This grave contains several members of the Priestley family – Samuel and three of his infant children.
Illustration by Alex Abel
Samuel Priestley was baptised at St Johns Parish Church on 8 September 1782. His parents were John and Hannah Priestley. John is a cordwainer.
Baptism of Samuel Priestley, Halifax St John the Baptist, Sept 1782. With permission from WYAS Wakefield WDP53/1/1/11. Accessed via Ancestry.co.uk [30/10/2024]
The first person to trace was John Priestley, there are several options for John’s baptism/birth, none are very helpful. No father had cordwainer as an occupation (weavers, miners, drapers), but there are several John's born in the Ovenden/Northowram district around the right time. If John's father was not a cordwainer then John had to have apprenticed in a new trade as he was a cordwainer by 1780. The most likely record shows John was baptised in 1749, his father Thomas Priestley was a draper of Northowram (which date ties up with his death notice 80 years later).
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At some point, Samuel grows up, learns the trade of cordwaining and possibly marries Hannah, although I can find no record of a marriage between John Priestley and Hannah where John is a cordwainer. I’m assuming they married within about 10 years before their children were born, but I have had no luck so far.
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In 1780 Samuel and Hannah Priestley have a son, Joseph, and Samuel is recorded as a cordwainer. In 1782, their child Samuel Priestley was born and John, his father, was a cordwainer still, and 31 years old at the time.
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Samuel grows up and in 1804 he married Ruth Whiteley, his occupation was also given as cordwainer, she was from Shelf.
Marriage of Samuel Priestley and Ruth Whiteley, Halifax St John the Baptist 13th Feb 1804. With permission from WYAS Wakefield WDP53/1/3/11. Accessed via Ancestry.co.uk [30/10/2024]
Samuel and Ruth go on to have many children from 1805 to 1820. Mary, John, Joseph, William, Elizabeth, twins - Joshua and Samuel. Unfortunately, Joshua only lived a few weeks. Their daughter Elizabeth also died before she reached three years old. They then gave birth to Ruth who lived for one year, then their final child, also called Ruth was born in 1820. They were recorded as living on King Cross Lane. In 1825 Samuel Priestley, aged 42 died, and was buried along with Joshua, Elizabeth and baby Ruth at the Square Chapel, Halifax.
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In 1839 we have land tax records showing Ruth Priestley (mother) still living at King Cross Lane/Street. However, she does not appear on the 1841 census. I can find no record of Ruth Priestley’s death, or where she was buried, separately, away from her family. Sadly, this it is a common occurrence that women are not represented well in the record sources we can use.
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Of their surviving children, some were easier to trace than others. Their child, John Priestley, born in 1806, married Mary. In 1851, they are recorded in the census as a shoemaker (43), his wife Mary (43) and their daughter Rebecca Priestley (16) and visitor William Priestley (40) a whitesmith; I assume this is his brother, but I can find little other information about William.
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Samuel and Ruth’s child, Joseph (born 1808) took after his father too, in the shoemaking business. Joseph is a cordwainer who marries Martha Stocks in 1821 and live in Ovenden. In the 1841 Census they have three children (all aged 15, triplets? - Jonas, Elizabeth and Joseph) living with them and he is now a Coal Pit Banksman living at Slack End, and they have a lodger. In the 1851 census he is Coal Pit Banksman and she is Banksman’s Wife. The children are Jonas, a carter, Elizabeth, a worsted weaver, Joseph, a joiner. Jonas marries Betty Ramsden on 6 Aug 1847, and in 1861 he and his family lives at Slack End, some doors down from Joseph Priestley, cabinet maker, his wife Martha Ann, and his parents.
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What happens to child Samuel Priestley born 1815? He was born a twin, his brother sadly passing away a few weeks after birth. There are several Samuel Priestley’s in the records with several different occupations and he has proved difficult to trace.
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What happens to child Ruth Priestley born in 1820? Sadly, I cannot find any trace of Ruth so far in the records. Another woman who disappears from the records.
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Researched by Anna Roe
Photograph of gravestone made for exhibition