© 2016 David E. Spencer
My great great grandad Thomas Ashworth, married twice. I am a descendant of his second marriage - to Mary Dyson who was born in Roughlee, one of the three booths making up Newchurch-in-Pendle. She was the fifth of seven children born to William Dyson, a weaver and his wife Mary (nee Hartley).
Mary married Thomas Ashworth at St. Mary Magdalene, the Parish Church of Clitheroe in 1843. This choice of marriage church was a little unorthodox and it took the combined efforts of me with my dad's cousin Mary Fletcher some years to unearth. Thomas lived in Little Marsden, now Brierfield (an industrial village between Burnley and Nelson and had previously married his first wife at the Dissenter's Chapel at Haggate, not far from Brierfield. Mary's family had "hatched, matched and despatched" at Newchurch-in-Pendle but at the time prior to the marriage Mary also appeared to live in Little Marsden. The obvious immediate churches were Haggate Chapel, Newchurch-in-Pendle or St. Paul's, Nelson (but the in Little Marsden) but we drew blanks on all of these. the only way then was to look at all likely churches in an ever-widening spiral around Brierfield - this included Padiham, Burley and Colne amongst others. Eventually Mary found the marriage entry in Clitheroe. Both bride and groom had given their place of abode as "Reedley Hallows" - a district just outside Burnley and closeto Little Marsden but ecclesiasticcaly and extra-parochial part of Clitheroe parish. Why they did this is still a source of conjecture - possibly a desire for privacy?.
Mary's father was one of eight chidren born to weaver james and his wife Sarah Roberts whom he married in 1772 at Newchurch-in-Pendle.I have not yet identified James's parents fully convincingly - this is another of those things that I keep coming back to!.