Richard Oldham, 1833-1903 and Eliza (Parry) Oldham, 1836-1879

 Signature from marriage certificate, 1881, to 2^nd wife Ann

RICHARD OLDHAM was born on 24 May 1833 in Dukinfield, Cheshire County, England to parents Thomas Oldham, a cotton spinner, and Mary (Haigh) Oldham. He was baptized on 4 July 1833 at the Methodist New Connexion Church in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire County, England, which is located just across the River Tame from Dukinfield. [1]  The family lived in Ashton-under-Lyne as Richard grew up; in 1841 at the Walk Mill Estate, and in 1851 at 151 Bollington Street (also in the Walk Mill Estate).[2] 

 Ashton-under-Lyne and Stalybridge, Lancashire, 1849[3]

 red x is Bollington Street; the “Walk Mill” is underlined

The entire family worked in the mills, probably Walk Mill as it was the closest.  In the 1841 census, father Thomas, mother Mary, and children David (15), Sarah (15) and Hannah (14) all identified their occupations as cotton spinner, reeler, piecer or winder.[4]  Richard was too young in 1841 (only 8 years old), but by 1851 he was 17 and joined the rest of the family as a cotton weaver, as was his younger brother John (13).[5]

In the 1800s, the area of England that Richard lived had numerous cotton mills that supplied textiles to the English and around the world.  The cotton for the mills had to be imported – generally from the United States and India – because it was not a crop that was cultivated in England.  Being a cotton weaver was hard work, with long hours, and often hearing loss due to the noise of the machines.[6]

 

Interior of 18^th Century English Textile Mill

On 4 December 1859, when Richard was 26 years old, he married ELIZA PARRY at St. Pauls’ Church, an Anglican (aka Church of England) church, in the parish of Stayley, Cheshire, England.[7]

   St. Paul’s Church, Stalybridge, England

He was still working as a cotton weaver, and Eliza had been a dressmaker.  It is likely that Richard was working at a different mill since he moved down the road from Ashton-under-Lyne to Stayley.

Eliza PARRY was born on 3 February 1836 in Dukinfield, Cheshire, England to parents Joseph Parry and Mary (Jackson) Parry.  She was baptized on 27 March 1836 at the Methodist New Connexion Church in Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire County, England, which is located just across the River Tame from Dukinfield.[8]  She grew up with her family in Dukinfield – living with her parents, sisters Sarah Ann and Mary Priscilla, and brother William.[9]

In the 1859 marriage registration it was noted that Eliza was a dressmaker, which she took up again after having her children.[10]  Living in an area full of mills would have enabled Eliza to have access to many types of fabric.  According to Beth Harris in her article “Slaves of the Needle: The Seamstress in the 1840s,” dressmakers were usually females from middle-class families, who had enough money to enable their children to become apprenticed.  It was “one of only a few occupations open to women which offered a skill and a sense of belonging to a trade, and which promised…a decent and respectable living.”[11]

Eliza and Richard’s first child was Joseph Parry Oldham, named after her father Joseph Parry, born just 4 months after their marriage.[12]  In 1861, they were living at 54 Warf Street, Dukinfield, back in the area that Richard was born, and next door to Eliza’s parents.[13]  To get a sense of how close all these locations are, below is a map showing the distance between each – by car, you could make this loop in under 25 minutes:

 

Next along came Mary Ann Oldham, born in Dukinfield on 26 June 1862.[14]  Sadly, Joseph Parry Oldham died on 9 March 1963 at just 2 years, 11 months old, of ‘phrenitis convulsions’ (at that time, typically thought to be an inflammation of the brain that results in convulsions).[15]  Eliza became pregnant again shortly after Joseph’s death, and Arthur Edmond Oldham was born on 28 April 1864.  By this time, the family had moved to Halifax, Yorkshire.[16]  Three more children came along:  William on 27 December 1865, Sarah Ann on 30 September 1868, and Tom on 13 April 1871.  Essentially, Eliza was either pregnant or had an infant for 11 straight years. The family had moved again by 1871, outside of the “loop” shown in the map above, to Ovenden, Halifax, which would have taken the family a number of hours to travel to before cars were invented.  Richard continued to work as a carpet weaver in Ovenden.[17]

Eliza died young.  She was only 43 years old when she passed of phthisis (tuberculosis) on 22 September 1879.[18]  She died in Blackpool, a beach town west of Liverpool, England, where she may have been visiting her sisters Sarah Ann (Parry) Johnson and Mary Priscilla Parry in order to help cure her tuberculosis.[19]  According to Guy Hinsdale in his 1914 book Atmospheric air in relation to tuberculosis, the salt water from the sea was considered helpful for tuberculosis, and benefits could be “obtained by undertaking sea voyages or by a residence on islands, or on the seaboard.”[20]

Left with five children aged 8 to 17, Richard moved the family back to Ashton-under-Lyne where other family still lived that would be able to help out.[21]  He remarried on 19 June 1881 to Ann Bowbottern in the parish of Stockport, Cheshire, England.  The marriage registration notes his age as 44, even though at this time he was 48 years old.  However, it is likely that he wanted to appear to be younger to his new wife, who was only 35 years old.[22]

On 26 March 1886, son William died of pneumonia and cardiac weakness when he was only 20 years old.[23]  In 1888, son Arthur emigrated to the United States, the only child of the family who did so.[24]  Neither Mary Ann nor Sarah Ann ever married.  In 1891, the three of Richard’s children remaining in England (Tom, Mary Ann and Sarah Ann) were all living with their aunts (mother Eliza’s sisters) in Blackpool.[25]  Richard and Ann lived in Hyde, Cheshire, England, several hours apart from the children; Richard was still working as a cotton weaver in 1891.[26]  It is unlikely that Richard was able to visit with his children very often, between the distance and the need to work.

Richard came to a very sad end.  On 18 February 1903, he was visiting his son Tom’s home at 6 Nicander Road, Liverpool, England, when he “retired to rest, somewhat sad and weary-minded.”  He committed suicide and was found by his daughter-in-law Bessie.  The newspaper story is shown below.[27]

Richard was buried in West Derby Cemetery in Liverpool, England, in unconsecrated ground, section 2, grave 641, with 11 other people listed in this grave as well.  It is noted on the burial document that there was no ceremony for his burial.[28]

---

[1] Methodist New Connexion (Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire County, England), "Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths," p.69, Richard Oldham; General Register Office: RG4: Registers of Births, Marriages and Deaths Surrendered to the Non-Parochial Registers Commissions of 1837 and 1857, Piece 1198; The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey, England; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2972/images/40612_B0148493-00076 : viewed 8 June 2022), image 77.

[2] 1841 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Ashton under Lyne, Audenshaw and Droylsden ,enumeration district (ED) 3, p.1, Thomas Oldham household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8978/images/LANHO107_532_533-0259 : viewed 8 June 2022), image 2.  1851 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Ashton under Lyne, Audenshaw division, enumeration district (ED) 2a, folio 220, Thomas Oldham household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/LANHO107_2234_2234-0420 : viewed 8 June 2022), image 45.

[3] Ashton-under-Lyne and Staleybridge, Lancashire, England, 1849 surveyed map, sheet 7; image, maps.nls.uk (https://maps.nls.uk/view/228800189 : viewed 16 July 2022).

[4] 1841 England census, Lancashire County, Ashton-under-Lyne, ED 3, p.1, Thomas Oldham.

[5] 1851 England census, Lancashire County, Ashton-under-Lyne, ED 2a, folio 220, Thomas Oldham.

[6] Claire Hopley, “A history of the British cotton industry ,” British Heritage Travel, 14 July 2022 (https://britishheritage.com/history/history-british-cotton-industry : viewed 17 July 2022).  Photo is also from this source.

[7] St. Paul's Church (Staleybridge, Cheshire County, England), Marriage Record, p.42, no. 83 (1859), Richard Oldham and Eliza Parry; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBPRS%2FCHS%2F4018384%2F00558&parentid=GBPRS%2FM%2F770417868%2F2 : viewed 20 Dec 2020).

[8] Methodist New Connexion (Ashton-under-Lyne, Lancashire County, England), "Manchester England, Non-Conformist Births and Baptisms, 1758-1912," 1836, Eliza Perry;  Greater Manchester County Record Office, Manchester, England; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/3758/images/41501_633870_3384-00065 : viewed 1 July 2022), image 65.  Note that the Parry name was also spelled Perry, depending on who was writing the name in each document found.  For example, in Eliza’s baptism document and the 1841 census, it was spelled Perry, but in the 1851 census and her marriage registration it was spelled Parry.

[9] 1841 England census, Cheshire County, population schedule, Stockport, Dukinfield Township, enumeration district (ED) 5, p. 15, Joseph Perry household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4715075:8978?tid=72895902 : viewed 10 June 2022), image 13.  See also 1851 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Dukinfield, enumeration district (ED) 1r, p.7, Joseph Parry household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/LANHO107_2237_2237-0566 : viewed 10 June 2022), image 8.

[10] For marriage, see St. Paul's Church (Staleybridge, Cheshire County, England), Marriage Record, p.42, no. 83 (1859), Richard Oldham and Eliza Parry; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBPRS%2FCHS%2F4018384%2F00558&parentid=GBPRS%2FM%2F770417868%2F2 : viewed 20 Dec 2020).  For dressmaker occupation, see 1871 England census, Yorkshire, England, population schedule, Halifax borough, Ovenden township, St. Mary's Church district, page 32, dwelling 156, Richard Oldham; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBC%2F1871%2F4418%2F0171&parentid=GBC%2F1871%2F0008165043 : viewed 17 December 2020).

[11] Beth Harris, Ph.D., “Slaves of the Needle: The Seamstress in the 1840s,” The Victorian Web, 10 December 2014 (https://victorianweb.org/gender/ugoretz1.html : viewed 17 July 2022).

[12]Chester County, England, registration of birth, Ashton Under Lyne superintendent registrar’s district, Dukinfield registrar’s district, no. 157 (1860), Joseph Parry Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[13] 1861 England census, Cheshire, England, population schedule, Dukinfield township, St. Mark's Church district, folio 35, dwelling 54, Richard Oldham; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.co.uk/record?id=GBC%2F1861%2F2994%2F01030A&parentid=GBC%2F1861%2F0015785988 : viewed 20 Dec 2020).

[14] Chester County, England, registration of birth, Ashton Under Lyne superintendent registrar’s district, Dukinfield registrar’s district, no. 256 (1862), Mary Ann Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[15] Chester County, England, registration of death, Ashton Under Lyne superintendent registrar’s district, Dukinfield registrar’s district, no. 477 (1863), Joseph Parry Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[16] York County, England, registration of birth, Halifax registration district, Ovenden sub-district, no. 327 (1864), Arthur Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[17] 1871 England census, Yorkshire, England, population schedule, Halifax borough, Ovenden township, St. Mary's Church district, page 32, dwelling 156, Richard Oldham; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBC%2F1871%2F4418%2F0171&parentid=GBC%2F1871%2F0008165043 : viewed 17 December 2020).

[18] England, death registration for Eliza Parry, died 22 September 1879, registered 23 September 1879, Poulton-le-Fylde, Fylde 8e/372, Lancashire; General Registry Office, Southport.

[19] The two sisters were living together in the Blackpool suburbs in 1881 – see 1881 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Layton with Warbreck, enumeration district (ED) 5, p. 38, family 186, Thomas Johnson household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7572/images/LANRG11_4249_4253-0895 : viewed 17 July 2022), image 39.

[20] Guy Hinsdale, A.M., M.D., Atmospheric air in relation to tuberculosis (Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1914), p. 33; digital book, Google Books (https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/qIsaAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0 : viewed 16 July 2022).

[21] 1881 England census, Lancashire, England, population schedule, Ashton-under-Lyne borough, Saint Peter's district, page 36, dwelling 189, Richard Oldham; image, FindMyPast (https://search.findmypast.com/record?id=GBC%2F1881%2F4361607%2F00183&parentid=GBC%2F1881%2F0018683173 : viewed 17 December 2020).  Richard’s brother John and sister Sarah lived together in Ashton-under-Lyne in 1881:  1881 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Ashton-under-Lyne, p. 39, family 202, John Oldham household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7572/images/LANRG11_4034_4036-0383 : viewed 17 July 2022), image 40.

[22] Parish of Stockport, Cheshire, England parish register, record of marriage, p.205 (1881), Richard Oldham and Ann Bowbottern; image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DHX4-KFX : viewed 18 April 2021), image 272.

[23] Lancaster County, England, registration of death, Ashton Under Lyne superintendent registrar’s district, Aston Town sub-district, no 430 (1886), William Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[24] New York Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957, microfilm publication M237 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1962), Steamship Etruria, 13 February 1888, for Arthur Oldham, no. 93; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_515-0771 : viewed 21 November 2020), image 3.

[25] 1891 England census, Lancashire, England, population schedule, Layton with Warbreck, Blackpool, enumeration district (ED) 6, p. 13, family 69, William J. Lord household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6598/images/LANRG12_3452_3453-0211 : viewed 16 July 2022), image 14.  Sisters Sarah Ann and Mary Priscilla are found with Eliza in 1851 England census, Lancashire County, population schedule, Dukinfield, enumeration district (ED) 1r, p.7, Joseph Parry household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/8860/images/LANHO107_2237_2237-0566 : viewed 10 June 2022), image 8.  Sarah Ann Parry married Thomas Johnson in 1865:  Lancaster County, England, marriage record, Union Chapel, Blackpool, 14 June 1865, no. 31, Johnson-Parry; General Register Office, Southport, UK.  Mary Priscilla Parry married William James Mitchell Lord in 1883: Lancaster County, England, marriage record, Union Chapel, Blackpool, 17 October 1883, no. 72, Lord-Parry; General Register Office, Southport, UK.

[26] 1891 England census, Chester County, population schedule, Newton civil parish, Hyde municipal borough, enumeration district (ED) 7, p. 66, Richard Oldham household; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6598/images/CHSRG12_3286_3289-0154 : viewed 8 June 2022), image 66.

[27] For date and cause of death, see Liverpool County, England, registration of death, Toxteth Park registration district, no. 332 (1903), Richard Oldham; General Register Office, Southport, UK.  For newspaper article, see "Suicide at Seventy," The Midland Daily Telegraph (Coventry, England), 20 February 1903, p. 2, col. 7; image, BritishNewspaperArchive.co.uk (https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000337/19030220/011/0002 : viewed 16 July 2022).  For Tom’s residence, see Lancaster County, England, registration of marriage, Fylde registrar’s district, Wesleyan Chapel (Blackpool), no. 117 (1902), Oldham-Jones; General Register Office, Southport, UK.  Bessie was Tom’s wife at this time (confirmed still married in 1939 register).

[28] West Derby Cemetery (Liverpool, Merseyside, England), Register of Burials in the Unconsecrated Ground, folio 154, no. 3061 (1903), Richard Oldham; image, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/9041/images/48242_557120-00154 : viewed 28 June 2022), image 3901.