In 1908, Anthony Hewitson published the diary of Colonel Thomas Bellingham 1645-1721 [FN1]. The diary includes an intriguing entry for 13 September 1688:
1. Diary of Thomas Bellingham, An Officer under William III, Anthony Hewitson, 1908 (at page 13)
Ye 10th.—A wett day. I din'd att Penwortham, where we had a noble entertainment. There were Sr Tho Stanley and severall of this town, and Mrs Betty Banister, and ye widdow Tilsly with a sweet little boy, her sonne.
[The noble entertainment would be at Mr. Fleetwood's, Penwortham Hall. Mrs. (old style for Miss) Betty Banister was no doubt Elizabeth, daughter of Alderman William Banister, who was Mayor of Preston in 1662-3. Widow Tilsly, it is very likely, was the widow of Edward Tyldesley (son of Sir Thomas Tyldesley, the notable Royalist), of Tyldesley, Morleys. Myerscougrh Lodge, &c.]
Hewitson must surely be right in identifying "ye widdow Tilsly" as Elizabeth Tyldesley née Beaumont. So who is the "sweet little boy, her sonne"? The pedigree produced by Gillow and Hewitson in 1873, suggests Elizabeth Tyldesley had only a daughter, Catherine. Could the son be James Tyldesley, later a merchant of Liverpool?
1. Diary of Thomas Bellingham, An Officer under William III, Anthony Hewitson, 1908 (at page 13)
