Shivaun's Family Tree Website

Winward family

* * *

 Part 3: William Winward (1846 - 1903)

Marriage to Mary Ellen Bryson

William Winward was born 05 September 1846 in Water Street, Bolton, Lancashire. His parents were John Winward and Mary Clark. He had some schooling and moved to Preston with his family in the mid-1850s and became a wheelwright after serving The family seemed to have spent a short time living in nearby Walton-le-Dale and William stayed on living there as a boarder after his family moved back to Preston.

He married Mary Ellen Bryson (1847 - 1876) 29 May 1871 at St Leonard's Parochial Chapel, Walton-le-Dale. His sister Elizabeth was one of the witnesses. Mary Ellen was the eldest (and only surviving) of three children born to tailor Richard Bryson and Ellen Rigby. She was born in Walton-le-Dale in 1847 and was baptised 19 June the same year. Walton-le-Dale had a cotton mill and various other cotton manufacturing places were located in the surrounding area. Mary Ellen could not sign her name at her marriage so probably had had no schooling. Her father died when she was about 13 so she may have been working from around that age to help support her mother. By the following year she was working at a cotton spinning mill as a cotton doffer, replacing full bobbins on the looms with empty ones. William and Mary Ellen had three children: Ellen, Reuben and John. Ellen and John both died in infancy and Mary Ellen died 13 April 1876, only a week after John.

Marriage to Margaret Brady

William remarried 02 August 1879 to Margaret Brady (1853 - 1925) at St Patrick's RC Church, Walton-le-Dale. (More information about Margaret appears in the Brady section). Before his marriage it is most likely William converted to Catholicism as Margaret was Catholic. Together they had seven children: Mary, Thomas, John, Rose Ann, William, Catherine and Robert. After their marriage they lived in Preston at various addresses such as Adelaide Street, Irvin Street and Armstrong Street and it is known that their landlord at the latter address had given them notice to quit.

Both William and Margaret appeared in connection with the courts a few times. On page 8 of the 'Preston Chronicle' 01 July 1893, a case brought by William was reported. Although he was the victim in the case, he may not have been blameless in the matter:

ASSAULT BY A WHEELWRIGHT

At the County Police-court, on Saturday, John Wilcock was summoned by William Winward for assault.-It appeared from the evidence that the complainant left the employ of defendant, who is a blacksmith, and went to work for another wheelwright in Ashton. On Saturday last complainant was coming from the direction of Ashton Church, when the defendant accused him of stealing, and this was denied. They had words about it, and the defendant got hold of complainant and threw him to the floor and hurt him very much in the small of his back.-Several witnesses were called, who stated that there was no assault committed.-Fined 10s, including costs. 

Besides probably being bad tenants and bad workers, the Winwards also appeared to be bad neighbours, as was reported page 11 of the 'Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser' Saturday 23 September 1895 when a jury found the couple guilty of slandering their neighbour. (A transcript of the report can be found in Margaret Brady's section.)

After 1901, the family moved to the nearby Chorley area and William died 11 December 1903 in Dill Hall Cottage, Heath Charnock. He was suffering from pleuropneumonia, bronchitis and gangrene of the lung. Margaret died 26 December 1925 in Chorley.

Children of William and Mary Ellen

Ellen (1872 - 1872) was born 07 March 1872. She died three months later 02 June. The cause of death was listed as 'marasmus' (undernourishment). She was buried four days later at the Parochial Chapelry of Walton-le-Dale.

Reuben (1873 - 1893) was born 09 April 1873 and baptised 15 June the same year at the Parochial Chapelry. In November 1880 Reuben was admitted to St Augustine Roman Catholic Infant School when he was 7. A year later he moved into the Junior School and within a couple of years was at St Mary's National School. He returned to St Augustine's Junior School in April 1884, left again in October the same year, then returned in April 1885 (having possibly returned to St Mary's National School in between). He might have attended St Augustine Junior Roman Catholic School in keeping with his father's conversion, although he was sometimes exempt from taking part in religious instruction there.

In February 1887, when he was thirteen, he was arrested for vagrancy in Blackburn and ordered to be detained at the Branes Home, Heaton Mersey, branch of the Manchester Industrial School until his 16th birthday. On the admission form, Reuben's father was described (most likely by Reuben himself) as "a drunken indifferent man". Children like Reuben who were destitute, vulnerable and likely to embark on criminal careers, were sent to Industrial Schools (also known as 'Ragged Schools'), which had been setup in the mid-1800s. Reben would have received an education and/or training for a trade. There were dormitories (where the older and younger boys were housed separately), classrooms, day rooms, a gymnasium and a laundry. There were also workshops where tailoring, shoemaking, carpentry and smith work was taught and a farm nearby. 

Reuben was placed in the Second Standard class entered. It is not known what trade he may have been taught but he ended up being placed as an apprentice to a coal miner within a year of turning 16. He worked as a hurrier in Mirfield, Yorkshire, moving coal through tunnels, and lived with a coal miner's family. When he entered the Industrial School, Reuben was 4'5" (1.3m) in height and weighed 5 stone 1 lb (46kg) (which would be considered a healthy weight for a boy that age and height today). Before the Mines and Collieries Act 1842 and the Education Act 1870 came into place, hurriers used to be girls and women (as there were low tunnels to deal with). Reuben might have become a hurrier because he had not grown much. Reuben died 05 February 1893, aged 19, from meningitis. The informant was Hannah Mary Woodhead, whose family he lived with. He was listed as having 'parents unknown' so Reuben had probably never talked about his family, perhaps wanting to forget them.

John (1876 - 1876) was born 28 February 1876 and baptised 01 March at the Parochial Chapelry. He died 04 April, aged 5 weeks. The cause of death was listed as 'general debility'. He was buried three days later.

 Children of William and Margaret

Mary (1880 - ?) worked as a cotton weaver after finishing her schooling. She married cart driver Ignatius Carter 28 May 1901 at St Walburga's RC Church in Preston. They had one child, William Braithwaite Carter (1904 - ?). Ignatius died 06 May 1907, aged 27, from a combination of empyema (a lung condition sometimes associated with pneumonia), asthma and cardiac syncope (fainting). It is not known when Mary died.

More information about Thomas (1882 - 1961) appears in Part 4.

John (1884 - ?) worked as a brickmaker's labourer. It is not known what happened to him after 1901.

Rose Ann (c1886 - 1968) first attended St Wilfrid's & St Mary's RC School when she was 6. worked as a cotton weaver after she finished her schooling. She married Henry 'Harry' Dixon 07 November 1908 at Chorley Registry Office. Henry worked as a labourer at a print works. Later Henry worked as a blacksmith striker at a motor works. They had three children: Henry (1909 - ?), Edward (1912 - ?) and Eva (1914 - ?). In November 1914, Henry enlisted as a private with the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment. At this time, only single men were encourage to enlist. Four of his brothers also enlisted and there was an article in the 'Blackburn Times' 20 February 1915 detailing how their parents had received a letter from Buckingham Palace with King George V's congratulations on the 'spirit of patriotism' being displayed by the Dixon family. Within two years Henry had been promoted to Lance Corporal and then Sergeant. He was wounded several times and received the Military Medal in 1917. In May 1918 he was reported missing and was later confirmed as being a Prisoner of War in Germany. He was demobilised in March 1919. He died in 1968, aged 82, and within a short space of time Rose Ann had also died, 28 May 1968, aged 82.

William (1887 - ?) was known as 'Willie' when he was younger. He worked as a cotton weaver then later as a labourer in a bleach works, then a blacksmith's striker. In 1909 he enlisted in the 4th Battalion Loyal North Lancashire Regiment as a private in the Territorial Army. He completed his four years' service (which included training in Wales) and was discharged in 1913. It is not clear if he served in WWI. He married cotton weaver Ellen Bolton 29 November 1913 at St Joseph's RC Church, Preston. They had four children: William (c1915 - ?), Albert (1919 - ?), Joseph (1923 - ?) and Mary Frances (1925 - ?). It is not known when William or Ellen died.

Catherine (1889 - 1962) was known as 'Kate' or 'Katie'. She first attended St Wilfrid's & St Mary's RC School when she was 5. Within a couple of years she was at St Walburga's School. After she left school she worked as a cotton weaver and married fellow weaver Edward Abram 06 November 1911 at St Mary's RC Church, Chorley. They had two children: Winifred (1915 - ?) and Gerard (c1922 - 1980). In October 1922, Edward departed Liverpool on board the 'Ausonia', bound for Boston, Massachusetts, United States. He listed a friend's address in Rhode Island as his destination. The ship manifest mentioned he had tattooed marks on both arms! In April 1923, Catherine and the children sailed on the 'Megantic', by which time Edward had established himself in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. However, by the time of the 1930 US census, Edward had died. Catherine found work as a weaver and in 1935 became a naturalized American. Sometime between 1936 and 1940 she and Gerard moved to Detroit, Michigan where Winifred lived with her family. Catherine returned to visit her family in England in 1946 and stayed in Chorley for some six months, returning to Detroit in January 1947. She died 14 January 1962 and was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Southfield, Michigan.

Robert (1892 - 1962) attended St Walburga's School and then when he turned six went to St Wilfrid's & St Mary's RC School, Preston. Six months later he left to go to St Walburga's Boys' School.  Prior to WWI, he worked as a carter bagging coal and then enlisted as a private in the Prince of Wales Own (West Yorkshire) Regiment. He was demobilised in January 1919 and worked as a bus driver and haulage driver in later life. He married Alice Todd 26 June 1920 at Church of the Sacred Heart, Chorley, and they had seven children. Robert died 06 January 1962, aged 69. [1]

Next: Thomas Winward

Footnotes

[1] England and Wales Census 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, UK Outward Passenger List 1890-1960, Massachusetts Passenger and Crew Lists 1820 - 1963, US Census 1930, 1940, US City Directories 1822 - 1989 (Ancestry.co.uk); England and Wales Census 1841, 1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901, 1911, National School Admission Registers & Log-books 1870-1914, Passenger Lists leaving UK 1890-1960 (Findmypast.com); 'Townships: Walton-le-Dale', A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 6 (1911), pp. 289-300. (http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=53121); Hall Genealogy Old Occupation Names website (http://rmhh.co.uk/occup); Sgt Henry Dixon biography (www.loyalregiment.com/14984-sjt-h-dixon-l-n-lan-r/); Findagrave.com; Gillard D (2011) Education in England: a brief history www.educationengland.org.uk/history; Barnes Home, Heaton Mersey (http://moormag.com/2011/04/memory-lanes-a-history-of-the-heatons/); wikipedia