Wroe Family

[jacybaby]

Hi all I am trying to find out about a relative of mine, my paternal great, great grandmother a Martha Ann Wroe. Was she in anyway realted to the Ashton Christian Israelite Founder John Wroe??? I have been unsuccessful in finding birth or death certificates for Martha Ann Wroe, but I do know that she married a John Lever in Stalybridge at Old St George's Church between 1871-1875.
Many thanks in advance.

Also looking for any information of connections to Hassall/Lever/Norton/Stott families in Stalybridge?

[Woody]

Hi jacybaby

John Wroe's origins (and those of his own family) were in the Bradford area of Yorkshire and he didn't come to Ashton until 1922 when he was 40. By 1841 he was back in Yorkshire with his family. For your own ancestors, I suspect the evidence pointing to the Mottram-in-Longdendale area is more convincing than Ashton-under-Lyne and John Wroe's Israelites but others may be better informed than me.

The information about Martha Ann Wroe is more promising.

The 1911 census has a Martha Anne Lever living with husband John Lever at 4 Huby Street, Ashton under Lyne. Because there was a requirement in 1911 to state how long each person had been married and both people at Huby Street say '38 years', their marriage can be estimated at about 1873 - which ties in nicely with your time-scale. Martha gives her birthplace as Stalybridge and her age as 57 years. She also declares giving birth to 7 children altogether, only 4 of whom survived. Assuming it’s the same couple, they married at Mottram in Longdendale, perhaps indicating a prior link to that locality.

There’s a possible birth registration for Martha Ann Wroe at Mottram in 1854 (which ties in with the 1911 census) and the mother’s maiden name is 'Shaw'. That specific birth reference is MOT/9/44 and you’ll find the details, together with a direct method of ordering a copy of the entry from the Registrar, at www.cheshirebmd.org.uk. On the same website you’ll find a possibility for the death record of Martha Ann Lever (age 73) registered at Stalybridge in 1927 (reference STB/15A/8).

Looking back from 1911 and taking into account common spelling and transcription errors, there’s a Tintwistle census return in 1861 for Ann Roe, a widow born 1821 at Gee Cross, Hyde. (On the 1881 census, Martha Ann reports her own birthplace, not as Stalybridge, but as 'Valehouse', Derbyshire, which is actually in Tintwistle).

Also recorded in the house in 1861 are Ann Roe's own two daughters, Martha Ann (age 7) and Elizabeth age (age 2), together with 14 yr-old Sarah Ann Shaw who is listed as Ann Shaw’s granddaughter. One way or another this latter can't be a true record. Ann Shaw wasn't old enough to have had grandchildren by 1847. I wonder if this may have been her illegitimate child.

Like her sister, Elizabeth Wroe's birth also seems to be registered at Mottram in Longdendale although the mother’s maiden name in this instance is ‘Ollerenshaw’. That might be a clue to the degree of difficulty attached to finding Martha Ann’s ancestors. There are potential links to the Ollerenshaw family in the various census returns - other names are Peter Ollerenshaw (b 1832, Glossop) and Betty Garlick (b Hayfield, 1897) - but these need researching more thoroughly.

I have copies of the relevant census returns if you want them.

[Woody]

OOOps. Betty Garlick's birth date is 1797, and not as I wrote it '1897'

[Woody]

OOOOps again !! When I get it wrong, there's usually a lot of it but I don't know how to delete my original response and post a corrected version so here's some more errata !!

The marriage should, of course, read Stalybridge St George (Oct-Dec 1872) and, deciphering the original copies, the address in 1901 & 1911 should be 4 Hulley Street which is in the New St George ward at Stalybridge.

Apologies

Woody

[jacybaby]

Woody thanks so much I had some of that info but not all. It would be great if you could send the census returns you mentioned thank you.
And don't worry about the 'mistakes' they didn't throw me. I was getting stuck around Martha Ann so your help has got me past that blockage. I feel a visit to Mottram/Tintwistle parish registers coming on...