Job: Dry Soap Packer

Mary Horris (1874-1910) is Dermot's great grandmother and the only person I have in the records listed as being a Dry Soap Packer. Mary gave her occupation as dry soap packer on the 1891 census, she would have been 17 years old at the time.

Mary probably worked for Hudson’s Soap, which was located in Bank Hall, situated in the Kirkdale area of Liverpool, where Mary lived.

Hudson’s soap powder was the first satisfactory and commercially successful soap powder. The factory was originally set up in West Bromwich in 1837 by Robert Spear Hudson. The soap powder was made by grinding coarse bar soap. Although his business was listed as being the "Manufacturer of Dry Soap", he did not make it, but bought the raw soap from William Gossage of Widnes.

In 1875, the West Bromwich factory was too small and too far from the source of his soap, so he moved his works to Bank Hall. The factory eventually employed about 1’000 people and was eventually sold to Lever Brothers in 1908.

Hudson's business flourished, partly because of the demand for domestic soap products, but also because of his high levels of advertising, with posters appearing on coaches and tramcars. Below is an example from 1892.

Information found from Grace's Guide to British Industrial History

Mary Ellen Goodwin (1883-1956)

Mary Ellen Goodwin is my great grandmother. She was born on 8 December 1883 to George Hedley and Mary Caroline (Houghton) Goodwin. She was the oldest of their 3 daughters.

1883
Mary Ellen Goodwin was born on 8 December 1883 in Macclesfield, Cheshire

1888 Birth of sister Minnie Amelia Goodwin (1888-1969)

1891 The Goodwin family lived at 183 Newton Street, Macclesfield

1894 Birth of sister Edith Annie Goodwin (1894-1912)

1901 The family had moved and were now living at 125 Newton Street, Macclesfield. Mary Ellen gave her occupation as silk machinist.

1906
Mary Ellen married Percy Hooley in about August 1906 in Macclesfield, Cheshire.

1907
Birth of son Leslie Hooley(1907-1907)
Death of son Leslie Hooley - age <1

1908 Birth of son Eric Hooley (1908-1992)

1911
In 1911, the family lived at Kitts Moss Lane, Bramhall. This census gave me the evidence of another child as it shows that Mary Ellen had 2 children, one who had died (Leslie).

• Percy Hooley – age 29, sanitary plumber
• Mary Ellen Hooley – age 27, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Eric Hooley – age 2, born in Macclesfield, Cheshire

1911 Birth of son Norman Hooley (1911-1981)

1912 Death of sister Edith Annie Goodwin - age 18

1913 Birth of son Frank Hooley (1913-1998)

1918 Birth of son Dennis Hammond Hooley (1918-2003)

1919 Death of husband Percy Hooley - age 36

1928 Death of father George Hedley Goodwin - age 68

1929 Death of mother Mary Caroline Houghton - age 71

1939 
Mary was widowed and living at 8 Exchange Street, Macclesfield with sons Norman and Dennis,  her other 2 sons Eric and Frank were both married.

• Mary E Hooley – widow, born 8 December 1883, office caretaker
• Norman Hooley – single, born 22 May 1911
• Dennis H Hooley – single, born 20 September 1918, clerk Co-operative Society

1955 Mary died of carcinoma of the vulva on 31 December 1955 aged 72 in Macclesfield, Cheshire. The informant of her death was Eric Hooley (son).

Burglary at Liverpool: Joseph Horris

It is Friday again, when I share something that I have found whilst looking for records, that is interesting or adds information to our family tree.

Found in the Liverpool Mercury 29 July 1876, page 4

Joseph Horris was age 16 when this article was written, which would make his date of birth approximately 1860. We do have a Joseph Horris in the family, born in 1859 and living in Liverpool. If this is the same Joseph Horris, then he was Dermot's 1st cousin, 3 times removed.

The transcription reads:
BURGLARY AT LIVERPOOL
John Ryan, aged 16, stoker; Thomas Larkin, aged 17, bottler; and Joseph Horris, aged 16, labourer, were indicted for having on the 25th of June, burglariously entered the dwelling house of Joseph Holland, 57, Scotland-road, with intent to steal. Dr. Commins appeared for the prosecution. The prisoners were found guilty, and Larkin and Horris were each sentenced to twelve months' imprisonment with hard labour. Against Ryan there was a previous conviction, and it was stated that he had been committed to the reformatory ship Clarence. He, however denied this, and was told to sit down until enquiries were made. Whilst this was being done, Ryan had a very bad fit, and was carried out of court. The learned commissioner deferred passing sentence.

Further investigation revealed that John Ryan had several previous convictions and he was sentenced to seven years penal servitude.

Wordless Wednesday: Thomas Meakin

Not so wordless today.

Thomas Meakin (1835-1888), my 2nd great grandfather, who I profiled at the end of June.

It is interesting to note that the little finger on his left hand looks a little odd, as does the way this hand is resting, but of course that could be just the way he was posed for the picture.

After looking at this picture, it also got me wondering why Thomas Meakin who lived in Langley, Cheshire all his life would have a photograph from a studio in Halifax. A few minutes (??) later and I had found what could be a possible explanation.

From the Halifax Courier 12 January 1889, page 2

As Edward Gregson had premises in Blackpool, it led me to suppose that Thomas Meakin may have been there on a works outing. Blackpool was a popular destination for trips from the areas in and around Manchester.

Richard Boushell (1867-1951)

Richard Boushell is Dermot's great grandfather, born on 8 March 1867 to Patrick and Mary (Dunne) Boushell. He was their 2nd son of 12 children. Here is another example of someone who spent their whole life in one place, Richard was born, lived and died in Naas, County Kildare, Ireland.

1866
A baptism record found for Richard gives the date of his baptism as 11 December 1866 and a date of birth as 8 December 1866.
This shows the record with the date of 1866-7 in the top left hand corner and also the change of year from 1866 to 1867, thanks to the mistake made with Christina Connolly's record.

1866 Baptism Record

1867
The birth registration however shows the following:
Richard Boushell, born on 8 March 1867 to Patrick and Mary Boushell, formerly Dunne.
His birth was registered on 21 March 1867 by Patrick Boushell (father).
Patrick’s occupation is given as shoemaker and they were living in Nass, Co Kildare.

1867 Birth Registration

It looks as if Richard was probably born in December 1866 but the birth was not registered until March 1867 and a birth date of 8 March was given rather than 8 December.

Dates of birth and/or death can be tricky and in other records, Richard could have been born in 1869, 1868 or 1866. The 1901 census, gives his date of birth as 1869, the 1911 census gives the date of birth as 1868. His death registration would make his date of birth 1866.

1868 Birth of sister Mary Boushell (1868-1869)
1868 Death of sister Mary Boushell - age <1
1870 Birth of brother Benjamin Boushell (1870-1952)
1873 Birth of sister Bridget Mary Boushell (1873-1943)
1873 Birth of brother James Boushell (1873-1876)
1875 Birth of sister Anne Boushell (1875-1951)
1876 Death of brother James Boushell - age 2
1877 Birth of brother Joseph Boushell (1877-1918)
1879 Birth of brother Thomas Boushell (1879-1958)
1881 Birth of brother John Boushell (1881-    )
1883 Birth of sister Elizabeth Boushell (1883-1959)
1885 Birth of sister Catherine Boushell (1885-1960)

1892
Richard married Ellen Byrne on 6 September 1892 in the Roman Catholic chapel of Naas, Co Kildare.
The marriage registration states:
Richard Boushell of full age, bachelor, shoemaker, residing in Naas. Father – Patrick Boushell (shoemaker).
Ellen Byrne of full age, spinster, residing in Naas. Father – Thomas Byrne died (labourer).
Witnesses: James Hollen and Ellen Carroll

1893 Birth of daughter Mary Boushell (1893-1959)
1895 Birth of son Patrick Boushell (1895-1969)
1896 Birth of daughter Elizabeth Boushell (1896-    )
1898 Birth of son Richard Boushell (1898-1900)
1900 Death of son Richard Boushell - age 1
1900 Birth of daughter Esther Boushell (1900-1900)
1900 Death of daughter Esther Boushell - age <1

1901 The 1901 census, records the family as living at 17 Sallins Road, Naas, Co Kildare.

1901 Birth of son Thomas Boushell (1901-    )
1902 Death of mother Mary Dunne - age 58
1905 Birth of son Joseph Boushell (1905-1960)
1908 Birth of son John Boushell (1908-    )

1911 The family seemed to have moved since 1901 and are now listed as living at 13 Sallins Road, Naas, Co Kildare.

1912 Birth of son Andrew Boushell (1912-1962)
1918  Death of father Patrick Boushell - age 81
1918 Death of brother Joseph Boushell - age 41
1925 Death of wife Ellen Byrne - age 54
1943 Death of sister Bridget Mary Boushell - age 70
1951 Death of sister Anne Boushell - age 75

1951
Richard died aged 84 in Sallins Road, Naas, on 30 November 1951 of senile decay. He was a widower and his death was registered by Mary Boushell (daughter) on 5 December 1951. He was buried in St Corban's Cemetery on 2 December 1951.

Serious Accident at Bradwell Siding: Thomas Hemmings

It is Friday again, when I share something that I have found whilst looking for records, that is interesting or adds information to our family tree.

This article was found in the Congleton & Macclesfield Mercury, and Cheshire General Advertiser,
20 August 1892, page 8

The transcription reads:

SERIOUS ACCIDENT AT BRADWELL SIDING.
Early on Thursday morning, Thomas Hemmings, aged 19, who lives at Tunstall, met with a serious accident while following his employment at the Bradwell siding of the North Staffordshire Railway. Hemmings is employed as a guardsman, and while engaged in some shunting operations he was caught between the engine and one of the trucks. He was at once removed to the North Staffordshire Infirmary, where he was found to have been badly crushed and bruised. He is progressing as well as can be expected.

Although we have Hemmings in the family, Thomas is not a relative. Interestingly though, the Hemmings in our family were connected to the railway through their jobs, maybe he is a very distant cousin? I did find a Thomas Hemmings in the 1901 census of the right age, living in Tunstall, married and with 3 children, his occupation is given as railway yard foreman. So it does look as if Thomas survived the accident and continued to work on the railways.

Silk Piecer

Time to pick out another job, which is interesting - Silk Piecer.
These are all relatives of mine and at some point in their life gave their occupation as "silk piecer", they are all from the maternal side of my family. I have also included the age at which they first gave their occupation as silk piecer.

Jane Elizabeth Goodwin (1851-1896) 3rd great aunt (age 30)

Sarah Griffiths (1835-1909) 2nd great grandmother (age 16)
Charlotte Griffiths (1838-    ) 3rd great aunt (age 14)
Maria Griffiths (1839-    ) 3rd great aunt (age 12)

Ann Hammond (1836-1912) 3rd great aunt (age 14)
Mary Hammond (1841-1911) 2nd great grandmother (age 24)
Sarah Hammond (1846-1880) 3rd great aunt (age 23)

William Hooley (1813-    ) 3rd great grandfather (age 22)

Sarah Sherratt (1815-    ) 3rd great grandmother (age 21)

Mary Meakin (1826-   ) 3rd great aunt (age 15)
Sarah Meakin (1829-    ) 3rd great aunt (age 18)
Frances Eugenia Meakin (1855-1925) 2nd great aunt (age 15)
Elizabeth Ellen Meakin (1859-1939) 2nd great aunt (age 11)
Sarah Meakin (1869-    ) 2nd great aunt (age 11)

Women and children were usually employed as silk piecers. Piecers had to lean over the spinning-machine to repair the broken silk threads. They worked in huge sheds, filled with long rows of spinning-frames, with thousands of whirling spindles. These slid continuously backwards and forwards, hour after hour. When the threads broke, the broken ends had to be instantly repaired; the piecer ran forward and joined the threads.

A researcher of the time, claimed that a piecer could walk twenty four miles a day, as they ran backwards and forwards piecing the threads together.

It is interesting reading about how the employment of children as piecers in the mills was justified.

In 1834, E. C. Tufnell,  a Factory Commissioner, wrote that "three-fourths of the children employed are engaged in piecing, which, when they have receded a foot and a half or two feet from the frame, leave nothing to be done. If a child remains during twelve hours a day, for nine hours he performs no actual labour.

In 1835, Edward Baines, a journalist defended the employment of children as piecers, saying that "the work did not require constant attention, the position of the body is not injurious and that the children can walk about and have the opportunity of frequently sitting if they are so disposed."

And in 1849, Angus Reach wrote that he had spoken to two medical gentleman regarding factories and health and in their opinion the poor health was not due to the work in the mills, but to the defective domestic arrangements for cleanliness and ventilation.

Information found in the article Piecers in the Textile Industry