Ancestor Profile: Mary Rothwell – A Life Woven Through the Mills of Blackburn

Mary Rothwell was born around 1836 in Blackburn, Lancashire, a town at the heart of the Industrial Revolution’s textile boom. Her baptism on 3 September 1836 at Blackburn’s parish church marks the earliest confirmed record of her life. While multiple documents list varying birth years—from 1833 to 1840—her baptism suggests a birth in mid to late 1836¹.

She was the daughter of Henry Rothwell (c.1812–1875) and Alice Hacking (c.1807–1889), part of a working-class family that endured the trials and transformations of Victorian England.

The Weaver’s World
Mary spent her entire life in Blackburn, where from a young age she worked as a cotton weaver—a common but demanding job for women in Lancashire’s textile mills. In 1851, she was living at Ewood Bridge and already employed in the cotton trade³. Her trade would remain consistent throughout her life, recorded as her occupation in the 1851, 1871, and 1881 censuses³⁵⁸.

On 19 December 1854, Mary married George Slater, another cotton worker, at Blackburn⁴. The couple was living on Turner Lane at the time and both listed weaving as their profession. Their lives were emblematic of the many families who navigated marriage, work, and child-rearing within the constraints of factory schedules and industrial housing.

Home and Family
Mary and George had at least four children:

• William Henry Slater, born around 1856⁹
• Alma Slater, born around 1858⁵
• Margaret Alice Slater, born around 1859⁵
• Rothwell Slater, born around 1863⁸

Their homes shifted over the decades but remained within Blackburn. In 1861, they were living at 9 Barnes Street, and by 1871, they had moved to 85 Alker Street, where they remained at least through 1881⁹⁵⁸.

Decline and the Workhouse
The 1901 census paints a somber picture of Mary’s final years. She was listed as a "chairwoman"—possibly a home-based job or informal labor—and living in the Blackburn Union Workhouse¹⁰. Notably, she was described as a “lunatic”, a label commonly (and often inaccurately) applied in Victorian records to those with mental illness, dementia, or other cognitive challenges.

Mary died on 29 November 1903 at the workhouse (then located at 24 Copperfield Street) from senile decay, an outdated term often referring to age-related mental decline⁶⁷. She was buried in Blackburn Cemetery on 5 December 1903⁶.

George Slater – Husband and Mill Worker
Born around 1834, George Slater shared Mary’s life of weaving and resilience. The son of Lawrence Slater, George also experienced uncertain birth dates ranging from 1832 to 1837²³⁴. Like Mary, his occupation was listed as a cotton weaver across several census decades²³⁴, and he lived with her at their various Blackburn addresses.

Records after the 1881 census grow quiet about George, and it’s unknown whether he passed before Mary or simply left fewer records behind.

Legacy
Mary Rothwell’s life is a vivid example of a 19th-century working-class woman in industrial Britain. From the cotton mills of Blackburn to the workhouse in her later years, Mary endured hardship with persistence typical of many women in her era. Her story, pieced together through historical records, offers a glimpse into the life of a Lancashire cotton weaver and the unspoken struggles of the Victorian poor.

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Sources
1. (Blackburn, Lancashire, England), Lancashire England, Church of England Births and Baptisms 1813-1911, "Baptism Record - Mary Rothwell,"; digital images, ancestry.ca, ancestry.ca [D09244].

2. 1841 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, folio 4, page 1, 24; digital images; citing PRO HO 107/502/14. [D01529].

3. 1851 census of England, Haslingden, Lancashire, folio 244, page 14; digital images; citing PRO HO 107/2250. [D01628].

4. England and Wales, marriage certificate for George Slater and Mary Rothwell, married 19 December 1854; citing 08e/503/9, Q4 quarter 1854, Blackburn registration district, Blackburn sub-district; General Register Office, Southport. [D09270].

5. 1871 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, folio 45, page 27, 134; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestra.ca; citing PRO RG 10/4176. [D09276].

6. England and Wales, death certificate for Mary Slater, died 29 November 1903; citing 08e/292/294, Q4 quarter 1903, Blackburn registration district, Blackburn sub-district; General Register Office, Southport. [D09269].

7. Blackburn Cemetery (Blackburn, Lancashire), order for interment of Mary Slater, 5 December 1903; digital images, Deceased Online, Deceased Online. [D09284].

8. 1881 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, folio 92, page 34, 128; digital images, Ancestry.ca, Ancestry.ca; citing PRO RG 11/4186. [D09277].

9. 1861 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, folio 100, page 40, 222; digital images; citing PRO RG 9/3103. [D09275].

10. 1901 census of England, Blackburn, Lancashire, England, folio 131, page 34, 1; digital images, Ancestry.com; citing PRO RG 13/3916. [D09279].

Mary Alice Rothwell Birth

A few weeks ago, I posted about Mary Alice Rothwell and the fact that she was born about 1861, prior to her parents, Samuel Rawcliffe and Martha Alice Rothwell getting married. The census records suggest that Mary Alice Rothwell was born about 1861-1862, whereas her parents were married 27 August 1864.

I first came across this baptism record with a baptism date of 13 October 1861:

The baptism record gives her name as Mary Alice Rothwell (although Rawcliffe is also given as it as the father's surname). The parents are listed as "Samuel & Martha Alice Rothwell". This is consistent with the two of them not being married in 1861 - her maiden name is given. A birthdate for Mary Alice is also given as 1 May 1861.

I next had a look for a birth record. Records on Ancestry point to this birth record for an Alice Rawcliffe born in Blackburn in 1861:

But I had my doubts, first because the given name is just Alice, and also because the surname is Rawcliffe, and it's more likely that the name on the birth record would have been Rothwell. I checked the GRO indexes and the mother's maiden name did not match.

I had a look under the name Rothwell and found one listing that matched. A Martha Alice Rothwell, born in Blackburn in 1861. So I ordered the record:

It's definitely the one, with a birth date of 1 May 1861, and the names match.

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.

X00188 Solved! Part 4

I've posted about X00188 previously. In Part 2 of the post, I mentioned how there were additional names listed in the burial record for Henry Rothwell. In Part 3 I had a look at the Mary Slate name to see how she could be related to the family. In this part, I look at the Martha Bass name to see if she is related to the family.

I first went and found the original burial record:

Which gives a burial date of 24 June 1885 and an age at of six months. It lists her as the daughter of John and Mary Alice Bass.

So the next step was to find a marriage record for John Bass and Mary Alice to see if there is any more evidence there. Sure enough, I was able to find a marriage record between a John Bass and a Mary Alice Rawcliffe Rothwell in 1882:

The name of Rothwell, does suggest that I'm on to the right marriage, although there is no information given for the father. The birth year of about 1862 would likely be too late to be a child of Henry and Alice Rothwell. So I had a look at some of Henry and Alice's children

Sure enough, I managed to find a marriage between Martha Rothwell and Samuel Rawcliffe in 1864:

This marriage record lists a Henry Rothwell as a father and a James Rothwell as a witness. As well, the birth year of Martha Rothwell matches the birth year of a known daughter of Henry Rothwell named Martha. So I'm willing to conclude that the Martha Bass in the burial record is connected to the Henry Rothwell from my family. With the evidence here and of the Mary Slater connection, I am also willing to conclude that the Henry Rothwell who died in Blackpool is the correct one.

One interesting thing to note is that the Rawcliffe-Rothwell marriage took place after Mary Alice was born, which might explain why her surname was Rothwell and not Rawcliffe and that the father is not listed on her marriage certificate. More to investigate on that later.

X00188 Solved! Part 3

For the next step, I first looked at the burial record for Mary Slater to see if there was any connection there. I first found the burial record:

Mary Slater died in 1903 at an age of 63. She was married to a George Slater and was living in a workhouse at the time of her death. That would suggest a birth year of about 1840. She could have been Henry Rothwell's daughter, Mary who was born about 1836, but not exactly, so I did some further investigation.

First thing that I found was her death certificate:

Unfortunately, the death certificate doesn't give much in the way of information that I didn't already have. It confirms that her husband's name was George and she died at age 63 in a workhouse. Additional information found was that she died of senile decay and that husband was deceased and was a cotton weaver. No maiden name however, or any definite proof to link her to Henry Rothwell. So, the next step was to find a marriage record between George Slater and Mary. I managed to find this one:

The marriage is between a George Slater and a Mary Rothwell on 13 December 1854. Her father is listed as Henry Rothwell, a carter, which is a good sign. Her age is give as 19, which would coincide with a birth year of about 1835, which also fits. One of the witnesses was James H.R. Rothwell, which also fits. So, the marriage record definitely fits with it being Mary Rothwell, daughter of Henry Rothwell.

Next step - to investigate the record for Martha Bass.

X00188 Solved! Part 2

Continuing on the story of X00188, I had a look at the burial record for Henry Rothwell, who died in 1875. I had a look to see who else was buried in the same plot. There were four names

It lists four individuals, including Henry and Alice Rothwell. There is also a Mary Slater, who was buried in 1903 and a Martha Bass who died in 1885. Neither of those names are familiar to me, but I had a look at Alice Rothwell's burial record:

And from that I found the death record:

Unfortunately, neither the burial record, nor the death record gave any clear indication, other than that she was married to a Henry Rothwell. Next step...to see if I can find out more about Mary Slater or Martha Bass.

X00188 Solved! Part 1

I've been researching quite a bit lately about the Rothwell family, making new discoveries and finding new mysteries. But it was X00188 that started it all off - finding death information for Henry Rothwell. And I have solved the mystery.

Henry Rothwell is my four times great-grandfather and was born about 1812 in Haslingden, Lancashire, England. His wife was named Alice. I found the family in the 1871 census, but Henry does not appear in the 1881 census, which implies that he likely died between 1871 and 1881.

I checked the death records and there were a few possibilities for a Henry Rothwell of the right age in the area (more on that soon), but the most likely one was a Henry Rothwell who died in Blackpool, rather than Blackburn.

This Henry Rothwell died 25th July 1875 in Blackpool at an age of 64 years, so the age matches. The occupation of general labourer also matches, but that is a very common occupation, so not entirely conclusive. The location of Blackpool doesn't match, but it appears that the death occurred in a hotel, so he could have been travelling.

Another consideration is a Henry Rothwell who died in Haslingden at age 70 in January, 1882.

The age matches, and Henry Rothwell was born in Haslingden so, it's not oout of the question, but not as likely as Blackburn. Unfortunately, the year of death is 1882, which then doesn't explain why he doesn't appear on the 1881 census.

Another Henry Rothwell who died in Haslingden, died in 1875. But the year of birth would be about 1810.

But I had a look further at the first Henry Rothwell, who died in Blackpool. I found a burial record for a Henry Rothwell buried in Blackburn on 28 July 1875, age 64. This would match the death date of the Henry Rothwell who died in Blackpool, but buried in Blackburn. As well, his wife's name is given as Alice, so this is very promising.

More on this to follow!