Christopher Whitmore Family Tree and Genealogy

John Hodcroft 1834 - 1888

Born in 1834 in Stretford, Lancashire, John Hodcroft was the son of a market gardener. Moving to Ashton upon Mersey in the 1850's with his parents, he met Sarah Darbyshire, and they married in 1864. By 1871 the couple were in Worthington, where they had 5 children. In Worthington, John Hodcroft worked at the local collieries. John Hodcroft died in 1888, aged 54.

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The life of John Hodcroft is well documented through census and marriage records and for many years it is tied in with that of his father James.

1841 census Wellington Place Stretford				Where born
James Hodcroft	35	Head	Ag Labourer
Ellen	30
Joseph	14
Esther	11
Alice	8
John	6
James	1

In 1841, aged 6, the family lived at Wellington Place, Stretford. The parents of John Hodcroft were James Hodcroft and Ellen. Little detail is given in the 1841 census and the ages of adults are rounded down to the nearest 5 years.

1851 census Edge Lane Stretford				Where born
James Hodcroft	50	Head	Market Gardener	Manchester
Ellen	46	Wife	ditto wife	Manchester
Esther	21	Dau	ditto dau	Manchester
Alice	18	Dau	ditto dau	Manchester
John	15	Son	ditto son	Manchester
James	10	Son	ditto son	Manchester
Margaret	8	Dau	scholar	Manchester
Charles	6	Son	scholar	Manchester
Samuel	4	Son		Manchester

In 1851 he was living at Edge Lane, Stretford aged 15 working for his father, a Market Gardener.

1861 census Marsh Lane Ashton upon Mersey				Where born
James Hodcroft	60	Head	Farmer 30 acres employing family	Lancashire, Stretford
Ellen	54	Wife	farmers wife	Lancashire, Stretford
Esther	30	Dau	ditto dau	Lancashire, Stretford
Alice	28	Dau	ditto dau	Lancashire, Stretford
John	25	Son	ditto son	Lancashire, Stretford
Margaret	18	Dau	ditto dau	Lancashire, Stretford
Charles	16	Son	ditto son	Lancashire, Stretford
Samuel	14	Son	ditto son	Lancashire, Stretford
James	3 mo	Grand Son		Lancashire, Stretford

In 1861, aged 25, John was living at Marsh Lane, Ashton on Mersey where he worked on his fathers farm.

It is unusual to see daughters Esther and Alice still living with their parents at this time as marriage normally occurred at about 20 years of age.

Note: James, the grandson, was the son of Alice who went on to marry Charles Kelsall and they are seen together in the 1881 census.

Marriage of John Hodcroft

John Hodcroft married Sarah Darbyshire in 1864

Surname	Forename(s)	Surname	Forename(s)	Church / Register Office	Registers At	Reference	Year
HODCROFT	John	DARBYSHIRE	Sarah	Ashton upon Mersey, St Martin	Trafford	CE1/1/209	1864

Shortly after this marriage, John Hodcroft moved from his fathers farm to Standish, first employed as a labourer and later working as a colliery brakesman.

Related Topics:
- Sarah Darbyshire

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Black Sheep ?

It was wondered why John Hodcroft would leave family , friends and a secure job in market gardening to go to Standish and work the local mines. Perhaps the following document provides the explanation...

Click here to enlarge.

Click here to view original complete document.

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In 1851 there were 5 collieries in Standish, namely Almond Brook, Standish, Victoria, Broomfield and Bradley. It would most likely be the Broomfield and/or Bradley pits that John Hodcroft worked at.

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In 1868 Clara Ellen was born followed by John James in 1870.

1871 census Bradley Lane Worthington				Where born
John Hodcroft	36	Head	Labourer	Lancashire, Stretford
Sarah	28	Wife		Cheshire, Ashton upon Mersey
Clara Ellen	3	Dau		Lancashire, Worthington
John James	1	Son		Lancashire, Worthington

In 1871 the census shows John Hodcroft aged 36, living at Bradley Lane with his wife Sarah, aged 28 and with children Clara Ellen, aged 3 and John J. aged 1.

Worthington, Standish, Lancashire

1881 census Platt Lane Worthington				Where born
John Hodcroft	45	Head	Colliery Brakesman	Lancashire, Stretford
Sarah	35	Wife		Cheshire, Ashton upon Mersey
John James	11	Son	Scholar	Lancashire, Worthington
Margret A	8	Dau	Scholar	Lancashire, Standish
Sarah H*	5	Dau	Scholar	Lancashire, Standish
Charles H	1	Son		Lancashire, Worthington

The 1881 census shows that John Hodcroft aged 45, was living at Platt Lane, working as a colliery brakesman, with his wife Sarah (35), from Ashton upon Mersey. Their children at this time are John James (11), Margret (8), Sarah H. (5) and Charles aged 1.

The Children

Clara Ellen Hodcroft

Surname	Forename(s)	Born	Died	Sub-District	Registers At	Region	Reference
HODCROFT	Clara Ellen	25 AUG 1867	18 JAN 1875	Standish	Wigan & Leigh	Lancashire	IGI

Clara Ellen died in 1875 aged 7.

 

John James Hodcroft

Margaret Alice Hodcroft

Surname	Forename(s)	Born	Died	Sub-District	Registers At	Region	Reference
HODCROFT	Margaret Alice	22 FEB 1875		Standish	Wigan & Leigh	Lancashire	IGI

 

Sarah H. Hodcroft

Name*	SARAH HANNAH HODCROFT
Born	17 APR 1875 Railway House, Standish, Lancashire, England
Death	05 FEB 1891
Father	JOHN HODCROFT
Mother	SARAH DARBYSHIRE
(source: International Genealogical Index )	Batch No: 8424931 Sheet : 50 Source Call No.: 1395854

Charles Henry Hodcroft

Surname	Forename(s)	Born	Died	Sub-District	Registers At	Region	Reference
HODCROFT	Charles Henry	06 OCT 1879	28 APR 1962	Standish	Wigan & Leigh	Lancashire	IGI

Charles Henry Hodcroft married Jane Anne Cookson in 1910.

Surname	Forename(s)	Surname	Forename(s)	Church / Register Office	Registers At	Reference
HODCROFT	Charles Henry	COOKSON	Jane Ann	St. Wilfred,Standish	Wigan & Leigh	C28/6/40

Lancashire Marriage indexes for the years: 1910


Their children include Bertha Hodcroft born 1912 who went on to marry Harold Goulding in 1938 at St Wilfred church, Standish. (Source Lancashire BDM)

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Do you know who these children married? Where are their families now?

Related Topics:
-John James Hodcroft

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Registration of the death of John Hodcroft aged 54 in 1888

It is his son John James that married Elizabeth Gudgeon, the mother of my grandmother.

After the death of John Hodcroft in 1888, his wife Sarah lived in Standish...where her mother came to live with her daughter after the deaths of both their husbands.

1901 census 27 Church Street Standish				Where born
Sarah Hodcroft	55	Head - Widow		Cheshire, Ashton upon Mersey
Charles	21	Son	coal miner - drawer	Lancashire, Worthington
Harold Watson	21	Lodger	coal miner - drawer	Calverton, Notts
Ellen Darbyshire	95	Mother in Law		Cheshire, Ashton upon Mersey

In 1901 Sarah Hodcroft (Darbyshire) was living at 27 Church Street, Standish, a widow, with her son Charles (21) also with her mother in law Ellen Darbyshire 95, also from Ashton upon Mersey. Ellen Darbyshire (95) shown here is actually the mother of Sarah.

Note. If John had been alive with Ellen Darbyshire living with them, Ellen D would have been correctly described as mother in law. This is a sign of the times when women were still not fully recognised in law and it is as though her deceased husband were still head of the family !

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Timeline

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This Page Last Corrected and Updated 04/04/2010