George Samuel Morris

Another story today from F.O.C.C.T., the Friends of Christ Church, Todmorden.

It describes the sad end of George Samuel Morris. Two of George's children married Hiley sisters - George Richard Morris married Alice Ann Hiley and Frank Morris married Betsy Hannah Hiley. Samuel, a brother of Alice Ann and Betsy Hannah, and my great grandfather, is mentioned in this story. 

George Richard and Alice Ann have already featured in a F.O.C.C.T. story in this Blog. Enter 'F.O.C.C.T.' in the 'Search This Blog' box to read their story and the others contributed by F.O.C.C.T.

38.10 – George Samuel Morris

by admin on Posted onMarch 8, 2024

George here was another transplant from Staffordshire who came here for work with his family. He met a wet end whose circumstances were sadly very predictable.

George Samuel Morris, or Samuel as he would choose to be known and to call himself, was born in 1820 in Monk Upton in Shropshire. His movements prior to his marriage to Mary Richards (whose surname we only know thanks to a family tree) are vague, and even his marriage isn’t firmly dated anywyere. But in 1858 he and Mary had moved to Tunstall in Staffordshire and they were welcoming their first child, their son George Richards Morris. 1859 saw the birth of Elizabeth Margaret and 1860 the birth of Simon. Shortly after Simon’s birth the Morrises came to Todmorden, and shortly after that Simon died. It was October 1861, he was a year old, and he was buried somewhere here at Christ Church.

There was then a six year gap before their third son and final child, Frank, was born in 1867. George and family had already settled near Gauxholme and in 1871 were resident at Lewis Street, Shade. George was working as a factory engine tenter, keeping the furnaces going. George seems to have liked a drink, getting picked up by the police now and again, but never for brawling or threatening behaviour…just a bit of staggering around.

On the night of July 22nd 1876, George left his house in the evening with a kiss to Mary and a promise of getting home soon so they could get to bed early. The Morrises by this point were living at Travis Holme, Clough, in Walsden. George headed down to the pub and never came home again. Mary and George Jr., Elizabeth and Frank waited for him, and waited, and waited. In the meantime Samuel Highley of Hollins Terrace was disturbed by a knock on his door at 11pm and answered it to find a very drunk George, who murmured that he was “a bad ‘un”, came in and sat, had a drink of water, sang a song, said again a few times that he was a bad ‘un, and then left. Samuel told him not to walk home along the canal, which was George’s preference, but George didn’t listen. Around 1am his children had had enough and went out looking, and Mary joined the search two hours later. It was Mary who found his hat and crutch on the canal bank. She got hold of George Jr., who went and got the police, and eventually on the morning of the 23rd the police arrived with grappling irons and pulled his body from the canal.

Todmorden Advertiser, July 28th 1876

The verdict was of drowning, with the reason unknown, as there was no real evidence to show he might have drowned himself intentionally apart from his statements to Samuel Highley. It was also his habit of walking home along the canal when drunk, known to everyone, and the jury clearly felt it was an accident. He was buried here, maybe with his son, maybe alone. The only initials we have here are his.

Mary died in 1882 and is also buried here at Christ Church somewhere. In the meantime, George Jr. married Samuel Highley’s sister Alice Ann. Something good came out of all that in the end…

Amy and Mabel

Today's post comes from the website of F.O.C.C.T., the Friends of Christ Church Todmorden.

F.O.C.C.T. are a community group whose aims include preserving the graveyard, improving accessibility, utilising the graveyard to educate all ages about the history of Todmorden and encourage emotional investment in the town’s past and future.

Their website contains research into the people buried in the graveyard and transcriptions of the monumental inscriptions of the gravestones.

F.O.C.C.T. – Friends of Christ Church, Todmorden (focct.org.uk)

This Blog has already published stories about Todmorden Hileys/Highleys from the website and I am indebted again to F.O.C.C.T. for this post about some of the children of Charles and Betty Hiley. The story is reproduced from their website with permission.

Charles Joseph Hiley (1843-1922) was a prominent figure in Todmorden during his lifetime. Several posts have already told of his life as a professor of music, organist, councillor, and shopkeeper. The story below tells about two of his daughters, Amy and Mabel.

43.52 – Charles and Sarah (Chaffer) Hiley and family

by admin on Posted onJanuary 1, 2025

This grave holds two parents, Charles and Sarah, and six of their eight children – Emily, William Campbell, Mary Jane, John Walter, Mabel, and Amy Elizabeth. Christopher Hiley’s excellent family history blog has already told Charles and Sarah’s stories so we’ll let you go there and read all about them. But what about the two daughters named here who lived to adulthood – Mabel and Amy?

                        Image of grave taken from Christopher Hiley’s blog

Mabel seems at first to have simply stayed at home after she finished school, but she soon took on work alongside her father as a music teacher. Charles must have been in high demand and needed help, and who better (and probably cheaper) than a daughter? Mabel was the eldest daughter and second eldest child so it makes sense; most eldest daughters ended up staying at home anyway to help with the other children, an informal but highly common Victorian custom. Mabel was at least, interestingly, advertising separately from Charles, which might indicate that her income was considered hers at least.

Sarah’s death in 1909 sealed the deal. Mabel, along with her other unmarried sister Edith (who had become headmistress at Roomfield School) and a servant named Bessie Whitham were at home with Charles on the 1911 Census and there they stayed. Mabel stayed busy by accompanying Edith when she played the violin at various functions, and during WW1 she got her qualifications with the St. John Ambulance Association. After Charles’s death in 1922 Mabel and Edith continued to live together, moving to Beech Avenue by the time of the 1939 Census. Edith continued to teach while Mabel stayed at home. After Mabel died in 1945 she was remembered in two ways: first, money donated to the War Fund in her memory by Horace and Nellie Hartley (of Hartley’s Opticians fame), and second, a purple burse (box for carrying altar cloths and vestments), veil, and four stoles donated to Christ Church by one of her sisters.

Edith kept Mabel’s piano and sheet music, and eventually they reached Amy’s granddaughter Carolyn (Baldwin) Nolan, who herself taught piano lessons using it and still has hold of it to this day. She also very kindly supplied these photos of the gravestone in better maintained days.

                                         Photo courtesy of Carolyn Nolan

Amy became a dressmaker, and in the early 1900s caught the eye of Sam Baldwin, one of the sons of mineral water manufacturer Greenwood Baldwin. Sam wanted to take the carbonated water experience a few steps further and instead of focusing on fizzy drinks went into the explosives business. That’s right – explosives! He was extremely intelligent and won scholarships to grammar schools and colleges, specialising in inorganic chemistry. He moved to Essex in 1905 to manage an explosives manufacturing business and in 1906 he and Amy married, and she joined him down south. The pair had two sons, George and Wilson, and Sam’s income increased to £500 a year from 1912 – very respectable at that time. His work meant he was spared heading to the front during WW1, no doubt a relief for Amy…but he did something for the war effort as he was given an MBE afterwards for his efforts. He went on to help run a gelignite factory, as would son Wilson. This is more about them than Amy, isn’t it? Amy was a quiet soul, maybe a homebody, and there are few mentions of any Mrs. A. or Mrs. S. Baldwins in Essex in the right time period, and none can be clearly identified as her. She got a small death notice in the papers here, at least, when she died in 1952. Sam followed her in 1957 and is buried elsewhere.

The suicide of Betsy Eastwood

For today's post I am indebted again to F.O.C.C.T. The story below is reproduced from their website with permission.

F.O.C.C.T. – Friends of Christ Church, Todmorden (focct.org.uk) 

Reuben Hiley (1862-1934) was a grandson of Reuben and Betty Hiley. Reuben (snr), known as 'Old Wraggs' lived at Nicklety in Walsden. He was a Road Labourer and Quarry Man and has already featured a number of times in this Blog. 

In 1918 Reuben (jnr) was a Canal Lock Man for the Rochdale Canal Company. He lived with his wife Sarah Ellen (nee Webster) at the Lock House in Gauxholme, Todmorden. 

Reuben gave evidence at the inquest into the death of Betsy Eastwood.

15.12 – John Edward and Betsy Eastwood

by adminon Posted onJune 23, 2023

Betsy Scholfield was the daughter of Samuel Scholfield (a fish hawker) and Sarah Ann Kershaw. She married John Edward Eastwood (a postman) at Walsden Parish church on 6th November 1902. On 25th July 1905, John Edward dies aged just 32 years old. Betsy moves back to live with her parents and brothers at 771 Rochdale Road. By 1918, it appears that it’s now just Betsy and her brother William living at the address. Her mother died in 1914 and at least one brother is currently fighting in the 1st World War.

On 15th January 1918, Betsy disappears.

(Todmorden & District News – Friday 15 February 1918)

MISSING THREE WEEKS.

INQUEST ON WALSDEN MYSTERY.

“Last Saturday afternoon, Deputy Coroner Norris held an inquiry at the Town Hall in reference to the death of Betsy Eastwood, of 771, Rochdale Road, Walsden, whose body had been found in the canal the previous Thursday.

Wm. Scholfield, brother of the deceased (with whom she resided), identified the body. Deceased, he said, was a widow, and was 43 years of age. She had not enjoyed good health for the past few years, and at the beginning of November she was attended by Dr. Stevenson for a nervous breakdown. The doctor told them she would want watching. She was hysterical at that time, but she seemed to improve somewhat, although she had occasional fits of depression.

The Coroner: Did she ever make any statement that would lead you to suppose she would do something? — Witness: She once said she thought she would never be right until she got into a wooden box, but when I have talked to her, she said we had no occasion to be frightened, that she would not do any harm to herself. She had fretted about her younger brother, who was in France, especially when letters did not arrive regularly. Witness went on to say that she disappeared on January 15th, and although inquiries were made amongst all the friends of the family, both in the district and at Littleborough and Rochdale, nothing could be ascertained as to her whereabouts. On Thursday, Reuben Hiley, of Gauxholme Lock House, told him they were going to draw off the water at Nip Square Pool, Walsden, so that they could repair the lock head. He went to see the water drawn off, and the body was found embedded in the mud in the middle of the bed of the canal. It was very bad to get at, and they had to get waders on, and get some pieces of wood, on to which they floated the body. On account of the position of her clothes he could not identify the body just then, but next morning he went down to the mortuary, and he had no doubt that the body was that of his sister, although her face was much swollen and dark coloured.

Reuben Hiley, Lock House, Gauxholme, spoke to drawing off the water at Nip Square, for the purpose of carrying out some repairs to the lock head. They found the body fast in the the mud in the bed of the canal, the head and the upper part being completely covered. The body had probably been in the water for some time, and would have remained there a long time if the water had not been drawn off.

Elizabeth Cryer, 1, Bar Street, said she prepared the body for burial. There were no marks on the body, but judging by appearances, it had probably been in the water a fortnight or three weeks.

The jury returned a verdict of suicide whilst of unsound mind.”

The Lock House at Gauxholme
Photo taken in 2018