The posts in October 2020 told the story of the Heap connection with the Hiley family brought about when Ethel Heap married Harold Hiley in 1903. In 1875 Ethel's father Henry Heap had married Martha Parsons who was from Sabden near Clitheroe in Lancashire. The next few posts will give the story of Martha's family starting with her ancestors in Bolton by Bowland.
In 1748 John Parsons married Margaret Rausthorne in the Parish Church of St Peter and St Paul in Bolton by Bowland, a peaceful little village in the Forest of Bowland. The 1700s saw a number of Parsons family members baptised, married and buried at this church.
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| Bolton by Bowland parish church |
It is not clear yet when John was born and whether he was from Bolton by Bowland or the surrounding area. The Rausthornes can be traced further back to John who was born in 1667. Margaret was born in 1719 in Bolton by Bowland and was the daughter of Thomas Rausthorne of Gisburne Forrest. John and Margaret had five children - John (who died in infancy), Elisabeth, Alice, John and Margaret. The second John was born in 1756.
John married Jane Scott, also from the same parish of Bolton by Bowland, in 1780, and once again in the parish church. John and Jane had six children, of which the second was William, born in 1781.
The baptism entry in the parish records shows that William was the son of John Parsons from Holden. Holden is a tiny hamlet a short distance from Bolton by Bowland.
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| Holden |
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