Origin and Meaning of the name Anderton
Click above to read about the origin and meaning of the name Anderton.
My paternal grandmother was May Anderton the eldest daughter of Danny Anderton of Wrightington, near Wigan, Lancashire.
The main aims of my research would be to prove or disprove the family legends below. However, as I began my research I discovered that the older members of the family knew very little about their family history. For example they did not know their grandparents' names or anything about them. Also I discovered that my great uncle, Cyril Anderton, had died in a Japanese POW Camp at 24 years of age and the family knew nothing about how he died, so I set about trying to find as much information about this as possible.
There are two family legends, yet to be confirmed. One is that our branch of Andertons are descended from the Andertons of Euxton and the other that Sir (Cyril) James Anderton, born in Wigan in 1932, Greater Manchester Police Chief between 1976 and 1991, was a second cousin to my grandmother.
May Anderton (1908-1989) of Wrightington
My grandmother, May Anderton was born in Wrightington in 1908. The eldest of Danny and Winifred's eight children. She married Jack Pearson in 1930 at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Wrightington. He worked at Boggart House Farm, High Moor, Wrightington, which was run by May's aunt and uncle, Bill & Polly Valentine. They lived together on the farm during the first years of their marriage and during the Second World War, lived in as the caretakers of Parbold Hall which was empty at the time. In later life they moved to Wigan. One of May's younger brothers, Cyril Anderton, who was in the Far East during the Second World War, was captured by the Japanese and died in the infamous Sandakan POW Camp in N. Borneo.
Danny Anderton (1887-1947) of Ince
May's father, Danny Anderton, came to work with the horses at Wrightington Hall at the age of 16. He married Winifred Turner, a catholic girl from the village of Wrightington at St. Joseph's Church on 4th June 1908. After the marriage they lodged at 24, Wigan Lane, Standish and later the family lived at "Grove Villas", a mock Tudor House belonging to the Wrightington Estate, just opposite the Hall. Because of his great experience with horses, during the First World War he was in the Veterinary Corps. In later life, he too returned to Wigan. Two of his brothers were tradesmen in Wigan. James Anderton had Anderton's Butchers in Wigan town centre and George Anderton was a coal merchant there. We believe that two of his other siblings were teachers in Southport.
Robert Anderton (b. 1840) of Hindley
Robert Anderton married Ellen and had at least 9 children, including one set of twins. My grandmother, May Anderton, also had a set of twins, so maybe they run in the Anderton family. On the 1881 census Robert is down as working as a Carter-Trader and the family is living at 192, Belle Green Lane, Ince near Wigan. At this time my great grandfather Danny has not yet been born. He may have been their youngest son, and this would explain why his children still living don't remember their grandparents and weren't even able to tell me their names as they had probably died before Danny had children, possibly even before he married Winifred in 1908.
Thomas Anderton (b. 1798/1801) of Adlington
The surprise here was that Thomas was born in Adlington, right by the Village of Anderton itself, between 1798 and 1801, (on the different censuses his age varies). He married Margaret Cave on 3rd January 1826. On the censuses of 1841 and 1851 he is listed as an agricultural labourer. Thomas and Margaret had at least the following children:
John Anderton in 1826
Mary Anderton in 1827
Thomas Anderton in 1829
Ann Anderton in 1832
Robert Anderton (above) 1840
They seem to have moved between Ince and Hindley near Wigan as the first 3 children are born in Ince and the last two in Hindley. My great great grandfather Robert is back living in Ince on the 1881 census, while his older brother John has married Ann and is a Carter at a Cotton Mill in Hindley in 1881 with two dauthers, Elizabeth (21) and Mary Ellen (12)
.Click above to view my Anderton Family Group Sheets.
Click above to see links to other websites dedicated to the Anderton surname.