Show Posts
1
Lancashire / Searching for John Worsley b. 1782 in Manchester
« on: Wednesday 11 January 17 17:21 GMT (UK) »
For many years, my family here in the U.S. has been trying to trace our ancestry back in England. In short, we can follow our line back to a John Worsley supposedly born on Feb. 21st 1782 in or around Manchester, but that's as far as we can go. John died in Illinois on Feb. 23, 1847. According to a letter in our possession from one of John's great granddaughters, he was related to the Platt Hall Worsleys and was disinherited after marrying a barmaid, but we can't substantiate that or even determine his parentage. We do have a copy of a marriage certificate for John Worsley to Sarah Hallam dated 15-Feb-1803 documented in the "Register of Marriages in the Cathedral and Parish Church of Manchester" (Number: 347, Page 529). I don't know if Sarah was a barmaid, but we've traced her family back quite a ways and they seem to have been tradespeople, not landed gentry.
They immigrated to America around 1812-1816 and must have never looked back. They ended up having 6 sons and 6 daughters, some born in England near Bury and in Manchester, the rest in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the United States.
We know that after moving to America he opened a textile mill, supposedly operating the first power mill in the United States. I've learned that some Worsleys of his era and afterwards operated a number of textile mills in or near Haslingden. I can't imagine this is a coincidence, but rather that John must have been exposed to the textile business while growing up with his extended family.
On FamilyTree.org, I found a public tree that lists a John Worsley born to a Thomas Worsley in 1775 in Rising Bridge, Haslingden who was the older brother possible twins Nicholas Worsley (b. 1777) and Alice (b. 1777). Obviously that's not 1782 but it appears that this Nicholas and his sons or their sons operated the five or so textile mills near Haslingden.
I've also come across the record of a christening for a John Worsley with a birth date of Dec 21, 1783, to a Ralph Worsley and Juday(sp?) Taylor on Jan 18th, 1784 at Unitarian Church-NC Machester, Lancashire. But I can’t find this Ralph and “Juday,” either, though Ralph does seem to be a common family name and the Taylors seem to have been a prominent family.
If anyone can assist me, I'd greatly appreciate it. My dad has been at this for decades, and I'd really like to solve the puzzle for him.
Best,
Logan Worsley
They immigrated to America around 1812-1816 and must have never looked back. They ended up having 6 sons and 6 daughters, some born in England near Bury and in Manchester, the rest in Rhode Island and Massachusetts in the United States.
We know that after moving to America he opened a textile mill, supposedly operating the first power mill in the United States. I've learned that some Worsleys of his era and afterwards operated a number of textile mills in or near Haslingden. I can't imagine this is a coincidence, but rather that John must have been exposed to the textile business while growing up with his extended family.
On FamilyTree.org, I found a public tree that lists a John Worsley born to a Thomas Worsley in 1775 in Rising Bridge, Haslingden who was the older brother possible twins Nicholas Worsley (b. 1777) and Alice (b. 1777). Obviously that's not 1782 but it appears that this Nicholas and his sons or their sons operated the five or so textile mills near Haslingden.
I've also come across the record of a christening for a John Worsley with a birth date of Dec 21, 1783, to a Ralph Worsley and Juday(sp?) Taylor on Jan 18th, 1784 at Unitarian Church-NC Machester, Lancashire. But I can’t find this Ralph and “Juday,” either, though Ralph does seem to be a common family name and the Taylors seem to have been a prominent family.
If anyone can assist me, I'd greatly appreciate it. My dad has been at this for decades, and I'd really like to solve the puzzle for him.
Best,
Logan Worsley