Shivaun's Family Tree Website

Winward family

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 Part 2: John Winward (c1821 - 1902)

Early life and marriage to Mary Clark

John Winward was baptised 12 August 1821 at Saint Peter, Bolton-le-Moors, having probably been born a couple of months earlier. He was the eldest son of Robert Winward and Mary Taylor. He was apprenticed as a saddler, which typically would have begun at age 14. An apprenticeship usually lasted for seven years, during which time it was forbidden to do many things, including marry. It is interesting to note that John appeared to marry at 21 - perhaps he was very keen on matrimony and married the minute he was free to do so! Prior to his marriage, John was a boarder or lodger in Back James Street (long since demolished but was to be found near the Deane Road). There was a William Taylor living there, too (perhaps a relation of his mother).

John and Mary Clark (c1818 - 1876) married 16 November 1841 at St John the Evangelist, Farnworth and Kersey Parish Church, Bolton. Mary was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, c1818. Her father William Clark was a carpenter. Nothing else is known of Mary's family or how she came to be living in the Bolton area. Mary worked as a dressmaker and rather unusually, declared this on every census after her marriage, unlike most married women of the time (although she did not list an occupation on her marriage record).

John and Mary had eleven children: Reuben, John, William, Thomas, Mary Hannah, Elizabeth, Emma, Robert, Mary, Isabella and John. All the children's births were officially registered, as was the expectation since civil registration was introduced in 1837. However the first decade did see some gaps in the registration process as some people believed that if their child had been baptised, that was 'registration'. Few baptism records have been found so far for John and Mary's children but that is more likely due to records being lost rather than the event never having taken place.

Move to Preston

The family lived in Bank Street and by 1851 were living at 25 Water Street, down the street from John's family. Between 1854 and 1856, the family moved to Preston though it is not known why. Unlike his siblings, John was not involved in the cotton industry so was not affected by any problems in the industry and there were no obvious economic problems in the mid-1850s. However it could have been connected with the bad relationship he had with his father (newspaper accounts of which appear in Robert's section). The family lived for at least a decade north of the River Ribble in Brunswick Street, which still retains its terraced housing today. In early 1865, one of their neighbours, Mary Burke was murdered by her husband Stephen. The 12-year-old daughter of the Burkes fled the house in the early hours of the morning night to escape what was happening and sought shelter in the Winward's front lobby, though she did not call for help there and went to another neighbour instead.

The family seem to have spent a short time living in the nearby village of Walton-le-Dale. A 1869 Trade Directory listed John as a saddler and harness maker there, with another dozen saddlers listed in the Preston area. By 1871 they had moved back to Preston and were living at 19 Hopwood Street. Mary died 05 November 1876, aged 59,  after suffering from chronic gastric disease for 18 months.  She died in Seed Street, near Preston Railway, but it is not known if this was the family residence. After Mary's death, John and his sons William (and family) and John boarded in Adelaide Street. John was living with his son Robert in Bolton at the time of the 1891 census. A decade later he was back in Preston and boarding along with his son John at 3 Appleby Street. He died 18 July 1902, aged 81. The cause of death was 'senile decay'.

 Children of John and Mary

Reuben (1842 - 1906) was born 02 November 1842 in Little Bolton and moved with his family to Preston where he worked as a boiler maker, which required some skill. He met Margaret Birbeck (1842 - 1884) who worked as a cotton rover, transferring cotton onto bobbins. Like Reuben, Margaret could not write her name although on the 1851 census she was listed as a 'scholar'. (This would seem to indicate some education but sometimes parents told this to census enumerators to disguise the fact their children were illegally working under the age of nine - which might have been true of Margaret.) As was not an uncommon occurrence, Margaret became pregnant and she and Reuben married 18 March 1861 at St John's Church, Preston. Their first child, Frances, was born within a few months but sadly died the following year after they had moved to the Toxteth area of Liverpool. The docks were nearby and it may have been better work opportunities that took the family to Liverpool. However, by 1865 the family had moved back to Preston. This was only temporary as they then moved to Middlesbrough in the late 1860s. The famous Teesside iron shipbuilding industry had taken off in the 1850s and no doubt there was plenty of work available for Reuben and his boiler making skills. 

The family lived near the Middlesbrough Dock but the streets no longer exist (Cook and Prince Arthur Streets - the latter making way for the Hillstreet Shopping Centre). Reuben and Margaret had ten children: Frances (1861 - 1862), Mary (c1863 - ?). Thomas (1863 - 1936), William (1865 - 1866), John (c1867 - 1946), Robert (c1872 - 1925), Emma (1874 - ?), Elizabeth (1876 - ?), James (1879 - ?) and Albert (1881 - 1935). (Thomas and John married sisters Harriet and Margaret Gale.) Margaret died in 1884, aged 42, and the following year Reuben remarried Annie Maria Roddis (c1857 - 1894). Annie had been born in Whiston, near Rotherham, Yorkshire though it is not known why she moved to Middlesbrough. Like his first wife, Annie was also pregnant at the time of their marriage. They had two sons: William (1885 - ?) and George (1886 - 1961). Sadly Reuben was left widowed again when Annie died in 1894, aged 38. He died 26 September 1906, aged 63, of heart disease and diarrhoea.

John (1844 - 1845) was baptised 06 October 1844 in St Peter's Church, Bolton. He died 09 September 1845, aged 13 months, after catching measles. He was buried four days later at St Peter's Church.

More information about William (1846 - 1903), appears in Part 3.

Thomas (1849 - c1896) was born in Bolton in 1849. No baptism record has been found so far. He received some schooling and worked as a bobbin turner all his life making bobbins for mills using a lathe. He married Dorothy Wilding (c1847 - 1908) 12 April 1873 at St John's Parish Church, Preston. Dorothy had been married before to James Gornell but nothing is known of him. Thomas and Dorothy had six children: Elizabeth (c1874 - 1878), John (1877 - 1877), Sarah Ellen (1878 - ?), John (1880 - 1886), Mary Elizabeth (1883 - ?) and Reuben (1888 - 1958). Only their last two children lived beyond childhood. Their first child Elizabeth died in tragic circumstances. The coroner's inquest into the events of the previous Friday was reported on page 3 of 'The Preston Chronicle and Lancashire Advertiser' of Saturday 21 December 1878:

ANOTHER EXPLANATION ON DOCTORS' CERTIFICATES BY THE CORONER FOR PRESTON.

Mr. Gilbertson, coroner, held an inquest on Saturday afternoon, on the body of Elizabeth Winward, who died that morning from the effects of burns. - Dorothy Winward, wife of Thomas Winward, bobbin turner, Fletcher-road, deposed that the deceased, her daughter, was four years old. On Friday morning witness went on an errand, leaving the deceased alone with the baby [most probably Sarah Ellen] in the kitchen. She was absent only about five minutes, and on her return she found the little girl in flames. Witness smothered out the fire, and a neighbour coming in linseed and oil were applied under the girls [sic] chin. She was burnt principally about the neck and arms. Dr. Gardner was sent for, and the usual remedies were applied, but the deceased grew worse and died at ten minutes past six that (Saturday) morning. The deceased told her that a cinder flew out of the fire and caught in her pinafore.

The Coroner remarked that it was a pity people in Winward's condition of life were almost compelled to leave their children at home without any responsible person in charge of them. He could not see how it was to be avoided. Whether precautions could be taken to limit the number of such cases he did not know... They were called "common burning cases," and it was his desire to make them uncommon, if possible, but he feared that anything he could say would have no more effect than it had on previous occasions...

The jury then returned a verdict to the effect that Elizabeth Winward had met her death accidentally.

The family moved frequently, living in Ribbleton Lane, 177 Fletcher's Road, Maitland Street (all very near each other), Bushell Street and Haydock Street. (Almost none of the original housing remains at these addresses.) Thomas died 28 April 1896 aged only 48. The cause of death was listed as 'natural causes' but no illness or disease was listed. Dorothy in 1908.

Mary Hannah (1851- 1853) was born in Bolton 1851. She caught scarlatina and died 27 February 1853, aged 19 months, and was buried in St Peter's Church 02 March.

Elizabeth (c1854 - 1920) was born c1854 in Bolton. She supposedly received some schooling (being recorded as a 'scholar' on the 1861 census) but she was unable to sign her name when she married and one of her daughters completed the 1911 census on her behalf. Elizabeth married Hugh Williams (c1855 - 1892) 28 October 1876 at St John's Parish Church in Preston. The occasion was marred by the death of her mother eight days afterwards. Hugh worked as a forge man and later became a manager. They had eight children, three of whom died very young: Jane Helen (c1877 - 1908), Arthur (c1879 - ?), Ada (1881 - ?), Mary (c1881 - 1922), Bertha (1883 - 1936), Percival Hugh (c1885 - 1886), Clement Hugh (1888 - 1889) and Florence May (1891 - 1940). 

The family left Preston c1880 and settled in Thornhill, a village near Dewsbury in West Yorkshire. Why they moved is not known and Hugh continued working in forges. By 1891 he was manager of a smith and they were able to afford a general servant. Sadly Hugh died 13 April the following year, aged only 36. He was buried in the Church of Holy Innocents in grave X30, along with his two youngest sons. Elizabeth died 25 June 1920 after suffering from influenza and pneumonia. From January 1918 to December 1920, there was a worldwide influenza pandemic (nicknamed 'Spanish flu' owing to the false idea that Spain had been affected worse than other countries) but it is not certain Elizabeth was one of the 50-100 million victims. She was buried two days later in the same church in grave I 11, where her daughters Jane and Mary were also buried. Bertha was also buried in the church graveyard, the location handwritten in the margin of the burial register: "Old yard by E. End of Ch" [sic]. Florence appeared to be the only child who married (to the future Reverend Frank Lishman in 1917).

Emma (1856 - 1902) was born 13 August 1856 in Brunswick Street, Preston. Unlike many of her siblings she appeared to have had some schooling. She became a weaver and in her teens went to live in Chapel Yard, Walton-le-Dale. It is not known why she was living there when the rest of her family were in nearby Preston although Walton-le-Dale had a number of cotton mills. When she was 20 she gave birth to an illegitimate daughter, Mary Ellen Winward, 07 May 1877. Mary Ellen was baptised 02 June in St Leonard's Parochial Chapelry but sadly died three months later, 26 August, of an ulceration of the neck and exhaustion. She was buried in the same chapel three days later. There was no father listed for Mary Ellen and Emma married fellow weaver Robert Martin (c1856 - ?) 12 August 1877, shortly before Mary Ellen died. It is not likely that Robert was the biological father as years later in the 1911 census, he stated that he had had eleven children, six of whom had died. He and Emma had eleven children after their marriage and six did died young. Moreover he informed the registrar of Mary Ellen's death and did not describe himself as her father. Their other children alternated girl, boy, girl, boy: Elizabeth Ellen (1878 - 1878), Herbert (1879 - 1879), Jane (1880 - ?), Robert (1883 - ?), Lucretia (or Lucetta) (1888 - ?), John (1888 - ?), Ethel (1891 - 1891),  Walter (1892 - 1892), Emma (1893 - 1893), William (1895 - ?) and Annie (c1900 - c1900). 

When Emma and Robert married, it was the day before Emma's 21st birthday. However she claimed she was 21 for the occasion. She either made a mistake about her birth date or deliberately did it because she was considered a 'minor' (being aged under 21) and was not supposed to marry without parental consent. Within a couple of years Emma and Robert had moved to Bridge Street in nearby Higher Walton, living at various houses along this street for the rest of their married life. They took in two of Emma's brother John's children for a time but this probably ended with Emma's death 18 February 1902. The cause of death was cardiac syncope ('syncope' implying loss of consciousness). Robert died sometime after 1911 and it is not known what happened to any surviving children.

Robert (1858 - 1937) was born in Preston in 1858 and baptised in St John's Parish Church 05 October the same year. It is not certainly how much (if any) schooling he had. In the 1871 census when he was twelve, he was listed as 'scholar', however he could not sign his name at his second marriage. Children listed as ‘scholars’ sometimes worked rather than attended school which may be the case here. Although there had been various Acts of Parliament throughout the 19th century to provide universal education for children (up to the age of 13), it was neither free nor truly compulsory (there were often exemptions and truancy would not have been followed up). Robert appeared to have filled in the 1911 census himself (as all householders were able to do for the first time) but it is more likely one of his children completed it and signed Robert's name instead of their own. 

By 1881, Robert had left Preston and returned to the 'ancestral home' of Bolton to work in a cotton mill as a cotton piecer, reconnecting yarn which had broken on spinning mules, and a minder for a self-acting spinning mule. He was a lodger at 10 Bengal Square North, just a few doors from where his Winward grandparents had lived twenty years earlier. His father's sister Sarah Chamberlain had been living at number 14 up until 1881 which is probably why he chose the area. His cousin Robert Chamberlain was one of the witnesses when he married cotton winder Mary Ann Smith (c1859 - 1891) 19 November 1881 in Christ Church Parish Church. She was pregnant with their first child, Elizabeth (1882 - ?) at the time. They had three more daughters: Ellen (1884 - ?), Jane (1886 - ?) and Emily (1888 - ?). Ellen married John Sheppard in 1914 but it is not certain any of her sisters married. 

The family were living at 36 Hopkins Street when Mary Ann died in 1891, aged only 33. The following year, Robert married widow Isabella Ince (c1853 - 1915). She had married cotton grinder Henry Hampson (c1846 - 1888) in 1874 and had four children before he died in 1888: Alice Ann (1874 - c1875), Clara (1875 - ?), Robert (c1879 - ?) and Alice (1888 - ?). Before and after her first marriage Isabella had worked as a cotton frame tenter and then a jack-frame tenter, minding a machine that twisted threads and wound them onto bobbins. Robert was a cotton spinner all his married life, though he did describe himself as a self-acting minder at one point, which meant he watched a self-acting mule (a spinning machine that had multiple threads). The family moved to nearby 78 Kestor Street in the 1900s and Isabella died c1915, aged 62. Robert stayed in the same house until his death 04 February 1937 in Townleys Hospital, Farnworth. He was 78 and had been suffering from senility.

Mary (1861 - ?) was born in early 1861 although her birth does not appear to have been registered. She was baptised 14 April the same year at St John's Parish Church. Mary did not seem to have any schooling and was a frame tenter looking after spinning frames in a cotton mill. It is not known where Mary was in 1881 as she does not appear with her family during the census. She had moved to Bolton by 1884, perhaps following her brother Robert. She married coal miner Charles Openshaw (c1853 - ?) 04 October 1884. Unlike her other siblings, she did not marry in a church, instead going to the Bolton Registry Office. Charles had been born and lived all his life in Farnworth, near Bolton, where coal mining was an important local industry. It is not known what actual colliery Charles worked at but they were all part of the Worsley Navigable Levels. Charles was a hewer, responsible for cutting the coal from the coal face - said to be one of the most dangerous jobs in the mines because of the likelihood of the roof collapsing. 

Mary and Charles had eight children, with their eldest son appearing to have been born two years before their marriage although there is no confirmed record yet of that: John Robert (c1882 - ?), Helen/Ellen (c1885 - ?), Martin (1887 - 1887), James Philip (1889 - 1974), Charles (1897 - ?), Albert (c1900 - c1900), Mary Elizabeth (1900 - 1901) and May (c1901 - c1903). After the death of Mary's sister Emma, they looked after two of her brother John's children. The family lived in Harrowby Street and nearby Penn Street, then moved to 37 Bridgeman Place in Bolton. James and John had a building and contractor business together, Openshaw Brothers, which operated out of Bridgeman Place. However they filed for bankruptcy in 1926. It is not known when Mary died but it is likely Charles died between 1911 and 1915.

Isabella (1863 - 1863) was born in 1863 and died 26 December the same year, aged five months. She had had convulsions preceding her death but there was no medical person in attendance and a neighbour reported the death.

John (1865 - ?) was born in 1865 but unusually he was baptised seven years later, 14 February 1872, at St Paul's Church. He worked as a coach painter from his teens. He married Catherine Brady (1866 - ?), the sister of his brother William's wife Margaret, 24 December 1890. The Bradys were Catholic and as William converted at the time of his marriage, it is assumed John probably did as well, especially as he and Catherine married at St Augustine's Catholic Church, Preston. They had six known children: Mary (1891 - 1911), Thomas (1893 - ?), Elizabeth (1894 - 1895), Ellen/Helena (1896 - 1896), Catherine (1901 - ?) and William (1903 - 1904). It is not known where Mary, Catherine or William were baptised but Thomas, Elizabeth and Ellen were baptised in St Joseph's RC Church, Skeffington Road. 

Unfortunately, Catherine and John's parenting skills were quite in adequate and came to the attention of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and the courts in 1895 for neglecting three children. Tragically, Elizabeth died and after a coroner's inquiry, Catherine was charged with manslaughter and tried in Liverpool where she was found not guilty. (Reports of the inquest and trial appear in Catherine Brady's section and make for harrowing reading, especially about the squalor of the home and the state the children were found in. Catherine was portrayed as an intemperate woman who did not take kindly to neighbours checking why her children were heard crying.)

It is not known if Catherine continued to drink and neglect her other children and the upkeep of her home. Catherine was heavily pregnant the night of the 1901 census and staying at her parents' home in Gillibrand's Court (this and surrounding streets in the Avenham Lane area have since been demolished). John was a mile away boarding along with his father at 3 Appleby Street. It may have been a difficult pregnancy, hence Catherine's living arrangements. Their only two surviving children, Mary and Thomas, had been living with John's sister Emma in Walton-le-Dale since at least 1898. It is most likely that they had been removed from Catherine's care (either by official means or informally within the family) especially as in 1911 they were living with another aunt in Bolton, Emma having died in 1902.

After Catherine Jr's birth, John and Catherine Sr went on to have one more child together, William, who was born December 1903. Sadly he died 31 January 1904, aged seven weeks. The family were all together at 3 Appleby Street and William woke in the early hours "crying and twitching". Catherine took him to a Dr Cookson's surgery in Moor Lane but he died en route. A coroner's inquiry reported p2 in the 'Lancashire Evening Post' concluded the infant had probably died "from natural causes, probably convulsions". It is very possible John and Catherine became estranged after this third infant death. In 1906 when Catherine Jr was registered to start at St Wilfrid Roman Catholic School, her mother was listed as the sole parent. In 1911 the two Catherines were living at 59 Brunswick Street and there was no sign of John (he has yet to be located but it is thought he was still alive then). Unusually Catherine claimed to have only ever had one child. It is not known when she or John died. [1]

Next: William Winward

Footnotes

[1] England and Wales Census 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, parish records, Slater's Directory 1869 (Ancestry.co.uk); England and Wales Census 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, Manchester Industrial School Registers 1866-1912, National School Admission Registers and Log-Books 1870-1914), British Newspapers 1710-1953 (findmypast.co.uk); www.familysearch.org; Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks website (www.lan-opc.org.uk); old occupation explanations (www.familyresearcher.co.uk); Hall Genealogy Old Occupation Names website (http://rmhh.co.uk/occup); Teeside shipbuilding (www.englandsnortheast.co.uk/Shipbuilding.html); the London Gazette (www.london-gazette.co.uk); Gillard D (2011) Education in England: a brief history www.educationengland.org.uk/history; North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers website (https://www.mininginstitute.org.uk/library/definitions/Hewer.html); National Archives currency converter website (http://apps.nationalarchives.gov.uk/currency); wikipedia