At this point we might suppose that the sisters must have worked in some prestigious school to be retired at 40, living in a nice house and having a servant.
The sisters were born in Helmshore and Haslingden respectively. These are adjacent towns in the Rossendale Valley. A region situated between Blackburn and Manchester. As we discovered in the previous posts, this region was prominent in the Industrial Revolution for textile manufacturing. In Helmshore the Turner mill built in 1789 is now a museum and the Sunnybank Mill once housed the world's largest spinning mules.
In 1911 we find the sisters have moved to 2 St. Patricks Road North and seemingly no longer have a maid. We know the Whitaker family that lived at this address in 1901 had split up for unknown reasons by 1911.
Tracing the two sisters is proving somewhat difficult as Mary Thompson is very common name and I can find no record of either in the Lancashire on-line parish records. There seems to be a big gap in haslingden records of Thompsons around the time of their birth.
In the 1901 census there are two visitors in the house, John Woodcock and his wife Elizabeth. Turns out, John, a solicitor, was also born in Haslingden and does have a record on lan-opc.
Baptism: 16 Apr 1840 St James, Haslingden, Lancashire, England
John Woodcock - Son of Thomas Woodcock & Anne
Abode: Pleasant Street Haslingden
Occupation: Attorney at Law
Baptised by: W. Gray
Register: Baptisms 1834 - 1844, Entry 888
Source: LDS Film 1040346
There must be some family connection here. Elizabeth born in Middlesex is not another sister.
I've found them in 1891 by searching for Getrude Thompson living with a sister Mary. Given their aged spinster status and dedication to each other, it seemed possible they'd be together in earlier years. So in 1891 the two sisters are living with their widowed mother, Jane, in Haslingden. Both sisters are listed with the profession "Governess / school".
In 1881 pretty much is the same but with a brother James Omerod and a different servant. James is listed as a solicitor so this could be the connection to John Woodcock.
There's a letter published in the Manchester Courier and Lancashire General Advertiser - Monday 07 April 1884 from a J. Omerod Thompson, Haslingden, on the subject of enfranchisement of copyholds. It starts " I had read with great interest the able and exhaustive letter on this subject from Mr. John Woodcock"
In 1871 same again. Mary is a Governess, Getrude is only 12 so is a scholar. A different servant again and a border aged 12 named Annie Gertrude Mellor born in Ashton Under Lyme, Lancashire, which is approx 35km away, to the east of Manchester.
In 1861 we discover the Fathers name is Robert, born in Cartmel, Lancashire. Sixteen years older than his wife Jane. So we can say Robert died between 1861 and 1871. His profession is practically indecipherable. A curate of something. This time they have the same servant as 1871.
In 1851 we find the family of Robert aged 40, Jane aged 24 and daughter Mary aged 1. With the servant of the future 20 years, Sarah Ann Aspinall. Again we can see the profession involving the word "curate".
Seems curate is the term for "parish priest". And there's St. Thomas Church at Musbery, Helmshore. The 1861 census profession certainly looks like "curate of Musbury"
The Lancaster Gazette - Saturday 29 May 1847 records the marriage of
"On thursday last, at Haslingden Church, by the Rev. William Gray, the Rev Robert Thompson, incumbent of Musbury, to Jane, second daughter of James Omerod, Haslingden"
St. Thomas Church, Musbury
Now we see how James Thompson has the middle name 'Omerod'.
Family Tree
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