Brock Family History

Richmond family · 5 generations back

Henry Richmond

1803 – 1879
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-05

Henry Richmond was born at Thorne on the 6th of January 1803 and baptised in the parish church nine days later — the ninth child of William and Hannah Richmond, and the second Henry: the sixth child, born and baptised on the same September day in 1795, had lived only two months. The name was worth giving twice, because it was the grandfather's — the 1795 register, in Thorne's expansive style, sets it down in one line: son of William Richmond, mariner, son of Henry Richmond. He was seventeen months old when his mother was killed. The burial register for June 1804 gives Hannah's entry a column most burials leave to fevers and decline, and in it the clerk first wrote one word, struck it through, and wrote two: "Accidental Death."

He grew up on the water his father and grandfather had worked, a waterman of Thorne like them, and he married twice. His first wedding is the family's London mystery: on the 28th of March 1832, a Thorne waterman married Ann Dobson at St George in the East — a riverside parish among the docks of Wapping and Shadwell, two hundred miles from home by road and rather fewer by water. Who Ann was, and which of them the Thames had carried there, the record has not yet said. They came home to Thorne Waterside, and six children followed: Gertrude, Henrietta, William Henry, Sophie, Louisa — and Ann Elizabeth, baptised on the 29th of July 1841. Then the black year closed on the house. Ann was buried on the 12th of September, aged thirty-one; the baby who carried her name followed on the 3rd of October, "Inft.", from the same address, the same curate reading the same words twenty-one days apart. The census that June had caught the family whole; by the year's end Henry was a widower at thirty-eight with five children under eight.

The following June he married again — Selina Hirst, a collier's daughter from Elsecar, in Wentworth chapelry on the edge of the coalfield the canals were built to empty. Selina raised Ann's children and bore eleven more of her own, seventeen in all, and the household she ran was not always on land: on census night 1851 the enumerator found her at Thorne as "Head" — Henry away on the water — and on the night of the 7th of April 1861 there was no house at all. The whole family was afloat: "List of the crew and others on board of the ship or vessel called the Ann" — Henry, fifty-eight, master; "Selina Richmond, wife, waterman's wife"; and five children aged fourteen down to three, every one of them born at Thorne, asleep aboard a Humber keel at Thorne Quay. Among them, aged eleven, was Samuel, who would master vessels of his own.

Henry died at Thorne in the first quarter of 1879, aged seventy-six — born, married (the second time within a district), raised, and buried within reach of the same staith, having crossed the country once, for a wedding. Selina outlived him by nineteen years: the 1881 census finds her in Hull at Samuel's crowded house on Joseph's Terrace, sixty miles from Thorne, set down as "nurse" — six weeks before her granddaughter Minnie was born under that roof — and the 1891 census finds her back at Thorne, a widow of the parish she'd married into half a century before. She died there in the spring of 1898.

Composed from validated records · 2026-07-05
Birth
January 6th 1803, Thorne, Yorkshire (Parish Records) baptised January 16th, Thorne
Marriage
Ann Dobson, March 28th 1832 St George in the East Selina Hurst June q. 1842 Rotherham (BMD)
Death
1879 Mar q. Thorne (BMI)
Parents
William Richmond and Hannah Kettle
Siblings
John Richman baptised April 1787, Thorne Martin Richman baptised February 2nd 1789, Thorne Robert Richman baptised January 24ff 1791, Thorne Nanny Richmond baptised March 25th 1793, Thorne Hannah Richmond baptised September 29ff 1798, Thorne Mary Richmond baptised August 23rd 1800, Thorne Henry Richmond baptised January 15th 1803, Thorne
Children
With Ann Gertrude Richmond baptised October 1834, Thorne Henrietta Richmond baptised June 30th 1836, Thorne William Henry Richmond baptised August 7th 1837 Sophie Richmond baptised April le 1839, Hatfield, 1839 Louisa Richmond baptised August 10 1840, Thorne Ann Elizabeth baptised July 29 1841, Thorne With Selina Charles Richmond baptised September 1843, Thorne Tom Charles Richmond baptised march 1845, Elsecar Frances Richmond baptised March 5th 1845, Elsecar Mary Ann Richmond born 1847, Elsecar Susannah Richmond born 1848, Thorne Samuel Richmond born 1850, Thorne Henry Christopher Richmond born 1853, Thorne Miles Richmond born 1856, Thorne William Henry Richmond born 1859, Thorne John Richmond born 1863, Thorne Charles Richmond born 1865, Thorne
1841c
Living in Thorne Henry Richmond 1806 born Yorkshire Ann Richmond 1811 born Yorkshire Gertrude Richmond 1835 born Yorkshire Henrietta Richmond 1837 born Yorkshire William Richmond 1838 born Yorkshire Sophie Richmond 1839 born Yorkshire Louisa Richmond 1840 born Yorkshire Address: Thorne Quay Occupation: Waterman
1841
Death of wife Ann Richmond, Thorne
1842
June q. marries Selina Hurst
1851c
Living in Thorne Selina Richmond, Head, born 1822 Elsecar Yorks, Waterman's Wife Louisa Richmond, Daughter, born 1840, Thorne Charley Richmond, Son, born 1844 Thorne Mary Ann Richmond, Daughter, born 1847, Elsecar Lusaeniah(sic) Richmond, Daughter, born l849, Thorne Address: Waterside
1861c
Living in Thorne Henry Richmond, Head, born 1808 Thorne Selenia (sic) Richmond, Wife, born 1823, Elsecar Susanna Richmond, Daughter, born 1847, Thorne William Henry, Son, born 1859, Thorne Saml (sic) Richmond. Son, born 1850, Thorne Henry C Richmond, Son, born 1853, Thorne Miles Richmond, Son, born 1856, Thorne Address; Aboard the Ann, Thorne Quay Occupation: Waterman. Master of the Bagge (sic)
1871c
Living in Thorne Henry Richmond, Head, born 1803 Thorne Crasena (sic) Richmond, born 1827 Barnsley Henry Richmond, Son, born 1861 Thorne John Richmond, Son, born 1863, Thorne Charles Richmond, Son, born 1865, Thorne Address Field Side, Back Street, Thorne Occupation: Waterman
1879
Henry Richmond dies in Thorne aged 76 years
1881c
Selina at son Samuel's home in Hull
1891c
Living in Thorne Selina Richmond, Head, Widow, born 1826, Elscar, Nursed. Sick
1898
Death of Selina Richmond March q. Thorne (BMD Thorne), aged 75 years
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook

Family

Parents

WRFatherWilliam Richman1746–1819HKMotherHannah Kettle1761–1804

The children of William & Sarah Brown

The children of William & Hannah

· · · · · · · · Henry Richmond b. 1803this page

Marriages

SHSpouseSelina Hirst1825–1898

The children of Henry & Ann Dobson

The children of Henry & Selina

SRChild · the line continuesSamuel Richmondmain line1851–1930

Photographs

2 photographs are with the family — family sign-in

Life

Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1803

Born 6 January 1803 — the ninth child, and the second Henry

6 January 1803 at Thorne

Henry . . . 9th of Wm. & Hannah Richmond — [mother] D. of John & Susanh: Kettle — Born Jany. 6th — Baptized Jany. 15th.— Baptism — Thorne parish register (1803)
Henry 9th of Wm. & Hannah Richmond D. of John [&] Susannah Kettle — Jany. 6th — Jany. [15th, under the clerk's in-column "1803"].— The Bishop's Transcript — and its "1802"
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
  • Baptism — Thorne parish register (1803) — Thorne baptisms, Doncaster Archives P4/1/A9 (findmypast image ...ENGLYOR1D_P4-1-A9/00106), read at full resolution 5 July 2026. The leaf is headed 1803 and the entry is Dade-style: seniority, both parents, the mother's own parentage, and both dates. "9th of Wm & Hannah" — the ninth child. read at the image
  • The Bishop's Transcript — and its "1802" — Borthwick Institute Bishop's Transcript for Thorne (findmypast image 007588399/00117). The transcript leaf is headed 1802 because BT years ran Lady Day to Lady Day; where the baptisms cross into the new year the copying clerk wrote "1803" above the Baptized column, and the Richmond entry sits below that marker with the same dates as the register. The index's "1802" and "16 January" were artefacts of the leaf-year — read in full, the two documents agree. read at the image
1832

Married Ann Dobson

28 March 1832 at St George in the East, London

Married Ann Dobson at St George in the East, London — Henry's first marriage; she died at Thorne in 1841.— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1841

The 1841 census — the last summer of the first family

1841

Living in Thorne Henry Richmond 1806 born Yorkshire Ann Richmond 1811 born Yorkshire Gertrude Richmond 1835 born Yorkshire Henrietta Richmond 1837 born Yorkshire William Richmond 1838 born Yorkshire Sophie Richmond 1839 born Yorkshire Louisa Richmond 1840 born Yorkshire Address: Thorne Quay Occupation: Waterman

— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1841

Ann's burial — Thorne, 12 September 1841

1841

No. 2326 — Ann Wife of Heny. Richmond — Thorne Waterside — [buried] Sepr. 12 — [aged] 31 — E. Rudd.— Ann's burial — Thorne parish register (1841)
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
  • Ann's burial — Thorne parish register (1841) — Thorne burials, Doncaster Archives P4/1/C1, page 291, entry no. 2326 (findmypast image ...P4-1-C1/00295), read 5 July 2026. The printed register has no cause column; it gives the abode — Thorne Waterside, the keel community's shore — her age, and the date, three weeks before her infant daughter's entry on the next opening. read at the image
1841

Ann Elizabeth's burial — Henry and Ann's infant daughter

3 October 1841 at Thorne, Yorkshire

No. 2334 — Ann Elizabeth D. of Henr. & Ann Richmond — Thorne Waterside — [buried] Octr. 3 — Inft. — E. Rudd.— Ann Elizabeth's burial — Thorne parish register (1841)
Ann, wife of Henry Richmond, Thorne Waterside, Sepr. 12, 31 — and below, Ann Elizabeth, d. of Henry & Ann Richmond, Thorne Waterside, Octr. 3, Inft.— Both burials on one transcript leaf
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
  • Ann Elizabeth's burial — Thorne parish register (1841) — Thorne burials, P4/1/C1, page 292, entry no. 2334 (findmypast image ...P4-1-C1/00296), read 5 July 2026. Twenty-one days after her mother, from the same address, by the same curate. She had been baptised on the 29th of July. read at the image
  • Both burials on one transcript leaf — The Bishop's Transcript for 1841 (findmypast image 007588833/00084) carries mother and daughter on a single leaf — the year's toll seen whole. read at the image
1842

In 1842

1842

Marriages registered April–June 1842, Rotherham district: Richmond, Henry — Hurst, Selina.— The remarriage — GRO index, Q2 1842, Rotherham district
Confirmed in index record Evidence
Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:
  • The remarriage — GRO index, Q2 1842, Rotherham district — GRO marriage index, June quarter 1842, Rotherham registration district: exactly one Henry Richmond and exactly one Selina Hurst in the quarter — the pairing Mum's "June q. 1842 Rotherham (BMD)" rested on. Wentworth chapelry, where Selina was baptised, lay in Rotherham district; which church held the wedding is still to find. index entry — original not yet seen
1842

Married Selina Hirst

June 1842

Henry Richmond June q. 1842 Rotherham (BMD)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1851

Census · 1851

1851

Living in Thorne Selina Richmond, Head, born 1822 Elsecar Yorks, Waterman's Wife Louisa Richmond, Daughter, born 1840, Thorne Charley Richmond, Son, born 1844 Thorne Mary Ann Richmond, Daughter, born 1847, Elsecar Lusaeniah(sic) Richmond, Daughter, born l849, Thorne Address: Waterside— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1861

Aboard the keel Ann, Thorne Quay — a floating household

1861

Henry Richmond, Head [of] Family, 58, Waterman — Master Barge, b. Thorne, Yorkshire — Selina Richmond, Wife, 38, Waterman's Wife, b. Elsecar, Yorkshire — Susanna, Daughter, 14 — Saml., Son, 11 — Henry C., Son, 8 — Miles, Son, 5 — William Henry, Son, 3 — all children born Thorne.— The 1861 census — aboard the keel Ann
The record image is with the family — family sign-in
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
  • The 1861 census — aboard the keel Ann — RG 9/3525, folio 97, shipping schedule Form A: "List of the crew and others on board of the ship or vessel called the Ann on the night of Sunday, April 7th, 1861" (findmypast image 00606a), read 5 July 2026. Henry's rank is entered "Waterman — Master Barge"; the declaration "Henry Richmond" is in the schedule's own hand throughout, so it cannot be claimed as his autograph. Seven aboard: totals five males, two females. read at the image
1861

The keel country — a world that lived on the water

Three generations of this family gave the census-taker no address, only a vessel: William Richman married in a Thorne register year that reads like a muster of mariners; Henry's whole household slept aboard the keel Ann on census night 1861; Samuel lay at Ickles Lock, Rotherham, master of the Marion, while his family answered the door in Hull. The vessel behind those entries was the Humber keel — a bluff, square-rigged sailing barge, clinker- or carvel-built, sized to the inch for the locks it had to pass, with one great mainsail and a topsail on a single mast, and a cabin aft that was, for many families, home. Keels were worked by a man and a mate — often his son, sometimes his wife — and they carried everything the region moved: coal down from the pits, corn and seed up from the docks, timber, bricks, oilcake. Thorne, on the lower Don, was one of the trade's home ports — a town of keel-builders, sail-makers and waterman families — and from its staiths the water ran everywhere the work was: up the Don navigation to Rotherham and Sheffield, where Ickles Lock marked the head of the broad-water trade; up the branch canals to colliery villages like Elsecar, whose coal came down to the keels; and east by the Dutch River and the Ouse to the Humber, Hull and the sea. The census made special provision for this floating world — vessels were enumerated on their own schedules, listed by name like little parishes — which is why the family's records so often carry a ship where a street should be. Steam came into the trade in the later nineteenth century (Samuel's Reliance was a steam keel), and the railways, bigger holds and motor barges slowly took the rest; the last keels traded under sail within living memory of the Second World War, and the type survives today in preserved examples worked by enthusiasts. The keel world was close, hereditary and hard: crews were recruited at the family table, masters' daughters married masters' sons, and a good boat was livelihood, savings and address in one hull.

Historical context Evidence
Background composed for this site from published history. It frames the family’s world; it is not one of Mum’s records.
1871

Census · 1871

1871

Living in Thorne Henry Richmond, Head, born 1803 Thorne Crasena (sic) Richmond, born 1827 Barnsley Henry Richmond, Son, born 1861 Thorne John Richmond, Son, born 1863, Thorne Charles Richmond, Son, born 1865, Thorne Address Field Side, Back Street, Thorne Occupation: Waterman— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1879

In 1879

1879

Henry Richmond dies in Thorne aged 76 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1879

Died

9 March 1879

1879 Mar q. Thorne (BMI)— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1881

Selina at Samuel's — a nurse in the house, a baby coming

1881

Selina at son Samuel's home in Hull— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1891

Selina alone at Thorne — the widow's census

1891

Living in Thorne Selina Richmond, Head, Widow, born 1826, Elscar, Nursed. Sick— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1898

In 1898

1898

Death of Selina Richmond March q. Thorne (BMD Thorne), aged 75 years— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

Our research

Henry's open threads — London, and a generation above

Open research · Thorne, Wapping & the register of 1795

  • Ann Dobson and the London wedding. Mum recorded the marriage — 28 March 1832, St George in the East — and the East London register set on findmypast does not cover it; the register is at the London Metropolitan Archives, digitised on Ancestry. To do: one batched Ancestry month — read the St George in the East marriage register for 28 March 1832 (banns or licence; witnesses; Ann's parish and condition). Everything about Ann's origins hangs on that entry. A Yorkshire "St George's" alternative has been tested and eliminated.
  • A generation above William. The 1795 baptism of the first infant Henry names three generations in one Dade-style line: "S of Wm. Richmond Mariner, S of Henry Richmond" — and the 1803 entry names Hannah's parents, John & Susannah Kettle. A Henry Richmond senior and a Kettle couple stand one step beyond the current tree. Decision pending: add them as people, or hold here until their own records are read.
  • The keel and the name. Henry's vessel was the Ann; his first wife, and the daughter buried three weeks after her, were both Ann. Keels were bought and sold with their names, and nothing connects the christening of the boat to the family — noted as a coincidence, not a claim.
  • Smaller items. The 1842 church (Rotherham district registers — Wentworth chapelry is the natural candidate); Henry's own burial entry, Q1 1879, in the Thorne register; Selina's 1891 census image (RG 12, Thorne — Mum's transcript reads "Nursed. Sick"); the 1851 and 1871 census images for the Thorne years.