Leo Morris (1885 - 1942)

Born 1885 in Chorley, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

Ancestors

Died 5 Nov 1942 at about age 57 in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom

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

Biography

Leo Morris was born in 1885 in Chorley. He was the son of George Morris and Mary (Fairhurst) Morris.

By about 1889 the family had moved to Wigan.

By April 5th 1891, they were living in Springfield Road, Wigan. George was still working as a colliery contractor, and had employees. Mary was also working, as a dressmaker. Catherine, now 19, was working as a stocking knitter. The younger children were not in paid employment: Mary (15), Rebecca(14), Emma (11), Oswald (7), Leo (6), Veronica (2), and baby Austin. Mary's brother Richard was still living with them, and working as a coal pit brow man.

Sometime between about 1894 and 1900, they moved from Wigan to Eccleston, St Helens.

By March 31st 1901, they were living in Burrows Lane, Eccleston. George was now a colliery undermanager. Mary wasn't doing paid work any more, but Catherine (29, and still single) was working as a dressmaker. Rebecca (24) wasn't in paid work. Emma (21) was working as a machinist for the West Lancashire Watch Company. Oswald (17) was a draper's assistant. Leo (16) was a weighman (probably in the colliery). Veronica (12), Austin (10), Agnes (7) and George Edgar (1) weren't in paid work.

A weighman in the colliery weighed tubs or containers of coal as they came up from the mine. This should not be confused with a checkweighman, whose job was to check, in the interests of the workers, that the weighman wasn't cheating them in any way and was weighing, recording the weight, and estimating the amount of non coal in the tub fairly. He kept a separate written record of everything. A third similar sounding job, weigh clerk, was again different - this person weighed railway wagons full of coal as they passed over a weighbridge on their way out of the colliery towards a purchaser, and labelled them according to their destination.^[1]

By April 2nd 1911, the family were back in Wigan. George was working as a colliery underground manager. Six of their children were still single and living with them - Rebecca, who was 34 and not in paid employment, perhaps helping her mother run the household; Leo, aged 26, working as a clerk; Veronica, aged 22 and not in paid employment; Austin, aged 20, and working as a mechanical and electric engineer's fitter; Agnes, aged 17, and working as a tailoress (machinist); and George Edgar, who was 11 and still in school.

Leo married Margaret Ellison in 1917 in Wigan.

Leo died in Blackpool on November 5th 1942, at the age of 57. His address was 18 Clovelly Avenue, Blackpool. Margaret outlived him.

Research Notes

There is exactly one death registration matching his age as Leo rather than Leonard.

There were a number of Margaret Ellisons in Wigan in 1911, so I wasn't sure which one she was and haven't made a profile for her.

Sources

1. ↑ http://doot.spub.co.uk/code.php?value=048

• Birth registration http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=U01P97CjabqfcQV8WXHW7Q&scan=1, also listed on https://www.gro.gov.uk/gro/content/certificates/indexes_search.asp but forename given as Lee (correction request submitted)

• Marriage registration http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=VC6vLzb7WIYxxXX4%2Ftpwzg&scan=1 & http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=25pzjglwxklEthmBeNU%2B9A&scan=1 & Lancashire Register Office indexes on www.lancashirebmd.org.uk - this time freeBMD have him as Lee, but LancashireBMD as Leo; as the GRO index page they were using could equally well say Leo or Lee because the typewriter was too inky resulting in a blurred letter, no correction request submitted.

• Death registration http://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=FJ4988zW%2BaOYODCymSN28w&scan=1

• Probate Find A Will (UK Government service) https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/Calendar?surname=morris&yearOfDeath=1942&page=10#calendar

• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7WWB-P6Z : 10 December 2017), Veronica Morris in household of George Morris, Wigan, 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:X9GG-SYV : 8 April 2016), Catherine Morris in household of George Morris, Eccleston, Lancashire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Prescot subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1901," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X9GG-SY5 : 8 April 2016), Veronica Morris in household of Rebecca Morris, Eccleston, Lancashire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing Prescot subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWYX-ZTB : 2 August 2017), George Edgar Morris in household of George Morris, Ashton In Makerfield, Brynn Wigan, 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.