Lancashire Links

Lancashire Links
Gordon on blueyonder is looking for the surname COWLAYSHAW; rather a rare commodity in Lincolnshire when the 1881 census was carried out for there were just two people, father and daughter, with this surname.  Matthew, the father, was from Derbyshire and died in Barnetby in 1893, aged 77 years, although at the time of death was living in Gainsborough.  At the same time there was a much larger number of COLLEYSHAW families in the county.  The eldest members were born and lived in the Folkingham - Heckington area.  There is a COLLEYSHAW family in Derbyshire but  they came from Metheringham possibly due to the father Charles working on the railway.  These surnames along with the variation COWLISHAW and many others come from one of two places it is suggested.  One in Derbyshire and the other in Lancashire.  The Oxford Dictionary of Place-names comes up with just the Lancashire .  There is some debate as to whether the first element – COWLI –could be a personal name, Cola, which turns up in COLLINGHAM and COLLINGTREE.     The second element –SHAW – is a grove as in BIRKENSHAW which is a grove of birch trees.
I had a letter from Woodhall Spa this week.  Marie is interested in her family names TETLOW and NEAL.  The easiest one to explain is that of TETLOW, well it would be if I could find it on the map.  The book says that it is a Lancashire village and in 1389 it is recorded as Richard de TETLAWE in that county but not in my gazetteer. This information most likely comes from the same source as that on the TETLOW website at www.tetlow.co.uk.  There it says that ancestors to the family were living in Oldham in the 14th century. In 1321, Adam de TETLOW'S son Richard was granted lands in Werneth by Robert de OLDHAM. Fourteen years later, Richard obtained by grant further land in Northwood. On his death in 1337, the sheriff was ordered to enquire about his holdings in Oldham and Crompton. Adam had another son, Hugh, who in 1340 granted to his mother lands in Coppedhurst with the remainder to his brother Roger. In 1375, Roger de LANGLEY gave Richard, son of Richard de TETLOW, his land in Manchester, Crompton and Oldham and in 1391, Richard confirmed to Robert WALKER, chaplain, a burgage and messuage in Oldham and Manchester.  An interesting item on the site is the coat of arms On a silver shield a black diagonal band with a scalloped edge, on each side a narrow red band.  This was  granted on 10 September 1760 to TETLOW of Houghton, Lancashire, and ended up in the 'Guinness Book of Records'.  The crest recalls the grantee's feat of writing the Lord's Prayer on a silver penny with a quill pen and required the Herald Painter to repeat this achievement
NEAL and its multitude of variations, however, comes to England by a rather circuitous route.  The Old Irish niall was a champion and was latinised to Nellis.  The visiting Scandinavians or Vikings  then took the name to their settlement in Iceland and thence to Norway as Njall.  Later the Norsemen became Norman and it entered the French language and is brought to England with William in 1066.  in Scotland and the border country the Irish name was taken straight there by the Vikings.  The latinisation this time gave Nigellus and Nigel. This resulted in the large number of McNEAL and O’NEIL  families.  We know that the two are the same for in Yorkshire is to be found Robertus filius NIGELLI and Robertus NEL being the same person in 1221.
Bits and Bobs
The  most difficult census to transcribe and read is that of the 1841 census because the enumerators used pencil thus making the microfilm  almost illegible in places - so it's good to know that Ancestry's transcribers are making a special effort for us.  Very  soon the 1841 Census of England & Wales is going to be made available at Ancestry and it has been mentioned that this could be before the end of the month.  Assuming that the costs will not change then a trip to www.Ancestry.co.uk with a visa card and your access to £4.95 will let you have 10 views of the enumerators records over the following 14 days.  A reasonable cost I thought.