Catterall and Horrocks in Preston

[HughC]

The first wife of the Rev. Richard Holgate Brown was Harriet, dau. of Paul Catterall of Winckley Square. 
She was baptized at St John on 2 June 1836, but I haven't found her birth.
Could there perhaps have been a newspaper announcement?

She died 15 months after the wedding, very possibly in childbed.
Richard's second wife was Eliza Mary, dau. of the late John Horrocks of Ribblesdale Place.
She too was bapt. at St John, 3 Oct. 1838.  Again no birth found: can anyone help?

I think there were no children by either marriage.

[Pennines]

Wee Hugh,

An Eliza Mary Horrocks birth was registered Q/E Dec 1838 in Preston, Mother's maiden name Brash. (Unusual name).

As Civil Registration only commenced in July 1837 -- you are dependant on Parish Register for events prior to that. Hence for your 1836 baptism -- that is all you will find (sometime a baptism record will show a birth date as well -- but by no means always.)

[HughC]

Thank you, Pennines,
but unfortunately civil registration tells us virtually nothing: she could have been born several months earlier.  Many people left it till the last minute, or missed the deadline and either paid a fine or fibbed about the date.

And yes, her mother was Jenny née Brash (possibly Scots).

[Pennines]

Hugh -- you would need to order the birth certificate -- apologies if you know this - but at the moment you can get PDF copies for £6 from General Register Office at Southport. Just order on line.

If you haven't done this before you simply need to register with the site then 'search'. the GRO birth records --and order (and pay of course!)

I am a bit confused why you were concerned that you couldn't find a birth, if you don't think that record will tell you anything. It should give you more information than the baptism record I would have thought.

[Maiden Stone]

There may have been a notice in the Preston Chronicle. It had a BMD column. Preston Chronicle is included in newspaper collection on FindMyPast I think. Look for surname Catterall and year.

[Maiden Stone]

Was Eliza Mary's father, John Horrocks, a member of the Horrocks cotton family?

[HughC]

Maiden Stone: A few years ago I had access (via a library) to the British Library collection of 19th-century newspapers.  I could not find the birth of either wife in the Preston Chronicle or Preston Guardian (whichever it was called at the time).  I have John Horrocks down as an alderman of Preston; in the censuses he's variably described as gentleman or landed proprietor.  Paul Catterall was a magistrate and owner of a spinning mill employing 500.

Pennines: I have several thousand people in my family tree.  To order certificates for all of them would bankrupt me, so I have to restrict that to the closest relatives.  Spouses of more distant relatives are still of interest, but you'll appreciate that I try other methods.  I don't mind spending time on my own researches, but I know how helpful RootsChatters are, and many have access to sources that I do not (and may not even know about).

[Pennines]

Wee Hugh,

So what you meant when you said that you couldn't find a birth -- was that you couldn't find the birth announcement in the Newspapers.

Not sure if the attached are relevant to your family - both from the Preston Chronicle.

[Maiden Stone]

Bearing in mind the status of the Horrocks family I should think they were fully aware of the new birth registration process and were quick off the mark to register a new baby. News of the arrival would soon get around.  My guess is that she was born in September.