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My Great Grandmother Lillie Williams (nee Skidmore)'s parents were Joseph and Sarah (nee Waddell Ogden) Skidmore). They belong to the Williams line of the family.
Joseph Skidmore was born in Winsford, Cheshire in 1836 and he died in 1900 in Chorlton, Manchester. He married Sarah Waddell Ogden June 12th 1859 in Manchester Cathedral. By 1859 the Cathedral had been granted full Cathedral status, as up to 1847 it was still the old Collegiate Church.
When
Joseph and Sarah were first married they lived at 26
Wood Street according
to the 1861
Census. Their eldest son was just 11 months
old at
the time of the Census. By the time of the 1871
Census the Skidmore family
had moved to 94 Clarendon Street, Hulme and then had five children. They
would have been neighbours of John and Esther Hulme, who were no relation
at that time, but their descendents were. By 1881 the Skidmores were living
at 8 Wenlock Street, Hulme. Joseph was recorded as being a Warehouseman in
the 1861,
1871
and 1881
Censi. Their
children were:
George Henry Skidmore (1859)
William John Skidmore (1862)
Hannah Skidmore (1864)
Elizabeth (Lillie) Skidmore (1867) - (whose son Walter married John and
Esther Hulme's granddaughter Eveline).
Louisa N. Skidmore (1868)
Bertha Skidmore (1872)
Emily Skidmore (1873)
Joseph O. Skidmore (1878)
In the 1881 Census, 14-year-old Elizabeth (Lillie) was working as an apprentice book binder. This sounds like a more pleasant job than working in the mills. Her eldest brother George was a carrier's clerk, William was an apprentice cabinet maker, and Hannah is recorded as being a "pintegrapher (PW)". I think this must be a transcription error, but I have been through a list of 19th Century occupations used for the Census and I can't think what it might be. She was certainly too young to be a photographer.
Joseph's wife Sarah was Sarah Waddell Ogden on her marriage records. I don't know where the Waddell name comes from (possibly her mother's surname?), but it is not used anywhere else except on her marriage certificate. Her father's name was John Ogden, and he was a brushmaker. Their witnesses to their marriage were Joseph's sister, Hannah, and Joseph Ogden, who I am assuming was Sarah's older brother.
At the time of their marriage in 1859, Sarah's address was Garden Lane, Red Bank. I looked this up and Red Bank was an infamously poor area in Salford.
There is fascinating information on Manchester in the 19th Century as the first industrial city at the following link: The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester There is another fascinating article: Elizabeth Gaskell's Manchester by Alan Shelston, which describes life in Victorian Manchester. |
Wood Street, Hulme in 1954 from the Manchester Archives and Local Studies website (used with permission) |
In fact, Friedrich Engels visited this and other equally bad areas, which formed the idea for his book "The Conditions of the Working Class in England" in 1844. (See Sociology of Manchester). Another webpage about Red Bank for those interested in the social history of the time is at:
Jewish Immigration in Red Bank and
Prior to 1859, the 15-year-old Sarah is listed as living with her 18-year-old brother John in the 1851 Census. Their address was 30 Peel Lane in the Red Bank area. Her brother was recorded as the head of the household and was a bread baker while Sarah was a silk weaver. I'm not sure why these two were living on their own at this time, as Sarah's father was not listed as being deceased on her marriage certificate. I can think of a few scenarios, but it's all just speculation.
I haven't been able to find any more information about Sarah's parents at this point, but more infomation comes available all the time so I am hopeful that one day I will.
Joseph Skidmore's parents were George Skidmore and Margaret Newell (or Newall). Please go to the SKIDMORE-NEWALL PAGE for their information.
