Parkinson family of Huddersfield – Batley – Canada

The map below shows Huddersfield and Batley just below Bradford and Leeds, and the town of Scarborough in the upper right.

Albert Parkinson arrived in Canada in 1907, taking up residence in Edmonton, Alberta.  In this post I explore the history of the Parkinson family until that time and a subsequent post will explore the history of the family in Canada.

What I know to date is derived almost exclusively from census records and marriage records.  Here in brief is my history.

1. James Parkinson (1790-), mentioned on Joseph’s marriage certificate.  Living in Chester.

2.  The first Parkinson I have found is Joseph Parkinson (1819-prior to 1881) who reports that he was born in St. Martin’s, Chester but at the time of his marriage on December 25, 1841 to Elizabeth (Betty) Netherwood (about 1823-?) was living in the Huddersfield area.  Elizabeth’s father was John Netherwood (1777-), a family name that appears to have originated in this area, and Sarah (1785-).   This area was built around the wool industry and many of the family are found engaged in  related activities.  Prior to marriage Betty was a spinner and Joseph was a cloth weaver.  Huddersfield was the home of the Luddites who revolted against the use of the machine in the wool industry.  Joseph and Elizabeth’s children were:

  • John Henry Parkinson (1842-before 1895).  See below.
  • James Parkinson (1850)
  • Fred Parkinson (1851) and may have died early.
  • Albert Parkinson (1852).
  • Emily Parkinson (1857-).  After Joseph’s death Elizabeth is living with Emily and her husband John Burton.  Emily was married in Bradford in 1880 and her father was alive at the time.  The marriage certificate states that her father was an”overlooker”.  An examination of the wool industry from the late 1830s shows that the “overlooker” was the most highly paid in the mills.  In 1891 Elizabeth is living with Emily Burton and so his Ann, Emily’s sister, as well as a nephew named George H. E. Parkinson.  Not sure who George was.   Was he the son of one of the Parkinson men, or is it possible Ann had an illegitimate child? Or since in latter years Emily and John report having a son name Herbert who is of the right age, could it have been Emily’s child prior to marriage?
  • Ann Parkinson (1860).  Unable to find her after 1891.

3.  John Henry Parkinson (1842-prior to 1881), a woolen spinner,  married Mary Ann Restall (1844-) in 1864 in Stroud, Gloustershire, the birthplace of Mary Ann.  (Her father was Henry Restall (1816-).)  Stroud , like Huddersfield, was built around the wool industry where there were a great number of mills and again this was the family activity.  (Of interest is the colour “Stroud red” used in dyeing the uniforms for the British army and made from the conchineal cactus bug from Mexico, a little insect that made the Spanish rich even though it took two centuries to figure out what it was).  Their first child, Emily A. Parkinson, was born in 1864 in Stroud, and the remaining children around Huddersfield.  She may not have married as she is living with her mother and grandfather after the death of John Henry.

  • Emily Ann Parkinson (1864).  In 1901 her mother, Mary Ann, is living with her.  So, she may not have married.
  • Frances Parkinson born in 1865.
  • Albert Parkinson in 1870. Married Alice French and moved to Canada in 1907.  (see a separate post for Albert Parkinson and Alice French)
  • Restall Parkinson in 1874-1948.  Restall Parkinson married Nancy Ellen Pearse in 1897 in Batley  and they had 3 children:
    • Walter Parkinson (1901-) who seems to have died very young.
    • Frank Parkinson (1911-1978)   Frank married Ivy Robinson (a rug maker and daughter of George Robinson) in 1931.
    • and Jack “John” Parkinson (1910-).

4. Albert Parkinson (1870-1950) married Alice French (1971-1922), also of Batley, Yorkshire.  Alice was the daughter of Joe French (1831-about 1875) and Sarah Charlesworth (1842-).  (Note: this is where my father gets his middle name – Roy Charlesworth Parkinson.)  Joe French was the son of John French (1802-) and Rachel (1806-).  Sarah was the daughter of William Charlesworth (1810-) and Mary (1813-) both of Netherthong, Yorkshire – again very close to Huddersfield.  Alice’s father died quite young and she joined her mother in a blended family.  Albert and Alice married on Dec. 28, 1895 and they seemed to have been living in Scarborough, Yorkshire (about 100 miles from Huddersfield).  I don’t know why the move. From a historical point of view Scarborough had become a tourist destination from around 1850 with the building of a railroad to the east coast of Britain and the town boasted of having one of the largest hotels in the world.  Could they have been among the first to follow tourists looking for work?  In 1901 Albert is living in Scarborough and working as a “fish fryer” – not sure what this means.

  • Frances Mary Parkinson (1898-1954), born in England, moved to Canada with her parents then moved to California with her second husband.
  • Wilfred Parkinson (1900-).  Born in England, but no trace of him as it is rumored he moved to the USA and changed his name.
  • Roy Charlesworth Parkinson (1914-).

5.  Roy Parkinson (1914-)  born in Edmonton and moved to Broadview, Saskatchewan were he married Ruth Kirby.  See a separate post on this family.

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