Ancestor Watch

Some years ago I had some research done into my Hugill ancestors. It turns out that they were based for many centuries in North Yorkshire, in an around Stokesly. We even managed to find a church-yard full of 17th and early 18th century ancestors in a little church-yard at Whorlton, where the family farm was at that time. But my ancestors were prolific (one had 13 children) and my branch were junior and rather itinerant, one was baptised in Whitby and my father's family settled in Stokesly and Stockton.

I have been reading Roz Southey's fascinating book Music-Making in North-East England during the Eighteenth Century and in the chapter on churches and organists came across William Howgill who was the organist at Whitehaven and his daughter Ann, who was organist at Staindrop in the late 18th century. Howgill is one of the early forms of the name Hugill so I must now go scurrying back to my family tree to see if there are any William's on it.