[ Previous Page | MacRae Stuff | Next Page ]

Descendants of William [Gilstrap] Gelsthorpe

Created by Ron Gilstrap

Generation No. 2


2. John [Gilstrap]2 Gelsthorpe (William [Gilstrap]1) was born February 01, 1777 in Newark, Nottingham, England, and died Unknown. He married Mary Wilkinson. She died Unknown.
     
Children of John Gelsthorpe and Mary Wilkinson are:
4. i.   WILLIAM [GILSTRAP]3 GELSTHORPE, b. September 09, 1800, Nottingham, England; d. April 22, 1851, Newark, Nottingham, England.
  ii.   CHRISTOPHER [GILSTRAP] GELSTHORPE, d. Unknown.
5. iii.   MARTHA [GILSTRAP] GELSTHORPE, b. Nottingham County, England; d. Unknown.
6. iv.   JOHN [GILSTRAP] GELSTHORPE, b. Hucknall, Nottingham, England; d. Unknown.


3. Joseph [Gilstrap]2 Gelsthorpe (William [Gilstrap]1) was born August 14, 1785 in Newark, Nottingham, England, and died March 15, 1869 in Northgate, England. He married (1) Elizabeth Welsh July 30, 1811 in Newark, Nottingham, England. She was born June 29, 1789 in Wrangle, England, and died November 04, 1826 in Newark, Nottingham, England. He married (2) Sophia Andrews April 18, 1853 in Beamington, England. She was born Abt. 1799 in Wainfleet, Lincolnshire, England, and died Unknown.

Marriage Notes for Joseph Gelsthorpe and Elizabeth Welsh:
Newark: Aspects Of The Past Notts. C. C. 1994

Although no longer prominent in the town, the name Gilstrap is still inextricably linked with its history. There is, of course, the Gilstrap Heritage Centre on Castlegate (formerly the Gilstrap Free Library, given to the town by Sir William Gilstrap in 1883), whilst the successful firm of Gilstrap and Earp on Northgate will be remembered by many. Indeed, the Gilstraps were for many years the most successful malting family in the town with their twelve kilns producing one-third of Newark's total output of malt. It is, then, perhaps surprising to learn that the creation of the family's fortunes took place over a relatively short space of time, beginning at the start of the last century with Joseph Gilstrap, a humble hotel manager.

Joseph Gilstrap, by 1809, is listed as tenant of "The Hotel". Joseph Gilstrap was in day-to-day charge of The Hotel, and by 1811, felt sufficiently secure to marry Elizabeth Welsh of Balderton and start a family. In 1818 The Hotel was up for sale and Joseph Gilstrap managed to purchase it outright. The purchase was a wise one as The Hotel, lying on the main route to the north was already one of the most lucrative coaching inns in the town. Gilstraps Hotel (as it quickly became known) was in an ideal location to attract many of the numerous coaches that piled up and down the Great North Road.

In 1809 six coaches departed daily from The Hotel, whilst by 1832 the number had increased to eleven. These coaches ensured that Newark was connected not only with London and the north, but with places as diverse as Norwich, Manchester, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln and Cambridge. But this was not the extent of Gilstrap's business. In addition to serving the coach trade and managing the everyday business of the hotel, he was also an importer of wines and spirits which he sold both wholesale and retail. October, 1828 Joseph Gilstrap was Quartermaster of the Newark Troop of the Sherwood Rangers and resigned from this post in May 1830.

In 1835 Joseph expanded his empire further by purchasing the Swan and Salmon inn on Castlegate, another prominent coaching inn. And to cap it all, in that same year (1835) he was also elected to Newark Town Council -- a feat he repeated in 1837, 1843 and 1849. Such was his standing in Newark at this time that he was elected Mayor in 1838. In 1840 he consolidated his wealth and built a large house in Millgate known as "Trent View". The house is still there today, renamed "Millbank" and used as a Red Cross retirement home.

By 1844 the rail network had reduced the number of coaches using the Great North Road. Opportunities still existed for coach operators to pursue new, shorter routes connecting with the trains and for the time being at least Gilstrap's Hotel remained busy and prosperous. By 1852 both the Midland and Great Northern Railways had arrived in Newark which all but duplicated the old coach routes. The impact on the coaching inns of the town was instantaneous. Less than a year later local directories reveal that horse-drawn coach trade at Gilstrap's Hotel had dried up completely. In that year (1853) the hotel was closed and Joseph moved out of Kirkgate.

Joseph continued to pursue his wine and spirit trade entering new premises on Stodman Street. His standing in the town remained undiminished for in 1852 he had been created a magistrate and in this capacity he continued to serve until about 1863 when he finally retired and moved to a house at No. 34 Northgate. Joseph Gilstrap died aged 84 on 15th March 1869 of "senile decay". (Joseph Gilstrap always showed a great interest in everything that concerned his native town, while his kindness to the poor and his courtesy to all will be long remembered).

Although that remembrance is mainly bound up in his hotel business, Joseph's involvement with one of the towns other main industries cannot be ignored. As early as 1818 when he bought The Hotel on Kirkgate, it came equipped not only with wine and liquor vaults, but with its own malt kiln. It is clear that he became actively involved in malting -- a business that would ultimately secure the fortunes of his most famous son, Sir William Gilstrap.

     
Children of Joseph Gelsthorpe and Elizabeth Welsh are:
  i.   ELIZABETH3 GILSTRAP, b. August 04, 1812, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. October 27, 1878, Newark, Nottingham, England; m. JOSEPH WILLIAM BRANSTON, October 22, 1835, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. May 28, 1859, Newark, Nottingham, England.
  ii.   JOSEPH GILSTRAP, b. May 1815, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. July 27, 1816, Newark, Nottingham, England.
7. iii.   SIR WILLIAM GILSTRAP, b. December 20, 1816, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. February 15, 1896, Fornham, Suffolk, England.
  iv.   MARY GILSTRAP, b. September 04, 1818, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. December 27, 1872, Newark, Nottingham, England; m. WILLIAM COSIER FLETCHER, July 25, 1839, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. Unknown.
  v.   ANNA MARIA GILSTRAP, b. February 1819, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. June 12, 1820, Newark, Nottingham, England.
  vi.   JOSEPH GILSTRAP, b. September 1820, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. August 31, 1822, Newark, Nottingham, England.
8. vii.   GEORGE GILSTRAP, b. February 20, 1822, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. December 26, 1864, London, England.
9. viii.   ANNA AMELIA GILSTRAP, b. December 30, 1823, Newark, Nottingham, England; d. November 09, 1900, Bournemouth, England.

The information on these pages has been reproduced from Ron Gilstrap's
Gilstrap Genealogy Home Page,
October 20th, 1999 with permission.

[ Previous Page | MacRae Stuff | Next Page ]

[Last updated January 2007]