George married Elizabeth Dean and started a metal business in Liverpool.Thomas and Mary Ann had children William 1880, Emily 1885, Thomas 1887, George Hammersley 1891, Lilian 1892, John Ernest 1894, Mary Ann 1895. George Hammersley married Catherine Ann Fletcher from Buckley Flintshire and they were the parents of Derek Kelsall. John Ernest was killed in action at Ypres 14 December 1917.
  3. Frances (1820) married Charles Hickson but died without issue.
  4. Elizabeth (1825) marrie3d George Hammersley and later John Burroughs.
  5. George (1830) left North Rode with eldest brother John for Bettisfield Hall in 1851. George had 3 wives: Mary Heath, Frances Nunnerley and Anne Nock.
  6. James (1832) took over as farmer at Bettisfield in 1860 having married Elizabeth Heapy. James died 1864 at Bettisfield with no issue.
  7. Mary (1834) married Benjamin Barber in 1856 at Prestbury. She is the 2x great grandmother of Michael Grist.
  8. Ann (1837) married Richard Dudleston from Tilston Shropshire in 1856 at Ellesmere.
  9. Thomas (1840) took over Bettisfield Hall when James died in 1864 and ran it until his death in 1884. He married Sarah Dounward in 1870.

Bettisfield Hall Farm was occupied by the Kelsall family from 1851 to at least 1921. John and George were resident in 1851, then James and Thomas resident in 1861, Thomas resident 1871 to 1901, and then Thomas’s son William resident in 1911 and 1921.

The only male Kelsall line I know of surviving from Thomas and Ann would be Derek’s son. Female lines may survive as Price, Harding, Townsend, Horton, Rogers (and likely others).

Origins of the Bettisfield Tree

The origins of the Bettisfield tree have been researched by Jim Bradley for his Bradley-Ramsdale tree on Ancestry. This tree is based on parish registers and probate records and is well documented with notes that explain where links are speculative. Thomas Kelsall was baptised 28 Mar 1790 at Astbury, father James Kelsall, mother Mary Birtles. Prior generations are shown in the chart below, tracing back to Thomas Kelsall of Hulme Walfield (1545 – 1590) who married Margaret Bollington in 1569.

 

DNA Study

Michael Grist is conducting a DNA study for the descendants of Thomas Kelsall and Ann Bennett Ford, his 3x great grandparents. He has also made a detailed study of census records showing the movements of the Kelsall family from farm to farm in the 19th C. I hope to publish more on this as the study is developed,

William Kelsall in Santa Cruz

From John Harding in 1997, “a descendant of the Kelsall family informed me that a William Kelsall born in Myddle, Shropshire (son of George Kelsall) died in an earthquake in California about 1916”. This William was the son of George Kelsall (1830 – 1916) and his third wife, Annie Nook, baptised 21 July 1878. He had siblings (with mother Annie) Lucy who married William Jackson, Emmie who married John Albert Reece, Frances who married Thomas Townsend, and Helen (who did not marry).

The story is partly explained by an obituary from the Santa Cruz [newspaper] indicating that William Kelsall had died in Santa Cruz, 10 Jan 1916. although not in an earthquake. Some facts from the obituary:

  • Late of Martin and Baschurch, brother of Mrs. Townsend, Mrs. Jackson and Miss Kelsall
  • Came to Santa Cruz about 12 years ago.
  • Started work at the old Sea Beach Hotel and later at the St. George’s Hotel
  • Home at 22 School St.
  • Sorrowful widow and beautiful boy and girl.
  • died of pneumonia after 2-day illness
  • immense attendance at funeral

I have not found other records for William in America:

  • No William Kelsall in Santa Cruz or California
  • Resident at 22 School St. in 1910 = William Castle age 30, a bartender born Ireland and wife Anna

There are trees on Ancestry that make William Kelsall and William Castle the same person, married to Anna Marie Coughlin, and with children Marjorie Kathryn and William Raymond. In the 1910 census this William was born in Ireland.

Why would William Kelsall in 1910 adopt the name Castle and say he was born in Ireland? I have not found alternative records for William.