Acomb, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire Yorkshire Parishes  York &amp; Ainsty  Acomb

Parish History
ACOMB (St. Stephen), a parish, in the Ainsty wapentake, W. riding of York; containing 880 inhabitants, of whom 774 are in the township of Acomb, 2¼ miles (W.) from York, on the road to Leeds via Wetherby. This parish, anciently Ascham, comprises by measurement 1920 acres, and is bounded on the north by the river Ouse, on which is a small wharf for coal, lime, &amp;c., adjacent to the Darlington railway; the soil is of a sandy and gravelly nature, and the air remarkably salubrious. Several mansions and villas here are occupied by families of the first respectability. The village has a neat appearance; the York and North-Midland railway passes near it, at Hob Moor. Part of Knapton, and also part of Dringhouses, are in the parish, and churchwardens are elected for these places along with those for Acomb. The living is a discharged vicarage, valued in the king's books at £3. 9. 2.; net income, £109; patron and incumbent, the Rev. Isaac Spencer. The peculiar of Acomb formerly belonged to the Treasurer in the Cathedral of York, but was surrendered, with the rectory, to the Crown in 1547; and in 1609 was granted by James I. to Thomas Newark and his heir. The tithes of the townships of Acomb and Holgate were commuted for land and a money payment, by an inclosure act in 1774. The church, rebuilt in 1831-2 by subscription, is an elegant structure with a graceful spire, and, standing on the highest ground in the vicinity of York, has a very picturesque appearance; it contains 609 sittings, of which 212 are free. There are places of worship for Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists. Half a mile from the village is a hill, supposed to be the tumulus of Septimius Severus, who died at York.

From: Lewis, Samuel A., A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 9-12. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=50743 Date accessed: 09 August 2011.Resources

Civil Registration
Records from York Registration District held at York are included in the online index available at Yorkshire BMD for post 1837 events; view the coverage table to check progress on the availability of index search.

Marriages include


 * Church of England marriages.
 * Civil Marriages at register offices, or non-conformist churches where a registrar was required to be present at the ceremony.
 * Authorised Person marriages. These cover the non-conformist places of worship which applied to keep their own registers as a result of the Marriage Act, 1898 (bringing them into line with Jewish and Quaker marriages which had this status since 1837). In such cases an 'Authorised Person' (usually the minister or priest) recorded the ceremony instead of the registrar. Earlier weddings in these places would be included with civil marriage registers.

A secondary index of Birth, marriages and deaths were kept by the government, from July 1837 to the present day. The civil registration article tells more about these records. There are several Internet sites with name lists or indexes. A popular site is FreeBMD however this secondary index may omit the event and may not contain the detail of the Yorkshire BMD index

Church records
To find the names of the neighbouring parishes, use England Jurisdictions 1851. In this site, search for the name of the parish, click on the location "pin", click Options and click List contiguous parishes.

Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, non conformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Link to the Family History Library film numbers in their collection

Census records
Contributor: Include an overview if there is any unique information, such as the census for X year was destroyed. Add a link to online sites for indexes and/or images. Also add a link to the Family History Library Catalog showing the film numbers in their collection.

Probate records
Records of wills, administrations, inventories, indexes, etc. were filed by the court with jurisdiction over this parish. Go to Yorkshire Probate Records to find the name of the court having primary jurisdiction. Scroll down in the article to the section Court Jurisdictions by Parish.

Maps and Gazetteers
Maps are a visual look at the locations in England. Gazetteers contain brief summaries about a place.


 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
Contributor: Add any relevant sites that aren’t mentioned above.