The Ramsden's of Bolton le Moors

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Many Americans have a high percentage of ancestors that came to the US sometime between 1820-1920. Our family is a bit unique in that almost all of our maternal ancestors have been in America since at least the mid-1700s, and a few as far back as the early 1600s. An exception to this trend is our Ramsden family from Lancashire, England (Note 1). They are our most recent immigrants to America, finally arriving here in 1854.

England, Lancashire County shown in red

Parishes of Historic Lancashire County, UK

In 1780, a man named James Ramsden (b.1754) married Ann Lomax in St. Peter's Church of Bolton le Moors, Great Bolton, Lancashire, England. This was during the time of the Revolutionary War with America, and at the time of their marriage, his occupation was listed as Soldier. They settled in nearby Harwood and had 12 children.

St. Peters, Bolton le Moors, Lancashire, England

Originally established as a small mill town, Bolton grew larger in the 14th century when Flemish weavers settled in the area and began producing the cotton and wool textiles the region became known for. The large original parish of Bolton le Moors was split into smaller townships in 1662, one of which became Harwood. The name "le Moors" comes from the area being part of the West Pennine Moorlands - boggy, hill land that has been occupied since Neolithic times.

West Pennine Moorland, UK

The City of Harwood is now part of both the Ceremonial County of Greater Manchester, and the Historic County of Lancashire, so it is at times referred to either way. The Ramsden family does not seem to be from this area originally. James Ramsden may be from a town about 35 miles away called Wheatley, Yorkshire, England, but this link has yet to be confirmed (see Note 1). On the other hand, the Lomax family of Ann had been living in the Bolton area for several generations. Their family seems to have been involved in washing the hides of slaughtered animals in order to prepare them for the leather making process (see Note 2).

Harwood, Lancashire, England

The 8th child of James and Ann Ramsden was a son named Samuel, born in Harwood, Lancashire, England in 1798. He was baptized at St. Peter's in Bolton le Moors. In 1820, he married Alice Brunton in Colne (about 30 miles NE of Harwood), and they settled in nearby Laneshawbridge, Lancashire, England. Although Alice's family was also originally from the Bolton area, her family had moved to Laneshawbridge when she was about 8 years old, and her father worked there as a Miller.

Laneshawbridge, Lancashire, England

Old Tannery Pond, Laneshawbridge, Lancashire, England

In Laneshawbridge, Samuel (b.1798) initially worked as a Grocer, but by 1827 was dabbling in the developing cotton manufacturing industry as well. The invention of the "spinning mule" had allowed for the opening of the first cotton mill in Bolton in 1780 and the area began to grow rapidly after that time. An abundance of coal and newly dug canals to supply steam power then gave the region its final push into the industrial textile age (Ref 4). Perhaps it was this that drew the growing family to relocate to Great Bolton, Lancashire by 1835. 

Spinning Mule, invented by Samuel Crompton of Bolton, Lancashire in 1779

Chapel Alley in West Great Bolton, originally called Dukes Alley

In Great Bolton, Samuel and Alice lived on a street called Chapel Alley, within walking distance of cotton mills, tanneries, and iron foundries. Samuel Sr. worked as a butcher and a laborer, and had a large family of 13 children (2 of whom died young, and two who fraternal were twins). Our direct ancestor, Samuel Jr., was the 7th child, born in 1830. Their children attended school until age 10, at which point they took on work in the city factories. In 1841, their oldest, John, worked as a skinner, while Margaret and Robert worked as piecers (often spelled peicers) in the cotton mill, and James and Samuel worked at manual labor. 

Child Labor in a early 19th century Lancashire Cotton Mill

At some point, the family seems to have gone down on their luck, and started to involve themselves in some shady dealings. In 1840, Samuel Sr. was charged with writing a forged check on the Bank of England (Ref 1). Luckily, he was acquitted without serving any time. Four years later in 1844, his two oldest sons, John and James, were also charged with fraud, but were found not guilty (Ref 2). Then, in 1847, his son Samuel Jr., and in 1848, his son Robert, both served 6 months for Larceny (Ref 3). Things only got worse from there, for in 1850, Samuel Sr. died, leaving Alice with 6 minor children still at home.

The 1851 census shows Alice's remaining children continuing in the cotton mill industry. Robert had now graduated to Spinner, while Samuel Jr., Elizabeth, and Andrew were working as piecers. William was a pattern maker at the iron foundry, and little Henry, at only 9 years of age, was still able to attend school for one more year. John and James had already married. Margaret and Alice do not seem to have ever married, but had none the less left home.

Piecers and Scavengers of the 19th century English textile industry

Perhaps it was not a very happy household, for within the next few years, all of the children split, leaving their widowed mother to fend for herself (though many later grandchildren were named for her). Robert and Elizabeth married in 1851 and 1852 and moved to nearby cities. James and Samuel Jr. left for America in 1852 (Ref 5), followed by Andrew in 1855. George married in 1855 and William in 1859, and both moved to Little Bolton. Henry, who was still a minor in 1861, seems to have moved in with his brother William and his wife Nancy none the less. Alice, meanwhile, was living on her own as a lodger on Crook St, about a half mile south of Chapel Alley, where she works as a provisions shopkeeper. She was still living alone and working in this area 10 years later in 1871, until dying at the age of 69 in 1873.

King Street in Great Bolton (two blocks west of Chapel Alley), early 1800s 

Samuel Jr. and his older brother left England for New York in 1852. James seems to have initially stayed in New York, where he fought in the civil war, before immigrating to IL many years later. Samuel is said to have taken a ship to New Orleans and then further up the Mississippi and Arkansas Rivers to settle in Van Buren, Crawford Co., Ark. It is unknown why he chose this region, however, in the 1850s Arkansas was on the frontier of the expanding west. The area was experiencing an economic boom due to the transformation of subsistence farming into slave based cotton plantation agriculture (Ref 6). Steam boats were in use and new railroads were being built, allowing farmers better access national markets for their crops and goods. Perhaps, Samuel Jr. wanted to take advantage of the cheap land and try his hand at growing, rather than manufacturing, cotton for once.

Van Buren, Crawford Co, Ark.

Early advertisement for encouraging settlement in Arkansas

Or, perhaps not. A tax assessment in 1867 list his occupation as retail liquor dealer, while the 1870 census states he was an engineer (likely for the railroad). Efforts towards curbing alcohol consumption ramped up during the civil war period and moonshining became a lucrative side-business in dry counties like Crawford (Ref 7). Regardless, by 1856 he had met a woman named Catherine Emelie Winkler and they married.

Catherine Winkler, born 1835

Samuel Ramsden, Jr., born 1830

Catherine's father George Winkler was a farmer by occupation, and although originally from Germany, he had been living in the US since the early 1800s. His wife, Marie Oberteuffer, also an immigrant, was from Switzerland. His daughter Catherine was born in Ohio in 1835, but the family moved to Van Buren, AR about the same time as Samuel. Samuel and Catherine had 4 children - 3 girls, 1 boy, though their youngest daughter died as a toddler. Their third child, Henry Samuel Ramsden, born 1867, was our direct ancestor.

Van Buren, AR, 1888

The civil war of the 1860s brought hard times to Arkansas, wiping out much of the slave-based economic wealth the state had enjoyed in the 1850s (Ref 8). For this reason, it was on the side of the Confederates, and in 1861, it seceded from the Union. By May 1862, Union troops were marching across the state, destroying plantations and freeing slaves as they went. The capitol at Little Rock was captured, and for a time the government of Arkansas basically ceased to function, greatly increasing lawlessness throughout the state. Although the war ended in 1865, it was not until about 1870 that order began to re-established itself.

Battle of Pea Ridge in Arkansas, 1862

Samuel Jr. died only a few years later in 1876, at the young age of 46 (Note 3). Thankfully, Catherine's family was nearby to help her with her three children. Catherine's sister Carolyn was married to a man named John F. Bushmaier, who seems to have been relatively well off. In 1880, Carolyn died, and a year and a half later, Catherine and John were married. 

Headstones for Samuel and Catherine at the Bushmaier Cemetery in Kibler, Crawford, AR (Note 3)

Our great, great grandfather Henry Samuel Ramsden (b. 1867) went on to marry Sadie Jane in 1898. She was of the Quesenbury line that I have written on previously. Sadie was from a town called Mulberry, AR, about 20 miles downriver from Van Buren, and that is where they settled. They had two children, and Henry was a respected member of the town, serving for a short time as its Mayor, as well as a newspaper editor and furniture packer dealer. Like many in his fathers line though, Henry also died young, at the age of only 40.

Newspaper notices for Henry Samuel Ramsden and Sadie Jane Quesenbury

Notes

1) It is likely the Ramsden's were from Yorkshire before that, as this is where the surname originates. Possibly from a town called Ilkley, though I am not yet able to prove this.

2) The baptism records for many sons of the Lomax family lists the occupation of the fathers as what seems to be Whitear, which is the name for a hide cleaner in old English.

3) Samuel's gravestone lists his birthdate as 1834 rather than 1830 and the 1870 census lists his estimated birth year as 1835. To add the the confusion, there is another Samuel Ramsden from Great Bolton, England who was born in 1833-1834 and seems to have immigrated to the US around 1854. This Samuel Ramsden seems to have settled in Cherokee Co., IA. How do we know we are following the right Samuel??

The answer comes mainly from a missing persons notice placed by Samuel's brother Andrew in 1857. In this notice (Ref 9), Andrew, (having arrived in the US himself about 2 years prior and settled in Mass.), states that the family has not heard from his brother Samuel in about 3 years, but that he is from Lancashire, England and was last known to have settled in Van Buren, Crawford, AR. This seems to point clearly to our Samuel.

It is not known why Samuel chose to stop writing his family, nor why he seem to have started going by a younger age after arriving in Arkansas. Perhaps, a part of him was just wanting to leave the past behind and start over with a clean slate. Likely the brothers reconnected at some point. Family lore is that the mother Alice wrote to Samuel often in later years, updating him on all the family's doings, but that these letters were thrown out when he died.

References

1) England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, Class: HO 27; Piece: 61; Page: 89

2) England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, Class: HO 27; Piece: 73; Page: 86

3) England & Wales, Criminal Registers, 1791-1892, Class: HO 27; Piece: 82; Page: 175

4) https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/textile-mills-lancashire-legacy/textile-mills-lancashire-legacy/

5) "New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:275S-PZ7 : 11 August 2022), Samuel Ramsden, 1852.

6) "A Nation Divided: Arkansas and the Civil War". http://bc-digital.org/civilwararkansas/history.html#:~:text=Cotton%20was%20the%20driving%20force,continue%20throughout%20the%20next%20decade.

7) "The Long Road to Prohibition in Arkansas". https://onlyinark.com/featured/the-long-road-to-prohibition-in-arkansas/

8) Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Civil War through Reconstruction, 1861-1874. https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/civil-war-through-reconstruction-1861-through-1874-388/

9) Searching for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in “The Boston Pilot," 1831-1920. Published 21 Mar 1857.