Kirk Smeaton, Yorkshire Genealogy

England Yorkshire  West Riding  Kirk Smeaton

Parish History
SMEATON, KIRK (St. Mary), a parish, in the Upper division of the wapentake of Osgoldcross, W. riding of York, 6½ miles (S. E.) from Pontefract; containing 326 inhabitants. It comprises by computation 1800 acres. The soil is light but fertile, and the substratum generally limestone, well adapted for building, though not for agricultural purposes. There are also quarries of freestone, some of which was sent to London; but the quality varied so greatly that the quarries were abandoned, and a tramroad that had been laid down for the conveyance of the stone to Heckbridge was taken up, and the ground it occupied restored to a state of cultivation. A considerable quantity of teasel is grown. The great north road intersects the parish, and the new Doncaster and Leeds road skirts it. The living is a rectory, valued in the king's books at £10. 1. 0½., and has annexed to it 333 acres of land, for which the tithes were commuted in 1808, and which is worth from 21s. to 22s. per acre; patron, Earl Fitzwilliam. The church is a small neat structure in the early English style.

From: Lewis, Samuel A, A Topographical Dictionary of England (1848), pp. 123-125. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=51284 Date accessed: 19 August 2011.. To find the names of the neighboring 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.

Civil Registration
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.

Church records
This ancient parish (AP) was created before 1813. Church of England records began in 1604. Contributor: Include here information for parish registers, Bishop’s Transcripts, nonconformist and other types of church records, such as parish chest records. Add the contact information for the office holding the original records. Add links to the Family History Library Catalog showing the 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
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 * England Jurisdictions 1851
 * Vision of Britain

Web sites
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