Our visit to Rossendale Museum,

Whitaker Park, Haslingden Rd., Rawtenstall

We were lucky to have a lovely evening for our well supported visit to the museum in Whitaker Park on 4th August.

We split into two groups and were told the history, of the 19th century former mill owners’ mansion, then shown the newly opened exhibition and lecture rooms where Jackie Ramsbottom had set out some interesting Bibles. The colourful Rossendale Schools Art Exhibition provided another interest and the refreshments also provided by Jackie, rounded off an enjoyable evening. The museum is well worth a visit but check the opening times on 01706 217777 or 244682.

Tuesday 21st September

Lancashire Record Office - User Consultation Open Meeting at the LRO, Bow Lane, Preston at 2.00pm.

The County Archivist invites you to give your views on all aspects of the service,

RSVP to: 01772 533027; email: record.office@ed.lancscc.gov.uk

Thursday 23rd September

Michael Hiluta will give a talk at Whitaker Park Museum to the Friends of Rossendale Museum.

Friday 1st October 2004

LFHHS - Annual Dinner. Whalley Abbey.

Hosted by Ribble Valley Branch. £16.00.

Details in "Lancashire" May 2004.

Saturday 2nd October

NW Family History Fair.

Manchester Velodrome. The National Cycling Centre, Sport City, Stuart Street, Manchester.

10.00am -4.00pm

Refreshments, Free Parking, Free Lectures.

10.45am Basic Sources for Family History Research. Bill Taylor Lancashire FH&HS

12.00 Noon Scottish Research, Dan Muir. Manchester & Lancs. FHS.

1.15pm Using Computers for Family History Research. John Marsden. Manchester & Lancs. FHS

Admission £2. Children free.

Saturdays 2nd & 16th October 2004

Full details are given in the Irish Ancestry Group's Branch News and programme section of the recent August issue of the Society's Journal. Enquiries/bookings to Margaret Purcell, 128 Red Bank Rd., Bispham, Blackpool, Lancs., FY2 9DZ. Tel 01253 353909 E-mail Margaret Purcell - mpurcell@redbankmp.fsnet.co.uk

Thursday 21st October; Tuesday 2nd November; Thursday 18th November 2004

Lancashire Record Office. 2.00pm - 3.30pm

The following marriages for the Rossendale area have been added to the Lancashire BMD web site:

Bacup St Johns SJBA/4/ 1906-1930 Bacup, St Saviours (1866-1946); Crawshawbooth, St John (1899-1951); Edgeside, St Anne (1887-1952); Facit, St John (1872-1894); Goodshaw, All Saints (1907-1950); Haslingden St Peters (1894-1931) Musbury St Thomas (1895-1920 & 1939-1949); Rawtenstall St Marys (1903-1936); Rawtenstall St Michaels Lumb (1849-1946); Rawtenstall St Pauls (1914-1945); Stonefold St John (1890-1947); Stubbins St Philip (1928-1939); Tunstead Holy Trinity (1905-1931); Whitworth St Bartholomews (1845-1871);

Civil marriages, Haslingden (1898-1900 & 1902-1910)

As so many members have now purchased the Lancashire CDs for the various census. I propose to give you updates on the indexes currently available.

1841 Census Work is nearing completion on this census index. It has been left until the last because it gives less information than subsequent censuses.

HO 107/508 Haslingden Districts 1 - 13A - Haslingden and Surrounding areas plus the workhouse.

Do you have Rossendale ancestors? Are you a member of the Society? If so, please let me have your story, or queries for this section of the newsletter.

RILEY/ WHITEHEAD of Meadowhead and Swinshaw

Perseverance pays .... (or, if you can’t go backwards, try a different direction)

In the May 2003 issue of the Newsletter, we recorded a dilemma facing John Riley who was trying to trace details of 19 or 20 RILEY's listed in the 1841 Census in and near Meadowhead, just above Gambleside. John has sent us the following postscript.

" After visits to Rawtenstall Library to look through all the surviving records from around 1800-1820 looking for any details on my RILEY ancestry, I had drawn a complete blank, and I still had not been able to link together the three RILEY family heads shown in the 1841 Census at Meadowhead and Swinshaw Barn. So, I stopped looking backwards, and decided to search for details of the siblings of my known ancestral line in the hope that it might lead me somewhere.

I struck gold - in a somewhat unlikely manner.

I was trawling through the Goodshaw All Saints baptism records on the film in Rawtenstall Library, starting from where I had left off in 1820 and working towards the present day, noting down all the RILEY references. Nothing seemed to link in until I got to 1848 [over 40 years after my earliest known ancestor, Richard RILEY, had been born in about 1803] - and there they were - 5 adult RILEY christenings on two successive Sundays in October. The 5 were my Richard [christened when he was 44], his wife, and three of their children [who were then in their teens and early 20's]. Moreover, the entries gave most of their actual dates of birth and also confirmed that Richard was indeed the son of Abraham [the eldest RILEY head living at Meadowhead in 1841], and that Abraham was then living at Swinshaw Barn - which was where the other RILEY head from 1841 was still living according to the 1851 census. Although this last link is not yet definite, it does seem to confirm that the third RILEY head from 1841 was related to the other two.

So, the moral of this story is not to give up hope if you seem to hit a brick wall! Look in other directions and who knows what you might find!

Also, I noted a reference to one of the WHITEHEAD wives being a RILEY, and through a contact who has well researched the WHITEHEAD family, I have also separately found a reference to my new Abraham being a tenant at Meadowhead in a Will of the WHITEHEAD family of Meadowhead - so I now have quite a few lines to follow through. "

John RILEY email riley@attglobal.net