john mallandain + elizabeth sibbald
John was born on 26 February 1823 in Prestwich, Lancashire, the eldest son of Edward Mallandain and Alice Seddon. He grew up in Prestwich and his family lived there until 1841 when they moved to Rochdale. It is not known if 18 year old John followed his family to Rochdale or if he remained in Prestwich. He next appears in the 1851 Census lodging with the Hughs family at 153 Chestergate Street in Stockport, a town to the south of Manchester. At the time of the census, he was employed as an Ale & Porter Merchant although Stockport was known for its cotton mills and hat making factories.
By 1857, John had moved to Littleborough, 5 kms north east of Rochdale, where he married Elizabeth Douglas Sibbald at Trinity Church on 13 December. Elizabeth, the daughter of William Sibbald and Elizabeth Bertram, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland on 27 May 1834. John’s occupation was listed as Merchant’s Clerk and he was living in West Linton while Elizabeth’s residence is unclear. John’s father, brother Edward and sisters Sarah Ann and Alice Esther all signed the register as witnesses to the marriage.
While in Littleborough, John and Elizabeth welcomed the first of five children — William was born in late 1858 and baptised on 1 January 1859 at Holy Trinity Church in Littleborough.
By 1860, the family had moved south to the village of Frogmore in Devon where John was employed as a Manager in a Slate Quarry. Slate has been quarried in south Devon for centuries and the parish of Charleton was well known for its finely bedded slate. They had no family connections in Devon so it is likely they moved to further John’s career. He was listed as a Commercial Clerk in his William’s baptism so this may have been his first opportunity to move into management.
Their second son, John Edward, was born in Frogmore, Devon on 30 August 1860. The family was still living in Frogmore when the census was taken on 7 April 1861 and they were able to employ a nurse maid, 13 year old Kate Gunn, to look after their two young sons. There is no record of when they left Devon but by 1864, they had moved back to the north and settled in Saddleworth, Yorkshire.
Saddleworth is a civil parish on the Yorkshire—Lancashire border that comprises several villages and hamlets including Uppermill, Greenfield, Friezland and Delph. Following the Industrial Revolution, Saddleworth developed as a centre for cotton spinning and weaving and the mechanized production of textiles became a vital part of the local economy. The boom in industry led to the development of improved transport links including the Huddersfield Narrow Canal and the Saddleworth Viaduct.
The first record of their return north is their daughter’s baptism. Florence was born on 17 June 1864 and baptised at Christ Church in Friezland on 1 August. The baptism record notes that John was employed as a Cashier and that the family was living in the Four Oaks area of Friezland. At the time, a cashier was someone who not only took the money but was also responsible for keeping the company books.
The family was still living in Four Oaks when their second daughter, Edith, was born on 18 December 1867. She was also baptised at Christ Church on 29 April 1868. But by 1871, the family moved to Birch Nook House which was across the street from Christ Church in Friezland. The church was built in 1850 by the Whitehead family who wanted their employees at the nearby Royal George Cotton Mill to have a place to worship near their homes. John was still employed as a cashier and although his place of work wasn’t listed, he may have worked for the Whitehead family at the Royal George Mills.
Their last child, Margaret, was born on 5 October 1879 and baptised on 29 November. Two years later, the family appears in the 1881 Census still living at Birch Nook. John continued to work as a Cashier, although in this census his occupation included ‘in wool’, and his two sons had also started working as Clerks in the woollen mill.
By 1888, their eldest son, William, had left home to marry Harriet Massey at St Chad in Uppermill although they settled nearby on Shawhall Bank Road. The rest of the family was still at Birch Nook in 1891 and 68 year old John continued to work as a Cashier in the woollen mill. Four of his children remained at home and although his daughters were not working, his son John Edward had risen from the position of Clerk to a Manager in a cotton mill.
John died at Birch Nook on 27 November 1893 aged 70 years and was buried at Christ Church on 1 December. His will was proved at Wakefield on 22 January 1894 and his effects totalling £150 passed to his wife Elizabeth Douglas Mallandain. Based on the value of his estate, it appears that the family rented rather than owned Birch Nook. However, the family continued to live in the house and were recorded there again in 1901; Elizabeth and her two eldest daughters were listed as living on their own means but youngest daughter Edith was working as a School Teacher and son John Edward was still employed as a Manager in the cotton mill.
Elizabeth Sibbald died at 271 Lytham Road in Blackpool on 10 January 1905 and was buried at Christ Church on 13 January. Blackpool was a popular seaside town so she may have been visiting when she died. Her will went to probate in London on 20 March 1905 and she left an estate totalling £4418 and named her son John Edward, and daughters Florence and Edith as executors. Elizabeth’s children remained at Birch Nook after her death and in 1911, John Edward, Florence, Edith and Margaret were all recorded there in the census. They occupied eight rooms in the house but only John was employed, as a Woollen Manufacturer, and interestingly, there was no head of the household listed so it apprears to have been an egalitarian family arrangement.
Edith never married and she died on 4 March 1919 at the District Infirmary in Ashton-under-Lyne, Staffordshire and was buried at Christ Church on 7 March. Her sisters Florence and Margaret were the exectors of her estate valued at £2649. John Edward died in Saddleworth on 8 June 1926 and was buried at Christ Church three days later. It appears he had moved out of Birch Nook as his abode was listed as Shawhall Bank Road on the burial record. He left an estate valued at £25,000.
Florence did not marry either and she died, aged 71 years, at Benden Sharon in Greenfield on 11 February 1934. She was also buried at Christ Church and her estate of approximately £8600 was left to her sister Margaret. John and Elizabeth’s youngest and last surviving child, Margaret, was still living in Greenfield as late as 1939 but she later moved to the Woodend Nursing Home in Oldham, Lancashire where she died on 24 December 1961. Her nephew and niece, John William and Eileen, acted as executors of her estate valued at £9746.
Although John and Elizabeth had five children, only one — William — married and had children. Both of his surviving children married but neither one had any children and so this line ends with John and Elizabeth's two grandchildren
‘When God made Yorkshire and Lancashire, He laid aside the precious bits of jewelled earth. And when He had completed the two shires He took the beautiful things He had saved and made Saddleworth to be a little Shire on its own’Ammon Wrigley