Written by Ian Davis. Last updated 16 April 2026.

This question concerns George Carr (1789–1866).

Background

We believe George Carr was born c.1790 at Dotland Park in the parish of Hexham, Northumberland. There was quite a large family of Carrs farming at Dotland Park and neighbouring Dotland farm at that time and the records make it difficult to distinguish which person belongs with which family.

Discussion

George Carr’s life

George Carr married Elizabeth Wilson (1792-) 20 Feb 1813 in Woodhorn, a coastal parish north of Bedlington and east of Bothal. He was of Ponteland, she was of Woodhorn.

Ponteland is a parish about 12 miles southwest of Woodhorn. about half way to Hexham.

They had the following children:

• Elizabeth, b. 1814 in Bothal
• Jane, b. 1816 in Woodhorn
• Ann, b. 1818 in Woodhorn
• George, b. 1820 in Hartburn (my ancestor)
• Sarah, b. 1822 in Woodhorn
• Isabella, b. 1822 in Woodhorn
• Cuthbert Wilson, b. 1827 in Wallridge in Stamfordham
• Isabella, b. 1830 in Bothal
• John, b. 1832

In the 1841 census the family were living in Cockle Park in Morpeth Parish with children Ann (age 20-24), Sarah (age 15-19), Wilson (age 13), Bell (age 11), John (age 8). A woman who appears to be Elizabeth’s mother is living with them. In the same building but listed as a separate family is George Carr (age 20-24). Both George’s are listed as Agricultural Labourers.

Later in 1841, the younger George married Margaret Robertson at Cockle Park . He stated his occupation as husbandman, but gave his father’s as “hind”.

In 1851 they are living in Bothal and this is where we see for the first time that George’s place of birth is Dotland Park, rendered as Dotling Park in the census. He and Elizabeth are living with two children Sarah age 28 and Cuthbert age 23.

In 1861 George and Elizabeth have moved to Waldridge in the parish of Chester le Street in Durham and George is now a farmer there. His place of birth is recorded as “Dottlen Park”. He and Elizabeth (born in Mitford) are living with their children Wilson age 30, John age 25 and Isabell age 27, all unmarried. There is also a grandson George Robert Gillespie born in Bishopswearmouth, the child of George’s daughter Ann.

George died at the age of seventy-six on 13 Jan, 1866 in Waldridge. He was recorded as a farmer. The informant was John, his son, who was able to sign his name,

George appears to have ranged over a wide part of Northumberland before settling down as a farmer. If as seems likely he was a hind then he would have been hired annually, typically at the at the Martinmas fair on 11 Nov, and provided with a tied cottage. The hind system was the dominant form of skilled farm labour across Northumberland and the Borders and this continual hiring process would have led to him moving often for work.

When and where was George Born?

• In the 1841 census he is 50, born in the county of Northumberland.
• In the 1851 census he is 60 and his place of birth is “Dotling Park”.
• In the 1861 census he is 71 and states his date of birth as “Dottlen Park”.
• On his 1866 death certificate his age is recorded as 76.

From this we can be confident that he was born c.1790 in Dotland Park, a farm near Hexham.

There is a memorial notice for George in the Morpeth Herald, 3 Feb 1866 that reads

At Walrye Fell, 13th ult. aged 76, Mr. George Carr, farmer, formerly of Dalton Park

I believe Walrye Fell to be a mishearing of Walridge Fell, where he farmed, and Dalton Park to be Dotland Park.

Dotland and Dotland Park

Dotland and Dotland Park are settlements about 2.5 miles south of Hexham. They are both in the Township of Hexham Low Quarter.

Dotland is the older settlement and is a hamlet of eight or nine houses. There has been a settlement at Dotland since at least the 13th century, when it was recorded as a grange in 1287 belonging to the Priory of Hexham. The population fell quite drastically at some point, but over the following four centuries grew again to a substantial settlement by 1769.

Dotland Park is a nearby farm with one house, taking its name from the deer park that the Priors of Hexham maintained there. The farmhouse at Dotland Park was originally a hunting lodge, built around 1500 by the Priors of Hexham

The 1860 Northumberland Farm Index¹ lists them separately - “Dotland” and “Dotland Park” - both in Hexhamshire Low Quarter.

The Carr Family from Dotland

This is a self-published family history² of the Carr family from Dotland, originally authored by John. R. Carr and revised by his son Tom Carr. The document consists of sketches of some of the people in the family line. There are some errors, many of which Tom has annotated, but it is still a useful reference.

According the document, Dotland Park had been “long tenanted by the Carrs of Slaley” and by the middle of the 18th century, was inhabited by George Carr (1706-69) who had five children. There was also another John (1731-79) of Dotland Farm, believed to be a cousin.

The document contains the following family tree.

The author is a descendant of John Carr (1748-1839) or “John of Ford”. John was a schoolmaster at Hexham who moved to Ford, and then to Bamburgh. When Lord Delaval died his widow appointed John Carr the estate bailiff and over time John became financially involved with many of the Delaval’s holdings including Scremerston colliery. He then bought his own colliery at Felling and formed a syndicate to re-open another. On his wife’s death certificate in 1846 John is described as a gentleman.

Parish Records

From 1764 Dotland and Dotland Park are covered by the parish of “Whitley (Near Hexham)” which was formed from a Chapelry. Prior to that baptismsm burials and marriages would have been performed at Hexham. Abraham Brown (1730-1819) of Mollersteads, was Minister of Whitley Chapel for sixty years.

I have two candidates for the baptism of George Carr (see extracts made on 12 Apr 2026)

• 2 Feb 1789 George son of George Carr, Dotland Park (George1789)
• 9 Jan 1790 George son of Henry Carr, Hill House (George1790)

There are some other Georges that don’t quite fit his expected year of birth:

• 25 Aug 1782 George son of George Carr, Fine Chambers
• 7 Mar 1784 George son of John Carr, Dotland Park³
• 6 Apr 1800 George son of Thomas Carr, Dotland

There is only one burial of a George Carr in Hexham and Whitley between 1789 and 1837:

• 26 May 1805 George son of Thomas Carr, Dotland - this matches the George born in 1800 above and also recorded in the inscription in Whitley Chapel (see diary entry 9 Apr 2026)

I checked out the deaths in the Hexham district on 10 Apr 2026. These are the only two that could have been born c.1790:

• 1859, George age 67 (born c.1792) - stone mason, died Colwell. He is in the 1851 census where he states he was born in Colwell.⁴
• 1870, George, age 80 (born c.1790) - died at Shield Green; Farmer; Informant John Carr of High Park House

DNA Evidence

The DNA evidence is only suggestive, since tracing full connections is difficult when it’s not clear who George’s parent were. However there are three DNA matches of close relative “SHAN” who all are descended from a Hannah Carr (“DECH”, “SUWI” and “JAHA).

In the 1851 census Hannah Carr is called Hannah Anderson, a widow aged 68. She was born “Dotland Park, North’d”, Her late husband was John Anderson, a slater. She is living in Wallington Demesne very near Hartburn where my ancestor George (1820) was born. She married John Anderson in Hartburn in 1804.

Wallington is about ten miles west of Morpeth and about fifteen miles north of Dotland Park. Her age in the census puts her year of birth at 1783, which corresponds with a sister of George1789

Two other DNA matches appear to be descended from Hannah but I haven’t yet traced their connections fully.

Hypotheses

These hypotheses draw on the reconstructions I made on 12 Apr 2026.

Hypothesis 1: George is George1789, the son of George Carr of Dotland Park

George Carr senior had eight children.

1. Mary, baptised 12 Apr 1773, of Dotland Park
2. Jane, baptised 4 Sep 1774, of Dotland Park
3. Deborah, baptised 20 Apr 1778, of Dotland Park (died 1791)
4. Margaret, baptised 24 Sep 1780, of Dotland Park
5. Hannah, baptised 21 Apr 1783, of Dotland Park
6. Sarah baptised 12 Feb 1786, of Dotland Park
7. George, baptised 10 May 1789, of Dotland Park (George1789)
8. John, baptised 26 Aug 1792, of Dotland Park

I’m not certain of his wife’s name but it’s possible that it is Jane Robson. The marriage date of 4 Jun 1772 corresponds well with the first daughter’s baptism.

George Carr senior is the younger brother of John Carr of Dotland Park, whose will was proved in 1825 (see diary 9 Apr 2026) and the son of George Carr of Dotland Park whose will was proved 13 Sep 1769.

Both brothers shared an equal division of the remainder of George’s estate after the bequests of £15 split between their sisters and £8 per annum to their mother had been deducted. This is not a vast sum, £15 is worth about £3,500 today. It’s a lot less than the amount bequested in John’s will fifty years later. He left £160 to each of his two daughters and a further £160 to his grandchildren. £160 would be the equivalent of £22,000 today.

There seems to be no trace of George1789 after his baptism except one burial that may be his illegitimate child:

• 24 Feb 1813 Ann, illegitimate dau of George Carr and Ann Moses, Dotland Park, age 6 mos

Just four days earlier, our George married Elizabeth Wilson in Woodhorn, thirty miles to the northeast, although he was resident at Ponteland half wat between the two.

I believe his brother John was living at Peth Head House in 1841 with his wife Mary and one daughter Mary (later Mary Dodd). He was working as an ore smelter.

It’s worth noting the naming of George and Elizabeth Wilson’s children. They roughly match the names of George1789’s parents:

1. Elizabeth, named for Elizabeth Wilson’s mother
2. Jane, named for George Carr’s mother?
3. Ann, ?
4. George , named for George Carr’s father
5. Sarah, named for George Carr’s sister?
6. Isabella, named for Elizabeth Wilson’s eldest sister
7. Cuthbert Wilson, named for Elizabeth Wilson’s father
8. Isabella, named for Elizabeth Wilson’s eldest sister
9. John, named for George Carr’s younger brother

Evidence in favour

• The abode on George1789’s baptism is Dotland Park, which matches George’s stated place of birth on census returns.
• Hannah Carr, the ancestor of the three traced DNA matches was born in Dotland Park in 1783, matching the sister of George1789. She had also moved to the north of the county, nearer to Morpeth just like George.
• No trace of George1789 after 1813 in the Hexham area.
• The naming of George’s children roughly matches the traditional English pattern of naming after mothers and fathers.
• No suitable deaths or burials in the Hexham area of a George Carr

Evidence against / uncertainties

• George was active in the Morpeth area as early as 1813 and was never recorded in Hexham.

Hypothesis 2: George is George1790, the son of Henry Carr of Hill House

Henry Carr had four children baptised at Whitley Chapel, and each baptism stated Henry was of Hill House in Hexhamshire High Quarter.

He had four children:

1. George, baptised 9 Jan 1790, of Hill House (George1790)
2. Mary, baptised 9 May 1792, of Hill House
3. Henry, baptised 4 Jan 1795, of Hill House
4. John, baptised 25 Dec 1798, of Hill House

I’m not certain of his wife’s name.⁵

By 1841 Henry was residing at High Park House with his son John. He was aged 75 which places his birth c.1762-1766. High Park House is half a mile north of Hill House.

His son John married Elizabeth Dargue and they had six children, all living at High Park House in 1841.

1. Henry, born c.1832
2. Joseph, born c.1833
3. George, born c.1834
4. Hannah, born c.1835
5. Mary, born c.1837
6. John, born c.1840

I have the death certificate of a George Carr in 1870 which I think could be the son of Henry Carr.

Death in the Registration District of Hexham, Northumberland, 1870, no. 226. Died 13 Aug 1870 at Shield Green, Hexham; George Carr; Male; age 80; Farmer. Cause of death: Diarrhea; Certified. Informant was John Carr (could not sign name); relation: Not known; residing at High Park House, Hexham; present at death. The death was registered 13 Aug 1870.

Shield Green is a farmhouse about four and a half miles north of High Park House and just half a mile northwest of Dotland Park.

The informant John, could be his brother John.

In the 1841⁶, 1851⁷ and 1861⁸ censuses there is a George Carr, farmer, born about 1790, living with his wife Hannah at Birkside in the parish of Blanchland. This is about 2.5 miles southeast of High Park House. In 1851 and 1841 they have a nephew John Nevin living with them, born c. 1726 in Hexham.

I believe they married 14 Dec 1811 in Hexham and Hannah’s maiden name was Brown.

I think John Nevin is the son of Christopher Nevin and Mary Carr, baptised 10 Apr 1825 in Whitley. Christoper and Mary may have married in Slaley on 9 Jun 1810. This could well be George and John’s sister.

Evidence in favour

• The year of birth matches that stated by George in all his census returns.

Evidence against / uncertainties

• George stated his birthplace as Dotland Park but George1790 was born at Hill House.
• If the death in 1870 is George1790 then this hypothesis is disproved. The evidence that supports this:
  • The age at death implies a birth year of 1790
  • The informant John Carr, while without a stated relationship, is of High Park House which likely makes George1790’s brother.
  • His occupation of farmer is consistent with George1790’s brother John’s occupation
• If George1790 is the George Carr farming at Birkside then this hypothesis is disproved. The evidence that supports this:
  • The ages in the census imply a birth year of 1790
  • The nephew John Nevin, may be the son of George1790’s sister Mary
  • His occupation of farmer is consistent with George1790’s brother John’s occupation

Resolution

I think the weight of evidence against Hypothesis 2 rules it out, meaning that George1790 is not George and his father is not Henry Carr.

There is good circumstantial evidence that George1789 is our George’s baptism. The strongest evidence being the correspondence of abode on the baptism with the stared place of birth of our George.

Lack of any trace of a burial or death of a George, or any appearance in the census for the Hexham area suggests that George1789 left the area. Searches of the 1851 census for George’s born in the Hexham area have not revealed anyone except for our George and those discounted in this investigation.

Based on this, I am going to assign the George1789 baptism to George which makes his father George Carr born c.1744. His mother may be Jane Robson but this needs further investigation.