John GARTH (b. ca. 1766, d. 1842) - where did he come from?

[lmfamilyresearch]

Hi,

I'm not sure where to put this post. 

I have an ancestor, John Garth, who is a brick wall.  I know that he was born sometime around 1766 but I don't know where or where his family is from.  He moved to Rochdale, Lancashire from somewhere.  John was married, had children and died in Rochdale in 1842 (I have his marriage record, the baptism records for his children, his wife's death record and his death record).  He married Mary Kershaw on 13 Nov 1797 in Rochdale.  That seems to be the first record I have of him in Rochdale.  His children are George, Nancy, Betty, Isabelle, Mary, Reuben and William.  There may have been a child named Ellen as well but I haven't found anything on her that connects her to John Garth and Mary Kershaw so I am a little doubtful about this child.  I have wondered if he came to Rochdale from Yorkshire but that is just a guess on my part.  Unfortunately, since he died in 1842, the only census he appears on is the 1841 census and that doesn't give a birth place.  Does anyone have any suggestions on how I can break through this brick wall?

Thanks!

[CaroleW]

Is he the 70yr old John Garth living in High St Rochdale in 1841?  1842 death shows him as 76

If he is - he is shown as born in county

[lmfamilyresearch]

Hello,

Yes he is that John Garth.  I did see that after posting.  On Find My Past, there is only one entry around that time being born in Lancashire, but I still don't have anything that will connect my John Garth to that John Garth.  Add in my confusion about the 6 year age difference between the census and death record (which age to I take to be correct?).

[Jomot]

Add in my confusion about the 6 year age difference between the census and death record (which age to I take to be correct?).

Ages in 1841 were rounded down to the nearest 5 years, so aged 70 in 1841 could be 70-74, which more closely matches the death record.

[Maiden Stone]

What was his occupation? Was he likely to have served an apprenticeship? There were registers of children apprenticed outside their family.

[lmfamilyresearch]

He was a Shopkeeper on Toad Lane in Rochdale (as listed on his death record).  Some of his children's baptismal records list him as a cotton weaver.  According to his marriage record he was illiterate in 1797.  By him being a shopkeeper in 1842, would this mean he learned to read and write?

[Maiden Stone]

Toad Lane, Rochdale - birthplace of the Co-op!
Arithmetic would have been essential, writing probably wasn't. He may have had basic literacy, perhaps  gone to school for a while in childhood.  Putting a cross on a marriage register doesn't necessarily mean that he couldn't read and write. Writing with a pen on paper is an extra skill.

Garth seems to have been more prevalent further north in Lancashire, going by Lancashire Online Parish Clerks and Lancashire Archives catalogue.

[Maiden Stone]

At least some children of John & Mary were baptised in Non-conformist chapels. They seemed to change churches. George, Nancy, Isabella and Mary were baptised at a Unitarian chapel; Betty at Union Street Wesleyan. William + 2 year-old brother, Reuben were baptised at St. Stephen, Rochdale on same day in 1812. Shaw Chapel, Oldham was where 2 more boys named Reuben (1816, 1820) and a girl, Sarah were baptised (1818), parents John & Mary. Was this the same John and Mary? There were several boys named Reuben, born to various Garth couples. Reuben, aged 1 was buried 1817. (Lancashire Online Parish Clerks)
John was a footman at burial of Isabella in 1806.
When I saw the name Reuben, I wondered if the family may have been NC.
John may have been baptised in a Non-conformist chapel. If he was born in Rochdale c1766 his parents had at least 2 to choose from - Blackwater Unitarian and Union Street Wesleyan.

[Maiden Stone]

There was another John Garth with a wife, Mary.
Banns St. Mary, Oldham May 1811; John Garth, Mary Taylor, both of the parish.
Marriage St. Michael & all Angels, Ashton-Under-Lyne, June 1811
John Garth, parish of Prestwich
Mary Taylor, this parish
They may have been parents of Reuben 1816, Sarah 1818 and Reuben 1820, all baptised at Shaw Chapel, Oldham and of the Reuben buried at Shaw Chapel 1817. Shaw Chapel was a chapel-of-ease (C. of E.). It was replaced by Holy Trinity Church. Abode at time of the baptisms and the burial was High Crompton.