Bridging the Gap pt 1: George Bridge
01/01/18 19:04
Following the principle of starting with what we know and working backwards:
George Bridge is buried in Sion graveyard and his MI reads:
35.
E face
RESURGAM/GEORGE BRIDGE/FOR MANY YEARS DEACON OF THIS CHURCH/BORN CHAPEL HILL MARCH 21ST 1824/DIED CLOUGHFOLD JUNE 22ND 1886.
W face
ALSO MARY HIS WIFE/ WHO DIED JUNE 23RD 1866 AGED 41/ALSO ELIZABETH HIS SECOND WIFE/ WHO DIED FEB 21ST 1890 AGED 58.
'For many years deacon of this church' is not encouraging as it suggests a commitment to non-conformity which might be familial. Mmm, we will see.
This conveniently gives him a date and place of birth (which triggered the interest in the first place!) so gives us something to look for on the census and sure enough, there he is:
1841:
Well the ages and children fit so it is obviously the same family but 'John' in 1841 is 'Abel' in 1851. There are a number of 'Abel Bridge' in the area at the time and it won't be easy if they used names interchangeably.
The other interesting thing here is that the place of birth for George and siblings is given as 'Higherbooth, Lancashire' These refer to the various townships of Rossendale which were still in use at this time. However Chapel Hill isn't in Higher Booth but Lower Booth, and it is in an enclave of Lower Booth entirely contained within Deadwenclough. It is surprising if John/Abel didn't know that.
Oh well. It wouldn't be fun if it was straightforward.
George Bridge is buried in Sion graveyard and his MI reads:
35.
E face
RESURGAM/GEORGE BRIDGE/FOR MANY YEARS DEACON OF THIS CHURCH/BORN CHAPEL HILL MARCH 21ST 1824/DIED CLOUGHFOLD JUNE 22ND 1886.
W face
ALSO MARY HIS WIFE/ WHO DIED JUNE 23RD 1866 AGED 41/ALSO ELIZABETH HIS SECOND WIFE/ WHO DIED FEB 21ST 1890 AGED 58.
'For many years deacon of this church' is not encouraging as it suggests a commitment to non-conformity which might be familial. Mmm, we will see.
This conveniently gives him a date and place of birth (which triggered the interest in the first place!) so gives us something to look for on the census and sure enough, there he is:
1841:
| HO/107/509/6/8/8 | Chaple Hill | Newchurch | John | Bridge | 45 | 1796 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | |
Betty | Bridge | 45 | 1796 | Yes | |||||
John | Bridge | 20 | 1821 | Yes | Stone Mason | ||||
Mary | Bridge | 20 | 1821 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | ||||
Elizabeth | Bridge | 20 | 1821 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | ||||
| HO/107/509/6/9/9 | Ann | Bridge | 14 | 1827 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | |||
George | Bridge | 15 | 1826 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | ||||
Alice | Bridge | 15 | 1826 | Yes | Woolen Weaver | ||||
Jane | Bridge | 13 | 1828 | Yes | woolen Piecer | ||||
Abel | Bridge | 11 | 1830 | Yes | woolen Piecer | ||||
Sarah | Bridge | 9 | 1832 | Yes | |||||
Nelly | Bridge | 7 | 1834 | Yes | |||||
Robert | Bridge | 5 | 1836 | Yes | |||||
James | Bridge | 3 | 1838 | Yes | |||||
Interesting as Chapel Hill is a series of farms with few cottages but his father is given as a Woollen weaver not a farmer. It's a pity the address is not specified more fully but hey.
Checking in 1851 we get:
| HO107/2249/180/10 | 3 Daisy Hill | Lower Booths | Abel | Bridge | 57 | 1794 | Head | Lower Booth, Lancashire | Hand Loom Weaver Woollen | ||||||||||
Betty | Bridge | 56 | 1795 | Wife | Lower Booth, Lancashire | Mary | Bridge | 30 | 1821 | Daughter | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Power Loom Weaver Cotton | |||||||
Ann | Bridge | 28 | 1823 | Daughter | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Dress Maker | |||||||||||||
George | Bridge | 27 | 1824 | Son | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Warehouse Man | |||||||||||||
Jane | Bridge | 22 | 1829 | Daughter | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Power Loom Weaver | |||||||||||||
Abel | Bridge | 19 | 1832 | Son | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Power Loom Weaver | |||||||||||||
Sarah | Bridge | 18 | 1833 | Daughter | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Throstle Spinner Cotton | |||||||||||||
Ellen | Bridge | 16 | 1835 | Daughter | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Doffer Cotton | |||||||||||||
Robert | Bridge | 14 | 1837 | Son | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Doffer Cotton | |||||||||||||
James | Bridge | 12 | 1839 | Son | Higherbooth, Lancashire | Giver In Scholar | |||||||||||||
Well the ages and children fit so it is obviously the same family but 'John' in 1841 is 'Abel' in 1851. There are a number of 'Abel Bridge' in the area at the time and it won't be easy if they used names interchangeably.
The other interesting thing here is that the place of birth for George and siblings is given as 'Higherbooth, Lancashire' These refer to the various townships of Rossendale which were still in use at this time. However Chapel Hill isn't in Higher Booth but Lower Booth, and it is in an enclave of Lower Booth entirely contained within Deadwenclough. It is surprising if John/Abel didn't know that.
Oh well. It wouldn't be fun if it was straightforward.
