Nicholas Tyas (1554-1628)

The Tyson family also recorded in various documents as Tyas, Tison, or Tyse was among the longstanding families of Kirkburton. Their name appears in parish records as early as the mid-1500s, associated with landholding, farming, and occasional service in local governance. Nicholas Tyas is not the earliest ancestor, but he is where the paper trail starts. 

Nicholas Tyas, a yeoman farmer, married Helen Elizabeth Jubb in 1586. Together, they raised several children, including John Tyas Tyson (b. 1592), who would become the father of William Andrew Tyson, the progenitor of the Tyson lineage in America.
Their wedding day was June 5, 1586, Helen Elizabeth Jubb, was the daughter of William Jubb and Alice Wilkinson, also of Kirkburton. Helen was born in 1560 and came from a family of similar standing. Their union was not merely romantic, it was strategic, consolidating land, influence, and kinship ties within the village.
The children of Nicholas and Helen were:

•    George Tyas (b. 1582 – d. 1641)
•    Thomas Tyas (b. 1590 – d. 1618)
•    John Tyas (b. 1592 – d. 1641) 
•    Richard Tyas (b. 1594 – d. 1641)
•    Jane Tyas (b. 1597 – d. 1622)

Stewardship and Community Role

Nicholas was more than a farmer; he anchored the family through a belief in stewardship of land and family legacy. By the early 1600s, he had become a respected figure in Kirkburton, serving in local governance or as a churchwarden. The Court Leet of Burton oversaw constabularies in surrounding villages, Shelley, Shepley, Emley, and others. Nicholas’s name appeared among the freeholders who shaped local law and order.

The Tyas homestead was situated near Snowgate Head Lane, a known location for early Tyas family dwellings. The land was fertile, bordered by stone walls and hedgerows, and watered by tributaries of the River Dearne. Nicholas’s stewardship ensured that his children would inherit not just property, but a place in the social fabric of Kirkburton.
 

Faith and the Parish Registers

The Kirkburton Parish Registers, dating back to the mid-16th century, offer a window into the Tyas family's life. These records document baptisms, marriages, and burials, and were signed by vicars and churchwardens who knew the family personally. Nicholas’s presence in these records affirms his role as a devout and active member of the parish.
The registers also reflect the broader religious landscape. The shift from Catholic to Protestant rites, the enforcement of weekly church attendance, and the use of English in worship all shaped the Tyas family's spiritual life. Nicholas and Helen would have raised their children with a strong sense of religious duty, community service, and moral integrity. 
 

Helen Elizabeth Jubb | A Matriarch Remembered

Helen Elizabeth Jubb Tyas deserves equal remembrance. As the mother of five children and the wife of a respected yeoman, she embodied the quiet strength of women in early modern England. Her legacy lives on in the names of daughters and granddaughters, in the herbal remedies she likely passed down, and in the resilience of her family through plague and loss.

Helen’s life was marked by devotion to her family, her faith, and her community. Her death in 1628, alongside Nicholas, suggests a deep bond that endured through decades of marriage, child-rearing, and shared labor, and unto death. 

Tragedy and Transition

In September 1628, Nicholas died at the age of 71. Helen passed away the same month. Whether due to illness, plague, or the wear of time, their deaths marked the end of an era. They were buried in the churchyard of Kirkburton, their graves marked by simple stones, now worn by centuries of rain and moss.

But the true heartbreak came later. On July 30, 1641, three of their sons George, John, and Richard died within days of each other. The cause remains unknown. Some speculate a recurrence of the plague; others suggest a violent event or accident. Whatever the reason, the loss of three brothers cast a long shadow over the Tyas legacy and what may have been. 

Migration and Expansion

Despite these losses, the Tyas name endured. Descendants of Nicholas and Helen spread across Yorkshire and beyond. Some adopted the surname Tyson, a variant that became common in later generations. Others migrated south to Dorset and eventually across the Atlantic to Virginia, where the Tyson name would take root in the New World.

The legacy in Kirkburton is not just genealogical, it is cultural. The family’s presence in parish records, land deeds, and local lore speaks to a lineage of resilience, faith, and stewardship. They were part of the backbone of rural England, shaping communities through quiet labor and enduring values.

Modern-day Kirkburton retains its charm. The parish church still stands, its bells ringing over the same hills Nicholas once walked. The village has grown, but its roots remain deep in the soil of history. For those who trace their ancestry to Nicholas Tyas, Kirkburton is more than a dot on a map, it is a place of origin, of memory, and of belonging. 

The story of Nicholas Tyas of Kirkburton is one of endurance. Born into a world of religious upheaval, he built a life of stability and stewardship. His children carried his name into the next century, and his descendants carried it across oceans. His legacy is etched not only in stone, but in the hearts of those who still seek to understand where they come from.

Nicholas was not a nobleman or a revolutionary. He was something more enduring, a patriarch, a provider, and a pillar of his community. And in the quiet churchyard of Kirkburton, where the wind still whispers through the yew trees, his story continues to speak through every one of us. 

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