The story of the Gill family begins in 1794 when both John Gill and his wife Jane Waddington were born, John in Myerscough and Jane, known as Jenny, in the parish of Broughton just to the north of Preston. Although the two villages are a few miles apart the parish boundaries are much nearer so their two families - so far both unknown - were not necessarily living a great distance apart. The Gills were probably attending the Catholic church of St Mary's at Newhouse in Barton while the Waddingtons were officially members of the parish of St John the Baptist at Broughton where their daughter was baptised. They married about 1815 and set up home in the same area, John being a blacksmith. Whatever the difference of religion - if there was one - can only be conjectured at present.

Names
Two points are important to bear in mind with this family. Though there is no obvious naming pattern the same Christian names recur with monotonous regularity in all branches and generations in the 19th century, John, James and Joseph, Elizabeth, Jenny, and Ann or Margaret. This makes it quite difficult to keep track of each family. The tree below provides a brief outline and identification is repeated with each listing. Links named as Gill Family tree are provided throughout the text and return to that point.

Places
The second point concerns places given for births. At this time the only Catholic church in this part of the Fylde serving the villages along the coast and inland to Poulton was St John's. St Mary's, Fleetwood was not begun until about 1844. Moreover the registration district for Fleetwood was (and still is, technically) Thornton. On the 1881 census therefore all Fleetwood records are listed under 'Thornton le Fylde'(= 'in the Field', occasionally mis-spelt as 'Flyde' which is meaningless). Births between Fleetwood and Poulton are frequently listed as 'Thornton'. Carleton has been substituted here where there seems to be some evidence in the records of Catholic baptisms which suggest that area in particular. As 'Blackpool' like Fleetwood was late in developing its own local government organisation it appears as 'Layton with Warbreck' being the collection of villages now comprising Blackpool Central and north Blackpool.

'On the move'
The whole of this period was one of tremendous growth along the Fylde coast as three major developments took place. Fleetwood was designed as a seaside resort and as early as 1844 with a population of only a few thousand it had 60,000 visitors who came on outings by train during the summer. It was also partly intended to provide an easy link for travellers from London to Scotland. A steamer would take them to Ardrossan, thus avoiding the hills which it was said railways would not be able to climb. Ferry and freight services were also of great importance, with regular sailings to Northern Ireland, including Londonderry in the early years (of special importance to the Armour family!)

At first the main fishing fleet was made up of shrimpers and trawlers which sailed in Morecambe Bay. Later larger trawlers went further afield fetching cod and haddock from the rich seas around Iceland. Trade grew to such an extent, especially with the opening of the new docks area, with its huge grain elevator and timber pond (with timber from the Baltic) in the eighties that Fleetwood began to rival Liverpool as a port. This continued until the opening of Preston dock and the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal.

Meanwhile, Blackpool' which had seen fishing on a much smaller scale, also became a major centre for the holiday trade, especially with the coming of the railways. The hotels and boarding houses that sprang up in the second half of the 19th century still extend for some ten miles along the coast.

Gill Family Tree

 

Armour Family

Kirkham Family

 

Family of John Gill (1794-1875) and Jane Waddington (1794-1867)

of Newhouse, Poulton and Fleetwood

1. James Gill b.17 Jan 1817 chr.18 Jan 1817 St Mary's, Newhouse d.19 Jul 1888
2. Joseph Gill chr.20 Mar 1820 at St Mary's, Newhouse
3. Ann Gill b. 31 Dec 1819 chr. 1 Jan 1820 at St Mary's, Newhouse
4. Mary Gill chr. 18 Jun 1822 at St John's RC chapel, Poulton, d. 6 Apr 1892
5. John Gill chr. 30 Apr 1826 at St John's RC Poulton d. Fleetwood

There is a mystery about some of the details given here. The birth and baptism dates for James Gill are taken from the day-book of his grandson, James Armour (see the Armour family) The dates given in Volume 15 of the Catholic Record Society transcriptions of the records for St Mary's Newhouse give James as born on the 9th of January and baptised on the 10th. If this was written at the time it is perhaps more reliable than the family's memory of the event. There is also a clear discrepancy in the dates for Joseph and Ann and it is not known who was the elder of these two.

These records date the move to the Poulton area fairly precisely to about 1821. It is thought that they lived in Carleton, now on the northern fringe of Blackpool. The three sons all became blacksmiths like their father. Eventually Joseph went south to Blackpool and into 'ironmongery' but the new town of Fleetwood was planned and built from about 1836 and it was here that the rest of the family moved, probably during the 1840s, taking advantage of all the new opportunities opening up. Their trade was undergoing a fundamental change, from that of the traditional village blacksmith to boilermakers and ship-building.

Jenny died on 8 Jul 1867, her husband then being a widower for nearly 8 years. In May 1875 "he met a tragic death. He fell into the fire and was burnt so badly he died a few days after." James Armour does not say whether this was a domestic fire but there might still have been a workshop with forge at that time. John Gill, his grandfather, could still perhaps have been doing odd jobs at the age of 81. He died on 13 May and was buried in Fleetwood Cemetery.

Gill Family Tree

Kirkham-Armour connection

 

Family of James Gill (1817-1888) and Elizabeth Kirkham (1817-1899)

of Carleton and Fleetwood

For the maternal line see the page on the Kirkham Family
James and Elizabeth lived at 29 West St, (now Lord St)Fleetwood, soon the main shopping street in the town.

1. John Gill b. 30 Aug 1843 Carleton d. 21 Nov 1914, blacksmith, lived at 31 West St, 1885 directory-Adelaide St; 1898 directory-37 West St.
2. Elizabeth Gill b.18 Nov 1845 in Carleton, d. 9 Apr 1895
3. Jane Gill b. 3 Mar 1847, m. John Taylor d. Preston 31 May 1911
4. Mary Anne Gill b.18 Mar 1851 d. 15 Jul 1851 at 4 months old
5. James Gill b. 23 Jun 1852 in Carleton, d.14 Feb 1897 James Armour (3) wrote in his diary, "He was a cripple all his life but he worked in the smithy as a blacksmith when he was fit."
6. Joseph Gill b. 2 Dec 1854
7. Mary Anne Gill b. 2 Aug 1857 d. 22 Oct 1865

James Gill senior died on 19 Jul 1888 and was buried in Fleetwood cemetery. After her husband died Elizabeth (Kirkham) Gill moved in with their eldest son John at no.31 West St. This was next to the pub the Royal Oak. There is a puzzle about the numbering, including a mistake on the 1881 census which shows two houses numbered as 31, one on each side of no.29. The shop must have extended across the ground floor of both addresses and this could account for the confusion. One of them is between no.29 and the pub the Royal Oak but this could perhaps be a missing no.27? This was the one occupied by John Gill, whereas the other is listed as being 'unoccupied'. The workshop is said by granddaughters of James Gill to have been behind the shop, and many of the Gill men must have worked here over the years.

The confusion is increased by the 1891 census. John Gill was living at no.39, listed straight after the Royal Oak and the Board Schools (the latter being unoccupied of course) so the numbers must have changed, though not consistently. Elizabeth (Kirkham) was living with her unmarried son James and her younger sister Mary at no.37. A family called Whalley were at no.35 and then nos 31-33 were occupied by Joseph Gill with his wife Margaret (Inch) and their 5 children. No more houses are listed after these.

John Gill m. Mary Hodkinson who was born in 1836 in Brindle, south of Preston. She was 7 years older and had been married before, having three children by her previous marriage, Jane, Alice and Peter who were all born in Oldham. In 1881 Peter was an engine driver aged 23, living in 'Breightmet', Bolton. (Peter's wife was 10 years older than him and he too had three step-children.) It is not known whether John and Mary had any children and at present it seems unlikely as she was already 45 in 1881 with none living at home. Return

The eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married James Armour at St Mary's RC church in Fleetwood on 2 Jan 1868. To continue see the Armour family

Taylor family
Jane Gill b.1847 married John Taylor who was born in Lancaster in 1849. The 1881 census (transcript) gives Jane as born in 'Cleveley', now known as Thornton Cleveleys. John at this time was an unemployed lath sender though it looks as though his return to Lancaster - and his period of unemployment - was temporary. They were then living in 6 Mill St with three children, Agnes Ellen 6, Elizabeth 4, and Mary Margaret 2, the last two having been born in Preston. The family returned to Preston later.
Agnes married Thomas Swarbrick (see below),
Elizabeth married William Henry Murphy who ran the Eldon Hotel in Eldon St. there and had three children, Richard, Francis and Winifride Murphy.
Margaret married Thomas Hayes, another cousin of James (3) and had a son George..
A 4th child, John Stanley Taylor born 5 Sep 1881 became headmaster of St Ignatius' School in Preston.

Swarbrick family
Thomas Swarbrick was a cousin of Agnes Taylor's but at one generation removed. The slip of a generation is shown in the tree below. His uncle, James Swarbrick, was lodging with James Gill and Elizabeth [formerly Kirkham] in 1881 at 29 West St. For more details see the Kirkham family

Family Tree showing the related families of Armour, Kirkham, Taylor and Swarbrick

In 1881 Joseph Gill, now aged 26, was lodging with his elder brother John at 31 West St. Joseph could not long have been married, his wife being Margaret Inch, 29, born in Chorley. Like the rest of the menfolk in the Gill family, he was a blacksmith. Perhaps the competition between the various Johns, James and Josephs of the Gill family was becoming rather fierce. He saw an opportunity probably through an advertisement placed in Lancashire newspapers for new cotton mills being started up in the industrial areas of the Falls River, Massachusetts and took it. He remained in America for some years but returned to England in 1902. It is not known where he landed or where he went to after that, only that he and Margaret had returned with six or seven children, all presumably born in the States. Return

Gill Family Tree

Taylor-Swarbrick-connection

 

Joseph Gill of Blackpool -

second son of John Gill and Jane Waddington

Joseph married twice, his first wife being Anne Brown, known as Nanny. In 1851 he was in Bonny St, Blackpool according to a local directory though whether this was just a shop or had living quarters as well is not known. His ironmongery business continued to appear in directories for 1866-1881 when he was living at 46 Chapel St, Layton. He and Nanny had eight children the last being born in December 1861. It seems likely that Nanny died in childbirth, the child dying about then as well.. He married for a second time, on 26 Oct 1862 in Blackpool. His wife Fanny Barnett, born in 1827 at Hassall Green in Cheshire, was herself a widow, now Fanny Bateman. Joseph and Fanny seem to have had only one child, called Mary like the two earlier girls who must have died as babies, who was born in 1864.

Children of Joseph Gill and Ann Brown -all baptised in Blackpool. (see Gill Family Tree)

1. John Gill, chr.29 Jul 1846, blacksmith; m. Jane Higham; dau. of John Higham of Warton
2. Jane Gill chr.17 Oct 1847 m. Peter John Hulme* 12 May 1873
3. Margaret Gill chr. 25 Feb 1849 m. ? Hutchinson
4. Jenny Ann Gill chr. 26 May 1850
5. Mary Gill chr. 22 Jun 1851
6. Elizabeth Gill b.& chr. 19 Jun 1852 m. Thomas Ronson 7 Sep 1876 in Blackpool. Thomas was a joiner, born in Preesall about 1850. They settled in Fleetwood at 57 Kemp St, next door to Elizabeth's uncle, John Gill (3rd son of John and Jenny) [details on request]
7. James Gill chr.4 May 1856 m. Edith Fletcher(b.1862) on 3 Oct 1887 in Blackpool
8. Mary Gill chr. 2 Dec 1861

*No match can be found for Peter John Hulme on the 1881 census. It is possible this name should be 'Holmes'? The baptism and marriage information is taken from the Vital Records Index. Original records are always preferable if possible.

Joseph was still living at 46 Chapel St in 1881. His daughter Jenny was unmarried and 30, and Mary, 17, the youngest was still at home. This only leaves Margaret as the mother of Jane Hutchinson "grand dau" who was also living with them, Jane being 10 and born in Manchester. Perhaps her mother had died or it was only a temporary arrangement. Also at home was Joseph's only son James, 25 and unmarried, another blacksmith presumably working with his father.

John Gill, the eldest son and his wife Jane (Higham, b.Warton 1855) were living at 48 Chapel St Layton in 1881, next door to his father Joseph. Their children were:

1. Ann (Nanny) chr. 27 Dec 1868,
2. Joseph chr. 30 Oct 1870
3. William chr. 27 Oct 1872
4. John Henry (not John S. as given in the 1881 census) chr. 10 May 1874
5. Margaret Ann chr. 10 Jun 1877
6. Jane chr. 20 Feb 1881
7. Fanny chr. 10 Jun 1883

(These dates are given in the IGI and agree with the ages in the census.)
Further to the family of John Gill and Jane (Higham):

• Nanny m. Alexander Danks Coulton on 17 Nov 1897
• Joseph m. Betty Harrison, 18, dau of Richard, on 18 Jul 1894
• William m. Mary Ellen Davenport, 20, dau. of Egbert on 2 Apr 1895

Gill Family Tree

Taylor-Swarbrick-connection

3. The baptism of Ann Gill, dau of John Gill and Jane (Waddington) gives a clue to other unknown - and earlier- members of the Gill family for her godparents were 'James Gill and Catherine Gill'. Whether these two were brother and sister of husband and wife is not known as they have not been traced. Ann herself never married. She died on 30 Apr 1872 and is buried in Fleetwood cemetery. Return

4. Mary Gill, dau of John Gill and Jane (Waddington) married Thomas Atkinson Drummond a master builder who was very involved in the first wave of house building in the new town of Fleetwood. He was born in Newcastle about 1809 so was some 14 years older than Mary. By 1881 he was employing 18 men and 8 boys and figures largely in the history of town. Their daughters Jane and Mary are as yet unaccounted for but those listed on the census for 1881, at 15 Preston St, Fleetwood were John, 25, builder's clerk, Rachel, 23, and Annie, 21. Not far away were other members of the family, Christopher, 34, a builder's manager at 32 London St with his wife Charlotte and three children and Thomas, 29, a bricklayer, with wife Elizabeth and two small children at 6 London St. By 1891 only Christopher had moved, now having five children, and only to 29 Preston St, fairly close to his parents. He was now described as a joiner and builder.

Thomas Atkinson Drummond, a builder from Newcastle, had been working in Manchester on projects connected with the railway. He decided in 1837 to see Fleetwood for himself, going by train to Garstang and then walking to Knott End - quite a distance! He caught the ferry across and was so taken by what he saw of Fleetwood that he decided to set up his business there. He refused to buy his materials locally, perhaps regarding prices asked by Kemp, agent for Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood as inflated and instead walked the eight miles to Poulton for better prices, teaming up with a builder and decorator, Joseph Walmsley who himself decided to move to Fleetwood.. One interesting footnote to this story is that Joseph Walmsley's grandson was later related to the Lupton family through his marriage to a Hull.

Thomas built himself a house and offices on Preston St and is reputed to be responsible for nearly all the early streets and buildings. Besides the house-building he was also employed on such projects as building a church for the Congregationalists in West St (now Lord St) in 1847. (It was demolished in 1936 to make way for Marks & Spencers) His own former offices eventually became those of a firm of solicitors. Return

5. John Gill, son of John Gill and Jane (Waddington) was like the rest of the Gill sons in every branch, a blacksmith. By 1881 he was employing one man and had an apprentice as well.

It is said that there were only 4 blacksmiths in Fleetwood in 1866 and 8 by 1900 or so. The term 'blacksmith' of course covers a variety of skills, all basically working in metal and needing a forge. Presumably this remark is intended only to refer to traditional blacksmiths who shoe horses. It is difficult however to see how this calculation was made when the term 'blacksmith' was then used indiscriminately. There were six working in 1866 in the Gill family alone including John Gill, senior who fell in the fire in 1875, 3 Johns, two James and one Joseph - with more to follow!

John married Elizabeth (surname unknown) but born in Burton, (then Westmorland) about 1829, and was living at 35 Kemp St in 1881. They had four children, Joseph, 21, listed as a 'blacksmith's son, (the unknown apprentice?), Jenny, 20, a dressmaker, Eliza, 15, a pupil teacher and Susan 13, a monitress.

It is not known whether Eliza or Susan went on to be teachers but this was how training began in the early days, especially after the passing of the Education Acts of the seventies which made schooling compulsory. These two girls were presumably at St Mary's which was then an all-age school, Susan presumably in charge of a class of younger children. The school was large and it was likely there were several classes, not just two as in a village school for example, although class sizes were frequently any number up to 60 or more! The leaving age was then between 10 and 12 but attendance was still erratic at times.Return

Armour Family

Gill Family Tree

Kirkham-Taylor-Swarbrick tree added June 2005