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LANCASHIRE FAMILY HISTORY
AND HERALDRY SOCIETY
Rossendale Branch Newsletter October 2002
Programme
Tonight - 2nd October
Members’ Miscellany
6th November On board HMS George V
A WW2 talk by Norma Cowpe.
4th December Christmas Celebration
Coming Events:
Saturday 12th October
A Local History Seminar will be held at the Rolls
Royce Social Club, Skipton Road,
Barnoldswick. 10.00am - 4.30pm.
This event is hosted by the Earby & District Local
History Association. Speakers:
Eric Higham - Migration of Dales families to the mill
towns.
Susan Wrathmell - Traditional architecture of the area. Then a choice of
Jean Ingham- A Family History work-shop or A
tour of Bancroft Mill Engine Museum.
Fee: £12.50 including lunch.
Further details from Lynda Simmons 01282 816100 and
from local libraries and tourist information centres.
Sunday 27th October -
This year the annual Family History Fair hosted
by the N.W. Group of Family History Societies will be held at Manchester
Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester. 10.30am - 4.30pm
There will be the usual variety of stalls.
Also Refreshments and Free street parking. Admission £2
- children free.
Volunteers are need to help run our stall at this
event. Please contact Ron Chapman, Chairman of the Exhibitions Sub
Committee; 01257 453087
Did you miss....
The Other 1851 -
Rossendale Censu
our talk by John Dunleavy?
John is a Haslingden man, who now lives in Abingdon,
Oxfordshire. He has lectured in Oxford, Melbourne, New York and Budapest.
The subject of his talk was new to most of us.
It seems that in 1851 the Home Office decided to take a census of all the
places of worship in the country. This was to include every church, chapel
and meeting house of all denominations. The census information includes
the address, date of establishment and size of each congregation on the
30th March 1851.
John was able to check the original records at Kew but
they are now on microfilm. They are arranged by Poor Law Union. In our
case this is "Haslingden" an area which covered Accrington, and most of
modern day Rossendale. The returns are incomplete as some ministers did
not take part in the exercise. Out of 18 million people in England and
Wales only 7,250,000 attended a religious service on census Sunday (some
would have attended more than once) this was a surprise and a
disappointment to the authorities. No other ecclesiastical census has ever
been taken.
Originally, it had been planned to ask people their
religion on the census form. This was considered too intrusive.
Considering the number of people who put "Jedi" on their 2001 census form,
it is probably still considered too intrusive but it would have been handy
to know that granddad was Baptist or Presbyterian.
John’s main interest is the Roman Catholic Church at
this time the only Catholic church in the area was St. James the Less in
Rawtenstall. He went on to tell us about the early church buildings at
Bacup, Rawtenstall and Ramsbottom. He also traced the subsequent career of
Father Thomas Unsworth who went from Rawtenstall to the Crimea and later
became an army chaplain based at Aldershot.
If you are interested in the Ecclesiastical Census you
can obtain an Information Leaflet from the PRO. The PRO Reference is
HO129.
Quaker Records
Following my report in the August edition of
"Lancashire" on Julia Hoyle’s talk. I have had several requests for more
information on Quaker Records in the valley. Go to our section on local
Churches for
The Crawshawbooth Meeting House
and follow the links at the bottom of
the page.
Rossendale Ancestry:
HEYS/ KAY/ FIRTH
Vicky Barlow (the LFHHS Membership Secretary)
6 Mowbreck Lane, Wesham, Preston, PR4 3HA,
says she is looking for information on her g.g. aunt
Susy Heys.
"Have you ever found a person in your family history
research who sticks in your mind until you become fascinated (obsessed by
them?) To me Susy is such a person.
She was born in Crawshawbooth 5th Sept. 1821 and
baptised at Rakefoot Wesleyan Church. Her mother was Eve Heys, a milliner,
her father unknown. Eve married Thomas Kay at Newchurch 19 Sept. 1825. Eve
and Thomas Kay then had 9 children. Their youngest child was James Kay, my
g. grandfather.
1841 - Susy was with the family at Bank Top, she was a
Female Servant. c1846 she had a daughter Eve Heys (father unknown), it
must run in the family.
1851 - this child was described as a niece of Thomas
Kay. Susy was given as his daughter.
1861 - she was living alone with her daughter at Holme
Terrace. By 1871 Susy’s daughter Eve had married Francis Firth. They were
all 3 at Holme Terrace.
1881 - They are living at Isle of Man Terrace, Higher
Booths. Susy is given as ‘servant’ to Francis and Eve Firth.
1891 - They are at Forest Holme, Lumb. Susy is back as
‘Head’ and Francis and Eve are ‘Lodgers’. By now aged 69, she has living
with her, James Caleb Kay (17), his sister Eve Kay (12), and his brother
John Robinson Kay (10). They had been orphaned when my g. grandfather
James Kay died.
I have never been able to trace Susy’s date of death.
Please does anyone recognise Susy? I am also confused
by the addresses on the census. Are some of them the same? "
SCHOFIELD
June Thompson is researching her grandfather’s family
who were living at Waterfoot. In 1881 Henry Schofield was aged 29, a seal
skin and carpet printer. By 1891, he had become a Dry Salter and Druggist
living at Irwell Terrace, Cloughfold. He was born at Newchurch. His family
consisted of wife Ellen, 46, born Burnley; children William, 17; Sarah
Jane, 16; Edmund, 13; Arnold H., 11.
email: june.g@btinternet.com
COWP/COOP/ PICCOP/ HARGREAVES
Jane Coop, from West Yorkshire, says "I am interested
in the name Cowp and have recently discovered ancestors baptised at
Newchurch in Rossendale. I am wondering if anyone else is researching this
surname." Jane is interested in James Coop baptised 9th Feb. 1765 married
Susanna Hargreaves 24th April 1787 at St. Mary’s Bury. He is son of
Richard and Sarah Cowp of Newchurch. There is a marriage at Newchurch of
Richard Cowp to Sarah Piccop 24th May 1764 which seems to fit, but the
baptismal registers give a possible earlier child, 3rd Feb. 1761- Alice
dau. of Richard and Sarah Cowp, of Shuttleworth. For further details
email: jane.fiesta@talk21.com
CHRISTMAS SOCIAL
Tickets will be on sale next month
price £2.00
We need some new, bright, imaginative idea for the
Christmas event - New Quizzes, New Games.
Give your ideas to Kathleen Ashburner at Our November
meeting.
LFHHS HELPING HANDS -
LOOKUP SERVICE
In the August edition of "Lancashire" Tony Foster
appealed for someone to co-ordinate a lookup service. Fiona Hall of 6
Willowherb Close, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL52 5LP, has
agreed to undertake this task.
The Society plans to develop a database, listing the
names of volunteers who have offered to do limited research for fellow
members of the Lancashire FH & Heraldry Society. Requests for help must be
accompanied by a membership number. The service is to be run on an
expenses only basis and will not be an ongoing research facility. If any
of you have areas of expertise and would be willing to offer advice, or a
detailed knowledge of an occupation, military history or an ability to
decipher old handwriting or even a knowledge of Latin, please contact
Fiona. Email: fiona.j.hall@btopenworld.com
As Branch Secretary, I will of course continue to
co-ordinate Rossendale enquiries.
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