The Scarrows, Blacksmiths of Cockermouth

Thomas Scarrow (1726-1801) first appeared in Cockermouth in 1748, when he married Mary Brown, also of Cockermouth. His father was John Scarrow of Scotby, and it was from the Wetheral area that this branch of the family originated. For much of his recorded life, Thomas Scarrow was a yeoman, however, by the time of his death he was listed as a blacksmith.

Thomas had six sons - Joseph (1748-1826), John (1749-1834), Thomas (1755-?), William (1766-1819), Christopher (1774-1841) and George (~1755-?). Of these six sons, five became blacksmiths with the other, Joseph, being a husbandman. Two of the blacksmiths, namely Thomas and George, were both listed as paupers (or poor) at some stage. In addition, George Scarrow has a somewhat perplexing set of entries in the Cockermouth Parish registers, which are transcribed below:

Marriage	23 Feb 1790	George Scarrow, Blacksmith and Elizabeth Antrobus, Spinster both of Cockermouth.
Baptisms	13 Apr 1791	Mary, daughter of George and Elizabeth Scarrow, Poor
Baptisms	30 Jun 1805	Sarah, daughter of George Scarrow, and Elizabeth his wife, formerly Antrobus, born as her mother aposted the 12th day of February 1785 and christened in Cockermouth Church June 30th in the presence of Thomas Plaskett, Mary Robinson and Sarah Hird witnesses.
Baptisms	30 Jun 1805	Mary, daughter of the above born Feb 3rd 1791 and christened in the presence of the aforesaid witnesses and the congregation.

In summary from above, George Scarrow and Elizabeth Antrobus had a daughter, Sarah, in 1785 before they were married. At this point, Elizabeth Antrobus aposted - we think that the vicar meant "apostated" which is when someone abandons their religious beliefs. George and Elizabeth were married five years later and a second daughter Mary was born and baptised just over after that. The first daughter, Sarah, was then baptised in 1805 by which time she was an adult, and Mary, her younger sister, was baptised again. The entry from the register is re-produced below:

Baptism of Sarah Scarrow, Cockermouth 1805

George Scarrow and his family then disappeared off the radar completely. They presumably left Cockermouth due to their economic situation, but where they ended up remains a mystery.

William and Christopher Scarrow remained as blacksmiths in Cockermouth throughout their lives. John Scarrow moved to Harrington in the 1770s, and remained thereafter, giving rise to all the Harrington Scarrows who comprise a significant part of this website. John chose not to baptise his children at the local parish church, if at all. Joseph Scarrow, listed as a husbandman, was to be found in Lorton and Setmurthy, and was eventually buried in Embleton. He married late in life to Jane Bewsher, both being in the fifties.

The remaining blacksmiths of Cockermouth, namely Thomas Scarrow, also fell off the radar after several baptisms are recorded at All Saints Church in Cockermouth. Thomas was last recorded as a pauper in the Cockermouth registers in 1787, so presumably he too, like George, moved on.