Padiham around 1910.
The other side of John Harry’s life was as big a mystery as his war service. Initially, I had little more to go on than his name and his birthplace. I decided to try the UK Census data starting with 1901 and working backwards.
I found him quickly enough in the ’01 census and that gave me some interesting information regarding his family life. At that time, John Harry was just 13 and living in the family home at 20 Alma Street, Padiham.
This is the information as presented:
Thomas Pate 49 (Head of family) Born Padiham, Lancashire. Occupation: Municipal lamp cleaner.
Sarah Pate 48 (Wife) Born Padiham, Lancashire. No occupation.
Thomas Pate 23 (Son) Born Padiham, Lancashire. Occupation: Cotton Weaver.
Emily Pate 10 (Daughter) Born Padiham, Lancashire. No occupation.
Melissa Pate 17 (Daughter) Born Padiham, Lancashire. Occupation: Cotton Weaver.
John Harry Pate 13 (Son) Born Padiham, Lancashire. Occupation: Cotton Weaver.
I was startled to find that, at just 13, John was already working at the Mill but this was still common practice in the 1800’s. Small children were used to clean out machinery while the looms were still running. They were known as ‘Scavengers’ and many were injured or killed until the practice was finally stopped.
Cotton Mill workers in Padiham.
I then went further back to the census of 1891. At this time, the family were residing at 7 Old Spring Garden. Padiham.
Thomas Pate 39 Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Lamp lighter.
Sarah Pate 38 (wife) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: illegible.
Thomas Pate 13 (son) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Cotton Spinner.
William Pate 10 (son) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Cotton Spinner.
Melissa Pate 7 (daughter) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Scholar.
John H Pate 3 (son) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England.
Emily Pate 4 months (daughter) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England.
This was the first indication of a third brother (second, chronologically speaking). William had not been present in the family home in the census of ’01.
Next, I looked at the 1881 census data. The family were at 7 Old Spring Garden, which means they lived at the same address for at least 10 years.
Thomas Pate 29 Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Cotton Spinner.
Sarah Pate 27 (wife) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Housekeeper.
Mary Ann Pate 9 (daughter) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Scholar.
Thomas Pate 3 (son) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England.
William Pate 5 months (son) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England.
James Moorhouse 16 (boarder) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Cotton Spinner.
George Moorhouse 18 (boarder) Born Padiham, Lancashire, England. Occupation: Coal Miner.
Again, a sibling that was not present in either the ’91 or the ’01 census’. Marry Ann, the oldest Pate child married quite young (by our standards) and had already left the family home by the next census.
There is a marriage record in Burnley in December 1890 for a Mary Ann Pate to Edward Sawley. That probably is our Mary Ann and would explain her absence in ’91.
Also interesting to note that the family had boarders at this time.
At this point, my well ran dry. I had no further clues as to John’s civilian life. I could speculate on things like Thomas Senior’s change in circumstances from weaver to lamp lighter to municipal lamp cleaner. Perhaps an injury at the mill had forced him to take other work. However, there was no information to confirm any speculations. I was out of ideas.
Enter Fred of Burnley and my GG’s death notification. There was one gem of information printed in the Burnley Express which had nothing to do with his war service.
“He was identified with the local Unitarian School and Chapel.”
I had nowhere else to go, so I went looking there. The first thing I discovered was that the Unitarian school was in West Street, Spring Garden. According to his headstone, by the time John Harry was in France, Thomas senior (no mention of Sarah) was also living in West Street. This seemed like an important connection.
Speaking of connections, I realised while I was putting this post together that I once spent an evening drinking with my cousin and his mates at the Hare and Hounds in West Street. This was probably one of John Harry’s watering holes (assuming he wasn’t a teetotaler, of course.
The Chapel itself is also only a short walk from the Alma Street address the family were occupying in ’01 and I was beginning to suspect that the Unitarians played a significant role in the lives of the Pates.
As the Unitarians are still active in Padiham, I contacted the Chapel and found the minister to be both charming and helpful. She was able to, as she put it, “set the local ladies to work” looking through the parish records.
What they uncovered was, essentially, proof of my family’s deep involvement with Unitarianism. Between 1839 and 1943 there were no fewer than 34 Pates christened at the Nazareth Chapel. This number included all of Thomas and Sarah’s children from Mary Ann through to Emily and even Thomas Senior himself.
I was also able to glean from this record that Thomas was also the name of John Harry’s Grandfather. The name was obviously passed down to the eldest son for at least three generations*. Thomas, the Elder’s, wife was called Ann and was probably who Mary Ann was named for.
The portrait this paints for me is of an extremely spiritual family who took duty, faith, and community very seriously. It, therefore, comes as no great surprise to me to find that all three sons were in uniform during the war.
The Unitarian Nazareth Chapel, Padiham.
*And continues to be passed down to the present day.
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