William Tipping

[coronach]

I have recently come into possession of a Table Lamp which was presented to my Great Great Grandfather William Tipping on 11th March 1901 - on the occasion of his 90th birthday - by the workers of Hurst Mount Mill in Ashton-under-Lyne, inscribed to their 'Old Master'

I have obtained a book entitled 'Cotton In Ashton' by Ian Haynes in which he records that Hurst Mount Mill was bought by William Tipping in 1883 and who remained the sole owner until the mill closed about the time of the First World War. The firm incorporated in 1898, becoming William Tipping Limited.

From the limited research I have so far undertaken, it seems that there may have been a William Tipping Snr (to whom the lamp was presented) and a William Tipping Jnr (who owned the Mill) although I have not yet found a census that links the two (I have only become a geneologist since the lamp arrived 3 weeks ago!).

If anyone has any information on William Tipping (or both of them!) and Hurst Mount Mill, or can point me in the right direction, I would be delighted to know a little more of my family history.

I would particularly like to forward as much detail as possible to the web based archive 'Grace's Guide' which seeks to record the complete history of the engineering industry in Britain between 1750 (the start of the Industrial Revolution) and the 1960s - in which William Tipping already featured - but with no details whatsoever to his entry.

Thank you in advance to anyone who may be able to assist.

[lindylou]

Hello coronach and welcome. I've found some information about William which you may or may not already have. I found a marriage to Emma Parry 25/1/1835 at Manchester cathedral. On the 1881 census there is a Mary Parry living with them. William was christened at St Michael's 5/5/1811 having been born 11/3/1811 his parents being William & Mary. There were 5 other children. There is a marriage at St Michael's between William & Mary Ashworth 2/1/1795. Hope this helps.

[Woody]

Can’t help much with Hurst Mount Mill I’m afraid, but Lindylou’s information looks spot-on for your Tipping ancestors. Since neither of us know what you already have, I only did a little bit of census research based on her suggestions.

William and Emma (Parry) Tipping can be tracked with certainty through successive census returns from 1851-1901, along with confirmation of at least one of their children’s marriages, Hannah (civil marriage to Thomas Bottomley Radcliffe at Ashton, 1869. Ref: RM/31/44).

The couple never moved out of the Ashton under Lyne area so, if you haven’t already found the www.cheshirebmd.org.uk website, that’s the place to locate the births, deaths and marriages for these Tipping ancestors.

The 1901 census lists William (the elder) as a retired cotton spinner, now a widower who is living with daughter Hannah + grandchildren at 148 Albermarle Street, Hurst Brook. The various censuses indicate that his rise to the apex of Hurst Mount Mill was through the administrative rather than ‘technical’ side – clerk, cashier, master.

There’s a death record for William in 1905 (reference AST/134/47) and for wife, Emma, in 1888 reference (AST/97/13). William is also listed as a widower in the 1891 census so that death record for Emma is a fair bet.

William the younger was born in 1852 and appears with his parents on the 1861 and 1871 census returns. You’ll find several possibilities for a marriage listed at the www.cheshirebmd.org.uk website. By then using th LDS www.familysearch.org website, you can often work out which of these marriages is right. The paysite www.findmypast.com does pretty much the same thing and the 1881 census transcriptions are free of charge.

I kept copies of the census returns for William the elder 1851 – 1901 so if you can’t access them yourself, let me know and I’ll send them to you.

Woody

[coronach]

Wow! I never expected such helpful replies so quickly. Thank you very much indeed. I now know that there were two William's (although whether Jnr. succeeded his dad in owning Hurst Mount Mill is not clear yet). I don't suppose the mill still exists? (although there is a current postcode for 38 Henrietta Street where I think William Jnr. lived in 1881 - if I've got the right one!). Thanks again - any more info of any description would be very welcome. Incidentally, my Grandfather was Edward Tipping who married Florence Terry (b. 1899 in Greenwich) and lived in Withington Manchester in the 1920's - just for the record!

[Woody]

Hi coronach

I was in the Tameside Heritage Library this evening, looking for something else in the 1905 Ashton Reporter. I had 10 minutes to spare before it closed so had a quick hunt for a death notice for William Tipping. He died at home, 148 Albermarle Terrace, on 14th October 1905, a week after a dispute over reelers' bonuses at Hurst Mount Mill had been settled.

However, the best news is that there was an obituary a week later.

The obituary is certainly the longest I've ever seen; over two entire columns in length on a sheet similar in size to the Daily Telegraph. It details almost everything you need to know about how William Tipping can be researched including his father's origins, confirming that his wife was indeed Emma Parry, dating his acquisition of Hurst Mount Mill, describing his rise through the industry, his appointment as a Justice of the Peace, his funeral and the icing on the genealogical cake, a long list of mourners.

Fellow magistrates were relegated to the fourteenth carriage which, given the strict Victorian protocols for a cortege, is a fair indication that there were mourners closer to him in the thirteen carriages that went before.

I asked the archivist about you getting a copy. It will cost you about £3 and you need to e-mail [e-mail] quoting the following reference exactly

Ashton under Lyne Reporter No.2,365: Vol: LL: page 6: 21st October, 1905

Death of William Tipping JP of Ashton:
A nonogenarian's interesting reminiscences:
Ashton in the old days

For what it's worth, 149 Albermarle Terrace is still there, although it has scaffolding around it at the moment so not the best time to take a photograph.

Can you please send us all some lottery numbers ?

Woody

[barbaramary]

Hello Coronach!
I know it's been more than a year since you posted this query, but I've just been surfing the (excellent) Tameside site and William Tipping jumped out at me. It looks as though "your" William is brother to "my" 3 x great grandfather Robert (b. 1802). It was great to read all the responses to your query. A most important man! Have you found out any more about their parents William and Mary? I hit a brick wall there and have tentatively pencilled in Mary Ashworth too.
William seems to have been an important man - there is a William in every generation of my line, including my own Uncle Bill who died aged 63, unmarried, in 1983 in Ashton. My mum was the Tipping so the name finished with her.
And Robert- well, he was a beer seller! Possibly connected to the Astley Arms in Dukinfield. I wonder if his younger brother William's career path was due to his wife's family!

Thank you and all those who responded too
barbaramary

[coronach]

Hello Barbaramary!
This could possibly be the longest time ever taken to reply to a post on this site!!
Please accept my apologies. A combination of events and a change of email provider has contributed to the Tipping Project being 'shelved' in favour of other 'stuff'.
I hope you are still out there and receive this. You may by now have a copy of William's Obituary (mentioned above) yourself but, if not, I will gladly forward it to you.
The reason for my renewed interest is that I wondered whether William's house (which still exists) qualifies for a 'plaque' under any local or national scheme and thought there might be some knowledge on this site.
As you say, in his day he was 'a most important man'.
By co-incidence my Mum was also a Tipping and the name finished there too although I have, in recent months, had both her and her mother (my grandmother) added to the Tipping Family Vault in Woodford Parish Church (don't think any of yours are there but I have the names of the 'interred' if you want to check).
I don't know if we're allowed to post email addresses on this site, but happy for you to have mine if you would like further contact.
Best wishes