Hammersley - Stoke on Trent

[Claycat36]

Giving this a go...here are some facts that I have about the Hammersleys :

My gr. Grandmother was Eveline Hammersley vonBerg - b. 1854-d.1941 Born in Stoke-on Trent, died in Leamington Spa.

Her father, my gr.great grandfather was Titus Hammersley- 1812-1875  Eveline's mother was Sara Harris Hammersley, 1824-1909

Titus's father, my g.g.g.grandfather was Ralph Hammersley,  Born in Burslem  -(date needs correction)

That's as far as I got before my Ancestry.com subscription ran out. I'd been focussing mainly on the paternal line, the Mortons, and had just gotten started on my mother's side.

[Richard Knott]

Welcome to Rootschat.

According to an online tree, Ralph was the son of another Ralph (1767-1848) who appears in the 1841 census as one of several servants working at Loxley-Hall, Uttoxeter, for Thomas Sneyd-Kynnersley.

Ralph junior seems to have had some illustrious predecessors in his potteries!
http://www.thepotteries.org/works/burslem/overhouse.htm

Some of the old stuff still comes up for sale:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROYAL-OVERHOUSE-POTTERY-ANTIQUE-BUTTERDISH-BLUE-AND-WHITE-/221266532176?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3384835750

Richard

[t mo]

also you,ve got titus born 1812 and his father born 1802 which would make ralph 10 when titus was born and titus,s mother sarah born 1808 so she would only be 4  when she had him  .
looking at the 1841 cen it seems that the name titus is seen more than once in different households along with ralph .
regards
trevor

[t mo]

the 1841 cen has the titus hammersley born 1812  occ general agent with an anne hammersley address Exmouth st prices st wellington buildings , bidston, Birkenhead  , cheshire .
now as a general agent is he selling pottery wares who knows

[Jool]

Hi, here's some info on Ralph Hammersley, potter, this Ralph was born abt. 1831 Burslem.  Scroll down the page to see census details.

http://www.thepotteries.org/allpotters/495.htm

[Claycat36]

also you,ve got titus born 1812 and his father born 1802 which would make ralph 10 when titus was born and titus,s mother sarah born 1808 so she would only be 4  when she had him  .
looking at the 1841 cen it seems that the name titus is seen more than once in different households along with ralph .
regards
trevor

I'm still finding my way around here. So much to learn!

Thank you everyone!  I see that some of my dates are wrong. Wrong Ralph! You've been so helpful!

edit:

Thanks to Jool and others who have recommended the site - The Potteries.  I've used that before. It's most helpful.
I'm sure that others have found the same names in different generations, confusing. The Ralphs, for instances.                                                                                                                        Because I'm a studio potter - I work on a potter's wheel and my pieces are one- of-a-kind - I have romantically imagined one of the Hammersleys as working as I do. But it's probably not so. The Industrial Revolution took pottery-making into the factory, and multiples of pieces made pottery widely available, and the popularity of tea made the pottery industry hugely successful.

I'm still digesting what you've all posted. Thanks again.

Adding:
Thank you, Richard, for the ebay link. A bit pricey for me! I have a small collection
of Hammersley pottery that I treasure.

[Claycat36]

My apologies for so many posts! This is fascinating.

With everyone's help I think I've gotten closer to part of the  true history of my Hammersley line.
If I've read correctly, there was a Ralph Hammersley, probably one of my gr grandfathers, who was a servant at Loxley Hall - Uttoxeter, who had a son, Ralph Jr. who worked in several potteries, including Josiah Wedgewood's and who eventually started his own
Hammersley pottery. His son, Titus, developed the business. One census I read had many employees at his establishment.


re: Loxley Hall - hmm, that rings a bell. Didn't Robin Hood have something to do with that?
The irony is that several of my Morton ancestors were Sheriffs of Nottingham!

I have a Morton pedigree that I'd love to show to someone. As you can see, I'm prone to making mistakes!

[Ruskie]

Welcome to rootschat Claycat36. What an interesting family you have.

Just a word of warning to take care not to make too many assumptions. As you have already found you have a couple of incorrect dates - you need to be careful before jumping to conclusions about who are your direct ancestors. Just because they have the right name and are in the right place, does not necessarily follow they are yours.

Many of us have found ourselves in a similar situation - with several people by the same name living in the same place - sometimes even having a wife by the same name and children with similar names. Who is the correct ancestor? Often these families are related (cousins perhaps, reusing family names for their children) - it can get very compicated and confusing.

So just be cautious and back up your finds with the information from censuses and certificates where possible and be systematic and thorough.

You have come to the right place for help anyway. There are lots of people prepared to help and point out if or where you have gone wrong. 

PS. It would be advisable to start a new thread for your Morton family.
In fact, as suggested by groom, it would be better to also have a seperate thread for your Hammersleys, possibly on the Staffordshire board.This will ensure that your Hammersley questions will come to the attention of more people who may be able to help you.
Maybe a moderator would be kind enough to split this thread and start a new Hammersley thread for you?

[Claycat36]

Thanks Ruskie. That's good advice. Splitting the thread is also a good idea.