John Smith's Family Tree Website

Womersley family

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Part 2: Hannah Womersley (c1818 - 1889)

Marriage to Benjamin Pollard and emigration to the United States

Hannah Womersley was the youngest child of Joseph Womersley and Hannah Swift. She was born c1818 in Southowram but no baptism record for her has been found so far. She gave birth to her first child Noble Womersley c1837 when she was about 19 and it is not known who Noble’s father was. Hannah married woolcomber Benjamin Pollard (c1815 - ?) 20 April 1841 at St John the Baptist Parish Church, Halifax. Benjamin had been born c1815 in Burnley, Lancashire, and was widowed, though it is not known who his first wife was. Neither Hannah nor Benjamin could sign their names when they married, indicating they probably had had no schooling.

After their marriage they lived with Hannah’s parents in Siddal Wells for a time and then Bailey Hall Bank, Southowram. They had two children: Mary Ann and William. In 1861, Benjamin was listed as a worsted scourer and they had a boarder with them. After this date there is no confirmed record of the family until Hannah’s death in Massachusetts, United States.

Sometimes there are well-documented economic, industrial or agricultural reasons for people to leave a certain place and emigrate. In the case of the Pollards, there was no particular spike in unemployment or downturn in the wool industry. If they did end up migrating to Massachusetts, there were no obvious industries to act as a drawcard. Perhaps Benjamin and Hannah sought a better life for them and their children. All that is known is that Hannah died a widow, aged 71, of paralysis 28 February 1889 in Peabody, Massachusetts and was buried in Somerville.

Children of Hannah and unknown

More information about Noble (c1837 - 1892) appears in Part 3..

Children of Hannah and Benjamin

Mary Ann (1844 - ?) was born in Skircoat in 1844. By the age of 6 she was a scholar ‘half-time’. When the various Factory Acts were passed in the 1830s and 1840s, they attempted to improve working conditions, especially for children, by setting minimum ages to begin working and limiting the number of hours they could be employed. They also required children to receive some education. By 1851, Mary Ann should have been considered too young to be working in a textile factory. Those children who worked also had to receive three hours of schooling per day – essentially ‘half’ a school day. Mary Ann might have been able to take advantage of going to school, whether she was (illegally) employed in a local mill or not. Southowram did have a National School at the time. In 1861, Mary Ann was working as a spinner in a worsted mill. There is no record of her after this date and it is assumed she emigrated to the United States with her family.

William (1846 - ?) was born in Southowram in 1846. Like his sister he was a ‘half-time’ scholar and as a teenager a spinner in a worsted mill. It is assumed he emigrated to the United States with his family.

Next: Noble Womersley

Footnotes