Henry Anderton (1808 - 1855)

Born 3 Dec 1808 in Walton-le-Dale, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Fanny (Snape) Anderton — married 28 Dec 1841 in Preston, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 21 Jun 1855 at age 46 in Bury, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Biography

Henry was born 3 Dec 1808^[1]. He was the son of James Anderton and Ellen Turner baptised 1 Jan 1809 St Leonard, Walton le Dale, Lancashire, England.^[2]

On the banks of the Ribble, in the immediate neighbourhood of Preston, lies Walton-le-dale his birth place. He was descended from a family from that area. His father was an educated Protestant and at the latter end of his life, a firm teetotaller.

1812 At the age of three he was run over by a loaded cart, the wheel passing over his chest, a Dr. Sinclair, of Preston, was instrumental in his recovery.

As a boy, he was peculiar, eccentric, enthusiastic, imaginative, and sometimes boisterous. He was like an April day, at one time dreary, dull and dreamily thoughtful, and the next moment bright, joyous, and happy. As he grew to maturity, he became a devouring reader and an earnest and devoted man.

He attended school till the age of eighteen, and was much noticed for his droll expressions and clever intellect.

The house in which he was born was demolished in1824.

His father and his Uncle Joseph Anderton were partners in business at Walton-le-dale, and were saddlers and harness makers but got engaged in a lengthy lawsuit when the partnership was dissolved 12 Aug 1835 ^[3]

1836 After his fathers death, the family removed to Jordan-street, Preston, next door to his friend, Moses Holden, the astronomer.

He became an agent on the railway at Fleetwood, supported by the testimonial of a friend and neighbour, Charles Swainson, Esq. a position he retained until the day he died.

He possessed good health generally, but was never strong due to his earlier accident, though he nearly lost his life a second time when the roof Bury station, fell on him escaping with only a crushed hat.

Joining a dancing society led him to regular drinking at the Market-place, Preston, where there was a dancing-room.

His sister Ellen said “Before any of my brothers and sisters left home, I don't think there was a more united or happy family anywhere. No children had better parents, and, as we grew up, we were all Sunday school teachers.”

Time tempered his views though as he walked through the world he looked at it as from another country, yet he always did his duty in the business part of life .

At the beginning of the Temperance movement and greatly influenced by his sister Ellen he joined and took up the cause using his oratorical talent and poetry. He quickly became a prominent figure in the movement and was in great demand on the speaking circuit and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Joseph Livesey also born in Walton-le-dale.

His family were not always willing for him to go on Temperance expeditions, as they were afraid it might, as it did, injure his health, and they used to lock up his clothes to keep him back.

After a time, business called him away from Preston to reside at Fleetwood-on-Wyre, where his spare time was very limited, and he lived a very retired life, business, reading, and thinking, and, at very distant intervals, speaking. While living at Fleetwood, he was married to Fanny, the daughter of the late Mr. Robert Snape, of Great Eccleston, latterly of Preston.

Marriage: 28 Dec 1841 St John, Preston, Lancashire, England^[4]

Henry Anderton - 32, Clerk in Railway Office, Bachelor, Fleetwood on Wyre

Fanny Snape - 22, Spinster, Pump St.

Groom's Father: Late James Anderton, Saddler

Bride's Father: Robert Snape, Farmer

Witness: James Thomlison; Lydia Snape

Married by Certificate by: C. Richson Curate

In 1851, he went with brother-in-law John Naylor to the Great Exhibition in London, but the distress he saw in the streets of London so preyed upon his mind that he could not enjoy it.

In his latter years he contributed from time to time to the Fleetwood Chronicle articles on passing local events and topics. After a few years' residence in Fleetwood, he was obliged to leave, on account of the failing health of His wife. He removed to Bury, near Manchester.

1855 He caught a cold, which eight days later resulted in his death. He died on the 21st July 1855

Burial: 25 Jun 1855 St Leonard, Walton le Dale, Lancashire, England^[5]

Henry Anderton

Age: 46 years

Abode: Bury

Buried by: W. H. Denny

Two years after his death, a few of his friends, the old Temperance advocates, including Mr. John Cassell, of London, and Mr. Joseph Livesey, of Preston, visited his grave and paid their last respects.

Sources

1. ↑ Baptisms from the Bishop's Transcripts 1807 - 1809, Page 8, Entry 1 Source: LDS Film 1656765
2. ↑ "England Births and Christenings, 1538-1975", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NN8W-5JM : 19 March 2020), Henry Anderton, 1809.
3. ↑ The London Gazette, Part 2 . Great Britain
4. ↑ Ancestor Search in the County of Lancashire Register: Marriages 1841 - 1843, Page 14, Entry 28 Source: LDS Film 93993
5. ↑ OnLine Parish Clerks for the County of Lancashire. Register: Burials 1837 - 1861, Page 217, Entry 1729 Source: LDS Film 1526061

• Biography details extracted from Life and poems of Henry Anderton, of Walton-le-Dale Anderton, Henry, 1808-1855

See also

• The makers of Wesleyan Methodism in Preston and the relation of Methodism to the Temperance & Tee-total Movements by Pilkington, W 1890 Page 181ff

• https://www.lep.co.uk/retro/seven-men-who-tried-banish-drink-673506