A record of the

Weatherburn/Wedderburn Railway Connections  

by Robert Weatherburn

To understand the involvement of the Weatherburns with the development of the steam engine and steam locomotive, we must look to the coal mining industry of the North East of England, and Tyneside in particular.  Static steam engines were used there, in the mines, for numerous purposes - especially haulage and pumping - and engineers such as Dodds, Stephenson, and Robert Wedderburn (Weatherburn) (born 1780) were at the forefront of the development.  But ‘steam engines’ had already been around a long time…

In the Pneumatica of Hero of Alexandria (c.130B.C.) there is described the aeolipile, which may be called a primitive steam reaction turbine.(E. Britannica.). A description is given…

In a treatise on pneumatics (1601) by Giambattista della Porta there is shown a somewhat similar apparatus, but with steam for working substance. (E.Brit.)

Edward Somerset, 2^nd marquis of Worcester, described in his ‘Century of Inventions’ (1663) a method of raising water by the agency of steam… (E.Brit.)

The earliest steam engine to take a practical form and find employment in industry was that of Thomas Savery, who, in 1698, obtained a patent for a water-raising engine…. It found considerable employment in pumping mines and in raising water to supply houses and towns, and even to drive water wheels.(E.Brit.)

Papin and Newcomen went on to advance the development of the steam engine, and in 1763, James Watt, an instrument maker in Glasgow, while engaged by the university in repairing a model of Newcomen’s engine, was struck with the waste of steam… After much experiment Watt patented his improvements in 1769…

The common fire engine… was the steam engine of Newcomen. Highly important as Watt’s first inventions were, they resulted for a time in the production of nothing more than a greatly improved engine of the Newcomen type. 

Then followed the work of Richard Trevithick in England, and Oliver Evans in America. Industry, and particularly the mining industry, made good use of these early steam engines.

George Stephenson was the son of a mechanic, and he and Robert Weatherburn were skilled at operating Newcomen engines in the mines.  They first worked together as brakesmen at the West Moor pit in 1800. In 1813 Stephenson inspected the first practical and successful steam locomotive – built by John Blenkinsop – and was convinced that he could make improvements. 

In his book, ‘George and Robert Stephenson,’ L.T.C. Rolt states, on page 20 para. 3 that…

“…in his evidence before the Commons Committee on the Liverpool and Manchester Railway Bill (1824/25) in which he (George Stephenson) said that he left the employment of the Grand Allies in 1813 to become a civil engineer on his own account, and mentions the names of Dodds and Robert Weatherburn as his partners.  In the same statement he claims that besides superintending the Grand Allies collieries at Killingworth, Mount Moor, South Moor, Derwent Brook and Buttaton, his activities extended to the Newbottle and Hetton pits and to the colliery owned by Lord Stewart.  He goes on to claim that he was responsible for building a total of thirty-nine stationary engines during this period, of which some were high-pressure engines.  The largest engine built by him he stated, was of 200hp.  He must have been referring to the Friar’s Goose Pumping Engine constructed by Messrs. Losh, Wilson & Bell at the Woodside Pit of the Tyne Main Colliery.  One of the largest engines of its day, Friar’s Goose had a 6ft cylinder and a 9ft stroke and it drew water from a depth of fifty fathoms at the rate of 1,000 gallons a minute.  It began work in July 1823 and soon became famous throughout Northumberland.

“Less spectacular but of much greater significance in the history of coal mining were the improvements which Stephenson (and his partners) made in coal handling methods both at the pithead and below ground by introducing trams and rails in conjunction with stationary haulage engines. Under his (their) influence a network of tram rails spread from the Killingworth pitheads to the coal stacks and waste heaps in place of the old primitive horse drawn sleds with their loaded corves.  It was of these that Summerside wrote, in old age: ‘As I have looked at railways now, where passengers and goods have been conveyed for the last forty years, I have considered the rails with the switches, crossing &c, at those pits above and below the pattern or origin of modern railways, with improvements, as we see them now.’

“George Stephenson (and partners) installed three underground rope haulage engines at Killingworth which became known to the pitmen as the ‘Geordie,’ ‘Jimmy,’ and ‘Bobby’ engines after George and his brothers, James and Robert.  On much of this underground engineering work George was assisted by his son, for when he left school young Robert was apprenticed to his father’s friend Nicholas Wood.  Born in 1795, Wood was fourteen years younger than George Stephenson.  He came to Killingworth in April 1811 to learn the profession of viewer under Ralph Dodds, (along with Robert Weatherburn, one of Stephenson’s partners in his civil engineering firm) whom he succeeded as head viewer.

“These three underground engines at Killingworth wonderfully lightened and speeded up the work of the pit, but they brought with them an added risk of fire.  The brick-lined flues from the boilers which supplied these engines were carried up to the surface through the coal measure and there was always a risk that the surrounding coal would ignite if the flues became overheated….” 

The attempt to make an improvement on Blenkinsop’s engine resulted in the building of the Blűcher in 1814; and success in designing several more locomotives brought his company to the attention of the planners of a proposed railway linking the port of Stockton with Darlington, eight miles inland. With mining moving inland toward the Pennine ridge and further from the port of Stockton, a railway was needed to transport the coal. Horses were considered, but Stephenson’s company claimed that a steam engine could pull 50 times the load that horses could pull on iron rails.  In 1824 Edward Pease joined Michael Longdridge, George Stephenson and his son Robert Stephenson, to form a company to make locomotives.  The Robert Stephenson & Company, at Forth Street, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, became the world’s first locomotive builder. On 27 September 1825 their first engine, Locomotive, (originally named Active), with Stephenson driving, ran from Darlington to Stockton carrying 450 persons at 15 miles an hour.  The railway was then opened for common carrier service, transporting freight and passengers, between Stockton and Witton Park colliery in the western part of the county of Durham.

Following the success of the Stockton to Darlington railway, the cities of Manchester and Liverpool decided to build a steam-operated line connecting them.  Stephenson’s company was given the contract to construct the line, but a competition was held to choose a suitable locomotive.  This, “Stephenson’s second ‘railway’ project, can be thought of as the first fully evolved railway to be built.” The railway was planned to provide an extensive passenger service relying on locomotive traction alone.  The Rainhill trials began on 6 October1829, and were planned to assure that the engines would be adequate to the demands, and that adhesion was practicable. Stephenson’s Rocket, which for a short stretch achieved a speed of 36 mile per hour, won the competition against three rivals: Perseverance, Novelty, and Sans Pareil.

Robert Weatherburn (b.1780) was later the driver of the first engine to run on the Leicester to Swannington railway. His eldest son, Martin, moved first to Liverpool, and then to Leicester, following his work with the railways.  Martin’s youngest son, Henry, b. 31/5/1849, was born at Leicester.  When orphaned, in 1868, he determined to journey to Australia, arriving there in 1872 aboard Brunel’s SS Great Britain.  There, he began working as an engineer for the New South Wales Railways.

From ‘Men of the Early Railways’ …

“There was one obvious source for the supply of enginemen and mechanics to the new railways, and it was fully drawn on: the coal-pits of Northumberland and Durham, where men ahd been trained in the engine-houses.  Largely by the Stephensons’ influence, men from the north-east were sought for to drive the locomotives on new railways as they came into operation all over the kingdom; even the far-off London and Greenwich sent to the north for drivers in 1838.

“Two drivers named Weatherburn were in charge of engines on the opening day of the Liverpool and Manchester line.  (Robert b. 1780, and perhaps his eldest son, Martin, b. 3/3/1805.) George Stephenson was assisted by driver Weatherburn (Robert) on the footplate of the inaugural train on the Leicester and Swannington line in 1832.

There they had a misfortune, for the engine chimney hit the roof of Glenfield tunnel and was knocked off, covering the passengers in soot.  Years later in 1859, Henry Weatherburn, of the South Eastern Railways, requested and was given a place in Westminster Abbey at Robert Stephenson’s funeral on the ground that he had driven the first locomotive, Harvey Coombe, used on the construction of the London and Birmingham line. 

I have records of two incidents involving Martin Weatherburn.

From The First Railwaymen, p. 145:  “One of the Company’s senior drivers, Martin Weatherburn, was suspended in June 1832 for running his engine Victory too close behind Comet, a coal engine, and colliding in Olive Mount Cutting”

THE ADVENT OF THE ENGINE WHISTLE

From a newspaper cutting re Driver Weatherburn (probably Martin):  "It was on Saturday, May 4^th 1833, that there occurred an accident which gave us the engine whistle.  It was on the level crossing between Bagworth and Thornton that driver Weatherburn drove the engine Samson into a market cart containing 50lbs of butter and 80 dozen eggs.  So serious an affair was reserved for Stephenson’s consideration.  A meeting of directors was called, and the manager’s suggestion of a whistle which steam can blow was adopted.  He went at once to a musical instrument maker in Leicester, who constructed a ‘Steam Trumpet’ which ten days later was tried in the presence of the Board of Directors.  In appearance it was alike a huntsman’s horn, 18 inches long and 6 inches across at the top"

The Leicester & Swannington railway, opened in 1832 and helped to reduce the cost of coal in the town. In 1840 the Midland Counties Railway linked Leicester to London and Leeds. A branch line to Peterborough was added in 1848. Lines from Leicester to Birmingham* (1862) and Manchester (1867) followed. The Great Northern Railway arrived in 1882 giving good links to and from West Yorkshire.  

(*By 1830, Birmingham was sending over one thousand tons of goods every week by canal to London. In 1833 the London & Birmingham Railway Company appointed Robert Stephenson as chief engineer of the project that would dramatically reduce the cost of transporting these goods.

The London to Birmingham line took 20,000 men nearly five years to build. The total cost of building the railway was £5,500,000 (£50,000 a mile). The railway was opened in stages and finally completed on 17 September 1838. The line started at Birmingham's Curzon Street Station and finished at Euston Station in London. As the Grand Junction Railway had been finished in July 1837, the four major cities in England, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool were now linked together by rail. The development of the railway system stimulated economic growth and attracted more people to the area. In 1801 there were 71,000 inhabitants but this figure had doubled by 1841. Twenty years later, the population of Birmingham had reached 296,000)

After the success of the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, business people based in Birmingham began to consider the advantages of having a railway. Birmingham had seen rapid economic growth in the 1820s and by 1830 was sending one thousand tons of goods every week by canal to London.

It was decided to approach George Stephenson, the chief engineer of the Liverpool & Manchester line, about the possibility of building a railway between Birmingham and London. Stephenson advised them about the route that the railway should take but declined the offer of building the line. Instead, he recommended his son, Robert Stephenson, for the job.

The London & Birmingham Railway Company took Stephenson's advice and in 1833 Robert Stephenson was appointed chief engineer. Stephenson, who was paid £1,500 a year to build what was the first railway into London. Many people living on the proposed route were bitterly opposed to the railway. For example, the landowners of Northampton forced Stephenson to make the line pass some distance from their town. As a result of this change, Stephenson now had to build a 2,400 yard tunnel at Kilsby. Another major engineering problem the faced Stephenson was the Blisworth Cutting.

The 112 mile long London to Birmingham line took 20,000 men nearly five years to build. The total cost of building the railway was £5,500,000 (£50,000 a mile). The railway was opened in stages and finally completed on 17 September 1838. The line started at Birmingham's Curzon Street Station and finished at Euston Station in London. As the Grand Junction Railway had been finished in July 1837, the four major cities in England, London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool were now linked together. (Extracts from Teaching History On Line.)

 J. C. Bourne: Primrose Hill Tunnel, London & Birmingham Railway

Henry Weatherburn, (b. 28/5/1818) 4^th son of Robert Weatherburn (b. 1780) was the driver of the engine Harvey Coombe during the building of the London to Birmingham line.  He was later with the South Eastern Railway.

Wedderburns/Weatherburns on the Southern Railways…

With regard to the South Eastern Railway Company, a researcher notes…

Christopher Wedderburn was stationmaster at Ashford Station for many years, having been appointed 'Inspector of Police' by the Directors of the South Eastern Railway Company on 1st Oct. 1839 - four days after he married Maria Webb - not Wells as it shows in the W.B.? - The Company was incorporated by the 'SER Act 1836, which authorised the construction of a Railway and, eventually, Parliament insisted on one, shared, route to London from Kent [which was] completed on 7 February 1844'.  Andrew Colvile (formerly Wedderburn) attended the first meeting of the Directors in his capacity as Chairman of the West India Dock Board!

Before becoming stationmaster at Ashford (by 1852), Christopher was stationmaster at Marden in Kent and in a book called, "A Wealden Village, Marden", by Phyllis Highwood & Peggy Skelton (1986), there are some details of the Parliamentary Enquiry conducted before the proposed railway was authorised:

"The SER proposed a speed of 24 m.p.h. from London to Tonbridge and 28 m.p.h. from Tonbridge to Dover, compared with a land speed by coach of 8 m.p.h. As Maidstone had as yet no firm plans for a railway (though a branch line from Paddock Wood opened in 1844) it was suggested that the townspeople would go to Marden by road and then by train to London. This would, the committee were told, save Maidstonians one hour and thirty-six minutes of travelling - 2 hours 39 minutes by road and rail against 4 hours 30 minutes by coach to London…..

The UK's London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (known as the LB&SCR or Brighton Line) was formed in July 1846 by the amalgamation of the London & Brighton Railway and the London & Croydon Railway. At its peak the railway formed a triangle with its base along the south coast from Portsmouth to Hastings and its apex in London.

The line was amalgamated along with four other major companies (the London & South Western Railway; the South Eastern Railway; the London Chatham & Dover Railway; and the South Eastern & Chatham Railway), and a number of minor ones, into the Southern Railway by Act of Parliament with effect from 1st January 1923.

Many descendants of Robert Wedderburn/Weatherburn, and other members of allied branches of the family, worked and made careers in the railway industry all over the world. 

The Stephenson and Weatherburn, and the Weatherburn and Dodds families, intermarried a number of times.  I can supply some information regarding the marriages &c.

Below are database entries for descendants of Robert Weatherburn (1780) that show just a few of my branch of the family’s connections with railways and steam locomotion.  I cannot list all the descendants of Robert (1780) in this space, but anyone interested in further research in this or other branches should contact me directly:

Robert Weatherburn, [5^th] s. of William Weatherburn & Ann [Laidler, m. 1767 (or 68) at Gosforth], bap. 8/7/1780 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Groat Market Meeting-NC. - Northumberland IGI [Robert, a friend of George Stephenson (b. 1781, q.v.), became an Engineer. He  m. Isabella Wilson at Bedlington in 1804, q.v.]

Robert Weatherburn, (sometimes Whetherburn & Wedderburn) s. of William Weatherburn/Ann Laidler bap. 8/7/1780 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Groat Market Meeting-NC. Northumberland IGI (This is the Robert Weatherburn who was the partner of George Stephenson in the development of the Steam Engine.)

William & Ann had 6 sons & 3 daughters, all bap. at N-on-T: John (1768); James (1770); William (1771); Thomas (1773); Margaret (1774); Ann (1776); another Ann (1778); Robert (1780) & Martin (1782).]

George Stephenson [Inventor & founder of the railways] was b. on 9/6/1781at Wylam-on-Tyne (near Ryton, west of Newcastle-upon-Tyne), Northumberland. In 1804 he moved to Killingworth (near Longbenton & Gosforth). In 1812 he was appointed engine-wright of High Pit colliery and c1815 he produced for the colliery a ‘travelling engine’. When, in 1822, the Stockton & Darlington railway was under construction, he persuaded the directors to use steam instead of animal traction.  The railway opened on 27/9/1825 and the first public passenger train in the world was drawn by Stephenson’s “Active”, later renamed “Locomotion”. When the Liverpool & Manchester railway was nearing completion, his “Rocket” won a competition for a suitable locomotive. The 8 engines used on this line (opened on 15/9/1830) were all built in Newcastle, in the works George Stephenson founded with his cousin, Thomas Richardson, and a colleague, Edward Pearse. George was the engineer of many other railways in the midlands, but strongly disapproved of “railway mania” which reached its climax in 1844. He died at Tapton, Chesterfield, on 12/8/1848. [His only son, Robert, was born at Willington Quay (nr. North Shields), Northumberland, on 16/10/1803, q.v.]

Robert and Isabella had issue:

Martin Wedderburn, [e.] s. of Robert Wedderburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington, as ‘Wheatherburn’], bap. 3/3/1805 at Longbenton. - Northumberland IGI [Martin was b. on 14/1/1805, ‘First s. of Robert W., engineer, native of Stannington, & Isabel Wilson, native of Bedlington’. (Letter from Robert Stephenson Roper, dated 18/7/1991, to Mrs. June Weatherburn, sent to Robert Weatherburn - RJW - of St. Leonard’s-on-Sea, Sussex, on 21/5/1998) - Martin’s father Robert was a friend of George Stephenson, the founder of the railways (b. 1781, q.v.).  Martin became an Engine Driver. He m. i) Ester Dixon, in 1828. (They had 8 children.) - Ester died on 16/10/1846 & Martin m. ii) Ann Kilby, widow (née King, b. 1813), in 1848. (By her he had 2 more children.) - Ann died at Leicester on 27/5/1868, aged 55, & Martin died there on 22/7/1868, aged 63, leaving a Will. (RJW’s family records & death certs.)

Martin and Esther Dixon had issue:

Thomas Weatherburn, [e.] s. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife, Ester Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 24/8/1829 at Killingworth, Northumberland. (RJW’s family records) [It may be this Thomas who had a son Thomas, ‘s. of Thomas Weatherburn & Emma Rose’, bap. at St. Peter, Derby, on 22/10/1856 (q.v.) - Is he also the Thomas who had a daughter Minnie Jane, ‘d. of Thomas Weatherburn & Sarah’, bap. at Ancroft in 1860, q.v.? (A Minnie Jane W. was born in 1859 at Hunslet where William Wilson Weatherburn lived in 1881.)]

Isabel Weatherburn, [e.] d. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828] was b. 1/10/1831 & bap. 2/10/1831 at Mount Pleasant Wesleyan Church, Liverpool. - Lancashire IGI [Isabel died in Australia on 12/1/1922. (RJW’s family records.)]

Ester Weatherburn, [2^nd] d. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 13/9/1833 at Snibstone Colliery, Leicester. [RJW’s Fam. Records]

Martin Weatherburn, [2^nd] s. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver (b. 1805), e.s. of Robert W. (b. 1780) & Isobel Wilson (m. 1804)] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 15/8/1835 at Snibstone Colliery, Leicester. [RJW’s family records.] - Martin m. Emily Harvey, by licence, at South Croxton, Leicestershire, on 16/7/1860 (q.v.). (M. cert. - reg. district Barrow upon Soar, near Loughborough.) - [In the 1881 Census,  Martin ‘aged 45’ (‘b. Coalville, Leics.’), was living at 8 Old Oak Lane, Hammersmith, Middx., London, with d. Esther, aged 18, and s. Frisby, aged 15 (both ‘b. St. Pancras’) while Emily must be the Emily Weatherburn, aged 41 (‘b. South Crofton - sic - Leics.), who, in the 1881 Census, was a ‘Licensed Victualler’s wife’ (husband not shown), living at the Bull Inn, Bull Lane, Gloucester, with her 13-year-old son Thomas (‘b. London’).]

Jane Weatherburn, [3^rd] d. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. in 1837 at Swannington Incline, Leicester. - In the 1851 Census, Jane, aged 14 (‘b. Leicester’), was staying at Brenkley, nr. Ponteland, with her uncle William Elliott, an Innkeeper/Grocer ‘aged 60’ (‘b. Northumberland’), & aunt, Jane ‘aged 49’ (‘b. Gillingham, Kent’), and another niece Mary U., aged 19 (‘b. Killingworth, Northumberland’). - Jane m. John Graham in 1858 at Newcastle on Tyne. (Vital Records Index.) ‘They had several children’. - She died on 24 /5/1929 at Newcastle. (Family Bible Records RJW) - In 1935, their son George Graham was living with his wife & daughter at Golders Green, London. (RJW)]

Robert Weatherburn, [3^rd] s. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 24/5/1839 at Snibstone Colliery, Leicester. [“Robert m. Ellen or Margaret and by 1906-07 they were living in Gloucester in a large 3-storied terrace house overlooking a very nice park…. Robert never talked about his own life. His wife, aged about 80, said that he had been an engine-driver”. (RJW’s letter of 23/11/1996, quoting Charles W., mathematician in Australia, who had  visited them then.) - In the 1881 Census,  Robert, a Draper & Hosier, ‘aged 41’ (‘b. Leicester’), was living at 25 Barton Street, Gloucester Barton, Glos., with his wife Eliza ‘aged 48’ (‘b. Leicester). - “Robert lived in Gloucester until he was at least 99 years old”. (Letter dated 21/5/1998 to RJW from Mrs. June Weatherburn of Aylesbury, Bucks. - wife of Dudley, s. of Sidney who d. 1990. - Sidney & his brother Thomas were sons of Frisby Weatherburn (b. 1865/66, at St. Pancras, Middlesex, London), one of the sons of Robert’s brother Martin (b. 1835, q.v.).]

William Weatherburn, [4^th] s. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 17/2/1842 at Swannington Incline, Leicester. -[William was bap. at St. Nicholas’ Church, Leicester, on 26/6/1850  (at a joint christening with his half-brother, Henry, b. 1849, q.v.) - William died at Leicester on 23/12/1851, aged 9 years & 10 months.  (RJW’s family records.)]

Margaret Ann Weatherburn, [4^th] d. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his first wife Esther Dixon [m. 1828], was b. on 14/1/1845 at Leicester. [Margaret died on 2/9/1850. (RJW’s family records)

Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805, widower of Esther Dixon] m. ii) Ann Kilby (widow, née King) on 25/5/1848 at Leicester. - Leicestershire IGI (& RJW’s Family Records) [Martin & Ann had a s. Henry (b. 1849) & a d. Mary Jane (b. 1852, d. 1854). - Ann died at Leicester on 27/5/1868, aged 55, & Martin died there on 22/7/1868, aged 63, leaving a Will.]

MARTIN AND ANN KILBY had issue:

Henry Weatherburn, [only] s. of Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] by his second wife, Ann Kilby [née King, m. 1848], was b. on 31/5/1849 at Leicester & bap. 26/6/1850 at St. Nicholas Church, Leicester (at the same time as his half-brother William, b. 1842, q.v.). [Henry was apprenticed at the Midland Railway Workshops in Leicester in 1864 and worked there until he emigrated to Australia (on Brunel’s “SS Great Britain”) on 17/12/1871. - He arrived at Melbourne in 21/2/1872 & was one of the founders of the railways in Australia. - Henry m. Amelia Olding Cumming, from Bristol on 11/5/1876. They had 3 sons & 3 daughters (all b. in Sydney): Edith (b. 1877); Martin (b. 1879); Margaret (Maggie) Eliza (b. 1880); Percy (b. 1882); Charles E. (b. 1884) & Lilly M. (b. 1889). (Martin had 3 sons & a daughter: Ernest Martin, Martin Henry, Raymond Stanley, & Ruth. - RJW, concert pianist, writer, and photographer, b. in Australia in 1939, is the only s. Raymond Stanley Weatherburn. - Charles was a mathematician in N.Z. & at Perth Univ., W. Australia. - The Weatherburn Lecture Theatre at W.A. University is named after him. – He had twin sons, Keith, an engineer in NSW, & Charles, a Govt. Architect there. - Info. from Henry’s diaries, RJW’s letter of 23/11/1996 & notes in his e-mail of  8/5/1998.)  - Henry died on 16/11/1932.]

Mary Jane Weatherburn, d. of Martin Weatherburn  [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805] & his second wife Ann Kilby [née King, m. 1848], was b. on 4/4/1852 at Leicester. [Mary Jane died on 22/4/1854. (RJW’s family records)]

Martin Weatherburn [Railway Engine Driver, b. 1805, e.s. of Robert Wedderburn (Engineer, b. 1780) & Isabel Wilson (m. 1804)] died on 22/7/1868 at Leicester. Will proved there 1/8/1868 by J.B. Kilby of Leicester, executor. (Note 1, W.B. Vol. 11, p. 522, ‘some references to the name of Weatherburn’).

Ann Wedderburn, (sister of Robert Weatherburn b. 1780) [3^rd] d. of William Wedderburn & Ann [Laidler, m. 1767 (or 68) at Gosforth, William a ‘Weatherburn’], bap. 4/5/1778 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Groat Market Meeting-NC. - Northumberland IGI [The Ann bap. 7/7/1776 must have died & this next daughter was given the same name.]

Ann Weatherburn m. Thomas Dodds on 24/12/1796 at Jarrow. Durham IGI. (An Isaac Dodds had a son Thomas, apprenticed to George Stephenson – their work described…SNELL S (MAJOR). A STORY OF RAILWAY PIONEERS. LONDON: SELWYN & BLOUNT LTD, 1921. Account of the life and inventions of Isaac Dodds and his son Thomas Weatherburn Dodds. Isaac was an early apprentice of Geo. Stephenson and became a railway engineer in his own right with a works in Sheffield. His son followed in his footsteps. This is the only account of their works, although it is not entirely accurate in all respects and the author somewhat over exagerates their importance as engineers. See also Ann Dodds Weatherburn 1804.)(Another entry for Rotherham Greats: Thomas Weatherburn Dodds 2nd May 1826 - 6th September 1899 He was the son of Isaac Dodds. In 1853 he patented a method of making steel which gave a 50% saving in fuel. He also patented steeled rails which lasted 3 times longer than iron ones.

Robert Stephenson [Engineer, only son of George (b. 1781, q.v.)] was b. on 16/10/1803 at Willington Quay, Northumberland (nr. North Shields & just across the river from Jarrow, in Durham). Robert specialised in the construction of railway bridges. He was educated at Bruce’s academy, Newcastle-on-Tyne and Edinburgh University and in 1819 he was apprenticed to Nicholas Wood at Killingworth. In 1824, after having assisted his father in a survey for the Stockton & Darlington and Liverpool & Manchester railways, Robert went to S. America. He was recalled to England in 1827, to take up work on locomotives in Newcastle, and was responsible for most of the improvements in locomotives at this time. In 1833 he was appointed engineer of the London & Birmingham railway, which was the first to run into London from the industrial north. He later built railway bridges all over the world. In 1847 he entered parliament as conservative M.P. for Whitby, retaining his seat until his death in London on 12/10/1859. (A Henry Weatherburn who asked for an invitation to Robert Stephenson’s funeral in Westminster Abbey on 21/10/1859 must be Henry bap. 1818, q.v., 3^rd s. of Robert Weatherburn & Isobel Wilson. He was on the South-Eastern Railway & had driven the locomotive “Harvey Coombe” during the building of the London & Birmingham railway c1838. Henry m. Maria Nash at Berkhampstead, Herts., in 1837 - see ‘Kincol2b’). [Robert Stephenson was succeeded at the Newcastle locomotive works & the Snibstone & Tapton collieries by his cousin, George Robert Stephenson, b. 1819 (q.v.). - Info. from “Encyclopædia Britannica”.] 

Robert Wedderburn, [2^nd] s. of Robert Wedderburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington, as ‘Wheatherburn’], bap. 4/5/1806 at Longbenton. Northumberland IGI [This Robert must have died young as another son, bap. 1811, was named Robert.]

Margaret Wedderburn, [e.] d. of Robert Wedderburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington], bap. 12/3/1809 at Longbenton. - Northumberland IGI [Margaret was b. on 2/1/1808. (RJW’s family records) - (Margaret Weatherburn, ‘d. of Robert W.’, m. John Scott on 8/5/1850 at St. Mary’s, Edge Hill, Liverpool. (Vital Records Index) - Margaret’s ygst. brother James (b. 1827), had two children bap. at this church, so it seems likely  that this is Margaret’s marriage.)]

Robert Wedderburn, [3^rd but 2^nd surv.] s. of Robert Wedderburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington], was bap. on 13/10/1811 at Longbenton. - Northumberland IGI  - (“Robert worked with George Stephenson (b. 1781, q.v.), the founder of the railways, and took part in the famous Rainhill trials. He afterwards drove the first engine on the Leicester & Swannington Railway, the forerunner of the Midland Railway.) [Robert m. (as ‘Weatherburn’) Ann Rose at Whitwick, Leicester, in 1835 (q.v.). Their known children are: Robert (b. 1840); Anne (b. 1842); John (b. 1845, d.?)  & John Thomas (b. 1848). [In the 1881 Census, Ann Weatherburn, widow, an Annuitant aged 64 (‘b. Thringstone, Leics’), was living at 25 Rawson Terrace, Hunslet, York.]

Anne Weatherburn, [2^nd] d. of Robert Weatherburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington] was b. on 29/7/1816. (RJW’s family records) [‘Ann’ m. Richard Smethurst on 19/1/1853 at St. Jude, West Deby, Lancs. (Vital Records Index)

Henry Weatherburn, [4^th but 3^rd surv.] s. of Robert Weatherburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabel Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington] was b. on 28/5/1818. (RJW’s family records) - [Henry m. Maria Nash in 1837 at Berkhampstead, Herts. (Misc. refs., W.B. p. 508) - They had 7 children: William, Henry & Thomas Henry were b. at Brighton, Sussex, in 1842, 1844 & 1845; Robert was b. at Ramsgate, Kent, in 1849 & Henry James, Frederick John & Maria Ann were b. at Redhill, Surrey, in 1851, 1854 & 1856. (Henry was on the South-Eastern Railway & had driven the locomotive “Harvey Coombe” during the building of the London & Birmingham railway c1838. - He is probably the Henry Weatherburn who asked for an invitation to the funeral of Robert Stephenson (b. at Willington Quay, Northumberland, on 16/10/1803, q.v.), at Westminster Abbey on 21/10/1859. - RJW’s Notes.) - Henry died at Redhill in 1873, leaving a Will. - His e. son William & his brother James W. ‘in Birkenhead’ were the executors. (See James Weatherburn b. 1827.)]

Henry Wedderburn [Engineer, b. 1818, 4^th but 3^rd surv. s. of Robert Weatherburn (Engineer, b. 1804), & Isabel Wilson (m. 1804 at Bedlington)] m. Maria Nash on 29/5/1837 at Berkhampstead parish church, Herts. (Misc. refs., W.B. p. 508) [The IGI shows that Henry & Maria had 6 sons & a daughter, all bap. as Weatherburn: William, Henry & Thomas Henry were b. at Brighton, Sussex, in 1842, 1844 & 1845; Robert was b. at Ramsgate, Kent, in 1849 & Henry James, Frederick John & Maria Ann were b. at Redhill, Surrey, in 1851, 1854 & 1856. - In the 1881 Census, Maria, a widow aged 64 (‘b. Berkhampstead, Herts’), was living at 4 Ladbrooke Villas, Ladbrooke Rd., Reigate, Surrey, with her sons Robert & Frederick, and daughter Maria. (A James Weatherburn, Engine fitter, aged 24, ‘b. Maidstone, Kent’ (birth reg. in June qtr. of 1856), who, in the 1881 Census, was also living at Reigate (with his wife Elizabeth, ‘b. Tunbridge, Kent’), may be Henry’s nephew, s. of his brother James W. ‘in Birkenhead’ (one of the executors of Henry’s Will in 1873) - or a James Weatherburn, Iron Turner, ‘aged 26’ in 1881 (‘b. Liverpool’), who was living at Birkenhead is perhaps more likely to be the s. of Henry’s brother James W. ‘in Birkenhead’?] -“Henry was an Engineer on the South-Eastern Railway & had driven the locomotive “Harvey Coombe” during the building of the London & Birmingham railway c1838. He may be the Henry Weatherburn who asked for an invitation to the funeral of Robert Stephenson (b. at Willington Quay, Northumberland, on 16/10/1803) in Westminster Abbey on 21/10/1859”. (Info. from RJW at St. Leonard’s-on-Sea, E. Sussex.)]

Morten Wetherborn (sic), [4^th] s. of John Wetherborn & Priscilla Horpley [sic - Harpley, m. 1806 at Bishopwearmouth], bap. 26/4/1820 at Zion Chapel - Methodist New Connexion, Sunderland. Durham IGI [This seems odd, as John & Priscilla apparently had a daughter ‘Priscella’ bap. on 22/8/1820 - see below. - It seems likely that ‘Morten’ is Martin Weatherburn, Railway Engine Driver, who m. Mary Ann Longhurst on 22/5/1842 at St. Nicholas, Brighton, Sussex. [Is Mary Ann’s surname anything to do with ‘Longhurst Grange, Morpeth? - See under ‘Ellenor’ Weatherburn, b. c1857, and also under John W. b. 1830.] - Martin & Mary Ann’s daughter, bap. at St. Peter’s, Brighton, in 1843, was named ‘Priscilla Mary Ann’. (She may be the Priscilla Weatherburn who m. Thomas Green at St. John Evangelist, Limehouse, London, on 7/4/1867. - See Kincol2b)

James Weatherburn, [5^th but 4^th surv. & ygst.] s. of Robert Weatherburn [Engineer, b. 1780] & Isabella Wilson [m. 1804 at Bedlington] was b. on 29/11/1827. (RJW’s family records)  [James ‘in Birkenhead’ was one of the executors of the Will of his brother Henry (b. 1818, q.v.) when Henry died at Redhill, Surrey, in 1873.) James (b. 1827) m. Deborah --- (m. not found). - They had a son James Robert Weatherburn, bap. in 1855 (q.v.) and a daughter, Isabella Sarah, bap. there in 1857 (q.v.) - & perhaps a s. Henry, b. 1856 (q.v.) & a s. Robert, who died in 1904 (q.v.)?]

Robert Wetherbourne (sic), [2^nd] s. of Robt. Wetherbourne [Engineer, b. 1811] & Ann [Rose, m. 1835], bap. 16/8/1840 at Coalville. - Leicestershire IGI [Robert Weatherburn became a distinguished railway engineer. He was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and latterly lived at Ashton Lodge, Pettiton Rd., Torquay. He died on 2/1/1919, at Hermon Hill, Wanstead, Essex - the home of his daughter. (RJW’s family records) - “Mr. Weatherburn served the first portion of his time with Kitson, Thompson & Hewetson at Leeds and the remainder on the North Eastern Railway. From there he went to the new docks under construction at Birkenhead, afterwards obtaining marine engineering experience at Lairds. Subsequently he re-entered the service of the N. Eastern Railway, after a brief but valuable experience on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway. He then returned to Kitson & Co., in whose service he became known to nearly every railway in Britain as well as Russia, Denmark & Germany. He re-entered the railway service in 1874 as inspector of new work at the Midland Railway and afterwards was appointed District Locomotive Superintendent at Leicester and London. He retired from the Midland service at the end of 1905. (From 2 obituaries published in 1919.) - Robert (a grandson of Robert Weatherburn b. 1780, who worked with George Stephenson (b. 1781) in the development of steam railway engines) is the author of the book“Ajax Loquitor”, which is to be found in the British Library. - In the 1881 Census Robert,  Railway Engineer (O R N) ‘aged 40’ (‘b. Coalville, Leics.’), was living at 75 Queen Street, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, with his wife Ann ---, ‘aged 41’ (‘b. York’); sons Robert H., ‘aged 16’ an Apprentice (‘b. York’) & William, a Scholar ‘aged 14’ (‘b. Hunslet, York’), and daughters Ann A. ‘aged 11’ (‘b. Hunslet’) & Bertha E. ‘aged 8’ (‘b. Riga BS, Russia’). - His mother, Ann (née Rose), a widow aged 67 (‘b. Thringstone, Leics.’), Annuitant, was living at 25 Rawson Terrace, Hunslet, Yorks.] 

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Obituaries of Robert Weatherburn, died 2 January 1919.

Extract from ‘The Railway Gazette’ 17/1/1919

Mr Robert Weatherburn, formerly the Midland Railway Company’s Locomotive Superintendent for London and District, whose death on the 2^nd inst. We briefly recorded last week, had a somewhat remarkable career as an engineer.  He served the first portion of his time with Kitson, Thompson and Hewetson, at Leeds, and the remained on the North-Eastern Railway.  From there he went to the new docks then under course of construction at Birkenhead.  Subsequently he re-entered the service of the North-eastern Railway, after a brief but valuable experience on the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway.  He then returned to Kitson & Co., and after a diversified experience with nearly all the principal railways in Great Britain, was sent to Russia, and did business for the firm in Riga, St Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa, &c.  After a short sojourn in England, he was sent to do business at Metz, under the immediate control of the German Military authorities.  In the year 1874 he re-entered the railway service, and took office under Mr S.W. Johnson, Locomotive Superintendent of the Midland Railway, as inspector of new work, and afterward was appointed District Locomotive Superintendent at Leicester and London, in which capacity he was well known on all English and Colonial railways.  Mr Weatherburn was a member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.  He retired from the Midland service at the end of 1905.

Extract from ‘The Engineer’ Feb. 1919

Mr Robert WEATHERBURN, whose death was announced a few weeks ago, belonged to one of the oldest engineering families in this country, a family associated with George Stephenson long before that great inventor made his makr as a locomotive builder; his father took part in the famous Rainhill trials, and afterwards drove the first engine on the Leicester and Swannington Railways, the forerunner of the Midland Railways, whilst one of his uncles married a niece of George Stephenson.

Mr Weatherburn served his time as an engineer at the famous locomotive works of Kitson and Co., of Leeds, and after varied experiences in other firms he returned to Kitson and Co., in whose service he became known to nearly every railway in Britain as well as Russia, Denmark, and Germany.  His last experience abroad was in Metz during the years 1872 and 1873 in conjunction with the German Railway Corps in the Franco-Prussian War, and association that convinced him of the necessity of England being prepared for war with Germany at some future date.  To this end he worked consistently ever since both as a writer and lecturer, and also as a member of the Executive Committee of the Navy League, and principal promoter of the North-west London branch of which he was president.

He was later on a member of the Executive Committee of the Imperial Maritime League.  Mr Weatherburn was onf of the few railway officials in this country who enjoyed the privilege conferred on him by the American Railway Commission of a free pass over 10,000 miles of railroad in the united States.  Some ten years ago, on his retirement from the position of Locomotive Superintendent for the London District of the Midland Railway Company, a company with which he had been associated for more than thirty years, Mr Weatherburn retired to Torquay, but continued to take a lively interest in locomotive questions.  It will be recalled that only a few years ago he wrote an instructive article on breakdowns, which was published in our columns.  He belonged to the old school of locomotive engineers, a school which is fast disappearing, and his death is deeply regretted.

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The ancestors of Robert Wedderburn/Weatherburn (b. 1780), would appear to have been:

1780        Robert Weatherburn, (sometimes Whetherburn & Wedderburn) s. of William Weatherburn/Ann Laidler bap. 8/7/1780 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Groat Market Meeting-NC. Northumberland IGI (This is the Robert Weatherburn who was the partner of George Stephenson in the development of the Steam Engine.)

1767        William Weatherburn m. Ann Laidler on 19/6/1767 at Gosforth. Northumberland IGI (Another entry - Banns? - shows m. on 29/5/1768, also at Gosforth.) William & Ann had 6 sons & 3 daughters, all bap. at N-on-T: John (1768); James (1770); William (1771); Thomas (1773); Margaret (1774); Ann (1776); another Ann (1778); Robert (1780) & Martin (1782).]

1748        William  Witherbourn (Widerbourn) b. 13/6/1748, s. of John Witherbourn/, bap. 22/6/1748 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Groat Market Meeting-NC. Northumberland IGI

1741        John Weatherbourne m. Margaret Dixon on 19/5/1741 at Gosforth. Northumberland IGI (See John Wedderburn bap. at B-on-T in 1717 & notes re a Robert & John Weatherburn at Urswick, Lancs., under m. of Robert Weatherbourne to Jane Nicholson in 1679.) [Did John & Margaret settle in Newcastle upon Tyne - or did they move to Urswick? (See m. of Jane Weatherburn (bap. 12/3/1790) to schoolmaster Thomas Dixon of Ulverston, at Urswick in 1817 & Henry Weatherburn's m. to Ann Tindall (1742), re 'Dickson/Dixon'.]

1717        John Wedderburn, 3rd s. of John Wedderburn [& Anne Ferguson, m. 1706], bap. 5/3/1717 at Berwick upon Tweed. Northumberland IGI [A John, 's. of John Weatherburn', was indentured as Apprentice to his father on 22/3/1733. (Bob Weatherburn's Notes) - He must be this John. (See Freemen of B-on-T Roll details, first entry under 1727.) - No marriage of John found at B-on-T - and he didn't leave any descendants who became Freemen of B-on-T - but perhaps he is the John Weatherbourne who m. Margaret Dixon on 19/5/1741 at Gosforth?] (See notes re a Robert & John Weatherburn at Urswick, Lancs., under m. of Robert Weatherbourne to Jane Nicholson in 1679.)

1706        John Wedderburn m. Anne Ferguson on 6/1/1706 at Berwick upon Tweed. Northumberland IGI [A John Wedderburn (?) was made a Freeman of B-on-Tweed in 1727.  (Bob W.'s Notes) - It seems likely that he is this John. - See Freemen of B-on-T Roll details, first entry under 1727] (John  & Anne had 4 sons and 2 daughters. - See  below)]

1682        John Wetherburn, s. of Robert Wetherburn & Ann [Crosby, m. 1681], bap. 6/6/1682 at Berwick upon Tweed. - Northumberland IGI [John may be the John Wedderburn who m. Ann Ferguson in 1706, q.v. - He would seem to be the John Weatherburn 's. of Robert' who was made a Freeman of B-on-T in 1704. - See m. of Robert Weatherbourne in 1679.]

1679        Robert Weatherbourne m. Jane Nicholson on 18/2/1679 at Berwick upon Tweed. - Northumberland IGI (Another entry: Spouse Jane Nickelson.) Robert & Jane had a d. Eleanor, bap. at B-on-T on 19/10/1679, then no more children bap. there. (Ann Crosby - see1681 - may be this Robert's second wife. - If she is not, Jane might be the 'Jane Weatherburn, widow' who was buried at Urswick, Lancs., on 18/2/1724. - A Robert Weatherburn, who seems to have had sons named Robert & John, appears to be the first 'Weatherburn' in Urswick. (The first marriage is that of a Robert Weatherburn in 1721. - Perhaps he was Robert's & Jane Nicholson's son?] - Robert is probably the 's. of John Weatherburne', bap. at B-on-T on 27/9/1651 (q.v.) & he is perhaps the Robert Wedderburn, 'eldest sonne to his father', who was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T on 23/12/1670, q.v.

1651        Robert Weatherburne, s. of John Weatherburne/, bap. 27/9/1651 at Berwick upon Tweed. - Northumberland IGI (Another entry:  John Weatherburne/Margaret Browne  -  but, as John Weatherburne m. Margaret Browne at Berwick upon Tweed on 14/11/1624, it is unlikely that Robert is their son.) [Robert may well be the e.s. of John Weatherburn & Ann Nicholson (m. 1641 at Gateshead). He is probably the Robert Wedderburn, 'e.s. to  his father John Wedderburn', who was admitted a Freeman of B-on-T on 23/12/1670. - A Robert Weatherburn was struck off 'accused of stealing corn from the mill' on 24/2/1709, but was readmitted, as Robert Wedderburn, on 23/1/1712. [A Robert W. m. a Jane Nicholson at B-on-T in 1679; Ann Crosby in 1681 & Margery Wright in 1685. (It may be the same Robert who m. all three - but see 1679.)]

1641        John Weatherburn m. Ann Nicholson on 4/11/1641 at Gateshead. Durham IGI (Another entry as: John Weatherburn, of Gateshead, b.'abt. 1616' @ Spouse: m. 7/11/1641.)

1620        John Weatherburne, s. of James Weatherburne/[? Margerie Deannes, m. 1619], bap. 6/8/1620 at Berwick upon Tweed. Northumberland IGI

1619   James Weatherburne m. Margerie Deannes on 30/10/1619 at Berwick upon Tweed. Northumberland IGI (Another entry as: Spouse: Margerie Deannes.

1595 James Weatherburne, s. of John Weatherburne/, bap. 24/3/1595 at Berwick upon Tweed. Northumberland IGI  

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Any further information from the family database should be requested from Robert Weatherburn [email protected] or [email protected]

Robert Weatherburn publishes a History of the Wedderburns 1296 – 1896, details of which can be seen in these pages.  He may be contacted at: [email protected] or

[email protected] - and further information may be read on the website:

www.albigenses.com in which a section is devoted to

The Wedderburn Book.