I'm trying to trace the relatives of a large family-bible (well over 100 years old) that was passed onto me by someone who purchased it at a car boot sale in Eastbourne. There are 2 letters enclosed within the bible, the first one is in very good condition and is dated 1919. This was written by a Mr Joseph Turner (born 19th December 1881) when he was headmaster at Firs Hill Boys School, Sheffield. The letter is a 'copy of a testimonial' - basically a work reference that he wrote to recommend his sister Harriet Turner (nee. Cowlishaw) for a promotion.

The second letter is a touching personal letter from Harriet to her husband which is barely legible and starting to fall to pieces. The date is July 31st but no year is given (possibly between 1908 - 1924 as she mentions their two young children, William and Ann). At the top of the letter it says 'Sheffield Manor' which must have been where they lived at the time.

Harriet was born 10th Feb 1884 as the birth dates of all the siblings are recorded in the family bible. Their parents are listed at the front as Thomas Turner, born 28th April 1856 and Mary Jane Cowlishaw, born April 9th 1858.

It's a long shot but if anyone has any information that could help me trace the relatives of the above I would like to return the bible and letters to them. Even though the bible was sold at a car boot sale it is possible that no one was aware that the letters where hidden inside.

Please contact me by email at dianeg96uk@yahoo.co.uk if you have any information that could help me return this small treasure from the past to its rightful owners. Many thanks in advance.

Hi Diane,

I believe I may have a connection to the Cowlishaws line through my Dungworths but it will be very distant.

My Cowlishaws came from Sheffield Park area. I have a Thomas born 1856 but that is all I know about him.

I will "do" a little more digging. As I am in Canada and a probable distant rellie I would not want to take the Bible out of England.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Hi Diane

There is a TURNER public family tree on Ancestry by RickTurner527 which may help ...

Children of Mary Jane Cowlishaw and Thomas Turner mentioned as follows


Annie Turner
1880–

Joseph Turner
1882–

Harriet Turner
1884–

Nina Turner
1893–

William Turner
1898–


1911 Census gives Harriet as an elementary teacher living with her parents 234 City Rd
so would seem to be the right family

Vicki

Diane, According to Free BMD a Harriet Turner, with birth date 10 Feb 1884, died in Sheffield in 1980. This implies that she never married.
Are you sure about the identity of the writer of the second letter?
Dave

EDIT The 1839 register has Harriet Turner born 10 Feb 1884 living alone in Sheffield. Perhaps someone with a subscription to FMP can confirm her occupation.
A Harriet Turner shows up in the Directories to the left here as "day school" in 1946
Dave

Hi Elaine,

I appreciate that and any further information you might have would be great. Many thanks.

Hi Nina,

Yes those are the names of the children listed at the front of the bible. There are actually 2 Ninas listed which puzzled me at first but have sadly just discovered from the Sheffield Indexers archives that the first Nina died aged 3 years old and her sister Nina was born less than a year later. Their brother Joseph Turner died in 1910 aged 28 at South Yorkshire Lunatic Asylum having spent 2 years there but it doesn't say what his cause of death was. The more I find out about this family the more heart-wrenching it becomes although I know things were tough back then, infant mortality rates were really high and you apparently you could be locked up in the asylum for 'fright', 'love' or 'religion'.

Let's hope the rest of the siblings fared better, Harriet seems to have done well becoming a teacher but I haven't found anything else out about her older sister Annie and her younger brother William Turner.

It is primarily the descendants of Harriet that I'd really like to contact simply because of the letters enclosed within the bible. I think she was given the family bible by her parents as a keepsake and probably put the letters inside forgetting that they were there.

Hi Dave,

That is interesting as it would imply Harriet died as a single woman around 96 years of age. So now I'm more confused, who was the Harriet Cowlishaw that was married and had 2 children, William and Anne?! I thought it was Harriet Turner using her mother's maiden name to sign off the letter which didn't make sense to me when I read it.

Harriet Turner's mother was called Mary Jane Cowlishaw before marriage so I assumed Harriet was using that surname despite being married although it would be highly unlikely. Now I find out that the Harriet I thought it was appears to have passed away with no children and I'm back to square one! Hopefully other people will see the post and come forward with a bit more info...

Hi Diane,

1939 register, 269 City Road, Sheffield.
Thomas Turner born 26 Apr 1856, retired private means.
Mary J. Turner, born 9 Apr 1858.
Annie Turner, born 4 Sep 1879, unpaid housekeeper.
Harriet Turner, born 10 Feb 1884, teacher elementary school.

Moira

Hi Diane

The 1911 Census says that Thomas and Mary have been married 32 years, 6 children with 4 living so that ties up with Joseph and Nina (1) being the ones who died

The burial record of Joseph shows him as a labourer, not a headmaster of a school or a teacher.

The 1939 Register gives Harriet and Anne b 4 Sep 1879 both single living with parents at 269 City Road. Anne is down as an unpaid housekeeper, so she may never have married either?

Vicki

Do you have Nina's (2) date of birth

If it is 22 July 1892 this death may be of interest

Deaths Q to Mar 1970
TURNER Nina 22Jy1892 Rother V 2c 2020 S

Vicki

Hi Vicki,

Apologies for addressing you as Nina in my previous post - I think all this research has frazzled my brain!

You are correct about Joseph not being the writer of the first letter (the testimonial). When it was signed J Turner I thought it was Joseph Turner writing a work reference for his sister Harriet to be promoted at the school they both worked at. However, today I've just discovered that Joseph tragically died 9 years before the letter was written so perhaps the J Turner was an uncle or other relative of Harriet's on her fathers side of the family. He was headmaster at Firs Hill Boys School which I think might be a primary school now? Being a headmaster of the school you would think there would be some records backing this up somewhere so I've got a bit more digging to do to find out who J Turner was.

Turner is a popular name and it might even be a coincidence that the headmaster had the same surname as Harriet and he isn't a relative at all. There are so many possibilities but I'm going to wrap it up until tomorrow as I feel my head is going to explode! Thanks again to you and everyone who has got in touch for the input, researching is fun but very time consuming so any help is very much appreciated.

Hi Vicki,

Just saw your last post - yes Nina was born 22nd July 1892. I will check out the link....

Hi Moira,

Thanks for the info and backs up the fact that Harriet was indeed a teacher but seemingly remained unmarried and with no children - which means this can't be the same Harriet that wrote the letter to her husband and signed it 'Harriet Cowlishaw' - the plot thickens! It seems Anne and Harriet both remained single and living with their parents at the address you gave. I've not yet gotten around to researching anything about William Turner, their youngest sibling, who was born 27th April 1897 so that will be next on the cards...

I believe Harriet Turner who died in 1980 left a will. Her probate shows up on Ancestry. Perhaps someone with a subs would look it up.
Dave

Diane,
Mary Jane Cowlishaw was one of 13 children. Her mother maiden name was Richardson.
Mary Jane was a twin with Elizabeth, and they had a pair of twin brothers , Arthur and Thomas Henry born 1855.
Thomas Henry married to Harriet Cutts in 1882, and they had a son William. I wonder if Harriet Cowlishaw nee Cutts was the author of the second letter. If true the letter could be from before 1900.
Dave

1939 register, 346 City Road, Sheffield.
William Turner, born 27 Apr 1897, Steel works plant draughtsman armourments, married.
Dorothy Turner, born 22 May 1899, domestic duties, married.
One record closed.

Moira.

Harriett Turner who died in 1980 was living at 32 Dovercourt rd Sheffield and left £39040. Nothing about who did the probate though.

Diane,
According to Free BMD, between 1900 and 1980 only 2 people called Harriet Cowlishaw died in Sheffield. One was an 80 yr old who died in 1904 and the other a 92 yr old who died in 1954. Harriet Cutts who married Thomas Henry Cowlishaw would have been 92 in 1954.
Harriet Cowlishaw born 1861 is in Sheffield on the 1939 Register. That may be worth looking up.
Dave

1939 register 257 City Rd
Harriet Cowlishaw b 1861 widow
Elizabeth Cowlishaw b 1883

Thomas Henry Cowlishaw died 23 June 1923, Probate to Harriet £1141 13s 2d

GRO BIRTH .... COWLISHAW, ELIZABETH mothers maiden name CUTTS
1883 J Quarter in SHEFFIELD Volume 09C Page 515

Vicki

Hi Diane,

I believe I am connected to this family but maybe three generations earlier.

From the info that others have given you I wont confuse you. For some reason I had started
researching the line from the Bible maybe thinking they were mine.

My research really stemmed from Elizabeth Cowlishaw born 1836. She married my 2x great uncle George Dungworth. Elizabeths father was Wm Cowlishaw (1812-1840) mother Hannah Lomas (1810).

Hope you find someone to pass the Family Bible on to.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Hi Diane

It seems that Anne, Harriet and Nina (2) all died as spinsters.

This may be worth looking at for William

Marriages Sep 1935 Sheffield 9c 900
CALLIS Dorothy Turner
TURNER William Callis


Births Jun 1899 Callis Dorothy Sheffield 9c 615

Deaths Sep 1968 TURNER WILLIAM age 71 SHEFFIELD 2D 324

Deaths Dec 1977 TURNER Dorothy 25MY1899 Sheffield 3 1899

I can't see any children called TURNER with a mothers maiden name of Callis

Vicki

Hi Diane,

There is a marriage in the Dec Q 1938, registration district of Don Valley between
William Turner and Dorothy Bailey.

These are birth registrations for Turner/Bailey.
David M. Turner, Dec Q 1939, Sheffield.
Melvyn Turner, June Q 1941, Don Valley.
Patricia A. Turner, Mar Q 1943, Sheffield.
Susan E. Turner, Dec Q 1948, Sheffield.


I don't know if this will complicate matters, but in the Sheffield Independent,
dated 25 October, 1919 is the following short article:
Mr Samuel Wright, headmaster of the Firs Hill Boys Council School, is resigning
on 31 October, after over 40 years service. His successor will be Mr John Turner,
headmaster of Newhall Senior Mixed School.

Moira.

Diane,
Mary J Turner nee Cowlishaw died in 1941 and her husband Thomas Turner died in 1945. There is a probate for him on Ancestry. May be a clue in that.

Does the bible have a publication year?

I find it strange that a woman would write a letter to her husband and sign it with both first name and surname.
Dave

Hi All,

Apologies that I can't always get back straight away as I'm trying to juggle the research around work and kids!

Dave - I can't believe you mentioned that Mary Jane had a sister-in-law called Harriet as last night I couldn't switch off after I turned in and was pondering who Harriet Cowlishaw was. The thought popped into my head that Harriet was a sister of Mary Jane's and for whatever reason Mary Jane kept her sister's letter - but why would Harriet sign off using her maiden name Cowlishaw and not her husbands? However if you are correct it could be actually her sister-in-law's letter, her brother's wife. They did have a child called William as mentioned in the letter but Harriet also mentions a younger child called Ann who sounds like she is around toddler age and starting to form sentences.

The letter is so old and tatty looking and I did wonder why the letter from 1919 looked brand new in comparison to the other one but it could be because Harriet's letter is in actual fact almost 150 years old.

If Harriet Turner was indeed in possession of the bible when she died and died a spinster it explains how easily the bible could then have eventually ended up at a car boot sale around 30 years after her death (bought away down in Eastbourne no less). The only reason I think it was Harriet who ended up with the bible is because of the testimonial from the headmaster J Turner on her behalf. However it could also have belonged to Thomas Henry Cowlishaw and his wife Harriet which is why her draft letter to her husband ended up in the bible.

I could be wrong about all of this though as I've painfully discovered many of my guesses have been wrong from the start - a great lesson on not making assumptions! My best options now are to trace the descendants of William and Dorothy Turner and Thomas Henry and Harriet Cowlishaw as the other siblings died with no children.

Moira - that's some great info you discovered about William and Dorothy and I think that will be my next lead. The article you found doesn't complicate matters at all, in fact quite the opposite. Now we know the J Turner was actually John Turner (and not Joseph which was one of many of my wrong assumptions!) - whether John Turner was an uncle or some other relation to Harriet Turner or it's just a coincidence we might never know but at least the article confirms that J Turner was indeed the headmaster at Firs Hill in 1919!

Elaine - that is amazing you are connected to the family, even if it's a more distant connection. I wish I could show you the bible in person so you could read the letters. If I haven't managed to find any family to pass the bible on to and you are ever over in the UK you are welcome to stop by and see it for yourself!

Lynn & Vicki - thank you to you both for all the info you've gathered, when I get some time this week I'm going to draw a family tree and time line, etc, so I can keep all of the info clear in my head. All of your help really makes a difference to getting a clearer understanding of the family and who might still be around to pass the bible/letters onto. I may hit a brick wall eventually but I'm not going to give up without giving it my best shot!

Hi Diane

The Census entries 1851 to 1901 for The Manor make interesting reading with a selection of Cutts, Cowlishaw and Turner families living close together

1861 shows Harriet Cowlishaw, widow age 37 with 7 children, including a William & an Ann

Vicki

That is an amazing find Vicki and this has to be the same Harriet Cowlishaw! Such a shame she ended up a widow so young with so many children. That explains the condition of the letter and means it could even be almost 170 years old (or slightly older).

In the letter she says she 'was watching ever so long in the tower for the train going (?) in' with William and Ann. Young Ann is asking if one of the guards is their father and William says 'he is not here, can he love us there?' Is there a tower at the train station in Sheffield or would the Manor have a tower where they could see over to the station? I live in Ayrshire, Scotland so haven't any knowledge of the Sheffield area at all unfortunately.

I'm going to try and write a transcript of the letter even though part of it is illegible, I'll just write down what I can clearly make out. It is so fragile that I don't want to handle it too much. It clearly says Sheffield Manor at the top and also the date July 31 ( at first I thought it meant July 1931 but possibly means 31st of July (1850's?) perhaps)

The good news is that with seven children this narrows down the research and makes me hopeful that we will find a descendant of Harriet and Thomas Henry Cowlishaw's children...yay!

Hi Diane,

As Vicki has noted there is lots to learn from the different census.


I believe that Thomas's father William was born in Hathersage, Derbyshire in 1812 and was baptised there. He then moved to Sheffield and became a Pen Blade Forger. His wife was Mary Barber from Sheffield. I have 9 children for them.

If you look at my personal website listed below this message you maybe able to follow
what I have for this family.

I know realise why I have so much info on them. One of my paternal aunts Annie Wilson married Bernard Baxter who was linked to this line. Took me a while to sort out who belonged to which line of Cowlishaws.

Fingers crossed but if you can not find any rellies here in Sheffield might bear fruit in Hathersage.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Just to throw in another strong candidate :
Mary Jane cowlishaw's mother was Harriet, nee Richardson. She married Thomas Cowlishaw in 1840 at Sheff Parish Church and two of her 13 chldren were William and Ann. All the 13 children (including 2 sets of twins) can be found on GRO Index. A couple of the children were born in the mid 1860s so she could not have been a widow in 1861. She must be a different one from the one found by Vicki.
Dave

Edit oh dear. Just to put the cat amongst the pigeons, the Thomas Cowlishaw who married Harriet Richardson in 1840 seems to have died in 1858, implying that this is the same family as found by Vicki. So now need to explain the extra Cowlishaw Richardson children born in the 1860s.

Hi guys,

Things seems to get more complicated the more we find out! Trust me to have 2 Harriet Cowlishaws within the same family around the same time and both with children called William and Ann (just to confuse things further!). Ann was spelt without an e and it seemed like William was a few years older than Ann. Don't know if that would narrow it down between the two Harriets?

It could well be that Mary Jane kept a letter that her mother Harriet had written to Mary Jane's father Thomas when her siblings William and Ann were young. That would make more sense than her keeping a letter from her sister-in-law Harriet but I wouldn't rule that out either. It really now boils down to which Harriet Cowlishaw wrote the letter so I can take it from there - was it Mary Jane's mother or her sister in law? Will re-write the letter tomorrow as best as I can as it may provide further clues as to which Harriet it was...

Diane and Vicki, problem solved.
Here are the Cowlishaw births mmn Richardson all Sheffield.
Charles q2 1841
WILLIAM q2 1843
John q3 1845
ANN q1 1848
Godfrey q4 1850
Emily q1 1853
Arthur q4 1855
ThomasHenry q41855
Elizabeth q1 1858
Mary Jane q2 1858
Charles q2 1861
William Henry q41863
Hannah q31866
Jane q1 1869

Clearly there are two separate families her,e and no twins. Sorry I did not look hard enough before. Clearly one of these two families is the one Vicki found
Dave

Edit, James Cowlishaw married Ann Richardson Sheffield 1851. They are the parents of the second family

Hi Dave,

No need to apologise as you have all been great and I wouldn't be nowhere near as close if it hadn't been for all the support. I've accidentally stumbled upon a thread on Sheffield Indexers from a Katherine Seaville who says she is the great grand daughter of Thomas Henry Cowlishaw which means Mary Jane Cowlishaw was her great Aunt. Unfortunately the thread was written in 2003 and is closed now but I will copy her post below -

K Seavill
Registered User
K Seavill
Members
21 posts
Joined Apr 2003
Report post #11
Posted October 27, 2003

Maureen,

Many thanks for your help. My gt gt gt grandfather was known to the family as "Praying" William Cowlishaw, who lived at Skye Edge, Sheffield and founded the first Manor Wesleyan Chapel. His son George oversaw the building of the second chapel (the one that used to be on Manor Park Crescent). I am descended from another of Praying William's sons, Thomas. My mother is Patricia Edna Cowlishaw, granddaughter of Thomas Henry Cowlishaw, (Thomas' son). Sorry, all very confusing!


I would be really grateful if you could pass on my address to Jack, who I am sure is also a descendant of Praying William, and say that I would very much like to get in touch with him to find out what more he knows about the church and possibly to see other pictures of it. My address is 65 Quantock Road, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 4PQ.


Many thanks again for your help in this matter.

Katherine Seavill


I have checked on Zoopla for the address Katherine mentions above but it was sold in 2005 so I can't send her a letter to that address. I've also messaged her on this forum but she was last on in here in 2015 so not sure if she's going to pick my message up. I really think Katherine is the key to solving this and she is the closest living (God willing) relative I've found yet. Any help finding Katherine Seaville would be great, she says back then she's not a native to Sheffield and might still be living in Bristol. I will check back in tomorrow eve as brain frazzle is starting to set in...!

Diane,
I now think that Thomas Henry Cowlishaw is a false lead . Consider the following:
Thomas Cowlishaw born Sheffield 1818 married Harriet Richardson in 1840. They had 7 children, the last of whom was MARY JANE born in the first quarter of 1858.
A very short time later, on 21st JULY 1858 Thomas, aged 40 was buried at Park St John. His Address was give as Deep Pits ( does that mean anything to any locals please?)
I suspect that his widow Harriet wrote something on 31st July, 10 days later, about her experiences of explaining to her children what had happened to their father, and how the children, in particular Ann and William, we're looking for their father coming home.
That note survived and was retained by her daughter Mary Jane as the only connection to her father who died before she was 3 months old.
It was not written to her husband, it was written about him.
Very poignant
Dave

A fascinating thread!

Deep Pits is an area off City Road (originally Intake Rd) near the top. The 1919-20 directory lists it after 763 City Rd and it is immediately followed by Windy House lane.

This is a thread on the Sheffield History site:
https://www.sheffieldhistory.co.uk/forums/topic/10983-deep-pit/

There is of course a famous tower on the Manor - the 'hunting tower' which was part of the old manor house. What remained of the manor buildings was divided and rented out by the 19th century so it is plausible that residents had access to the tower :)

Hugh

Diane,
The child Ann referred to in your document can be found in the burials over to the left. She died age 22, a spinster, in 1870 and was buried in Burngreave. The grave owner was Harriet Cowlishaw. There is one other burial in the same grave, in 1880, a Harriet Elizabeth ASHFORTH, wife of George, age 27. She was nee Cowlishaw and had married in 1877. On GRO index a Harriet Elizabeth Cororishaw was born Sheffield in 1853 with mother maiden name Richardson, so she was also an ill-fated daughter of Thomas and Harriet. She needs to be added to the list of Cowlishaw-Richardson children, so now 15 in all between 2 families.
Dave

Hi Dave,

Just before I read your message on this forum I was reading a family tree kindly sent to me by Elaine from Ottowa and it lists in great detail the births, deaths, occupations, etc, of William Cowlishaw (1784-1856) and his son Thomas Cowlishaw (1818-1858), their marriages and offspring.

When I read it I also realised that Mary Jane Cowlishaw was just a few months old when her father died and can now understand why she treasured the letter so much. I didn't think that the letter was written after Harriet's husband had passed though but you could well be correct. If so this family just breaks my heart. I've so many mixed emotions and it isn't even my own ancestors!!

I wanted to attach a copy of the letters to this thread but don't know how to do that (technophobe that I am) or if it's even possible. If you would like me to send you a copy then feel free to email me on dianeg96uk@yahoo.co.uk and I will send them over. I've done my best but you may be able to decipher the parts that I can't. Have just spent the best part of an hour hunkering over the letter with a torch trying to make it out!

One good thing about re-writing Harriet's letter is that I discovered she mentioned another child called John - which perfectly fits in with the little boy who was born after William and before Ann. Once you read the letter you can decide better if you still think Harriet wrote the letter after her husband passed away.

Unfortunately Katherine Seaville hasn't replied to my message but I'm probably being a bit impatient. Will continue to research more about descendants of William and John as you mentioned Ann died in her early 20's:(

Hi Hugh,

What a good find regarding the tower as this was something that stood out about the letter. The tower that you mention, would you be able to see trains from that particular tower? It's just that Harriet says she is standing at the tower watching the train. Does a railway line run past near the tower? She addresses the letter at top as 'Sheffield Manor'..

Diane, I have emailed you.
If you can please send me a scan at high res I will happily take a look.
Also, if you agree, I can make it available here for othersto see

Dave

Hi Dave,

Just sent them over, hope the quality is good enough but if not I'll try to send them from a high res scanner. Yes, please attach all of the documents here for others if you are able to do that. Many thanks and will check back in tomorrow eve.

Dear all, the two following links take you to the two pages of the Harriet Cowlishaw letter.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zdlrobgoaxhca13/IMG_20190207_171322%5B1%5D.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/f3xe606zxhejprc/IMG_20190207_171731%5B1%5D.jpg?dl=0

Diane had prepared a transcript (below) to which i have added a few changes (italics. All help and corrections welcome:

Sheffield Manor July 31

(Dear?) Husband,

I was glad to hear that you arrived safe in Hull for you know I am always rather fearfull about those trips. I was watching ever so long in the tower for the train going in.
I told little Ann you had sent your love, she said is is (sic) were is father con-con (sic) and points up the yard. John wanted to look at it, William looked and said he is not here, can he love us there.
For my own part I shall be glad when the time is over for I scarcely dare go to bed and? by night I have striven it awhile betwixt eleven and twelve and then I have a candle burning.
I was glad to hear that you looked better, you never
Page 2
at one time expected never (crossed out) to be able to go away from home. I believe this time the Lord has been very kind to us, we must strive in return to render unto him our undived (sic) (undivided?) hearts, may he enable us for is merceys sake.
I got on Saturday at Cusworths ten shillings and nothing at Georges. I have to tell you we are all well but it is nearly eleven by ours so I think it is time to come to a close. So no more at present from
Your affectionate wife
Harriet Cowlishaw

How wrong was I about not being a letter to her husband!!
Diane is going to order Thomas Cowlishaw's death cert. I believe he went away (more than once) to convalesce. Thomas, a cutler, died in 1858, William was born in 1843, John in 1845 and Ann in 1848 so the letter was probably written around 1852 to in the early to mid 1850s.

Will post a link to picture of the bible Friday evening.

Hi Diane,

If you have a look at this map you will see where it shows Manor Castle Colliery and to the left Sheffield Midland Station.

1890 map of Sheffield.

http://history.youle.info/images/1890maplg.jpg

Just click on the map to enlarge it.

Sheffield is very very hilly so from the (Tower) I am sure she was able to see the train down in the valley.

Deep Pits was a short road leading off of what is now City Road. Intake Road on the above map. My great grandparents had a pub there for about 50 years. (Travelers Rest)

Lots more maps under our Site Map heading to the left.

The Manor by the way is now a council estate I think probably built about the 1930s.

Hope this helps.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Hi Diane
Thomas Henry & Harriet Cowlishaw also had a daughter Edna who died aged 12 in 1917 at the time they were living at 257 City Road Sheffield. The newspaper report is here https://search.findmypast.co.uk/bna/ViewArticle?id=BL%2F0000250%2F19171001%2F072%2F0003&browse=true

Here is the link to a picture of the bible

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2o4v6ptlabl9adk/20190207_165147%5B1%5D.jpg?dl=0

Dave

Last night I sent Diane all the Family information that I had on the Thomas Turner/Mary Jane Cowlishaw family going back at least two generations.

This was in the form of PDF Files from Legacy.

My Tribalpages Tree is not as up to date as I thought so will update ASAP if anyone else wishes to follow this line.

Just click on Website which is below.


Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Hi Bev,

Thanks for attaching the article, so many young deaths in this family line but I guess that was common back then. If you find out any more info on the Thomas Henry line would greatly appreciate. His great niece Katherine Seaville posted several messages on Sheffield Indexer many years ago but she hasn't posted any threads on here since 2015 and although I've messaged her have not heard anything back yet.

Elaine, just checked out your map and if the tower was high up on the hill then you are correct that Harriet could watch the trains going into the station. It's great when the evidence can be found to back everything up that was written so long ago.

Dave, thanks for attaching all of the above - it will give people a better idea of what the bible looked like and why it was so hard to transcript Harriet Cowlishaw's letter, given it is perhaps around 167 or 168 years old!

Diane
On the 1851 census in Park there was aPEN KNIFE CUTLER called Peter CUSWORTH. Thomas, a Blade Forger must have worked for him. Clearly Harriet asked for and got money from him to live on in Thomas absence.
Dave

And there was me thinking Cusworth was a shop, like Woolworths! Couldn't work out why Harriet would be getting 10 shillings from a shop. That makes total sense Dave and a great bit of detective work - the jigsaw puzzle is slowly starting to come together. When Harriet says "I got on Saturday at Cusworths ten shillings and nothing at George's" do you think she also tried to get some money owed (or a small loan) from a family member or friend called George?

I've just ordered Thomas Cowlishaws death certificate on PDF and it should be with me next Friday so should get a bit more clarity around this.

Have a great weekend guys, I will check in over then and thanks again as always...

Hi Elaine in Ottawa, Sounds like you might be connected to my Manor Sheffield Family tree, but I am trying to work out where/how. I have been in touch with Diane about the family bible she has found. Please get in touch if you'd like more info on the Manor Cowlishaws. I have around 400 individuals on my tree.

Thanks to everyone else on this thread for all the really helpful information on the Cowlishaw/Turners.

Kind regards,

Should have said that my Manor Cowlishaws are through my mother Patricia, a descendant of Harriett of the bible fame. Harriett's father in law, "Praying" William Cowlishaw, built a Wesleyan Chapel in the grounds of Sheffield Manor and all the local families Cowlishaws, Cutts, Turners etc worshipped there and their BMDs were recorded in the Manor Chapel records - I have a hard copy of these. Sadly the Manor Chapel was pulled down in 1980s, but I have some photos of it. Sheffield Manor Visitor Centre has some interesting info on Praying William as he was a local celebrity. I went on a tour of the Manor location and saw some of the graves of the Cowlishaw family in City Road Cemetery a couple of years ago, in memory of my Mum.

Let me know if any of you are trying to track down Manor relatives as I may have them in the Manor Chapel records.

Regards,

Hi Katherine,

You are just the person we need to help sort things out.

Diane with Katherine's help we maybe able to find a close relative to pass the Bible on to.

I spent a good part of last evening extracting census/GRO & Church records to match info that I already had. Just have to enter the info to my tree. I wont waste any of the research.

My LINK is through marriage of at least three different persons. I have added more to my tree than is needed but it was an interesting quest of finding the right Cowlishaw.

I will certainly get back to you when I have the tree up to date. Thanks for getting in touch with us.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Diane

If you Google Images 'Sheffield Manor' you will see it has a Gatehouse tower still remaining. Maybe this is where Harriett was watching from?

I believe the letter to be written by Harriett Richardson to her husband Thomas Cowlishaw (Mary Jane's mother) - Harriett had sons William 1844 and John 1846 - not sure about 'Anne' (did not know about her). It was therefore written around 1850.

Diane

Are you able to direct email me an image of Thomas Henry and Edna's death notice from Find My Past site, which I cannot seem to get access to - link from earlier on in this thread.

Many thanks.

Hi Katherine,

I've just googled the tower images and yes, that must have been where Harriet was watching the trains from all those years ago. I'm glad you managed to get in touch with Elaine and amazing that the two of you are distant relatives!

Thank you for passing my email address onto Mark, he has been in touch and has said that if no other close relation would like the bible/letters then he and his family would like to give them a home. I'm just waiting to hear back from Joanne to see if she is interested, if not then I will get back to Mark. I've also sent you a personal email regarding Thomas Henry on Find My Past.

The last piece of info I'm waiting for is Thomas Cowlishaw's death certificate which I should receive on Friday. I will add these details to the forum when I receive the certificate and also keep everyone updated on where the bible finally gets re-homed. It has been an amazing, interesting journey the past week and a massive thank you to all who have contributed - I honestly couldn't have done this without all your help.

Vicki, Dave & Elaine - I wish you were all local so I could buy you a drink to say thank you instead I shall send you all a virtual hug! You are stars...

Will post again through the week when I know for sure which descendant the bible & letters are going to and also info on Thomas Cowlishaw's death.

Best Wishes,

Diane

Hi Diane

We have already exchanged some info by email, but should others be interested, Thomas Henry Cowlishaw
1856–1923 was my great grandfather. My Grandfather being Frank Cowlishaw.

It has been fascinating to read the input that you have received from so many people, and it helps so much in building up a bigger picture of those that came before us.

I do have hidden away somewhere a copy of the church records of baptisms of the Manor Wesleyan Chapel which was founded by the Cowlishaw family.



Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I have just emailed you with some images of the bible/letters that you requested, hope you received them ok. Yes, the input from everyone on the forum has been fantastic and I would never have even heard of the Sheffield Indexers if it hadn't been for this research. It is thanks to all of the contributors that so much history was brought back to the fore and part of Harriet's story was shared.

We wont know everything that she went through back then and the letter is only a small snippet of her private world. However, it's one I'm glad to have shared in with others on this forum all these years later. To raise several children as a young widow would have been tough going, she must have been a resilient woman and I personally would have been proud to be part of her lineage.

I'll let you know when Mark gets in touch about his decision but either way I know the bible & letters are going to go to a good home and back to the family line where they belong. That was all that I hoped for when I started this thread exactly a week ago!

Hi Diane and the several descendants
There was one final detail to be explained in Harriet' s letter. We identified who Cusworth was (a pen knife cutler for whom, clearly, Thomas did blade forging ) ( thank you Vicki) but who was George, from whom she also wanted money?
There was nothing to stop Thomas forging blades for other cutlers.
Moira (thank you) has used her local knowledge and the 1851 census to find that there were at least 2 Pen knife Cutlers with the first name George in the area between where Harriet and Thomas were living, and where Peter Cusworth was living. It is almost certain that Thomas did pen blade forging for one of these as well as for Peter Cusworth. They were:
1851 Manor, George Barnes, 30yrs, pen knife cutler.
1851 Broad Lane, George Hibbert, 50yrs, pen knife cutler.

Dave

Once you have the image in your Dropbox account simply right click on the image and, on the dropdown menu, select Copy Dropbox Link.. Once you have pasted that link into a post on here you will need to activate it. To do that simply precede it with (url) and end it with (/url) BUT use square brackets instead of the normal ones I have shown.
Dave.
Ps if you have problems just send it privately to me and I will post it

The mention of Cowlishaw’s and cutlers reminded me of the story regarding a fruit.knife owned by the American President Abraham Lincoln that was made in Sheffield by John Yeomans Cowlishaw.

Link to story https://blademag.com/knife-history/knife-history-abraham-lincolns-fruit-knife

257 City Road is where my grandfather Frank Cowlishaw was born. He is listed there on the 1911 Cencus. Edna is six years old at the time.

Here goes …

Harriett's final resting place in City Road Cemetery, Sheffield. Looks like she was possibly living with her grandson George and his family towards the end of her life and they made use of the same plot.


https://previews.dropbox.com/p/thumb/AAVEDZt2v6mBM3zqJOGsWEQwpSeTkVXS5tfbp_4PysXZgal_ca7JoVDStCpCnMlQrSAw1KKSq2spqaQEkxWhhtOHe1bP4BusrtbsAm0GYiF2XrHXUXNpvbdDFTiYrfjG095749hDBreqyIaxLYiGISDZZQWmVfZTof5B0sClMOMshSJD1R98D9n2ZNwbfZiHpdzzlwN94hkPSFAdp06uPoUGkNYrdtyejeZVtsUAkbfWRHqyt-IUO7L8oK7coF80kWI/p.jpeg?size_mode=5

Hi Katherine, the link gives an error message say you don’t belong here.

Hi All,

Thomas Cowlishaw's death certificate arrived a bit earlier than expected. I had trouble reading the cause of death on the certificate so asked Dave to help and he has also given me permission to copy his reply below -

Diane, the cause of death is what I expected.
It is PHTHISIS. That is a general term for a lung wasting lung condition. In the light of today's knowledge that means it was either pulmonary TB or Emphysema. Either way it means Thomas had a long term lung wasting condition which eventually killed him. The medical jargon is that he was a respiratory cripple. For years before he would need to leave Sheffield air pollution for the seaside frequently to convalesce for maybe a month, breathing fresh air and regaining strength before returning and then going downhill again in the pollution of the air and of his job
Note it says he was a grinder, not a forger? Grinders in those days had a very short life expectancy because of the dust, particularly if he was grinding on dry stones. The wet stones were much more healthy.
Dave

So this confirms what Dave and others had thought all along, that Thomas had a TB-like condition that required frequent trips to Hull to convalesce by the sea. The fact he ended up dying at 40 from his condition proves how hazardous some of the occupations were back then.

The bible and letters will be posted this week to Andrew, gt gt grandson (hope I've got that right!) of Harriet Cowlishaw. Thanks a million, once again, to all who have contributed and helped me give these special items a well deserved happy ending....

All the very best,

Diane

Hi Dave/Diane,

A job well done and the Bible which I think is probably a Methodist Bible goes to a family member.

Thomas is listed as a cutler on the 1841 census and a Pen Knife Forger on the 1851 census.
Don't forget his father was a Pen Knife Forger as was James his brother. Tried to check his occupation out on some of his children's christenings. I was unable to spot any that's why I am leaning towards them being Methodists.

Maybe FMP would be able to help.

Elaine in Ottawa.

Instant Messenger: Skype

Hi Elaine. Yes the family were all Wesleyan Methodists, thanks to Harriett's father-in-law "Praying" William Cowlishaw, who founded his chapel in the grounds of Sheffield Manor. Lots of info in the Sheffield Manor Visitor Centre about the Cowlishaw and other local families.