21 Mar 2024

We visited Nottinghamshire Archives yesterday to follow up on the Alcock and Leak research we were planning last week.

The parish registers were available on microfiche in the open access area of the archives so we could simply walk in and start researching.

Our primary aim was to confirm the marriage of George Alcock and Ann Leak in 1796 in Clarborugh. We found this straight away:

Marriage on 2 Feb 1796 in Clarborough, Nottinghamshire. George Alcock of the Parish of Newark and Ann Leak of this Parish, by Banns. Neither signed their name. Witnesses were John Cockerill (signed) and John Dixon (signed).¹

John Dixon was probably the parish clerk since his name appeared on several other marriages.

We then turned our attention to East Retford, another parish that is not available on Ancestry, to look for Ann’s baptism. We think we found it in 1771. There were very few Leaks in the registers, perhaps only a single family there for several generations.

• 8 Nov 1777, baptism of Peggy dau of John and Mary Leake ²
• 13 Jun 1777, burial of Mary Leake, widow ²
• 30 Nov 1774, baptism of John son of John and Mary [Leake?] ²
• 22 Jan 1771, baptism of Ann dau of John Leek³
• 31 Dec 1771, baptism of Thomas son of William and Mary Leek³
• 26 Dec 1768, marriage of Thomas Gabbitus and Hannah Leek, widow, by banns ²
• 16 Jun 1767, burial of Thomas Leek ²
• 5 Feb 1767, burial of Thomas son of Thomas Leek ²
• 17 Jan 1767, baptism of Thomas son of Thomas Leak³
• 28 Feb 1766, marriage of Thomas Leek and Hannah Goodman, by banns ²
• 1 Sep 1766, burial of Thomas Leek ²
• 29 Apr 1758, baptism of William son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 20 May 1751, baptism of Mary dau of Thomas Leek⁴
• 13 Oct 1746, burial of Ralph son of Thomas Leak⁴
• 12 Dec 1746, baptism of Ralph son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 25 Dec 1746, burial of Ralph son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 11 Jan 1744, burial of Thomas Leek⁴
• 3 Apr 1745, baptism of John son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 7 Jun 1742, baptism of Ralph son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 6 Oct 1741, baptism of Thomas son of Thomas Leek⁴
• 18 Feb 1740, burial of John Leek⁴
• 10 Jun 1739, marriage of William Stow and Elizabeth Leek BP⁴
• 21 Aug 1738, marriage of John [Whitaker?] and Sarah Leek BP⁴
• 26 May 1715, baptism of Sara filia Thos Leek⁴
• 7 Aug 1712, baptism of Elizabetha filia Thos Leek⁴
• 21 Jul 1707, baptism of Thomas filius Tho Leek⁵
• 27 Nov 1700, marriage of Tho Leek and Rebikah Chappel⁵

We searched burials in East Retford from 1771 to 1777 to see if the Ann baptised in 1771 died. We didn’t find any burials of people called Leak or Leek in that period.

This is a possible reconstruction of the family tree (with ★ indicating a direct ancestor):

• Thomas Leek, d. 1744? ★ = Rebikah Chappel (m. 1700) ★
  • Thomas , b. 1707, d. 1766? ★ = Mary?, d. 1777? ★
    • Thomas, b. 1741, d. 1767 = Hannah Goodman (m. 1766)
      • Thomas, b. 1767, d. 1767
    • Ralph, b. 1742, d. 1746
    • John, b. 1745 ★ = Mary -?- (m. ????) ★
      • Ann (b. 1771) ★
      • John (b. 1774)
      • Peggy (b. 1777)
    • Ralph, b. 1746, d. 1746
    • Mary, b. 1751
    • William, b. 1758
  • Elizabeth, b. 1712 = William Stow (m. 1739)
  • Sarah, b. 1715 = John Whitaker (m. 1738)

It doesn’t account for John Leak buried 1740 (father or brother of the eldest Thomas?) nor the baptism of Thomas son of William and Mary Leek in 1771 (William might be the one baptised in 1758 but only if he was baptised very late)

We need to find the following marriages:

• Thomas baptised 1707, wife possibly Mary. First known child was Thomas in 1741.
• John baptised 1745, wife Mary. First known child was Ann in 1771.

The 1707 Thomas may have married late, perhaps 1740, after waiting for both his sisters to be married first (Sarah in 1738 and Elizabeth in 1739).