Geography Lesson: Where in the World Is Wigan

This is Wigan in 1910: Wallgate

In 2009 my wife, Connie, and I took a cruise to Western Europe on the Grand Princess. There were about 200 Americans sailing with over 2000 British people. When I told the Brits my family came from Wigan, they often responded with laughter. I was told back in the vaudeville days British comedians often made fun of Wigan because of its strange name. When I told the Brits that we would be staying in Wigan for 5 days, we were met with total and complete disbelief. Who in their right mind would spend any time in Wigan on holiday? There is nothing there to attract a tourist. The answer would be myself for one, and my wife would make two and my daughter would make three! Actually, my wife, my daughter and I like it there, especially the nearby village of Aspull.

To find Wigan on a map of England, you can draw a line between the cities of Manchester and Liverpool in Lancashire County in the northwest of England. Wigan would be about half way and north. Within a short distance of Wigan there are a number of smaller villages that either are a part of metropolitan Wigan or they are very close to it (see mileage chart below). These places have names like Aspull, Ince, Haigh, Scholes (a neighborhood in Wigan) and Blackrod (associated more with Bolton than Wigan). These will be the places that the Moore’s and other related families would live prior to and through the nineteenth century until they immigrated to Canada in 1903.

In the nineteenth century there was not much in Wigan except for two things. The first was coal and lots of it. Second was an abundance of cheap labor to work in the coal mines. That alone would place Wigan at very heart of the English industrial revolution. In the 1800 and starting even before that, the Wigan area was dotted with mining operations one after another after another. And each mining operation was worked by the desperately poor like the Moore’s and other related families like the Cunliffes, Blinkhorns, Watmaugh’s and Fishwicks just to name a few.

It was the coal that England needed for its industrialization and empire building. It was the coal provided power for the factories. It was the fuel for the ships that connected the far flung English colonies around the world and for the British navy that “protected” and maintained these colonies. England needed the coal and it was with the labor of the Wigan coal miners and other coal miners in England that supplied the empire with its power.

After a while Wigan developed a second industry. That would be textile mills. The mills would employ women to operate the machines and weave the cloth.

The mines and the mills would compete over who would get the cheap female labor in that both would use woman workers. Whether you were working the pits or the mills you worked under terrible conditions with very little pay. This was especially true with the women and girls who worked the mines who were called the Pit Brow Lassies. More about them later.

England was ground zero of the industrial revolution in Europe, and Wigan was at ground zero of the English industrialization. It was in this environment the Moore’s and related families lived, worked and in the end survived.

Wigan Area Mileage Chart:
Wigan to Aspull 2.9 Miles
Aspull to Blackrod 2.0 Miles
Blackrod to Wigan 4.9 Miles
Wigan to Ince 1.6 miles
Aspull to Haigh 0.8 Miles
Ince to Aspull 3.0 Miles

(Source for Wigan photograph: www.wiganworld.co.uk http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/oldgallery/soldphoto.php?pic=wig2l.jpg&w=520&h=331&opt=g3)

Copyright 2011 Paul Moore

Richard Moore: Collier and Shopkeeper: Part II

This is a drawer in a coal mine in Wigan in 1890. Picture is from WWW.historywold.co.uk (http://www.historyworld.co.uk/photo.php?id=973&offset=0&sort=0&l1=Work&l2=Mining)

Below is the rest of the life of Richard Moore in detail with sources if you are interested. In the previous post I told his life story in just one paragraph. The information here is for serious family historians and genealogists and anyone else that may be interested.

In 1861 Richard Moore (48) is living with his wife Faith (45) at 96 Tuckers Hill Lane in Haigh. The daughters are Margret (17) Ellen (10) and Charity Mary (9 months). The sons are Constantine (14) and William (8). Richard is a coal miner and Faith is a coal miner’s wife. Ellen and William are scholars. Constantine is a drawer in a coal mine. Margret is a coal Pit brow lab (laborer?) Everyone was born in Blackrod except Faith who was born in Golborne.

In Nov 1862 Margret Moore marries James Spencer at Our lady’s Church in Aspull by Henry Jones. Margret is the daughter of Richard Moore and lives in Haigh No information is given about Peter. The witnesses were Constantine Moore of Haigh and Mary Moore of Adlington. (Marriage Certificate from the General Registers Office in England. A copy is held by Paul Moore.)

In 1871 Richard (58) and Faith (56) are living with Ellen 20, William (18) and Charity Mary (10). Richard was born in Blackrod while Faith was born in Golborne. They live in Haigh, Lancaster County England. The registration district is Wigan. Ellen is a dress maker and William is an apprentice carpenter. Charity is a scholar. The address is illegible It looks like All children were born in Blackrod. (1871 census)

1881 Census Richard and Faith are living at 47 Haigh in Aspull. He is 66 and a grocer. She is 65. Also living with them is Charity Mary Moore who is 20 and a dressmaker. Richard was born in Blackrod, Faith in Golborne and Charity in Blackrod. . (1881 census that is found at ancestry.com. A copy is held by Paul Moore)

1881 Aspull City Directory: Moore Richard, grocer and beer retailer, 47 Haigh Road. (The directory can be found at www.wiganworld.com.)

07 Apr 1884: Richard Moore (68) died. According to the England and Wales Index of Wills 1861 -1941 Richard Moore died on 07 Apr 1884. He lived at 47 Haigh Road in Aspull. He worth was 148 pounds 10s. He was a collier and grocer. His widow was Faith Moore. The will was registered on 14 July 1884. (England and Wales National Probate Center (Index of Wills and Administration) 1961 to 1974) (England and Wales FreeBMD 1837 – 1915, Deaths Registered in April May June p 212. (This index refers to Vol. 8C p. 5) It is found at ancestry.com. A copy of that page is held by Paul Moore.)

1891 Census: Faith is listed as the mother in law living with Charity M Junsworth. There are no children listed. Faith is a widow and Mary is a dressmaker. They live at 67 Haigh Road. The head of the house is a Robert Junsworth (?). He is a joiner. (1891 census)

Oct. Nov. or Dec. 1897 Faith dies at 81. She is listed in FreeBMD death registry Oct., Nov. Dec. 1897. The registry is from Wigan, Greater Manchester, Lancashire England. She is in Vol. 8C paage 16 (My English contact, Philip Butterworth has the month as Nov.)

Copyright 2011 Paul F Moore

Richard Moore: Collier and Shopkeeper: Part I

Birth and Marriage Registrations for Margret Moore Spencer, Daughter of Richard Moore. Click image to make it larger.

Now we can say farewell to William Moore (whoever he was), and all the guess work associated with him, and enter the world of Richard Moore. He was the son of William Moore and his wife Faith Cunliffe. We can reconstruct their lives with some degree of certainty. There will be much less guess work with Richard and Faith.

Richard and Faith are my grandson’s GGGG grandparents. (Willam Moore would be my grandson's GGGGG gandaprents.)

Richard was born about 1814 or so in Blackrod Le Moors near Bolton in Lancashire England. His father was William Moore as stated on his marriage registration. His mother may have been named Ann or Nancy, but there is no hard proof of that. He was married in 1840. His wife was Faith Cunliffe from Golborne who was born about 1816. She was a widow previously married to a Richard Eccleston. In 1841, Richard and Faith were living in Blackrod. (They lived near Ann Moore who possibly could be his mother). He was collier. Their children were Elizabeth (about 1842) Margret (1844), Constantine (1846), Ellen (1850) William (1853) and Charity (about 1860). The Richard Moore family moved around quite a bit. They were in Blackrod in 1851, in the nearby town of Haigh in 1861, back to Blackrod in 1871 and finally in Aspull in 1881. All these towns are close to each other. Richard is mainly a coal miner but he is listed a grocer in Aspull in the 1881 census. Richard died in 1884. He lived at 47 Haigh Road in Aspull. He had a personal estate of 146 pounds 10 shillings that went to his widow. Faith died in 1897. She was living with her daughter Charity Moore Junsworth at 67 Haigh Road in Aspull.

Most people can stop reading here. I have put Richard’s and Faith’s life in one paragraph. For most people that is about all you really need to know. However, for genealogists, family historians or if you like to see the lives in more detail and want my sources read on.

In About 1814, Richard Moore is born in Blackrod, Lancashire, England.. (Marriage registration and Censuses 1841/51)

About 1816: Faith Cunliffe, (Richard Moore’s future wife) is born in as Golborne, Lancashire County. (Census 1851 and marriage registration – see blog ---.) (Philip Butterfield has the date as 1 Apr 1816)

Before 1840 Faith marries Richard Eccleston in St. Peters Bolton. (Philip Butterworth) Richard Eccleston will die leaving Faith a widow. (Marriage Registration.)

On 6 Jul 1840 Richard Moore age 26 a bachelor and a collier married Faith Eccleston age 24 a widow. They were registered at the Parish Church (All Saints) of Wigan. They both made their mark and the two witnesses were Henry Harding and Ann Cunliffe who also both made their mark. Richard's father was William Moore a collier and Faith's father was Ralph Cunliffe also a Collier. They were married by banns and both were living in Haigh at the time of the marriage. (Eccleston would be her first husband) (Marriage certificate)

In 1841 Richard is 25 and Faith is 25 (ages rounded). He is a collier. They live in a section of Blackrod called Scotland. Both of them were born in Lancashire County, England. (Note about the 1841 census: everyone over 15 years old had a 0 or 5 as the last digit in their age. The census taker round up to the nearest 5 or 0. (1841 census)

About 1842 Elizabeth Moore is born. (1851 Census)

24Feb. 1844 Margret Moore is born. (1851 Census and (Birth registration for Margret Moore)

24 Feb 1844 Margret Moore is born. She is baptized at St Mary’s in Wigan on 3 Mar 1844. She is the daughter of Richard Moore and Fides (Faith in Latin) Moore. The godparents are James (last name not readable) and Jane Moore. (Birth registration for Margret Moore).

06 Aug 1846 Constantine Moore is born. (Birth Certificate)

About 1850 Ellen Moore is born. (Census 1851, 1871)
.
1851 Census Richard Moor (sic Moore) is living at 46 Blundell’s Lane in Blackrod with his wife, Faith, both are 36. The children are; daughters Elizabeth (9) Margret (7) Ellen (10 Months) and a son Constantine (4). Richard is a coal miner. Constantine, Margret and Elizabeth are listed as scholars. Richard was born in Blackrod, Faith in Golborne. The children were all born in Blackrod. (Note the census spells the name as Moor.) 1851

About 1853: William Moore is born. (1861 Census)

16 Jun 1860: Charity Moore is born at Lower Aberdeen in Blackrod. Her parents are Richard Moore and Faith formerly Eccleston. Faith left her mark. The registration occurred on 30 Jun 1860. (Birth Registration.)

To be continued.

William Moore: The Last Word For Now……….Part II

Another view of the Little Scotland area of Blackrod today. The Moore’s never lived in houses like this!


To make matters even “Moore” interesting, I just happened to see a Mary Moor (sic Moore) in both the 1841 census and 1851 census that lived in Blackrod. She was born in 1771! She could very well be the mother of William who may have been born around 1795. She would have been around 24 in 1795. The problem is that the 1851 census has strange dates for the people living with her.

1841: Mary Moore is living is living in Scotland a part of Blackrod, Bolton Le Moors in Lancashire County. She is listed as 70. Her daughter Elizabeth 40 is living with her. Elizabeth is a weaver. Mary Moore is also in the home. She is 20 and also a weaver. A Valentine Walls is in the home is 12 and a collier All were born in Lancashire county England. She lives next to Richard Moore. They are on the same page of the census. The ages were rounded in the 1841 census. (1841census. A summary is held by Paul Moore.)

30 Mar 1851: Mary Moor (sic Moore) is living Little Scotland, Blackrod, Lancashire, England. She is 80 years old and widower. She is living with her daughter Betty (Elizabeth) who is 37 and unmarried. Thomas Moor is also living in the house. He is 23 and a widower. He is listed as a son. I find it hard to believe he is a son of Mary. She would have been 48 when she had him. If he was a son of Elizabeth, she would have been 14 when she had him which is possible. He is not in the home in 1841 when he would have been just 13. Also in the home are a Betty Farryman who is 22 and works as a pit brow worker and her 5 month old son William Farryman. They are lodgers. (1851Census. A summary is held by Paul Moore.)

18 Jul 1850: Mary (21) as buried according to the Bolton Death Index on FreeBMD. She was a papist. At first I thought this Mary was the 80 year old. Then I found out she was only 20 when she died in 1850. The Moore’s were Roman Catholic. http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Blackrod/stkatharine/burials_1839-1853.html.

There were seven families of Moore’s living in Blackrod in 1841 through 1851. Although I can’t prove it 100%, I believe these families are all related to each other in some way with the matriarch being Mary Moore born in 1771.

So when I began this blog the earliest known Moore was William Moore who lived in the first three decades of the nineteenth century as a collier in a little town called Blackrod in Lancashire County England. As the week concluded I believe now we can say (although not with 100% certainty) that oldest known Moore was a little 80 year old lady who lived in the last quarter of the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century in Blackrod. We have a now Moore living in 1771.

Blundell’s Lane, Little Scotland, Blackrod. The Moore’s lived in this area on this street.

William Moore: The Last Word For Now……….Part I

It is simply amazing what can happen when you start writing out facts, and you receive a few e mails from friends and family in England. (Leo Turner and Phillip Butterfield). When I started writing this blog I knew practically nothing about the earliest known Moore in my tree, William Moore. Everything I write below was discovered in the last few days. It is like you find one clue and that open opens up more and more other clues.

I understand this can be a bit tedious to read. However, I have to write up all the logic so that in case someone 50 years from runs across this blog, they will know how I

Here is what I think happened in the life of William Moore. I have absolutely no hard proof. However, I have done an analysis of the data (not my favorite technique) and it suggests the following.

Around 1794 or 1795: William Moore was born in or around Blackrod Lancashire England. (This date is logical if he was about 20 at his son’s, Richard’s, birth.) If he was an older father he could have been born as early as 1771 but I do not think that 1771 date is accurate.

Around 1796: Ann, William Moore’s possible future wife is born. This would make Richard and Ann about the same age. In 1841 she is the only widow that could have had son, Richard, born in 1814. (1841 census for Blackrod)

Before 1815: William Moore marries Ann. (William probably married before his son’s birth.)

1814/15: His son, Richard Moore, is born. (Marriage Registration and 1851 census.)

Between 1818 and 1828: his other children listed on Ann’s 1841 census are born. They are William (about 1818), Mary (about 1821), and Ann (about 1828). They may have been other children that already left the house before 1841 like Richard. (1841 and 1851censuses)

Jan to Mar 1841: William Moore dies before the census. There is no William Moore of the correct age range living in Blackrod for the 1841 census. There is a William Moore listed on the Bolton FreeBMD death Index for the first quarter 1841. (Bolton is a larger city near Blackrod.) So we can assume he died in 1841. (1841 Census. Freebmd)

7 Jun 1841: Ann Moore (45) is listed on the Blackrod Le Moors census living with William (15), Mary (15) and Ann (13). They live very close to their brother Richard. There is no William Moore of the correct age range living in Blackrod for the 1841 census. So we can assume he died. (1841 Census. The ages in the 1841 census were rounded.)

Jan. to Mar. 1843: Ann died. There is an Ann Moore on the Bolton FreeBMD Death Indexes. She is the only one listed from 1841 to 1851. She is not on the 1851 census.

The Mysterious William Moore: Who He Was Not

(This is a picture of Little Scotland near Blackrod taken in May, 2009. It was the area where William and Richard Moore lived around 1840. It looks like a nice area today! I bet it did not look like this in 1840!)

Now for a little speculation.

In the last post I stated that the earliest Moore that I know about was a William Moore who lived in Blackrod, England about 1814 and had a son named Richard. I got this information Basically from Richard’s marriage certificate and the 1851 census.

There is no William Moore in the 1841 Blackrod census that would be the age of Richard’s father, William Moore. I, personally, went over every page of that census for Blackrod. Therefore, it may be assumed, but not proven beyond a reasonable doubt, that William died prior to Richard’s marriage in 1840. There may be other explanations such as he moved away or he was missed by the census taker. I believe the best explanation is that he died before 1841. (1841 census found at ancestry.com. William Moore is not listed.)

My Wigan contact, Leo Turner, informed me there is a death of a William Moore listed in the FreeBMD web site. (This is a site that lists an index of English births, marriages and deaths beginning in September 1837. Its address is http://freebmd.org.uk) It states a William Moore in the Bolton District which is near Blackrod died in the first quarter of 1841. (Vol. 21 page 63).This could be the correct William. If so, it substantiates the hypothesis that William died before 1841. I believe that this is a good possibility although not proven.

How did he die? We have no record of his death. However, if he did indeed die young say before the age of 40, he probably died in a mining accident or more likely a disease brought on by poverty and/or working in the coal mines. But who knows?

If William Moore was about 20 when he had Richard in about 1814, that would make his birthday somewhere around 1794. On the 1841 and 1851 censuses from Blackrod there is a John Moore born about 1800 (Since the ages are rounded in the 1841 census I used the 1851 census to get a more accurate date.) In 1851 John Moore lived down the street from Richard. Many of the names in the two families are the same. Could John be Richard’s uncle or brother? I cannot prove it, but I believe this true.

False Leads

There is a William Moore that lives in area of Bolton called Edgworth. He is the right age. However in 1841 he was living with his son named Richard. The Richard Moore in our line was already married 1840. So unless this William had two sons with the same name, he is not the correct William Moore. Leo Turner wrote me agreeing that this is probably not the correct William Moore. (Sources: 1841 Blackrod census and the marriage registration of Richard Moore.)

There was William Moore of Aberdeen, Blackrod who died on Nov. 15, 1874. He was a sinker (a skilled laborer who drilled new shafts) in a colliery. His effects were less than 1000 pounds. The will was proved in Manchester by Jane Stock his sister and the wife of Thomas Stock who was as a shopkeeper in Aberdeen (an area next to Blackrod). (This information was found at ancestry.com at the England and Wales National Probate Center Index of Wills and Administration: 1961 to 1974.) I believe that this William and sister Jane were the children of John Moore. They maybe are William Moore’s nephew and niece. But,again, who knows?

The town of Goldbourne in Lancaster County had a city directory in 1861. It lists a William Moore as a reverend. I doubt this is the correct William Moore because the Moore’s were devout Roman Catholics. I listed it here because Goldbourne is the town where Richard’s wife Faith was born.

Also the town of Aspull which is next to Blackrod has a William Moore listed in their city directory in 1869. This William Moore is a shopkeeper and a farmer. I believe may be the son of John Moore.

(The directories can be found at the www.wiganworld.com web site. Goldboune; http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/towndgolb.php?opt=townd1869) and Aspull: http://www.wiganworld.co.uk/stuff/towndaspull.php?opt=townd1869)

Who were William Moore’s wife and children, other than Richard Moore, and when and how he died will be a mystery for a while longer. That is until someone breaks through this brick wall.

@copyright 2011 Paul F Moore

The First Known Moore: William Around 1790

The earliest Moore that I know about is a fellow by the name of William Moore who lived in Blackrod, Lancashire, England around 1816. The only reason we know about him is that he is listed on his son's, Richard Moore's', marriage registration on 06 July 1840. Without this one document I doubt anyone would know of his existence on this earth 200 years after his life. Richard is my gg grandfather. That would make William Moore my ggg grandfather. Better yet. William Moore is my grandson's ggggg grandfather.

That one marriage certificate of Richard Moore's gives us some clues about his father, William. The certificate lists William as a collier (worked for a coal mine). He is clearly listed as Richard's father. The registration lists Richard's age to be 24. That would make his year of birth around 1816. We can add that Richard was born in Blackrod, England from the 1861 census. We can probably assume that William was in Blackrod at or near the time of his son's birth.

Therefore we know this about he earliest know Moore in our line. He was probably born between 1775 and 1798. If he was a young father, around 18, he would have been born closer to the 1798 date. If he was an older father around 40 he would have been born around 1776. He lived in Blackrod, England in or about 1816. He worked as a collier in a coal mine. That is it. That is all we know for sure about William Moore.

I have not found any census data for William in 1841. You would think he would be listed in that census but he is not. All the William Moores that are on the census are too young. I have looked through every page of that census and found no William. Perhaps he died before the census. (A contact of mine in Wigan England, Leo Turner, wrote me stating he found a William Moore that died in Bolton, (a nearby town) in the beginning of 1841. This might be the second document on William Moore.

The correct name for Blackrod is Blackrod Le Moors, Lancashire, England. Could this name be the origin of our last name, Moore?

DNA: A Clue to The Moore's Ancient Beginnings

Let's begin with my father's line, the Moore's of Wigan, England and Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia, Canada.

A few years ago I had my DNA tested. The test I took analyzed the DNA I received from my father, who got it from his father, who got it from his father and so on. It just measures the male direct line. That means the test is very narrow in scope. The test covers only about six known men out a family tree that may contain over 1000 names. Of course it also analyzes the DNA of hundreds of unknown males in our direct line dating back 1000's of years.

From this test it turns out the Moore's in our line are from a group called the I haplogroup. Narrowed down even futher within that group we are M170 and/or M258.

From this information we can begin the Moore family history. It seems that the first ancient Moores left Africa thousands of years ago. They migrated to the Middle East in what is now the area where Iraq is today. At that time the distant ancestors of the Moore's were in the F haplogroup. However, in Iraq our genes mutated into the I halpogroup with certain markers. It is here we acquired the M170 marker which is unique. That happened around 25,000 years ago. (As far as I can tell there has been only been one Moore to that has returned to the Iraq homeland. That would be my son who was stationed in Iraq while he was in the army.)

From Iraq the ancient Moore's migrated into Europe. They settled in the Balkins near the present day country of Croatia. It is there today we find the highest percentage of people that have the I haplogroup.

But the ancient Moore's were not done with their migrations. They left the Balkins and moved northward into Scandinavia and north Germany. The I haplogroup is found in Norway, Sweden and Denmark. This happened at the end of the ice age about 10,000 or more years ago.

Britain is where the modern Moore's originated. In Britain there is a relatively low percentage of of the population that has the I haplogroup, but there are some people with the I haplogroup like the Moore's of Wigan, England. It is possible if not probable the Moore's received their DNA from Vikings (Norsemen) who came to that part of England prior to 1000 CE. To add credence to this theory, there are a number of place names in Wigan that have Viking origins.

I also had a second hypothsis on how we ended up with our I haplogroup DNA. It is my own hypothsis, so it is proabaly not good as the Viking hypothesis. I saw a map of Europe showing where people with the I haplogorup live today. There were many hits in Germany around and to the north of the rhine. I thought perhaps the Saxons may have lived in this area of Germany and migrated to the Wigan area around the 5th century CE. Wigan was home to the Saxons.

Maybe we received our DNA from both the Saxons and theVikings!

The information for this blog came from the DNA testing company I used at http://www.genebase.com/.



Copyright 2011 Paul F Moore

Welcome to my blog on the family history of the Moore's and Williams' and other related families that eventually led my family to settle in Whittier, California, USA.

I will be posting the results of my 30 years of research on the history of my family. During this time I found no great heroes (nor villains, well maybe one), nor historical figures, nor anyone that could be found in a history textbook . I just found hundreds of average people who worked and lived in poverty and sometimes a little wealth (that they eventually lost). But when you think about it, it is these people who are the backbone of history. They are the ones that work and play every day to make their lives better, and in doing so make contribution to the well being of their society and the times they in which they lived.

I have four reasons/goals starting for this blog.

1. I would like my family and any other interested people to know about the stories of my ancestors (and my wife's as well). In other words I want to keep their memory and legacy alive. After all this time and effort,it would be very selfish of me not to share what I learned from others.

2. I hope to correct a number of errors and misconceptions I have found by other researchers. This is problem mainly with my Williams family. It seems someone posts a significant error on their family tree on the Internet, and then several other researchers just merge that error into their own tree. Then the error spreads like a virus from one tree to another tree spreading untruths and rumors about our families.

3. Perhaps an unknown distant relative may come across this blog and become known to us and share their findings.

4. Most important, it is imperative that we keep the stories of our ancestors alive. They have passed down to us the living their values, personalities, biases, traditions, artifacts, food and numerous other parts of their lives. To understand ourselves better, we need to understand the people in our past that contributed to our own values and traditions.

So to my own family both nuclear and extended and to all other interested people, let the journey begin!