Family Search - Person Codes

[LizzieL]

As far as I can see John Horrocks was born abt 1768 and married Mary Lomax in 1790. His will mentions two sons Peter and John. John is referred to as the second son. Peter was baptised at Turton, Lancs in 1791. On line trees have John jnr's baptism in Preston in 1794 but I haven't found the record yet. If there were any subsequent daughters, they would be far too young to run off with a coachman and be cut out of a will before John snr died in 1804.   

[Cornelius88]

Many thanks for your research LizzieL, it's very kind of you to take the trouble.  As you say any daughters would have been too young to go with the coachman.  Wills were going to be one of my next steps.. 

My tree is solid back to George Horrocks ( B 1814) whose father was ( I think) John Horrocks.  Prior to George, things get hazy since we're reliant on Parish Registers and other sources.   I am guessing George's father would be born around 1790 or so.  1783 is a little early albeit plausible, although they tended to have children very early.

My difficulty is how to find a link between any Horrocks in Lancashire and those in the Birmingham area.  Simple birth or marriage dates are not adequate to prove a person born in Lancs is the same one that married or died in Birmingham.  If the daughter was cut off, the coachman presumably being sacked, (unless he was someone elses) they would need to find work of some sort.  Migration out of the area would have been one option, although the 'pull' of Birmingham might not have been adequate at the turn of the 18/19th C. 

One of those things it's difficult to get a grip on.

[EDIT]. Burscough's book on the Horrocks does include a series of pedigrees and I wonder whether it might be more fruitful to explore these to see if there are any plausible links.

[LizzieL]

Is that the George Horrocks who married Mary Ann Gibbons on 01 Jun 1835 at Handsworth? With three children in Birmingham in 1851, one being called Henry Walker Horrocks.

George 1814 is likely to be the son of John and Hannah. The date and place fit. There is an earlier Henry Walker Horrocks 26 Dec 1821, B'ham with same parents so that gives support to the supposition that John and Hannah were George's parents.

[LizzieL]

A possible John and Hannah with (assumed) children in 1841 (inc Henry occupation engraver), Both J and H are said to be born in 1791, but ages were rounded. No sign of John in 1851, but there is a possible death Q4 1841. Can't check age at death as GRO site down. Hannah is with married daughter Elizabeth (Boughton) and 8 year old Arthur Howard Hayward Horrocks listed as son, Hannah's age is 65, so he's likely to be Elizabeth's illeg son. There is a marriage for an Elizabeth Horrocks on 5 May 1845 in Birmingham to Benjamin Boughton

[LizzieL]

Marriage record for Elizabeth confirms her father is John occ shoemaker

[LizzieL]

When George married Mary Ann Gibbons, witnesses were John Horrocks and Elizabeth Horrocks. The signature of John is similar to the John Horrocks who married Hannah Ball in 1807. Image on Ancestry

[Andy J2022]

When George married Mary Ann Gibbons, witnesses were John Horrocks and Elizabeth Horrocks. The signature of John is similar to the John Horrocks who married Hannah Ball in 1807. Image on Ancestry

Lizzie, I'm glad you changed 'identical' to  'similar' in your posting. Personally I would dispute that they are that similar, looking at the formation of the H, the Rs and the K in Horrocks. However, it's up to the OP to decide, not me.

[LizzieL]

I originally said identical because I looked at the same image twice. They seem to have the same sort of slope to the signature, and they are almost 30 years apart. My own signature in my twenties differs quite a bit from now that I'm (unfortunately) in my seventies. Big difference is my first initial "E" used to be cursive and now is standard upper case E

[Cornelius88]

Thank you very much for taking the trouble to look into this,

Is that the George Horrocks who married Mary Ann Gibbons on 01 Jun 1835 at Handsworth? With three children in Birmingham in 1851, one being called Henry Walker Horrocks.

Yes that's the one.

George 1814 is likely to be the son of John and Hannah. The date and place fit. There is an earlier Henry Walker Horrocks 26 Dec 1821, B'ham with same parents so that gives support to the supposition that John and Hannah were George's parents.

I agree he is likely the son of John and Hannah, possibly Hannah Ball.  I have a likely candidate of John Horrocks born 1783, but there may be others born around the Birmingham area.