Henry Croasdell 1782

Croasdell Family - Potted Histories

Henry Croasdell seems to have begun to move up in the world. He was born on 16th September 1782 when his parents, Henry and Fanny, were at Stott Park and was baptised at Finsthwaite on October 13th. Originally a hooper/hoopmaker he also began to farm and moved away from Finsthwaite to the Hawkshead area. On 1st June 1805 Henry married Jane Rigge at Hawkshead Church. Many years later, after Jane 's death he married for a second time to Elizabeth Bell, a widow, formerly Kirkby, at Ulverston Parish Church on 18th April 1844. At his first wedding Henry was described as a hooper but by the time of his second marriage he was a farmer, farming at Skinner How near Hawkshead. He later passed the farm on to his eldest son and retired to live with his third son James at his farm at Lower Hawthwaite near Broughton in Furness. (See 1851 census)

Henry and Jane had 10 children, 5 of whom died young.

• Fanny 1805 - 1806
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• John 1807 - 1875
  • Married Mary Stephenson at Kirklinton in 1849.
    • They farmed at Skinner How and had five children. Several lines have been researched but the male line has now died out. (See 1861 & 1871 Census)
    • Son John 1850 - 1899 married Maria Bell in 1884 and they had one son John William who married but seems to have been childless. John was a great entrepreneur in the Hawkshead area and had fingers in lots of pies (as evidenced by this advert). (See 1891 census)
    • There may be present day descendants through the female line, traced back to the 3 daughters of their son Reuben Croasdell or their daughter Mary Jane, but no research has yet been done on this possibility.
  • John and Mary are both buried at Hawkshead with his parents.
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• William 1809 - 1860
  • Moved to Liverpool where he married Elizabeth Archer in 1831.
  • They had 7 children and several lines have been researched and documented.
  • The first two children were born in Hawkshead where William was trying to make a go of farming as a husbandman. But he obviously didn't succeed and in the mid 1830s the family moved to Liverpool where the other children were born.
  • Present day descendants of their 3rd son, another William, still live in the Liverpool area and others have moved to the USA.
  • Son Isaac features in Myths and Legends as the potential Trigamist.
  • Census entry for this family in 1851 and for descendants in later years
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• Margaret 1812 - 1812
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• James1813 - 1890   my direct ancestor

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• Henry 1815 - 1816
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• Jane c 1817
  • Married Anthony Parker a farmer at Hawkshead on 13 June 1840.
  • Jane was born in Finsthwaite, according to the census but no trace of her baptism has been found.
  • She and Anthony raised a family at Bootle, Cumberland and Anthony acted as executor of his father-in-law's will.
  • By 1881 they had retired to nearby Whitbeck.
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• Isaac 1819 - 1819
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• Henry 1820 - 1820
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• Elizabeth 1822 -
  • It isn't known what happened to Elizabeth. She was living at Skinner How in 1841 and mentioned in her father's will written in 1851 but there is no further trace yet discovered.

 

Jane died in December 1840 and is buried at Hawkshead together with Henry who died in July 1851. There is a fine tombstone by the main pathway. Buried with them were son John, his wife Mary and two grand-daughters. Henry left a will signed in May 1851. Elizabeth survived Henry and was buried elsewhere.

Copyright D E Waters 2010