In the 1767 Returns of Papists for Great Harwood and Rishton Thomas Smith plodweaver 22, his wife Jennet 19 and daughter Mary, 1 are living with his parents, John Smith (not a Catholic) Jennet 52 and his siblings. Thomas Smith married Jennet Giles at Great Harwood 17 August 1765 and their daughter Mary was baptized at Dunkenhalgh 3 May 1766, gps Henry Hill (also on the 1767 list) and Isabel Smith, her aunt , who then married Mark Noble and appears in the Smith household in 1767 as Isabel Noble 19 with Mark 20. Thomas and Jennet had 14 children baptized at Dunkenhalgh between 1766 and 1785, which argues not only that she was fertile but that they were reasonably well off which as plodweavers they should have been. The godparent list shows patterns of interconnected familes. There is one instance where Ann, bap 28 Mar 1780 and Edward 11 May 1780 are both said to be from this family. It is evident from the godparents that Ann is the correct child. Edward's gps are John Duxbury and Ann Tootell, who appear nowhere else in this family. Ann has John and Margaret Baldwin. Two other children have Baldwin godparents. This family produced many descendants. John (1769) and Isabel ?Baldwin had 9 children baptized at Dunkenhalgh from 1787-1805, William (1772) m Mary nee Consiglio and had 5 children between 1795 and 1803, Richard (1776) m Alice Brogden 3 Aug 1795 at GH and had 6 children 1795-1807, James (1771) and Ellen had 10 children bap between 1796 and 1814. I am still working on whether there was any relationship between the Great Harwood Smiths and the Samlesbury/Ribchester Smiths with Bernard, Jeremy, Grace and Cicily, but have not found any so far. John Smith of Harwood age 88 was buried at Great Harwood 23 May 1803 and Jane, wife of John Smith of Clayton le Moors(Rishton was partly Great Harwood and partly Clayton le Moors) was buried at Great Harwood age 78 9 June 1792. Thomas (1773) may have married Francisca X, then Jane X and Henry (1781) may have married Ann X. There is one other detail. No adult James Smith is listed with the GH family, but godparent lists attest to the existence of one, as well as the appearance of this name high in Thomas and Jennet's family. Perhaps he had married an Anglican wife, returning to the fold when she died.Marie87
Subject: Great Harwood and Rishton Smiths 
Thu 26 Mar 2009 - 12:29
