In 1703 John Blackett married Dorothy Applegarth in Richmond, Yorkshire. Four of their children were born in the village of Kirkby Ravensworth, a few miles to the north of Richmond.
John may have been born in Gayles, near Kirkby Ravensworth, in 1676, the son of Richard Blackett, who may himself have been the son of Robert Blackett, who died in Gayles, Kirkby Ravensworth, Yorks. in 1630.
It was from the John Blackett/Dorothy Applegarth branch that John Blackett (1769-1848) moved to London, later to be joined there by his younger brother Joseph (see A Blackett in Poetry). Although most of John’s children remained in London, his youngest son, Ebenezer Edward Blackett (1821-1905), emigrated to South Australia, where he married Matilda Puddy (1829-1897) in 1852. Their son, Rev. John Blacket (1856-1935), became a Methodist minister and well known author (see Blacketts and Literature). A further branch, the family of Thomas Crosby Blackett (1829-1905) emigrated to New Zealand.
For a descendancy chart of John Blackett and Dorothy Applegarth please click here.