Tombstone Tuesday – Martin and Ann Gawthrop

MARTIN GAWTHROP

of Ballgrove, Late of Cowling

who died May 16th 1860, in the

61st year of his age.

Also ANN relict of the above

who died April 5th 1863, in the

65th year of her age.

Blessed are the dead, which die

in the Lord

Martin and Ann Gawthrop are my 3x great grandparents.  They are buried in St. Andrew’s Methodist Church graveyard in Cowling, West Yorkshire.

I know from census records and the gravestone that Martin was born around 1799 / 1800.  I have found what I suspect is a record of his birth and christening on the Family Search website.  This suggests that he was born on 22 November 1799 in Colne, Lancashire and was christened on 30 March 1800 at St. Bartholomew’s church also in Colne.  His parents are recorded as Jno Gauthrope and Sarah.

Ann Kighley was born in Cowling and the IGI record suggests that this was on 3 June 1798.  Her parents are recorded as Isaac Kighley and Ellen (nee Jackson).

Martin and Ann were married on 13 July 1818 at the parish church of Kildwick, West Yorkshire.

The next information I have about them is from the 1841 census.  They are living in the township of Sutton in the parish of Kildwick.  Martin’s occupation is recorded as a farmer.  Nine of their eleven children are living with them in 1841.  The eldest child, Isaac had already left home and was working as a weaver in Cowling.

The children at home were

Sarah – born about 1826; Ellen – born about 1826; Hannah – born about 1828; Joseph – born about 1830; Martin – born about 1833; Mary – born about 1835; Benjamin – born about 1837; Israel – born about 1839; and John – born about 1840.

Their other child Ann was born about 1843.

The name Gawthrop lends itself to misspelling in all sorts of ways.  The 1841 census entry looks like Martin Gothrope and Ancestry indexed it as Marton Gothrope.

In 1851 Martin and Ann are living in Cowling with seven of their children and four grandchildren.  Martin’s occupation is farmer of 35 acres and 24 acres moor (presumably moorland) employing no labour.

The seven children are – Isaac (30) working as an agricultural labourer; Joseph (20) working on the farm; Martin (18) and Mary (16) working as handloom weavers; Benjamin (12) and Israel (11) working on the farm; and Ann (8) who is a scholar.

The four grandchildren are – John (11) who is a scholar; James (11) and Martin (9) working as bobbin winders; and Sarah (4).

The census entry and the Ancestry index are both clearly Gawthrop.

Martin died in 1860 before the next census.

So in 1861 Ann is living at Garth Holme in Colne, Lancashire.  Also living there are her daughter Ann (18) with her husband John Riley and baby William (5 months) plus three other grandchildren John (20), Martin (19) and Ellen Hopkinson (6).

The actual census entry looks like Anne (with an “e”) Gawthrope and that is how it is indexed in Ancestry.

Ann passed away in 1863.