 |
 |
The Walton family archive is in the Cumbria County Record Office at Carlisle, they may be able to send you a copy of the catalogue. From memory it contains mainly material on late 19th century mining activities and there is quite a bit on the Rodderup Fell mines. I think that towards the end of the C19th and early C20th, the Walton family ran the Bollihope smelting works and in the C20th the Castleside/Healeyfield mill. Waltons crop up at various points in the Cumbrian/ Westmorland mining scene in the C18th and I am not sure if they were branches of the family which was located in Alston later in the C19th. For example: John Walton, shoemaker of Neston, Alston was a partner in the Driggeth mine in 1812 (Caldbeck Fells) and was involved in locking out the owners of the Haltcliffe Smeltmill around 1815 (North Yorkshire County Record Office, Northallerton ZLB6). He and his brother intended to work the Hay Gill, Caldbeck Fells mine in 1819 along with a large Liverpool Company . Probably the same guy had a lease of the Westmorland Silver Band mine and Rawpotts Vein on Dunfell in Aug 1795 along with a Thomas Walton, miner of Milburn, Westmorland. (Hothfield archive Cumbria County Record Office, Kendal) . Milburn is very close to Long Marton, which you mention. It is possible that Thomas was the brother mentioned in the report on the Hay Gill mine. 1798 -Thomas Jackson, Christopher Walton & John Hill had take note on 1200yds of Stakebeck foot vein, on Dunfell. 1808- Joseph Walton, William Walton and John Brumwell took take note on Stakebeck mine Westmorland, 1808- Joseph Walton of Dufton, miner, George Walton, Richard Walton, Christopher Walton are all mentioned in takenotes of around this time. The mines were all in the Long Marton, Dufton, Dunfell, Milburn areas. This shows that there were several branches of the Walton and Jackson families engaged in mining around Penrith/Milburn/Knock/Dufton/Alston at the start of the C19th. Some were miners, others were local tradesmen who financed and managed the operations. I have n't come across any Rapers but a Henry Roper was agent for the Society of Mines Royal when they worked the Caldbeck Fells mines in 1698-1795. Henry lived at Caldbeck and died in 1701. I have n't found where they came from or what happened to the family. Before that he worked for a short time in the Derwent Fells mines in the Lake District to the west of Lake Derwentwater. There is also a Cumbrian genealogy section which you can link from the GENUKI website. If you can send e-mail address I can contact you off-list if anything more turns up as I am sure I have more when get to looking for it. Regards Richard.