Extracted Parish Records for the Bowling Family, Yorkshire, England

Mary Bowling and Thomas Bulmer, the parents of John Bulmer, came from an English town in Yorkshire called Hatfield.  We know they were married in St. Lawrence Church in Hatfield before their immigration.  The Bulmer family file at the National Archives of Canada has a family tree which states that Mary Bowling was the daughter of William Bowling and Susanna Rawood of Kirk Bramwith (a parish within Hatfield).  Susanna Rawood was a widow when she married William;  her first husband was a Mr. Wilburn.  William Bowling's father was John Bowling of Braithwaite, and Susanna Rawood's father was John Rawood of Hatfield.

There are a few different kinds of databases you can use when searching for records of births, marriages and deaths.  One kind gives you a scanned image of the actual record, and the other gives a transcription, perhaps leaving out certain information.  The following pieces of information I was only able to see transcribed records for.  The first set come from "England and Wales Marriages, 1538-1940", on Ancestry.  

• A William Bowling married a Sarah Jackson in Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, in 1772.  Was this a first marriage for the William who was later to marry Susanna Rawood?

• Also in that year, a John Bowling married an Elizabeth Ball on July 21, in Kirk Bramwith. 

• A Susannah Bowling married a James Jackson in Kirk Bramwith on March 20, 1786.  Is she a relative of William Bowling, Mary's father?

• William Crawshaw, son of Francis Crawshaw, married Susanna Bowling, daughter of William Bowling, on August 30, 1858, in Warmsworth, Yorkshire, England.  Susanna was a sister of Mary Bowling.  Her tombstone is in St. Mary's churchyard, Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire.  This was a late marriage for her;  she was born in 1797 so would have been around 61 years old in 1858. 

• A Susannah Bowling, 28-year-old daughter of a William Bowling, married 60-year-old Richard Whittam in Bubwith, Yorkshire, on May 13, 1879.  Could this be a granddaughter of William and Susanna?  

Another database, "England, Select Marriages, 1538-1906", also on Ancestry, gives us some extracts from additional records.

• On November 25, 1755, John Bowling married Mary Ellis in Kirk Bramwith. (FHL film # 919307) 

 A look at the database "All England and Wales Christening Records, 1530-1906" shows us some birth information for William Bowling's birth family.  William seems to have been the eldest child.

• On October 17, 1756, William Bowling, son of John Bowling and Mary, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith (birth date given is Sept. 12, 1756).
•  On June 18, 1758, Frances Bowling, son of John Bowling and Mary, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith 
• On January 29, 1765, Richard Bowling, son of John Bowling and Mary, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith
• On September 14, 1772, Jonathan Bowling, son of John Bowling and Mary, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith
• on December 21, 1775, Isaac Bowling, son of John Bowling (no maternal name given), was baptized at Kirk Bramwith
• on May 13, 1779, Elizabeth Bowling, son of John Bowling and Mary, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith.  Maternal grandfather's name John Ball.  

Now we come to a bit of a mystery.  Elizabeth Bowling's birth record says that she is the child of John Bowling and Mary Ball.  The next few birth records where there is a father named John have a mother named Elizabeth, whose father is also John Ball.

• On September 26, 1784, John Bowling, son of John Bowling and Elizabeth, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith.  Maternal grandfather's name is John Ball.
• on January 3, 1788, Thomas Bowling, son of John Bowling and Elizabeth, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith.  Maternal grandfather's name is John Ball.
• On August 24, 1789, Thomas Bowling, son of John Bowling and Elizabeth, was baptized at Kirk Bramwith.  Birth date August 18, 1789.  Maternal grandparent's names are John Ball and Elizabeth;  Paternal grandparent's names are John Bowling and Ann.  

John seems to have married twice, but the timeline is confusing. The marriage records, above, show John Bowling marrying Mary Ellis in 1755 and Elizabeth Ball in 1772, but Elizabeth is not named on the birth records until 1775. Jonathan was baptized in September of 1772, and John and Elizabeth were married in July of that year.   Isaac's record has no maternal name.  Elizabeth's has Mary's name as the mother but John Ball as maternal grandfather.   I think the likely explanation is that  John's wife Mary died at or soon after Jonathan's birth, and John remarried quickly. Elizabeth's birth record probably names the wrong mother.

Note also that there are a few large gaps in the children's births.  There is a gap of seven years between Frances and Richard, and a gap of seven years between Richard and Jonathan.  

There are several records of tombstones on the website findagrave.org for the Bowling family in St. Mary's Churchyard, Kirk Bramwith.  Unfortunately there are no photographs.

• Richard Bowling, buried February 6, 1765, son of John and Mary 
• Thomas Bowling, buried April 2, 1768, son of John and Mary 
• Frances Bowling, buried August 4, 1768 daughter of John and Mary
• Mary Bowling, buried August 21, 1771, wife of John  
• Joseph Bowling, buried 30 March 1779 aged 9 months
• Elizabeth Bowling, buried February 28, 1785, aged 5 years, daughter of John and Elizabeth
• Thomas Bowling, buried Febuary 1, 1788 aged 6 weeks, son of John 
• John Bowling, buried November 28, 1794, aged 58 years (therefore birth circa 1736)--the dates would fit with John the husband of Mary Ellis and Elizabeth Ball, father of William Bowling and grandfather of our Mary Bowling
• Elizabeth Bowling, buried June 1, 1800, aged 54 (therefore birth circa 1746)--this could be John's wife Elizabeth Ball
• Susannah Bowling Jackson, buried May 13, 1801, aged 42 (therefore birth circa 1763), daughter of John Bowling 
• Elizabeth Bowling, buried April 4, 1821, aged 18 years (therefore birth circa 1803)
• William Bowling, buried May 22, 1848, aged 91 (therefore birth circa 1757)  
• Susannah Bowling, buried October 7, 1850, aged 83 (therefore birth circa 1767)
• Isaac Bowling, buried July 21, 1887 (therefore birth circa 1806) aged 81

So here is a preliminary, tentative sketch of  the birth family of William Bowling, father of Mary Bowling.

John Bowling, son of John Bowling and Ann Unknown, marries Mary Ellis in Kirk Bramwith (Nov. 25, 1755)

• William Bowling b. Sept. 12, 1756, m. (1) (possibly) Sarah Jackson 1772, m. (2) Susannah Rawood, d. May 1848 Kirk Bramwith aged 91 
• Francis Bowling baptized June 18, 1758, d. August 1768 aged 10
• Richard Bowling baptized January 29, 1765, d. bef. Feb. 6, 1765 
• Thomas Bowling born bef. April 2, 1768, d. April 1768 

Death of Mary (Ellis) Bowling August 1771 
John Bowling marries Elizabeth Ball July 21, 1772

• Jonathan Bowling baptized Sept. 4, 1772, d. unknown 
• Isaac Bowling baptized Dec. 21, 1775 d. unknown 
• Elizabeth Bowling baptized May 13, 1779, d. Feb. 1785 aged 5 years
• John Bowling baptized Sept. 26, 1784 d. unknown
• Thomas Bowling baptized January 3, 1788, d. Feb. 1788 
• Thomas Bowling baptized August 24, 1789 d. unknown

What about Susannah Rawood's father, John Rawood, of Hatfield?

There is a record for a John Rawood, of "Hatfield near Doncaster, York, England", marrying a woman named Sarah Carr on November 25, 1765, and marrying for the second time to a Susannah Robinson on April 1, 1766.  A John Rawood of Hatfield also marries an Elizabeth Heywarth on August 24, 1793, but the spread of dates makes it uncertain if this is the same man.  These records are from "England, Select Marriages, 1538-1973".  If this John Rawood is Susannah's father, her name suggests that she is probably from his second marriage to Susannah Robinson. 

Baptismal records possibly related to this family include:

• John Rawood, baptized November 3, 1771, son of John Rawood and Susannah 
• Elizabeth Rawood baptized November 1, 1779 in Hatfield, Yorkshire, daughter of John Rawood and Susannah Robinson

Birth records for the children of William Bowling and Susanna Rawood: 

• William Bowling, born January 28, 1791, baptized February 8, 1791, at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, England, son of William Bowling and Susanna, grandson of John Bowling and John Rawood
• Mary Bowling, born March 28, 1792, baptized June 3, 1792, at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, daughter of William Bowling and Susanna, granddaughter of John Bowling and John Rawood
• John Bowling, born March 19, 1794, baptized March 25, 1794 at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, England, son of William Bowling and Susanna, grandson of John Bowling and John Rawood
• Susanna Bowling, born July 25, 1797, baptized October 2, 1797 at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, England, daughter of William Bowling and Susanna, granddaughter of John Bowling and John Rawood
• Thomas Bowling, born and baptized June 20, 1800, at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, England, son of William Bowling and Susanna, grandson of John Bowling and John Rawood 
• Elizabeth Bowling, born February 27, 1803, baptized April 17, 1803 at Kirk Bramwith, Yorkshire, England, daughter of William Bowling and Susanna, granddaughter of John Bowling and John Rawood 
• Isaac Bowling, born April 10, 1806, baptized May 11, 1806 at Kirk Bramwood, Yorkshire, England, son of William Bowling and Susanna, grandson of John Bowling and John Rawood
• Charles Bowling, born April 17, 1808, baptized May 15, 1808, at Kirk Bramwith,  son of William Bowling and Susannah,  granddaughter of  John Bowling and John Rawood or Raywood.