RICHARD HARGREAVES1,2,3,4,5
M, b. 8 March 1789, d. 16 October 1824
RICHARD HARGREAVES His son Henry's death certificate lists Richard Hargreaves as father. But the principal "evidence" is Henry Wm Hargreaves Family Group Record (by Barry Hargreaves) which lists father as Richard Hargreaves (Joiner) and mother Bridget Whitaker (Washerwoman).
"A joiner is somewhat less skilled than a carpenter, and well below a cabinet-maker." This information provided by Mr David Briggs, 85 Plantation St, Accrington, Lancashire BB5 6RT, in a letter to Alvy Ray Smith dated 7 Apr 1990.
The list of children of Richard and Bridget comes from the Family Tree of Richard Hargreaves as well as from the one in the Hargreaves Book (record of the 1990 Hargreaves reunion in Tumut, NSW, Australia).
The name Hargreaves is not listed in "The Origin of English Surnames'' by P. H. Reaney. However, the names Greaves, Greeves, Greve are listed, derived from Old English "graefe'', meaning 'thicket, grove'. Also, the names Grieve(s) are listed, derived from Old Northumbrian "graefa'', meaning 'governor of a province', or later 'overseer, manager, head workman on a farm, farm bailiff'. The names Grave(s) are listed, derived in Yorkshire from Middle English "greyve'', in turn derived from Old Norse "greifi'', 'steward', 'a person in charge of property'. An alternative derivation to this last is from Old Norse personal name "Greifi'' meaning 'count, earl'. The prefix "har'' is derived in various names in Reaney from 'ear', 'hare', and 'rey' (the latter from Old English "har'').
From the same David Briggs letter cited above:
"Hargreaves is an extremely common name in this area. ... From a book of Lancashire surnames, I have the information that the name derives from a small area of land north of Whalley at Standen, where the name is mentioned in 1323-4. However, there is a farmstead north of Padiham called Hargreave, also. (20th century - 'Hargrove'): this may have been named after the occupier, rather than vice versa. In 13th-14th centuries, the name was concentrated around Whalley-Burnley, and these people were mostly small free tenants, some concerned in cattle raising. By 16th-17th century, it was common in the same area, and spreading to Rossendale to the south. By the end of the 17th century, it had reached Bury and Rochdale.
Whittaker is also very common in the Padiham area. Liversedge will be from the village near Sowerby, just over the Yorkshire border."
The following additional information was provided by Mr John Hargreaves, 32, Portway Close, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8RF, England, 13 Apr 1990:
"I enclose a copy of notes I made on the origins and distribution of the name, principally culled from "The Surnames of Lancashire" by Richard McKinley, English Surnames Series, Vol. 4, published 1982. The C. M. Bardsley whom he followed was the son of a well-known curate of St. Peter's church, Burnley, who published an internationally known book, "A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames", 1901, reprinted 1981."
"Origins and Distribution of the Surname HARGREAVES.
The recent study of Lancashire surnames by McKinley follows Bardsley who indicated that the name was one of the many in the North of England which were 'locality derived'. He named villages and parishes in the counties of Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk as possible sources. (Grave = grove, so probably Hargrave = haregrove.) Bardsley suggested that the village near Chester was the likely source.
However, McKinley suggests that, because of the early appearance of the name in Lancashire, it is probable that there may have been an additional source within the county. He states that there was land called 'Haugreves', mentioned in 1323/4, at Standen near Whalley. It was in the district around Whalley and Burnley that occurrences of the surname and by-name Hargreaves are concentrated in the 13th and 14th centuries. The persons who appear with that name in those two centuries seem to have been mostly small free tenants, in some cases concerned with the cattle raising, which was an important aspect of agriculture in the hillier parts of East Lancashire.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Hargreaves became a common name in some parts of East Lancashire, near to the district where it had earlier appeared.
In Rossendale it was quite a numerous name from the 16th century and very common at Burnley, Padiham and Newchurch. During the 17th century it occurred in places to the south such as Bury and Rochdale parishes. At Colne it was one of the more numerous names in the parish from the end of the 16th century and continued as a common surname in the district around Burnley and Whalley.
Though occasional examples appear in other parts of the county during the 16th and 17th centuries, it did not become really numerous outside the areas just mentioned during that period. At Manchester it remained rare (a single person of that name in the Protestation Returns of the 17th century.)
As late as the 17th century it was still mainly concentrated in and around the area where it first appeared and it had proliferated markedly in some parishes there, while elsewhere it remained scarce or absent.
The surname is found in West Yorkshire from the early 14th century. No Yorkshire placename from which the surname could be derived has been discovered, and it seems probable that the appearance in Yorkshire is due to migration, over a moderate distance, across the county boundary."
Mr Jack Saxon, 7 Rockwell Terrace, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland KW14 7PJ, sent me, on 6 Apr 1990, his transcription of the Parish Register, Padiham St Leonard Chapelry. I quote some of the earliest and latest entries from this transcription to give the flavor of the use of the Hargreaves name in the area where our Richard Hargreaves lived:
"Book 1 Christenings, Marriages & Funerals 1573 to 1652
1573
Richerdus Hargreaves baptizatus fuit die May Anno Praedicto
1575 Helen filia Jacobi Hargreaves baptizatus fuit vicesimo nono die Junii A.P. Ano RR Eliza xviii
Thomas Claiton et Jana Hargreaves matrimonio coniuncti fuere vicesimo actavo die Novembris A.P.
...
Book 2 Christenings, Marriages and Funerals 1653 to 1706
1653
Richard the sonne of Robert and Katherin Hargreaves of Hapton borne the 28th December
...
Book 3 Christenings 1707 to 1765
...
1708
May 30 John son of John Hargreaves of Pendle
...
1763
...
Mar 28 Jane dau of William Hargreaves of Higham
..."
[23 pages of such listings!]
I am missing the information between 1765 and 1789 when Richard was born, so cannot yet make a link to any of this older data. Mr Saxon also provided the following useful analysis of our particular Hargreaves problem:
"In the Burnley-Padiham area there appear to be three distinct branches: one in Padiham - Habergham Eaves, one in Burnley and one in Clinger. Since it is possible to walk from Padiham to Clivnger via Habergham Eaves and Burnley it would be sensible to consider them as co-linear. Some were wealthy landowners - some humble folk. But Hargreaves appears in probably another dozen areas no great distance away. ... Habergham Eaves [which is mentioned prominently among some of our Hargreaves relatives] was linked strongly with Burnley, in fact it appears in some documents as "Burnley cum Habergham Eaves." Burnley won out and Habergham Eaves is now just an area of Burnley. But Habergham Eaves parish adjoins the parish of St Leonard, Padiham."
Note added 28 Sep 2005 after my 10-day walking tour of Yorkshire, led by Dr. George Redmonds, an expert on Yorkshire place names and surnames. Dr. Redmonds supported the notion that Hargreaves was a surname based on a locality just across the Yorkshire-Lancashire boundary in Lancashire, the "greaves" portion referring to a grove of trees. He stated that the "har" portion probably meant "hare" but that this was not definitely established.
As part of this trip, I visited Burnley for a few hours, and found the marriage record for Richard and Bridget in the Burnley Public Library. RICHARD was born at Padiham, Lancashire, England, on 8 March 1789.1 He married BRIDGET WHITAKER at St. Leonard's Church, Padiham, Whalley Parish, Lancashire, England, on 23 October 1809.6 RICHARD died on 16 October 1824 at Padiham, Lancashire, England, at age 35.1
"A joiner is somewhat less skilled than a carpenter, and well below a cabinet-maker." This information provided by Mr David Briggs, 85 Plantation St, Accrington, Lancashire BB5 6RT, in a letter to Alvy Ray Smith dated 7 Apr 1990.
The list of children of Richard and Bridget comes from the Family Tree of Richard Hargreaves as well as from the one in the Hargreaves Book (record of the 1990 Hargreaves reunion in Tumut, NSW, Australia).
The name Hargreaves is not listed in "The Origin of English Surnames'' by P. H. Reaney. However, the names Greaves, Greeves, Greve are listed, derived from Old English "graefe'', meaning 'thicket, grove'. Also, the names Grieve(s) are listed, derived from Old Northumbrian "graefa'', meaning 'governor of a province', or later 'overseer, manager, head workman on a farm, farm bailiff'. The names Grave(s) are listed, derived in Yorkshire from Middle English "greyve'', in turn derived from Old Norse "greifi'', 'steward', 'a person in charge of property'. An alternative derivation to this last is from Old Norse personal name "Greifi'' meaning 'count, earl'. The prefix "har'' is derived in various names in Reaney from 'ear', 'hare', and 'rey' (the latter from Old English "har'').
From the same David Briggs letter cited above:
"Hargreaves is an extremely common name in this area. ... From a book of Lancashire surnames, I have the information that the name derives from a small area of land north of Whalley at Standen, where the name is mentioned in 1323-4. However, there is a farmstead north of Padiham called Hargreave, also. (20th century - 'Hargrove'): this may have been named after the occupier, rather than vice versa. In 13th-14th centuries, the name was concentrated around Whalley-Burnley, and these people were mostly small free tenants, some concerned in cattle raising. By 16th-17th century, it was common in the same area, and spreading to Rossendale to the south. By the end of the 17th century, it had reached Bury and Rochdale.
Whittaker is also very common in the Padiham area. Liversedge will be from the village near Sowerby, just over the Yorkshire border."
The following additional information was provided by Mr John Hargreaves, 32, Portway Close, Weymouth, Dorset, DT4 8RF, England, 13 Apr 1990:
"I enclose a copy of notes I made on the origins and distribution of the name, principally culled from "The Surnames of Lancashire" by Richard McKinley, English Surnames Series, Vol. 4, published 1982. The C. M. Bardsley whom he followed was the son of a well-known curate of St. Peter's church, Burnley, who published an internationally known book, "A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames", 1901, reprinted 1981."
"Origins and Distribution of the Surname HARGREAVES.
The recent study of Lancashire surnames by McKinley follows Bardsley who indicated that the name was one of the many in the North of England which were 'locality derived'. He named villages and parishes in the counties of Cheshire, Northamptonshire and Suffolk as possible sources. (Grave = grove, so probably Hargrave = haregrove.) Bardsley suggested that the village near Chester was the likely source.
However, McKinley suggests that, because of the early appearance of the name in Lancashire, it is probable that there may have been an additional source within the county. He states that there was land called 'Haugreves', mentioned in 1323/4, at Standen near Whalley. It was in the district around Whalley and Burnley that occurrences of the surname and by-name Hargreaves are concentrated in the 13th and 14th centuries. The persons who appear with that name in those two centuries seem to have been mostly small free tenants, in some cases concerned with the cattle raising, which was an important aspect of agriculture in the hillier parts of East Lancashire.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, Hargreaves became a common name in some parts of East Lancashire, near to the district where it had earlier appeared.
In Rossendale it was quite a numerous name from the 16th century and very common at Burnley, Padiham and Newchurch. During the 17th century it occurred in places to the south such as Bury and Rochdale parishes. At Colne it was one of the more numerous names in the parish from the end of the 16th century and continued as a common surname in the district around Burnley and Whalley.
Though occasional examples appear in other parts of the county during the 16th and 17th centuries, it did not become really numerous outside the areas just mentioned during that period. At Manchester it remained rare (a single person of that name in the Protestation Returns of the 17th century.)
As late as the 17th century it was still mainly concentrated in and around the area where it first appeared and it had proliferated markedly in some parishes there, while elsewhere it remained scarce or absent.
The surname is found in West Yorkshire from the early 14th century. No Yorkshire placename from which the surname could be derived has been discovered, and it seems probable that the appearance in Yorkshire is due to migration, over a moderate distance, across the county boundary."
Mr Jack Saxon, 7 Rockwell Terrace, Thurso, Caithness, Scotland KW14 7PJ, sent me, on 6 Apr 1990, his transcription of the Parish Register, Padiham St Leonard Chapelry. I quote some of the earliest and latest entries from this transcription to give the flavor of the use of the Hargreaves name in the area where our Richard Hargreaves lived:
"Book 1 Christenings, Marriages & Funerals 1573 to 1652
1573
Richerdus Hargreaves baptizatus fuit die May Anno Praedicto
1575 Helen filia Jacobi Hargreaves baptizatus fuit vicesimo nono die Junii A.P. Ano RR Eliza xviii
Thomas Claiton et Jana Hargreaves matrimonio coniuncti fuere vicesimo actavo die Novembris A.P.
...
Book 2 Christenings, Marriages and Funerals 1653 to 1706
1653
Richard the sonne of Robert and Katherin Hargreaves of Hapton borne the 28th December
...
Book 3 Christenings 1707 to 1765
...
1708
May 30 John son of John Hargreaves of Pendle
...
1763
...
Mar 28 Jane dau of William Hargreaves of Higham
..."
[23 pages of such listings!]
I am missing the information between 1765 and 1789 when Richard was born, so cannot yet make a link to any of this older data. Mr Saxon also provided the following useful analysis of our particular Hargreaves problem:
"In the Burnley-Padiham area there appear to be three distinct branches: one in Padiham - Habergham Eaves, one in Burnley and one in Clinger. Since it is possible to walk from Padiham to Clivnger via Habergham Eaves and Burnley it would be sensible to consider them as co-linear. Some were wealthy landowners - some humble folk. But Hargreaves appears in probably another dozen areas no great distance away. ... Habergham Eaves [which is mentioned prominently among some of our Hargreaves relatives] was linked strongly with Burnley, in fact it appears in some documents as "Burnley cum Habergham Eaves." Burnley won out and Habergham Eaves is now just an area of Burnley. But Habergham Eaves parish adjoins the parish of St Leonard, Padiham."
Note added 28 Sep 2005 after my 10-day walking tour of Yorkshire, led by Dr. George Redmonds, an expert on Yorkshire place names and surnames. Dr. Redmonds supported the notion that Hargreaves was a surname based on a locality just across the Yorkshire-Lancashire boundary in Lancashire, the "greaves" portion referring to a grove of trees. He stated that the "har" portion probably meant "hare" but that this was not definitely established.
As part of this trip, I visited Burnley for a few hours, and found the marriage record for Richard and Bridget in the Burnley Public Library. RICHARD was born at Padiham, Lancashire, England, on 8 March 1789.1 He married BRIDGET WHITAKER at St. Leonard's Church, Padiham, Whalley Parish, Lancashire, England, on 23 October 1809.6 RICHARD died on 16 October 1824 at Padiham, Lancashire, England, at age 35.1
Children of RICHARD HARGREAVES and BRIDGET WHITAKER
- Giles Hoyle Hargreaves+ b. 26 Apr 1810, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- HENRY WILLIAM HARGREAVES+ b. 24 Apr 1811, d. 18 Jul 1899
- James Hargreaves b. 19 Apr 1812, d. 23 Aug 1861
- Richard Hargreaves b. 29 Aug 1813, d. b 11 Jun 1815
- Jane Hargreaves b. 27 Nov 1814, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- Isaac Hargreaves b. 2 Jul 1816, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- Bridget Hargreaves b. 25 Jan 1818, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- Ellen Hargreaves b. 21 Nov 1819, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- Mary Hargreaves+ b. 14 Jan 1821, d. 17 May 1887
- Ann Hargreaves b. 25 Apr 1822, d. b 25 Feb 1845
- Enoch Hargreaves+ b. 7 Dec 1823, d. 20 Feb 1845
Citations
- [S148] Unknown author, "Richard Hargreaves, Family Group Record".
- [S1] Henry Hargreaves, Death Certificate.
- [S319] Believed to be Barry Hargreaves who presented it to Alvy Ray Smith (3), "Henry Wm Hargreaves, Family Group Record", Entry ID: Very detailed information, from a family member, trustworthy, sources cited.
- [S277] Unknown author, Henry Hargreaves and his Descendants.
- [S321] Unknown author, A set of legal documents, provided to Alvy Ray Smith (3) by Jim Waddell, attempting to prove kinship in an inheritance case., The estate documents include:
1. A sworn statement, dated 24 Sep 1927, by Jane Stuart, entitled "In the Estate of Richard Hargreaves Deceased". This refers to Richard Hargreaves, grandson of the original Richard Hargreaves and Bridget Whitaker. Jane Liversidge (Stuart) is another of their grandchildren.
2. A rebuttal by the opposing solicitors.
3. A response to the rebuttal, sworn 17 Apr 1928, by Jane Stuart (84 years old at the time).
4. A letter to "Cousin Stella", dated 17 Apr 1926, discussing the case, listing the death certificate details they have discovered for the case:
"(Died 20th Feb 1845) Enoch Hargreaves, Father of Richard Hargreaves
(Died 10th April 1882) Alice Hargreaves, Mother of Richard Hargreaves
(Died 23rd August 1861) James Hargreaves, Father's Brother
(Died)
14th December 1846) Mary Harris. Mother's Sister.
8th June 1883) Sarah Little. Mother's Sister.
14th May 1884) Mary Liversidge, Father's Sister.
28th August 1838) Gilve Hoyle Hargreaves (Son of Giles.
18th April 1898) John Hargreaves Liversidge (Son of Mary Liversidge
14th February 1921) Ephraim Liversidge (Son of Mary Liversidge
31st March 1919) Bridget Ann Bone Liversidge (daughter of Mary Liversidge"
The signature page of the letter is missing but it is sent from "4(?) Wyre Grove, Grovenor (?) Road, Blackpool, England, April 17 1926"
5. A hand-drawn family tree for Richard Hargreaves and Bridget Whitaker, showing children Giles, James, Henry, Mary, and Enoch
I have done independent research on many of these family members and found corroborating evidence (see the Liversidge family evidence, in particular). The family tree in 5 above is missing Richard, Jane, Isaac, Bridget, Ellen, and Ann, who might have all died young (although we know that Isaac married at least).
. - [S1322] J. A. Laycock, "Padiham, St Leonard's Church", vol. 5, marriages p. 5, "[date] 1809/10/23 [surname] Hargreaves [forename] Richard [rel] sp [relative] Bridget Whittaker [sic] [residence] Padiham [occupation] [empty] [other] [empty]".