BARLOW CLOCKMAKERS OF OLDHAM, LANCASHIRE

I have traced this family back to the parish of Prestbury in Cheshire, but have been unable to establish whether they originated from the family of Barlow Manor living on the Lancashire side of the Cheshire-Lancashire border or from the original Derbyshire family of Barlow directly. The first Barlow, I have been able to trace in Prestbury is Thomas Barlow who in 1441 was granted lands in Mottram Andrew by Robert Legh. In the will of Robert Downes (buried in Prestbury churchyard), Master Alexander Barlow is named as a debtor. In 1529, in a case before the Court of Star Chamber, Geoffrey Barlow and James Barlow are named in connection with lands in Deyne/Deane (Mottram Andrew), their landlord being Nicholas Browne. By 1538, Humphrey Barlow has succeeded James.

The first Prestbury Barlow, I can firmly link to the Oldham clockmakers, is Henry Barlow of Mottram Andrew, who was a witness for various deeds and indentures of the Downes family of Shrigley in 1545, 1550, 1551 and 1552.

While no Barlow name appears in the available Court Manor Records of Poynton 1469-1474, several Barlow tenants appear frequently on the Records for 1586-1657. The widow of Humphrey Barlow appears in the 1586 records. Her lands, following her death, were held first by Henry Barlow and then by Edward. From 1613-1657 the name Edward Barlow appears frequently and James Barlow several times. From the papers in the Harleian manuscripts concerning particularly, Poynton Manor, it appears that Edward Barlow was a Royalist and he was heavily fined. His son and heir, Edward is stated to be a husbandman or sometimes a tanner.

Now going back to the Henry Barlow of the Downes deeds, he died and was buried near his father in the Prestbury churchyard. In his will he left his lands in Deyne/Deane, Mottram Andrew to his so Henry II who died in 1613. The landlord was Nicholas Browne.

During the period 1560, when the Prestbury parish registers began, to about 1610 many Barlow names are enscribed. From all the data available to me (parish registers, wills, manor documents, etc), I conclude that there were 3 main Barlow families living in Prestbury parish - Henry's family (holding lands in Deyne/Deane, Mottram Andrew and Poynton-Pott-Shrigley) with favourite names of Henry, William, Edward and John; an Aldington-Poynton Barlow family with favourite names being George, Richard and James and the Fallibroome family who also held land in Macclesfield, with favourite names of Alexander, Francis, John and Edward. The relationship between the Aldington-Poynton Barlows (George died 1607 and Richard 1614) and the Fallibroome Barlows (Alexander died 1608) and Henry's family is unclear, but I think they were second cousins. By 1600 they were 3 distinct family groups.

On the death of Henry II in 1613, his oldest son, Henry III received his lands in Deyne/Deane, Mottram Andrew, whereas his second son, Edward received his lands in Poynton-Pott-Shrigley. What happened to the rest of his children in unclear, John may have gone to Manchester.

Henry III died young in 1624, leaving one son, Henry IV, who became 21 in 1628. Henry IV married and had children and is shown paying Chimney tax in 1663. However, for unknown reasons his lands show up as being owned by his cousin Henry of Manchester in the latter's will of 1668.

Going back to the second son of Henry II, namely Edward, who was given lands in the Poynton-Pott-Shrigley area, he married Joan Pickford and had 3 sons who lived beyond childhood - Edward, Henry and William. Edward and William remained in Prestbury parish, whereas Henry went off to Manchester to seek his fortune and found it.

Henry, now of Manchester, is listed in the 1641 Protestation rolls and soon after in the tax records and then becomes very active in town affairs, as shown by the Manchester Manor records. On 5 Dec 1656 he helped elect Henry Newcombe as minister of what became the Cathedral, replacing Richard Hollinworth. He lived and worked as a merchant on Old Mill Gate, a stone's throw from the church. In 1667 he minted his own half-pennies. He married Ellen, who probably was a close relative of his mother Joan Pickford. They produced 4 sons, John, Edward, Joseph and Henry and 2 daughters who lived to adulthood. Ellen died in 1664 and Henry in 1668. Their gravestone which included son John and his wife still existed in Victorian times. Henry wrote a PCC will detailing his lands in Mottram Andrew and Pott-Shrigley. He died a rich man leaving a young family.

Henry of Manchester's eldest son, John, was an ardent "Roundhead" and appears in several diaries of the time. He married, but his wife and several children predeceased him and his remaining son lived only another year after his death. john also wrote a PCC will describing his various properties in Cheshire. Part of the rents from his Mottram Andrew lands were to be put in trust for the training of a young poor apprentice, every third year from Pott-Shrigley and the other two years from Manchester. Part of the rents from his Pott-Shrigley lands were to be put in trust to pay for a schoolmaster and books to teach poor boys in Pott- Shrigley to read "well" and learn Latin grammar.

Henry's second son, Edward died young apparently before finishing his haberdashers' apprenticeship in London. The third son Joseph was another ardent "Roundhead" and tracking his doings proved hard. He eventually ended up with all his father's property by inheritance and by buying out his younger brother, Henry's share and then added to it, particularly in Oldham and Ashton-under-Lyne. His only surviving son died umarried and his properties were quickly sold by the children of two of his daughters, one of whom married a widower, Matthew Pickford.

Henry's youngest son, another Henry was 5 years old when his father died. When he was 24 he married a 17 year old wealthy heiress from Rochdale named Sarah Stock. Under the marriage settlement of 13 May 1687 put up 515 pounds, mainly from selling his inheritance to his older brother Joseph and Sarah's father put up 485 pounds which Sarah had inheritted from several relatives. This ended up in a law suit because pa Abraham Stock did not want to pay up. Henry was buried in Rochdale 19 March 1709, but his estate was only probated 1 September 1713, after Abraham's death ans probate. Henry's youngest son Nathan was baptized 9 April 1709. Sarah rapidly remarried to a relative Miles Greave and had another son by him, baptized 28 September 1712. Miles Greaves lived at Crompton, whereas his son, another Miles moved to Ashton-under-Lyne in the 1730s, marrying Catalina Pickford in 1735.

It should be noted that in the Raines manuscripts, a Barlow family from Heap (Prestwich parish) is incorrectly, as proven by wills, "mixed" in with the Oldham clockmaker Barlow lines.

Henry Barlow had 5 sons by Sarah Stock, they were:

Henry 1695-1767, he stayed in Rochdale and married Mary d. James Byrom, a clockmaker - no children

John 1698-1718 , died in Oldham, buried in Rochdale

*Edward 1699-1776, clockmaker of Oldham & A-U-L in 1725 married Ann Clegg 1708-1782

Joseph d 1770, reedmaker, (m) Elizabeth Buckley

Nathan 1709-1785, Glazier (m) 1728 wd Mary Winterbottom, first child bn before marriage. Eldest son Henry 1732-1799 (a glazier) is often incorrectly placed in Edward the clockmakers family, in 1753 (m) Mary Fletcher

*Edward Barlow the clockmaker and Ann Clegg had 11 children:

Henry 1728-1800 - Unmarried lived in Rochdale

**John 1731-1782 - Clockmaker (birth confirmed by age and date on a clock) (m) Jane Jones 1731-1758

Edward 1733-1785 - Clockmaker in Oldham on (m2) went to Rochdale & became a hatter. (m1) Hannah Nichols; (m2)wd Ellin Hill, wd JohnPitchford - 2 sons Thomas & George (m1) & Henry (m2)

Mary 1735-1735

Benjamin 1736-1798 - Clockmaker (m) Betty Ogden - 4 sons; Edward 1764-1838; Robert 1766-1786; William bn 1771 & Thomas bn 1776

Mary 1738-1739

Abraham 1741-1788 - Rochdale hatter (m) Elizabeth Whitworth - 1 son Benjamin

Sarah 1743-1782

William 1748-1800 Clockmaker of A-U-L (altar tomb) (m1) Rebecca Worthington; (m2) Lois Ashton - 3 sons of (m1)lived to adulthood - Robert 1771-1837 Tin-plater of Lees (married twice); Henry 1775-1827 Oldham lawyer & William Worthington 1782-1846 lawyer of Cheshire & London.

Anne 1753-1813 (m) wd Rev. Miles Wrigley, many children

** John Barlow clockmaker (m) Jane Jones (coal found on her brother's farm) had 2 children

James 1754-1788 clockmaker (m) Betty Brierley. Only his son Edward bn 1779 continues to appear in the records. After his mother's death, worked on his cousin Jane Hadfield's estate of Failsworth Lodge. Edward held many menial jobs until finally working his way up to being a grocer. He married Betty Kershaw and but I have only found marraig records for 3 of his children. John bn1807 (m) Ann Hall; Elizabeth bn 1809 (m) Samuel Taylor & Henry bn 1817 (m) Sarah Taylor and had 3sons & 3 daughters by her. I have followed these lines up to 1901.

John 1756-1810 Tin plater of Oldham, blind in one eye. Died by falling down the stairs at his daughter Jane Hadfield's home of Failsworth Lodge. He (m) Betty Smith of A-U-L whose family had been the blacksmiths of the area for 500 years. They had 4 sons & 3 daughters who lived to adulthood.

Jane bn 1779 (m) George Hadfield

Henry 1781-1851 (m1) Sarah Oldham (m2) Hannah Knowles. By his marriage to Sarah he had 11 children including Thomas Oldham Barlow, the engraver & his older brother Henry Oldham Barlow, who produce the only male grandson in this particular line, another Thomas Oldham, whose great grandson Michael Julian is the only male Barlow who may still marry and have a son in this branch of the family.

***John Smith Barlow 1784-1854 Hatter of Leeds (m) Sally/Sarah Wrigley. They had 6 children see below

William 1789 died in Manchester after 1861. Unmarried, hatter & partner of his younger brother Edward. When Edward died moved in & took care of his family.

Edward 1794-1838 Hatter (m) Elizabeth Hopper and left her & his brother William to bring up 5 children - Edward Hopper 1824-1902 (his wife died after 10 months of marriage); William Jones 1826-1873 (m) Sarah Johnson Bullock - 2 sons & 3 daughters, one son married but no issue; Ann Smith 1828-1883 unmarried; George Smith 1830-1896 (m) Margaret Ann Knight - 3 sons, only one married - 3 sons but only one grandson Hugh Neil born 1942, unmarried in 1987; and Charles Taylor 1833-1918 (m) Ann Myers - 4 daughters and one son who did not marry.

Mary bn 1796 (m) John Metcalfe grocer A-U-L.

*** John Smith Barlow and Sarah Wrigley had 6 children:

Thomas 1808-1862 - Unmarried early travel author published at least 2 books.

Elizabeth bn 1810 (m) Joshua Knowles

John 1811-1812

John James 1815-1880 Cannon of Bristol Cathedral (m) Katherine Pinder - no children

Sarah Jane bn 1817 (m) William George Bradley

William Henry 1819-1896 (m1) Ellen Dodgson (m2) Sarah Ann Hardwick 1827-1876; they had 12 children of which only 2 sons and 5 daughters lived into adulthood. The younger son Ronald Hardwick (m) Sara Florence (Nonna) Nevins - they had a son Lovel, who was killed in WWI and a daughter who married a US Naval Commander who was killed in an Airship crash over the Humber. The older son Wilfred`Elwin 1853-1932 (m) Alice Mary Murrell 1861-1950 and they had 4 daughters and 1 son- Murrell Harding 1883-1962. Murrell had 3 daughters & 2 sons - Dennis 1917-1993 & David 1928-2002. Dennis had 3 daughters & 2 sons Miles Anthony (who in turn has 2 sons Wayne & Kevin John) and Jeremy John (who has a son Matthew Jeremy and a daughter), whereas David had 3 daughters & 1 son who to date has no children.

Detailed charts and family trees will be added as time permits.

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