Shortly before the holidays I was contacted by a descendant of the Binns family of Bradford, who had been notified of a ftDNA Family Finder match. The good news is that there is a match. The bad news is that proving the link through the records is not going to be easy.

My link to the family is through my great-great-grandmother Ann Binns (1803 – 1868), who married Joseph Lancaster at Bradford in 1824. The Binns line is not well researched (why are there always dark corners in my tree where I’ve rushed by and not filled in the gaps?) but I believe that she was the daughter of David Binns (1784 – 1829) and Elizabeth Bottomley (1780 – 1862), who were married at Bradford Parish Church (St Peter’s) on 22 February 1803. Ann was baptised at the same church on 6 November 1803 (daughter of David Binns of Great Horton, comber).

David Binns died in 1829 and was buried on 28 June. He was 45 years old and from Horton. That would make the year of his birth about 1784. There is a baptism on 16 May 1784 at Bradford St Peter’s for David, son of John Binns of Mann (Manningham), weaver. Looking more closely at the parish records, there are other children born to John of Manningham, weaver: Jonathan (1785), Ham (1786) and John (1788). They need chasing up too, although I know that Ham died in his first year.

But who was their mother? There are marriages of John Binns aplenty at Bradford – Betty Harrison 1765, Hannah Myers 1771, Mary Hartley 1776, Elizabeth Ackroyd (or Akeroyd) 1782, Ann Harrison 1783, plus another 20 or so in the surrounding area during the same period.

Which is the real John Binns?

I’m no closer to finding how Joseph links in.

Keep looking….