Re: John and Herbert LITTLEWOOD/Huddersfield, YORK.
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In reply to:
John and Herbert LITTLEWOOD/Huddersfield, YORK.
10/06/01
Hi Emily
I had a brief look at this in the local library - they have published indexes for both the 1841 and 1851 censuses for the Huddersfield area inc Holmfirth and the 1881 on fiche.
In 1881 I found the following at Mount Pleasant:
Betty Littlewood Head of Household widow 73 female born Cartworth
Emma Cartwright granddau, unmarried 19 (cant read place of birth on my notes)
Herbert Littlewood grandson unmarried 18 same
The 1851 for Damhouse in Cartworth produced:
John Littlewood head married 41 woolen weaver born Wooldale (adjecent township)
Betty wife married 43born Cartworth
Mary daughter unmarried 18 woolen weaver born Cartworth
Hannah daughter unmarried 17 woolen weaver ditto
Benjamin son 15 heald maker ditto
Lydia daughter 12no occ ditto
Harriet daughter 10 ditto
John son 8 ditto
Ann daughter 5 ditto
Walker son 9 month ditto
The family had been in Damhouse since at least 1841:
John Littlewood 30 woolen weaver
Elizabeth 30 bobbin winder
Mary 9
Hannah 7
Benjamin 5
Lydia 3
Harriet 1
All born in Yorkshire and ages rounded to the nearest 10 years for those over 20
I checked the other adjecent townships for the same censuses and there were no other possibilities. The only other John (senior) in 1841 is the husband of Druscilla, son of Rowland, well known to both Ken Littlewood and I. There are no other possible Bettys or Elizabeths.
I do not have time to check the 1861 or 1871, as this means scanning through reels of microfilm.
I did a quick check on the older childrens baptisms prior to 1837, in the parish register index for Kirkburton and they do not show up. They are more likely to be in Holmfirth, but these are not indexed.
With reference to 1863 - 1881, I would guess that Mary Ann died young and the young Herbert was lodged with hisgrandmother or grandparents. If his father re-married, the boy may or may not have gone to live with his father and step-mother. it was quite common practice to foster out children aged 8 plus to grandparents as this kept the old folk active, meant someone was keeping an eye on them, provided help with fetching and carrying and sometimes allowed the child as bit more attention than in a large family. As they got older, their income often helped to keep the old person alive.
Going back in time, there were Littlewoods in Damhouse back as far as the 18 C to my knowledge - Thomas gets several mentions in Jessops diary from the mid-18C. The family name originates from Cartworth anyway, going back to the settlement of Littlewood that was abandoned in the late 14 C (all the early records are de Littlewood). However this is not my branch and the fact that John (senior) was born in Wooldale may mean that his family did not come from Damhouse originally.
Hope it helps anyway.
R