Daniel Bolton at Knott Booth farm

[Gillg]

My great-grandfather, Daniel Bolton, was born in Yorkshire in 1843 and later moved with his parents James and Grace to the Rochdale area.

Census returns show him thus:
1851 age 8 with parents in Soyland, W. Yorkshire
1861 in Rochdale with parents.  There is an odd entry shown on Family Search  RG09/3050/65 which gives father as "Jones", not James, and Daniel age 4!  He should be 18 and is nevertheless described as a Cotton Worker.  Can anyone view the entry page?
1871 millworker age 28 with wife and family in Newhey/Butterworth area of Rochdale
1881 millworker age 38 with wife Betty and family in Newhey
1891 millworker age 48 in Crompton area with family
1901 farmer age 58 at Knott Booth, Burnedge with son James, farmer's son

in 1896 his daughter married and his address then was also Knott Booth farm. I am wondering what kind of circumstances would lead a millworker to become a farmer, as I consider it to be a profession which is handed down from father to son in the main.  His wife's family were also millworkers.

Knott Booth Farm still exists and is a Grade 2 listed building with mullioned windows and other attractive sounding features.  I have found records of farmer William Witham (no relative) living there in 1879.

Any ideas where I could look to see exactly when beteen 1891 and 1896 he moved to Knott Booth and how he came to be a farmer?  He died in 1910.

[Milliepede]

Maybe he couldn't do the millworker job any longer, maybe injured or in poor health but could be any number of reasons 

When did he pass away? 

[Milliepede]

Is this the correct 1861?  Written as transcribed!

Janes Botton 47
Grace 44
Hannah 22
Elizebeth 20
Daniel 18
John 14
Thos 10

[ThrelfallYorky]

Often people seem to have combined aspects of farming with other work - I've found a silkweaver who was also a farmer, and an husbandman ( I think that may have been, from other facts, more animal care than arable) who also functioned as a quarry owner.
Perhaps the person just mentioned the main occupation, and the emphasis changed?

[Gillg]

Yes, Millipede, that's more like it.  The transcription on Family Search was obviously very wrong in giving Daniel's age as 4 in 1861!  Daniel's death is registered in Rochdale in Sep Q 1910, age 67.  He may have relished the fresh air at Knott Booth, but the farm work would have been just as hard as factory work, even with the help of his son.  And where did he get the money from to take on a farm tenancy, I wonder?

Incidentally, all Daniel's children worked in mills from the age of 10 and most of them, my grandmother included, died young of respiratory illnesses, even James, born 1870, who apparently helped him on the farm later.

On his daughter's marriage certificate from 1896 Daniel's occupation is also given as farmer.

[Maiden Stone]

What was occupation of Daniel's father when he was young? Do you know what Daniel's maternal grandfather did? As TY said, reply #3. some people combined farming with another occupation. Daniel may have had relatives who farmed and got experience that way.
Daniel may have inherited some money, borrowed, saved up, been a successful gambler. Was he a member of a religious or social organisation which operated a type of credit union? I assume he was a Co-op member. A loan from the Co-operative Bank?
Do you know what kind of farm it was? Was it situated conveniently near a town or a railway station? Dairy farmers made twice-daily deliveries to customers in the pre-fridge era. Milk was transported further by rail.
Daniel the farmer may have been in a local directory.
The let of the farm may have been advertised in local newspapers or in farming press. On the other hand it may have been via word-of-mouth.
Do you know who owned mills in which Daniel worked? Some mill owners had land or acquired it. A mill owner's country estate might include one or more farms. Attending the same church as one's boss may have been helpful.
 

[Gillg]

Maidenstone
You have certainly set a lot of questions for me to answer!
Daniel's fatherJames was a cotton mill worker throughout his life.  He and his wife Grace came from near Sowerby, Yorkshire and moved to Lancashire with their young family around 1860.  In 1851 he is described simply as a weaver.  I don't have any information about Grace's parents and I haven't been able to find a record of her birth/christening, though I believe she was born in Erronden, Yorks.  Her family may well have been Baptists, (hence no christening) as her son Daniel certainly was - he was married and buried along with his wife Betty in Ogden Baptist churchyard, where their daughter ( my grandmother) and my grandfather were married (he was the organist).

As a committed Baptist I can't see him as a gambler (but you never know).  Don't know if he was member of the Co-op.  I would guess that the farm was a sheep farm, bearing in mind the land round there.  From a map High Knott looks rather remote, but roads have changed and stations have closed over the last 100 years.

I will try to find out more about the mills.  At one stage the family was actually living in a millyard, but I don't think the mill was named.

Frankly I don't see the family as being in a financial position to take on a farm, also I can't find any farming connections in the family.  I was very surprised to see Daniel's change of profession, but maybe the friendly millowner did offer him a tenancy on one of his properties.

Thanks for all the suggestions.

[Maiden Stone]

If the tenancy was advertised it may have been in "Preston Guardian" (founded 1844 in Preston) which became "Farmer's Guardian" 1958. Published weekly.  Tenancies traditionally changed hands at quarter-days.

[Gillg]

Thanks, Maiden Stone.    Another clue for me to follow up.