1805
Born
1805 at Sproatley
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
Jonathan Batty
1805 – 1862
✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-07
Jonathan Batty was the best ploughman in his corner of Holderness, and the newspapers can prove it twice. Born at Sproatley in 1805 — his own statement to the 1851 census — and baptised at Aldbrough that January, he was the third of the six children Mum lists for Robert Batty and Mary Longhorn. In November 1827, at Paull, he married Elizabeth Marritt of that parish, by banns and 'with consent of parents'; Mum's transcript notes that both of them signed their names, and his signature turns up again on every register he touched for the next thirty years.
Mum found him first in the Yorkshire Gazette of 1832: the Hedon Agricultural Society's ploughing match at Thorngumbald — eight competitors, half an acre each with a common plough and two horses, two hundred spectators — and first prize to 'Jonathan Batty, servant to Mr. I. Ingleby, Ryhill'. This pass found the sequel she didn't have: the Hull Packet of 16 March 1838, read at the image, where at the Holderness Agricultural Society's annual match on the Hedon–Hull turnpike, one of Sir Clifford Constable's three-sovereign prizes for 'the next in merit' goes to 'Jonathan Batty, ploughman to Mr. J. Ingleby, of Ryhill' — still a prize-winner, still with the same Ryhill farm, six years on. All of it happened within three miles of home: the sons were born at Paull and Thorngumbald in those same years, and the censuses keep him an agricultural labourer there — at Paull in 1841 and Thorngumbald in 1851, where Elizabeth, Paull-born, is beside him and their son Robert, twenty-one, still at home.
Elizabeth died on 30 April 1855, aged 51 — Mum read the date from the memorial inscription at Paull, and the parish register, read at the image on this pass, buries her two days later, 'Elizabeth Batty — Thorn: — May 2 — 51 yrs'. On Boxing Day 1857, at St Giles Marfleet, the widower married again: Sarah Mitchell, a shoemaker's daughter of the same village, who made her mark where Jonathan signed. The register states his father plainly — Robert Batty, labourer — the wall generation named in a record. He had little more than four years with Sarah: he was buried at Paull on 25 March 1862, aged 56, his residence Thorngumbald to the last. Two of his sons stayed on the land; the third, William, would take the family name to the Hull docks within five years of his father's death.
Composed from validated records · 2026-07-07
- Birth
- 1805, Sproatley
- Baptism
- January 20th 1805, Aldbrough
- Marriage
- 1. November 29th 1827 to Elizabeth Maritt in Paull 2. December 26th 1857, St. Giles, Marfleet, to Sarah Mitchell
- Burial
- March 25th 1862, Paull aged 56 years
- Parents
- Robert Batty and Mary Longhorn
- Siblings
- Jane Batty baptised September 4th, 1801, Aldbrough Isabella Batty baptised April 17th, I803, Aldbrough Jonathan Batt y baptised January 20th, 1805, Aldbrough Robert Batty baptised June 21st 1807, Preston by Hedon William Batty baptised April 30th 1809, Preston by Hedon Thomas Batty baptised October 2nd I811, Preston by Hedon
- Children
- Thomas Batty baptised May 1st 1828, Paull Robert Batty born 1830, Thorngumbald William Batty baptised February 2nd 1834, Paull born Thorngumbald
- 1827
- Marries Elizabeth Marritt from Paull 'Jonathan Batty of the parish of Swine and Elizabeth Marritt of this parish were married in church by banns with consent of parents this twenty ninth day of November, eighteen twenty seven in the presence of Thomas Marritt and John Tompson' Both Jonathan and Elizabeth signed their names.
- 1832
- PLOUGHING MATCH The Hedon Agricultural Society having from unavoidable circumstances being unable to hold their annual ploughing match, a subscription was entered into by a few spirited individuals for the purpose of encouraging this truly important branch of British industry and a match accordingly took place on Monday the 18th inst. at Thorngumbald, in an old swarth close belonging to Mr. Peter Ingleby which he had kindly offered for this occasion. The competitors were eight in number, each of whom performed his task of less than half an acre with a common plough and two horses, in about six hours. The prizes, three in number, were awarded as follows 1st Jonathan Batty, servant to Mr. I. Ingleby, Ryhill,2nd Joseph Marshall, servant to Mr. Mitchison, Cammerton, 3rd James Ruttle, another servant to Mr. Ingleby…..About 200 of the neighbouring agriculturists were present on the occasion, all of whom expressed high approbation at the style in which the work was performed and were gratified in witnessing the emulation evinced by the competitors. Y orkshire Gazette York, February 25th 1832
- 1841c
- Living in Thorngumbald, Paul (sic) Johnathan Batty, aged 35, born 1806, Yorkshire Elizabeth Batty, aged 35, born 1806 Yorkshire Robert Batty, aged I l, born 1830 Yorkshire Thomas Batty, aged 13, born 1828 Yorkshire William Batty , aged 7, born 1834, Yorkshire Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1851c
- Living in Thorngumbald, Paull Jonathan Batty, Head, aged 46, born 1805 Sproatley Elizabeth Batty, Wife, aged 47, born 1804, Paull Robert Batty Son aged 21 born 1830 Thorngumbald, Servant Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1855
- Death of wife Elizabeth on April 30th 1855 aged 51 years (MI Paull) Memorial Inscription ( Paull Churchyard): 'Elizabeth Batty wife of Jonathan Batty died April 30th 1855 aged 51. Prepare to meet thy God Death Notice April 30th at Thorngumbald of cancer, Elizabeth the wife of Mr. Jonathan Batty aged 51 years Hull Packet, May11th 1855
- 1857
- Marriage to Sarah Mitchell in St. Giles church, Marfleet 'Jonathan Batty, Widower, Labourer, and Sarah Mitchell, Spinster both of Marfleet were married on the 26th day of Decenber in the presence of Robert Ward and Mary Tweed Ward Fathers: Robert Batty, Labourer; Edward Mitchell, Shoemaker' Jonathan signed his name; Sarah made her mark (x)
- 1861c
- Living in Thorngumbald Johnathan Batty, aged 54, 1807, Head born Aldbrough Sarah Batty, 1823, Wife, aged 38 born Alderbeirk, Lincolnshire Robert Batty, 1831, aged 30, Son, born Thorngumbald, Ag. Labourer Occupation: Agricultural Labourer
- 1862
- Death of Jonathan aged 57 years Death Notice March 31st at Thorngumbald, aged 57 years Mr. Jonathan Batty Hull Packet April 4th 1862
In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook
Family
Parents
· · Jonathan Batty b. 1805this page · · ·
Marriages
Children
Life
Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred
1805
Baptised at Aldbrough — born Sproatley
20 January 1805 at Aldbrough
January 20th 1805, Aldbrough— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1827
Married Elizabeth Marritt
29 November 1827 at Paull
November 29th 1827 to Jonathan Batty in Paull— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1832
First prize — the Hedon ploughing match
1832
PLOUGHING MATCH The Hedon Agricultural Society having from unavoidable circumstances being unable to hold their annual ploughing match, a subscription was entered into by a few spirited individuals for the purpose of encouraging this truly important branch of British industry and a match accordingly took place on Monday the 18th inst. at Thorngumbald, in an old swarth close belonging to Mr. Peter Ingleby which he had kindly offered for this occasion. The competitors were eight in number, each of whom performed his task of less than half an acre with a common plough and two horses, in about six hours. The prizes, three in number, were awarded as follows 1st Jonathan Batty, servant to Mr. I. Ingleby, Ryhill,2nd Joseph Marshall, servant to Mr. Mitchison, Cammerton, 3rd James Ruttle, another servant to Mr. Ingleby…..About 200 of the neighbouring agriculturists were present on the occasion, all of whom expressed high approbation at the style in which the work was performed and were gratified in witnessing the emulation evinced by the competitors. Y orkshire Gazette York,
February 25th 1832
— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1838
A second prize — the Holderness Agricultural Society match
1838 at Hedon
The annual ploughing match, instituted by the Holderness Agricultural Society, took place on Wednesday last before the committee of the society and a great concourse of spectators in a field on the farm of Mr. John Fewson, at Twire [Twyers?] Pollard, adjoining the New Turnpike from Hedon to Hull. … The three sovereigns given by Sir C. Constable for the next in merit, were awarded to William Cowlin, of Spaldington, Jonathan Batty, ploughman to Mr. J. Ingleby, of Ryhill, and William Harness, ploughman to Mr. Stickney, of Ridgmont. Other ploughmen of merit were liberally rewarded, from a collection made on the ground.
— Hull Packet, 16 March 1838 — the Holderness ploughing match
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Hull Packet, 16 March 1838 — the Holderness ploughing match — Hull Packet, Friday 16 March 1838, page 3, 'Local Intelligence' — British Library newspaper collection BL/0000064/18380316. Read at the page image (findmypast newspapers), 7 July 2026. A find of this pass — Mum's page has the 1832 match; this is a second prize, six years on. read at the image
1838
The ploughing matches of Holderness
The agricultural societies of early-Victorian Holderness ran their ploughing matches as public spectacles: half an acre to each man, a common plough and two horses, the gentry putting up sovereigns and the crowds walking out from Hedon to watch. The 1832 match at Thorngumbald that Mum found in the Yorkshire Gazette drew two hundred spectators for eight ploughmen; the 1838 match reported in the Hull Packet was held on John Fewson's farm beside the new Hedon–Hull turnpike, with prizes from the society and from Sir Clifford Constable of Burton Constable, the great landowner of south Holderness.
Jonathan Batty appears in both reports as a working farm servant — 'servant to Mr. I. Ingleby, Ryhill' in 1832, 'ploughman to Mr. J. Ingleby, of Ryhill' in 1838 — a decade in the service of one farming family at Ryhill, a hamlet in Burstwick parish two miles from Paull. The same Ingleby farm made the London Morning Post in 1850, cutting the first oats of the Holderness harvest at Thorngumbald: the fields Jonathan ploughed for prizes were the fields his sons grew up beside.
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.
1841
Census · 1841
1841
Jonathan Batty — 35 — Ag Lab — Y · Elizabeth do — 35 — — Y · Thomas do — 13 — — Y · Robert do — 11 — — Y · William do — 7 — — Y— 1841 census — Paull
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1841 census — Paull — 1841 Census of England, Wales & Scotland — The National Archives HO 107/1223/15, township of Paull, Patrington district. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image GBC/1841/1223/0223), 7 July 2026. read at the image
1851
Census · 1851
1851
Jonathan Batty — Head — Mar — 46 — Ag Laborer — [Yorkshire] Sproatley · Elizabeth do — Wife — Mar — 47 — do Paull · Robert do — Son — U — 21 — " Servant — do Thorngumbald— 1851 census — Thorngumbald
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- 1851 census — Thorngumbald — 1851 Census of England, Wales & Scotland — The National Archives HO 107/2364, Thorngumbald township, Patrington district; Schedule 59. Read from the original enumeration page (findmypast image, GBC/1851/4303428/00063), 7 July 2026. His birthplace, by his own statement: Sproatley. read at the image
1855
In 1855
1855
No. 575: Elizabeth Batty — Thorn: — May 2 [1855] — 51 yrs — J Fox Minr pro tem— Elizabeth's burial — Paull, 2 May 1855
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Elizabeth's burial — Paull, 2 May 1855 — Paull burial register — East Riding Archives & Local Studies Service PE 39/15, page 72, entry No. 575. Read from the register image (findmypast Yorkshire Burials, image 253), 7 July 2026. Mum had the death — 30 April 1855, aged 51, from the memorial inscription she read at Paull; the register buries her two days later and adds the household's Thorngumbald residence. read at the image
1857
Married Sarah Mitchell — St Giles, Marfleet
1857 at Marfleet
No. 23 —
December 26 [1857] — Jonathan Batty — full age — Widower — Laborer — Marfleet — [father] Robert Batty — Laborer · Sarah Mitchell — full age — Spinster — — — Marfleet — [father] Edward Mitchell — Shoe M[aker] … This Marriage was solemnized between us: Jonathan Batty [signed] · Sarah her X mark Mitchell · in the Presence of us: Robert Ward · Mary Tweed Ward
— Marriage register — St Giles Marfleet, 1857
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Marriage register — St Giles Marfleet, 1857 — Marfleet parish register — East Riding Archives & Local Studies Service PE 28/9, page 12, entry No. 23. Read from the register image (findmypast Yorkshire Marriages, image 13 of 134), 7 July 2026. The register states his father: Robert Batty, laborer. read at the image
1857
Married Sarah Mitchell
26 December 1857
December 26th 1857, St. Giles, Marfleet, to Sarah Mitchell— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1861
Census · 1861
1861
Living in Thorngumbald Johnathan Batty, aged 54, 1807, Head born Aldbrough Sarah Batty, 1823, Wife, aged 38 born Alderbeirk, Lincolnshire Robert Batty, 1831, aged 30, Son, born Thorngumbald, Ag. Labourer Occupation: Agricultural Labourer— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1862
In 1862
1862
Death of Jonathan aged 57 years Death Notice March 31st at Thorngumbald, aged 57 years Mr. Jonathan Batty Hull Packet April 4th 1862— From Janet Brock’s research
Mum’s record Evidence
From Janet Brock’s research notebook.
1862
Buried at Paull, aged 56
25 March 1862
No. 700: Jonathan Batty. — Thorngumbald — March 25th [1862] — 56 yrs — George Clifford Peake Vicar— Burial register — Paull, 25 March 1862
Read at the image record Evidence
Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:
- Burial register — Paull, 25 March 1862 — Paull burial register — East Riding Archives & Local Studies Service PE 39/15, page 88, entry No. 700. Read from the register image (findmypast Yorkshire Burials, image 261), 7 July 2026. read at the image
Records & papers
2 record images are with the family — family sign-in
Our research
Jonathan across the records
Research · Paull, Thorngumbald & Ryhill
Both censuses, the 1857 marriage, his burial and Elizabeth's burial are read at the register images; the 1838 prize notice is read at the newspaper page. Mum's page is confirmed throughout, and her two headline finds stand in her name: the 1832 Yorkshire Gazette match report (her transcription — the issue is not in findmypast's newspaper corpus; the British Newspaper Archive is the upgrade path) and Elizabeth's death date from the Paull memorial inscription.
To do: the 1827 marriage register (Jonathan Batty × Elizabeth Marritt, Paull, 29 November 1827) — Mum transcribed it in full ('with consent of parents', both signing, witnesses Thomas Marritt and John Tompson); the Paull register run on findmypast should yield the image in a later sitting. To do: the 1861 census (Thorngumbald) stays on Mum's transcript — a cheap image upgrade next time the census sets are open.
Open questions: what became of Sarah, the second wife, after 1862; and 'with consent of parents' at the 1827 wedding implies Elizabeth was under 21 — her Marritt line at Paull (her father Thomas witnessed) is untouched, one for a wife-line pass. A James Marrit of Hedon, twenty, was buried at Paull three months after Elizabeth in 1855 — possible kin, noted without any claim.