As a way of explanation, let us assume that all the many variants of the surname come from one unique family (or a few!). The earliest parish records from 1540 or so show just two families groupings, one at Aughton and one at Croston in South West Lancashire. These villages are about 10 miles apart. It is obvious that the surname was created some years before then (say 200 years or so). The place of the origin of the name has not been identified. Owing to the time lapse, the surname in 1540 cannot be regarded as in the initial form. However, (with some exceptions) the form over the years is consistant in containing the letters H S N and P. The vowels used were generally A or E. Also there was often an R in the sequence. We may take HA**SN*P* as a general form or framework of the surname. 

As explained many times, our ancestors were in general illiterate, ie they could not read or write. This was common until the mid 19th century. The surname was guessed at by the local clergyman, whenever the family had a marriage, death or christening. This would not have been too much of a problem if the family stayed in one place eg Aughton. The continuence of having services at one church would have created some stability in the spelling of the surname. There would have been some variation with the coming and going of clergymen, but it would have been easier to track through family records.

However, people being people, the young men left home to seek pastures new. Some got married elsewhere. They couldn`t spell their name, so new varieties of the name were created by the local clergyman. The further the HA*SN*P*s  travelled, the more numerous the variations became. What is important though, is that gradually the population became more literate and would be able to spell their surnames. The form that was eventually taken would depend upon the accepted version at that location at that time. The date this occurred will have depended on matters such as the educational background, or even the people the family mixed with. Thus, the Haresnape form was more or less established by about 1650 at Cockerham, (about 40 miles to the north of Aughton) with a Hairsnape side-line developing from this at Lancaster/Blackburn in 1800. The version Hearsnep did not "settle down" until about 1800. There appear to have been other lines leading off the surname mixture eg Harsnip appearing in the county of Lincolnshire in 1685 about 150 miles away from the Aughton area . This created a lineage of Harsnips. Thus we will not find, however much we search, a continuous record of the Hearsnep variant of the surname back to 1540.

The earliest appearances of the Hearsnep variant occurred in Lancashire. It should be noted that the earliest recording in 1720 has not been established as the starting point for all Hearsneps-it might be that the variant spelling has arisen in different family lines at different points in time, some spellings being transient, while others produced some permanency.

Here are the known occurrences of the name, with comments.

1. About 1720? William (510) who was a Catholic, signed his name at his marriage as Hearsnep. He is connected to the main Haresnape family tree at Thurnham (Cockerham parish) Lancashire as indicated in the main text, and seems to have been educated to a standard as he was also the administrator of his father`s will. He had at least one child Anne.

2. Also about 1720, William`s brother Robert (520) may have been referred to in the Catholic Record Society vol 5 as having a son William Hearsnepp (715). - See main text.

Cockerham is about 25 miles from the Walton le Dale area discussed below. The persons concerned were of the Catholic Faith, as were several of the Hearsnep families shown below. It is not suggested though that these persons were direct ancestors of  the Hearsneps at Aughton.

3. In about 1712 a Rodger Haresnape marries Alice Wilcock at Walton le Dale, Alice dies as Harsnape in Melling in 1737. ( The Haresnape spelling of Roger in 1712 may only imply a local parish variation, not link him directly to the Haresnape family). Rodger (a shoemaker) and Alice lived at Melling near Liverpool where they produced at least 7 children. The surname of this family unit at Melling varied in the various records over the years as Harsnep, Harsnap and Harsnepe. n.b. Melling is only about 3 miles from Aughton.

4.Thomas Harsnep, a farmer aged 78 dies and was buried in 1808 at St. Michael Church, Aughton. Thomas therefore born about 1730 (a son of Rodger perhaps?-see above in 1.). 

This would be the first permanent appearance of Hearsnep spellings in this "family group".  Note that the Hearsnep family were not missing during the eighteenth century. It is merely that as per the Haresnapes etc., the parish clergymen would not have known the "correct" version. Sometime around 1800 (perhaps in the Aughton/Melling area) the family surname was spelled in the version Hearsnep/Hearsnip, and this was retained. The dialect would have caused some trouble with the exact spelling of the last syllable. The burial records for the Parish Church of St. Michaels in the years 1794 to 1808 give two spellings Harsnep and Hearsnep. It seems reasonable that these were spelling variants of the same family or closely related families.

          Here is a draft of generations down from Rodger Harsnep of Melling, Lancashire. The continuous line down to the Hearsneps at Aughton has not been proven.

I have used the usual format, with no births later than 1908.  I have started the list with the sixth generation as the dates of birth approximates to those in the generations of the main text. I have started to use identification numbers from the 10th generation onwards for now. To distinguish them from the main Haresnape series, the form T**** is used, T being temporary? 

Please note that 

the parish of Aughton is St.Michael`s Church, Church Lane, Aughton.   link

the parish of Melling is St.Thomas`s Church, Rock Lane, Melling in Halsall. link 

the Roman Catholic Church at Aughton is St. Mary`s Church, Prescot Road, Aughton. This was founded in 1798, and was known as New House Chapel until at least 1849. see http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/100297

the Roman Catholic Church at Ormskirk is St.Anne`s Church, Prescot Road, Ormskirk.The parish was founded in 1732, see http://www.st-annes-ormskirk.org.uk/

Sixth Generation

Margaret Harsnep b. say 1690

Rodger Harsnep    b.? say 1690

Margaret marries Thomas Copple in 1706 at Melling, Lancashire

Rodger, a shoemaker, marries Alice Wilcock at Walton-le-Dale (about 20 miles to the north of Melling). Roger and his wife return to Melling to raise their family. Melling is about 3 miles from Aughton. Rodger is also known as an Innkeeper. He is also recorded as a chapelwarden in 1731. Alice died in Melling in 1737, aged say about 50. Rodger died in Melling in 1767, aged say about 80.

Seventh Generation

7.Children of Rodger Harsnep and Alice Wilcock

John     b. 1713 Melling

James   b.1719 Melling

Ellen     b. 1722 Melling

Rodger b.1723 Melling

Alice     b. 1726 Melling

Alice     b. 1730 Melling

Thomas b. 1732 Melling

Ann.?


All of these had the surname Harsnep.

John 1713, a husbandsman (ie a type of farmer or a keeper of cattle/animals) married ?, and the couple stayed in Melling and produced at least 6 children. Prior to this John seems to have had an illegitimate child Robert with Ann Spencer in 1736, so it is assumed that John subsequently married Ann. John is also recorded (like his father) as a chapelwarden in 1754. He died in Melling in 1757.

Rodger seems to have worked as a shipwright.

Alice1726 died in 1728 in Melling.

Alice1730 seems to have died unmarried in Melling in 1766 aged about 36.

Thomas1732 is believed to have continued in his father`s trade of  shoemaker. Thomas seems to have had an illegitimate child born 1756, with Jane Sixmith. He probably later married Jane and the couple again lived in Melling where they raised at least 4 children. Jane died in Liverpool in 1788. The birth date of  Thomas would fit in well with the death of Thomas Harsnep aged 78 at Aughton in 1808, suggesting that the family relocated from Melling to Aughton.

However there is a death of Thomas Harsnap, shoemaker at nearby West Derby, Liverpool (near Melling) in 1801,
(no age shown), and this seems more likely!

Ann (Harsnepe) married Thomas Bradshaw at Melling in 1767.

Eighth Generation

8.Children of John Harsnep 1713 and (Anne Spencer?)

(Robert    b.1736 Melling) 

Henry       b. 1742 Melling

Ann          b. 1743 Melling

Mary        b. 1745 Melling

Alice         b. 1748 Melling

Esther       b. 1750 Melling

Rachel      b. 1753 Melling

All of these were given the surname Harsnepe.

Robert, no further information.

Henry died aged 14 in 1756 at Melling.

Esther gave birth to two children who were baptised at Melling. No father`s name was given. Esther died in 1784 and was buried in Melling. (St.Thomas).

Rachel died in infancy in 1754 at Melling. 

 

8.Children of Thomas 1732 and (Jane Sixmith?)

John     b.1756 Melling 

James   b. 1758 Melling.

John      b.1762 ???

Jane      b. 1768 West Derby, Liverpool

Thomas b. Melling ?

Alice     b.  Melling ?

John Harsnepe died in Melling in 1759 aged two years.

There is a possibility of another son John born about 1762 who married Mary (Molly) Hurst, daughter of Joseph and Margaret Hurst. The marriage was at St.Anne`s Roman Catholic Church (nb.3) in Ormskirk in January 1804. His surname was spelled in the Arsnep form at the wedding.   The couple produced several children. John, a farmer of Aughton died aged 60 in 1822. He was buried as John Hearsnep and a Roman Catholic at Aughton, St.Michaels Church. His wife Mary died in 1841, aged 71 (therefore born about 1770) and she also was buried as a Roman Catholic at the same church in Aughton.

nb1. The Roman Catholic Church, in which John Hearsnep may have worshipped, was then called New House Church, Prescot Road, Aughton. It was founded in 1798 but did  not have a graveyard, and the deceased would have been buried in the nearest Church of England Parish Graveyard which would have been St.Michael`s at Aughton, about 1.5 miles away.

nb.2 Prescot Road is also where some subsequent Hearsneps lived and were recorded in the 1861 census.

nb.3 About 2 miles North of New House Church, also on Prescot Road stands St.Anne`s Roman Catholic Church (Ormskirk). This parish has a history going back to 1732, and one might expect that John and Mary would have been buried there. New information from the records of that church  have suggested that John 1762 may have been known as John Arsnep in his early years. John Arsnep married Mary (Molly) Hurst, and they were known as Harsnop on their son Thomas`s  baptism date in 1806, but as Harsnep at son Joseph`s baptism in 1807, both at St.Anne.    

Again, James was given the surname Harsnepe. A James Hearsnep, child of Thomas, aged 28 died in 1799 and was buried in St.Michaels Church, Aughton. The calculated birthdate of James,1771, does not match, though. 

Thomas died in 1774 in Melling. He would have been quite young.

There is also a possibility  that Thomas 1732 had another son called Thomas born say 1775.  In 1794, an Elizabeth Hearsnep aged 34, wife of Thomas dies and was buried at St.Michael`s Church, Aughton.  

Alice (perhaps named after her grandmother) died in nearby Liverpool in 1788, soon after her mother Jane. She was buried at St.Thomas Church, Melling.

8.. Children of Unidentified Parents?


Thomas Harsnep born say 1770s.

A Thomas Harsnep married Elizabeth Barton in Wigan, Lancashire (about 8 miles from Aughton) in late 1794.  He is included here as there is a reference to a Barton connection in Canadian history, and Thomas and Elizabeth are shown below as  parents in Ninth Generation.  There is a birth of a  Thomas Hearsnep to an Elizabeth in about 1799/1800 and who died aged 18 months at Aughton (see below in 9th.Generation).

n.b. we have not identified the origin of Thomas Harsnep who married Elizabeth Barton. There a a few too many Thomas and Elizabeths around causing identification problems, but it is possible that Thomas Hearsnep who was born in say 1775 (previous section) was the one who married Elizabeth Barton. Was he also married earlier to the unknown Elizabeth who died in 1794??

 

Ninth Generation

9. Children of Esther 1750 and ?

William Harsnepe   b. 1778 Melling

Mary Harsnepe      b. 1781 Melling

These children were perhaps born out of wedlock. William is assumed to have married Margaret Rixon in 1799 at Liverpool. (Melling is now part of the city of Liverpool).

Mary married John Wright at Melling, in ?. John was a husbandsman as per Esther`s father.

9. Children of John Arsnep 1762 and Mary Hurst


Mary  Hearsnep     b. 1806?

Thomas Harsnop    b. 1806 Aughton, Lancashire

Joseph Harsnep      b. 1807 Aughton

Margaret                b. ?


Mary died in 1829 aged 23.(therefore born about 1806). She was recorded as from Ormskirk (a short distance from Aughton) and was buried as a Roman Catholic at St.Michaels Church, Aughton. She was possibly the daughter of John Hearsnep and Mary.

Thomas may have been christened in 1806 at St.Anne`s Roman Catholic Church (which is about 2 miles north of Aughton) as Harsnop (son of John and Mary). In 1851 Thomas is believed to have been residing in Bickerstaffe near Ormskirk. He is understood to have married a Mary (possibly Rilance in 1827 at Our Lady`s, Lydiate). She was born in 1802 in Sherringham, Lancashire. The 1861 census has them at Prescot Road in Aughton where Thomas was a farmer of 14 acres (presumably he inherited his father`s farm). There were no children in the house, but there was a houseservant named Mary Ganon (born in Ireland). Perhaps Thomas`s wife was a little infirm at this time, for she died prior to 1864. (believed to be March 1863).

In this year 1864, Thomas (as Hearsnop) married his houseservant Mary in St.Anne`s Church, Ormskirk (a Roman Catholic Church) in 1864. She was born in County Mayo, Ireland in about 1831. They had at least 3 children. These were probably raised in the Catholic faith. In 1871 the family was living in Aughton where Thomas was a Market Gardener. 

In 1881, his widow Mary and youngest son Thomas were still living in Prescot Road, and Mary was listed as a Market Gardener. There was also Mary`s niece (from Ireland), and two boarders. Mary died in 1900 Ormskirk district.

Joseph (possibly born 3 June 1807, and christened with Arsnep surname at St.Anne`s Roman Catholic Church, Ormskirk, godparents Hurst).
Joseph (of Burscough) was included in his father`s will in 1823, but was named there as a pauper lunatic, and the executers of the will were instructed to duly arrange for his admittance to Lancaster Lunatic Asylum. (not too attractive a bequest). Joseph would have been aged about 16 at this time.
He married Elizabeth Someone, but his wife died, for in 1861 Joseph was living as a widower in Lydiate, Lancashire with the family of Joseph Lockett. Joseph Hearsnep was described as an Agricultural labourer. Joseph Lockett was a gardener, his wife Margaret  aged 47 also being born in Aughton. We might speculate that Joseph Hearsnep and Margaret Lockett were related.(n.b. this is now more or less confirmed, Margaret being Joseph`s sister). Lydiate is only 1 mile from Aughton. Note that his brother Thomas 1806 is thought to have married his first wife at Lydiate.
 

Margaret was probably Joseph`s sister, and she married Joseph Lockett in 1846 in Liverpool district. She was named as Hersnip at the marriage.


9. Children of Thomas Harsnep and Elizabeth Barton


Thomas Hearsnep      b. 1799/1800

Thomas was the child of Elizabeth Harsnep (therefore maybe of Thomas and Elizabeth Barton). He died aged 18 months old from measles and was buried at St. Michael`s Church in Aughton.

9. Children of Unknown Parents in the Aughton area - possibly Thomas Harsnep and  Elizabeth Barton/ John Hearsnep(Arsnep?)1762 and Mary Hurst

 
 
James Hearsnep         b. 1806 Aughton, Lancashire

Margaret Hearsnep ? b. 
 
(William Hearsnep      b. 1811 Lancashire ???)

James became a Catholic Priest. He served in the East End of London between about 1840 to 1860. He was involved in the design and construction of the church there, SS Mary and Joseph. He was known as a missionary rector. While visiting Waltham Abbey in 1861 he had an accident, and sadly died of his injuries.

n.b. The church was bombed by German aircraft in the Second World War and destroyed.

Margaret is believed to have married a Peter Stock in 1823 at Ormskirk and they lived in Liverpool in ?. She was a beneficiary in her brother James`s will.

 

William is placed here partly because of his date of birth. A William Hearsnep emigrated to Canada (Ontario) and married. The family line ensuing has been researched and documented by his descendants. The church in Canada associated with William and his family is once again Catholic, and one of William`s daughters became a Sister in a religious order.See  http://www.strodtbeck.org/CRSWebCards/WC01/WC01_029.HTM

9. Children of Unknown Parents in the Aughton area - possibly Thomas Harsnep and Elizabeth Barton/ John Hearsnep(Arsnop?)1762 and Mary Hurst

Elizabeth Hearsnep             b. 1799 Aughton, Lancashire

Thomas Hearsnep              b. 1802/3 Aughton, Lancashire

James Hearsnep                 b. 1810 Aughton, Lancashire

Robert Hearsnep/Harsnape b. 1811 Lancashire

 



Elizabeth Hearsnep married Arthur Forshaw in Wigan, Lancashire in 1829. By 1881 she was a widow and was at the home of her brother Thomas.
 
Thomas seems to have married Mary Ann Platt and they had at least one child. It is believed that Mary  died and in 1848 at St. Peter`s Roman Catholic Church in Liverpool, Thomas married Ann Anderton of Withnell, Lancashire (Withnell is only 2 miles from Whittle le Woods). By 1851 they were living in Liverpool and also in 1871, living in Gill Street where both Thomas and his son Peter were recorded as Cow Keepers. In 1881 they were living back in the countryside about 5 miles from here in Walton le Dale, near Preston Lancashire where Thomas was a farmer of  some 8 acres. (perhaps Thomas operated between his farm and the Liverpool milk business).  

 
James (aged about 39) married Catherine Wakefield of Aughton, in 1849 in Ormskirk district.. James was a gardener in 1861 living with his wife and her brother in Aughton. They possibly had at least one child.
 

Robert’s birthplace is not known for certain but was in the general area of Chorley/Hoghton Lancashire.  The census records for 1841 onwards give various locations for Robert`s birth ie Chorley for 1851, Hoghton for 1861, and Ormskirk for 1881. It is clear Robert was illiterate but his surname through the census years was given as Hearsnip, Arsnip, Harsnape and finally Hearsnep.  If an error had occurred in registering Hoghton instead of Aughton, the latter being near Ormskirk, this would tie in with the birth of Thomas (see below)..

Robert married in 1828 at Leyland, Lancashire to Grace Montgomery. Grace was born in nearby Walton-le-Dale and was of a similar age to Robert. The couple lived in the hamlet of Lower Copthurst, near Brindle, Lancs. and produced at least 8 children over a period of some 23 years. Robert was initially a farm labourer but by 1881 became a farmer  with about 30 acres. Here, he and his wife and their unmarried son John lived at Copthurst House in Brindle. It is suspected that the family followed the Catholic faith and there is a church in the vicinity which was known as South Hill R.C. Chapel (now St.Chad`s). The date of death of Robert and Grace is unknown but they definitely lived on into their seventies. (Robert probably died at Brindle aged 76 in 1886).

nb. Robert and Thomas seem to have been closely related (and have been placed in the same family group), for Robert`s grandson Richard Gibertson aged 12 was visiting Thomas`s son`s Peter` home in 1881.

9. Other Unlinked Hearsneps in the Haslingden, Blackburn area



Matthias Hearsnip      b. 1815?.
 
Margaret Hearsnip     b. 1811 Havon?, Lancashire

James Hearsnip          b.about 1815 Havon?, Lancashire. Age is unclear, birth may be 1801.

Ann Hearsnip?           b.

Jane Hearsnip ?          b.





Matthias, a quarryman married? an Anne Someone. They lived in the Haslingden area. The occupation of Matthias is very similar to that of James and John (see E. below). Indeed James was to move from the Brindle/Whittle area to Blackburn. This suggests a strong link between these family groups.

James is living in Priestenax (Farm) Haslingden in 1851, unmarried and a farmer. His sister Margaret, aged 40 also unmarried was there with James`s nephew Henry aged 18. (i.e. born 1833). It is conjectured, not proven, that this Henry was Margaret`s son. A Henry Hursnip married Mary Fenwick at the parish church of St.James Church, Haslingden in 1854.

James may have married Jane Parkington in 1887 in the Blackburn district.

Margaret (as Haresnape) was informant at the death of William Haresnape aged 80, at Priestenax in 1850. William was formerly a farmer, and would have been born around 1770. Presumably, Margaret and James would have been his daughter and son.
Priestenax farm location may be seen at http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/479679

I have placed Ann here as a possible daughter of ? as an Ann Hearsnip married John Rawston in 1842 in the Hyndburn district, which is a few miles from Haslingden.

 I have placed Jane here as a possible daughter of ?, as a Jane Hearsnip married George Rawcliffe in the Blackburn district in 1855. The surname spelling and the area are similar to her (siblings).
 
 nb.1.The writing on the 1851 census for Margaret and James is unclear.
 nb 2. This group does seem to be a separate one than A or B above. The ages and places of birth are different.

NOTE: this is an attempt to group together unlinked Hearsneps into family structures.  There are at least two, possibly three individual family units at around 1800 -1815. The evidence for the grouping is not absolute, but is plausible. It may be that the fathers of the Groups   were brothers. The persons above may not belong to the particular groups shown, and they may be interchangeable between groups. Clearly however there are two James Hearsneps who cannot belong to the same parents, and the priest James has a sister Margaret who is therefore placed in the same family unit Group A.  There also seem to be two Thomas Hearsneps in the same generation, one of whom had a sister Elizabeth, therefore they have been placed together in Group B.

Tenth Generation

10.Children of William  Harsnepe 1778 and Margaret Rixon


James Harsnep                   born 1799/1800


James (1800) Harsnep is the son of  William and Margaret Harsnep. He died aged 8 and was buried in the Parish church of St.Michael in Aughton (burial record).   The second James born two years later would support the structural concept of this family, and is not the same James 1806 who became a priest.


10.Children of Thomas Hearsnep 1808 and Mary Someone (possibly Rilance)


T1000. Mary            b. 1836 probably Aughton.

Mary died aged 9 in 1836 and was buried as a Roman Catholic at St.Michaels Church in Aughton.(as Hearsnip). I have placed her in this family unit as it seems the most plausable.

 10.Children of Thomas Hearsnep 1808 and Mary Gannon

T1010. Ann b. 1864 Aughton

T1020. John b. 1866 Aughton

T1030. Thomas b. 1868 Aughton

These children were probably raised in the Roman Catholic Faith.

Ann no further details at present. She was living with her parents in 1871 aged 7,  (at Prescot Road) but does not appear in the home in 1881. She is believed to have died in Dec.1878 (aged 14) Ormskirk Reg. District. 

In 1871 he was living with his parents, but in 1881 John (aged 14) was a Farmer`s Gardener at Melling in Lancashire.(This was next door but one to the Hen and Chickens Public House). In 1891 he was at Prescot Road, Aughton living in four rooms. In 1901 he was also at a Prescot Road address. He married Clara Ann Diaper (ne Stammers) in 1902 in St. Mary`s Church, Walton on the Hill, Liverpool. Clara was a widow aged 35 from Everton. Clara`s father was an accountant. It would appear that John died in Liverpool, but Clara died in Toronto Canada in 1908? 

nb1. Melling is only about 3 miles from Aughton, and very close to the course of the famous Grand National. Indeed, Melling Road runs across the course.

nb2. Walton and Everton are adjacent districts of Liverpool.  

Thomas married Dorothy Halewood in 1902 in the Ormskirk district. They had at least 3 children (T1230). In 1909 the family emigrated to Canada. Thus there is a link here to William who had settled in that country in 1830. It is anticipated that Thomas`s father would have known of this previous emigration if  William was in the same family group. 

10.Children of James Hearsnep 1810 and Catherine Wakefield

T1040. Mary Wakefield Hearsnep b. ?

Mary married James Harrison in 1895 at  the parish church of  St.Michael in Hoole, Lancashire. Hoole (Much Hoole) is near Preston.

10.Children of Robert Hearsnep 1811 and Grace Montgomery

T1050. Henry      b. 1829 Whittle-le-Woods

T1060. Elizabeth  b. 1831 Lancashire (possible daughter)

T1070. Robert     b. 1833 Brindle

T1080  Margaret b. 1837 Heapy

T1090. James      b. 1839/42 Whittle-le-Woods (possibly 1838)

T1100. John        b. 1841 Brindle

T1110. Grace      b. 1846 Whittle-le-Woods (possibly 1844)

T1120. Mary       b. 1848 Whittle-le-Woods

T1130. Alice       b. 1851 Whittle-le-Woods

 

Henry  married Ellen Someone from Pendleton, Manchester. In 1871 Henry was employed as a coachman. He and Ellen were in a room above a coach house  (at Woodlands) at Little Woolton, a district of Liverpool. His occupation at that time would  probably have been a private coachman to Henry Jump a wealthy Corn Merchant. Henry Hearsnep`s  type of employment has been noted before, regarding another Hearsnep. Henry`s birthplace was given as Chorley. In 1891 Henry and his wife Ellen were back in the Chorley area, where he was employed as a gardener and domestic servant. His birthplace was given as Whittle-le-Woods. Ellen probably died aged 68 in 1897 at Nelson (near Burnley, Lancashire).  

nb.1 Noble families, or prosperous gentlemen owning country estates often had coach houses built in the grounds of their properties. These were to house their coaches and horses. Above the coach houses there were rooms where the coachmen slept. The coach houses were sturdily built of stone or brick. Many of these, in one form or another have survived to the present day. 

n.b.2 Henry Jump was a Roman Catholic, and at the time of the 1871 census there was a Priest listed in his home.

In 1841, an Elizabeth Hearsnep aged 10 was included in the household of an Elizabeth Hearsnep aged 69, who was running a lodging house in Ormskirk, Lancashire. Perhaps the older Elizabeth was her grandmother. She would have been born in 1772, but it is unknown if she was born as a Hearsnep or married into the family. (Tentatively I have placed her as one of the parents in Families A and B above).

Robert married but remained in the Whittle-le-Woods locality. He probably married Elizabeth Spencer in 1857 in the Chorley district. Like his brother James (see below), Robert was also known as Arsnip at the wedding. The couple are believed to have had some fourteen children,(T1260) mostly girls. Elizabeth had died by 1901. The census for that year has Robert aged 65 and living with 7 adult children in Chorley Old Road. Robert started work as a carter but by 1901 was a joiner and contract employer, two of his sons apparently working for him.

Margaret married a William Gilbertson in 1859 in St.Patrick`s Church, Liverpool. William Gilbertson, a butcher, was born in 1832 in Chorley, so this suggests the couple may have known each other prior to the move to Liverpool. They produced 9 children (T1400). The family appear to have been Catholics.

James (as Arsnip) married in the Chorley district in 1861 to Anne Snape (born Wheelton, Lancashire). James was a stonemason. Initially the couple lived in theWheelton area (a short distance from Whittle le Woods) where two children were born (T1570). The family moved in about 1865 to Witton near Blackburn where the couple settled. It seems that a further thirteen children two children were born here (Anne`s father James was with them in 1871). However Ann must have died sometime after then (most likely in 1885 aged 43 at Witton) and he wed again to a Jane Parkington (a widow?), for in 1891 James and Jane were living in Blackburn with at least his daughters Annie and Jane Alice aged 9.Also in the home were James` stepson John Parkington aged 11. Next door lived James` daughter Eleanor with her husband William Fishwick and their two-month old daughter Jane Alice. 

In 1901 James and wife Jane were residing with two of his younger children (Ann and Jane) at 34 Hawkeshead St., Blackburn. James was employed as a stonemason journeyman. Also in the house were his son in law, a William Fishwick and William`s daughter Jane A. Fishwick.

Jane was James`s granddaughter. William was a widower. Also in the house too was another granddaughter of James. This was Clara Cotton. This was probably the daughter of Mary and her husband John (Cottam / Cotton).

John remained single and did not leave the area. He is recorded in the 1901 census for Lower Copthurst, Whittle le Woods. He is aged 56 and a stonemason, his younger unmarried sister Mary living with him as his housekeeper.

Grace possibly married Frederick Wood in 1873 at Blackburn district.

Alice also remained single. She took Holy Orders in Belgium, and was known as Sister Mary Withberga. She was a cook first class in several convents, but there were perhaps some other qualifications for she is seen in 1881 as head of a religious establishment in the Sheffield, Yorkshire area. The house seems to have been a teaching college or a lodging for student teachers. Alice died in 1933 aged 82 and was buried in the Convent of Notre Dame, St. Helens.

nb. It is thought that James and John may have become stonemasons because of the large quarries (sandstone) in the Whittle area.

10.Children of Thomas Hearsnep 1803 and Mary Ann Platt

T1140. Ann ?         b. ?   Chorley?

T1150. Elizabeth   b. 1828 Chorley, Lancashire.
 
T1160. Peter         b.  1839 Chorley, Lancashire

T1170. Peter           b. 1846 Liverpool. 

I have placed Ann here as a possible daughter of Thomas because in 1848, an Ann Hearsnep married Henry Formby in the Ormskirk district.

In 1851 Elizabeth was living with her father and (stepmother) Ann (nee Anderton), in Liverpool where Elizabeth was a milk seller.

In 1851, an Elizabeth Harsnip married James George in Liverpool. Perhaps this was her, as her family lived in the city at this time (Newhall Street).

  
Presumably Peter born 1839 died young?

Peter (1846) married Sarah Jones in 1877,  in Liverpool. They had two children by 1881, a further five by 1901 (T1490) by which time Peter had followed his father`s business and become a successful milk dealer in Liverpool.

Thomas Hearsnep 1803 may have had another son, i.e. Thomas (T1135) who also came to Liverpool. Unfortunately, there is no certain date for his birth date nor its location, as this was before Civil registration, and the dates calculated from various censuses are inconclusive. He is thought to have worked as a carter, married a local girl Margaret Smith, and they had a number of children (T1481) all born in Liverpool. From about 1851, the censuses show their addresses which were (some street names are still there, though with newer homes), all in the Toxteth Park area of Liverpool, near the South docks. This, like many tightly packed urban areas at that time must have suffered from poor living conditions and health problems. There would have been no main sewers at this time (earth closets the norm) and probably no running water supply.  

Thomas may have ended his days as a pauper in the South Liverpool Workhouse in Smithdown Road, dying (as Hersnick) at the age of 77. He would thus have been born about 1824.

10.Children of Matthias Hearsnep ca 1810 and Anne?

 

T1180. Mary                       b. 1836 Haslingden, Lancashire

T1190. Sarah Hearsnep       b. 1839 Edenfield, Lancashire.

T1200. Margaret Hearsnep b.1842 

Mary may have married (as Earsnipe) to James Hoyle in 1854 at the parish church of St.Mary in Bury, Lancashire. Bury is just a few miles from Edenfield.

Sarah was born in Edenfield which is about 3 miles from Haslingdon, Lancashire. Therefore quite likely to be a daughter of Matthias and Ann Hearsnep. Sarah appears in 1901 in Ramsbottom (Pinfold) and a cotton spinner. She was a single mother and her daughter Margaret Ann Hearsnep, aged 38 was residing in the same house.Margaret Anne was unmarried and a cotton weaver. Ramsbottom is very close to Edenfield. (Margaret Ann was born in 1860 in Edenfield, her birth certificate showing her surname in the Haresnape form, her mother being illiterate). 

Margaret married in 1866 at Waperley Parochial Chapel, Edenfield, to John Tomlinson, a quarryman. He was aged 20 and she 24 years of age.Margaret`s occupation was not given. The couple were illiterate as was quite the norm in those days. The certificate spells the surname as Haresnape rather than Hearsnep.

10.Children of Unknown parents in Haslingdon area (probably Margaret Hearsnep)

T1210. Henry Hearsnep   b. 1833 Haslingden, Lancashire (son of either Matthias or Margaret)

Henry may have married Mary Fenwick in 1854 at the parish church of St.James Haslingden.They may have moved to the Heywood district of Lancashire. There were several children born there (T1700). Unfortunately Henry died quite young in Heywood aged 38. It is felt that because a Margaret Hearsnip(aged 63) whose death was in the same year 1868 and in the same district, Henry was likely to have been Margaret`s son. 

It appears that Henry`s his wife Mary died in Heywood in 1898.


10.Children of Unknown Parents in Ashton-Under-Lyne Area

T1220. James Harsnip   b.1844 Audenshaw, Lancashire

James (as Hersnip) married Mary Andrew in 1871 at St.Michael`s Church in Ashton-Under-Lyne. This appears to have been a Roman Catholic Church. There were several children from the marriage (T1750).

Eleventh Generation

11.Children of Thomas Hearsnep 1868 and Dorothy Halewood (1030)

T1230. Mary          b.1902

T1240. Aron           b. 1904

T1250. Margaret     b.1906

This family emigrated to Canada in 1909

It is also possible that there was another daughter Dorothy, who became a Sister in a Religious Order and was present as Sister Magdalene in a mission in China in 1931.

11.Children of Robert Hearsnep 1833 and Elizabeth Spencer? (1070)

T1260. Mary Jane                   b. 1858 Leyland district (probably Whittle)-registered as Hersnip.

T1270. John                            b. 1859 Leyland district (probably Whittle)-registered as Hersnip.

T1280. Mary Hearsnip            b. 1861 Leyland district (probably Whittle) 

T1290. Ann Jane Hersnip        b. 1863 (probably Whittle)

T1300. Elizabeth  Hearsnip      b. 1864 (probably Whittle)

T1310. Sarah Annie Hearsnip  b. 1864 (probably Whittle)- this may be the same child as Annie below!

T1320. Annie                          b. 1866 Whittle-le-Woods

T1330. James Hearsnip           b. 1866 Whittle-le-Woods