William Hough's mysterious beginnings

Manchester Cathedral in 1903*

William Hough was my grandmother Margaret Annie Bentley's great grandfather. As I mentioned in my previous post, a number of unanswered questions appear in his story.

The most important of these relates to his birth. According to the various census records he was born about 1831, the second son of brickmaker  John Hough and his wife Elizabeth Hurst of Salford. But unlike every other child in the large Hough family, he wasn't baptised in the cathedral in Manchester, or anywhere else for that matter. Or at least no baptism record can be found.

To put this in context, it seems from the records that John and Elizabeth had nine children:

James Hough, baptised in the cathedral in March 1830
William, born about 1831
Samuel, baptised Sept 1833
John Hough, born Sept 1834, baptised  Feb 1835
George, baptised March 1837
Isaac, baptised April 1839
Mary Ann, baptised March 1844
Elizabeth, baptised Jan 1846
Harriet, baptised July 1848

It seems strange that John and Elizabeth would have had 8 children baptised in the same church, but skipped baptising William. Even stranger is that a 5 year old child named William Hough, with parents named John and Elizabeth, was buried at Manchester cathedral in November 1833. No baptism record exists for this child either, as far as I can tell.

One possible explanation is that the original William, born in 1828, died just after his baby brother Samuel was baptised. The family then started calling the baby "William" instead of Samuel. If this was the case, then the original William would have been John and Elizabeth's first child. (They married in 1828).

In favour of this theory is that Samuel, Isaac, Mary Ann and Elizabeth don't appear in any of the census records. I've found likely deaths in infancy for Isaac (1840), Mary Ann (1844) and Elizabeth (1846) but not for Samuel. It was not unusual to name a child after a deceased sibling, though it was usually done from birth, when the later child was born after the first child's death.

Against it is that it would leave a longer-than-average gap between the births of James and Samuel a.k.a. William. Other explanations are possible - maybe the minister had a busy day and simply forgot to record William's baptism. Thousands of children were baptised in Manchester Cathedral in the 1830's. I'd be interested to hear suggestions for alternative explanations, or relevant information that might explain this puzzle.

 *Officially the Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George. Image from Wikipedia.

John Hough's obnoxious brickworks

Old Buildings, Cross Lane, Salford.
“From the work usually known as ‘James's Views,’
published May 9, 1825.” Source:Old Manchester, Plate 33

"On Saturday last, a case of considerable importance to the public of Manchester and Salford came on for hearing in the Salford County Court, before J.W. Harden, Esq , the judge of the court. and a respectable jury."

So began an article in the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser on November 2, 1850.

The case of 'considerable importance' was brought by Mr Edward Foulkes, an attorney, who claimed that his garden at Grove House, Salford, was being damaged by smoke coming from the kilns of the brickworks nearby. The kilns, which had been erected over the previous six months, could have been built further away - 

"But the kilns, as they had been erected, smoked away within a very few yards of the boundary of the plaintiff's grounds. At the present cold season the smoke was a great nuisance, but in summer it was almost intolerable, and it was clear that the defendant sought to carry on his business in the most obnoxious manner."

Not only that, but the owner of the offensive brickworks had recently built a pig-sty right on the boundary of Mr Foulkes property. The obnoxious owner of the brickworks was John Hough.

Since the brickworks in question were located in Cross Lane in Salford, it seems highly likely that this was the same John Hough who was to become the great grandfather of Alice Hough. 

John Hough and his wife Elizabeth (nee Hurst) lived in Cross Lane most of their married lives, and according to the census of 1851, John was a brickmaker employing six men. All of his sons were brickmakers, including William, the father of Albert Hough, who was Alice's father and also a brickmaker.

The lawyer for the plaintiff, Mr Whigham, called on the expertise of horticulturalists and gardeners, who agreed that the smoke from John Hough's brickworks had reduced the productivity of Mr Foulkes vegetables and fruit trees. His rhubarb was blighted. He was seeking a sum of £50 in damages.

The court case was of public importance because, as John Hough's lawyer, Mr Wheeler put it:

"The jury were asked to determine whether, in this particular neighbourhood, a trade which had existed time out of mind, and one which was growingly prosperous to all concerned in it, should be absolutely put a stop to, or, if pursued at all, to be pursued with eternal law-suits. or threats of law-suits pending over those engaged in it."

The whole area, he argued, was one vast brick-field from which Manchester and Salford were supplied with bricks. Besides that, the nearby chemical and dye works could have been the cause of the damage to Mr Foulkes garden.

Salford Museum and Art Gallery, opened in 1856 -
buildings like this required a lot of bricks.

It seems Mr Wheeler's arguments impressed both the judge and the jury. 

"His honour, in summing up, said the evidence of injury by the pig styes was very slight - that the plaintiff had withdrawn that part of the complaint relating to the water course, and that the remaining injury would be as to the damage alledged (sic) to be done by the smoke proceeding from the brick-kiln. He considered the occupancy of the land by the defendant suffciently proved. and the questions for the jury were: - had damage been done; secondly, had such damage, if done, been occasioned by the brick kilns of the defendant; and third, what was the amount of such damage. The judge then reviewed evidence of the plaintiff.—The jury retired, and, after a short absence, brought in a verdict FOR THE DEFENDANT".

The capitals are in the original article - was the editor shocked or pleased by the decision of the respectable jurors? Whatever his opinion, John Hough must have been very happy that he was now able to continue to run his brick kilns on Mr Foulkes boundary.

John Hough c1811-1883

Individual Summary

26 April 2015

Name:	John Hough (parents unknown)
Sex:	Male
Individual Facts
Birth	abt 1811	Winsford, Cheshire, England1–6
Residence	1841 (about age 30)	Cross Lane. Occupation brickmaker; Manchester, Lancashire, England1
Residence	1851 (about age 40)	Relation to Head of House: Head  Occupation : brickmaker employing 6 men; Manchester, Lancashire, England4
Residence	1852 (about age 41)	Cross Lane, Manchester, Lancashire, England7
Residence	1855 (about age 44)	John Hough,  brickmaker,  Cross Lane; Blairs Cottage, Cross Lane, Salford8
Residence	1861 (about age 50)	Relation to Head of House: Head  Birthplace Chester  Occupation:brickmaker employing 4 men; Salford, Lancashire, England2
Residence	1871 (about age 60)	Relation to Head of House: Head  Address 22 Lord Nelson St, Salford. Occupation: brickmaker; Salford, Lancashire, England3
Residence	1873 (about age 62)	Phoebe St, Salfrod, Lancashire, England8
Residence	1881 (about age 70)	Relation to Head of House: HeadMarital Status: Married; Salford, Lancashire, England6
Death	18 Apr 1883 (about age 72)	Died at 30 Lord Nelson St, Cross Lane, Salford. Probate on an estate of £278 4s 6d granted to Elizab; Lancashire, England5,9
Marriages/Children
1. Elizabeth Hurst (1811-1889) married 8 Sept 1828
Children	James Hough (1829-1891)
	William Hough (abt1831-1887)
	Samuel Hough (1833-    )
	John Hough (1834-1916)
	George Hough (1837-    )
	Isaac Hough (1839-1840)
	Mary Ann Hough (1844-    )
	Elizabeth Hough (1845-1846)
	Harriet Hough (1848-1857)
Notes

        1. Ancestry.com, 1841 England Census , Class: HO107; Piece: 586; Book: 14; Civil Parish: Manchester; County: Lancashire; Enumeration District: 24; Folio: 11; Page: 14; Line: 7; GSU roll: 438739.

        2. 1861 England Census , Class: RG 9; Piece: 2924; Folio: 59; Page: 27; GSU roll: 543050.

        3. 1871 England Census , Class: RG10; Piece: 4027; Folio: 17; Page: 27; GSU roll: 846325.

        4. 1851 England Census, Class: HO107; Piece: 2224; Page: 4.

        5. FreeBMD, England & Wales, FreeBMD Death Index, 1837-1915 .

        6. 1881 England Census, Class: RG11; Piece: 3969; Folio: 43; Page: 11; GSU roll: 1341948.

        7. UK, City and County Directories, 1766 - 1946 (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).

        8. U.K., City and County Directories, 1600s-1900s (Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.).

        9. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966 (Ancestry.com Operations Inc).

More about John Hough:

John Hough's obnoxious brickworks
The Hough family brickmakers of Salford