The Walton's move to Cheddleton

An annotated analysis of available Walton/Cheddleton Records

The winter of 1860-61 was a pivotal year for John Walton and his family. It marked a time of great joy and bitter tragedy. It marked a time of breaking old ties and starting new beginnings. It marked a time of change.

John and Eliza Walton lived in Appleby Magna when their 5th child, John Joseph Walton, was born on 19 August 1860 (1). Imagine the pride John felt to finally have a son, his namesake, after having four daughters. I'd like to think he loved them dearly too, but to have a son to carry on the family name was an important accomplishment. The birth of a baby is the highest joy a family can experience. Three months later, on Nov 23, 1860 (2) the family was shocked by tragedy. John Joseph was dead of the dreaded TB, Tuberculosis.

14th Century St Michael & All Angels Church in Appleby Magna

You may have heard TB referred to as "consumption", the wasting away of the body. The cause of death on the death certificate, Tabies Mesenterica, has several definitions in medical texts, one of which is Tuberculosis of lymph glands inside the abdomen. This was an illness that afflicted children attributed to drinking milk from cows infected with tuberculosis, now unheard of due to pasteurized milk. Records are insufficient to indicate if this was the specific cause, but it was a tragic death for an infant and even more tragic for a young family to watch a tiny baby afflicted with Tuberculosis gradually slip away. When visiting, I was unable to find a cemetery marker for this infant at the Church in Appleby Magna, but burial records indicate this is where he was laid to rest (3).

No doubt the family relied on each other for strength during this time of sadness. John and Eliza had four daughters left. Emily, the eldest, would have been seven. Elizabeth was five and Jane Ann was three. The youngest, Mary would be two the following February.

Only 4 short months later, the family was rocked by another tragedy. Elizabeth, who turned six on February 26, 1861, died barely a month later on March 29th. Again, records are insufficient to indicate the cause, but the  parish records in Appleby Magna record her burial on 3 April 1861 (4).

The winter of 1860-61 must have been a painful time for the Waltons. What scant records exist tell us only of the deaths and burials, but little else to understand what this household was going through.

1861 Cheddleton Census

 Another source that may shed some light on the family is the 1861 census. The 1861 English Census was conducted on 7 April 1861. We find John (age 31), Eliza (26) , Emily (7), Jane A. (4) and Mary (2) listed in the parish of Cheddleton. There is no address listed so its not obvious exactly where they lived in Cheddleton. John's occupation is listed as "Coachman/Domestic Servant". (He was listed as a groom in the Appleby Parish Records when John Joseph was born and Labourer when he was buried.) The children are listed as "at home" and wife Eliza's occupation is left blank.

The census enumerators instructions were to reflect the individual's status as of 7 April 1861 for all individuals who had spent the night in the house. So this means the Walton family was living in Cheddleton on April 7 according to the census. However they were nearly 50 miles away, in Appleby, 4 days earlier burying a child. Rather that illuminate our knowledge of the family, this document adds a new mystery.

The Census does answer one question. It helps define a very narrow boundary that suggests when the Walton's arrived in Cheddleton. They arrived in early April 1861, after April 3 but before April 7. (It was purely by chance that I arrived there in April 2011 almost exactly 150 years later searching for my roots.)


As I mentioned in my last blog, there are still TWO mysterious questions:

1) How did they get to Cheddleton
2) Why did they come. 

How did they get to Cheddleton?  I speculated that they could have taken the train, been picked up in a wagon or coach by a new employer or simply walked. Any of these would have fit into the narrow time frame of their arrival. Without some documentary evidence or an oral history of the journey we may never know. Imagine moving a household and young children this distance with the added burden of the recent deaths. No matter how they traveled, it must have been a sad and difficult journey. Not only were they leaving two recently buried children behind, they were leaving the network of support from parents, friends and relatives in a village they had called home their entire lives.

Why did they come to Cheddleton? Think about all the moves you and your family have made in your lifetime. I'll bet, if you're like me, most of them were the result of a new job. Reading between the lines, John went from a labourer  to a coachman/domestic servant between the burial of Elizabeth and the census, less than a week later. This may have been due to semantics, but more than likely it represents a new job in Cheddleton and the reason for the move. With the death of two young children fresh in their mind, they may have wanted to leave Appleby and bad memories behind and this was a chance to start over.

What about all the times you moved, or your parents or your grandparents? Are the hows and whys recorded anywhere? Probably not. Imagine the difficulty your great-great grandchildren will have trying to figure us out! This is a good time to help them. Write down the story of your moves, after all you were there! And if you're lucky enough to have living parents or grandparents, ask them about their moves and write it down. Then your descendants won't have to guess. Wouldn't it be cool if I could show you a letter that explained exactly why the Waltons of Appleby moved to Cheddleton at such a tragic time in their lives?

Since I haven't found anything like that...we'll just have to keep on guessing.

Next: The Cheddleton Waltons 1861-1881 


Sources:
1- Birth entry from General Register Office, London, England (Gayle Judd)
    Baptism record, Appleby Magna Parish Records (see Resource Tab) 
2- Death record from General Register Office, London, England (Gayle Judd)
3- Burial record, Appleby Magna Parish Records (see Resource Tab) 

4- Burial record, Appleby Magna Parish Records (see Resource Tab)

Traveling to Cheddleton

Cheddleton, April 22, 2011- About an hour's ride northwest from Appleby Magna and Packington is our ancestral village of Cheddleton, not far from the famous potteries of Stoke-on-Trent.  Most of the drive to Cheddleton was via highway, so we made very good time. We passed through the congested suburbs of Derby and Burton, at rush hour, before entering an area of slower paced, pastoral country villages. The roads got very busy once again as we neared Stoke-on -Trent, before turning onto a road that led us to our weekend in the country. 

Map showing route from Packington to Cheddleton by Car

Cheddleton is located in the North Staffordshire Moorlands near the peak district. It is a lovely rural village that exhibits the sights, sounds and, sometimes, country smells one would expect from an agricultural area. Lush green fields blanket rolling hills in all directions, occupied by grazing cattle and sheep. The put-put of ancient farm tractors can be heard as they work behind the hedgerows. Occasionally a sudden breeze wafts the strong smells of whatever they are spreading in the fields, overwhelming an unprepared nose. But Cheddleton is also a suburban bedroom community for nearby Leek and Stoke. The pubs are full of chic visitors and residents who, like us, seek the quaintness of the rural landscape as an escape from the pressures of the modern world they occupy from 9 to 5.

Rolling farmland around Cheddleton

As we journeyed toward Cheddleton, I wondered how and why our ancestors traveled here from their home village over 50 miles away. The "what", I would guess, was economics. John Walton was "in service" and probably got a job in Cheddleton, possibly through a sibling who was already working up there.

Cheddleton Station

The how, is more difficult to ponder. Cheddleton's railroad station dates from 1849 as part of North Staffordshire Railway's Churnet Valley line. While there is no direct rail connection to Appleby Magna, there is a station about six miles away at Ashby-de-la-Zouch that also opened in 1849. This connects to Burton-on-Trent, which in turn connects to the North Stafforshire line that has a route to Cheddleton. I don't claim to be an expert on mid-19th century English rail travel, but it appears that all these lines were connected by the time the Walton's migrated. It also appears that third class tickets were relatively cheap. I would think it was still a rather large expense to move an entire family and their belongs that distance by rail. Especially for a man moving to find work, if that is indeed the case. More study is required to answer this. (Do any readers have any evidential or oral family history that addresses this move that they can share?)

Perhaps his new employer sent a wagon for them. Even this would be a long journey of more than a day. But more than likely, they simply walked. Only an hour or so by car today, in the mid 19th century that is at least a two or more likely three day journey on foot. This ancient practice, one we seem to have forgotten about in the US, is still widely practiced in the small villages of England and Ireland. It is common to see people walking or biking along rural roads with their daily shopping bag from the village grocery. How the Walton family got to Cheddleton may never be known, but it is certain they didn't hop into a car and drive, like we did that sunny April day.

19th Century Prospect House, Cheddleton

We stayed at a B&B called the Prospect House. Our host, Rolf, checked us in then led us across the courtyard, at the rear of the main house, to a coach-house that has been converted to cozy guestrooms. Here I was, in Cheddleton, staying in an old coach-house, dating from the same period when my ancestors lived in a similar coach-house less than 5 miles away.  Would you think me silly if I told you my stomach fluttered a little to be so close, yet separated by a gulf of 150 years.

Carriage house guest rooms at Prospect House

 Prospect house dates to 1838 and was the country estate of the Fox family, local gentry that owned large land holdings, a brewery and a pub in the village. It is likely that the Foxes and the Sneyds, of Belmont Hall, were acquainted and perhaps John or George Walton drove them to a social event at this house. At any rate, this house was standing on the main Leek road through Cheddleton at the same time the Walton's lived in the village.

Prospect House Courtyard

After unpacking, we sat at a picnic table in the courtyard enjoying the setting rays of the warm April sun, sipping a glass of wine and reflecting on everything we'd seen that day in Appleby Magna and Packington. My head was spinning from information overload. I was dissappointed in not finding any Walton gravestones. For as many things as I saw this day, I wondered what important things did I miss. For as much planning as I had done, I began to feel unprepared for the coming day exploring Cheddleton. So much to see, so little time to discover it all...

Next: Discovering the Walton's of Cheddleton