General

I have been researching my family ancestry, off and on, for a number of years. It is now as complete as I can make it in terms of direct lineage – parents, grandparents, great grandparents etc.

In relation to collateral lineage – spouses, aunts, uncles, cousins etc., I have only included information where there are relevant / interesting details.

It is easily possible to become side-tracked whilst researching by following relationships into second cousins and their families and beyond. I see little point in this as it can go on forever.

My Aunt, Jill Shaver nee Callaghan, who died in 2012 was very helpful in providing family information and stories. Also various people from Ancestry.com who are doing family history research provided useful information.

The Birch and Howarth families were mainly employed in cotton weaving at the Garnet Cotton Mill in Low Moor, Clitheroe. See: Low Moor Cotton Mill Also in stone-masonry, calico printing and agriculture.

The Lovell family were also involved in stone-masonry as well as jewellery and silver plate manufacture in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham.

The Callaghan men were often involved with the sea and sailing, whilst the women also worked in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham.

Research

Much research comes from UK census records. They commenced in 1841 and are conducted every ten years, however are only available to the pubic after one hundred years. Therefore the last censuses currently available are from 1921. A pre-war census carried out in 1939 is however available.

As most people in the UK were illiterate at the start of the censuses they were completed and compiled by parish officials visiting each home and taking details. Some of these records are difficult to follow because of antiquated forms of writing, miss-spelling (Burch, Berch, Caligan, Haworth, Howarth etc.) bearing in mind that the parish official had to guess the correct spelling after being told it verbally. It was not until the 1911 census, when the UK population was considered to be 80% literate, that census forms were completed by the household members themselves.

Additional information comes from on-line birth, marriage and death sources that give information up to around the early 1990’s.

Church and parish records are especially important and provide much information, especially prior to 1841.

Government marriage, divorce, birth and death registration did not become compulsory until a law was passed in 1837. However, this law was largely ignored until toughened with fines being introduced for non-compliance in 1874.

Government Birth, Marriage and Death records are by quarter, whilst church records usually give the exact date.