Several Nightingale's either lived in or owned land in Matlock (see below) but probably the most notable Nightingale link to Matlock in the earlier generations was when, in 1771, Peter Nightingale (Generation 3 on the pedigree above) bought a considerable estate in the parish of Matlock from Edmund Morphy "running down to the river on the south-east slope of Riber Hill, called the Coumbs and Bough or Bow Woods"^[1]. However, of all the family it is his 2 X great niece, Florence, who is remembered today for something far removed from the lead smelting that made the family fortune - her nursing skills.

Of the earlier Nightingale's, whose names appear on the top pedigree:

• Generation 1: Thomas Nightingale of Lindway Lane was the eldest son of John and Frances Nightingale; he was baptised at Ashover on 25 Mar 1666. John and Frances had three sons, including Thomas, but after his mother Frances died in 1695 his father John Nightingale remarried and had two more children^[2].
  
  Thomas Nightingale was a Lead Merchant. He lived in Town Head House in the parish of Ashover which he had purchased from William Hodgkinson. In his Will (proved 27 Aug 1735, signed with a mark^[3]) he mentions numerous properties that he owned and their occupants. The beneficiaries of his estate were his wife, though he does not give her name; his son Peter; his son Henry who received his houses and lands in Matlock as well as other property; the Royalty of the Manor of Lea and Manor of Shirland; his son Paul; his daughter Katherine Bland and her two children Richard and Benjamin; his daughter Rebecca Milln; Mary, the daughter of Henry and her brothers and sisters; his brother Richard and his two sons; his servant Thomas Spenser and his old servant Anthony Elliote. Peter Nightingale was nominated as his executor and the Will was witnessed by Henry Flint, William Buxton and Richard Lisett. Additional names were included in the Will's codicil. Thomas Nightingale made further bequests: to his grand son Thomas Bland; Anne and Thomas, the son and daughter of John Nightingale; his son in law Thomas Milln of Derby, whom he made joint executor with Peter. The witnesses to the codicil were Thomas Gell, John Watson and Richard Lisett.
  
  
• Generation 1: Catherine Nightingale (nee Bowler) of Ashover also left a Will (Probate dated 7 Oct 1742, signed with a mark^[3]). In it she mentions her daughter Catherine Nightingale, though not by her married name; her son Henry Nightingale; and her son Peter Nightingale. The appraisers of the Inventory were Henry Flint and Joshua Killer.
  
  
• Generation 2: Henry Nightingale lived in Matlock but was buried at Ashover on 20 Apr 1780 (not 1770 as indicated on the pedigree), aged 78. See details of his Wills on Pre-1858 Wills & Administrations, Surnames N. His wife Helen (Ellen), nee Bunting, whom he married at South Wingfield on 3 Nov 1729, pre-deceased him and was buried on 20 Feb 1767. Helen was the daughter of Anthony Bunting, Yeoman of Milltowne, Ashover (Probate 25 Oct 1745). Henry was mentioned in his Will.
  
  
• Generation 2: Peter Nightingale.
  The death of Peter Nightingale, senior, was announced in "The Derby Mercury", 28 January 1763.
  "Yesterday Morning died at Lea near Matlock in this County, Mr. Peter Nightingale, a Gentleman who had large Concerns in the Lead Mines".
  See short biographies of Peter Nightingale and his son Peter
  
  
• Generation 2: Paul Nightingale was bu. Ashover 4 Jul 1782. His abode was given as Alfreton. There is a record of Paul Nightingale being a Grocer in Derby in the 1730s but it is not known if he is the same person.
  
  
• Generation 2: The marriage bond of June 1732 for Rebecca and Thomas Milnes shows he was a Chandler of Chesterfield, whilst her abode was given as Derby.
  
  
• Generation 2: Catherine Nightingale married Benjamin Bland of Somercotes at South Wingfield on 4 Dec 1721.
  
  
• Generation 3: Job Nightingale and Mary Wilmot were married at Matlock.
  • See the marriage in the Matlock Parish Register Transcripts on this web site.
  • Both Job and Mary were buried at Ashover alongside other members of the Nightingale family shown on the above chart. Job was buried in 1785 and Mary in 1806. Both these burials are listed amongst the Matlock Strays
    
    
• Generation 3: The death of Peter Nightingale, junior, was announced in "The Derby Mercury", Thursday, 30 June, 1803:
  "On Saturday last, at Wood-End in this county, Peter Nightingale Esq., aged 65.-He served the Office of High-Sheriff for this county in the year 1770." So he died 25 June, not 22 June as shown, which was a Wednesday^[4].
  • Peter Nightingale had initially assisted Richard Arkwright but the pair were to fall out and a Court case ensued. " ... the long contested Cause between Richard Arkwright of Cromford, in the County of Derby, Esquire, and Peter Nightingale of Lea, in the same County, Esq. to ascertain Mr. Arkwright's exclusive Right to his Patent for preparing Cotton for Spinning ; when, after a full hearing of upwards of nine Hours ... when the whole process of Mr. Arkwright's very ingenious and useful Invention was fully explained, the Jury without going out of Court brought a verdict for Mr. Arkwright" ("The Derby Mercury", 17 February 1785).
  • Peter Nightingale the younger was an authority on Derbyshire's minerals as Pilkington (1789) thanked him for his help in providing both his own information and that of others who were engaged in mineral pursuits. Nightingale also owned the pig of lead found on Cromford Moor at the time, inscribed IMP. CAES. HADRIANI. AUG. MEI. LVI^[5].
    
    
• Generation 3: Ann Nightingale of Lea and George Evans, Lead Merchant of Bonsall, were married by licence at Dethick 23 May 1757 - him 28 and her 22. Peter Nightingale Junior also signed.
  See details of George Evans' Will on Pre-1858 Wills & Administrations, Surnames E
  Ann Evans died 7 Feb 1815, aged 82 (from MI) and was buried at Bonsall 1 Feb 1815 (from a transcript). However, an obituary notice in the "Nottingham Gazette" of 3 February 1815 records that she had died on Sat 28 Feb 1815 in her 82nd year and was late of Cromford Bridge and sister of the late Peter Nightingale of Lea and Woodend, so corrects the MI date.
  
  
• Job Nightingale (Generation 3) and Job Nightingale (Generation 4), who descended from Henry and Helen, also lived in Matlock. See details of their Wills on Pre-1858 Wills & Administrations, Surnames N.
  
  


Filling in some of the missing names on the top pedigree:

• Generation 4: Peter Nightingale married Rachel Cantrell on 19 Dec 1805 at Manchester Cathedral.
• Generation 4: His sister, Ellen Nightingale, married Emanuel Cantrell at Manchester Cathedral on the same day that her brother married Rachel.



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Florence Nightingale's name is not included on the Bryan pedigree above; nor are those of her parents. However, her grandparents were Mary Evans and her husband William Shore (Mary = William Shore, Generation 4 at the bottom of the top pedigree).

Mary married William Shore of Tapton, a Sheffield banker, at Matlock in 1792^[6]. The couple had two children:

• A son called William Edward Shore, who was Florence Nightingale's father.
• A daughter, Mary (Mai) Shore.

They are shown on second pedigree, below, that explains how they fit into the Nightingale family tree.





Some notes about the second Nightingale pedigree:


Florence Nightingale's father, William Edward Shore, son of William and Mary Shore, added the surname Nightingale to his surname in pursuance of the will of his great uncle, Peter Nightingale.

• He became William Edward [Shore] Nightingale in 1815^[7].
• William Edward Shore, who had become William Edward [Shore] Nightingale, married Frances Smith, the daughter of William Smith, M.P. for Norwich of Parndon, Essex and friend of William Wilberforce^[8]. They married on 1 June 1818 at St. Margaret's, Westminster^[9]; WEN died at Embley Park on 5 Jan 1874 and was buried at Wellow Church^[10]. Frances died in 1880 and was also buried at Wellow^[8].
• William Edward Nightingale [formerly Shore] and his wife Frances had two daughters.
  • Frances Parthenope, their elder daughter, was born in Naples in 1819. She was named after the city; Parthenope was the Greek name for Naples. She married Sir Harry Verney of Claydon^[11], and became stepmother to his seven children. She died at Claydon on 11th May 1890 and was buried at Middle Claydon on 15th May^[12]. "Parthe" researched and co-wrote, with S. R. Gardiner and Margaret Verney "Memoirs of the Verney Family during the Seventeenth Century", pub. 1904.
  • Florence, their younger daughter, became famous through her work during the Crimean War and did so much for the nursing profession throughout her life^[4].
    
    

Mary Shore, Florence Nightingale's aunt Mai, married Samuel, son of William Smith of Parndon.

• Amongst the couple's ten children was a son William, born in 1831, who eventually assumed the name of Shore-Nightingale^[1]. He married Louisa Ellen Hutchins (d. of Samuel of Ardnagashel) in 1859^[1] and died in 1894^[13].
  • William and Louisa had two sons, Samuel and Louis Hilary, and three daughters^[1]. Louis Hilary moved into Lea Hurst and died there in September 1940.



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Other research about the Nightingale family:

Some years ago the American descendants of John Nightingale, who lived in Scarthin in 1891, produced a comprehensive family tree. They had always believed they were somehow related to Florence Nightingale and their research showed they were descendants of Paul Nightingale (shown in Generation 2 of the top tree). John was the son of William Nightingale of Belper, who married Mary Ann Stone in 1850, but seems to have been brought up by his aunt and uncle. His grandparents, John and Martha, were non-conformists.
John Nightingale and family in the 1891 census. John married Thirza Eaton at Bakewell Register Office in 1884.
See Strays, Surnames N


More on site information about the Nightingale family and Florence Nightingale:

The Wolley Manuscripts, Matlock contain numerous references to Peter Nightingale and two to George Evans.

The Wolley Manuscripts, Derbyshire, Surnames M-P, has further references to the Nightingales.

Matlock Biographies: see NIGHTINGALE (for Peter and Peter).
Eighteenth Century Lists: Matlock Land Tax, 1780 (Peter Nightingale, jun)
Peter Nightingale is shown as an owner in Eighteenth Century Lists: Poor Rate, 1784 (part 1) | Eighteenth Century Lists: Poor Rate, 1784 (part 2).
Nineteenth Century Lists: Proposed House of Industry, 1831-2 for Matlock. Florence's father was consulted.
Biography of Florence NIGHTINGALE and photograph of her as a young woman.
Coat of Arms: Description of NIGHTINGALE arms.
Dethick, Lea and Holloway (Kelly's 1891 Directory).
Find the Nightingale and Shore surnames in Eighteenth Century: Game Duty Lists | Nineteenth Century - Game Duty Lists.
Read Longfellow's poem about Florence Nightingale on Matlock & Matlock Bath: Inspiration of Poets.
Hall's "Days in Derbyshire", mentions Lea Hurst and Holloway, and the Nightingale "Jewel".
A John Nightingale (b. Belper 1858) and his family can be found on South Parade in 1891 and some of his children are amongst the Strays, Surnames N.


Matlock Old Church, 1870 & before

Florence Nightingale and Lea Hurst.
There is also a photo of Lea Hurst amongst scanned images from "Souvenir of Matlock Bath" on site.

Anna Neagle starring in the 1951 film about Florence Nightingale - "The Lady with the Lamp".

External Links
National Portrait Gallery - search the collection for Florence Nightingale.

References:

^[1] Bryan, Benjamin (1903) "History of Matlock - Matlock, Manor and Parish" London by Bemrose & Sons, Limited.

^[2] Ashover Parish Register is held by Derbyshire County Record Office. The other children were: Henry s John/Frances c. 19 May 1668: Richard s John/Frances c. 13 Aug 1682; Samuel Nightingale s John/Helling c. 27 Jan 1698/9; Sibell d John/Helling 26 Ju7l 1701. Nothing further is known about any of these children.

^[3] Their Wills are available from Staffordshire Record Office.

^[4] See Biography of Florence Nightingale.

^[5] Pilkington, James (1789) "A View of the Present State of Derbyshire; with an Account of its most Remarkable Antiquities ... in two volumes. Volume I". Derby. From the Preface, v-vi.

^[6] The marriage of Mary Evans and William Shore was recorded in Matlock's Parish Registers. See the Onsite Transcripts

^[7] Bryan says he assumed the name Nightingale by royal sign-manual, dated 21st Feb 1815. "The Derby Mercury", 14 Jan 1874 reported that he had assumed by Royal licence the name and arms of Nightingale only on attaining his majority. He had been educated at Edinburgh and Trinty College, Cambridge.

^[8] Obituary of Florence Nightingale, "The Times", 15 Aug 1910.

^[9] "The Morning Post", 2 June 1818.

^[10] Death announcement in "The Morning Post", 8 Jan 1874 and "The Derby Mercury", 14 Jan 1874. Report of burial from "The Hampshire Advertiser", 14 Jan 1874. His Will, as William Edward Nightingale, was proved on 21st Feb 1874.

^[11] The marriage of Sir Harry Verney and Frances Parthenope Nightingale was announced in "Jackson's Oxford Journal", 26 June, 1858. An obituary for Sir Harry appeared in "Jackson's Oxford Journal" 17 February, 1894

^[12] "Jackson's Oxford Journal", 17 May 1890

^[13] "The Hampshire Advertiser", 1 Sep 1894 reported the death of William Shore Nightingale, J.P. of Lea Hurst and Embley Park, Romsey, Hampshire, on 23 Aug 1894 at 15 Albemarle Street, London.