Profile: Alice Hacking (ca 1807-1889)

Alice Hacking (circa 1807–1889)
Name: Alice Hacking
Gender: Female
Birth: Circa 1807, Clitheroe, Lancashire, England
Death: 4 November 1889, Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Burial: 7 November 1889, Blackburn Cemetery, Lancashire

Life and Residences
Alice Hacking lived a full life across various addresses in Blackburn, Lancashire. Her movements reflect the changing landscape of industrial England and the realities of working-class life in the 19th century:

• 1841: High Street, Blackburn
• 1844: Back Lane, Blackburn
• 1846: 38 Salford, Blackburn
• 1851: Ewood Bridge, Blackburn
• 1861: 6 Swarbrick Street, Blackburn
• 1871: 33 Peter Street, Blackburn
• 1881: 146 Cleaver Street, Blackburn
• 1889: 69 Alker Street, Blackburn (final residence)

Marriage and Family
Alice married Henry Rothwell on 22 July 1833 in Blackburn. Together, they had nine children:

• Nancy Rothwell (b. 1828)
• Richard Rothwell (c. 1834–1844)
• James Hacking Ratcliffe Rothwell (b. 1835)
• Mary Rothwell (c. 1836–1903)
• Henry Rothwell (c. 1838–1840)
• Martha Alice Rothwell (1840–1899)
• Ellen Rothwell (1842–1844)
• Alice Ann Rothwell (1844–1872)
• Elizabeth Rothwell (b. 1846)

Her children’s lives spanned various paths, with some marrying and others passing away young—a poignant reminder of the era’s harsh realities.

Conflicting Birth Records
There are conflicting records regarding Alice’s birth year. While most sources suggest circa 1807, one record indicates circa 1810. This discrepancy is common in early 19th-century documentation and adds complexity to genealogical research.

Final Days
Alice passed away on 4 November 1889 in Blackburn. Her death certificate cites a strangulated hernia and exhaustion after a 12-day illness. She was laid to rest three days later in Blackburn Cemetery.

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Sources

• Census: Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 4, page 1 [D01529]
• 1851 Census: Haslingden, Lancashire, folio 244, page 14 [D01628]
• 1861 Census: Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 100, page 27 [D01602]
• 1871 Census: Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 75, page 25 [D02674]
• 1881 Census: Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 24, page 41 [D01347]
• Death Certificate: England and Wales, 4 Nov 1889, Blackburn [D02683]
• Burial Record: Blackburn Cemetery, 7 Nov 1889 [D02680]

X00374 Alice Hacking End of Line

I have mentioned Alice Hacking previously. She is my 4x great grandmother and is currently one of my end-of-line ancestors. So, I've been doing some research to see if I can find more information about her birth and the generation before her.

Below is a summary of her birth date and location information based on the records that I have found:

No	Doc	Year	Age	Birth Year	Birth Place
D01529	1841 Census	1841	30	1811	Lancashire
D01628	1851 Census	1851	43	1808	Clitheroe, Lancashire
D01602	1861 Census	1861	55	1806	Ribchester, Lancashire
D02674	1871 Census	1871	66	1805	Clitheroe, Lancashire
D01347	1881 Census	1881	72	1809	Difficult to read
D02683	Death Certificate	1889	79	1810	N/A
D02680	Burial Record	1889	83	1806	N/A

The location information for the 1881 census is difficult to read and the ages in the 1841 census were rounded. So, I'm looking for a birth year between 1805 and 1809 and a location outside of Blackburn i.e. Clitheroe or Ribchester.

So, looking at the possible baptism records, I have found five possibilities

Possibility	Name	Birth	Baptism	Location	Parents
01	Alice Hacking	22 Dec 1806	22 Feb 1807	Blackburn	James Hacking & Jane Hacking
02	Alice Hacking	30 Nov 1809	19 Jan 1810	Blackburn	Betty Hacking
03	Alice Hacking	Unknown	31 July 1808	Blackburn	Lawrence Hacking & Betty Hacking
04	Alice Hacking	5 Apr 1806	27 Apr 1806	Altham	James Hacking & Ann Hacking
05	Alice Hacking	19 Oct 1805	10 Nov 1805	Mitton	James Hacking & Mary Hacking

Given that Blackburn was a larger city nearby, it is possible that the baptism occurred in Blackburn. Mitton is part of Clitheroe and the baptism record says the family was from Aighton, which is just West of Clitheroe, so possibility number five seems to be the leading candidate, but more investigation is required.

X00376 James H.R. Rothwell after 1856

I have mentioned James Hastings Radcliffe Rothwell in previous posts (X00376). He is the son of Henry Rothwell and Alice Hacking and was born 6 February 1835 in Haslingden, Lancashire. He is found living with the family in the 1841 and 1851 census records. He marries Margaret Airey 26 July 1856 in Blackburn:

Previously, I had only found them up to that point, so I did some further research. And here is where it gets interesting. In the 1861 census, both James and Margaret are found back living with their respective families:

James Rothwell in 1861:

Margaret Rothwell in 1861:

In the 1871 census records, they are again living separately. I have also found Margaret living alone in the 1881 census records, but have yet to find James. I have found a death record for Margaret in 1886, but am still looking for a death record for James.

So it looks like I have put together the story for Margaret Airey after 1856; I'm just waiting for a potential death record for James to arrive (stay tuned for more). But the reason why they lived separately for so many years will likely remain a mystery.

X00378 Elizabeth Rothwell after 1871

Elizabeth Rothwell is the sixth daughter of Henry Rothwell and Alice Hacking. She was born 16 July 1846 in Blackburn, Lancashire. Census records have her living with the family all the way through to the 1871 census but I have not faound her in any records in Blackburn beyond that date.

I did then start looking farther out and found this marriage record:

It has an Elizabeth Rothwell marrying a William Sutton on 6 May 1876 in Eccles, Lancashire. Unfortunately the marriage record does not give an age or profession, so I can't verify that information. As well, the location isn't where I would expect it to be in Eccles, Lancashire.

The one positive as far as the connections ithe information about the father - the father is named Henry Rothwell and his profession is a cart driver. So that and the name Elizabeth Rothwell match.

So, it's a possibility that this is the correct Elizabeth Rothwell in the marriage record, but there's not a lot to go on. I'm going to treat it as a hypothesis to see if there are any other records that I might find to either prove or disprove the hypothesis.