Joseph Morris (1873)

Born 1873 in Hindley Green, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Husband of Nancy (Holland) Morris — married 1898 in St Anne's Church, Shevington

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Corinne Morris [send private message]

Biography

Joseph Morris was born in 1873 in Hindley Green. He was the son of Joseph Morris and Mary Ann (Moss) Morris.

By April 3rd 1881, Joseph's family were living in Westleigh Lane, Westleigh, Lancashire. His father was working as a coal miner. Joseph's sister Mary, aged 14, was working as a cotton operative, presumably in a mill; and there were six other children in the household - Alice aged 11; Elizabeth who was nine and had been born in Rainford; Joseph aged 7, born in Hindley Green; Margaret aged 5, born in West Leigh; Ann aged 3, born in Wigan; and baby Martha Jane, born in West Leigh. So they had evidently moved around quite frequently, perhaps in search of better jobs for Joseph.

By 1883, they were living at Hart Common in Westhoughton.

By April 5th 1891, they were living in Albert Cottages, Standish. Joseph's father was now working as a grocer as well as a coal miner; Mary was a grocer's assistant, so presumably she ran the shop when he was down the mine. Alice, now 21, was a tailoress; Joseph at 17 was a coal miner. All the children from the previous census except Elizabeth were still alive and in the household, and two more had been born - James Henry, now six, who had been born in West Houghton, and Albert, now four, who had been born in Wigan.

Joseph married Nancy Holland in 1898 at St Anne's Church in Shevington.

By March 31st 1901, they were living in Wigan Road, Ashton in Makerfield. Joseph was working as a coal miner. They had two children - Joseph aged two, and baby Henry.

By April 2nd 1911, they were living in Wigan district. Joseph was working as a colliery contractor, someone who contracted to take charge of a particular section of a mine with the help of miners they hired, and was paid an agreed rate per ton of coal extracted. Lucy Agnes Holland, possibly Nancy's sister, was living with them and working as a tailoress.

Research Notes

I can't find a good match in death registrations for Joseph and Nancy in Wigan. There are one or two possible matches for Joseph nearby (e.g. Ince) however. It seems unlikely they moved far away since at least one of their children died in Wigan. They don't appear to be listed in the burial records in the six cemeteries on WiganWorld, though there is one Joseph Morris born in 1871 there. No matches for either in the St Helens Cemetery & crem records either.

Sources

• Birth registration listed on https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp

• Marriage registration http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=MRNjjibSZaYCErOCAENc0g&scan=1 & http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=TmpXiUfk%2FdEhStkHawUsxA&scan=1 & Lancashire Register Office indexes on www.lancashirebmd.org.uk

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27G-HBZ4 : 13 December 2017), Alice Morriss in household of Joseph Morriss, Westleigh, Lancashire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 45, Piece/Folio 3805/26, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,091.

• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:77BD-46Z : 10 December 2017), Albert Morris in household of Joseph Morris, Standish With Langtree, Lancashire, England; from "1891 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 12, Lancashire county, subdistrict, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9KT-YPF : 8 April 2016), Joseph Morris, Ashton In Makerfield, Lancashire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Ashton In Makerfield subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWY6-2FT : 2 August 2017), Joseph Morris, Ashton In Makerfield, Ashton-In-Makerfield, Lancashire, England; from "1911 England and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing PRO RG 14, The National Archives of the UK, Kew, Surrey.

The civil registration index, and the England and Wales censuses, are Crown Copyright.