Kelsall - A Quaker Family. Part I. Origins

by Julia M Beeden

For some three hundred years the family name of Kelsall has been present within the Wyresdale, Quernmore, Dolphinholme, Bleasdale and Garstang areas. For a considerable part of this period the family maintained strong links with the Society of Friends, the Quakers, and appear to have been one of the original Quaker families in North Lancashire. From studying the family history of the Kelsalls it is apparent that the common ancestor of all Kelsalls known in this area was one Joseph Kelsall who was born in 1684 in the Covent Garden area of London. How he eventually came to settle in the Quernmore area is a rather interesting and complex story.

Joseph Kelsall's father, John, was born in July 1650 near to the Delamere Forest in Cheshire. His family probably originated from the nearby village of Kelsall from which the surname is derived. John Kelsall was married twice, his first marriage to Hannah Leftwith of Staploe in Cheshire (1) took place in 1680 but she died soon after giving birth to her only son, John in 1681. The baby only lived for eleven days. John's second wife was Elizabeth Cragg (born 21 December 1660), the fourth child of Thomas Cragg and his wife Jennet (nee Townson) and a great-granddaughter of John Cragg, the first curate of Wyresdale Chapel (2). There is no clear evidence of how John Kelsall met Elizabeth Cragg, but he may have been one of those Quakers who were approved travelling preachers. If so, he may have met members of the Cragg family whilst visiting Friends in Wyresdale. Elizabeth's mother, Jennet, had married Thomas Thompson, a Quaker in 1671 (3) following the death of her first husband in 1668 (4).

John and Elizabeth Kelsall made their home in the Covent Garden area of London where John carried on a business as a tailor. They had two sons, John, born 18 September 1683, and Joseph, born 9 September 1684 (5). Sadly the boys' father died only one month after Joseph's birth, 5 October 1684, and on 28 November 1685 the brothers were orphaned with the death of Elizabeth Kelsall from fever. John and Elizabeth Kelsall were probably buried in the Quaker Burial Ground in Long Acre in the City of London. This Burial Ground was rediscovered in 1892 during building excavations and was reported in the Friends' Newspaper and the London Press at that time. It appeared that the land had been used as a Quaker Burial Ground between 1675 and 1757 when the lease ran out and had subsequently been covered by a dense mass of buildings. The Society of the Friends was allowed to remove all the bones and over 500 skulls for re-interment at Friends' Burial Ground at Isleworth in Middlesex. There was nothing found on the Long Acre site that indicated the identity of any of the Friends whose graves had thus been disturbed, but there was speculation that they would have included those of John Kelsall and both his wives (6).

The orphaned brothers appear to have remained in the care of a nursemaid from the time of their mother's death until news of their situation reached their grandmother Jennet 'Cragg' in 1687. Jennet travelled alone to London from her home at Rooten Brook Farm in Quernmore near Lancaster. She took charge of her young grandchildren bringing them back with her to Rooten Brook riding in panniers on the side of her horse (7). Jennet was 54 years of age at this time and the journey was certainly an extraordinary one for a person of her age and the fact that she undertook the journey alone.

The two Kelsall brothers were brought up at Rooten Brook where it became evident that John tended to be the more scholarly whilst James preferred the life of a farmer. John was sent to schools at Abbeystead and Lancaster and to the Quaker Schools at Yealand and Penketh near Warrington (one of the 'Dissenting Academies'). On completing his edication John became a schoolmaster at Dolobran in Wales before moving to work in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire. Then, as a clerk to the famous Quaker ironmaster Abraham Darby, he moved to Dolgellau in Merionethshire. He married Susanna Davies and they had a family of four girls and six boys. John was said to have had some injury or deformity to his foot which left him slightly lame for most of his life (8).

Joseph Kelsall remained in Wyresdale as a farmer and it is from him that the Kelsall families of the area are descended, a story that will be the subject of future articles in this Journal.

References
1. John Kelsall's Diary (see Reference 6).
2. Georgina Fandrey (nee Cragg), The Craggs of Greenbank, privately published, 1974. 
3. The Life of Timothy Cragg (see Reference 6).
4. The Registers of the Parish Church of Lancaster, 1599-1690, Lancashire Parish Register Society, 1908.
5. Registers of the Society of Friends, Lancaster Monthly Meeting.
6. Manuscript notebook in the possession of Mrs E Woodhouse, Ellel. 
7. There are several accounts published of this journey including:-

GFandrey (see Reference 2).
John P Bibby, The Bibbys of Conder Mill and their Descendants, Liverpool, 1979. 
Sue D Kenyon, Jennett Cragg, A Story of the Time of the Plague, undated.
M Wright, A Story of the Time of the Plague, undated.

8. John Kelsall's Diary (see Reference 6).

Acknowledgements

I should like to record my grateful thanks to the many people who have helped me with my past and continuing research into Quaker History. In particular these have included the Society of Friends, Lancaster Monthly Meeting; and the many members of the Kelsall families who have given me free access to much valuable information and offered me pleasant hospitality.