LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY AND HERALDRY SOCIETY

Rossendale Branch Newsletter August 2008

** Please give your names to Leo Turner, if you wish to attend, so that transport can be arranged.

Research and Advice Sessions at Rawtenstall Library

every Tuesday 1.30 - 3.30 pm

The Rossendale Branch now holds regular Research and Advice sessions at Rawtenstall Library. We have arranged a rota of 10 members, of whom 2 or 3 will be on hand each week to assist members of the public. We may also be able to do simple look-ups for members not able to attend the library in person.

The Society’s Resource Centre

2 The Straits, Oswaldtwistle,

The Society’s Central Resource Centre is open each Thursday 1pm to 5 pm until further notice. (200 yards from Oswaldtwistle Mills) 01254 2399919 (Answer phone)

Advice & Help with your research. Access to the Society’s Library; 4 computers with Internet Access & microfiche readers, the Society’s Pedigree Database; and opportunity to try out different programmes for recording Family History. etc. Free Admission

See www.lfhhs.org.uk for details of additional opening times.

Car Parking at Lancashire Record Office

The car park will also be closed from Tuesday 22nd July to Wednesday 13th August 2008. The closure will allow for essential repair and maintenance work..

Arrangements have been made for Record Office visitors who are blue badge holders to use the Register Office car park at the corner of Arthur Street from Monday to Thursday

Coming Events

Friday 12th September 2008

The Society’s Annual Dinner

This year the Annual Dinner will be hosted by the Rochdale Branch. It is to be held at Rochdale Town Hall, the Esplanade, Rochdale OL16 1AB.

The speaker will be Ian Tootell, MBE talking about the humour of police work. The menu and a booking form to reserve places at £19 per head, can be found in your May "Lancashire" journal.

Rossendale Miscellany:

News, notes and queries

Newchurch in Rossendale Registers

As you are probably aware Craig Thornber has been transcribing the Newchurch (St Nicholas) Registers for the past 18 months. Craig tells me that

This is almost the last ‘progress report’ as I have finished!" Craig completed the first half of his work several months ago. This covers 1723-1772 and we have been waiting for it to be distributed on CD. The second half covers the years 1773-1813. Both are being published by the Lancashire Parish Register Society (LPRS).

Craig says he has now completed the introduction after finishing the supplementary tables and indexing over the last couple of weeks. There are 412 pages including the indexes with 4452 baptisms, 2118 marriages and 4382 burials. The baptism numbers, which had been down towards the end of the last volume, rise strongly for the first few years of the period then decline after 1788, when St. John the Evangelist opened at Bacup". He anticipates that the supplementary tables will assist all the people researching Ashworth and other frequent Rossendale names.

ASHWORTHS

The supplementary tables for this volume amount to about 231 pages. There are 60 baptisms, 47 marriages and 54 burials in the name of James Ashworth. When the father's names and marriage witnesses are included, there are 388 index entries for James Ashworth making the discovery of the desired record by this method somewhat tedious. The tables should allow users to print off all the records for a surname of interest in a few pages. For example, all the Ashworth baptisms, almost 600 of them from 1773-1812, are covered in the first ten pages of the baptism table

BACUP TRANSCRIPTS

Later in the year Craig will  continue his work in the Rossendale area by finishing his transcription of Bacup St. John the Evangelist registers.

The BTs have been checked but I still have to complete checking where the Bacup entries were copied into the back of the Newchurch register and also the "paper copy", which includes some of the Bacup entries. That will probably be done towards the end of the year.

Oliver Ormerod – follow up

Neville Ormerod had long been of the opinion that his Ormerod family had come to Haslingden via Hoghton, Hindley, Chorley, Salmesbury and Holcombe and did not belong to the well documented Ormerods of Rossendale.

He felt sure that Oliver Ormerod was son of George and Isabel, baptised in 1805 in Hindley, Lancs. Oliver was married to Betty Nuttall, who was born Ramsbottom, in 1800. They had several children baptised and buried at Holcombe before coming to Haslingden. They are in the 1841 census with their children but Neville needed a better confirmation of Oliver’s age than that given in 1841. They had disappeared by 1851 but children could be found at Ewood Bridge and Bury. [see Rossendale newsletter Feb. 2008]

Neville now tells me "I am almost certain I have found my elusive ancestors. I had found an Oliver ORMEROD in the 1851 Census but his age, occupation and place of birth didn't tie in. This man was a widower lodging in Musbury with John & Ellen BRIDGE. I have since found out that John BRIDGE married Ellen ORMEROD in St Mary's Church, Bury. Oliver's younger sister was named Ellen born in Chorley. Her age (recorded in the Census) ties in with that of Ellen ORMEROD!

As Betty had apparently died between 1841 and 1851 - Oliver being recorded as a widower in the 1851 Census, I search the most obvious place for Betty's burial - Emmanuel Church, Holcombe The only Betty ORMEROD in the time period was of the wrong age. However, not deterred, I sent for the Death Cert. and lo and behold she was the wife of Oliver Ormerod.

George ORMEROD married Isabel LOMAX in Leyland (1799). George & Isabel now of Hindley produced Oliver, their third son, who was baptised at Hindley (April 1805). Oliver's elder brothers, Thomas & Peter were baptised at Hoghton 1801 and 1803. Then came four children all baptised in Chorley - John (1807), Mary (1809), another Thomas (1811) and Ellen (1814). Thomas number 1, their eldest child, probably died early in life.

They then had two more children baptised at Samlesbury - James (1816) and George (1819).

Oliver was not in the 1861 Census and the only burial at Emmanuel Church between 1851 & 1861 was again showing the wrong age. Also this gentleman was buried in a grave with three others who appear to be complete strangers. The Death Cert. gave one clue - the informant was a Peter ORMEROD. The informant's relationship to the deceased wasn't stated, however one of Oliver's elder brothers was a Peter I have also found in the 1851/61 Censuses Oliver's brothers living in the same vicinity to where Oliver was reported to have died.

Neither George nor Isabel are listed in the 1841 Census. We have a George ORMEROD buried at Emmanuel Church in April 1834 and Isabel ORMEROD also buried at Emmanuel in Sep 1831. These could be Oliver's parents and my 4th great grandparents. I am also investigating the possibility that my George may have been the son of Peter Ormerod and was, baptised at St. Michaels-on-Wyre (1779).

Perhaps Neville will get back to Rossendale one day. email normerod@ntlworld.com

Cornall Family

Donna Sutton tells me "My ancestors Samuel Lord Cornall and Margaret married at Haslingden in 1819. They lived in the Crawshawbooth area until at least 1845. Their first son James was baptized in Goodshaw Church of England and the second John in Rakefoot Methodist Church in 1822 and the mother was buried out of the Goodshaw church. I haven't been able to find any baptism records for the other six children. Three children were buried at Goodshaw Alice in 1825 (b. approx. 1824); Alice (2nd) d. 1827 (b. approx 1826) and Edmund d. 1835 (b. approx 1831)

I have checked the Goodshaw C of E and Rakefoot Methodist Churches for baptism records of those children plus three more that I know about: William, b. c. 1828; Alice (3rd) b.c 1834 Samuel Lord Cornall, b. c.1836-1837 (however, there are quite a few pages that are too dark to read) spellings vary, sometimes being Cornwall or Cornhall

The 1841 census lists them in Higher Booths, Cribden End. In 1847 Thomas Cornall remarried at Bury Parish Church to Mary Cunliffe.

The 1851 census lists them as living at Waterfoot,

Can anyone give me guidance on where to look now for these birth records? Are the original Rakefoot records legible and transcribed? I'm very confused. Thanks. Donna Sutton Sacramento California member 9143". email dsutton638@aol.com