The Ancestors of Mary Lonsdale of Colne.

Genealogical notes by Andrew Lancaster. Main Page.
My main sources have been Richard Lonsdale Lancaster of Fairlight, NSW, and Michael Lonsdale

I must also thank Fred Stringer and Rita Hirst

My ancestor Mary Lonsdale married Richard Lancaster 9 July 1791 in Manchester, though both of them were from Colne. Her husband and children are discussed on another webpage. This webpage will discuss Mary's own ancestry. The Lonsdales of the region have been blessed by some very strong genealogy, first by James E. Vine, before the age of internet, whose manuscripts are widely circulated (I have information from them via both Michael Lonsdale and Richard Lonsdale Lancaster); and secondly by Michael Lonsdale, whose website is here: http://www.michaellonsdale.co.uk. Our Lonsdales are classified under the original scheme of Mr Vine as the "Harden Branch". Unfortunately, the Harden branch is classified as a "loose end". Not yet connected to the others.

Therefore, once, I've exhausted all the fairly certain information I have, I'll try to work my way speculatively backwards from Mary, in order to at least put forward a theory which can then be discussed. Do not therefore use the following without caution: don't tell people that it is already all proven and try to keep a record of this where you got this information in case one day it needs changing or re-checking.

One generation back.

For this generation there is no real doubt. Mary was daughter of Thomas Lonsdale, and Elizabeth ("Betty") Boothman. Thomas and Elizabeth married 1 Oct 1763 in Colne. Following are baptismal dates in Colne, to which I have added information from a prayer book kept in Australia, which has been drawn from by Richard Lonsdale Lancaster (it contains many dates which differ in odd ways from the parish registers, but the Lonsdale parts look better, so it may have been copied from information originally kept by the Lonsdales)...

  1. John Lonsdale. Our family in Australia has or had a prayer which recorded his birth as July 13 at 4 o'clock in the afternoon 1764. The register says he was baptised 29 July 1764.

  2. Ann Lonsdale. The prayer book calls her Nancey and says she was born December 26, at 1 o'clock in the afternoon. The register says she was baptised 12 Jan 1766.

  3. Mary Lonsdale. The register says baptised 5 April 1767, and the prayer book gives her birth as March 11th 1767; 57 minutes past 11 at noon. It also records her death April 14th at 12 o'clock Monday 1769. She died young and Richard Lancaster found that the register mentions her being buried 26 April 1769.

  4. Betty Lonsdale. The register says baptised 18 Feb 1769. The prayer book records her as being born Feb 12th 1769 about 9 o'clock Sunday morning, and that she died April 30th 1779 aged 10 years 10 weeks. The registers as transcribed by Lan-OPC show her being baptised 26th February 1769 and buried 1st April 1779.

? William? I do not see any evidence for a William baptised in 1769 in this family, although there was one to another Lonsdale family. I mention this because he appears in one tree I have seen. As far as I can tell it is a mistake.

  1. Thomas Lonsdale. Baptised 14 October 1770. The prayer book says he was born Tuesday, 25th Sept, about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, 1770. The Vine manuscript has a reasonable amount to say about him:

Thomas, born in 1770, set up as a fellmonger in Waterside, living in Colne Lane. He had six children and the eldest of these, William, became a farmer at New House Farm, North of Colne. The second son, Thomas, born in 1821, emigrated to Canada and lived in Kemptville County Greaville. In 1842 Isabella Laycock surrendered the deeds of 78-84 Keighley Road and 1-4 Sagar Fold (where Colne Cemetery now stands) to Thomas junior, already in Canada. Thomas senior had been a trustee of the inn, Hole in the Wall, 5, 7 and 9 Colne Lane, about which there was some dispute and, in 1845, Thomas left to join his son in Canada, selling his fellmonger's business to Samuel Smith, the founder of Smith's Tanneries. Smith had been Thomas' apprentice and later stated that, when he started working the Waterside premises, they comprised one shed measuring 20' x 6'.

  1. Mary Lonsdale. My direct ancestor. The prayer book says she was born Good Friday, being the 17th of April 1772. The register says she was baptised 24 May 1772. She married, as mentioned above, in Manchester, but seems to have returned sometimes to Colne. She was buried at St Lukes, Ardwick in Chorlton 6 November 1818, sixteen years before Richard her husband was interred at the same place. Her younger siblings do not appear in the prayer book it seems...

  2. James Lonsdale. Baptised 20 March 1774. Known to have lived later in Colne.

  3. Robert Lonsdale. Baptised 11 February 1776.

  4. Henry Lonsdale. Baptised 26 October 1777.

There is also an entry in Colne with the same parents names for yet another Mary baptised 9 March 1788, apparently resident at Blue Bell. This Mary was then buried 31 Jul 1790. More children with parents Thomas and Betty start appearing for example in 1811, 1815 etc. But these are apparently the children of a marriage which happened 5 Sep 1786 in Colne. The mother's maiden name was Betty Ashworth. In Vine's terminology this is the "Colne branch" of the Lonsdales.

Not too much seems to be known about the Thomas Lonsdale and Elizabeth Boothman, the parents in the above family. Their burials in Colne appear to be 6 Sept 1791 for Thomas, who was then apparently a Manufacturer and grocer; and 1 April 1779 for Elizabeth. Their deaths do not appear in the prayer book though.

Two generations back.

It seems clear that Thomas was the son of James Lonsdale. We can once again combine parish register information with prayer book information. James appears to have lived in several places. One was Fox Clough, an old farmhouse which is named after the small gorge or "clough" cutting into the slopes facing Colne from the south, where it sits over the river. The farmers there were also apparently small time colliers digging into the hill, and this certainly included Fox Clough at least by the 1800s.

Later, his residence is said to be Great Marsden. This even led James Vine to doubts about whether this was one or two people it seems, but this may in fact not have been a move, because according to the Victoria History of Lancashire "Foxclough divides Marsden from Trawden and part of Colne". Finally, by the time he died in 1787, he appears to have lived at Colne Hall, which Mr Vine says was, "a fine Tudor farmhouse that stood directly behind the old Colne CWS buildings. It was demolished in 1867 to make way for a pseudo-gothic monstrosity which, unfortunately, still stands". Old photos exist of it. Colne Hall is not only mentioned in the burial register, but also apparently mentioned in the prayer book along with the death information for James of 28th April 1787, and his age, 57.

It should be kept in mind that both Fox Clough and Colne Hall apparently had several families resident apart from the owners. The most typical such tenants in larger houses were weavers throughout this area. The registers of this period do not seem to mention profession consistently, but it seems likely that both the Lonsdales and Boothmans of this generation may have been sustained by weaving, and probably did not own the places where they lived along with others.

James married Ann or Anne Lee on 5th November 1743, who seems to have been the mother of all the following children. (He possibly married twice, first to Mary, who died or was buried 2 August 1741. However as will be discussed below, this marriage was just as likely a second marriage for the father of James, also named James. I think Mary's connection to this family is only known from the burial register where she was said to be of Fox Clough.)

The register mentioned that James was of Marsden at the time he married Ann. The prayer book said that she died 15 January 1769, “near 12 on Sunday”, and this corresponds to a burial on 17 January transcribed from the register by Lan-OPC.

  1. Thomas Lonsdale, baptised 30 September 1744. (References to 1742 seem to be an error?) It seems that our family's prayer book mentioned that he was born 28 Sept 1744 "old style". The prayer book correctly notes an 11 day difference between "old style" and "new style" dates, because this was before 1752. The "new style" date using the system we use now gives 17th September 1744, which would have been the date in France at the time.

  2. Mary Lonsdale, baptised 18 May 1746. Burial 2nd August “of Fox Clough”.

  3. William Lonsdale, baptised October 1747 "of Fox Clough". The prayer book identifies his birth as Sept 15, 1747, and that he married Ann Hartley Sept 16, 1769.

  4. Mary Lonsdale, baptised 6 May 1750 "of Great Marsden".

  5. James Lonsdale, baptised 19 November 1752 "of Great Marsden". Apparently according to the prayer book, born 11 November 1752. and died 22 January 1777 at age 24.

  6. John Lonsdale, baptised 1 June 1756 "of Marsden".

 

The Boothmans, family of Elizabeth Boothman

Concerning the Boothman family we can examine three leads.

1. The first lead comes from the prayer book in Australia and appears to identify the father of Elizabeth Boothman. As reported to me by RLL, apart from the date of the marriage they mention “Elizabeth, daughter of William B was born Febry 13: 1738”. So it seems that the father of Elizabeth might have been a William. The names Elizabeth and William were common of course, but this combination does appear in Padiham, 26 December 1742, some years after the birth date indicated in the prayer book, which is quite possible for a baptism. This baptism is the most obvious candidate in the region by far as far as I know. The register also ncludes an Elizabeth baptised to a William a few years too early, 29th January 1736, but it appears that the residence is different, because in the 1730s this register distinguishes residences quite carefully. There were apparently two Williams in the parish, or more. Possibly there were even two couples named William and Ann. A William Boothman of Newchurch in Pendle married an Ann Deane of Padiham in the Whalley register for 29 July 1728, which might be relevant to one of these families. In any case, Padiham is the leading theory concerning the origins of our Elizabeth Boothman, and a pedigree held at Colne library under Boothman seems to suggest that this William is known to have become a victualler and inn keeper at Higham after 1738.

Here are the Padiham register entries from the relevant period, involving Williams and/or the place Higham. Unfortunately the register does not record wife's names or occupations in the 1740s and 1750s:-

Baptisms: 16 Mar 1728/9 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Joseph Boothman - son of Willm Boothman & Alice. Abode: Read

Baptisms: 3 Aug 1729 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Henry Boothman - son of Willm Boothman & Margaret. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Burial: 26 Jun 1737 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Henry Boothman - son of Wm Boothman & Ann. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Baptisms: 20 Dec 1729 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. John Boothman - son of Willm Boothman & Ann. Abode: West Close. Occupation: Farmer

Baptisms: 6 Mar 1733/4 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ann Boothman - daughter of Willm Boothman & Ann. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Burial: 11 Jan 1735/6 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ann Boothman - daughter of Wm Boothman & Ellen. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Baptisms: 25 Apr 1736 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ann Boothman - daughter of Wm Boothman & Ann. Abode: Higham Booth. Occupation: Weaver

Baptisms: 29 Jan 1736/7 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Eliz: Boothman - daughter of Wm Boothman & Ann. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Baptisms: 1738 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Helen Boothman - daughter of Wm Boothman & Ann. Abode: Higham. Occupation: Victualler.

Baptisms: 29 Nov 1739 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Wm Boothman - son of Wm Boothman & Margaret. Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor

Baptisms: 2 Aug 1740 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. William Boothman - son of William Boothman. Abode: Higham

Baptisms: 26 Dec 1742 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Elizabeth Boothman - daughter of Willm Boothman. Abode: Higham

Burial: Feb 1746/7 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ann Boothman - wife of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Burial: Dec 1747 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ann Boothman - Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 22 Apr 1748 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Mary Boothman - daughter of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 6 Aug 1749 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Margaret Boothman - daughter of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 3 Feb 1750/1 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ellen Boothman - daughter of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Burial: 27 Feb 1756 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Ellen Boothman - daughter of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 30 Jan 1752 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. John Boothman - son of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 2 Jun 1754 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Judith Boothman - daughter of William Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 24 Nov 1754 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Mary Boothman - daughter of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham


Marriage: 16 Jan 1757 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. John Boothman - of Higham. Isabel Pate - of Higham

Baptisms: 6 Nov 1757 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Elizabeth Boothman - daughter of John Boothman. Abode: Higham


Burial: 13 Dec 1758 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. William Boothman - Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Taylor


Baptisms: 11 Mar 1759 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. John Boothman - son of John Boothman. Abode: Higham


Burial: 10 Oct 1759 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. William Boothman - Abode: Higham

Note that Newchurch in Pendle is close to Higham, and both are on the Colne or eastern side of Padiham village. but both a quite far from Read, which is in the west. West Close also appears to have been in Higham.

2. The prayer book also mentioned “John Boothman Died 18th Augst. [1778] Aged 74”. This man, who is our second lead, was possibly too young to be Elizabeth's grandfather. If she was born 1738 John would be a grandfather at around 34. So why is he mentioned? Luckily in this case, some illumination comes from the corresponding will for John Boothman of Colne, made 23 May 1778, and added to by a codicil of 4 July 1778. He was described as a spinster. The will seems to make it clear that John Boothman was benefactor to a large number of widely distributed Boothmans, as well as Thomas Lonsdale of Colne, and his son John. He may therefore have been a wealthy childless uncle, and possibly also one with a special connection as he lived in Colne, while the Boothmans were apparently spread all around Lancashire. It also seems to show connections to Padiham and neighbouring areas to the west of Colne in and around the Pendle forest region. (Perhaps un-surprisingly this rather complex will was superseded by a later codicil, which left more to the discretion of Ann, his wife, and her nephew, Samuel Bradley.) The will mentions:-

·         John's wife Ann, still alive. The Boothman pedigree information in Colne library mentions a marriage of a John Boothman, husbandman of Padiham, to an Ann Cockshutt of "D" (Downham?) Widow, at Padiham in 1730. This does indeed seem to be the likely marriage, and in fact the only proposed baptism I can find for John himself so far is 1706 in Padiham, with the father having also been John.

·         Executors William Foulds of Ingheys in Colne and Henry Ackroyd of Edgend in Marsden, both gentlemen. I do not think we need to assume any relatedness for these men.

·         William Boothman of Sabden - 40 pounds (Sabden came to be in Pendleton parish, the parish which stretches over the saddle back of Pendle Hill, but it is at the opposite southern end of the parish. However I think at this time it was simply still part of the greater parish of Whalley. There was a Lawrence Boothman living in Pendleton itself who was a blacksmith, on the northern side of Pendle Hill. He appears in Whalley registers, and left a will. He had a son named William baptised 1764 who was still alive in 1782, but not yet 21. His father left him 40 pounds with interest only being paid until he turned 21).

·         John Boothman of Newchurch in Pendle - 40 pounds (IGI batch C033601 for 1720-1798 shows no baptisms with John as son or father, but there are Boothmans, most common father name is William).

·         Thomas Lonsdale of Colne - 40 pounds (as mentioned above we know he married Betty in Colne 1 Oct 1763).

·         Mary Boothman "my niece" was the daughter of John Boothman, late of Padiham - 20 pounds (Although this is the only relationship name in the will it does not help much, because the word niece was flexible in this time. For example it could be mean cousin. Indeed, John presumably can not be a brother of John! There was a John Boothman in Padiham who left a will dated 1775. He was a husbandman and his will mentions his wife Elizabeth and his daughter Ann, wife of George Hudson. The marriage of George and Ann appears to have been in Padiham 18 May 1756. Ann's baptism seems to be the one in Padiham 22 December 1734 with parents John and Elizabeth. Mary could then fit as the one baptised there 28 May 1732 to "Jo and Elizab".)

·         Izabel Boothman of Clitheroe, Jonathan Boothman's daughter - 20 pounds. (This seems likely to be the one baptised 27 January 1744/45 in Clitheroe; it seems a Margaret was also baptised to this father 19 September 1742, with mother's name Judey. Someone has submitted to the IGI that this was Judith Nowell, who married a Jonathan Boothman 7th May 1739 in Clitheroe, and that there was also a son named John baptised February 1739. The register apparently shows a John baptised 29 February 1740 to a couple named John and Judith. Jonathan was probably a son of another Jonathan, and was baptised in Downham 27 Jul 1712.)

·         James Boothman of Lancaster, Carpenter (and if he is not still living, to his children). - 20 pounds.

·         Mary Boothman, now wife to John Riley - 10 pounds. (Marriage appears in Newchurch in Pendle register, 20 May 1775.)

·         John Lonsdale son of Thomas Lonsdale in Colne - 20 pounds. (As mentioned above, this is the oldest son of Thomas and Betty, baptised 29 July 1764 in Colne.)

·         Margaret Wolton, now wife to John Wolton - 10 pounds .(Marriage appears in Colne register 1 May 1777.) A suitable Margaret baptism can be found 1749 in Padiham with the father being William. So this may be a sister of Elizabeth Boothman.

·         Jane Boothman, the wife of John Sharp in Colne - 20 pounds. (Marriage appears in Colne register 16 January 1777; there is an admon for a Jane Sharpe of Colne, dated 1794.)

We can finally note that there is a baptism, 23 Feb 1706/7 St Leonard, Padiham, for a John Boothman, son of John Boothman. It is perhaps worth summarizing the Boothman register events from approximately this period in Padiham-

Marriage: 24 Sep 1704 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: John Boothman - of Hapton; Mary Stephenson - of Padiham

Baptisms: 12 Nov 1704 St Leonard, Padiham: Isabell Boothman - daughter of John Boothman. Abode: Hapton

Burial: 3 Mar 1705/6 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: Isabell Boothman - daughter of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 23 Feb 1706/7 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: John Boothman - son of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 10 Apr 1709 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: Anne Boothman - daughter of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 6 Apr 1712 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: Mary Boothman - daughter of John Boothman Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 12 Dec 1714 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: Wm Boothman - son of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Burial: 3 May 1715 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. Will: Boothman - son of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Baptisms: 18 Nov 1716 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England: Edmund Boothman - son of John Boothman. Abode: Padiham

Burial: 27 Mar 1722 St Leonard, Padiham, Lancashire, England. John Boothman - Abode: Padiham. Occupation: Husbandman

The lack of any William who survived to adulthood in this neat set of entries does not help us. The suspicion is that William the father of Elizabeth was brother to John, but we have not found the evidence for that. We have also not found any evidence for another relationship such as being a son. (Perhaps we can say that it is unlikely he was a son, because John did have a son named William who died in 1715. He could have had another son, but then it would be unlikely he was married and having children before 1730.)

3. The third lead may be a coincidence, but it is intriguing. The records of Colne parish clearly show that there were two Boothman families who moved from Waterside to Colne Hall about the same time as James Lonsdale, father-in-law of Elizabeth Boothman, must have moved from Great Marsden to Colne Hall. Boothmans continued to live at this address even into the 20th century. The problem with this lead is that these Boothmans seem to have been in Colne back into the 1600s, with no sign of a suitable Elizabeth in the family, and no connection to the people mentioned in the above will of John Boothman the spinster, whose roots appear to be more around Padiham. If there is a connection to the Colne Boothmans it may be in the 1600s.

Three generations back.

The prayer book says that James Lonsdale died at Colne Hall April 28th 1787 aged 57 and was therefore born about 1720.

The prayer book further mentioned a James Lonsdale of Harden and his wife Grace who died 2 March 1770. It is generally understood that these are one generation back from the James who apparently died in Colne Hall. Mr Vine indeed said that James who died in Colne Hall had come from outside Colne, in nearby Harden. (Hence he calls our branch the Harden branch, distinguishing it from the many other Lonsdale families from the surrounding countryside who moved into Colne in this period.)

James of Harden himself died 10 December 1755, and was buried 10th January 1756. The burials of James and Grace apparently appear in Colne registers. Vine has their son, James junior if we may call him that, of Colne Hall, born 1723, in Harden. According to Vine, this Harden is one in the parish of Thornton-in-Craven, just north of Colne and over the border in Yorkshire. It still appears on modern maps, just to the east of the township of Kelbrook.

I have been able to find a will to show that indeed one James Lonsdale of Harden in the parish of Thornton, yeoman, made a will 17 Dec 1750 and executed 25 Feb 1756. It mentioned his wife Grace, and sons James and Thomas. Witnesses Joseph King, Henry Winnall. The name Joseph King is one mentioned often in Foulridge records of about this time.

Thomas, the other son may well be the founder of the so called Foulridge line of Lonsdales, who lived at Law House (a residence near Foulridge associated with the Townleys) and married Lucy Pollard? It is interesting that the Lee family, to be discussed immediately below, also lived at Law House, and possibly married both Lonsdale families.

James of Colne Hall, the son of James and Grace of Harden was born about 1720 as we know from his age at burial in Colne. According to some old hand-written correspondence I have seen, Vine checked the registers in Thornton in Craven and said he found no sign of this family. Vine also said that James senior and Grace were married 1722. However, thanks to John Turner I can say that there is a marriage recorded there between Grace Taylor of Harden and James Lonsdale of Colne in 1743. So Grace was probably not James’ first wife. It also seems to me that James senior and junior re-married in the same year. So Mary who died in 1741 could have been the first wife of either of them? In fact, as we have now reason to suspect James Junior of having a first wife, it is probably the name of his mother, the first wife of James senior.

If James and Thomas were both sons of James, then as Michael helped me see, surely they were the ones baptised in Burnley...

The father could still be James Lonsdales from Swinherd Lowe in Haslingden, as will be discussed below, which be the proposal of Vines.

Much more speculatively, thanks to the ease of searching made possible by the Lan-OPC website I found a marriage which could be the origin of both the Harden and Foulridge lines:-

Marriage: Apr 1716 St Bartholomew, Colne, Lancashire, England
Jacobus Lonsdale - Generosus of Ackrington
Elizabetha Walton - Generosa of Marsden Magna
Register: Marriages 1697 - 1734, Page 97, Entry 22
Source: LDS Film 1471023

However, this dignified sounding couple are accounted for otherwise by Vine, who writes:-

James married Elizabeth Walton of Marsden Hall. The Waltons, in addition to Marsden Hall in what is now Nelson, owned Carry Bridge Hall in Colne and Altham Hall in Altham by Accrington. Elizabeth the eldest of six daughters, brought Altham Hall to her husband in marriage. James died in 1722 without issue and Altham Hall went to Elizabeth's younger sister, Mary. Altham Hall is still occupied and stands next to the church; behind the Walton Arms. It is a fine Elizabethan farmhouse with a notable great barn. James had also held Pendleton Hall in trust for Richard's daughter, Lucy.

For Vine, this James was a member of the well-off "High Riley" branch. The 1722 death (Michael showed a source which said 1719 but the idea is the same - a young death) and the story about how the inheritance worked both seem important to cross check. Although our James does not really look like he would have been this person, the story would become easier to believe if Vines was wrong that this couple stood to inherit as the "main line" at Altham. Whitaker's History of Whalley confirms that Elizabeth Walton was the eldest daughter of the Altham family, and that she died as Mrs Lonsdale, without issue, in 1771. (There is a "supra" will for this year for a widow of the correct name who was living in Salford.) Whitaker also confirms that the descendents of her younger sister Mary, who married a Reverend Wroe, must have taken over Marsden Hall in some way eventually. But the Marsden Park Friends website says that the Wroe Waltons only inherited in 1801, from their cousins (the change of surname from Wroe to Walton being a condition of the inheritance). Whitaker seems to indicate that the same thing happened to Altham Hall, so the main line of the Waltons went through Elizabeth and Mary's brother Henry Walton, and his son Banastre Walton.

Vines seems on more solid ground when he states at another point that in 1761, Elizabeth, widow of James, "leased back a messuage called Hardhill in Clitheroe from Banastre Walton (her nephew) which had been bequeathed by James to Ambrose Walton, Banastre's father". (Although he puts these things in quotes, I do not know what he was quoting from.)

Familysearch has an entry for a burial of a James Lonsdall, 12 May 1722, in Lancashire, but this does not appear to correspond to a normal parish record? (They also have two records for a 1 Dec 1768 death and 4th Dec 1768 burial in Little Marsden for an Elisa Lonsdale who was a spouse to a Thomas Lonsdale (which does not really match any couple except our Thomas and Betty Boothman, unless it could perhaps be the couple from Church Kirk who married 2 Jul 1768. (Church Kirk was a parish where the High Riley Lonsdales were sometimes mentioned.) But the record says she resided at Edgend, which is not in Marsden at all, but rather on the northern edge of Colne, towards Foulridge.)


While it does seem there might be problems with Vine's explanation about what happened to this James Lonsdale, it does appear that he left no heirs. Apart from James of High Riley, there was another James of about the same age, and although we not know who his wife was, this is the one Vines proposes as the founder of our Lonsdales in Colne. He will be discussed below.


The Lee family, of Ann Lee

As mentioned above, Ann Lee married James Lonsdale in Colne 5th November 1743, and appears to be my direct ancestor. She has a common name of course, and is not easy to trace. However a lead was found in July 2010 in the will of William Lee of Lawhouse in Colne, yeoman, made 11 February 1758, and proven 3rd October 1758. This corresponds to a burial 16 Feb 1758 of William Lee of Lanehouse (according to a transcription at Colne library). He names his wife as Luce, and she was to have the Messuage, Farm and Tenement called Lawhouse as well as all the goods and chattels she had in her possession when they married. It is pretty obvious that she is the widow of Thomas Lonsdale of Lawhouse, the other Lonsdale family in the Colne area. She and William had married only a few years earlier, 9 January 1755.

William also names his children, including one son and a series of daughters all with married names. The marriages and baptisms of the daughters especially are very easy to trace in the Colne register: They were the only Lees being married in that period in Colne, and when they were baptised they were the only children of William Lee being baptised there in that period. They are listed in the will in the same sequence as they were baptised, and married in almost exactly the same sequence.

  1. Margaret Lee, baptised 12 Apr 1724 (daughter of William of Waterside) m. Richard Nutter 9 Sept 1744. Appears in will as Margaret Nutter. (And her husband seems to be an executor.)

  2. Ann Lee, baptised 17 Apr1726 (daughter of William of Waterside) m. James Lonsdale. Appears in will as Ann Lonsdale.

  3. Mary Lee, baptised 12 Dec 1728 (daughter of William of Waterside) m. James Rushton 31 Dec 1747. Appears in will as Mary Rushton.

  4. Elizabeth LEIGH, baptised 30 Jul 1732 (daughter of William of Waterside). Elizabeth LEE m. Robert Rushton 1 Nov 1753. Appears in will as Eliz: Rushton.

  5. Ellin LEIGH, baptised 18 Jan 1735 (daughter of William of Waterside). Ellen LEE m. John Whittekar 24 July 1756. Appears in will as Ellin Whittaker.

  6. William Lee appears to be much younger, born to Luce. The will specifically mentions the need for his upbringing and education to be funded. He appears in he baptism register 1 July 1756, the son of William Lee of Low House.

The baptism of Ellin is the only one which specifically mentions a profession. It appears William Lee was a dyer in 1735.

Others mentioned in the will include the joint executors John Oddie, of Colne, a nailor and a resident at one of the three dwelling houses owned by William Lee, William Thompson, an Innkeeper of Colne (possibly of the Swan Inn?), and Richard Nutter a yeoman of Nuncliffe (which appears to be Nun clough right next to Fox clough) in Colne (possibly his son in law). These three executors were also assigned all the rights and interest William Lee had in both the Swan Inn property, which was on a 14 year lease from Edmund Starkie Esq., and the three dwelling houses leased from Mr William Shaw of Preston. The residents in those three messuages, which also included "shops, smithy, warehouses, cellars, yards and backsides" were John Turner, William Hawkridge, and John Oddie. William Lee signed his own name and placed a seal. Other signatories were Richard Shaw, William Hawkridge, and Christ. Higgin. It was also recorded that John Oddie appeared first as executor 3 October 1758, and the record goes out of its way to describe him as "one of the people called Quakers".


The above information makes me strongly question the idea that the two Lonsdale families in this district, that of James "of Harden" and that of Thomas of Lawhouse, were not closely related, although it remains a possibility. Recall from above that James mentions a son named Thomas who was in the right place at the right time to be Thomas of Lawhouse.


John Clayton, a local historian of Barrowford, has helped me to learn that the Swan Inn was on Colne's Market Street, and existed from at least 1716, by then already a hotel. Also, the "Halmote Cort was held here for 200 years and the town fairs and circuses were held in the Swan Croft adjoining. The early building was rebuilt at least twice and Masseys Burnley Brewery owned the final phase before selling to Montague Burtons tailors in 1938 – they then demolished the building" and it became therefore a tailors, not long before the second world war.


Concerning the surname Lee in this Eastern Lancashire region, it appears to be an old one, but it might not be amongst the oldest. Lee most likely originated in many different parts of England independently. There was a important early "de la Legh" family in the region in the 1300s, but at least one main line changed surname to Townley. I have no idea if that family is the source of any modern Lees or Leighs in Lancashire. James Carr, on the other hand, proposed that a set of arms in the parish church of Colne may belong to a "Lee or Leigh" family who I think originally came from Cheshire. I have no opinion about the likelihood of this, but know of no evidence for it. In any case there were wills to the south of Colne in the 1600s already, and in Waterside itself there were two Lee men baptising children in the late 1600s, one named James and one named Robert. Neither show any signs of having had a William though. The Lees of Colne seem more generally to have had connections over the river in Marsden and Southfield. They are mentioned as old land owners in the area on the relevant British History Online page, including Southfield itself. It is here we can find many register entries on the Lan-OPC site.


But these ones could indicate William's father's name was Thomas, and they do not indicate residence on the Marsden side of the river.

Baptisms: 29 Mar 1696 St Bartholomew, Colne, Lancashire, England
Gulielmus Leigh - fil of Thomae Leigh
Abode: Colne
Register: Baptisms 1679 - 1697, Page B39, Entry 21
Source: LDS Film 1471023

Baptisms: 7 Nov 1698 St Bartholomew, Colne, Lancashire, England
Guilhelmus Lee? - fil of Thomas Lee?
Notes: [righthand side of page obscured by large ink smear - surname unreadable]
Register: Baptisms 1697 - 1734, Page 116, Entry 24
Source: LDS Film 1471023


During this exact period it seems there were many Thomas Lees in Colne having children. The two most productive were from Blacko and Barrowford. There were also entries for Southfield and the parish of Carleton.

Four generations back.

From this point back, all is speculative. To go back the next generation we can only repeat what Vines asserted, which is that James of Harden was the son of yet another James, who lived in Swineherd Lowe in Haslingden, south of Colne in Rossendale. I think it is reasonable to summarise by saying that there were other Lonsdales in the Colne area, and that while they are all probably related, the origins of all the Lonsdales of Colne are still a little unclear. As we attempt to go further back of course there are more points where things are unclear!

In any case, in a letter he wrote to my great uncle Richard Lancaster he said he was "reasonably certain" of the connection of James Lonsdale, my ancestor, to Haslingden. And another old letter apparently came from an English researcher to my Great Uncle Richard adds to this by telling him that "Mr Vine tells me he has searched registers extensively and because of Higher and Lower Farms near Earby (G.R.922445 O.S. Map 103 Blackburn and Burnley 1:50,000) which, like Hareden (sic.), was also in Yorkshire in the past, he has looked at the registers of Bracewell, Thornton-in-Craven, and St Mary-le-Ghyll. In addition, because of his former idea that Harden was near Bingley he searched that register, likewise Carlton-in-Craven. He has also searched Slaidburn and Gisburn registers, and still not found your James." But note that apparently Mr Vines was not aware that the marriage register entry in Harden said that James Lonsdale was from Colne; he had the date wrong on his wedding to Grace (1743 instead of 1722) and was not aware of his will.

The wife of James is said by Vines to have been named Anne (I do not yet know why) and they are said to have had four children....

  1. Elizabeth Lonsdale was born 1694. A baptism can indeed be found for 8 Jul 1694 St James, Haslingden for Eliz Lonsdale - fil of James Lonsdale. The abode was given as "Sunyard Law".

  2. James is said to have been born 1697, by which (as Michael Lonsdale has pointed out to me) he must have meant the baptism 3 Jan 1696/7 St James, Haslingden, James Lonsdale - Son of James Lonsdale of Sunyard Law. As discussed above, married Grace Taylor later in life, and was buried 1756. He of course is said to have moved to Colne and Harden, probably via Burnley

  3. John is said to have been born 1700, and to have married Susan Haworth in 1723. Vine says that unlike James he stayed on at Swineherd Lowe, which appears to be correct. But I have not found a record of John's baptism.

  4. Nathan Lonsdale was born 1704. I am not sure what records Vines had for Nathan.

For what it is worth, we now have a possible sequence of three James Lonsdales: James of Swineherd Lowe, James of Harden, and James of Fox Clough and Colne Hall.

Five generations back.

Vine says that James of Swineherd Lowe was born "around" 1670 in Swineherd Lowe itself. Presumably he found no record, but had some sort of evidence that he was local.

It appears as if Mr Vine never got around to working on this particular branch enough to check all links. The assertion that James was born in Haslingden about 1670 must inevitably draw us to wonder if the Harden branch does not stem from Jacus Lonsdale, baptised July 26, 1668, a son of William Lonsdale of Towne and his wife Katherine Riley. He had married her January 1, 1660/61 in Haslingden, but the main "Haslingden Line" descends from what seem to be the children of a later wife. Katherine seems to be this burial entry, which Rita Hirst informed me about:

1677 - 22 December ux(or) Willemi Lonsdall de Towne.

Michael Lonsdale wrote to me:

William of Towne is shown [by Vine] as having two sons named James, 1664 and 1682. I've found Jacobus 4/12/1664 Haslingden son of Wm of Towne and his death 15/12/1664 Haslingden. But not the birth in 1682, but found a Jacus 26/7/1668 Haslingden, son of Wm of Towne which then throws out the birth of Robert shown as 1668, which I haven't found.

It's unlikely that William of Towne having had two sons named James die that he would name a third son James. There is no proof that Jacus born 26/7/1668 died an infant.

So although much has been done by Mr Vine there is still a very long way to go.

It appears in other words as if Mr Vine missed an obvious candidate for James of Swineherd Lowe. On the other hand everyone, including Rita Hirst in Rossendale who has helped me a lot, seems to agree that Mr Vine was using far more evidence that we have looked at so far. In any case Rita gave me the following baptism register transcriptions...

1664 - n.d. December Jacobi cu' fratre f Willi Lonsdale de Town (not in BT)

[Corresponds, it seems to this burial: 1664 -15 December A little child of Willm Lonsdale de Towne]

1668 - 26 December (Jacus)....es s of Willm' Lonsdale

1671 - Anna f Willia' Lonsdall de Towne

1676- 25 February Miles f Johis Lonsdall de Highriley born sixt daie of Decemer 1676 and was baptized the third of January as his father tould me when

1677- 10 (June) Robertus f Milonic Lonsdall de Chatterton in Adenfeld, old parochia d' Buria baptizatus apud Capellum de Adenfield p'd in Adenfield et seq.

 

And now again turning to a description of Michael Lonsdale...

Mr Vine shows William of Towne having 8 sons John 1663, James 1664 d 1664, Robert 1668, Miles 1680, James 1682, Abraham 1692 Thomas 1695, lawrence 1696. Mr Vine shows that Wm married Katherine Riley in 1661 and she died in 1677. He implies that he remarried but she isn't named and there are no dates.

Six generations back.

Vines did not claim to know where William of Towne came from, and he defined him as the founder of the Haslingden branch. However he felt that he could make a proposal based upon naming. I will explain it below. Michael Lonsdale on the other hand does have a concrete proposal, which is that William was the one baptised as a son of William 30 September 1638 at St Peter’s Burnley. William Lonsdale the father was in turn very likely the one married Issabell Hansone at St Peter’s Burnley on 26 November 1620.

Vines's thoughts on William of Town are as follows:

We know that the Padiham and High Riley branches of the family held land in Haslingden and note that William's fourth son was named Miles, the family name of the Padiham and High Riley lines. Considering this, and the prominence and financial standing of the Haslingden branch it is reasonably certain that William came from that line. His date of birth suggests that he was a son of John of Portersgate and brother to Alice of Haslingden.

John of Portersgate was in Vine's Padiham branch. On the other hand, if John Lonsdale of Portersgate was the one baptised in 1620, with a daughter Alice baptised 1644, I do not know why she is selected for special mention out of eight children. Furthermore, although there seem to be good records of this rather wealthy John Lonsdale of Porter's gate, there is also no mention of a son William. Is there some record of Alice mentioning a brother John?

Concerning this John, in any case, Vine wrote:

John son of Thomas of Simonstone, born 1620, farmed 60 acres of land at Porters gate, Habergham Eaves, on the northern slopes of Porters Gate Height, to the west of the Burnley-Dunnockshaw road. This farm vanished during W.W.II when coal was being mined on the hill, and now only the cellars can be found.

In 1648 John of Porters gate purchased a messuage of 20 acres in Simonstone from Richard Sherblume of Stannyhurst [presumably a Shireburn of Stoneyhurst] for £160, with closes called The Green, Dittonbars, Brostshowe and Highmessods. His uncle, Hugh of Altham, witnessed the conveyance. John then moved to Padiham. In 1649 he acquired Kellyard, Stricklebutts and Newfield, in Simonstone, from Robert Whittaker. In 1650 he bought further land from Robert Whittaker for £150.

John died in 1681 and left four houses in Padiham to his wife Margaret, together with "all that land in the hands of Robert Whittaker of Simonstone formerly in the hands of Thomas Lonsdale my father".

More generations back.

Following Michael Lonsdale's theory, William Lonsdale who married Issobel Hanson would seem most likely to be the William baptised 12 October 1606 at St Peter’s Burnley. His father's name was Robert Lonsdale. Less likely but still possible, William might also be this Robert's apparent brother, who was baptised in April 1586 in St Peters Burnley, the son of a John Lonsdall.

Either way, Michael believes that William who married Issobel Hanson was either the son or grandson of this John Lonsdale, of Pendle Forest, because his 1592 will mentions two sons Robert and William, as well as his executors who were his wife Elizabeth and his brother-in-law John Riddihalghe. John Lonsdale had married Elizabeth Riddihalghe 20th May 1574. The relevant entries from the St Peter Burnley register which are possibly for their son Robert and their apparent grandson (possibly son) named William are:

Early entries:

Baptisms to a Robert:

Baptisms to a William:

As far as I know, Michael Lonsdale does not have a theory for the origins of John Lonsdale of Pendle Forest who married Elizabeth Ridehalgh in Burnley. Vines does. He believes John who married Elizabeth Ridehalgh and died in 1578 was a son of a Thomas Lonsdale who is one of the earliest Lonsdales in the parish registers. He also believed, for example, that the High Riley branch and the Colne branch both descend from John of Pendle Forest (see the 1583 baptism for a John in Burnley above, who Vines calls John of Nutshaw, after the large farm he got by marrying the Pillinge family).


In various ways, all the Lonsdales from the Pendle region seem to go back to two brothers, Thomas and Myles. It is proposed that John of Pendle Forest was the son of this first Thomas. Vines says he farmed at a place called Park Gate in Hapton.


On the other hand, Vines derived the Haslingden (and therefore Harden) and Foulridge branches from Myles, not Thomas. The descendents of Myles were associated with Simostone, for example John of Porter's Gate. But I think I have shown above how both these branches quite likely also descend from John of Pendle, and therefore from Thomas, the brother of Myles.



At this point it may be easier to go right back to around 1500, when the earliest records start to appear in unclear forms for most families. Quoting Vines first:

In 1507 James Lonsdale was called before the Halmote (Hall Meet) of the Manor of Ightenhill and was fined 4d for "Encroaching upon the Kings wastes". We are in the reign of Henry VII and the War of the Roses has just ceased to disturb the area and we have a Lonsdale farmer seeking to enlarge his possessions by the enclosure of the land. Either of common or, more likely of the King's hunting Forest of Rossendale, which extended to Burnley. To the Northwest of Padiham was the Forest of Pendle and to the Northeast the Forest of Trawden. Legal expansion was then strictly limited and many of the valley communities were Royal vaccaries, or dairy land. This included Colne and Bacup. A few years later saw Ket's Rebellion against the enclosure of land by the big landowners and Henry VIII passed stricter laws to preserve the commons.

In 1513 the Earl of Surrey defeated and killed King James IV of Scotland at Flodden, in Northumberland, and, we are told:

Lancashire like lyons layden them aboute.

All had been lost but our Lord had not these Laddes been.

James Lonsdale had other things to think of and in 1522 he appears again with a claim for 8d. for a mare against one Roger Blakey. He probably died around that time as, in 1538, his son John Lonsdale was fined 1d for breaking and burning his neighbours' fences. Between 1538 and 1567 he was fined fourteen times for digging turf or grazing his cattle on the common land at Saxifield "where he had no right". Saxifield Common stretched from the old Burnley Grammar School out to Haggate and the yeomen of Burnley had grazing rights there as well as turbary; the right to cut peat. As John Lonsdale had no right there his land was probably over the border in Rossendale or Padiham.

While the 1538 document concerning John exists, it appears to be only an assumption that John is a son of James. His position in the family tree is apparently not clear. In any case, he could connect neither John nor James to the next generations, from whom he though the modern Lonsdales descended. Instead he started at Myles and Thomas, who appear to be brothers. Though their origins are difficult to uncover given the scarcity of documents back this far, Vines felt that their father may have been named Myles, or perhaps Hugh, and that the family, already established in the area of Padiham for at least a while, was also closely related to the nearby Lonsdales of the Gisburn area. He wrote:

The earliest record of a Lonsdale farmer at Padiham is of Miles Lonsdale and his brother Thomas, born around 1525. As Miles remains the most persistent family name it is probably that their father was also Miles, but there is a possibility that with the Newsholme link his name could have been Hugh.

In 1563 a Thomas and Miles were concerned in the transfer of 27 acres of land in west Padiham, held under fief of the Manor of Ightenhill. What is not certain is whether these are the sons of Miles born about 1490 or the sons of Miles born about 1515. If it's the later they would have been in their early to mid twenties. In the same year Thomas of Simonstone acquired 2 acres of land from John Webster. The family prospered and, from that date until about 1700, was fairly established in the Padiham/Simonstone area and had spread their holdings to Hapton, Huncoat, and Habergham Eaves.

So far, so good. Michael Lonsdale would add Thomas specifically mentions his brother Myles in his will in 1590. Michael describes it:

Thomas names his eldest son as James and refers to him as "his Bastard son". Then we have Hugh, Myles, Margaret the wife of Thomas SHUTTLEWORTH and finally Robert who he names as executor. He also names Myles his brother and his brother's son Thomas. Also mentioned "the executors of James Lonsdale deceased."

Noting that Thomas' first son was named James, and believing that the deceased James mentioned in the will is probably the name of the first son of Myles, Michael thinks it likely that the father of Thomas and Myles as named James.