LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY AND HERALDRY SOCIETY

Rossendale Branch Newsletter  May 2001

Tonight

May 2nd - Violet’s story, the sequel

by Denise North.

June 6th Who was my Uncle Bilsborrow? A talk by Tony Foster, Society Chairman. The Bilsborrow family had Darwen and Haslingden connections.

July 4th Our Out Visit. A visit to St. James Church and (weather permitting) a walk round Haslingden.

1st August - Research Workshop in Longholme Chapel.

Coming Events ....

12th May at Preston, University of Central Lancs.

LFHHS Conference and AGM

25th June York FH Fair

27th October FFHS Fair, Preston Guild Hall

Projects

Wilf Day has been given permission to transcribe the Baptism and Marriage registers at St. John’s Crawshawbooth from 1892.

KING STREET METHODIST CHAPEL, Haslingden

 In our February magazine, I asked if anyone had photographs of King Street Chapel. I would like to thank Marie Ives for sending me photocopies of two photographs in her possession. These show the funeral of the Rev. William Hoare in April 1914. One shows the lower portion of the chapel and part of the graveyard. The other shows the funeral cortege proceeding down Chapel Street.

GENERAL REGISTER OFFICE

 PO Box 2 - Southport - Merseyside - PR8 2JD

On 1 May a dedicated telephone number will be introduced for GRO certificate enquiries and applications which will replace 0151 471 816/4800. This new number 0870 243 7788, will be staffed from 8.00am to 6.00pm Monday to Thursday, 8.00am to 5.00pm on Friday and 10.00am to 4.00pm on Saturday. 

www.statistics.gov.uk/registration

DAVID WHITEHEAD

 "The autobiography of DAVID WHITEHEAD, of Rawtenstall (1790 - 1865) Cotton Spinner and Merchant" has just been published in full, for the first time, by Helmshore Local History Society. I found this book unexpectedly interesting. It tells the success story of a major textile manufacturer from his humble beginnings. He was born at Meadowhead near Gambleside in Rossendale. His father, who had had two wives and eighteen children, died when David was 12. In his early years he had a determination not to be apprenticed as a weaver, a trade which he hated. For various reasons he moved from master to master, always ending back home with his long suffering mother.

In his twenties, after a serious illness, he became a commited Methodist and eventually, when he was 26 he went into partnership with two of his brothers. They started business with an old jenny, spinning cotton waste but thanks to a loan of £100 from a distant relative, they eventually prospered. At the time of the power loom riots of 1826, Whitehead’s had 96 power looms destroyed. In the 1830s the brothers bought an estate on which they built three houses at "Holly Mount". They also built 80 workers houses, a school and Methodist Chapel. A copy of the book has been purchased for our branch library. It is available from local ibraries at £12.

CONGRATULATIONS TO AMOS TAYLOR 

on his 90th Birthday in April. Amos has been a member for over 20 years. In the mid 1980s he was our project organiser. He is also our Edenfield expert, he and his son have been responsible for indexing and transcribing may Edenfield records, registers, MIs, census etc.

Rossendale Ancestry:

Enquiries have been received on the following families:

POINTON. Moses Pointon (born Staffordshire) was a Sexton at Goodshaw Chapel in the 1880s.

RALPH FAMILY of Haslingden, Burnley, Settle.

PROUDFOOT of Bacup

ROTHWELL / LAYCOCK. Ellen Rothwell born c1833 at Irwell Vale and her parents Thomas Rothwell and Betty Laycock.

WOODFIN, Louisa Haworth a Sunday School teacher at Longholme Methodist Church in 1863.

HOYLE. The Hoyle Family of Ilex Mill. Joseph Hoyle and his son Richard Ashworth Hoyle.

WHITTAKER. The Whittaker families of Wellbank, Haslingden.

ASHWORTH. George Ashworth born c1781 in Newchurch and moved to Burnley in the early 1800s, where he set up as a gate and pallisade maker at Vulcan works, Bacup. George had a wife Mary and a son Thomas born in Burnley in 1816.

FOSTER/HALL. Abraham Foster, lived at 3 Moor View, Rakehead, Stacksteads. He died 1933 and was buried at Newchurch. His wife Martha Ann Hall was died in 1923. It is believed that he was a hairdresser. Michael Hiluta has provided some information on this family. If you have any further information, or access to trade directories, etc. please contact Sue Quinn. She would appreciate any guidance. email SQuinn9807@aol.com

WHALLEY / LEE / HEAP. The Whalley family lived in Reedsholme, Higher and Burnley Road, Crawshawbooth for a few years. John Whalley, his wife and family arrived in the area early in 1880, and shortly afterwards his son Frederick was born. Another child Maria Jane was born 25 March 1882. Two weeks later John’s wife Maria died. Where was Maria buried? Also what became of Maria Jane, who was adopted by Henry Lee (a blacksmith) and his wife Jane. Maria Jane was living with the Lee family in 1891 at 95 Holmes Terrace, Lower Booths. It is not known whether she changed her name to "Lee".

John Whalley married Sarah Heap (daughter of Enoch) at Sion Chapel Cloughfold and subsequently moved to Hollingsworth and then Blackley in Manchester. email pamandnick@ukgateway.net

GRIMSHAW/ BIRTWISTLE Information required on the George and Mary Grimshaw of Scarrs Farm, Musbury. They had 2 children (Riley and Ann ) baptised at Deardengate Independent Chapel in 1835. George Grimshaw died about 1836. His widow married James Birtwistle, a widower in Dec. 1937 at Bury. They were living at Scarrs in 1841. Mrs. Mavis Long of Gdog Gdog Gdo, Nether Kellet, via Carnforth, Lancs. LA6 1EJ says that she would like some information on Musbury in the 1830s. She recently visited Haslingden - only to find the reference books unavailable due to the fire. email MavisLong@aol.com

HAWORTH/STANSFIELD. Information required on the Haworth Family of th’ Heights. Jack Haworth has been struggling for Many years to link his Haworths to Rossendale.1843. He gives a brief outline of his problem:

My great-grandfather George Haworth (1) was born at Lindley (Huddersfield) in 1843. He was the son of another George (2) who on the 1851 census gave his birthplace as "Rosendale, Lancs". This George was born c1805/6. George (1) subsequently wound up in Rossendale also, where he married Sarah Stansfield in 1861. I have tried matching up George (2) with all the births of George Haworths in the Rossendale area without success. There is a family tradition that there were 3 George Haworths in succession, before which there was a James, known a Jim o’th Heights. Family traditions are often in error, maybe there were only 2 Georges in succession and Jim (or even John) o’th Heights was father to George (2)

email accorn@cnwl.igs.net

HOYLE / LUND Capt. Henry Hoyle, of NewHall Hey. The Lund family of San Diego California have a legend that their ancestor John Lund was the illegitamate son of a Captain Hoyle. John was baptised 6th July 1823, his mother,s name was Sarah. Some four years ago they met a Baxendale lady, who offered to do some research. She has established that Captain Hoyle was named Henry. He had a brother Richard Hoyle. They were early woollen maufacturers in Rawtenstall with a partner named ASHWORTH. Henry apparently retired from business in 1848. He is believed to have lived at New Hall Hey. His premises were attacked in the riots of 1826, when 3 powerlooms were destroyed. If you can give any information on this man or his brother, contact Mrs. B. Preston 01254 395313 or email Mrs. Kathleen Lund, klund@grossmont.k12.ca.us

Anyone wishing to make contact regarding enquiries where no address has been given should contact our correspondence secretary for further information.