The Wetheralls come from Norfolk and are family on my paternal side. The first of the Wetheralls in my tree, Elizabeth Mary Ann Wetherall, married my great-grandfather Arthur Stolliday. The surname comes with numerous variations including Wetherall, Wetherald, Wetherell, Wetherill and Weatherhill but its meaning is obscure. It could relate to a place rather than an occupation or nickname.
The following are my Wetherall ancestors:
- My great-grandparents.
Elizabeth Mary Ann Wetherall (1876-1952). Elizabeth came from a long-standing Norfolk family and married barman Arthur Stolliday of Great Yarmouth. Later they moved to South London and raised a family.
- My 2nd great-grandparents.
- Benjamin Thomas Wetherall (1849-1931). Benjamin was from Great Yarmouth and became a shipwright, a job that took him up and down the east coast of England. He married Sarah Ann Elizabeth Green, who came from a family of mariners.
- My 3rd great-grandmother.
- Mary Wetherall (1826-????). Mary raised her young children alone, being unmarried at the time of their birth. She later married Essex-born James Harvey and settled in Great Yarmouth.
- My 4th great-grandmother.
- Rebecca Frances Wetherall (1807-1855). Rebecca was another of the Wetheralls who defied convention and had her children out of wedlock.
- My 5th great-grandparents.
- Thomas Wetherill (1779-1842). Thomas worked as a watch and clockmaker in Great Yarmouth and married local girl Rebecca Brooks.
- My 6th great-grandparents.
- James Wetherill (1750?-1801). James married Great Yarmouth girl Mary Proctor and had at least 10 children! He earned his living as a maker of perukes, which were upmarket wigs.
- My 7th great-grandparents.
- Thomas Wetherill (1712-1755). Thomas married Sarah Sley from a successful Great Yarmouth family and served as the town’s water bailiff for some years.
- My 8th great-grandparents.
- Thomas Witherill (1680?-1757). Thomas married Mary Corpe in Great Yarmouth and was a celebrated teacher of mathematics.
Sources: BMDs and census info at Ancestry.com and Findmypast.com. Records at Norfolk Family History Society