John Woods (1870)

Born 1870 in Rochdale, Lancashire, England

Husband of Eliza (Thompson) Woods — married 24 Dec 1892 in St Nicholas Sutton, St Helens

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

Biography

John Wood or Woods was born in 1870 in Rochdale. He was the son of Thomas Woods and Elizabeth (Sullivan) Woods. John's father was a labourer and brickmaker.

In 1871, John's family was living in Healey, Spotland Nearer Side, Lancashire. His father was working as a labourer, and John was the youngest of three boys.

By 1881, the family had moved to Rector Road in West Derby (Liverpool). The father was working as a brickmaker, and there were six children living at home. The youngest four had been born in Manchester, so the family must have moved from Rochdale to Manchester between about 1871 and 1874, and from Manchester to West Derby between 1879 and 1881.

In 1891, John was boarding in Watery Lane, Sutton. He was working as a collier, and John's brother William Wood, also a collier and five years younger, was boarding there as well. In addition, John's mother Elizabeth, and younger brother Richard were listed as visitors in the household; Richard, at 13, was still in school.

John married Eliza Thompson on December 24th 1892, at St Nicholas' church in Sutton, St Helens (Anglican). The witnesses were William Woods and Lily O'Neil. John made his mark, but Eliza signed her name. John was said to be 21, and a collier; Eliza was said to be 18. It was a first marriage for both, and both were listed as living in Sutton.

By 1901, the couple were living in Hoghton Road, Sutton, and had four children. Richard Wood aged 22 and born in Manchester was boarding with them - possibly a relative. John was working as a collier. The family's surname was listed here as Wood.

By 1911, Richard had moved on, and there were six children living with their parents. John was working as a collier.

Research Notes

Identification of John's birth family was based on the 1871 census - there was only one strong match for him in 1871 and 1881 with the correct father's name and occupation. The 1871 census showed two children born in Rochdale, John in about 1871 and James in about 1869. There were a number of birth registrations of Wood(s) children around these years in Rochdale whose names and ages matched the 1871 census, but only one John-James pair for whom the mother's maiden name matched each other.

Sources

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

• Marriage listed on http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/Search/indexp.html and www.freereg.org.uk

• "England and Wales Census, 1871", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KDDY-6Z9 : 11 December 2017), Thomas Wood, 1871.

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27L-G3HS : 13 December 2017), Thomas Wood, West Derby, Lancashire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 30, Piece/Folio 3712/66, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,071.

• "England and Wales Census, 1881," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q27L-G3BT : 13 December 2017), Richard Wood in household of William Wood, West Derby, Lancashire, England; from "1881 England, Scotland and Wales Census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing p. 31, Piece/Folio 3712/67, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey; FHL microfilm 101,775,071.

• "England and Wales Census, 1891," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:77D1-GPZ : 10 December 2017), John Woods in household of Richard Meadows, Sutton, 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:X9LV-P63 : 8 April 2016), Eliza Wood in household of John Wood, St Helens, Lancashire, England; from "1901 England, Scotland and Wales census," database and images, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : n.d.); citing St Helens subdistrict, PRO RG 13, The National Archives, Kew, Surrey.

• "England and Wales Census, 1911," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XWY9-JS2 : 21 December 2018), Eliza Woods in household of John Woods, St Helens, Helens, 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.