LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY AND HERALDRY SOCIETY

Rossendale Branch Newsletter November 2006

Coming Events

Sunday 19th November

Family History Festival

Kings Hall and Winter Gardens
Station Road,
Ilkley, West
Yorkshire

10-am - 4.00. Admittance £2.50

More information available at www.familyhistoryfestival.co.uk

Saturday 2nd December

Irish Ancestry Group

Workshop Advice & Research at the Straits, Oswaldwistle

1.00pm - 4.30pm

Enquiries - contact Margaret Purcell, 128 Red Bank Road, Blackpool FY2 9DZ

email: mpurcell@redbank.fsnet.co.uk

Do you remember Coronation day?

If you do, then you might be able to help BBC Timewatch make a new programme called 'The People's Coronation'.

The programme will commemorate Coronation Day in a completely different way, focusing on the millions of those who celebrated across the nation, as well as those who took part in the ceremony itself. Perhaps you went to a street party, bought a new television, or travelled to London to see the new Queen with your own eyes. Whatever your story, if you or your family have memories, photographs or film from the day then BBC Timewatch would like to hear from you.

You can get in touch with them by email, phone or post:

Email: coronation@bbc.co.uk

Phone: 020 8752 5350

Post: The People's Coronation, BBC Timewatch, Room 3170, BBC White City, London W12 7TS

Or, to find out more, you can visit www.bbc.co.uk/timewatch

Unitarian Chapel, Bank Street, Rawtenstall

It is known that there was a "Chapell at Rattenstall" as early as 1757 and there is mention of a register book kept by the minister, Richard Whitaker. However these early records have not survived.

At the end of the 1990s members of the Rossendale Branch {with permission from the Rev. Brian Cockcroft) commenced transcribing the registers retained at the Church. These contain details from the baptismal register; a copy of marriages; a transcript of the graves and monumental inscriptions, extracts from the graves (occupancy) register with an index of the owners and occupants.

Baptisms commenced 22nd July 1824 and have been transcribed to 15th April 1957. They are entered in the order in which they appeared in the register. In some cases not a true chronological order.

Marriages were originally compiled by the Rev. Magnus C. Ratter, (minister 1936 - 1945) using information given to him by members of the congregation They range from 1866 - 1904. Additions were made by subsequent ministers. Burials: There are 113 graves listed with their occupants but no burials before 1853.

All sections are fully indexed, they are available on microfiche from the LFHHS microsales officer email: fiche@lfhhs.org.uk

It was thanks to the information detailed above, that I was able to help Judy Bradwell with her Taylor family, as described in this month’s Rossendale Ancestry section.

Rossendale Ancestry

Children of the "Lant Lad"

When Judy Bradwell started to trace her reasonably affluent family in Newchurch, she never imagined that James Ormerod Taylor’s grand father would be a collector of Urine for the fulling mills in Rawtenstall.

Judy was fortunate in having a family Bible. This listed his birth date as 3 March 1853, slightly at variance with his birth certificate which shows that he was born 27 July 1853 at Hareholme in Newchurch. His parents were married at Haslingden. Judy writes

"Edmund Taylor was working as a bailer, presumably in the cotton industry, when he married Ann Taylor, daughter of John Taylor, at St. James’ church, 16 December 1843. She was then about 17, Edmund a year older - both minors. It was a scurried wedding, the couple’s oldest daughter Mary Ellen was born 21 April 1844 - records Unitarian Chapel, Bank Street, Rawtenstall. Edmund, was then a spinner living at Blaize Hall. Subsequent children were also baptised at Bank Street, John 1846, Margaret, 1851, James Ormerod, 1853, and Thomas, 1858. Another child Alice Ann, born c1855, was not listed but is shown on censuses of 1861, 71, & 81..

In 1851 Edmund was living at Laund Mill in the Constable Lee area. He was 26, Ann 24, Mary E, was 6 and son John aged 4. They had a 14 year old servant, Mary Handcock. Unfortunately, occupation and place of birth was left blank on the census.

Edmund died, at Hareholme of gastric fever and cerebral effusion, in 1859".

In the 1861 census we found his young widow, Ann, aged 34, head of Household, a grocer and draper. She had 6 living children. Also in the household was Robert Taylor, an unmarried lodger, 33 [her brother in law?] and Edward Whittaker [Whitehead] aged 27, a painter, whom she subsequently married.

The 1871 and 1881 censuses show that Ann had moved with her new husband, firstly to Blackburn and in 1881 to Southport. Edward Whitehead was a house painter, so also was his stepson James Ormerod Taylor.

James O. married Kate Hutchison 23 May 1876 at St. Paul’s Church, Southport. They were presented with the Bible by the Sunday School Committee. In it, they recorded the dates and times of birth of their 6 daughters, Ada Mary, 1877; Nellie 1880 (died 1881); Annie Louisie 1882; Evelyn 1885; Kate Hutchison 1887, and Rhoda 1888.

Lawrence Taylor - The Lant Lad

Edmund’s marriage certificate in 1843 showed that he was a minor, living in Rawtenstall and his father was Lawrence Taylor, a carter.

Two years earlier in the 1841 census, Lawrence Taylor, carter aged 40, was living in Rawtenstall near Daisy Hill. With him was Mary, 35, woollen spinner; Edmund 15, woollen carder; Robert 15, woollen piecer, James, 13, woollen piecer; Ann 11, woollen piecer, Alice 9; Moses 6.

Lawrence of Newhallhey had married Mary Cunliffe at St. James’, Haslingden, on 7 February 1824. The bride was some five months pregnant.

It was by chance that we found Edmund’s baptism in the Unitarian Chapel registers on Bank Street, Rawtenstall. His was the first entry in the register.

"These records offer more information.

Edmund Taylor born 28 June 1824; bapt. 22 July, Rawtenstall
Robert born 24 Dec 1825.Newhallhey
James born 17 Jan 1829; Rawtenstall
Ann born 9 Dec.1830; Rawtenstall
Alice born 29 Jan 1833; Rawtenstall
Moses born 13 Dec. 1835; Rawtenstall
William born 25 June 1838; Back of Bank
John born 2 Jan1843; bapt 12 Jan 1845 (sic) Rawtenstall

In every case the minister states that they are children of Lawrence and Mary Taylor, ‘Lant Lad.’

Lant is a dialect word for urine, a job confirmed in the 1851 census".

This census gives us a different age for Lawrence Taylor, "60", therefore born c1790, in Rawtenstall.

The grave records of the Unitarian Chapel show that Lawrence Taylor (Carter) Rawtenstall, owned a grave but the only recorded occupants are:

Taylor, Mary buried 25 May 1855 aged 53 and Taylor, Robert died 11 Nov. 1867 aged 41 years.

Edmund Taylor also owned a grave. He was described as a warehouse-man of Holt Mills.

His name is entered with no details.

Others listed are:

Rushton Mrs. Timothy died 6 Mar, 1863 aged 65 [formerly Ellen Taylor, James O’s maternal grandmother]
Taylor, Margaret died 14 May 1866 aged 15 years
Taylor, Mary Elizabeth died 7 Feb 1865 aged 5 years
Whitehead, William, died 6 Dec 1864 aged 9 mo
Taylor, Thomas died 7 May 1868 aged 11 years
Taylor, Margaret Ann died 5 May 1874 aged 7 hours.

This is probably as far as we can go with this Taylor line. Lawrence is a fairly common name and there is uncertainty regarding his age. The Unitarian registers in Rawtenstall do not exist before 1824, although the church is much older.

Edmund’s wife Ann Taylor can be linked to the Taylor’s of Hurst. (see "The Taylor’s of Rossendale in our Dec. 2005 & Jan. 2006 newsletters) For further information on both these families contact Judy Bradwell

email. jbradwell@paradise.net.nz