Rosalind Davies' Family History
© Rosalind Davies 2001
Permission granted to reprint research for non-profit use only

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John, Margaret & Janet Robinson c. 1828- 1889

my great- great grandparents

Click here for a 2 generation Family Tree for John Robinson & his 2 families

Click here for a 4 generation Family Tree for Thomas ROBINSON- my 6 x great grandfather who died 1757.

 

John ROBINSON

Birth: Oct 1828 Great Eccleston, Lancashire UK
Christened: 4 November 1828 St Michaels Parish Church, St Michaels-on- Wyre vii
Death:
26 December 1899 The Tile Works, Glasson Dock, Lancashire iv
Burial: Christ Church, Glasson, Lancashire iii
Occupation: master brickmaker brick & tile manufacturer iv
Religion: Church of England


Father: Richard ROBINSON (1783-1849) vii
Mother: Jane BLUNDEL (?) (1790-1867)

and his 1st wife
Margaret PARKINSON- my ancestor

Christened : 1 May 1828, Pilling, Lancashire i
Death: 20 December 1859 Near Tulketh Hall, Ashton, Lancashire iv
Burial: 23 December 1859 St Michaels-on-Wyre, Lancashire vii
Occupation: Rover-operator of cotton machine which prepared carded fibre vi
Religion: Church of England


Father: William PARKINSON (died before 1852) vi
Mother: Peggy MORLEY (?) (b. 1798-) xiv

Their Children:

1. Sarah Ann ROBINSON 1853- 1914 , married William Riding - my ancestor
2. Jane ROBINSON born 30 May 1858 Ashton, Lancashire Spouse: Richard RIGBY

And his 2nd wife:
Janet (Jennet) RABY
Birth: 1831 Great Eccleston, Lancashire xv
Death: 5 Jun 1885 Glasson iii
Burial: Christ Church, Glasson iii
Occupation: Helped with her husband's brick and tile manufacturing business xii
Religion: Church of England

Father: Cuthbert RABY (1791-)
Mother: Anne (1789-)

and their children;

Ann Robinson :born 1861, in Ashton, near Preston, married John Fisher of Thurnham 10 Nov 1881 in Glasson ix
Richard Robinson:born 22 Feb 1863 in Preston, married Hannah, sons John & Paul ii
John Robinson: born 1867 at Ingol, xiii near Preston and died 28 Nov 1939 iv
Cuthbert Robinson : born 1869 in Ashton, Preston xiii and died before 1939
Paul Robinson : born 1872 in Preston x and died 16 Apr 1949 iv
Janet Robinson: born 1873 in Preston x

John Robinson was born in 1828 , the son of Richard and Jane Robinson. I can trace John's family back to Thomas Robinson who died at Crossmoor Farm on 6 Aug 1757 and was buried in St. Michael's-on-Wyre graveyard . vii He had 3 sons that I know of , all born at Crossmoor Farm, and christened at St. Michael's-on- Wyre Parish Church (Richard christened 27 Feb 1714, , Thomas christened 21 Jul 1717 and James) vii. I'm descended from Richard.

Richard Robinson had 5 sons all born at Crossmoor Farm and christened at St. Michaels-on-Wyre;i Thomas christened 12 APR 1743, twins John & William born Oct 1748, this John must have died early as another son was named John, born Feb 1751 and Richard born Nov 1754. I am descended from this Richard.

Richard Robinson married Elizabeth Marshall i (born Upper Rawcliffe, daughter of Edward 1718-1773) and had 7 children that I know of born at Great Eccleston (twins Nanny & Richard, christened 21 Sep 1783 ,xi & iv , Jane born Jun 1785 & died 9 Aug 1787,twins Margaret & Elizabeth christened 13 Mar 1796, Alice christened 15 Mar 1801 & Jane christened 8 Jan 1804). I am descended from Richard. He died 15 Nov 1835 at Ashton-under -Lyne and was buried in St. Michael's-on- Wyre graveyard. His wife Elizabeth died 1 Nov 1827 at Crossmoor and was buried at St. Michaels. vii
This Richard was John's father. He was born 1783 in Great Eccleston and was an agricultural labourer. XI He married Jane born 1787 from Bailton in Lancashire XI & xv. I can't find Bailton anywhere on the map nor am I certain of her maiden name. They had 7 children;

Elizabeth Robinson born Jun 1818 who married Ralph Ainsworth i
Thomas Robinson born Jun 1820 and died 26 Sep 1903 at Great Eccleston vii
Ellen Robinson born Mar 1823
William Robinson born Sep 1825
John Robinson born Oct 1828- my ancestor
Margaret Robinson born 6 May 1832
Alice Robertson born 3 Aug 1834In the 1841 Census Richard & Jane Robinson were living in Great Eccleston with their children Elizabeth, Thomas and Margaret and grandchildren Alice aged 6 and Dolly aged 7 months. XI By the 1851 Census, Jane was a widow, working as a washerwomen, still living in Great Eccleston with her son Thomas, who was listed as insane and youngest son John who was working as an agricultural labourer. xv Her daughter, Margaret was working as a house servant at the farm of Richard Melling, nearby. In 1871 and 1881 , John stated that he was born in Great Eccleston which is a small village between Lancaster and Preston. xii & xiii In 1891, he stated that he had been born at St Michaels on Wyre which is a small village , one mile east of Great Eccleston. The discrepancy is probably because Great Eccleston only has a Catholic Church so that he was born at Great Eccleston but christened and attended the parish church at St Michaels.

At the time of his marriage to Margaret Parkinson in 1852 at St Johns Church, Preston the witnesses were Thomas Salthouse and Alice Parkinson (the bride's sister). Both were unable to write and just left their mark. Margaret also signed with her mark X. John & Margaret had both lived in North Road, Preston and John worked as a labourer. vi By 1853 they had moved to 30 Aqueduct Street where their daughter Sarah Anne was born . By then he was working as a brick maker. viii By 1891 the census lists this address as uninhabited. The whole area around it was too.

Map showing Lancaster in the north, Preston in the south, Thurnham SWW of Lancaster, Great Eccleston & St. Michaels-on-Wyre NW of Preston.

 
An old drawing of St. John's Church of England, Preston

There has been a church or religious building on the site of the Parish Church of St. John the Divine, Preston for many centuries. The old church was rebuilt many times but most recently in 1850. The drawing on the left shows St. John's at that time.

The town of Preston was in existence in Roman times with the name being a corruption of "Priests' Town'. In the 13th century the town gained Guild status and by 1343 was the richest town in Lancashire. Many battles were fought here over time but the town was transformed with Richard Arkwright's invention of the first practicable powered spinning machine in 1768, putting Preston at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution. With this came social unrest and poor conditions- a cotton depression in 1842 and The Great Lockout when one third of the town were unemployed. xviii

When his wife Margaret died in 1859, they were living in Ashton near Preston and John was working as a drain tile maker. iv A little while later John remarried. His second wife was Janet, who was the same age as he was and had been born in Great Eccleston. Several children were born to them when they lived in Preston. Xv

In 1871, the family were living at # 1 Sandy Lane, Preston, in the parish of Emmanuel. John had become a brick and tile manufacturer and employed 7 men and 3 boys and the yard occupied 6 acres. xiii

Sometime after 1874, the family moved to Glasson, near Thurnham in Lancashire, where John was again a brick and tile manufacturer and employed amongst others, four of his sons, Richard, John, Cuthbert and Paul and his daughter Annie. They lived at Brickcroft Cottage on Outside Road, beside the canal, where his youngest daughter, Janet, kept house for him after his wife, Janet died in 1885. iii

( During my visit to Glasson in 1997, I found an area called Brickcroft on the road between Glasson and Thurnham, just along from the Conder Bridge on a sharp bend. It was beside the canal, and now contained a timber yard and fairly modern two storey cottage.


His grand-daughter Maggie remembered that he always gave the family a goose for Christmas. xvi
When John died in 1899, he left an estate of £1752.2.8. with William Raby (his wife's nephew), his son John Robinson, and his daughter Ann Fisher named as executors. His estate was divided equally amongst his eight children. He was 71 years old and died of influenza which he'd had for six days and senile debility. Iv His will was written in 1885. xvii Here is a copy.

This is the last will and testament of John ROBINSON.


of Glasson Dock, in the county of Lancaster, Brick and tile maker . I devise all my real and personal estate whatsoever and whensoever unto the use of my trustees William Raby of Thistleton and my son John Robinson Jun. of Glasson Dock and my daughter Ann, wife of John Fisher of Glasson Dock their heirs executors and administrators respectively according to the nature and tenure thereof upon trust that the said trustees or survivors of them shall sell all my real and personal estate and carve (?) up the same into money either by public auction or private contract and with the same, pay my funeral and testamentary expenses and all my just debts after which upon trust to pay assign and transfer the same unto equally (?) and between and amongst my children that is as follows- Jane my daughter, wife of Richard Rigby, Sarah Ann, my daughter, wife of William Ryding, Ann my daughter, wife of John Fisher, Richard Robinson, my son, John my son, Cuthbert my son, Paul my son , Jennet my youngest daughter, their heirs unto whom I give it forever. I appoint the said William Raby, John Robinson and Ann Robinson executors of this my will, in witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 2 day of November one thousand eight hundred and eighty five.
John Robinson

Signed published and declared by the said testator John Robinson as and for his last will and testament in the sight and presence of us who at the same time at his request in his sight and presence and in the presence of each other and this will being first read over in our presence to the said testator and he perfectly understanding the same have subscribed our names as witnesses
Thomas Speakman Walmsley
Wm Walmsley
On the - January 1900 probate of this will was ---- at Lancaster to William Raby, John Robinson and Ann Fisher (wife of John Fisher) the executors.

The value of the estate was £ 1752.2.8

St. Michaels-on- Wyre Parish Church.
Gravestone of John & Janet Robinson & their sons John & Paul in Christ Church graveyard, Glasson

John's 1st wife
Margaret PARKINSON

Margaret was born in 1829 , possibly in Pilling ,Lancashire. i Her father , William was a weaver at the mill and Margaret followed him there as a 'rover'. Vi She operated a machine in the cotton mill which prepared carded fibre into loose rolls. My research tells me that her mother was Peggy Morley xiv (christened 28 Jan 1798 in Ellel) i and that Peggy's parents were Thomas Morley ( christened 26 Feb 1764 in St. Mary's , Lancaster i) and Ann Readman ( christened 31 Jul 1768 in Cockerham i ). At the time of Margaret's marriage to John Robinson in 1852 , she was living in North Road, Preston. After the birth of her two daughters, Margaret again fell pregnant in 1859 but unfortunately she died after having miscarried and contracting a lung infection, possibly due to her job in the cotton mill. Iv

Margaret Parkinson is my earliest matrilineal ancestor that I can find at the moment. As I was interested in the latest DNA findings and their implication for family history, I asked my father's sister, Margery Brown, if she would consent to a cheek swap for Mitochondrial DNA testing. I sent this away to Oxford Ancestors in England long with my own cheek swab. The results were very interesting. There were mutations in Marge's mtDNA sequence at 16136C, 16278T and 16356C. This did not place Margaret/Margery on the European chart of seven matrilineal lines.
Professor Bryan Sykes has named Margaret's line as the Ulrike clan. Women with this DNA can today be found in the Middle East, South East Asia, Papua New Guinea, Pacific Islands, Japan, the Americas and Northern Europe. The implications are that at some time in the last 20 thousand years, Margaret's maternal ancestor left the area around Armenia and travelled north ( others of her clan went east), possibly to Scandinavia. There is a small pocket of Margaret's DNA in Northern Britain but how they got there from is open to speculation. My ideas are fanciful- could she have come with the Romans? No, because then the DNA would be more prevalent in southern Britain. She must have come with the Vikings who landed on the east coast of Yorkshire and from there her descendants branched over northern Britain.
I have made contact with three other people with this same DNA mutation. Two are from the United States tracing native American Indian ancestors (their ancestor went east from Armenia then across the land bridge into the Americas) and the other those ancestor came from Preston in Lancashire.

John's 2nd wife
Janet (Jennet) Raby
Jennet was the daughter of Cuthbert Raby who was a master brickmaker, born in Great Eccleston and christened at St. Michaels-on-Wyre on 7 Aug 1791, a child of John & Elizabeth Raby. Xv& 1 Janet had known John Robinson as a child and in 1841, John was working at her cousin, Benjamin's farm. XI She married John after his first wife had died and helped raise his two daughters along with her own five. John's finances improved after his marriage to Jennet (or Janet) as he expanded the family business at Glasson.
Janet died of uterine cancer at the age of 55. Iv


Footnotes:
i. International Genealogy Index
ii. 1891 census of Thurnham and Glasson
iii. I saw the gravestone or heard this on my UK trip, July 1997.
iv. death certificate- email me for a copy of Sarah or William's death certificate
v. Stated on birth certificate of daughter
vi. marriage certificate
vii. Parish Register of St Michaels-on-Wyre.
viii. birth certificate- email me for a copy of Sarah or William's birth certificates
ix. Lancaster Wills after 1858.
x. 1881 census of Lancashire
xi. 1841 Census of Great Eccleston and St Michaels.
xii. 1881 census of Scotforth, Lancashire
xiii. 1871 census of Preston, Lancashire
xiv. Boyds Marriage Index
xv. 1851 census of Great Eccleston & St. Michaels
xvi. Letters from Lena Huntington, Maggie's daughter
xvii. Lancaster Wills after 1858
xviii. http://www.cix.co.uk/~rmo/history
xix. Chris Fisher christopher.fisher ' at ' homecall.co.uk

 

 

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