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A bit more...someone on Ancestry has Richard Townley in their tree. They don't know much about him but they DO cite his will (worth someone's while to get that I should think) and mentions a daughter Ann who died before 1837.

Richard Townley baptised 15 April 1754 Tockholes Chapel, parents Thomas Townley and Mary unknown.

Thomas fits nicely with Richard's first known son. So, we are looking for an Ann who died before 1837 and probably a Mary, too.

Richard died in Oswaldtwistle, according to the Will.

oldecrone

I have the following:

Betty bap 29 Sept 1782
Alice  bap 16 May 1784 buried 14 Jan 1785
Thomas bap 2 Jan 1786
Townley bap 3 Jun 1787 married Ellen Drapers 15 Sept 1805
Alice bap 1 Mar 1789
John bap 22 Sept 1790 ( a possible burial, 1809, or married Betty Marsden, 7 children)
Richard bap 5 July 1794, m Mary, 7 children
Mark born 17 Sept 1796, bap 10 October)two poss marriages, both on 1841, so two different men. 8 children?
Michael bap 1 Jan 1799 born Sharples
Izabel dob not found, buried 27 Dec 1800.

No births found after 1800, but possibly not yet transcribed on LAN-OPC.

Another possible child, Christopher - he is a witness to one of the Mark marriages, and the other marriage is witnessed by someone called Walsh!

I have looked for a second mariage for Richard senior, but there are none described as widower...not foolproof, I know.

Oldecrone

Aulus

Not sure where you are located, but I managed to borrow a copy of Jeremy Hunt's book through the inter-library lending service, before I located it on CD.

I also forgot to mention an unpublished manuscript, which languishes in Blackburn Library, by "A.Dyson". He was a Darwen man who, during the 1980s, took Hunt's book and set about proving/disproving what he said.

The manuscript is a shining example of perfect research. Everything is sourced from original documents and sources are given in full. The Librarian remembered him being in the reference library day after day for several years. He then presented a copy of his manuscript to the library and was never seen again.

Incidentally, Mr Dyson only found TWO errors in Hunt's book, and both errors were the names of daughters. This is absolutely stupendous when you think Hunt carried all this information in his head - none of it was written down until he was in his eighties. Certainly changed my opinion of oral history!

Olde Crone

Aulus

Suggest you beg, steal or borrow a copy of the book "Darwen and Its People" by Jeremy Hunt. Long out of print, but available in Blackburn Reference Library, and also on CD.

Jeremy Hunt was a Darwen man, (18??-1887) who was obsessed with local genealogy and this book contains details of all the major family names in Darwen. The style is difficult (stream of consciousness, no punctuation, lol) but research shows this man was astonishingly accurate with regard to family details and inter-relationships going back to the early 1700s.

Another good resource is the Pole Lane Chapel Census of 1819 - about 400 family groups and lots of scurrilous detail!

Timothy Holden 1700-1792 (Owd Timothy o't'Looms) had eleven children, over 100 grand children, over 1000 great grandchildren and an ever-increasing number of great grandchildren (as relationships become clear). Timothy was almost certainly a descendant of the Manorial Holdens, but by which route is still open to debate.

 I have looked at your names but cannot identify them yet. I have put them in my tree though, with a note to say you have an interest in this family.

Olde Crone

Hi Angler2

I have an extensive tree of Darwen people including many Holdens. Can you give me the 1861 reference and I will see if I have them in my tree.

Regards

OC