John Smith's Family Tree Website

 

Close up of Tijou Screen at Hampton Court Palace

Lister family

 

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Part 3: Richard Lister (1849 - 1918)

 

Working life and marriage to Ann Pinder

Richard Lister was the son of Addison Lister and Ednah Green. He was born 14 November 1849 and baptised 10 January 1852 at St Martin’s Church, Brighouse. When he was a teenager, he worked in a mill as a worsted doffer, replacing the empty bobbins with full ones, a typical job for a boy in a mill. He then spent some time making moulds in an iron foundry. He then returned to the textile industry as a silk dresser, preparing silk for weaving, which he did for the rest of his life.

He married sewing machinist Ann Pinder (c1853 - ?) 20 February 1882 at St Mary’s Catholic Chapel in Halifax. They were both able to sign their names. Ann was the daughter of Squire Pinder and Mary Lynch. None of the Pinders were known to be Catholic and neither were the Listers so Addison and Ann must have converted at some point before their marriage. No baptism records have been found for their children, John, Wilfrid and Alphonso, and they may have been baptised into the Catholic Church. Richard died 21 September 1918, aged 68, following a stroke. His wife died sometime later.

Children of Richard and Ann

John (1883 - 1944) became a machine tool maker. Family stories say there was a rift in the family and John emigrated to the United States. He arrived in New York City 29 October 1909 on board the Mauretania, at the time the largest and fastest ship in the world. His embarkation profile described him as: 5’9”, fair complexion, light brown hair and brown eyes. John boarded in Manhattan and eventually settled in Yonkers, New York State, where he worked as a tool room machinist and later had a business called 'Lister Machine Company'. However by 1930 he was in an auto garage and later worked for the Callahan Can Machine Company. He married Louisa Thristan (1884 - ?) in 1928 and become a naturalised citizen. Louisa had also been born in Halifax and had emigrated to New York in 1923. [1] John completed draft registration cards during WWI and WWII, hower there is no indication he ever served. He died 18 April 1944, aged 61. Louisa died sometime after 1954. 

 

More information about Wilfrid (1885 - 1966) appears in Part 4.

 

Alphonso (1887 - 1951) was sometimes known as ‘Alphonsus’. He became a licensed hawker selling easily-transportable things such as glass, china and hardware. It is likely he never married and he died in 1951, aged 64, in Leeds.

 

Next: Wilfrid Lister


Footnotes

[1] Louisa's surname was recorded in various forms so it is not definite the spelling. Her father originally came from County Roscommon, Ireland.