Edward was born in Crawshawbooth, Lancashire, March 29th 1848 to Robert Dewhurst, a block printer, and Elizabeth Shannon. I think that block printer refers to the printing of fabric. In the 1851 Census**, when Robert was 28 and living with his new wife at his parents home, his occupation was a calico washer, while his father, Joseph, was a calico printer (calico is a type of coarse cotton), so I'm assuming that Robert knew this line of work.

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 three.

In the 1851 Census**, the couple and 3-year-old Edward were living with Robert's parents, Joseph and Susannah Dewhurst and Robert's five siblings. The extended family was living at Crawshawbooth, Higher Booths, in what must have been a cottage, as no street address was given for them or any of their neighbours. It must have been a crowded household as there were 11 people living there, including a boarder, 10-year-old Samuel Hutchinson!

Robert and Elizabeth's marriage was a short one, as Elizabeth died in 1851, and Robert remarried in 1860 to Mary Pointon, who had been born in Bradley Green, Biddulph, Cheshire in 1828. The following year, their first child, Martha was born in Crawshawbooth. In the 1861 Census**, Robert, Mary and daughter Martha had moved to Hunslet, Leeds. Martha Dewhurst was 3 months old on the 1861 Census,  so she would have been born in January 1861. Robert and Mary must have moved to Leeds within that 3 months, as Martha was born in Crawshawbooth - leaving the 13-year-old Edward behind with his grandparents. He was working full-time as a cotton weaver at that time, so perhaps he didn't want to lose that job by moving.

The family stayed in Leeds until at least 1871, as they appear in the 1871 Census**, living at 2 Holm Terrace, Hunslet, Leeds. They had two more children while they lived in Leeds; Alice, born in 1863, and Robert in 1865. Their birth records are in the Hunslet area of Leeds. Interestingly, they have a lodger living with them, Hannah Calvert. Hannah was 28, unmarried, and was listed as having no occupation, and in addition was reported as being "near blind". She was born in Yorkshire and so is unlikely to have been a relative of either Robert or Mary, although that is a possibility. I wonder how she supported herself in those days prior to any kind of National Assistance.

By 1881, they were back in Crawshawbooth. Robert's son, Edward had died in 1880 - was it that which made them go back? Edward's wife, Mary Ann was newly widowed and was living in Crawshawbooth with her two young sons. Did they go back to help her? Robert's parents, Joseph and Susannah had also died by this time, but Alfred Dewhurst was still living in the area, married now with children, and so was Robert's sister, Ellen. Ellen had married John Greenwood in 1863 at All Saints Church, Goodshaw. There is an interesting website on this church at:

St. Mary's and All Saints, Goodshaw