© 2016 David E. Spencer
Author's note: I have probably accumulated more information about the greater Calverley family and its many branches than any of my other lines of descent. In order to keep the information on this page to a reasonable quantity I have taken my 4 great grandparents as my starting point for this page. I do have information about more distant Calverley ancestors and of several other major branches. Please Email me if you think that I may have information that might be of interest to you.
My 4 great grandfather James Calverley (about 1740 - 96) was Yeoman of Well Head near Newchurch-in-Pendle, Lancashire. He married Susan (or Susannah) Nutter in 1764 by licence at Newchurch-in-Pendle. The marriage bonds have survived and are located at the Cheshire County Record Office in Chester. The marriage bonds are not as informative as some but they do tell us that James could write his own name in a legible hand and that he gave his occupation as a "piece maker" (a hand loom weaver - this would be to supplement what income he could make by farming Well Head). James actually lived at Higher Well Head - the house of Well Head cottage is still standing and inhabited. Unlike his father, also called James, this James did not leave a will but the documents ("Admons") granting administration of his estate to his widow have also survived at the Cheshire County Record Office
Higher Well Head Cottage today
(Picture courtesy of Tim Bradshaw & Hilary Mairs , present owners)
James had six children (one son and five daughters). Some died soon after birth but at least three survived long enough to be married - his daughters Mary (1772 - 1801) and Sarah (born 1776) respectively married John Kay and James Waterworth whilst his son , also called James (1770 - 1855) married Ann Nutter at Newchurch-in-Pendle by licence in 1799. Although Ann shared a maiden name with her mother-in-law I have never been able to establish any other connection between them.The marriage bonds for the younger James's marriage to Ann have also survived at the Cheshire record Office in Chester. They are more informative than those for his parents since Ann's father is named as Richard Nutter of Sabden Hall.
Note: The Sabden Hall referred to is not in the modern village of Sabden at the foot of the Nick o' Pendle - Sabden Hall is West of Newchurch-in -Pendle not far from Well Head.
It appears that Ann's mother Elizabeth was a member of the wealthy and influental Bailey family of West Bradford, across the river Ribble from Clitheroe (and just in Yorkshire!). Ann is named in the substantial will of her uncle John Bailey as the beneficiary of her late mother's part of his estate. Ann inherited 800 pounds from this bequest - not nowadays a life-changing sum for most people but in those days it was the equivalent of a football pools win!. In spite of this Ann and James died in relatively poor circumstances some thirty odd years later!. For more about the Bailey family please click on the link to the Bailey web page.
The eldest child of James and Ann was their son John, born in 1804, who is recorded as living at Moss End ( a farm near Well Head) then Faughs, near Newchurch-in-Pendle then by the early 1830's he is described in Parish Register entries of his childrens' baptisms as an innkeeper of Newchurch. In the 1841 Census he is recorded as a weaver in the nearby village of Higham. By 1851 he is a textile worker at Whitworth, near Rochdale. There are still a number of his descendants living in the Rochdale area today. John's wife was Jane Roberts from Higham.
John and Jane's eldest son was called Martin (1829 - 99) who worked in the mills around Rochdale as a cotton loom jobber. He married Judith Stott at St. Chad's Church in Rochdale in 1852. They had ten children but the marriage ended in strange circumstances - the 1871 Census records Martin living with his family in the Rochdale area but by 1881 he is missing although Judith describes her marital status as married. It appears that at some time Martin went on his own to live in Australia and died in 1899 at Coolgardie in Western Australia.
Martin and Judith's eldest son was Richard (1853 - 1922), a cotton warehouseman who lived in Rochdale with his wife Margaret (nee Howarth) and children. Most of his chidren worked in the cotton mills in Rochdale where some of their descendants are still living.
Martin and Judith's second son was William (1854 - 91), a cotton loom overlooker ("tackler") of Rochdale who married Elizabeth Stott. Of their children , at least one moved out of the area - to Camberwell in Surrey.
Martin and Judith's third child was Jane who married Jesse Bamford, a Rochdale clogger. They had at least three children.
Martin and Judith's fourth child was Sarah (born 1859) who married Harry Kershaw, a clogger in Milnrow, Lancashire.They had at least three children.
John, the fifth child of Martin and Judith was their son John (1860 - 1901) who was a cotton loom overlooker in Rochdale. He married Emma Rigby and they had at least four children.
Albert, the sixth child of Martin and Judith was also a cotton loom overlooker in Rochdale. he married Sarah Jane Crowther. They had nine children and they still have living descendants in the Rochdale area.
Mark (1865 - 1947) , the seventh child of Martin and Judith was a cotton weaver in Rochdale. he married Lucy Holt and they had at least two children.
Of Martin and Judith's youngest three children - Arthur, Mary E. and Joseph, only Joseph married - he and his wife Margaret ahd a son called Walter.
The second son of John and Jane was called James (1827 - 83). He was born at Faughs in Goldshaw, Pendle and moved to the Rochdale area with his family and married Mary Hill, a girl from Whitworth, near Rochdale in 1850 at St. Chad's Church in Rochdale.Soon after their marriage, James aand Mary emigrated tp Victoria, Australia. James became a goldminer and they had five children. Of these three, Alfred, Richard and Mary Ellen died infancy. The two surviving childre who lived to marry were William (1860-1927) and Alice.
William was,like his father, a goldminer in Victoria. He married twice. His first marriage in 1883 was to Annie Niven Petersen with whom he had 8 children. His second marriage in 1911 to Flora Annie Heifner produced one child.
James and Mary's daughter Alice married an English immigrant called Frederick William Woods who had five children.
James and Mary have living Australian descendants.
John and Jan's daughter Alice Ann (born 1834 in Newchurch-in-Pendle) married a cotton warper called James Taylor Wilson in 1855 at Rochdale St. Chad's Church.They had five children.
John and Jane's daughter Jane married John Howarth in 1852 at St. Chad's, Rochdale.
John and Jane had three other daughters of whom I have found no record of marriage - they were Mary, Susannah and Sarah.
James and Ann Calverley's daughter Betty married a man called William Garlick in 1836.
Family tradition has it that James and Ann's next child was called Sarah who emigrated to Australia and was necver heard of again!>
James and Ann had two daughters called Lucy - the first was born in 1814 and dies in 1815. The second Lucy (born 1819 in Preston, Lancashire) was my great great grandmother. She married Lawrence Boardwell, a local farmer in 1835, lived a long life and had children some of whose descendants, including myself are survive. Please see the Boardwell web page for the descendants of Lawrence and Lucy Boardwell.
For the story of more distant Calverley ancestors click on the more Calverley ancestors link.
James Calverley married a descendant of the Bailey family of Eaves Hall near West Bradford on the Lancashire / Yorkshire border. Follow this link to find out more about them.
It is possible that the Calverley and Bailey families shared a distant, common descent. To read about this follow the Distant cousins? link.
Three U.S. President were Calverley descendants?. The ancestors of U.S.Presidents are well documented. It seems that Franklin Delano Roosevelt was a descendant of one of the Calverleys as are George Bush Sr. and George Bush Jr.. To read about this follow the U.S. Presidents link.