1890 Lancashire Colloquial Term??

[Torwoodlee]

Hello,

In the news article from the Liverpool Mercury, 2 August 1890, outlining the trial of John Pickavance, it refers to a number of his family members having a number of issues such as being deaf and mute and also mentions his uncle, as a 'softy'.  Can anyone tell me what this means?  In the paper, it refers to the word as a Lancashire colloquial term.  I tried to attach the article but it is a PDF and too large of a file; it is also an incredibly long article!

Thanks

Borderslass

[philipsearching]

It could mean 'soft in the head' = daft

[barryd]

This may help:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/softy

"The Owd Bellman" seems to refer to the word in the same manner as current English

https://books.google.com/books?id=4_Q_AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA547&lpg=PA547&dq=Softy+in+Lancashire&source=bl&ots=oRNKwKGL4g&sig=FaZtwT_XFH4XTyQ7lCXVpL2uH5s&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjN65vz_6HSAhUnwVQKHYlcAcIQ6AEIQjAI#v=onepage&q=Softy%20in%20Lancashire&f=false

[Torwoodlee]

Thank you!  I thought it may have referred to daft or weak minded but as the article said a Lancashire colloquial term, I wasn't sure.

[LizzieW]

When I was young in the 1940s we used to call anyone who cried if they fell over, or if they were teased etc.  a softy, so the term had obviously become more widely used then and didn't have it's original meaning.

[Maiden Stone]

Samuel Laycock 1826-1893

[Torwoodlee]

Thank you all for your input.  I still question the actual meaning.  If it was specifically a Lancashire colloquial term, in the context of where I saw the word used, I'm wondering if it meant something more derogatory?

[LizzieW]

My parents came from Lancashire but we lived in Cheshire and everyone used the term "softy".  We would say "Don't be such a softy" when a child was whingeing, or if they were frightened of a dog or something, in fact I used to say it to my children and they, in their turn, said it to their children - or even to their dogs.  So in that way it was derogatory but not in the way of meaning someone who was mentally ill.

[Maiden Stone]

My experience growing up in Lancashire was same as Lizzie. I understood the meaning in the  Samuel Laycock poem was the same.
Liverpool people may have had their own version.