n 1696 William Blackett (b. 1660/61, the son of William), a yeoman of Riding Barns, married Ann (Hearyington) Errington in Whickham, near Gateshead, Co. Durham. The family maintained their connections with the Whickham area over several generations, as did that of William’s brother John. For a descendancy chart of William Blackett, the father of William Blackett who married Ann Errington, please click here.
A second Whickham branch descends from Benjamin Blackett, who married Margery Sharper in 1730. Benjamin is now believed to descend from Alexander Blackett and Elizabeth Scotland of Gateshead.
A third branch, based in neighbouring Lamesley, descends from Luke Blackett of Tinker Row, who died in 1774. One branch of Luke’s descendants settled in Whitehaven, Cumberland. Luke Blackett is now believed to descend from Isaac Blackett of Chirton and Tynemouth, Northumberland.
The connection between all of these branches has not been established, nor that with Christopher Blackett, whose son Peter married Elizabeth Charlton in St. Mary-le-Bow, Durham in 1771, though Christopher and his wife Mary seem to have moved into the area from elsewhere. (Christopher’s tree can be connected to the main Blackett tree by the marriage of a descendant.) However, there is a strong possibility of a connection between all or most of them, given that many of their immediate descendants lived in the hamlets of Fellside and Lowhand.
NB. Francis Blackett (1687-1750), who married Elizabeth Stephenson at Whickham in 1716/7, is now believed to be the son of William Blackett and Rosamond Hopper, who married at Witton Gilbert in 1679. This William (1649-1706) is believed to be the son of Henry Blackett and Ann Trotter of Hamsterley and has therefore been connected to the main Blackett tree. Our thanks are due to Steve Keown for his researches into this.