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Rosalind Davies' Family
History
©
Rosalind Davies 2001
Permission granted to reprint research for non-profit use only
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William
& Sarah Anne RIDING c. 1853- 1914
my
great grandparents
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William
RIDING
Born: 4 Jul 1856
Ware Farm, Cockerham , Lancashire UK iChristened: 31
Aug 1856 at St. Michael's Parish Church, Cockerham ii
Death: 27 Jun 1907 at 25 Charles St, Lancaster iii
Buried: Scotforth Cemetery 1 Jul 1907 ar 3 pm; section C
#221 at a cost of £2.3.6
Occupation: Qualified stonemason /Journeyman (working for
someone else)
Religion: Church
of England i
Father: John RIDING
(1828-1916)Click
here for his 2 generation Family Tree
Mother: Alice SINGLETON (1830-1902)
married 26 Jan 1882 by banns at St. Mary's Church of
England,Lancaster |
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and his wife
Sarah Ann ROBINSON
Birth: 26 Jun 1853 at 30 Aqueduct St, Preston, Lancashire UK iDeath: 13 Apr 1914 at home, 25 Charles St, Lancaster UK iii
Death: 13 Apr 1914 at 25 Charles St, Lancaster iii
Buried: Scotforth Cemetery 16 Apr 1914 at 3pm; section
C #221 at a cost of 17 shillings
Occupation:Cotton weaver then home duties iv
Religion: Church of England iFather: John ROBINSON (1828-1899)Click
here for John's father Richard's ancestors Family Tree
from 1757
Father; John ROBINSON
(1828-1899)
Mother: Margaret PARKINSON (1828-1859)
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Their
children:
Margaret Annie (Maggie) (1882-1968)
John (Jack) William (1884-1957)
Alice (1885-1972)
Sarah Jane (1886-1953)
Gordon (1887-1936)
Janet (Jenny) (1889-1915)- my
grandmother
Lilian (1891-1953) my step grandmother
Edison (Ted) (1892-c. 1937)
Wilfred (1894-1971)
Phyllis (?1895-)
Ethel (1896-1937)
William
Riding was born at Ware farm , Cockerham and lived there
during his early years. His birth was registered by his mother, Alice
who was unable to sign her name and just left an X.i
By 1863 he had moved with his family to Thurnham, a small village
west of Cockerham. By the age of 12 he was working as a farm servant on a large farm of 100 acres owned by Henry Thornton called ' Thurnham
Moss'.vBy 1881,vi William was living in Scotforth, just south of Lancaster, with his
uncle, William Singleton and family. As a child, William had lived next
door to this family in Cockerham vii.
William Singleton had been living and working in Scotforth since before
1870 viii and William followed him there
and became apprenticed to him
as a stonemason. |
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Map of Scotforth, south of Lancaster
Charles Street is off Greaves Road (arrows
used) near the bottom of the map. I have highlighted other family addresses.
Scotforth is now just a suburb of Lancaster
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William married Sarah Ann Robinson,
who was born in the large town of Preston, several miles to the south
east but whose family had moved to Glasson
Docks,just south of Lancaster. At that stage in 1882 he was living in
Grasmere St,Lancaster. xvii They produced fourteen children. Their
first child Margaret Annie was born in 1882 whilst they were living in
West Road, Lancaster.i (near Lancaster Castle)
By 1891 William and Sarah and their first seven children were
living at 25 Charles Street, Scotforth, Lancashire and William was
still working as a stonemason. xv
He was described by his daughter
Lilian as a very strict father. He had a large family with many daughters
who apparently giggled a lot at the dinner table. This would make him
cross and he would send them out into the yard but later he would call
them back in to finish their dinner.ix He was a great
student of the Bible and was described as very tall for an Englishman
of his time.x His son, Wilfred, also described him as being a strict father, who
sang in the church choir.xi
William died in Scotforth aged 50 having
had been ill for three years with progressive
wasting of the arteries between the heart and lungs. (His grandmother
Sarah Riding had also died of this). He also had the stonemason's complaint
of silicosis.xii His death was registered by his eldest daughter Margaret, who was
still living at home.iii
See a photo of his grave in Scorforth Cemetery at the bottom of this page.
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25 Charles Street, Scotforth is the house on
the left. This row of terraces was
demolished c. 1980 |
Sarah
Ann Riding (nee Robinson) was born at 30 Aqueduct Street,
Preston in 1853.i Her father, John, was a brickmaker
and her mother, Margaret, worked at a machine in the cotton mill.xiii.
Sadly Margaret died of a miscarriage and lung infection when Sarah was
just 6 years old. iii
In 1871, she was living with
her father,younger sister Jane, step-mother, Janet Raby, and their first
four children in the brickyards in 1 Sandy Lane, Preston. Sarah was employed
as a cotton weaver in a nearby factory . xiv
In 1881, at the age of 28,
Sarah Ann was still unmarried and working as a cotton weaver in Lancaster. She was boarding with a Mrs Jane Hesmondhalgh
(nee Singleton,a widow of 43 who was born in Cockerham. Mrs Hesmondhalgh
had a 9 year old daughter and a 5 year old son.(Maggie Riding spoke of
a cousin,Fanny Hesmondhalgh who emigrated to America.) xii Also boarding at the house at #2 Brury Street,Lancaster
were brothers Edward Robinson and a Robert Warriner (both book-keepers)and
a Sarah Riding, aged 23 who was working as a dressmaker. This Sarah was
also born in Cockerham and the
daughter of my John & Alice Riding.vi |
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| Above; From Sarah Ann's Prayer Book. There
was also a bookmark with a crucifix picture and words in Dutch, sent to
her by her son, Wilfred fighting in World War 1 in Holland. |
Sarah Ann and Sarah must have
socialised together and that's how Sarah Ann Robinson met William Riding,who
was living in Scotforth at the time with his uncle William Singleton.
The couple were married by banns on 26 Jan 1882 at St.Mary's
Church of England . Sarah's address was still Brury Street,
Lancaster and she was described as a weaver. The witnesss were Richard
Riding (her brother ) & Sarah Riding (William's sister). xvii
Their first child was born in Aug 1882 when they were living in West Road,
Lancaster.i By 1891 the family were living at 25 Charles Street, Scotforth, Lancaster.xv
Sarah Ann had 14 pregnancies with 3 stillbirths.
xii Of the remaining 11 children,
many migrated to Australia. Her
husband William, was a great student of the Bible and taught her how to
read. xii He was very tall and she was
very short.x
In July 1913, her daughter Jenny wrote a postcard to her
sister-in-law, Jeanette Riding in Adelaide and said that
Sarah Ann was feeling slightly better and wished that she would
be fully recovered. "She
has to have eggs whether they are expensive or not and
it costs her four and six shillings a week for medicine. She never gets
the chance to have a hapenny before her and it makes her get lowspirited
at times. I am going to take her to Morecombe on August Monday if the
weather is alright and she is fit to go."
Sarah Ann died of cancer of the bladder
aged 60, and her death was registered by her married daughter Sarah
Jane Pettit who lived across the
road at 22 Charles Street, Scotforth.iii Her son Ted, on hearing the news of his mother's imminent death,travelled
back from Australia, but arrived too late. He never returned to Australia
. xvi Her son, Wilfred was also
said to have been very fond of her.xi |
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| This grave photo in Scotforth
Cemetery was kindly sent to me by my second cousin Jackie Olsen. |
Footnotes
i. birth certificate
ii. International Genealogy Index
iii. death certificate
iv. 1881 census of Lancashire
v. 1871 census of Cockerham. Lancashire
vi. 1881 census of Scotforth, Lancashire
vii. 1861 census of Cockerham. Lancashire-
in the village
viii. Death certificate of his father
ix. oral- Margery Brown nee Davies
x. Letter- Helen Watters (nee
Riding) Jack's daughter.
xi. Letter- Lillian Wilson (nee Riding) South Australia
xii. Letter- Lena Huntington, daughter
of Maggie Huntington(nee Riding,from Murray
Bridge,South Australia.
xiii. marriage certificate
xiv. 1871 census of Preston, Lancashire
xv. 1891 census of Scotforth,
Lancashire
xvi. Letter- Marney Forward,daughter
of Helen Riding,daughter of Jack Riding.
xvii- church records- St. Mary's Church of England, Lancaster.
On the hill near the Castle
Main Lancashire
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by Ros Davies