LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY AND HERALDRY SOCIETY

Rossendale Branch Newsletter  August 2001

Programme 2001

1st August - Research Workshop in Longholme Chapel. We have several new project fiche for you to consult, including the long awaited Newchurch monumental and memorial inscriptions.

Wilf Day has brought along his computer. He has a number of records available, especially for the Goodshaw, Crawshawbooth area.

Michael Hiluta can help with burials from Haslingden, Rawtenstall and Newchurch.

Winifred Belcher can help you find information in our library and Maureen Hodgkinson will help you to find the ideal book to purchase.

5th September - The Amish Story. by Mrs. Lewis.

The Amish are a Protestant group who are located the US and in Ontario, Canada. They are farmers who believe in personal simplicity. They do not accept modern technology; they have no telephones and have no electricity. So no computers, no Internet. Oh dear! How would we manage?

3rd October - Rawtenstall Library. A look at the resources of the Library and help with your research.

7th November - Uncle Fred, Mary Davison and Jean Harrison will tell us about Fred Harrison.

5th December- Christmas Social.

PROGRAMME 2002 (Provisional)

2nd January. The Lancashire Parish Register Society. John Dalton.

7th February. Research Workshop.

Coming Events ....

27th October The NW Group of Family History Societies FHS Fair, at the Guild Hall, Preston. Details from F. Gullick, 4 Lawrence Avenue, Simonstone, Burnley

Did you miss...

Our Walk round Haslingden

Whatever happened to the rain? We had a perfect evening for our stroll, in spite of a forecast for torrential rain.

About 40 members were conducted on a tour round the town commencing at St. James’s Church. We visited various other churches and graveyards. At Ebenezer Baptist Church, Michael Hiluta produced a huge photo of the graveyard as it had been in 1973, full of gravestones. He proclaimed it a “lost opportunity”, which indeed it was but as the family history society only commenced that year, we could hardly be blamed for the loss of the stones. Let’s make sure no other opportunities are lost.

The walk finished at 9.00 p.m. Haslingden Roots Research Group treated us to tea and biscuits and our Chairman, John Dalton, won the raffle.

Maybe we can walk round some other area next year. Or, would we be tempting our luck, by trying to get such fine weather a second time?

Rossendale Ancestry

Workshop and Exhibition The exhibition will run from September 29th - October 13th at Rawtenstall Library. A public workshop will be held in the exhibition room on Saturday October 6th

Please consider your contribution NOW. If you don’t have a local family, you can do displays on a specific locality, historic maps, census returns, civil registration certificates, population figures, distribution of surnames, etc. etc. You can provide your expertise in graphic art, or in providing leaflets, publicity etc.

Volunteers will also be required to install the exhibition on September 29th and to help with the workshop on October 6th.

Rossendale Ancestry:

PALMER. Ann McClean wrote to ask if the 1891 census could be checked for her Palmer Family. This has been done. She already had the 1871 and 1881 censuses. This family had moved enmasse to Lancashire, from Cambridgeshire to find work. She says "William, Henry & Louis are brothers, their parents are William & Maria Palmer from Burwell, brother and sister-in-law of my Gt. Gt. Grandfather Emmanuel Palmer. Stephen is a cousin of William, Henry & Louis. They are all grandsons of my 3 X Gt. Grandparents, Stephen Palmer of Burwell and Maria da Silva of Portugal." If you have any connections with this family, Her email address is ann-mcclean@mid-wales.net

SNEDDLE HOLME, EDGESIDE. In our July issue, Donald B. Hyde of Colorado Springs wrote to ask the whereabouts of this place. He was thrilled to receive a parcel from England enclosing several coloured photographs of the buildings and a map of the district. He wishes to thank Wilf Day for his help. Donald has been a member for a long time. He is member number 43. So it is good to know we have been able to help someone who has stuck with us for about 27 years.

HAMER. Brenda Westwood (member 6660) of RR3, Wingham, Ontario NOG 2WO, Canada sent me a photograph of a shop at 192 Blackburn Road, Haslingden. It shows Geo. Henry Hamer “High Class Grocer” standing in the doorway of the shop with his nephew Henry Hamer. Henry was Brenda’s grandfather, he was born in 1889. He appears to be about 14 years old, which would date the photograph to 1902.

Brenda asked whether we had any records of Holden Hall cemetery. Michael Hiluta was able to give me information from grave B1135, which showed that George Henry died in 1936 aged 61, he was living at Morecambe. His wife Caroline died in 1958, aged 84 at Ulverston. There was also a small child, Ainsworth, who died aged 4, shortly after the cemetery was opened, in 1902.

I thought I would check this family in 1881. I had considerable difficulty as they had been mis-indexed as HAWER. I eventually found them at Sunnybank Street in 1881 and 1891. Henry aged 1 was living at 2 Spring Street, Haslingden in 1891. His parents were James Hamer and Betsy.

PICKUP/RAILWAY AT WATERFOOT Alex Pickup, 37 Woodhouse Lane, Biddulph, Staffordshire Moorlands, ST8 7DR is trying to verify a family story, “that when the E.L.R was routed from Rawtenstall to Waterfoot, a dispute regarding the ownership of land was not resolved and was referred to Chancery.” The dispute, c1848 involved Henry Pickup, a wool carder, who died 1860, at Newchurch St. Nicholas.

DUNN/WALLWORK. I had a request from Nigel Dunn who is researching his grandparents who came from the Rawtenstall/Bacup/Stacksteads/Waterfoot area. His grandfather was Thomas Dunn 1908 - 2000, his grandmother was Hannah Wallwork 1903 - 1978. These two moved to Yorkshire, so he is trying to find any information on their relatives. His grandfather’s brothers were Harold, Ralph, Fred and Roland. He had a sister Alice.

His grandmother, Alice was daughter of Joseph Wallwork born 1876. Her brothers were Sam and George. She had two sisters Florence and Mary. If you can help Nigel’s email is ngd@dunn.freeserve.co.uk

Gravestone of the Month

Michael Hiluta, has suggested this, as a regular item.

He has submitted this inscription from Rawtenstall Cemetery. In Loving memory of/ John ASPIN/ of 1 Hope Street, Cloughfold/ who served in the Indian/ Mutiny and was present at the/ relief of Lucknow/ died December 30th 1907/ in his 68th year/ Also Elizabeth his wife/ died April 4th 1910/ aged 70 years.

If you know of any interesting stones relating to the Rossendale area, please let me have copies for future publication.

The National Burial Index

The Branch has received a copy of this CD. It contains over 5 million burial records from 1538 to 2000. Only 29 registers are for Lancashire as the LFHHS decide to continue with its own programme of publishing indexed records on microfiche.

St. John’s Church, Stonefold

This church is due to close in the near future. At present it is part of the United Benefice and Parish of Haslingden St. James and Grane St. Stephen. It is situated on Blackburn Road, Rising Bridge, between Haslingden and Accrington.

Sylvia Craig has made a start on the monumental inscriptions. She would like some help with this project. If you are interested please contact Sylvia as soon as possible.