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PROCTER CHRONOLOGY AND DOCUMENT LINKS

LINKS TO DOCUMENTS & PHOTOS RELATED TO PROCTERS, DOBSONS, STRINGERS ...

Recent Ancestors (with Portraits)     Fletcher / Procter ancestor chart     Fletcher Chronology and Document Links     all bmd links

Scarborough Trade Directories 1823 - 1905        Robert Procter's Descendants

St Mary's, Barnard Castle - 1790s

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Photos of St Marys Church, Barnard Castle with links to images of original 1790s documents recording Joseph Procter's first marriage, children and fist wife's death etc in the 1790s.

Earlier Fletcher, Procter and Stringer events -

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Fletcher - Procter ancestor chart - Chart linking four generations of Fletchers, Procters, Dobsons, Stringers, Dixons, Sutcliffes

1819 - Robert Procter (son of Joseph) marries

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Elizabeth Ashton in All Saints Church (North Street), York on 24 January 1819

1827- Elizabeth Stringer (24) marries

Matthew Dobson, Sailor, in the Parish Church of Saint Mary, Scarborough, on 27 December 1827.

1828-29 Joseph Procter, Chemyst

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in the small but fascinating commercial directory listing the occupations of the tradesmen who drove the small early Victorian market town of Barnard Castle.  Joseph Procter was also listed as a Chemyst in the 1834 Pigots Directory of Barnard Castle.

1828-29 Harrison Procter, Chemyst and

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brother of Robert, has a go at chemysting in Newborough (Scarborough - Pigot & Co Trade Directory 1829 & 1834 transcripts).

1834 Pigot's York Directory

but no mention of Robert either here or in the 1840 York Whites Directory

1840 Elizabeth Dobson in 1840 Whites

Scarborough Directory under "miscellany of trades".

1841 - Robert & Elizabeth Procter in George St, Walmgate, York

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Robert Procter, Chemyst & Druggist, son of Joseph Procter Snr, Barnard Castle chemyst, and Mary Procter (Harrison), is living with wife Elizabeth and 4 children including Joseph in George St, Walmgate, York.

1841 - Harrison (Robert's brother)

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& wife Fanny Procter are running the family chemyst etc in Barnard Castle. 

1841 - Joseph Procter Snr

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(Robert and Harrison's father), retired from his Barnard Castle shop and aged 77, being looked after by daughter Jane in Broadgate, Barnard Castle.

1841 - Elizabeth Dobson (Stringer) aged 36 and

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2 daughters in Scarborough - husband (sailor Matthew Dobson) was not around, in fact we have no "evidence" of him after the 1832 birth of second daughter Elizabeth.  She is shown here as having "independent means". 

1842 - Robert Procter dies suddenly

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on 2 August 1842, aged 48.  They are living in Walmgate, York, one of the poorest urban areas in England, and he is buried at a cost of four and six (4s 6d) with 9 complete strangers in a public grave in York Cemetery.  Later his only son Joseph (we think) had a memorial headstone erected at the tomb.    

Wife Elizabeth much later (1861) remarries - retired farmer George Kettlewell - and lives on till 22 Sept 1873 (72).  She is buried with George (who dies in 1876) in the graveyard of St Mary, Haxby, and is also commemorated on Robert's gravestone in York.

1845 - The railway comes to Scarborough but

afterwards it takes over 50 years for the town's retail centre to move west to "outside the walls" Westborough (where the railway station is).

NOTE THAT FLETCHER DOCUMENTS ARE NOW ON A SEPARATE PAGE

1851 - The family Chemyst shop in

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Barnard Castle now being run by three of Harrison Procter's children - Joseph, Elizabeth & John Hall Procter.

1851 - Harrison & Fanny Procter

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have returned to Scarborough to run a lodging house.

1851 - Elizabeth Dobson in Scarborough

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- now the mother and one daughter (who will marry Joseph Procter) milliner team living together.  The handwriting is difficult to read but she seems to be described as a widow - it is likely in fact that Matthew had died / disappeared in the mid 30s.

1851 - Joseph Procter ........

has so far avoided showing up in any of our census searches.

1859 - Joseph Procter (27) marries Elizabeth Dobson (26) in Scarborough.

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Draper (son of druggysts of Barnard Castle then Walmgate, York) and Milliner (milliner daughter of a milliner and a master mariner) combine forces in the 1,800 seat old Centenary Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Queen Street Scarborough.

1861 - Harrison & Fanny Procter

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still running a lodging house in Scarborough.

1861 - Joseph & Elizabeth Procter start a family

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and a drapers shop in Newborough, Scarborough, "inside the walls".

1861 - Elizabeth Dobson in Scarborough

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Now just Elizabeth snr (retired seamstress and widow) as jnr has become Mrs Procter and the master mariner has died.  She is probably living at Milson's Hospital / Almshouse.

1861 - Elizabeth Procter (60 - widow of Robert)

marries George Kettlewell in St Marys, Birkenhead and relocates to Haxby, just north of York.

1867 - Whites Scarborough Directory lists

Procter, Jsph, Linen and Woolen , Silk Mercer, Milliner &c, 54 Newborough.

1871 - Elizabeth Dobson in Milsons Almshouse

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Living with her is Mary Salmon her 19 year old milliner granddaughter.  Elizabeth dies in Q1 1880 aged 77 and her solo (sailor hubbie Matthew evaporated early on) grave is to be found as No C 15 - 23 in Scarborough's Dean Road Cemetery (which is next door to the Manor Road one).

1871 - The Procter family at Scarborough,

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Langham House, Westborough (108 maybe ?).  Joseph Procter is a master draper and wife Elizabeth a milliner.  Their daughter Elizabeth Stringer Procter will marry Frank Edward Fletcher, son of Maria and John, whose ironmonger shop will be in North Street.  108 Westborough is outside the old city wall (which was roughly at North Street).  The Newborough Gate or Bar was the main entry point through the walls of Old Scarborough.  It was rebuilt in mid-Victorian times, but then got demolished in 1890.

1872 - Kellys Scarborough Directory lists

Procter, Jsph, Linen Draper, Westborough and 54 Newborough

1873 - Elizabeth Kettlewell (formerly Procter)

dies in Haxby (Yorkshire) on 22 September aged 72.  She lies buried in the churchyard with second husband George in grave 22/09.  The gravestone is inscribed:  "in memory of / George Kettlewell / many years churchwarden / of this parish / who died June 24th 1876 / aged 78 years / Also of Elizabeth his wife / who died Sepr 22nd 1873 / aged 72 years."

1881 - The Procter family at 108 Westborough 

thanks to the Scarborough Library for this photo.

photo Bill Harrison

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Scarborough with 8 kids living over their Drapers shop (which is still there, though no longer a draper - see photo on left).

Doreen Mary, one of the granddaughters, remembered that "it was quite a big establishment and it was said that a coach and horses could be housed over the shop in uncle Matthew's (eldest son of the Procter family) and Aunty Lizzie's lounge.  Other children of the Procter family were Uncle Joe , Auntie Patt and Auntie Lily.  My father was the youngest child. I remember I had three girl cousins of Uncle Matt.  They were Lily, Loise and Lucy.  Uncle Joe was the next son of the family.  He had one daughter Muriel.  Auntie Lily (married name Fletcher) lived in Folkestone and had four sons (ed: and two daughters!).  Auntie Patt married Uncle Tom Miller and they had a son Max and a daughter Edna.  They lived in Leicester and owned a restaurant and home made chocolate business.  Tom Miller used to go to Grindlewald every winter curling, and he brought back an expert in chocolate making etc and consequently had a very thriving business.  We used to go there for Xmas sometimes and I remember he used to have a decorated boar's head on the sideboard which was delicious to eat and lots of chocolates etc.  Procter & Co were draper's and outfitters etc and when I visited Scarborough Uncle Matt and Uncle Joe used to be in the shop."

The Uncles and Aunts (Joseph and Elizabeth's children) were Matthew "Uncle Matt" (b1860), Robert (b1863, d1883 and later buried with parents), Joseph "Uncle Joe" (b1864), Elizabeth "Aunty Lily" (Fletcher) (b1865), Benjamin & William (twins b1868), Martha "Auntie Patt" (Miller) (b1870), John (father of Doreen Mary) (b1872).  There are still a number of Procters around Scarborough !

HELP WANTED - There must have been Procter family photos ?????? 

1889 - Frank Edward Fletcher (25) marries Elizabeth Procter (23).

One of our "Holy Grails" would be a wedding photo ??? !!  Please come in if you are out there.......

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On Wednesday 24 April 1889 in (a corner of) the huge (1,800 people capacity) Centenary Wesleyan Methodist "Chapel", in Queen Street, Scarborough.

thanks to the Scarborough Library for this image

Today's grim looking and impenetrable chapel is an early 1900s rebuild after a major fire in next door Boyes store.

1890 - Scarborough 

Newborough Bar looking East from Westborough c1885

The 1890 Scarborough Post Office / Bulmers Trade Directory lists both Procter, Jsph, Draper & Milliner, 108 Westborough, and Fletcher, John, Ironmonger – 20 North Street.  In 1890 the Victorian Newborough Gate or Bar, whose predecessor was one of the two gated entrances to town, is demolished, the Westborough / Newborough roads are seamlessly joined and North Street is opened up.  Mind you, the bar had obviously been no barrier to Frank Edward's romance with Elizabeth Procter.

Scarborough Trade Directories 1823 - 1905

NOTE THAT FLETCHER DOCUMENTS ARE NOW ON A SEPARATE PAGE

1891 - The Procter family still in Scarborough (shop on the left at the end of the street - which is still there today and in good nick in a sea of redbrick mediocrity, but no longer a draper!).

thanks to the Scarborough Library for this photo.

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Mr & Mrs P, nearing 60, are still drapering at 108 Westborough, helped by sons Matt and Joe and Elizabeth's niece Mary Salmon.  They place an ad in the 1892 Hagyards Trade Directory.

1901 - Joe Procter Snr (69) and Lizzie (68)

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still living over the shop at 108 Westborough, Scarborough.  Joe dies on 17 November 1902 aged 71, and Lizzie keeps on until 1911 aged 79.

1911 - Elizabeth (Lizzie) Procter (Dobson)

dies in Scarborough aged 79.  She is buried with Joe in Manor Rd Cemetery, Scarborough - grave O 0-4.