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The Times
Thursday October 26 1922
Death of Sir William Hartley
Friend of Many Hospitals
Sir William Hartley, who made a fortune out of jam-making and gave away a large proportion of it in charity, died at his home in Southport yesterday at the age of 76. Many hospitals and charitable institutions in London, Liverpool, and elsewhere have lost in him a generous friend, who is believed never to have devoted to benelicence less than one-thrid of his gross annual income.
Born at Colne, Lancashire, William Pickles Hartley began his career, after leaving school at the age of 13, by assisting his mother in her little grocery shop. It was at Colne that he started as a maker of grocers' sundries jam, marmalade, and table jellies. The business grew steadily, and in 1874 he moved to Bootle, and in 1886 to Aintree. By that time he had given up grocers' sundries and concentrated on jams and jellies. One of his boyhood ambitions had been to become a Methodist local preacher, and he remained all his life a devout member of the Primitive Methodist Church, to which he subscribed large sums, and of which he was president in 1900. Altogether, his gifts for the training of Methodist ministers alone are estimated at some £40,000. Year after year his charities kept pace with his prosperity, his policy being to stimulate giving by making challenge offers. Thus in 1909 he offered £15,000 for a new building for Liverpool Maternity Hospital conditionally on £20,000 being raised as an endowment fund. He was also a considerable benefactor to Liverpool University. He was one of the first employers to start a profit-sharing scheme, and on the occasion of his 70th birthday in 1916 he announced at the annual profit-sharing meeting of his London employees his decision to tramsfer £10,000 of his War Loan to London hospitals and £5,000 to Liverpool hospitals. In addition he gave £5,000 War Loan to grocery trade charities and a further £10,000 to his work-people's pension fund. He was the author of "The Use of Wealth," published by the National Free Church Council.
Sir William Hartley (he was knighted in 1906) leaves a widow, one son, and seven daughters. One of his daughters is the present Mayor of Southport, and another is the wife of Mr. J.S.Higham, formerley M.P. for the Sowerby division.

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Mel
I'm not sure, but was there a photo of Mr. Hartley..or his wife, in the shoebox I sent??
I seem to remember my dad indintifying someone in a photo as being involved with jams.

Sue (Halstead) Kerr

There is a picture Sue but the note on the back said Mrs Holgate. Should it be Hartley? http://www.briercliffesociety.co.uk/Photo%20Archive/Briercliffe%20People/Mrs%20Holgate.htm

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Mel

Searching for lost relatives? Win the Lottery!

Well now...at 91 his memory plays tricks... He did say Holgate...but talked at length about jams and that's how they made money.
So nothing is really reliable, Mel.

He has been talking about Leavers (Levers) who lived next door to his grandparents, John Robert and Marth Halstead on Church Street. Perhaps your expert Lever knows which family this is? For some reason, my dad is wondering what happened to them (as if it was last week he last saw them!). He indicates that they seemed to have money...(jams?lol)

Hi suzycue, there was a Leaver family living at 45 Church Street, is this the one? http://briercliffesociety.co.uk/talkbac ... .php?t=502

Look out on e-bay and elsewhere for 'The Life of Sir William Hartley', by AS Peake, 1926, not all that rare. A good solid biography.

[Perhaps this should go in the Rare Books part of the site though]

My grandfather used to think we were related, and indeed I have HARTLEY in my (Colne) ancestry (not that I'm alone in that !). However I haven't established a link, but am still hoping to, on the presumption it might lead to free jam for life...

Mind you, I think I might also be related to the NEEDLERs who make chocolates....... !

Rex