X00377 Richard Rothwell and the discover of Ellen Rothwell

I had posted previously about Richard Rothwell, born about 1855 and the challenge of finding out who his parents were (X00377). One of the noted next actions was to look for birth/baptism records for a Richard Rothwell, born about 1855 in Blackburn, Lancshire.

I could not find any Richard Rothwell baptisms in Blackburn in the years around 1855 and there are no Richard Rothwells in the GRO indexes registered in Blackburn from the years 1853 to 1857. There are some Richard Rothwells born in Haslingden in the time period, which could be possibilities, although none of them are born to a mother with a maiden name of Airey.

So, it would appear that either the name, birthdate and/or birth location are incorrect for Richard Rothwell, or the birth was not registered or not indexed properly. It also seems unlikely that Margaret Airey Rothwell was the mother, given that the date is likely before her marriage with James Rothwell; perhaps Richard was the son of James H.R. Rothwell with another woman (his marriage certificate liss his as a bachelor, so no indication of a previous marriage). Or perhaps the son of one of the other children of Henry and Alice Rothwell.

Current Possibilities:

• Richard Rothwell is the son of James H.R. Rothwell and a woman other than Margaret Airey
• Richard could be the child of an unmarried Rothwell daughter
• There could be an additional child of Henry and Alice Rothwell that I haven't yet discovered

Until I have more definite proof, I've marked Richard as unconnected in my tree until I have definite proof of who the parents might be.

Next steps:

• Continue to look for birth/baptism records for Richard Rothwell - Although there were no Blackburn birth records found, there were a few Richard Rothwells born in Haslingden
• Trace James H.R. Rothwell in later years (X00376)
• Look for Richard Rothwell in later census records, marriage or death records (note that he was alive in 1889)
• Trace other children of Henry and Alice Rothwell to see if that yields anything

On a side note, as I was trying to find a birth registration for Richard Rothwell, I did a search to find other births with the surname of Rothwell and a mother's maiden name of Airey. I did manage to find a birth registration for an Ellen Rothwell, daughter of James Rothwell and Margaret Airey, born 27 December 1857 in Blackburn.

Sadly, Ellen died six months later of congenital phthsis. This does, however give a little bit more information about James Rothwell and Margaret Airey (X00376).

On yet another side note, I did come across another birth record for a William Airey Rothwell, born 29 November 1856 in Haslingden, but the parents were John Rothwell and Elizabeth Airey. Not from the same family, but perhaps a distant connection.

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possibility * not registered * Not registered in blackburn * Indeexed incorrectly

X00380 Richard Rothwell EOL

I had posted earlier about X00372 where I found the parents of Henry Rothwell to be Richard and Mary Rothwell. I also found that Henry was born in 1811 in Haslingden, Lancashire. So, the next step was to see if I can find more info about the next generation.

I had a search through the Haslingden marriage records from that time period and managed to find a marriage record in Haslingden in 1803 for a Richard Rothwell and Mary Ratcliffe.

Interestingly enough, the marriage right below it on the page is between a Richard Rothwell and an Anne Kindle on the same day.

When I had been searching earlier I also found a death record record for a Richard Radcliffe Rothwell, an innkeeper who died in 1842 aged 50, which would suggest a birth year of about 1892. Far too young for it to be the same one, but it does suggest a connection between the Rothwell and Radcliffe families.

So, lots to investigate with my newly-found 5x great grandparents, Richard Rothwell (X00380) and Mary Ratcliffe (X00389). More to come.

X00377 Who are Richard Rothwell's Parents

In last week's post about Alice Rothwell's date of death, you may have noticed that the witness on the death certificate was an "R. Rothwell, grandson"

The question is, who is this R. Rothwell and where does he fall in the tree?

There is a Richard Rothwell who appears in both the 1861 and 1871 census records, living with Henry Rothwell and Alice Rothwell and listed as their grandson.

From the census records, what we know about Richard Rothwell is that he was born about 1855 in Blackburn, Lancashire and is the grandson of Henry Rothwell and Alice Hacking Rothwell. But the question is, who are his parents?

The most likely candidate would be James H.R. Rothwell and Margaret Airey, who were married in 1856. James Rothwell is the only Rothwell son that I am aware of that would have been alive in 1855. But there are some problems with that; the first being that the birth would have been before the marriage. But also, Richard does not appear in the later census records with either of his parents.

As for other possibilities, there could be an additional child of Henry and Alice Rothwell that I haven't yet discovered. Or Richard could be the child of an unmarried Rothwell daughter. To this point, I have not been able to find a birth record that fits the possible scenarios.

Next Steps:

• Look for birth/baptism record
• Investigate James H.R. Rothwell and Margaret Airey after 1856 [X00376]
• Look for Richard Rothwell in later census records
• Look for Richard Rothwell in later marriage or death records
• Trace daughters of Henry and Alice Rothwell to see if they may have been the parent

Richard Rothwell Death Year

Richard Rothwell is the second child of Henry and Alice Rothwell. I found him first in the 1841 census record for the family and his age in the census would suggest a birth year of about 1834 [D01529]

I found a baptism record for him for a baptism date of 31 August 1834 in Blackburn, Lancashire [D09283]

Richard however, does not appear in any later census records with the family, so likely died prior to the 1851 census. A number of trees on Ancestry list a death date for Richard of 1842, so I thought that I'd look into that death record. But when I checked the GRO indexes, it indicated that the Richard Rothwell who died in 1842 died at age 50, so would not be the right one.

I went back to the indexes to look for other possibilities and found a Richard Rothwell who died in Blackburn, Lancashire in 1844, aged 11 years [D09282]. This seemed like a more likely fit, so I ordered the death certificate.

Sure enough, the record came back showing Richard Rothwell as son of Henry Rothwell, a carter, so it all fits. I'm happy to conclude that I have found the proper death date for Richard Rothwell.

Interesting though, the 1842 record for the other Richard Rothwell, might be a family connection as there is a possibility that Henry Rothwell's father was named Richard. But more on that later (X00372).

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Sources:
[D01529] 1841 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 4, page 1, 24; digital images(accessed 9 Feb 2025); citing PRO HO 107/502/14.

[D09282] England and Wales, death certificate for Richard Rothwell, died 9 November 1844; citing 21/15/187, Q4 quarter 1844, Blackburn registration district, Blackburn sub-district; General Register Office, Southport.

[D09283] St. Mary The Virgin (Blackburn, Lancashire, England), England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975, "Richard Rothwell baptism," 18; digital images, ancestry.ca.