Non-beneficiaries: Mrs. Ann Stewart

Hartlepool proper is the rocky headland to the northeast

The name of Mrs. Ann Stewart on John Chapman's will as his daughter did not surprise me, but merely confirmed what I had previously concluded from other trees on ancestry.com, and consistent with a series of documents my armchair searches had uncovered. John Chapman made no provision for her in his will, because by 1836 he had "already advanced to [her] more than her proportional share of [his] estate and effects would amount unto".

You may remember in January, the post Hughes Crossing the Tees, tracking the movements of William Hughes and his wife Sarah (who we now know is Sarah Chapman). By 1851, Sarah had died, but in the census one George Sednorth, Journeyman Baker, aged 27, is present in the Durham Street, Middlesbrough household of William Hughes. No family relationship is stated, merely that he is a servant of William's, presumably assisting with the bakery/grocery business. This does not mean that he is not family. The lack of any other reference to the name Sednorth leads me to believe that the name should be George Sigsworth, and related to William through his mother, Mary Sigsworth.

Thus, searching for George Sigsworth, born about 1824, in ancestry.com offered this 1841 England Census record at 28 High Street, Hartlepool.
       Ann Stuart             50  Baker    Y[es, born in the county of Durham]
       Mary                      15                Y
       Burdon Sigsworth  20  Baker    Y
       Geo _________    15    do        Y
       William ______      1                 Y
       John _________   20  Baker     Y

The census of 1841 rounds down ages to the nearest 5, and does not state household relationships. One interpretation of this group (which turns out to be correct) is widow Ann Stuart and her daughter Mary, and sons Burdon, George and John from a previous marriage, and grandson William. The name Burdon suggests a family relationship with a Burdon Sigsworth of the previous century.

The 1851 England Census has this at Cleveland Street, Hartlepool
       Ann Stuart       Head               64  Baker                 Durham, Greatham
       Henry Powell  Son-in-law        26  Master Mariner  Essex, Aldham
       Mary Powell   Daur                  24                            Durham Stockton
       William Sigsworth  Grandson  11                                 Do     Stranton

Here, we see the same William Sigsworth, grandson, while Mary Stuart has married mariner Henry Powell, probably BMD Marriage Index:
       Henry Powell and Mary Stewart Sep1849 Stockton 24 190

There is a BMD Death Index entry:
       Ann Stuart Mar1859 Stockton 10a 25

And this corresponds to the following from the Hartlepool Cemetery Index found on durhamrecordsonline.com:
       Ann Stuart of Cleveland Street buried 1859 aged 73

So, here are the pre-1841 records associated with Ann Chapman/Sigsworth/Stewart or Stuart. from durhamrecordsonline.com, I have:
       10 May 1816 William Sigsworth (bread-baker, widower), of 
       Stockton-upon-Tees married Ann Chapman, married by licence 
       Witnesses: John Chapman, John Fletcher

Being a marriage by Licence, I was able to find on familysearch.org scans of both Marriage Allegation and Bond, the latter bearing the autograph of John Chapman and the mark of William Sigsworth.

                       
The document begins: 
                        Know all Men, by these Presents, that we William Sigsworth
                        of Stockton upon Tees in the County of 
                        Durham Bread Baker and John 
                        Chapman of the Chapelry of Hartlepool in 
                        the ^same County Bread Baker 
                        are bound...

and ends with:
                        William Sigsworth his x mark and seal
                        John Chapman his seal

The document also records that William is a widower and Ann a spinster. England, Select Marriage 1538-1973 records the marriage in Stockton on 19 Nov 1795 of William Sigsworth and Margaret Jeans. However, the births of Robert (1796), Sarah (1800) and Elizabeth (1802) also attest to Joans and Jones for her maiden name. This may be his previous marriage, although I have not yet found a death record consistent with Margaret.

In any case, the years after the William Sigsworth-Ann Chapman marriage see the baptisms of the following children in Stockton, parents William and Ann:
       William Sigsworth 1817
       John Sigsworth 1818
       Burdon Sigsworth 1819
       James Sigsworth 1821
       Mary Ann Sigsworth  1822
       George Sigsworth 1824

Then there is the burial of William Sigsworth age 47 in Stockton 1825. This gives a year of birth about 1778, consistent with the son of Burdon Sigsworth and Mary Tate (see here). He is likely to be the younger brother of William Hughes's mother, Mary Sigsworth, that is William's uncle. At the same time he is William Hughes's brother-in-law, and George Sigsworth (born 1824) is both William Hughes's nephew and cousin!

The following year, 16 April 1826, Ann Sigsworth, widow, marries James Stewart, bachelor, by Licence, stating on his Marriage Allegation that he was a Baker. Mary, daughter of James and Ann Stuart, is baptized 21 Jan 1827 in Stockton, although James signs his name "Stewart" on the Allegation.

I don't have more on James Stewart/Stuart, although there is a burial of James Stewart in Stockton 1833. His age is given as 30, making him 17 years her junior, if, indeed, this is the right James Stewart. By 1841, he is not listed in the census of her household in Hartlepool, and by 1851, she is listed as a widow.

Of Ann Chapman's children, here is a brief summary:
       William Sigsworth (1817-1879) married 1839 in Teesdale, Yorks. to Jane Wilson (1812-1896)
       John Sigsworth (1818-1893) married 1844 in Hinderwell, Yorks. to Ann Scott (1823-?)
       Burdon Sigsworth (1819-94) no marriage record that I've found
       James Sigsworth (1821-1826) - burial 9 Jun 1826 Stockton
       Mary Ann Sigsworth (1822-1823) - burial 22 April 1823 Stockton
       George Sigsworth - (1824-?)
              I lose track of after the possible 1851 census enumeration of George Sednorth.
       Mary Stewart (1826-1889) married 1849 in Stockton to Henry Powell (1825-1886)

As you see, plenty of potential for cousins from these lines. They would be 6th cousins, give or take, from our common ancestor John Chapman, Baker and Gentleman of Hartlepool. I look forward to hearing from you!