The Conn Family of Whitby
Research by David Conn
Between 1600 and 1900 Whitby was one of the major ports on the
east coast of England. People migrated there to find work usually
in the shiping industry. Not only was it was a staging post in
the coal trade between Newcastle and London, but it was perhaps
the major port involved with the Baltic trade. It had trading
links with Russia and America, and most interestingly many of the
sailors were from the Orkneys, an association that went back to
the 1200's. Was it possible that the Conn name came in originally
from this source?
George Conn, who was born in Upleatham, appeared in Whitby in
about 1714. Unfortunately there are three Georges in the
Upleatham Parish register that could be this George. The most
likely is George, the son of Peter Conn and Dorothy Crow of
Wortswell, baptised 7 Nov 1684, although other possibilities are
George the son of Peter of Laton house, baptised 24 May 1687 or
George the son of Robert, baptised 10 Aug 1684. At the moment
there is no way of deciding which is the correct George.
George is first of all mentioned in the Whitby parish register
as a sailor, but subsequently is said to be a merchant,
shopkeeper or tobacconist. In 1720 he sold his property in
Upleatham to a Richard Scrafton of Marske (Dundas Archives, ZNK
178/9). It is possible that this property is the one that his
grandfather George Conn bought in 1671. In the family line given
below, his son also called George, probably married Elizabeth
Wood in Skelton in 1740, both of whom moved to Sedgefield in
about 1742. His two nephews, George and William the sons of Peter
Conn and Jane Tanfield also seem to have moved to Whitby
following the death of their father in 1764, where their
marriages appear in the registers in 1767 and 1768. These
relationships can be more easily understood by looking at the family
tree given below, but it must be emphasised that they are tentative.
Whitby parish registers
The family of George Conn and Hester Pearson.
- 29 Jul 1714. Marriage of George
Conn, sailor, to Hester Pearson. George has come
from Upleatham.
- 25 Dec 1715. Baptism of George, the
son of George Conn.
- 27 Oct 1717. Baptism of Robert, son
of George Conn, merchant.
- 24 Apr 1720. Baptism of Thomas, son
of George Conn.
- 27 Dec 1720. Burial of Thomas, son
of George Conn.
- 31 May 1724. Baptism of Hester,
daughter of George Conn.
- 3 Oct 1725. Burial of Hester,
daughter of George Conn.
- 26 Jun 1726. Baptism of Esther,
daughter of George Conn.
- 7 Oct 1729. Baptism of Peter, son
of George Conn (b. Jul 1728).
- 7 Oct 1729. Baptism of William, son
of George Conn.
- 12 Oct 1732. Baptism of Pearson,
son of George Conn.
- 22 Nov 1733. Burial of Peter, son
of George Conn.
- 19 Feb 1735. Burial of Pearson, son
of George Conn.
- 23 Mar 1735. Burial of William, son
of George Conn.
- 8 Apr 1735. Burial of Robert, son
of George Conn.
- 18 Jul 1736. Baptism of Pearson,
son of George Conn, tobacconist.
- 21 Aug 1737. Burial of Pearson, son
of George Conn, tobacconist.
- 10 Mar 1751. Burial of Esther, wife
of George Conn, shopkeeper, Whitby
- 6 May 1755. Marriage of Esther Conn
to Harland Widd, sailmaker.
- 1740 Nov 12. Marriage of George Con (b. 1715) and
Elizabeth Wood at Skelton, Yorks.
- George Con and Elizabeth Wood move to Sedgefield and
start the Sedgefield family.
- 28 Feb 1767. Marrigage of George
Conn, carpenter, to Jane Story. George has come
from Upleatham.
- 22 Oct 1770. Baptism of Peter, son
of George & Jane Conn, carpenter (Born 1 Oct)
- 26 Apr 1773. Baptism of Elizabeth
Story, daughter of George & Jane Conn, carpenter
(born 24 Mar).
- 3 Oct 1775. Baptism of Thomas, son
of George & Jane Conn, sailor (born 25 Sep).
- 24 Jun 1777. Burial of Elizabeth
Story, daughter of George & Jane Conn, aged 4 years.
- 2 May 1778. Baptism of Jane,
daughter of George & Jane Conn, carpenter (born 28
Feb).
- 1768 Nov 23. Marriage of William
Conn, labourer, and Mary Ventriss, both of this parish. William
has come from Upleatham.
- 1773 Jul 15. Baptism of Jane, the
daughter of William & Mary Conn, carpenter (born Jun
24)
- 1777 Sep 8. Baptism of Mary, the
daughter of William and Mary Conn, carpenter (born 7 Sep)
- 1787 Feb 18. Burial of Jane, aged 9
years, the daughter of William and Jane Conn, a poor
carpenter.
- 1788 Dec 5. Burial of Mary the wife
of William Conn, a poor carpenter, age 53.
- 1807 Aug 13. Burial of William
Conn, labourer, aged 62.
It has not been proven, but the following
Peter must be the son of the previous George.
- 30 Nov 1792. Marriage of Peter
Conn, sailor of Goathland Banks, to Ann Chapman.
- 9 Sep 1793. Baptism of Jane ,
daughter of Peter & Ann Conn at Whitby.
- 1 Sep 1795. Baptism of Mary,
daughter of Peter & Ann Conn at Whitby.
- 2 Dec 1797. Baptism of George
Chapman Conn the son of Peter & Ann Conn at Whitby.
- 24 Sep 1801. Burial of George Chapman Conn, son of
Peter & Ann Conn at South Shields.
- 29 Jul 1806. Burial of Ann, daughter of Peter &
Ann Conn, aged 6 at South Shields.
- 5 Jul 1807. Burial of Elizabeth, daughter of Peter
& Ann Conn, aged 18 months at South Shields.
- 19 Feb 1809. Baptism of Peter, son of Peter & Ann
Conn, South Shields.
- 6 Sep 1811. Baptism of Ann, daughter of Peter &
Ann Conn, South Shields.
The following records can be provisionally
linked to other families.
The following Thomas Conn probably belongs to
the Pickering family, and this was a second marriage after the
death of Jane Chapman. There are still question marks about this
association.
- 4 Mar 1723 Burial of Robert, son of
Thomas Conn of Sleights.
- 12 Aug 1728. Marriage of Thomas
Conn of Sleights to Barbara Richmond of Fyling.
- 4 Dec 1731. Burial of Robert, son
of Thomas Conn of Tyling.
- 21 Dec 1760. Burial of Barbara,
wife of Thomas Conn of Thorpe in the parish of
Fylingdales.
The following Thomas Conn probably belongs to
the Pickering family, and was born in Pickering in 1702. He can
be found in Sunderland in the 1740s with his wife Rachel. Their
son Robert died in 1740.
- 27 Apr 1725. Burial of Timothy, son
of Robert Conn of Whitby.
- 5 Apr 1727. Baptism of Robert, son
of Robert Conn of Whitby.
The following Matthew Conn was the son of
Robert Conn, and was born in 1750 in Sunderland. His death has
not been found.
- 8 Aug 1788. Marriage of Matthew
Conn, bachelor, mariner and Rachel Sneaton, spinster,
both of this parish.
- 22 Jun 1779. Baptism of Elizabeth,
daughter of Matthew and Rachel Conn, sailor of Whitby.
- 29 Feb 1792. Burial of Rachel, aged
49, widow of Matthew Conn, sailor of Whitby.