George Dewhurst's parents were Edward Dewhurst and Mary Ann Driver. This was another case of a man marrying an older woman, as Mary Ann was six years older than Edward.

Edward was born in Crawshawbooth, Lancashire, March 29th 1848 to Robert Dewhurst, a block printer, and Elizabeth Shannon. Crawshawbooth is in the Rossendale Valley area and a modern picture of the town can be seen at:

Crawshawbooth, Rossendale Valley, Lancashire

I haven't been able to find a record of Robert and Elizabeth's marriage, but Elizabeth is recorded as being Edward's mother on his birth certificate. Edward was their only child and Elizabeth died in 1851 when Edward was only four. In 1860, Robert married again, to Mary Pointon, who had been born in Bradley Green, Biddulph, Cheshire (although Biddulph is sometimes reported as being in Staffordshire - I think the county lines may have changed during the 19th Century, which probably accounts for this). There is more information on Robert Dewhurst and his family on the Dewhurst-Shannon page.

In the 1861 Census**, the 13-year-old Edward was living with his grandparents, Joseph and Susannah Dewhurst at Rake Foot, Higher Booths, and working as a cotton weaver. His father's new wife gave birth to a daughter, Martha, born in January 1861 while they were still living in Crawshawbooth, but in the next couple of months, Robert and Mary took Martha and went to live in Leeds, leaving Edward with his grandparents. Robert and Mary are included in the Leeds Census in 1861** and baby Martha is reported as being just three months old.

Joseph and Susannah also had another grandchild living with them in 1861 - two-year-old Alfred Dewhurst, and I'm not sure whose son he was. He was born in 1859 and Robert and Mary had married in 1860, so I don't think he was their son, especially as Robert and Mary didn't take him with them when they moved to Leeds. It is more likely that he was the illegitimate son of Ellen Dewhurst, or even of Robert Dewhurst before he met Mary Pointon., in which case he would have been Edward's half-brother.

So Edward didn't have an easy childhood, but it was probably not very different from a lot of children at that time. He must have met his wife-to-be, Mary Ann Driver sometime between 1863 and 1868, which is the year they married. Mary Ann's life until that time had been even harder, losing her mother and then her father. She probably moved to Burnley because she had to find work. The details of her early life are on the Driver-Wadsworth page.

Edward and Mary Ann married in the Holy Trinity Church, Habergham Eaves, Burnley, Lancashire, October 31st 1868. Their elder son, George (my great grandfather) was born December 14th 1870, and their second son Robert in 1873.

In the 1871 Census** Edward, Mary Ann and 3-month-old George were living at 1 Pump Street, Habergham Eaves, Burnley, and Edward was working as a Cotton Weaver and Mary Ann as a Cotton Rover. When I had first found Mary Ann her occupation had been reported as a Rover. I knew nothing about the cotton industry at that time and I had no idea what a rover might be - I wondered if she were some sort of Gypsy! I found that roving is one of the processes in preparing cotton to be spun, and there is more information on this at:

Cotton Processing and Mill Occupations

 

Church of the Holy Trinity, Habergham Eaves
This is the Church of the Holy Trinity where Edward Dewhurst married Mary Ann Driver in 1868. It is still standing and is just off Accrington Road in Burnley in an area known as "the Mitre" (I think because there was a pub called by that name on the corner). I remember this church well from my childhood although it wasn't sandblasted at the time and looked much more forbidding. The church didn't have a long life. It was built in 1836 when Burnley was growing very quickly, but it was closed in 1989 and converted into flats. When it was built, this area of Burnley was called Habergham Eaves. There was also a school called Holy Trinity built next to the church.

Sadly, Edward died November 27th 1880 when his sons George and Robert were 9 and 6 respectively. His death certificate recorded that he died from Phthisis (pronounced Ty'sis), which was usually T.B. The 1881 Census** would have been taken about four months later, when Mary Ann was living at Slydings, Higher Booths, which was where her in-laws, Robert and Mary Dewhurst and their children were living. They had left to live in Leeds for several years but had returned to Higher Booths some time between 1871 and 1881. Mary Ann is listed as a widow, but she has no occupation at this time. so probably her in-laws were helping out financially.

Ten years later, in the 1891 Census**, Mary Ann had remarried and was living at 14 Albert Street in Oswaldtwistle, Lancashire. Her husband was James Crabtree, a 51-year-old card room labourer - this was presumably referring to carding, which is a process in the manufacture of cotton. George and Robert were both living at home. George was aged 20 and a cotton spinner. George married Sarah Ellen Bird on June 18th 1892, but Robert stayed at home until at least 1901, as he appears in the 1901 Census, aged 27 and still living with his mother, Mary Ann and stepfather, James Crabtree. His occupation was listed as a labourer in a chemical works. James Crabtree was 61 at this time and his occupation was a Card room bobbin carrier!

Mary Ann's parents were Samuel and Mary Driver of Rainow, Cheshire. Their web page is at the Driver_Wadsworth page.

For more information on Edward Dewhurst's parents, please go to the Dewhurst_Shannon page.

 

** Used with the permission of Ancestry.com