Hampsons in Upholland, Warrington and Runcorn

[SVC]

I am trying to find the parents of the John Hampson who married Ellen Bowers in Runcorn in 1804 There seem to be two distinct families -one from Upholland  being Richard born c. 1768 who married Mary Roylance, and the one from Lymm near Warrington being William who married Mary Perrin in 1793.  Any ideas?

[Ceratonia]

Hi SVC,

Have you seen this rootchat thread?
 
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=563890

There are a number of us on here who are descended from James & Harriet Hampson.

I think there is quite a lot of information about William Hampson/Mary Perrin - assuming that is the correct line, it's possible to trace William's parents Charles Hampson & Ann Massey and likewise Mary's parents William Perrin & Mary Newall in the Lymm records.

I've drawn a blank going back from John Hampson & Ellen Bowers though and it's hard to be sure that this is indeed the correct set of parents for John Hampson b 1805.

[SVC]

Hi Ceratonia,
Thanks for responding.  I am descended from James and Harriet's son, William who married Harriet Lowe Woodward. Their daughter Harriet Rebecca was my paternal grandma.
I have seen the thread you linked me to, thanks. What I can't understand is how did a family of silk weavers become watermen. The other thing is if Charles and Ann were William's  ( married Mary Perrin ) parents, why is there no Charles in any of the families following?
John ( who married Alice Booth ) could have been from Cheshire or Lancashire. It looks like Runcorn was a bit of a melting pot for the Hampson watermen. John's eldest son was named Thomas. it was often the tradition then to name the first son after the paternal grandfather. Does this mean John's father was named Thomas? Of. Ourse Alice Booth's father was a Thomas so I suppose he could have been named after him.
I feel sure all the Hampsons in Runcorn are linked! The John who married Ellen Bowers only had two daughters as far as I can see - Ann born 1808, and Elizabeth born 1810. Doesn't mean they didn't have others though.
There were also lots of Hampsons in Walton- on- the - hill, and the first names are all similar. A Hampson cousin of mine said there was a link with the cropper family and the only place I can find a marriage is with the Walton  family where a William Hampson marries Mary Cropper in 1821. The plot thickens!
Sorry, this is turning into an essay. It is all so fascinating though.
Hope to 'bump' into you on roots chat again.
Many thanks,
SVC

[Ceratonia]

i suppose if you look at the timing of the building of the Bridgewater canal (late 18th century), there must have been plenty of young men who went to work as boatmen as opposed to taking up their father's trade. Same thing for the railways a couple of generations later. And the canal provided an opportunity for people to work away from the place they grew up. One of the later Hampson children is born in Marsden Yorkshire rather than Runcorn and my assumption is that they went to work on the Huddersfield canal for a year or two.

[SVC]

I guess so. There seems to be plenty of info  on the later Hampsons, but the records pre 1800 are harder to come by. I hope to visit my family in Widnes soon and I will go to the records office in Chester. Perhaps I will have more luck there. I will post you if I find anything worthwhile. I got very excited when I found a will for a William Hampson drawn up in 1818, in Appleton and talking about relatives in Lymm, but it can't have been 'our' William  I don't think, although some of the names match. It is just that this William does not seem to have been married. I am not very good on computers, but I could e-mail it to you if you let me know how i.e. can I do it through rootschat or would I have to send it to you personally?
Am  currently trying to research my maternal family, the Hattons of Widnes. Apparently they were watermen too but anyone beyond my great grandfather, John is proving very elusive.
Anyway, thanks again. Will keep in touch.
Stella (SVC )

[Ceratonia]

I tend towards William & Mary being correct parents of John Hampson, but no proof.

There's a Richard Hampson c. Daresbury 26 Jun 1796 with parents William & Mary. He gives his birthplace as Walton or Halton in subsequent cesnsus and is a waterman in 1851 & 1861.

I assume that his brother is William Hampson c. Latchford 9 Dec 1798 with parents William & Mary (resident at Appleton). In the 1851 census he is born Appleton, labourer to the canal corp. (This is the father of Harriet Hampson).

My guess is that these are John Hampson's older brothers. There is also the burial of a Joseph Hampson (age 0 in 1813 at Grappenhall/Stockton Heath) and a Thomas Hampson age 25 buried at Grappenhall/Stockton Heath in 1841, who might be younger brothers. William Hampson age 52 is buried at Grappenhall in 1822 and Mary Hampson (spouse of William) is buried in the same place in 1801. There is another Mary buried in 1810. Hard to know if these all fit together.

[SVC]

Yes I found these references too about the siblings. Thomas died of Typhus apparently. 1841 was not a good year for Hampson men!

Thomas died aged 25 in 1841
John died aged aged 35 in 1841
John, son of Richard Hampson and Mary Roylance died in 1841 in a drunken brawl.
The latter two died in Runcorn.

I did not have the year of death for William Snr and Mary though so thank you for that. More pieces to fit into the jigsaw!

SVC

[SVC]

Correction to my last post. The John who died in the drunken brawl died in 1845 not 1841. Thomas who died in 1841 in Grappenhall and John ( married to Alice Booth) who died in 1841 in Runcorn were probably brothers, their parents being William and Mary Hampson from Appleton/Latchford/ Grappenhall/Stockton Heath area.