William Hargreaves married to Elizabeth Pickles in Great Harwood, Lancashire 183

[Maiden Stone]

I do the same as Trish to look for possible siblings. It's a pity they are all such common surnames.
Another strategy I use on Lancashire Parish Clerks Ancestor Search form is to select a parish connected  my person of interest and enter that person's name in "Other" boxes to see if my person turns up as a witness to a wedding or a godparent. I leave the principal name boxes blank. I search 20 years either side of a chosen date. I've found ancestors as witnesses at weddings a while before they married each other. FreeREG also has a witness/godparent/other search option. Dozens of Wiliam Hargreaves will turn up though on either site.

[Maiden Stone]

2 websites to see old maps.
National Library of Scotland
https://maps.nls.uk
This has old and modern maps. You can put them side by side.

Lancashire County Council - Old Maps
www3.lancashire.gov.uk/environment/oldmap

You can search for photos of places in recent times on this site:
geograph photograph every grid square
https://www.geograph.org.uk

GENUKI UK and Ireland Genealogy compiles information about places useful for family historians such as lists of churches and cemeteries with dates of operation and location of records. Interactive map e.g. can ask it to show location of churches of a specified denomination. Pages for Great Harwood are at
https://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/LAN/GreatHarwood
You need to enlarge the map to see where Haslingden is in relation to Great Harwood. It's missing from the normal size map although Rawtenstall is on.
Can click on a link to a Great Harwood website from GENUKI GH page. If that doesn't work it's at
www.great-harwood.org.uk
Btw be careful not to mix up Great Harwood with Harwood near Bolton. Google has. There is a reminiscence site which appears as Great Harwood but it's actually Harwood near Bolton.

Lancashire Archives catalogue is online.
Lancashire Family History & Heraldry Society has branches in both your areas of interest. One of the societies 2 research centres is at Oswaldtwistle, which is not far from Great Harwood and Haslingden. The society has a website and an online forum.
See RootsChat Lancashire Resources on Lancashire County board for more suggestions.

[RowenaElce]

Thank you both, Trish & Maiden Stone.

You have given me lots of new websites for me to check into. I briefly looked at FreeREG and wow, great stuff! This site combined with the Lancs BMD and online Parish Clerks are going to really come in handy. I'm going to have to go backwards and double check all the dates that I have.

Great to know about the Resources board on this chat site too. And the map sites. I'm not going to want to leave my computer for days now!! 

You have been a fabulous help. I cannot thank you enough. - Rowena

[Gibel]

The marriage licence is available on Find my Past with marriage date of 1831. Do the search with Cheshire Bonds and Allegations and it is the first one that comes up.

Lancashire Record office may have a copy but it is not available on line. However because much of Lancashire was in the Diocese of Cheshire they are also held atvCheshire Record Office and are available on Find my Past. Hope that makes sense.

[RowenaElce]

Hello Gibel,

Thank you for your suggestions.

I am currently working with Ancestry and do not have a Find My Past subscription. I've been told that Find My Past is better for finding UK records so I will sign up for that once my current Ancestry  subscription is up.

Luckily I do have a copy of the marriage record. What's eluding me is all information about WIlliam Hargreaves birth, parents, siblings, etc.

Thanks again. I'm so glad I found this site as I'm finding everyone on here so nice and helpful.   

[Pennines]

If by chance - your William Hargreaves was in Lancaster Asylum - there is a 48 year old William Hargreaves from that Asylum who was buried on December 28th 1863, at St Mary's Lancaster.

(There are other people from the Asylum in those same burial records for St Mary's.)

This is amongst the Lancashire burials on Ancestry.

If, by chance, this is your William - it gives him an approximate birth year of 1815. A bit young if he married in 1831. The marriage license on FindMyPast in the Cheshire records - found by Gibel - states him to be 21 or over.
I have searched through the inmates listed at the Asylum in 1851 and couldn't see him.

In 1861 the inmates are listed on the census by their initials - but I still couldn't spot a W.H. -- although I was 'speed' reading so may have missed him!

If you contact Lancashire Archives;
https://lccsecure.lancashire.gov.uk/corporate/questionnaires/runQuestionnaire.asp?qid=474749

they will be able to tell you if they have this particular William's admission papers - as you have his date of burial - they can search backwards from there -- BUT there will of course be a cost and he may not be yours.

(As an aside - I obtained my own Gt Grandfathers Asylum records - from Whittingham - at Lancashire Archives -- it was SO worth it to read why he had been admitted).
I knew for sure it was him though - but Rowena, you don't know so it's whether to just make an enquiry or not to try to confirm or eliminate this William 'from enquiries'.

[RowenaElce]

Thank you Pennines.

I don't think I am ready to spend $$ on any records just yet, especially since, as you say, it's not certain it's even my William. 

However, it's good to know about this avenue of research so I will keep your notes with my file for my 3x ggf and keep looking through all the new search avenues everyone has so nicely shared with me.

I appreciate your help. - Rowena

[clayton bradley]

Do you know there is a Great Harwood genealogy group on Facebook?

[RowenaElce]

Yes, thank you Clayton for mentioning that.

I do belong to that group and they have been a great help with other people in my tree. I did pose my question there too and although I got some good suggestions no one there knows of my William Hargreaves.