Middlebrook

Middlebrook One-Name Study

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Study details

Study: Middlebrook

Variants: Middleborough, Middlebrooke, Middlebrooks, Middlebrough

Category: 2 - A study where research using core genealogical datasets and transcriptions is well under way, but currently in some countries only.

Website: www.middlebrook.org.uk

DNA website: www.familytreedna.com/groups/mfadna

Contact: Mr Ian Middlebrook

About the study

I began studying my family history in 1995, inspired by some detailed notes and family trees that my grandfather had produced, and started gathering a fair amount of data when trying to overcome brick-walls.
My interest really started to expand beyond my immediate family when I developed links with the US-based Middlebrook(s) Family Association. After helping to trace one of their early migrant ancestors back to West Yorkshire (1613), I took a DNA test and discovered that we must have a common Middlebrook ancestor.
I am now interested in pulling together information on Middlebrook families from across the UK and the rest of the world, in the hope of establishing how many of us are linked to a single original ancestor.
I began to formalise this research by registering my One-Name Study in 2014.

Variant names

The main variants in the UK are MIDDLEBROUGH and MIDDLEBROOKE, whilst MIDDLEBOROUGH is just hanging on. MIDDLEBROOKS has become abundant as a variant in the USA.

Name origin

The Middlebrook surname is assumed to be locative. It could be derived from one or more places in England - yet to be identified.
It is also possible that the name is derived from Middelburg in the Netherlands, after merchants from that city settled at York in the late 14th century.

Historical occurrences of the name

The most noted Middlebrook was Sir William Middlebrook, Baronet, who served as a Member of Parliament for south Leeds from 1908 to 1922.
On the literary side we have military historian Martin Middlebrook and American biographer Diane Middlebrook.
There has also been success on the sporting field, where cricketer James Middlebrook has represented the MCC and William Scott Middlebrooks plays Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox.

Name frequency

In England and Wales, based on data from 2002, there were 826 individuals (730 Middlebrook, 70 Middlebrough & 26 Middlebrooke). This is only about 1 in every 66,000 people.

The name is more frequent in the USA where, based on census data from 2000, there were 6888 individuals (4257 Middlebrooks & 2631 Middlebrook). This is about 1 in every 39,000 people.

Distribution of the name

The historic centres for this name in 16th century England were in West Yorkshire (esp. Craven district), South Yorkshire (esp. Thorne) and south Lincolnshire (esp. Harmston). Subsequent expansion has mainly been towards the industrial areas of Lancashire and the West Midlands. Some discussion can be found here Distribution of the Middlebrook Surname in England.

In the USA, the name is mostly concentrated around the south-eastern states - particularly Georgia, Texas & Alabama. The Middlebrooks variant is especially strong in Georgia, where over 50% of individuals from the 1940 census were found.

Data

Current datasets from the UK include:
* complete index from 1851 and 1901 census returns
* most relevant probate calendars from early times up to 1966
* GRO birth, marriage and death registers 1837-1950
* numerous parish registers - mainly from West Yorkshire

Some of these data can be accessed from my project website at: Middlebrook Databases.

DNA

A DNA project is being managed by the US based Middlebrook(s) Family Association click here for details.
Most of the participants have been from the USA but they are looking to expand the scope of the project worldwide.

Links

* Middlebrook(s) Family Association - a USA based society
* Middlebrook Surname Project UK - a collection of UK data
* Middlebrook Geneology - some useful information and documents from a family that emigrated to Canada from Gildersome, Yorkshire.

Contact Details

Mr Ian Middlebrook

General Search Results

Occurrences of the surname Middlebrook in the Guild Indexes

(Click on the number to view the search results in each index. Indexes marked by * are only accessible by logged in Guild members.)

Global Marriages (public) 68
Global Marriages (members)* 69
Modern Newspaper Index 1
Probate Index* 1
Datastores 1838

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