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England (Counties as in 1851-1901) => England => Lancashire => Topic started by: nic82au on Monday 16 November 09 00:35 GMT (UK)

Title: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: nic82au on Monday 16 November 09 00:35 GMT (UK)
Looking for information on William Neasmith
Born 1796 in Glasgow
Died 1842 in Manchester

He apparently worked at Chaneyfield Mill, and was so respected by is workmates that upon his death a monument was erected in tribute to him.

If anybody has any information on him, his family or his work at the mill it would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Barbara.H on Tuesday 17 November 09 13:30 GMT (UK)
Hi there,

Could this be his marriage?

http://www.lancashirebmd.org.uk

William Naismith & Christan Spalding, Salford (registry office or registrar attended)
Lancashire bmd ref SAL/1/21
or GRO ref: Salford 3rd quarter 1938, vol 20 page 661

On the 1841 census Christian Naismith age 25, born Scotland, is listed at Mount Place, Salford Greengate district, with children John age 2 years and Alexander 2 months, but no sign of William (Ref HO107/585 book 6).

Haven't found the mill yet.  Could I ask - where did the date of death came from? Only there's nothing showing up on the Free BMD site for him, and its supposed to be virtually complete now.

Hope we can help
 :) Barbara

Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Barbara.H on Tuesday 17 November 09 13:51 GMT (UK)
Posibly not the same person in the marriage, as I've just found William alive and with Christian on the Scotland 1851 census... sorry  :-[

Barbara
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: dotty on Tuesday 17 November 09 14:12 GMT (UK)
was it a textile mill?

Dotty
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: emmsthheight on Tuesday 17 November 09 17:07 GMT (UK)
Hi Was the mill definitely in Lancashire?

I tried Googling and all thee places with similar names were in Derbyshire.  Although I guess your censuses are for Lancashire.  Just a bit puzzled that's all.

Best wishes

Emms
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Barbara.H on Tuesday 17 November 09 17:28 GMT (UK)
Cannot find a mill of that name either (I did wonder, could it be Castlefield or Chapel Field?)

Nor can I find a death in or around 1842 for Neasmith or 'soundex' versions of the name, in Manchester o anywhere else.  Soundex gives you Nugent for some reason!

There is however a birth on Scotlands People:
3rd September 1796 in Glasgow, William Naismith, son of William Naismith and Mary McNeiledge.

 :) Barbara



Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: nic82au on Wednesday 18 November 09 21:40 GMT (UK)
Thanks for your help guys, but i am beginning to wonder if the source i got the original death and monument details from was unreliable. I and another of his descendants that i am in contact with him have been searching for his death details at around this time for a while now and have come up with nothing.
I do believe the birth details that Barbara found are correct. His parents were William Neasmith and Margaret McNeiledge. However he married Margaret Murray in glasgow in 1819.

This is the inscription i have

Sacred
to the Memory of
WILLIAM NEASMITH
late Manager of
Chaneyfield Mills
who died this 14th day of January
1842
Aged 46 Years

This Monument is erected by the workers
as a mark of their respect to his just &
humane conduct while amongst them
He was
Beloved by his friends and esteemed by all

I do know that he did die before 1848 because at this time his widowed wife and four of their children immigrated to Australia.

Thanks again for all your help, I'll keep looking.
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Barbara.H on Wednesday 18 November 09 23:18 GMT (UK)
One thing that occurs to me is that lots of people get Lancashire and Lanarkshire mixed up in spelling, its easily done after all. So could be that William was in Scotland all along?

Possible family here on the 1841 Scotland census, at Sandy Fold, Dumbarton Rd, Barony, Lanarkshire. Seem to prefer the 'Naismith' spelling over here!:
William Naismith, 40, power loom weaver
Margaret Naismith, 40
Mary Naismith, 20
Margaret Naismith, 15
William Naismith, 15
Eliza Naismith, 10
Agnes Naismith, 8
Helen Naismith, 5

It might be worth asking on the Rootschat Lanarkshire board if anyone knows of a 'Chaneyfield' mill?

 :) Barbara
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: emmsthheight on Thursday 19 November 09 02:29 GMT (UK)
Hi
That was good thinking Barbara!  Looks promising!

I gather that wonderful detailed inscription doesn't have a place name on?

Good luck!

Emms
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: nic82au on Thursday 19 November 09 21:48 GMT (UK)
It is possible that he died in Scotland and his coworkers in Lancashire erected the monument in honour of him.
I am quite sure he worked in both scotland and England as he managed a textile mill.

Thanks Barbara, this is the family in the 1841 census!
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Sunday 22 November 09 12:29 GMT (UK)
Hi,
William Neasmith was my great great uncle. I was just trying to work out the inscription on his memorial (I have a post card of it) when i saw this message requesting information.
Yes, he is the man in the 1841 census. The Neasmith's varied the spelling of their name quite often. After William died, his wife Margaret and Margaret(Jun), William (Jun), Elizabeth and Agnes came  to Australia. Their daughter Mary married John McKinlay and they brought out my grandfather with them to Australia. He was aged 9 years at the time. Their descendants are in various parts of Australia and I have met some of them.
I'm glad he was such an esteemed man. I'd love more information on the mill.
I do have a lot of information on their family and some of it has been placed on web sites e.g. Alan Patterson's.           Babsneigh
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: nic82au on Monday 23 November 09 08:39 GMT (UK)
Quote from: Babsneigh on Sunday 22 November 09 12:29 GMT (UK)
Hi,
William Neasmith was my great great uncle. I was just trying to work out the inscription on his memorial (I have a post card of it) when i saw this message requesting information.
Yes, he is the man in the 1841 census. The Neasmith's varied the spelling of their name quite often. After William died, his wife Margaret and Margaret(Jun), William (Jun), Elizabeth and Agnes came  to Australia. Their daughter Mary married John McKinlay and they brought out my grandfather with them to Australia. He was aged 9 years at the time. Their descendants are in various parts of Australia and I have met some of them.
I'm glad he was such an esteemed man. I'd love more information on the mill.
I do have a lot of information on their family and some of it has been placed on web sites e.g. Alan Patterson's.           Babsneigh

Is the memorial definately in Manchester?
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: emmsthheight on Monday 23 November 09 12:36 GMT (UK)
Ho Babsneigh

Welcome to Rootschat and thank you for telling about your family's relationship to William.  Maybe we can help you with your research too,

That sounds an exciting lead!  Are there any clues on the postcard, like who it was printed/photographed by?  Where?

Is there are back ground in the photo?  Even the tiniest bit might jog someone's memory!

What style is the stone, and what material?  That may give clues as top background and/or location.  Eg Crucifix, heavy scrolls and symbols, black, slate, etc?

I don't know how you'd feel about showing us the photo, but it might ring a bell with someone!

Just some ideas!

Welcome again to Rootschat!

Best wishes

Emms
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Monday 23 November 09 20:51 GMT (UK)
Hi everyone,
I just tried to send a reply with the photo of the monument but I don't know if I did!
Any clues on how to attach a photo?
Anyway in that reply I mentioned that I always thought the monument was in Manchester and that he died in Manchester. I also mentioned that William's son named his property in Temora NSW, "Daisy Hill" and as i believe that there is a Daisy Hill in Manchester that they might have lived there and maybe the monument is in a cemetery there.
I will try and contact his descendants in Temora NSW by phone and see what they know which may shed some light on the Monument.
Babsneigh
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: emmsthheight on Monday 23 November 09 22:02 GMT (UK)
Hi Babsneigh

Great to hear back from you.

The house name sounds fascinating!

As for attaching, here are my clues, but you might get an expert with real  instructions.

Main thing is you have to get the file small anough to fit on Rootschat.  Will check!

Also small enough in width/height not to stretch the page to Australia!

On your photoediting software, use File  then Save for web  and if there's a choice, low resolution or similar. 

Save in an easy to find place with an obvious name  eg. desktop and WNStoneWeb.

On the reply page on Rootschat,

finish the reply, then below, press "Attach Image etc"

Press browse and click on the appropriate file.

It should load unless your file is still too big.  You won't see your photo in your reply page, but the image will come up when you go to the board.

If the file is too big, you just have to go back  and open it, and change size,

Modified: The size is given: Max 500kb

Good luck!

Emms
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Barbara.H on Monday 23 November 09 22:13 GMT (UK)
Welcome to rootschat from me too Bobsneigh  :D

The other thing about adding pictures is, I think you have to post a minimum number of messages before you can attach photos to your posts. We'll just have to chat for a bit until you get the go ahead! I think its only about four or five posts, then the option to attach an image should appear at the bottom of the Message window.  As Emms says there is a size restriction but there is guidance on the 'How to use Rootschat' section I think.

Daisy Hill, that's interesting - out towards Bolton/Westhoughton I think?  There is a train station out that way called Daisy Hill.  I've searched & searched for William's death and it doesn't seem to be on the English BMDs at all.. wondering if his family were unaware of the need to register the death in 1842. as in Scotland it was not compulsory until 1855.

Intriguing story - I hope your rellies in NSW can come up with something

 :) Barbara
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Monday 23 November 09 23:22 GMT (UK)
Hi all,
The Monument to William Neasmith is a column with a decorated urn on the top, set on two large blocks of stone on which the inscription in engraved. Around it is a single chain fence hung from blocks of stone set in the ground at the four corners.
The post card (which is very old and faded) was produced by The York Studios, Temora. I think that it is a photograph of a drawing (etching) of the monument.
I suggest you contact the Manchester Historical Society to see if they have a record of monuments.
I think that it is quite possible that his family did not register his death.
Remember to check under the various spellings of his surname - Neasmith, Naismith etc.
I'm interested in any detail about the mill - owners, size, location etc  I'm writing a children's story about life in the cotton mills in those days and would love to tie it in with family history.
Babsneigh.
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: dijaks on Monday 23 November 09 23:47 GMT (UK)
Hi all,
I too am a descendant of William Naismith/Neasmith and his daughter Elizabeth.  I have been reading your postings with great interest as I have never been able to verify his death either, although I am sure he did die in 1842.

I find it hard to believe that he died in Manchester as he is mentioned on the Internet in Scottish Parliamentary Papers as being the manager of a weaving factory belonging to the Lancefield Spinning Company in Glasgow in 1838.   He can then be found on the 1841 Scottish Census living in Glasgow, 2 years later, so why then would there be a monument to him in England?  If he died in January 1842, this could only have been about 10 months after the Census was taken?

Did he travel between the two cities?  I know his brother Charles S. Neasmith was living in Manchester.  Perhaps he instigated this monument?

It is interesting to note that Babsneigh's grandfather came out with the MacKinlays.  A Neish?  A Vallance?  A Neasmith?

Dijaks
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Tuesday 24 November 09 00:14 GMT (UK)
Hi Cousin Dijaks,
My great grandfather was Charles S. Neasmith who was a lithographer working in Manchester in mid 19th century and he married Janet Thompson at Manchester Collegiate Church (Cathedral) Manchester on 30th May 1842. My grandfather was Thomas Neasmith who was born in Manchester 6 January 1845. Charles and Thomas also came to Australia and kept in contact with William Neasmith's descendants in Australia, especially through the MacKinlays.
Are you desended from Elizabeth Neasmith who married James Vallance on 15 June 1825?
I would love to find out any information on the family of my great grandmother, Janet Thompson.
Also I was wondering if you had been able to find the parents of William Neasmith who married Margaret McNeiledge on 19 January 1792.
Babsneigh
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: dijaks on Tuesday 24 November 09 00:36 GMT (UK)
Hello Cousin to you too!

I am descended from William Neasmith and Margaret Murray's daughter Elizabeth who married David Matthews in Maneroo District NSW on 12 Mar 1850.  Elizabeth and her widowed mother Margaret and siblings landed at Twofold Bay near Eden NSW in 1848 as part of Ben Boyd's Utopia experiment.  They were seen as suitable people for his experiment in the colonies.  The children worked on squatting runs in the area which I suspect Ben Boyd had set up.  Margaret and Elizabeth married young men working in the area and when the gold rush started in Ballarat, they set out for the Ballarat goldfields, but that is another story.  Mother Margaret, son William and Agnes all went to Sydney after the experiment failed.
No, I haven't found out who William Naismith Senior's parents are, but I suspect that your Charles Stewart Neasmith's name is the clue!!!  He is the only one with a middle name!

Dijaks
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Tuesday 24 November 09 00:44 GMT (UK)
Hi Dijaks
Maybe we should get in touch by email. I'm interested in stories about the Neasmith descendants when they came to Australia.
My email address is cbshort@bigpond.com

Babsneigh
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Monday 04 January 10 01:37 GMT (UK)
Hi everyone,
I have just discovered something on the web that tells me that in August 1838 William Neasmith said that he had been a manager of a weaving factory belonging to the Lancefield Spinning Company for 13 years ( 1825-1838). I found out that the Lancefield Cotton Works were situated at 85-7 Lancefield St., Glasgow. They were built about 1825 by the Lancefield Spinning Co. A weaving factory was added to the east in about 1840. The works were sold in mid-1870s.
I can only assume that the name Chaneyfield Mills was given to the part where William Neasmith was the Manager in 1842.
So the information given to me by my late father, that he was running a cotton mill in Manchester, was wrong. The mill was evidently in Glasgow. That means the monument to him must be in an old grave yard in Glasgow. When I visited Glasgow in 1965 I remember seeing a huge graveyard with many similar monuments. Good Luck to those who are looking!  Babsneigh.
Title: Re: William Neasmith - Chaneyfield Mill
Post by: Babsneigh on Monday 04 January 10 10:10 GMT (UK)
Hi Everyone,
You have probably worked this one out long before me. I have just studied the drawing of the monument to William Neasmith with a magnifying glass and believe the word is Lancefield , not Chaneyfield. It is very hard to work out what it is but whoever guessed Chaneyfield was wrong! It was Lancefield.
So that solves the problem. I just looked up Lancefield Street on a Glasgow map so know where the mill was located.
There is even a photograph of a building on the site i.e. 85-7 Lancefield St. on another web site.
I believe a number of the old cemeteries were levelled to make way for progress. So you make not be able to find the monument. But some record of it may exist somewhere.
Good hunting!
Babsneigh