Welcome
9 November 2006 - 11:30:35pm

The surname Whitehead has always had a strong connection to the West Riding of Yorkshire as far back as the 14th century. However, a dramatic increase in the number of Whitehead family groups in the lead mining village of Greenhow Hill occurred during the first half of the 19th century.

By 1851 the two extended families of Edward and Thomas Whitehead had grown to make the Whitehead surname the fourth most numerous in the parish of Bewerley ‎(48 individuals counted in the 1851 census)‎. All but one of the adult males in these families gave his occupation as a Lead Miner.

The Whitehead family was only surpassed in numbers by the Newbould families with 60 individuals 14 of whom were lead miners, the Simpson families with 55 individuals 14 of whom were lead miners and the Kirkbright families with 69 individuals but with only 7 lead miners. The Whitehead family along with these families and also, to a lesser extent, the Marshall family comprised the main families involved in lead mining in the village. Many of the Whiteheads also ran smallholdings to supplement their income. One of these was my Great Great Grandfather Robert Whitehead

Even as the families split up, with the younger members heading to the cities of West Yorkshire and Lancashire in search of employment, the Whitehead family maintained a substantial presence in Greenhow.