In 1737 Thomas Blackett married Margaret Carter in Houghton-le-Spring, Co. Durham, where at least six of their children were born. Their eldest son, John, (1740-1822) married Hannah Reed in 1774. John and Hannah had at least 11 children born in Cox Green and Penshaw, some of whom remained in the area, some settling in Sunderland and some moving some miles south to Sedgefield. A member of this branch, Thomas (1807-1878), a grandson of John, moved to London and then to Kent, where his daughter Elizabeth Jane Blackett married James William Rand and had at least 6 children.
Thomas and Margaret’s second son, Thomas, was born in Cox Green and was baptised in Houghton-le-Spring in 1746. He died, aged 82, at High Street, Bishopwearmouth in 1829. It seems likely that he was the Thomas, a butcher, who married Margaret Egglestone in 1793 in Sunderland. Margaret Blackett, a grandchild of Thomas Blackett and Margaret Egglestone, also died in High Street, Bishopwearmouth in 1834. Thomas’s nephew George, and George’s son were also butchers, as were other descendants of Thomas Blackett and Margaret Carter. (In the 1793 marriage bond George is stated to be 30 and Margaret 21. Their true ages at the time were 47 and 33 respectively!)
Thomas and Margaret’s third son, George, married Margaret Lawson in 1772 in Penshaw, where their son, Thomas, was born later that year. Thomas married Margaret Nicholson of East Herrington, now part of Sunderland, in 1800 and at least three of their children were born in Middle and East Herrington. These are now thought to include Thomas Blackett, who was born in East Herrington probably around 1820/21, whose family was formerly held as a separate tree. This Thomas Blackett finally settled in Ryhope, where most of his descendants also lived. He is probably the Thomas Blackett, agricultural labourer, living in Silksworth, Bishopwearmouth in 1841, but by 1851 he was working on the railways as a labourer and living with his first wife in Monkwearmouth. After his first wife’s death he moved to Ryhope, where he was living in 1861 with his second wife and children. He gave his age in 1861 as 35, rather than 40, but this may be due to his having married a second wife 17 years his junior. He was then described as “Station Master”, but this may have been a temporary position as by 1871 he was again describing himself as a labourer, and in 1881 and 1891 as a platelayer (foreman in 1881). His age at his death in 1898 was shown as 74.
No record of his baptism has been discovered, and this link should be treated with care. However, no other Blackett families living in Herrington around the time in question have been discovered and the circumstantial evidence seems conclusive.
By 1841 Thomas (born 1772), an agricultural labourer, and his wife Margaret were living at Red Briar, Framwellgate next to Joseph and Margaret Richardson, the parents of William Blackett Richardson. No link between these families has yet been discovered (see entry for Blackett Richardsons).
This tree now forms part of the Main Tree through the marriage of a descendant, but for a descendancy chart of Thomas Blackett and Margaret Carter please click here.