The Hartleys of Oxenhope
Benjamin Hartley was born on 20 March 1832 in Shaw, in the hamlet of Far Oxenhope, the second
son of John and Sarah Hartley.
He was baptised on 2 October 1832 by Patrick Brontë.
According to census entries, his father John Hartley was
born around 1788, though no christening record has been found. Benjamin's possible antecedents are discussed in
the Appendix below.
John Hartley’s wife was Sarah Holmes. The couple had 5 children and lived in a
terraced
house
in Shaw.
Sarah died in 1853, John in
1867.
By the age of 18, Benjamin had taken up his father’s
trade of woolcomber or spinner and was a choirboy at Haworth Parish Church,
where Patrick Brontë was the
incumbent. At the age of 20, in 1853, he married Amelia Sutcliffe. Amelia was born in Shaw in 1831 to Abraham Sutcliffe, another woolcomber.
In 1861 the couple were at Cobling, a smallholding on the Sawood
estate (Far Oxenhope) near the Dog & Gun Inn. Benjamin was described as a milk hawker, though in trade
directories published in 1864 and 1866, he was a farmer. This fits roughly with
a family story that the Hartleys had a poor dairy farm near Haworth that
supplied the Brontës with milk. The legend must have been referring
to just one Brontë because by the late 1850s Patrick was the
sole survivor of his family.
The Hartleys probably moved to a nearby smallholding at Far Fold soon after the 1861 census,
though the only evidence is that his grandson Ernest named his house in Ashstead, Kent after it.
The farm actually consisted (in 1871) of 3 small farms of 15, 20 and 22 acres, which were barely enough
to be economic; at least one farm was purchased by Bradford Corporation in 1874 for its waterworks project
on Thornton Moor. When cattle grazing, the main use of the land, was proscribed for health reasons,
Far Fold probably became unviable. Although still occupied in the 1930s, today only a few stones mark the spot
where the farmhouse once stood.
The last of Benjamin's 3 boys - Levi - may have been
born there in 1865.
Despite, or because of, his ecclesiastical
connections at Haworth, Benjamin Hartley had a reputation for beating his
children when he had been drinking.
Although Benjamin was registered as a voter at
Sawood in 1870, the family had moved across the Aire valley to East Morton by
the middle of that year: a daughter – Annie – was born there on 3 June. As there are no records after her baptism in
October, she may have died in infancy.
The family lived briefly in a terraced house in Sun Street before moving
to a similar house in Bethel Street, next to the Independent Congregational Chapel.
Amelia died of TB in Sun Street just before the 1871 Census. Her daughter Mary died
2 months later, also of TB. Mother and daughter
were buried near their birthplaces at St Mary’s Church in Oxenhope.
The following year, Benjamin married Rebecca
Wharram, a servant from Rillington, near Malton. He was described as a cotton warp dresser. The family moved to a terraced
house under the grim façade of the Lower Holme Mill, Baildon, near Shipley
sometime before 1875 – his daughter Emily died there that year.
His sole surviving daughter – Elizabeth –
married a hairdresser called William Bateson in 1878 and went to live on
the other side of the River Aire in Windhill.
The remaining children, all boys, got married in the next decade.
By the 1891 census, Benjamin and Rebecca were on their own and had moved
to
Hill House Farm
in Todmorden, where he was described as a farmer.
Their grandson Ernest Bateson was also recorded there.
The
farmhouse today
is a 3 bedroomed Listed Building.
In 1891 it was occupied by 3 other households, comprising 11 individuals, working in the cotton mills rather than on the land.
See Notes on the photo, below.
Rebecca died in 1895 and Benjamin probably moved in with his daughter Elizabeth in Bradford shortly afterwards -
he was recorded there in 1901. He was described, not as a farmer, but as a retired cotton warp dresser.
He died there in 1903 and was interred at St Luke’s Church in Eccleshill, although there is no grave.
Benjamin Hartley’s children
Mary was
born around 1853 and died of TB in 1871.
Nothing is known of her, other than her occupation, a weaver. She was interred at St
Marys Parish Church, Oxenhope, though there is no headstone there.
Elizabeth was born on 20 April 1855 in Oxenhope. She became a worsted twister, working in
local mills. She was reputed to be a
feisty woman and, after her husband died in 1891, she may have moved to the
Undercliffe area of Bradford, where she ran a grocery shop. By 1901, she was at Stanacre Place, near
Bradford Cathedral, with her children Elma, Ernest and Margaret (her son
Herbert had already left home) and was a confectioner. By 1918 she had bought a substantial house
in Wightman Street, Undercliffe. It is
likely that her son Ernest supplied the deposit for the house and maintained
the payments. Elizabeth died there, aged 70,
on 27 December 1925 and was interred in Windhill.
Emily was born in September 1858 and was a worsted weaver. She died at Lower Holme in 1875 and was interred
at St Mary’s in Oxenhope, though there is no headstone there.
Pickles was born in 1860
in Oxenhope. By 1881, he was a worsted
overlooker and went on to establish a woollen manufacturing business in
Bradford, although the details are unknown.
He married Corrie Martin from Horsham in Surrey in mid 1882 and had six children: Amelia, Emma, Benjamin, Lionel, Clarissa and Arthur.
Walter was born in November 1862 in Oxenhope. He also became a worsted weaving
overlooker. By 1895 he had married
Margaret Ibottson and had two daughters, Bertha and Doris. By 1901, he was living in Trinity St
Blackburn, a street full of butchers and fruiterers. He was a Draper.
Levi was born in 1865 in Oxenhope. He also went into worsted weaving. He married Annie Ross in Dover in 1887 and
had two girls, Mary and Annie and a boy, William Ross. By 1901, he was a hairdresser and umbrella
maker in Todmorden.
Annie Elizabeth was born in Morton on 3 June 1870 and christened on 28 October. She does not appear in any censuses,
so is presumed to have died in late 1870 or early 1871, but there is no death or burial record.
Appendix
This Appendix is an effort to trace Benjamin Hartley’s ancestors through his father (John),
by tracking most of the John Hartleys to be found in the registers in the last 25 years of the 18th century.
Contents:
Introduction
Conclusions
Abbreviations used in the text
John Hartley christenings
Other Records
Selected male Hartley marriages
Selected John Hartley burials
Dunkirk Mill
Great Stone
Abraham Sutcliffe and his children
Mercy Sutcliffe
References
Introduction
Although the St Michael All Angels Parish Church’s
records at Haworth appear to be comprehensive, finding Hartley (and Sutcliffe) antecedents
has been challenging.
The Registers vary in the amount of information
provided. Generally, the christening books give only the father’s name, the
hamlet and the date of the ceremony.
The most informative books may also give the mother’s christian name
along with the date of birth or age of the child and the specific farmstead
where the family lived.
The marriage registers usually give only the names
of the couple along with two witnesses (which can sometimes be quite
revealing). Rarely, they might give a specific abode and the groom’s
occupation.
The burial registers vary greatly in the amount of
information given. At their most basic they provide only the name, date of
burial and (sometimes) age of the deceased.
Some records can include the date of death plus the cause of death plus
an abode plus the status of the deceased (typically ‘son’, ‘dau’, ‘wife’,
‘married’, ‘widow’ etc).
Haworth Parish contained 4 hamlets: Haworth,
Stanbury, Far Oxenhope and Near Oxenhope:
The boundary between Far and Near Oxenhope probably
lay along Leeming Water and its tributary Rag Clough Beck. Far Oxenhope would
have stretched from Royd House in the north to Deep Arse on the Sawood estate
in the south. Near Oxenhope would have covered Hoyl and Ducking Stool in the
north to Stairs and Rag in the south. The hamlets of Cullingworth / Wilsden and Denholme
feature in the records from time to time and seem to have been considered part
of Haworth. In the 18th century, Shaw (Far Oxenhope) consisted
of a dozen or more terraced weavers' cottages on the north side of the road to
Stanbury. When the records give someone's abode as Shaw, they may (or may not)
include the nearby crofters' cottages at Cold Well and the farmsteads at Great
Stone and Far Great Stone, which were occasionally recorded as separate abodes.
As well as tracking the John Hartleys found in the registers, some of the Hartley
marriages that took place during the last quarter of the century have been assessed to see if any of them might
have produced a relevant John Hartley. 1) Not one of the John Hartleys recorded in the Haworth
and Bradford registers is a credible candidate for the father of Benjamin. 2) None of the marriages studied seem to have produced
a relevant John Hartley. 3) A speculative lineage is proposed, as follows:
4) It is possible that the Hartleys were tenants at Great Stone in the late 18th
and early 19th centuries but had moved to their terraced house in Shaw by the 1830s. Abbreviations ~ (tilde) means ‘possibly’, denoting a speculative link
abt = about; b
= born; bapt = christened; dob = date of birth; marr = married; d = died;
Near Ox = Near Oxenhope; Far Ox = Far
Oxenhope The
following is a selection of John Hartleys recorded in the Haworth Parish
Church registers in the 18th century: John H bapt
in Far Ox 25 January 1728/29 the eldest son of James H and Sarah and grandson
of Mary Lived in Upper Town (Far Ox) and
perhaps Aberdeen, one of his father's abodes He was variously described as a
Shalloonmaker (shalloon was a worsted cloth used as a lining for blankets,
coverlets and coats or as a dress fabric), as a Yeoman and as a Woolcomber He ~ died in 1789 aged 61 Siblings: Betty Mary Sarah Tempest, John’s brother, was born in Far Ox in 1740
(see Other Records:
Tempest H below) Children: He ~ had a son, Tempest, born 1758 (but in Near Ox), died 1761
in Far Ox Comment: his father James Hartley, a Yeoman of
Stonestop (Aberdeen) was marr to Sarah and ~ died between 1772 & 1777 Comment: in a conveyance of May 1772, John Hartley
of Upper Town, the eldest son of James H, was described as a Shalloonmaker John H bapt in
Near Ox 12 June 1748 to John H; ~
marr Susan Sutcliffe in Haworth 1768 Lived in Stairs (Near Ox) Susan died at Stairs 1812 aged 64 John died at Stairs 1825 aged 78 Children: John b abt 1769 – see below Moses b 1772 ~ no records William b in Near Ox 1776 & died at Stairs 1809 Timothy b 1778 Bernard b in Near Ox 1782 – marr Nancy Helliwell in 1807 & died
1845 Mary b 1784; died at Stairs 1807 Joseph b in Far Ox 1787; died at Stairs 1790 Susannah b at Stairs 1790 Susan b at Stairs 1793 Comment: a Joseph H of Stairs died 18 Nov 1854 aged
86 (dob = 1768); he marr Esther Hartley in Bradford 1793; his son Joseph was bur
in Haworth 10 April 1858 aged 62 John H b abt
1748; marr Amy Fether in Haworth 1770 Lived in ~ Ducking Stool (Near Ox) Children: Easther b 1774 John H b abt
1753; marr Jane (~ Barton) in Bingley 1775 Lived in Manywells (Cullingworth / Wilsden) Children: Jane b at Manywells 1788 Grace b at Low Manuells 1791 John bapt in Manywells 18 June 1793 Comment: John H, born abt 1753, remained at
Manuells, dying there in 1795; of his 3 daughters, Sarah, born in 1785, marr
John Earnshaw and lived at Low Manuells until her death in 1846 John H b abt
1755; marr Eunice Robinson in Bradford 1777 Lived in Wilsden Children: John b in Wilsden 1781 Sarah b in Wilsden 1785 Ellen b at Bents Head (Wilsden) 1789 Richard b at Ling Bob (Wilsden) 1794 John H b abt
1756; ~ son of Timothy H of Near Ox; ~ marr Mary Toothill in Haworth 1776; ~ died
in Haworth 1819 aged 64 Lived in ~ Haworth Mary ~
b in Haworth 1750; ~ died
in Haworth 1834 aged 79 John H b abt
1760; marr Sally Coates in Haworth 1782 Lived in ~ Near Oxenhope John H b abt
1763; marr Mary Pighills in Haworth 1785 Lived in ~ Haworth John H b abt
1769 ~ to John H & Susan Sutcliffe ~ marr Sally Pighles in Bradford 1792; died in Moorside 1834 aged 65 Lived in Moorside (Near Ox) In the 1774 Inclosure Awards a John Hartley of Marsh was allotted
parcels of ground on the Great Moor designated 58, 58b, 58c and 73. Plot 58c is
near Drop Farm. Plots 73 and 58 are near Upper Marsh. Sally ~ died in Near Ox in 1821 aged 50 Children: Robert b at Stairs 1793 Joseph b at Moorside 1795 John b at Moorside 1798 Bernard b at Moorside 1800 Sutcliffe b at Moorside 1812 Comment: Sutcliffe (b 1812) may have been named
after Susan Sutcliffe, who lived at Stairs and was his putative grandmother Other family trees have assigned these children to
John Hartley / Sally Coates John H bapt at Coat 23 Feb 1775
to Joseph H & Betty ~ Rushworth; d at Coat 26 Nov 1822 aged 47 Lived
in Coat (Near Ox) Comment:
Joseph H marr Betty Rushworth at Coat 1761 – Joseph died 1802 aged 62;
Betty died 1817 aged 75 John H bapt
in Far Ox 23 Oct 1778 to Timothy H & ~ Sarah Smith; ~ marr Martha Murgatroyd
of Far Ox in Haworth 1798 Lived in Far Oxenhope Children: ~ Joseph b Springhead (Haworth / Oakworth) 1802 ~ Ann b Springhead 1803 John H bapt
in Haworth 6 April 1779 to Peter H John H bapt
in Haworth 7 April 1781 to Peter H; he ~ died the same day John H bapt
in Wilsden 28 Oct 1781 to John H John H bapt
in Near Ox 10 June 1783 to Jonathan H; marr Hannah Holms in Bradford 1804
(witness James H) Farmed at Bottoms (North Ives); at Bottoms in 1819
Rate Book; wife Hannah (b 1781) died at Bottoms 16 Jan 1832 aged 51; he marr
Mary Wadsworth in Bradford 3 April 1832; in 1841 at Bottoms with Mary &
her sister Susan Wadsworth; in 1851 aged 68 at North Ives Bottoms; he died at
Bottoms 1856 aged 73 A probable brother James, son of Jonathan, died in
Near Oxenhope in 1783 His sister Betty was bapt in Near Ox 1785 to Jonathan H;
shd marr Joseph Sutcliffe 1813 & lived in Haworth Children: none found Comment: his gravestone gives his abode as Bottoms,
which was in Near Ox but the burial register says Far Ox - the confusion is
probably because North Ives Bottom was on the west side of the river in Near
Oxenhope while Far North Ives Bottom was on the east side in Far Oxenhope Comment: Jonathan H, his father, does not appear in
any records other than the 3 noted above John H bapt
24 Jan 1785 to James H & Mary Crabtree of Marsh; bur in Marsh 7 July 1795
aged 10 Lived in Near Oxenhope John H b abt
1785; marr Martha Tennant in Haworth 1807 Children: ~ James b at Mytholms (Haworth) 24 Oct 1815 Comment: his approx date of birth is based on the
marriage date; there is no other trace of this couple John H bapt in Haworth 15 June 1787 to
Sarah H; he ~ marr Elizabeth Wright in Haworth 23 June 1814; he was ~ a Shopkeeper at
Church Gate (Haworth) in 1841 with Joseph aged 20; listed in the 1842 voters’
roll as the owner of a property at Pinhill End, Moorside; he ~ died at Church Gate
& was bur in Haworth 23 April 1850 aged 63 Children: John b 1816 James b 1818 Joseph b 1818 Mary b 1821 Thomas b 1823 Robert b 1825 Comment: in his baptism
record only the mother’s name, Sarah Hartley, is given, suggesting an
illegitimate birth. Such births were fairly common in Haworth: in 1787 there
were 9; in other years such baptisms often had the word “Bastard” appended to
the record The marriage record gives his
name as John Hartley junior, suggesting his father was called John and the
faint possibility that Sarah, his mother, was recently widowed John Hartley - his birth and baptism dates are unknown; he ~ marr Sarah Holmes in
Bradford on 27 March 1815. On marriage, John was a Comber, Sarah was a Spinster
and the witnesses were probably church clerks. There were at least 3
potential brides called Sarah (or Sally) Holmes but one called Sally who was born at Great Stone
in 1795 to John and Nelly (née ~ Hird) Holmes is considered the most likely.
Comments: As there was no reference to Haworth in
the Bradford register entry, there is no conclusive proof that this is the
correct marriage. However, it was not unusual for a Haworth couple to marry in
Bradford St Peter's (Haworth was a chapelry of Bradford and a number of local
landowners had pews there in the 1700s), particularly in the 18th century; Abraham Sutcliffe had almost certainly done
it 3 years earlier, in 1812: see Sutcliffe Notes below; and when John Hartley married Sally Pighles
in Bradford in 1792 his abode, Haworth, was noted in the register.
John lived in Great Stone and Shaw
(Far Ox). In 1841, he was aged 50 (dob = 1785-1790), at Shaw with wife Sarah,
daughter Sarah and sons Benjamin, Thomas & Pickles. In the 1840s the
family lived in a terraced house in Shaw owned by Holmes Sunderland. In 1851
aged 61 he was at Shaw with wife Sarah, daughter Sarah and sons Benjamin &
Thomas (dob = 1789). In 1861 he was aged 72 at Shaw with Thomas (dob= 1788). He
died in Shaw on 8 Jan 1867 aged 78, giving a dob of 1787-1788. Great
Stone and its neighbour Far Great Stone were farmsteads / weaver’s houses on
Holden Lane, which skirts the prominent Stones ridge south-west of Cold Well at
Shaw. See photo. From
1789 to 1820 at least 10 families lived at Great Stone (and possibly Far Great
Stone): Greenwood
– in 1789 Mary was born to William Normanton
– between 1791 and 1798 Betty, Jonny, Jonas and James were born to Thomas and
Betty Fether
– between 1793 and 1799 James and Sarah with Elizabeth, Timothy and Martha with
Sarah, plus Sarah, Mary and Timothy all lived here Holdsworth
– in 1799 James was born to William and Betty Rushton
– between 1798 and 1800 Timothy and John were born to Timothy and Grace Sutcliffe
– in 1800 Grace was born to Stephen and Sally. Timothy Sutcliffe, a Yeoman, was
a resident in 1813, when he was listed as a Trustee of the Free Grammar School Bancroft
– in 1806 John was born to Joseph and Sally Kershaw
– in 1810 Betty was born to John and Mary Earnshaw
– Holmes was born on 1 Nov 1817 to William and Martha Holmes
– in 1795 Sally was born to John and Nelly Holmes. She may have married John
Hartley in 1815 and begat Benjamin Hartley
in 1832. Rebecca, the wife of Timothy Holmes died here on 24 April 1809. Hartley
John Hartley and Sally Holmes's son James was born
at Great Stone on 25 April 1818.
Another James Hartley was buried at Great Stone on 24 May 1819 aged 58, giving a birth in 1761.
He is presumed to be the father of John Hartley. The nearest baptism record found is for a James
H, the son of
James H of Near Oxenhope, on 27 June 1757. However, since Shaw was considered to be a part of Far Oxenhope,
this may not be a correct attribution.
Betty H, a widow, was
buried at Great Stone on 27 February 1793 aged 54, giving a birth in 1739. Her
deceased husband was not named on the burial record. The only suitable marriage
found was of Elizabeth Pighels to Tempest Hartley on 17 November 1761. This
Tempest Hartley may have been buried on 13 March 1786. But his abode was
Hillhouse, which is approx 600 yards SE of Great Stone. This couple did have a child called James:
he was baptised on 27 June 1764, but was buried on 5 July the same year.
A Joanna Hartley of Shaw, who was buried on 15 June 1787,
may have lived at Great Stone, though there is no proof of this. Her age, 92, gives a birth year of 1695.
She was a widow, but there are no marriage records.
James H b 25
April 1818 to John H and Sally at Great Stone (Shaw); marr Mary Redman in
Haworth on 10 Feb 1840; in 1841 he was at Shaw, aged 20, with his parents and wife Mary aged 18
and newborn son John; in the 1840s he lived in a terraced
house in Shaw owned by Luke Southwell, a Keighley farmer. Comment: there is an unexplained 11-year gap to the
next child. Some infant deaths (unattributed in the Registers) during these years were:
Maria Hartley b 1817 & d 1820 in Near Ox; Mary, born & died 1819 in Near Ox;
Pighills Hartley, b 1820 & d 1823 in Near Ox; Joseph Hartley born &
died 1824 in Haworth Sarah H b 21
Dec 1829 to John H and Sarah in Far Oxenhope; she ~ went to London to work
as a servant Benjamin Hartley b 20
March 1832 to John H and Sarah in Far Oxenhope Thomas H b 8
Oct 1835 to John H and Sarah in Far Oxenhope; he was ~ unmarried; he ~ died at Keighley
Infirmary/Workhouse on 19 Oct 1904 Pickles H b 1839;
in 1841 was at Shaw aged 2; d in Far Oxenhope on 26 Nov 1846 aged 7; bur in
Haworth on 30 Nov John H bapt
at Scartop (Stanbury) 20 July 1790 to Rodger H & Martha Judson; bur at
Hill Top (Stanbury) 7 Dec 1816 aged 26-27; Martha died at Hill Top 11 April
1820; Roger died at Oldfield (Stanbury) 15 March 1843 aged 89 John H bapt
at Sawood 23 April 1793 to Jonathan H & Hannah Bancroft; ~ marr Susannah
Judson of Stairs in Bradford 1812; he was ~ aged 45 at Isle in 1841; in 1851 he was aged 59
at Far Isle; in 1861 aged 67 at Isle; in 1871 aged 77 at Upper Isle; he ~ died
Keighley Sep 1878 aged 86. Lived in Far Oxenhope In the 1852 Tithe Award, an
Abraham Sutcliffe was listed as the owner of a house and land at Far Isle,
tenanted by John Hartley. Children: Rebecca b at Sawood 1814 Sarah b in Far Ox 1818 Susey b 1821 Rachel, John, Zebedee, Martha, Ruth and Dinah John H b in
Aberdeen (Far Ox) Nov 1796 to Thomas H & Bekah Fether; he ~ marr Martha Wright
in Haworth 1815; in 1841 was at Main St Haworth with Martha & the 7 youngest
children Lived in Haworth Children: Harriet b Springhead (Haworth / Oakworth) 23 July
1815 Zilpah b Springhead 1817; marr Abraham Hartley 1845
& died in Saltaire 1879 Robert, Joseph, Betty, Enoch, Greenwood and John Comment: if this is the correct marriage, John H
would have been a minor on his wedding day but this was not noted in the
register John H bapt
18 April 1797 to Esther H in Hob Lane (Stanbury); Esther ~ died in Near Oxenhope 1829 John H bapt
25 Dec 1797 to Barnard H & Mary in Birks; he ~ marr Elizabeth Lambert in Haworth
1821; a Grocer in Main St, Haworth in 1851 Lived in Haworth Children: Robert b 1825 Thomas, Robert, William, Mary Lambert and Ursula John H bapt
in Moorside 20 Feb 1798 to John H & Sally Pighles (marr in Bradford 1792);he ~
marr Susan Sutcliffe in Haworth 1819; he was ~ a widower aged 54 at West Croft
Head (Far Ox) in 1851; he ~ died in Keighley Workhouse 1875 or 1882 Susan (Susy) ~ died in Haworth 1830 aged 30 Lived in Near and Far Oxenhope Children: Sutcliffe b 1826 and James b 1829 John H bapt 11
Sept 1798 to Joseph H & Martha in Hengate; ~ died in Haworth 7 April 1799 Other Records Selected male Hartley marriages Bernard H bapt
in Near Ox 22 July 1726 to John H; marr Sarah Sutcliffe 1747; lived at Shaw. In the 1774 Inclosure Awards a Bernard Hartley was
allotted parcels of ground on the Great Moor designated 21, 21a and 21b. Plot
21 is by the road at Moorside. Plot 21a is on Intake Lane E of Dike Nook. Plot
21b is near the top of Rag Clough Beck, abt 300m SW of Dike Nook (the Waggon
& Horses Inn). Bernard died at Shaw 1795 aged 73; bur in Haworth Sarah died at Shaw 1801 aged 75; bur in Haworth Children: Mary b Near Ox 1748 & d Shaw 1768 Timothy b Far Ox 1750 & d Near Ox 1753 Elizabeth d Near Ox 1753 Sarah b Far Ox 1754; marr William Brooksbank of
Shaw 1776; d 1819 John ~ b Near Ox 1757; d Far Ox 1758 Joanna b Far Ox 1759; d Shaw 1781 Bernard b Far Ox 1763 John d Far Ox 1768 James b 1769; d 1792 Comment: Timothy H may have been Bernard’s younger
brother - a Timothy H was bapt to John H on 18 Oct 1733 in Near Ox. A Timothy Hartley
of Shaw, Yeoman, was mentioned in a legal document of 1767 concerning property
in Stanbury Joseph H ~
bapt in Far Ox 1739 to John H; marr Betty Rushworth in Haworth 1761 – his
abode on marriage was Shaw, whilst Betty lived at Stairs Lived in Far Oxenhope and ~ Coat (aka Cote in Near
Ox; several children born in Near Ox to a Joseph H during this period may be
his) Joseph died ~ at Coat 8 May 1802 aged 63; bur in
Haworth Betty (~ born 1743 to James Rushworth) died at
Mouldgreave (Near Ox) 23 Nov 1817 aged 75; bur in Haworth Children born to Joseph H and Betty: Mary b in Far Ox 1761; d 1784 aged 24; bur in
Haworth Sarah b 1762; d 1784 aged 22; bur in Haworth John b 1774; ~ d 1822 aged 48; bur in Haworth James b in Far Ox 1778; ~ marr Mary Pighills 1800
& lived at Coat; his infant son James d 1813; his son Joseph d 1848 aged 39; his
wife Mary d 1816 aged 39; James himself d 1843 aged 66 William b 1782; ~ d 1808 aged 26 In a 1768 Gallery Plan of Haworth Parish Church, a
Joseph Hartley shared pew 20 with (~ Timothy) Lister for Great Stone, 6 sittings
in total Comment: A Joseph Rushworth, ~ related to Betty,
owned Mouldgreave in 1832 and rented a property in Moorside to John Hartley Tempest H ~
bapt in Far Ox 1740 to James H and Sarah; marr Elisabeth Peighles in Bradford
1761; died in Far Ox 1786 Lived at Aberdeen (Far Ox) Tempest died in Far Ox 1786 Elisabeth (Betty) died ~ at Great Stone 1793 aged 54 Children: John b 1763; he ~ d in Marsh 1794 aged 32 James b & d 1764 Zebedee b 1766; d in Hillhouse (Far Ox) 1808 Sarah b 1768 Elizabeth b 1771 Mary b 1774 Tempest b 1776; marr Mary; lived in Sawood (Far
Ox); d in Far Ox 1841 aged 64 Joseph H marr
Martha Hardaker in Haworth in 1764; d in Moorside 1811 aged 67 Lived in Near Oxenhope Children: John b & d 1765 Joseph b 1767 In the 1774 Inclosure Awards a Joseph Hartley of
Near Oxenhope was allotted parcels of ground on the Great Moor designated 25,
25a and 25b Plot 25 is at the start of Outside Lane near Cote Plot 25a is ~ at Dunkirk Mill Plot 25b is on steep ground W of Hard Naze Farm George H marr
Betty Uttley in Haworth 1765 Lived ~ in Haworth Children: John b 1765, Peter b 1767, Sally b 1769, James b
1772, Betty b 1774, Hannah b 1778 and Joanna, b 1783 Jonathan H marr
Hannah Bancroft in Bradford 1774 Lived in Sykes, Far Ox Jonathan b 1755 to John H in Far Oxenhope, ~ at Sykes,
perhaps Buttergate Sike by Leeming Reservoir; d in Cullingworth (~ Sykes)
1830 aged 75 Wife Hannah d in Far Oxenhope 1825 aged 71 Children: Mary b in Far Ox 1774; marr John Sutcliffe 1796
& lived in Haworth James b in Far Ox 1776; marr Peggy Warburton 1798;
one child b in Sawood (Far Ox) 1800 Sarah b in Far Ox 1778; marr Francis Barraclough
1800 & lived in Haworth Hannah b in Far Ox 1787; ~ marr Benjamin Feather 1806
& lived in Sawood Bekah b at Sawood 1790; marr Robert Pickles 1809;
lived at Stubbing; son John d 1842 aged 27 John H b at Sawood 1793 & lived at Isle; d
in 1878 Eunice b at Sawood 1795 Rodger H marr
Martha Judson in Haworth in 1778 Lived in Stanbury Martha died at Hill Top 1820 Rodger died at Oldfield 1843 aged 89 Children: James b 1780 Timothy b 1782 Martha b 1784 John H b 1790; d at Hill Top 1816 aged 26-27 James H marr
Mary Crabtree in Haworth 1780 Lived in Marsh (Near Ox) James d in Marsh 1809 aged 56 Mary ~ d in Near Oxenhope 1822 aged 64 Children: Susan b in Near Ox 1781 Timothy b 1783 John b in Near Ox 1785 & d 1795 James b in Near Ox 1787 William b 1790, Mary b 1792, Sally b 1794, Susan b
1797 – all at Marsh John H bur Near Oxenhope 15 July 1780, son of John
Hartley (no age given) John H bur Haworth 7 April 1781, son of Peter aged 0 John H bur Near Oxenhope 7 October 1785 (no parent
or age given) John H bur Far Oxenhope 2 March 1786 (no parent or
age given) John H bur Marsh 4 December 1794 aged 32 John H bur Sawood 12 June 1804, son of James, aged 9
months John H bur Stanbury 7 December 1816 aged 26-27 John H
bur Low Holland (this location has not been identified) 2 April 1820 aged 44 John H
bur Haworth 29 May 1824 aged 1 John H
bur Near Oxenhope 2 June 1825 aged 78 John H
bur Near Oxenhope 31 October 1834 aged 65 Dunkirk Mill John and James Hartley, who were
probably the sons of Barnard Hartley senior, built Dunkirk Mill around 1805.
The pair was mentioned in a feoffment of 1811 concerning 2 cottages at Oxenhope
Mill. John H was listed in the 1842 voters’ roll as the owner of a nearby
property at Hawk’s Bridge Lane, Moorside. John Hartley junior was born on
16 Oct 1813 to Barnard H & Nancy Helliwell at Westfield (near Moorside).
This may be the John H who was tenant of Dunkirk Mill from 1836 to the 1860s. In 1841 he was a Wool Spinner at Dunkirk
Mill. Barnard H died on 14 Nov 1845
aged 65. Nancy died in 1819. When Mary, the daughter of
Bernard and Nancy, married in 1838 she was described as a Lady and the groom,
John Sutcliffe, as a Gentleman. Barnard
H junior was born in 1833 to John H (a Stuff Manufacturer)
& Sarah Holmes in Near Oxenhope and probably died there in 1855 aged
22. After his mother died in 1836, John
married Elizabeth Murgatroyd in Halifax in 1837. Sutcliffe Abraham S bapt 1787 to John S at Stairs [the family may have lived
at West House (a farm near Windle, later submerged by Leeshaw Reservoir): an
Abraham S, possibly his grandfather, died there 29 December 1802 aged 73 and appears
on the family tomb in Haworth]. He may have marr Susannah Pighels at Bradford St Peter's
on 21 January 1812 [Robert Pighills was a Witness: his signature was also in
the Haworth St Michael & All Angels marriage register when he married
Martha Redman in 1815]. In 1841 he was aged 55 at West Shaw with wife Susan and 5
children, incl Amelia aged 10. In 1851 he was aged 64 at Cold Well with wife Susan, 2
children (incl Amelia aged 19) and a grandson called Sutcliffe Holmes. He died in
Marsh in 1857 aged 71. Coincidentally an Abraham Sutcliffe, born in 1785,
was landlord to Amelia Sutcliffe's future father-in-law John Hartley: in 1819
this Abraham S was recorded as the ratepayer for property in Shaw. By 1832 (in
the Electoral Roll) that property was clearly identified as Great Stone farm.
He was still the owner in 1845, when his son Stephen was the occupier. The 1852
Tithe Awards suggest he also owned Far Great Stone and a large house in Shaw,
where he lived. He may also have owned property at Isle (tenanted by John
Hartley of Isle) and at Marsh. The two Sutcliffe families may have been
related: in 1842 Stephen Sutcliffe married a Heald Knitter called Betty Hoyle,
who in 1841 was recorded in the same household as our Abraham Sutcliffe. Children born to Abraham Sutcliffe Of interest is the history, often poignant, of
Amelia's siblings. From 1812 to 1840, Susan Sutcliffe gave birth regularly - up
to eleven children were recorded. Susan, born at the end of 1812, married
Joseph Holmes in 1832, shortly after the birth of Sutcliffe Holmes. Esther was
born in 1816 and survived until 1838. Betty was born in 1819 and died in 1896.
John was born around 1821, dying in 1889. The first Abraham was born in 1824
and died in 1829; the next male child, born in the same year, was given his
name; when he died in 1831 the next boy child, born in 1836, was also
christened Abraham; sadly he too died, at only 13 months of age. Nanny was born
in 1827 and died in 1891. Amelia was born in 1831 and lived until 1871. The
last child, born in 1840, was also christened Esther. She was born when Susan
her mother would have been 47 years old. Mercy John Sutcliffe, born abt 1821, married Caroline
Greenwood in 1844. Caroline, who was born abt 1824, was a minor. Three years later, if this researcher’s interpretation of
the evidence is correct, she was baptised at Haworth Parish Church by Patrick Brontë. But
she called herself Mercy Greenwood. By
1851 Mearcy Greenwood or Sutcliffe had 2 children at the house the family
occupied in Uppertown. She was still
called Mercy in 1861 and 1871, after which she became Mary Sutcliffe. But in 1863, when her son married Sarah Pickles,
the register shows he used the name William Sutcliffe Greenwood. And instead of his father’s name and
occupation, the document gives his mother’s – Mercy Greenwood – and claims she
was a spinster. Her grandson Herbert
was born in 1878 and became Verger of Haworth Parish Church. He is said to have remained in the post for
50 years and asked for special permission to be interred in the graveyard, even
though it was no longer used. There is no evidence that his wish was respected.
Both John Sutcliffe (with Mercy)
and Nanny Sutcliffe (with John Earnshaw) have graves at St Mary’s Church in
Oxenhope. References
Haworth Parish Church Registers England censuses Haworth PC graveyard transcriptions by
Margaret Jennings, available in Bradford Central Library Haworth, Oxenhope & Stanbury from Old
Maps by Steven Wood, Amberley Publishing, 2014 Oxenhope - The Making of a Pennine Community
by Reg Hindley, 2004 Oxenhope Inclosure Awards, 1774-1777 Rate Books from 1819 to 1850 in Keighley Library Tithe Awards of 1852 Notes on the
Conclusions
Benjamin Hartley's father (John) was born around 1789 in Shaw.
James, his potential grandfather, was born in 1761 and died at Great Stone in 1819.
His potential great grandmother - Betty Hartley of Great Stone - was born around 1739 and died in 1793.
A possible great-great grandmother, Joanna Hartley of Shaw, was born in 1695 and died in 1787.
bur = buriedJohn Hartley Christenings
His mother Mary was from Thorn Edge near Wycoller
In 1768 a James Hartley had 2 sittings in Pew 13 in the Gallery of Haworth PC
In the 1774 Inclosure Awards a James Hartley was allotted parcels of ground on
the Great Moor designated 35, 35a and 35b. These plots are S of Aberdeen Farm
In an Indenture of January 1777, John Hartley was described as a Yeoman
In an Indenture of October 1777, the same John H was described as a Woolcomber
Whilst the mother of James, the firstborn child, was recorded as Sally, Sarah was given as the mother
of the subsequent children.
Although she appears as Sarah in the 1841 and 1851 censuses,
when she died and was buried in 1853 aged 58, she was known as Sally.
Children born to John Hartley of
Shaw
Father was James H of Uppertown and Aberdeen, who owned 2 sittings in the Haworth
Parish Church gallerySelected John Hartley burials
Hartleys in Todmorden photo (shown in a new window,
together with a view of the farm in 2025)
The photograph shows a man who appears to be in his 50s or early 60s dressed in working clothes.
He is flanked on his right by a woman holding a black dog and on his left by a younger woman who may be doing some knitting.
The three are standing front of a large barn with narrow slit windows. Next door is a dwelling, probably a farmhouse.
Several chickens peck in the dirt. A washing line stretches between a nearby pole and the barn.
The architecture appears typical of the 17th century buildings that are common in
the West Yorkshire / Lancashire border area.
The photograph is thought to have been taken by a travelling photographer using a mobile studio.
The paper print looks to have been inexpertly pasted onto a standard cabinet card. Such cards, particularly ones with rounded
corners, only became popular from the late 1870s.
This means the picture was not taken in Oxenhope, where the Hartleys lived until the late 1860s.
Nor was it taken in East Morton (1870-1875) or Baildon (1875-1887), because there the Hartleys lived in terraced houses.
It was almost certainly taken when Benjamin, having reverted to his former occupation, farming, moved to Hill House Farm,
Long Lane, Todmorden in Calderdale (OL14 8AS). The family were registered there for the 1891 census.
The elder of the two women was, presumably, his second wife Rebecca. The younger woman's identity is not known.
