Welcome to The Briercliffe Society Forum

Hi everyone,

Just found this forum & website.

I have been doing our family trees & found that these people are my husband's ancestors and are from the Briercliffe area.

I'll have a good search for these family names on your forum but thought I'd just add them to the name page first.

We hail from Australia and are planning a visit to the UK later this year to find out where we came from.

I'll list the names we are looking into are as follows.

Margaret Eastwood b.c 1915 England
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Benjamin Eastwood b. 1882 Burnley d.1943 Sydney Australia and wife Susannah Banks b.1881 Briercliffe d. 1934 Tasmania, Australia.
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Benjamin Eastwood b.c 1850, Brierfield and wife Mary Ellen Leaver b.1853, Lancashire
John Banks b.1845 Briercliffe & his wife Margaret ?
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John Eastwood b. 1818, Burnley & wife Sarah b.1816 ?
James Leaver b.1831, Briercliffe & wife Priscilla (Zillah) Berry b.1834, Lane Head
Robert Banks b, 1824, Briercliffe & wife Elizabeth Duckett b.1823, Briercliffe
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and that's about as far as I've got so far so any help or hints would be greatly appreciated.
cheers,
Kate

Hi Kate,
I have a Leaver-- Betty Leaver born 1830 Briercliffe, she was the 2nd wife of my 2xgt grandfather. They married in 1860 at Haggate, and sadly she committed suicide (hanging) in 1890 in an outhouse to the rear of the shop they had at Holt Hill.

_________________
Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

I think this one is for me, at last

Hi Kate, Welcome to ever increasing Eastwood clan,
Answers to your questions, hopefully in order.
Margaret was the sister of Morris Eastwood

Ben & Susannah were their parents and they all emigrated in 1922.

The second Benjamin b.1850 and his wife Mary Ellen were Ben's parents and my great grandparents.

John Banks and Margaret were Susannah's parents. You will find their grave stone on the Briercliffe Society Website in Haggate Church.

John Eastwood and Sarah are a bit of a mystery?

Leaver.

On the 1881 census my gt. grandparents had only produced the first of their 7 children, there is Zilla Leaver age 20 and Susannah Leaver age 17 listed as lodgers, they were Mary Ellen' sisters.

Contact me on the email address I have sent and I will fill you in with all the rest, there is a lot!!!

Hope this gives you a start

Hi Hannah,
thanks for the input.
I'm looking forward to adding the Eastwood Clan to my husbands tree.
Nothing has come through to me in my messages or emails as yet.

Thanks as well Gloria,
I haven't added too many Leavers so not too sure of the connection as yet.

Many thanks,
Kate

Hi Kate
I collect Leavers, particularly Briercliffe ones as Im determined to connect them all up one day.
I have James 1831, who married Priscilla Berry. Somewhere I have his marriage certificate but for now the details are (if you don't already have them)
16 (18?) July 1852
Clitheroe Parish Church
Groom – James Lever, bachelor, aged 21, weaver of Reedley Hallows
Bride – Priscilla Berry, spinster, aged 20, weaver, of Reedley Hallows
Groom's father - Henry Lever, weaver
Bride's father - Thomas Berry, weaver
Witnesses – John Dearden (his mark) Robert Heath

I can only join this couple to my tree with a tentative dotted line.
There is a marriage between Henry Leaver and Mary Taylor:
8 May 1831 St Peter, Burnley, Lancs.
Henry Leaver - (X), Weaver Bachelor of this Chapelry
Mary Taylor - (X), Spinster of this Chapelry
Witness: James Hey; John Lord

Then a baptism 14/2/1796 of a Henry Leaver - son of James & Betty - at Burnley St Peter's Church.

That's the point at which my line becomes dotted. The only suitable James I have is born Worsthorne 1754, son of James and Jane. It's a good possibility as there really weren't that many different Leaver families around at that time. However I've never found a marriage for "James 1754". The marriage registers for Holme in Cliviger (where he was baptised) are missing for the years he would have got married. He doesn't feature in the marriage registers for Burnley St Peter's which is the other option.
But stuff turns up from time to time so you never know . ..

_________________
Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

We've "got a Leaver" - or two. A Tabitha Leaver, b. 1840 Haggate, the daughter of Mary Leaver - who may have been a Jackson prior to marriage, or may have been unmarried - married a John Burrows in 1860. As well as Tabitha, Mary seems to have had a son, William with her in the 1841 census in Haggate.

I do have a Mary Jackson, married to a Leaver, but she was born 1806 whereas Tabitha's mother was born 1816.
I just checked Lancsbmd and it's been updated to include more mothers' maiden names. It's showing Mary as nee Lever so I guess Tabitha a her brother were illegitimate.
Also, the marriage I have for Tabitha (1860) was to a Henry Burrows

_________________
Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

The photo on this site's homepage shows the shop at Holt Hill behind which Betty Kippax (nee Leaver) hung herself.

_________________
Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Oh that shop! Thanks for pointng it out Gloria.

_________________
Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

I've got a bit lost with this thread, can someone help.

My gt. grandmother Mary Ellen Eastwood (Leaver) had a sister called Zillah who lived with them in the early days of their marriage in 1871.

Are these connected to the ones mentioned, mine were from Clitheroe but married in Burnley at Bethel Church, later the Christian Science Church.

If they were the same lot, who was the suicide in relation to them. There was rumour of a suicide in the family but I never traced one, but this could explain it.

I'm also a bit baffled by a photo of Mary Ellen dressed in an elaborate dark dress, but on her own and looking quite old, but she died when she was 55 prior to her husbands death.
Was it common for 'young' women to have solo portraits taken?

Hi Hannah,
I can't help you there as Leavers only come into my tree as a 2nd marriage, and I haven't really researched them further than the basics. Maureen might well know more, or Kris, but I don't think he comes on here any more.

_________________
Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.

Hi Hannah
Sorry if you're getting confused but the Leavers/ Levers are a confusing lot.
First of all, did you mean to say Zillah was with Mary Ellen Eastwood on the 1881 census? If so, then I do have them on my tree, albeit not actually connected.
They were the daughters of James Leaver/ Lever and Priscilla Berry - also known as Zillah. The other two siblings know of were Thomas (1855) & Sussanah (1863).

As i posted on 9 January, I do believe - but can't prove - that this family is related to the main Briercliffe Leaver family. It would be remarkable if they weren't!

The line goes Mary Ellen - James (1831) - Henry (1796) - James (1754). Then POSSIBLY James (1710-1755).

IF James 1754 was the son of James 1710, then Mary Ellen would be the third cousin of Betty Leaver/ Kippax who committed suicide.
Any help?

_________________
Maureen
If you can't fight, wear a big 'at

Think I have got it now. Zillah and another sister lived with my gt. grandparents on the 81 census.

I believe that in about 1963/1964 Zillah's decendants lived in the Syke area as my American gt. aunt came to visit about that period and apart from us and the Blackpool branch, mentioned a visit to Zillah's family who would be her cousins ???

Are we all related on this website.

That's why we are a strange lot

_________________
Gloria

I'd be dangerous with a brain.