We hope to develop this into a useful resource for anyone researching Stillingfleet and Kelfield, the accident on the
River in 1833, genealogists who may have an interest in the tragedy's victims or survivors, and anyone interested in rural life in 1830's
Yorkshire.
On Boxing Day, 1833, a party of 14 Church Singers set out to sing the Christmas Hymn, for the prominent farmers in farms outlying the parish. The Singers, teenage girls and middle aged men, had crossed the river Ouse in a small rowing boat belonging to one of their party, and were crossing back to the Stillingfleet side, very close to Stillingfleet Landing, when their boat was capsized by the tow line of a coal barge. Of the fourteen Singers, there were only three survivors.
The victims who lost their lives were William Bristow, Thomas Webster, Clarissa Sturdy, John Turner, Jane Turner, Christopher Spencer, Henry Spencer, Elizabeth Spencer, Elizabeth Buckle, Sarah Spencer and Sarah Eccles.
The survivors were:George Eccles, John Fisher and Richard Toes.
We were gripped by this story and started researching it four or five years before we discovered our own connections with it. The story has been told and re-told several times in 'The Dalesman' and elsewhere. Something about the story intrigued us so we took our research further and further, delving into various primary sources, quickly uncovering that there was much more to the story than appeared. We hope to share some of our work on this site, for the benefit of local historians, genealogists, West Gallery enthusiasts and anyone interested in rural Yorkshire of the 1830s!
We have researched the family trees of all the victims, survivors and most of the jurors, from parish records held at the Borthwick Institute, in York, and will be getting those files online for you soon, too. We will also put up transcriptions of various letters, documents and other relevant primary sources.
