The Families

1861 Census

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Jarratts Buildings - The People

Jarratts Families

1861 Census

In 1861, the occupants of Jarratts fit into one of three categories. Some were from families who had been settled in Worsborough Dale for several decades, which suggests that the accommodation at Jarratts was of a better standard than the homes they had vacated. Others were from the South Yorkshire area and were often peripatetic. Several seem to have moved on regularly rather than putting down roots. There was also a group of men who originated from more distant areas such as Lancashire or Wales who began their association with Jarratts as lodgers. Most moved on but some married local girls and eventually became tenants.

The Winder family was the most prolific, with four siblings. They were from an established mining family which had been in Worsborough Dale for decades. At No 2 was Henry, his wife Harriet (nee Horbury), seven children and Benjamin aged 69, the patriarch of the family.

Susan Christopher (nee Winder, then Booth) lived at No 18, with a son from both of her marriages. Her husband William, a Lancashire lad who was several years younger than Susannah, cannot be located on any census and it is possible the couple had parted as there are no death records either.

At No 36 was William Mayo (also known as Lomas) with his wife Harriet (nee Winder, then Siddons). There were six children in the household. Harriet’s first husband had been killed in the Darley Main Colliery explosion in 1849. In 1851, Harriet, a widow with three children, married her young lodger.

William Winder lived at No 54 with his wife Elizabeth (nee Smith) and four children. No 54 was one of the houses which were allocated to pit foremen.

Members of the Ibberson family had three homes on the site.

A young couple, William and Hannah Ibberson lived at No 21 with three young children. At No 41 were an older couple, George and Eliza Ibberson who had two sons, a daughter and a nephew. William was George’s eldest son by a prior marriage.

At No 5 was Thomas and Hannah Matthew (nee Ibberson) and their baby son. Lodging with them was her brother, Thomas.

There are newspaper reports of quarrels involving the Winders and Ibbersons in the 1850s. If this was on-going, Jarratts could have been a volatile place to live.

The Whiteley family who had been in Worsborough Dale for several years formed another group.

Samuel Whiteley lived at No 22 with his wife, Martha (nee Wragg, then Rogers) and three lodgers, including William Cauldwell from Lancashire. At No 40 was Martha's married daughter, Mary Kilner, with her husband and two young children.

At No 27 was George Whiteley, his wife Ellen, (nee Ward) two sons, two daughters and his son-in-law and a baby grandson. Samuel and George appear to be brothers. At No 28 was Ezekial Roystone, who was married to Sarah, a daughter of George and Ellen, and five children.

Next door to Samuel at No 23 were Jacob Pickering, his wife Ann (nee Rogers), a daughter and four sons.

At No 30 were George Pickering, his wife Eliza (nee Frost) and six children. The Pickerings were a Barnsley family with several branches and it is not clear how closely George and Jacob were related.

Four families occupied two houses on the site.

Widows Sarah Carr at No 7 and Rebecca Hodgson at No 14 were probably sisters-in-law. I have not been able to establish the exact link between them. Both had been left with responsibility for several children.

Benjamin Fitton, his wife Mary Ann and eight children lived at No 15. The three youngest children were from the marriage of Benjamin and Mary Ann. Two were from his previous marriage, to widow Elizabeth Beevers (nee Clairy).The three eldest were stepchildren, from the marriage of Elizabeth and her first husband, Daniel. Benjamin's brother Francis Fitton and his wife, Sarah lived at No 47 with two lodgers. The Fittons were originally from Kirkburton and appear to have been settled locally for at least ten years.

Thomas Beevers, his wife Sarah (nee Brookes)) and five children lived at no 53. Thomas was the uncle of Benjamin Fitton's three stepchildren.

At No 44, John McQuillan, his wife Mary Ann and three children lodged with William and Barbara James. John’s parents Thomas and Ann McQuillan and four adult children lived on the same row at No 49. Originally from Ireland, the McQuillans had been in Worsborough Dale since 1840. In 1861 they were the only Irish family at Jarratts.

John Harper, a brick maker lived at No 50 with his wife Elizabeth (nee Guest) and six children. Next door at No 51 was John Harper, a pit foreman, his wife Rebecca (nee Jagger) and their son. Both men were from Worsborough and may have been cousins.

A few families who had a long association with Jarratts were also in residence by 1861. Matthew Lindley, his wife Harriet and their son were at No 6.

John Taylor lived at No 12 with his step-father George Swift and mother Sarah (Taylor nee Dunk). In addition to John, the couple had two other sons.

At No 32 was another Barnsley family comprising Joseph Heys, his wife Eliza, their married daughter and her husband and four other children.

James and Martha Mann and their five sons were at No 37, next to Andrew and Ruth Squire at No 38 with their young daughter. There were also two lodgers including Andrew’s brother.

No 39 was home to William Hobson, his wife Eliza (nee Flather) and eight sons.

Robert Glover, his wife Ann and six children were at No 42.

George Shepherd, his wife Sarah (nee Coates) and two young daughters were at No 46 with three lodgers from Wales. Two were miners and the other was on government service.

Some of these families were subsequently joined at Jarratts by relatives. In the coming decades, members of these families intermarried, creating a community where many occupants had multiple ties of kinship.

Although the building was intended to house workers of the Edmunds Main Colliery a few houses were rented by men whose occupation was not obviously connected to the pit. There were six unoccupied houses on census night, suggesting that turnover of tenants was regular and that the owners preferred to have rent coming in rather than keep properties standing empty awaiting a mining family.