Godfrey is not a common name among Micklethwaites – I am aware of only 3 or 4 (see below for the reason I’m not certain exactly how many there are!)
A Godfrey Micklethwaite was baptised in Denby Yorkshire (a chapelry in Penistone parish) on 16th Feb 1734, the son of John Micklethwaite. It seems highly likely he married Grace Hall in Huddersfield 11th Jan 1757 as he was said to be a cloth dresser of Penistone. They appear to have had one child – Barbara baptised 26 Sep 1759 in Denby, buried at Penistone the following year. I have no record of a burial for Grace, but on 16th Apr 1762 a Godfrey Micklefit [sic] married Susanna Musgrave in Dewsbury. They had 4 more children:
- Elizabeth baptised 30th May 1763 Dewsbury, married Joseph Clark 7 Jan 1781 Dewsbury
- Jonathan baptised 20th Jan 1765 Dewsbury – no further trace
- Mary baptised 14th May 1767 Dewsbury buried 12th April 1767 (no, I don’t understand the date order, the images of the parish registers have these dates – were there 2 girls with the same name or did the vicar make a mistake?)
- Joshua baptised 22nd July 1770 Dewsbury, married Rebecca Noble 14th Feb 1792 Dewsbury (they in turn had a son Michael baptised 26th Dec 1792)
After 1770, the next reference I have to a Godfrey is in Longwood (Huddersfield) on 24th Nov 1805 when his wife Mary is buried – and he seems to remarry, to Ann Booth 21st April 1806 in Huddersfield. The obvious question is whether this is the same Godfrey, or perhaps a son of the one above whose baptised hasn’t yet shown up.
The final reference (until the next century) is for Godfrey’s burial in Longwood 20th Feb 1809 – he is desribed as a pauper.
With a common occupation of cloth dresser and the residential areas of Longwood and Paddock being so close, it seems quite likely that Godfrey and Mary could have had a son John, whose birth may well have been the cause of her death, and John was either not baptised, or baptised in a non-conformist church whose records haven’t come to light. This scenario is currently my favourite for my 3x great grandfather – but how do I prove it?
Andy Micklethwaite's Family History Blog 