Re: longworth family history
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In reply to:
Re: longworth family history
richard longworth 8/27/04
Dear Richard (and Pat, again)
You asked in your original message about the origins of the Longworth family in Lancashire. The word "worth" in Anglo-Saxon means an enclosed area of land, and "long worth" exactly describes the old manor of Longworth which lies in the parish of Bolton in Lancashire. It is a long narrow area of land which is bounded by streams and moorland, and the land has always been used for farming,both arable and pasture. There was never a village in Longworth - in the south of the area there was a water powered corn mill, nearby was Longworth Hall (the home of the Lords of the Manor), and the rest of the land was occupied by scattered farms and cottages.
The first record of Longworths there was in c1200 when Matthew, son of Siward de Longworth, gave a grant of land to Cockersand Abbey in north Lancashire. During the next 250 years the descent of the Lords of the Manor is doubtful as there are large gaps in the records, but from the mid 15th century the manorial family is recorded in the records of the herald's visitations. I can let you have details of these if you are interested. The last Longworth to be Lord of the Manor was Thomas Longworth who died in 1655. In 1630 he had mortgaged the manor to Thomas Lacy, and had separated from his wife Dorothy while retaining rights to half of the manor for each of them. They had no children, and Dorothy later remarried, but Thomas remained unmarried until his death. Thomas did however have a brother, Ralph, who moved to St Michael on Wyre in north Lancashire, and there are still some descendants of Ralph who are alive today.
The manor was in the possession of the Lacys for about 20 years, then it was transferred to the Hulton family (Ann Hulton was Thomas Lacy's wife). They retained ownership of the manor until the early 1900s, when the land was bought by Bolton Corporation for the water rights. The land is still partly used as farmland, there are two reservoirswhich are used for sailing, and there is a wildlife conservation area.
The IGI contains a reference to a Francis Longworth living in London from 1577 to 1594, and he had a son, Francis, in 1590, but I know of no evidence that either of them moved to Ireland. I think that the Burgess record of a Peter Longworth of Lancashire who went to Ireland with Cromwell's army and who settled there and raised a large family is the more likely story, and it fits with the records in Burke's peerage which were provided by the Irish family.
However, the claims by some Americans that Thomas Longworth of Newark, New Jersey was one of Peter's children are at present mere speculation as there is no evidence that Peter had a son called Thomas. I have seen some family trees which state that Thomas' surname was actually Longworthy rather than Longworth, and if this is correct then he comes from a different family. The Longworthy surname comes from county Devon in south west England.
Similarly, I have seen details which state that his surname was Longwith. Again this does not relate to the Longworths as the surname Longwith, together with the surname Langwith, occurs in England in Nottinghamshire. There are villages in that area called Upper and Nether Langwith, and these appear to provide the origin for the Langwith and Longwith surnames.
As far as I am aware, all Longworths who are alive today, and whose surname has not been changed, can trace their origins back to Lancashire. If there were any Longworths who took their surname from other places called Longworth in England, they appear to have died out many years ago.
As part of my one name study I have records of around 6000 Longworths worldwide, and I would like to hear from anyone who can give me information on their Longworth relatives. In return I will always provide as much information as I am able to help find new ancestors and relatives.
Regards.
Vera Longworth
More Replies:
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The ..almost.. last remaining 'Dames-Longworth'!
pippa Dames-Longworth 8/19/06
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Re: The ..almost.. last remaining 'Dames-Longworth'!
vera longworth 8/20/06
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Re: The ..almost.. last remaining 'Dames-Longworth'!