St Wilfrid's Catholic Cemetery, Preston

NOTES and UPDATES:

Update 17 Apr 2024:

Today I have uploaded further information on 94 of the 123 people listed in the third section of surnames beginning with S - Smalley to Smithson. I was dreading working on the surname Smith, but in the end I was able to find some information on 84 of the 113 Smiths buried in St Wilfrid's Cemetery.

Update 19 Feb 2024:

Today I have uploaded further information on 88 of the 116 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with S - Sibbering to Slowey, including the death of William Slater, yet another drowning victim, who drowned in the River Ribble on 28 Mar 1842, aged 20 years.

Update 10 Feb 2024:

After being contacted by a descendant of the family, I have expanded and rewritten the information on the family of George and Sarah Campbell, whose daughter Ellen was buried in St Wilfrid's Cemetery on 2 Feb 1852, aged 18 months.

Update 1 Jan 2024:

Happy New Year! Today I have uploaded further information on 54 of the 66 people listed in the final section of surnames beginning with R - Roach to Ryan. Including the family of Robert and Lucy Roper, who left their mark on Preston, with Roper Hall and St Joseph's Hospital being two landmark buildings. The building of St Joseph's Hospital was funded in part by Maria (Roper) Holland.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with R, with further information on a total of 155 of the 199 people listed.

Update 6 Dec 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 43 of the 61 people listed in the final section of surnames beginning with P - Pratt to Pyke.

I have also revised the information I posted a few days ago regarding the family of Roger Pollard after discovering that the baptism information recorded in the St Wilfrid's transcripts for his three children was incorrect. The children, all baptized on 1 Aug 1838, were listed as the children of Roger and his second wife Ellen, when they were actually the children of Roger and his first wife Dorothy. Revising this also lead me to completely rewrite the information I had on the family of William and Ellen Bamber.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with P, with further information on a total of 204 of the 273 people listed.

Update 3 Dec 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 35 of the 41 people listed in the third section of surnames beginning with P - Polding to Poulton, including the family of Richard and Margaret Pope, whose daughter Alice's marriage was the first to be performed at St Augustine's Catholic Church.

Update 6 Nov 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 42 of the 50 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with P - Pearson to Platt, including the family of James and Ellen Pemberton, who over the years held sway at five different Preston pubs; and the baptism of John Pemberton, the first child to be baptized at St Ignatius Catholic Church in Preston.

Update 13 Oct 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 18 of the 21 people listed in the final section of surnames beginning with N - Noblett to Nugent, including the death of Ann "Nancy" Noblett, who died on 15 Mar 1818. If her death notice is to be believed, at age 100 years, she was the oldest known person buried in St Wilfrid's Cemetery.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with N, with further information on a total of 47 of the 68 people listed.

Update 12 Oct 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 108 of the 137 people listed in the final section of surnames beginning with M - Molyneux to Myerscough, including the death of Paul Morcella, who died after being run over by a horse-drawn cart near Fernyhalgh in 1869. By 1869 St Wilfrid's Cemetery had been closed for over 20 years, but Mr Morcella and his wife Jane buried four of their children there.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with M, with further information on a total of 360 of the 450 people listed.

Update 18 Jul 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 76 of the 91 people listed in the third section of surnames beginning with M - Mealey to Mitchell, including the deaths of two young boys, brothers John and George Melling (actually Goodier), who drowned in the River Ribble on 6 Aug 1842; and the third marriage of George Miller, which caused quite a stir in 1884 and was reported in the Preston Chronicle under the title, "Extraordinary Marriage near Preston".

Update 22 May 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 95 of the 114 people listed in second section of surnames beginning with M - McArdle to McWrennall, including two people killed at railway stations: Catherine McAvoy, who was struck by a train at Farington Station; and John McNamara, a 12 year old boy killed at Lostock Railway Station.

Perhaps the most shocking death was that of Bernard McNamara, who was shot and killed by soldiers in Lune Street, an act commemorated by the monument in front of what was the Corn Exchange.

Riot Act Monument

Update 6 Mar 2023:

Today I have uploaded further information on 87 of the 112 people listed in the third and fourth sections of surnames beginning with L - Lenning to Lyons, including the family of William and Elizabeth Livesey, who named five sons Thomas, losing the first four in infancy. The 4th child drowned in Fulwood, aged 3 years, but his death was not reported in the local newspapers.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with L, with further information on a total of 178 of the 240 people listed.

Update 5 Jan 2023:

Happy New Year. This month I have uploaded further information on 53 of the 65 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with L - Leach to Leeming.

Up to now I have been trying to update the website at the beginning of every month, but I have been spending too much time sitting at the computer and my health has begun to suffer. Therefore, my New Year's resolution is to spend less time at the PC, get out into the fresh air, and get healthy. From this point forward, rather than posting monthly updates, I will be updating the website as and when I can.

Update 1 Dec 2022:

Uploaded further information on 88 of the 108 people listed in the last section of surnames beginning with H - Hornby to Hynes, including the scandalous tale of Dorothy Howard, a widow, the landlady of the Bull and Butcher pub, who carried on an affair with a married soldier called John Pilling. After a fight broke out in her pub, which resulted in the death of William Jackson on 14 Aug 1827, her lover Mr Pilling was charged with manslaughter.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with H, with further information on a total of 451 of the 570 people listed.

Update 1 Nov 2022:

After a two month break, I have uploaded further information on 173 of the 213 people listed in the third section of surnames beginning with H - Hibbert to Hopkins, including the family of Thomas and Ellen Holden, whose two sons drowned in separate incidents nine years apart.

I found this section to be a bit of a struggle, with so many variations in the spelling of names such as Higginson and Hodgson. I think the last section, Hornby to Hynes, will be a bit easier.

Update 1 Aug 2022:

Uploaded further information on 83 of the 105 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with H - Hatch to Hewitt, including the family of James Hayes, whose occupation on the railway meant that his children were born in various places, including Forton, Preston and Salford in Lancashire and Milnthorpe in Westmorland; John and Ellen Helme, whose daughter Ellen was the second child to be baptized at St Ignatius Church in 1836, and whose daughter Catherine, their 13th child, was the first child baptized at St Augustine's Church in 1840; and the Heskin families, whose surname is spelled variously as Hesketh, Hesker, Hickey, Eskew, Eskin, Askin, Askane, Askrynn, and my personal favourite, Ayskeane.

There are a large number of surnames beginning with H, with another 321 people listed in the last two sections, so I will probably spread that load over the next couple of months.

Update 1 Jul 2022:

Uploaded further information on 120 of the 157 people listed in the last two sections of surnames beginning with G - Glemmon to Guy, including the large Gradwell family, whose occupation as thread makers was the common thread (pun intended) that linked them all together; George Gradwell, the first Catholic alderman in Preston, who was a driving force behind the construction of St Augustine's church and schools; and the family of Robert and Elizabeth Gregson, who lost two children within days of each other. One by died of natural causes, and the other drowned in Lancaster Canal.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with G, with further information on a total of 175 of the 232 people listed.

Update 1 Jun 2022:

Uploaded further information on 37 of the 51 people listed in the last section of surnames beginning with F - Flanagan to Furnival, including the case of Robert Frankland, who was charged with neglecting his family in 1856 - and two years later was charged with attempting to murder his wife.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with F, with further information on a total of 99 of the 123 people listed.

Update 1 May 2022:

Uploaded further information on 51 of the 67 people listed in the last two sections of surnames beginning with E - Eccles to Evening, including the puzzling burial of Alice Emus, who was either a 42 year old mother or her 4 month old baby.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with E, with further information on a total of 75 of the 97 people listed.

Update 2 Apr 2022:

Due to family commitments and a few days away in York I have not done a normal update this month, but I have updated the information on the murder of Michael Donohoe, with further information about James and Julia Lacky, who were convicted of his manslaughter and sentenced to transportation for life.

Update 1 Mar 2022:

Uploaded further information on 89 of the 111 people listed in the last two sections of surnames beginning with D - Dobson to Dwyer, including the murder of Michael Donohoe, who was killed in a row over payment of wages to his employees. Two people, a married couple, were convicted of manslaughter and sent "beyond the seas" for the remainder of their natural lives.

Also the sad case of Arthur Derham, whose accidental poisoning caused a stir in Preston and involved the Sisters of Mercy at the Winckley Square Convent. Arthur's sister Mary Jane was buried in St Wilfrid's Cemetery in 1849, and his brother Christopher went on to become Chief Constable of Blackpool, a position he held for 25 years.

This completes the section of surnames beginning with D, with further information on a total of 214 of the 277 people listed.

Update 1 Feb 2022:

In my first upload of the new year I have uploaded further information on 79 of the 99 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with D - Deegan to Dixon. Next month I hope to finish the surnames beginning with D, by including as much information as I can find on the people listed in the final two sections - including a man who was brutally murdered in a dispute over pay.

Update 5 Nov 2021:

Uploaded further information on 211 of the 273 people listed in the last two sections of surnames beginning with C - Cook to Cusham, including the death of William Corry. "Do as I say, not as I do". William Corry, a Preston builder and timber merchant warned his workman several times not to step on a loose board that was resting between two joists on the fourth floor of the factory they were building. He then did exactly that and fell to the floor below. He died of his injuries three days later, 29 Jan 1829, aged 66 years.

I've also found another case of "Don't believe everything you read on a headstone". John Rigg Crankshaw is supposed to have died on or about 30 Sep 1858 and is listed on the headstone with his grandparents, John and Agnes Rigg. However, his death was not registered anywhere in Lancashire in 1858 and his burial was not recorded in the Preston Cemetery burial register. To add to the confusion, a child called Catherine Agnes Crankshaw, who died on 17 Jun 1862, aged 7 weeks, was buried in the same grave. According to the headstone inscription, she was the daughter of John Rigg Crankshaw, but how could she have been the infant daughter of a man who died almost four years earlier?

This completes the section of surnames beginning with C, with further information on 389 of the 497 people listed.

Update 1 Oct 2021:

Uploaded further information on 105 of the 119 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with C - Clancey to Conway, including the family of Thomas Cliff(e), whose Catholic faith prevented him from taking a job as Master of the Workhouse in 1853; and Judith Connor, who died 12 days after falling backwards down a flight of basement steps in the winter of 1841.

Update 1 Sep 2021:

Uploaded further information on 150 of the 186 people listed in the last two sections of surnames beginning with B - Boardly to Byrne, including the death of John Brady, who died on 23 Dec 1838 after being kicked by a horse; and two of the children of James and Ann Brown, who drowned in the Lancaster Canal six years apart.

This completes the surnames beginning with the letter B, with further information on a total of 358 of the 480 people listed on that page.

Update 1 Aug 2021:

Uploaded further information on 103 of the 134 people listed in the second section of surnames beginning with B - Bateman to Blundell, including the burial of Hugh Bell, a cotton piecer at Horrockses Mill, who fell into the mill's lodge and drowned, aged just 15 years.

Update 1 Jul 2021:

Uploaded further information on 43 of the 47 people listed in the last section of surnames beginning with A - Ashcroft to Auchterlonie, including the burials of Thomas and Alice Ashton, two of the seventeen children born to James and Jane (Crook) Ashton; and the strange case of Jonathan Atkinson, who is listed on a headstone at Preston Cemetery, but is not buried in Preston Cemetery.

This finishes the surnames beginning with the letter A, with further information on 139 of the 168 people listed on that page. Next month I will move on to the second section of surnames beginning with the letter B.

Quick update - 3 Jun 2021:

While doing research on another – related – family I realized that the child buried in St Wilfrid’s Cemetery on 2 Apr 1831 under the name Edward Perkins, an infant, was actually Edward Parkin, the son of John and Winifred (Astley) Parkin. I’ve now amended the webpage and added the biographical information for John and Winifred.

Update 1 Jun 2021:

After a bit of a break, and getting used to the idea of being retired, I'm back to work on the website - and even made a visit to Lancashire Archives as a member of the public. As I suspected, doing the research won't be as easy now, especially with the current (but neccesary) Covid restrictions in place, but I will muddle through.

Today I have uploaded further information on 71 of the 88 people listed in the second and third sections of surnames beginning with A - Ainsworth to Arrowsmith, including the burial of Ellen Anderton, aged 5 days, whose death was reported in the Preston Chronicle on 21 Mar 1840 under the headline, "Charge of Manslaughter against a Quack Doctor "; and the Arrowsmith family, who went from riches to rags after their banking business failed in 1868.

Update 2 Apr 2021:

A new month would normally be time for a new update, but not this month I'm afraid. Last month I updated surnames beginning with U, V and the first section of names beginning with W, so this month should have been names beginning with X, Y and Z. However, not surprisingly, there were no burials in St Wilfrid's Cemetery of anyone whose surname began with X or Z. More surprising was that, out of over 5000 burials, there was only one burial of a person whose name began with Y, James Yates, of Church Street, who was buried on 25 Oct 1825, aged 49 years.

Frustratingly, I cannot find any information on this man. He died before the start of Civil Registration (on 1 July 1837), before the 1841 census, he left no Will, and there was no death notice published. The only possible candidate was a James Yates listed in the 1820 Catholic census, who was about the right age - but lived in Ribbleton, which was then considered to be a separate village and not part of Preston, as it is now.

So, after a bit of a break, I will go back to the beginning of the alphabet and start on the next section of surnames beginning with the letter A. This will be in a couple of months time, as I have been rather busy for the last few weeks preparing for my retirement on 15 April. I have been planning for how I will continue my research once I no longer have daily access to original archives, and doing background work that should help me as I move forward. Wish me luck.

Update 4 Mar 2021:

Because there were so few people buried in the cemetery whose surnames begin with U and V, I decided to tackle both of those pages at once, as well as the first section of surnames beginning with W. So this month I've uploaded further information on the 2 people listed on the page of surnames beginning with U - both Unsworth, the 3 people listed on the page of surnames beginning with V - Valentine and Varley, and 59 of the 85 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with W - Wadacre to Walton. I am a couple of days late with this upload, but I'm glad I held off as I was finally able to track down the baptism records for the first 3 of James Walton's 13 children.

Update 1 Feb 2021:

In the first upload of the new year, I've uploaded further information on 68 of the 94 people listed in the first two sections of surnames beginning with T - Talbot to Topping, including the large Tommony family, who were a challenge due to the many varied spellings of their surname. I counted 24 different spellings in the various records.

Update 20 Dec 2020:

The second part of the December update, with further information on a total of 139 of the 171 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with S, Salla to Shuttleworth. This has been a difficult but interesting section, as I found that 8 of the 9 people called Sherliker were members of one family, and 12 of the 16 people called Seed were members of one extended family.

I'm going to take a little Christmas / New Year break and will schedule my next update for the first of February.

Update 4 Dec 2020:

The December update is going to have to be done in two parts - because I bit off more than I could chew! The first section of surnames beginning with S, Salla to Shuttleworth, contains 171 people and some of them have proven to be difficult to identify, so it's been slow going. Today I am uploading further information on 81 of the first 100 people in that section, and will upload more as soon as possible.

Update 1 Nov 2020:

Uploaded further information on 100 of the 132 people listed in the first two sections of surnames beginning with R - Raby to Rishton, including the sad story of Charles Ratcliffe, who suffered mental health issues and ended his days in the Lancaster Asylum.

Mid-month update, 23 Oct 2020:

Now that the Lancashire Archive has reopened I have been able to look back at the information I uploaded during the shutdown, and have begun to amend and correct some of the details, beginning with surnames starting with M. I'm still working on it, but as of today I have updated the information on the following: Thomas Maguire, Edward Maher, the family of Dennis and Catherine Malone, Mary Mangan, William Marsden, Ann Margison, the Marsh families of Cotton Court, the three people called Ellen Martin, the family of Robert and Elizabeth Mason, Mary Mason, the family of Richard and Elizabeth Mason, James Mason, and added information from the Will of George Mawdesley. Some of these updates are minor, but one or two are major, including the details surrounding the death of Thomas Maguire, who was killed in a railway accident at Preston Station; and the boy buried as Robert Marsh who was actually a girl called Margaret Marsh. I'm still working on a few that are proving to be particularly tricky, including Elizabeth Margerton, who I initially thought might have been Elizabeth Marginson - but now suspect was Elizabeth Rogerson.

Update 1 Oct 2020:

Uploaded further information on the 6 people listed on the page of surnames beginning with Q - Quigley to Quirk. With so few people in section Q, this month feels like a bit of a cheat, but it has given me more time to work on surnames beginning with R, so next month I will be uploading the first two sections of names beginning with R - Raby to Rishton.

Update 1 Sep 2020:

Uploaded further information on 83 of the 120 people listed on the page of surnames beginning with P - Pain to Paul-Pierrie, including the burial of Mary Paul-Pierrie, who was buried under the name Mary Paul, the surname sometimes used by her father Peter Paul-Pierrie, a West Indian who served in the British Army before settling in Preston.

Update 1 Aug 2020:

Uploaded further information on 41 of the 53 people listed on the page of surnames beginning with O - O'Brian to Owen, and I don't think I've seen as many variations in spellings as that of the surname Oldham, which made researching those families a real challenge!

Update 1 Jul 2020:

Uploaded further information on 35 of the 47 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with N - Nangle to Nixon, including the burial of Edward Newsham, whose family later emigrated to the USA, where his brother went on to become a United States Congressman. Note: I have combined the surnames Nickson and Nixon as the spelling of these two names seem to have been interchangeable from one record to another.

Update 17 Jun 2020:

Uploaded further information on 78 of the 108 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with M - Macarel to Mayor. Due to Covid-19 and the Lancashire Archives being temporarily closed to the public, and the fact that I have been working from home for over three months, I am not able to do the amount of research I would normally do, therefore I will need to revisit some of these when life gets back to some degree of normality.

Update 8 May 2020:

Uploaded further information on 38 of the 63 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with L - Lacy to Layfield, including a lady who was listed in both the burial transcripts and death notice simply as "Mrs Langdale". It took some digging, but I not only identified her, but the research lead me to learn of the anti-Catholic riots in London that destroyed her father-in-law's distillery.

Please note, that due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lancashire Archives is temporarily closed. This makes doing this research more difficult and I will need to update these pages when life gets back to some kind of normal. I will continue to update the website to the best of my ability during the lock-down.

Update 2 Apr 2020:

Uploaded further information on 72 of the 89 people listed in the section of surnames beginning with K - Kavanagh to Knowles, including John Kay of the 3rd Royal Lancashire Militia, whose funeral in 1854 with full military honours would have been a sight to see; Joseph Kenyon, a member of the Numismatic Society of London, a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and a well respected teacher in Preston; and Ann Knight, whose father Edward was killed in an unprovoked assault in a pub in Hesketh Bank.

Update 1 Mar 2020:

Because the February update was a rather small one, it gave me more time to work on the next batch, and I was able to find further information on 36 of the 43 people listed in the section of surnames beginning with J - Jackson to Justice, including Catherine Jemson, who tragically died when eight months pregnant, and Isaiah Johnson, who took his own life in an old Preston pub. One of the most interesting people was Josiah Johnson, who followed in his father's footsteps, quite literally, and became a postman. His story sheds light on the early days of Preston's postal service.

Update 1 Feb 2020:

Uploaded further information on 4 of the 7 people listed in the section of surnames beginning with I - Ibbison to Isherwood. Although a very small update for a very small section, it took a lot of work to find information on these people, and there is one, an infant called Isaill (?), which requires a bit of a leap of faith.

Update 12 Jan 2020:

Uploaded further information on 107 of the 144 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with H - Hacking to Harwood, including John Richard and William Austin Hartley, two brothers, one a priest and the other studying for the priesthood, who died within ten weeks of each other, aged 25 and 23 respectively; and Jane Hampson, wife of Thomas, who was convicted of receiving stolen property in 1850 and was sentenced to eight months imprisonment in Lancaster Castle Gaol. As Jane had a very young daughter, the child went to prison with her.

Update 2 December 2019:

Uploaded further information on 54 of the 75 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with G - Gaffney to Gilmore, including the family of John Garlington, who, in the space of seven and a half years, buried his wife and four of their children in St Wilfrid's Cemetery, and the mysterious Constance Gardner, an unmarried lady who buried two children in St Wilfrid's Cemetery. She never registered either child's birth, only baptized one, and then vanished into thin air - or was her name really Constance Gardner?

Update 3 November 2019:

Uploaded further information on 61 of the 71 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with F - Fagan to Fitzsimmons, including the tragic story of Thomas Fishwick, who, after burying three of his young children in St Wilfrid's Cemetery between 1835 and 1846, lost his wife and two of his daughters to cholera within a matter of hours on 29 September 1849. All three were buried on 30 Sep 1849 in the churchyard at St Ignatius' Catholic Church.

Update 2 October 2019:

Uploaded further information on 24 of the 30 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with E - Eamer to Eaves, including the sad death of Elizabeth Eastham, aged 4 years, who died of burns after her clothes caught fire; and Richard Eaves, who fell into the River Ribble and drowned, aged 19 years.

Update 1 September 2019:

Uploaded further information on 46 of the 67 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with D - Dacey to Dawson, including The curious case of Ralph Dawson, who throughout his life seems to have alternated between using the surnames Dawson and Waring, and on at least one occasion used the surname Whitehead.

Update 4 August 2019:

Uploaded further information on 72 of the 104 people listed in the first section of surnames beginning with C - Callaghan to Chorley - including that of James Septimus Catterall, aged 13, a talented choirboy at St Wilfrid's Chapel, who sang his first solo from Mozart's Mass, No. 12, at the age of ten years.

Update 17 July 2019:

After uploading the first section of surnames beginning with the letter A, in which I added information on 40 of the 51 people highlighted, I got to work on the first section of surnames beginning with the letter B. Today I uploaded that information, with further information on 106 of the 161 people in that section.

When looking at the alphabetical listings, clicking on the info icon on the extreme right of the row will open a new page with information about that person. Many are in family groups, so clicking on the icon next to one member of a family will bring up information on all members of that family.

More information

Update: July 2019:

Due to family and work commitments, work on this website has been unavoidably delayed. After a couple of setbacks, I decided that getting the biographical information researched and uploaded would be of greater interest to anyone viewing this website. Therefore I have been busy working (in what little spare time I have) on trying to identify as many of the burials as I can.

Rather than complete each alphabetical section before moving on to the next, I am doing the first section under each letter heading and then will go back and do the second section, and so on, until all of the burials have been researched.

As of today, I have uploaded the first section for people with surnames beginning with the letter A, but found I had to go into the second section as the names Ackers and Acres were more likely to be Akers, which were in the second section.

When looking at the alphabetical listings, clicking on the icon on the extreme right of the row will open a new page with information about that person. Many are in family groups, so clicking on the icon next to one member of a family will bring up information on all members of that family.

Where I am not certain of information I will make that clear, but any project such as this will inevitably contain errors, and I would advise users to treat the information as a guide to help you with your own research. If you do find an error or can provide additional information please do get in touch.

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