| ©Barlow Genealogy 1998-2005 |
Searching out Edmund Barlow's origins in EnglandVacationing with Kent and Patti Barlow in England |
Kent and Patti Barlow vacationed in
England in October of 2000, in search of the origins of
their descendant, Edmund Barlow, born October 1626 and
died 19 December 1697, known here as Edmund
of Malden Massachusetts. Edmund married Mary Pemberton,
and much genealogy from his time forward is known; Kent
is in search of his ancestry prior to Edmund. Following
is a synopsis of their trip to England, giving a description
of the trip, and their genealogicial findings, written
by Kent. |
We landed in Manchester, a large industrial town in northwestern
England, and rented a car. We used the small town of Knutsford,
south of Manchester as our base of operations during our
first week in England. On the afternoon of our arrival, we
took a stroll to look over the town. We walked by a cemetery
in front of one of Knutsford's churches, and the first headstone
we saw was for Thomas Barlow, who died in the 1800's. He
was from Lower Peover, which is a little village south of
Knutsford. I have no idea if he is a relative or not.
The Manchester area is 'Barlow' country. The name Barlow is very ordinary and very much in view. The phone book for North Manchester contains 195 Barlow telephone numbers. Oldham, where the Barlow's made clocks in the 1800's is a northeast suburb of Manchester. Edmund Barlow was born in Turton, a township in the ancient parish of Bolton-le-Moors comprising 4600 acres. Turton Township is north of the city of Bolton, which is a medium sized city, which is in turn ten miles northwest of Manchester. The drive to Bolton and Turton from Knutsford took about forty-five minutes. The Bolton Library has an archives section for family research --closed on Monday's--, that can be used only by appointment. When we phoned for an appointment, they asked if we wanted to use the microfilm machine or the microfiche machine. Not knowing whether the records we were seeking were on film or fiche, we chose microfilm and that proved to be the proper choice. The baptismal records for the Old Parish Church of Bolton are preserved on microfilm. In those records we found the handwritten baptismal record of Edmund Barlow, baptized October 01,1626. His father is listed as James Barlow and no mother is listed. His brother's and one of his sisters' baptisms are also recorded. The Old Parish Church of Bolton was the nearest church to Turton Township in 1626; and was subsequently demolished in 1866. We could find no further records concerning Edmund Barlow in the Bolton or Manchester Library. Without any map other than an English road atlas, we had a tough time finding Turton Township. Townships are not recorded on road atlases, but there was a village called Turton Bottoms shown on the map. Turton Bottoms had no sign announcing you were entering the village. It is just a collection of houses and a few shops located in a valley north of Bolton. At the top of the hill looking down on Turton Bottoms, we entered the township of Edgworth. Immediately on the right, as we entered Edgworth, is a Methodist church. Behind the church is a school. We drove into the schoolyard and went into the school office to ask for information about Turton Township, and in particular about the Barlow's of Turton Township. The ladies in the office were very cordial and told us that the Barlow's in Turton and Edgworth had had money. They were familiar with the family of James Barlow, a resident in the 1800's, who owned a cotton-spinning mill in Bolton and who was very wealthy. He contributed a significant part of the money to build the Methodist church in front of the school. They gave us a 180 page history of Turton Township, "TURTON THROUGH THE AGES," written in 2000, that is quite informative. They gave us the address of the local historian whom we soon called on. |
We were welcomed into the home of the local
historian, Gerry Openshaw. Gerry and his wife served us tea.
After enjoyable conversation, they answered our question
about Barlow's.
The Barlow's had owned a spinning mill, and had left a lasting tribute to the village of Edgworth,'The Barlow Memorial Institute', Registered Charity No. 521333 James Barlow had three sons, one of whom was Sir Thomas, who became the personal physician to Queen Victoria and King Edward VII. They asked if we would like to tour the Edgworth Methodist Church. We said we would, and they arranged for someone to meet us and show us the church. Inside the church, a memorial to the James Barlow's family is elaborately carved in oak paneling on the wall to the left of the altar. James Barlow contributed two of the church's stained glass windows. We learned that the last descendant of James Barlow who had lived in Edgworth was a teacher who had died not long after World War II. She was fondly remembered in letters written by several of her students that were in the church archives. |
Built by Sir Thomas Barlow and his brothers and sisters in 1909 as a memorial to their parents, this gift to the people of Edgworth by the Barlow family is a lasting tribute to a very fine family. |
All in all, we had an enjoyable visit in Turton and Edgworth and were treated cordially by the people we met. The same was true during all of our travels around northern England. |
BARLOW, ENGLAND A township on the fringe of the coalfield area, some 4 miles northwest of Chesterfield, possessing the small Norman Church of St. Lawrence, with registers dating from 1573. The 'Barley' or 'Barlow' family originates from here, Robert Barley being Bess of Hardwicks first husband. Incised stone monuments to the family are in the church. |
Our next venture was to drive to the village of Barlow, which is a two hour drive from Manchester. The village is a few miles northwest of Chesterfield in Derbyshire. We didn't realize it, but the road to Chesterfield goes through the Peak District National Park that took us over a high range of hills that were beautiful. Arriving at Barlow, which is a country town, we stopped at the 'Hackney House,' a tea-room and antique shop, in the center of town. We entered for lunch and for conversation. It was a gathering place for town folk and they did not object to us joining in the conversation with questions and comments. They said the village was named after the Barley family and that the last Barley to live there, Lady Barley, died about four years ago. There was a church down the road with a cemetery and undoubtedly the cemetery was full of Barley's, but we did not venture in there. It was getting on into the afternoon, and by the time we drove back to Knutsford, it was about suppertime. The visit to Barlow was enjoyable. We drove north to Witton-Gilbert, a little town northwest of Durham, and stayed at a bed and breakfast. Within easy driving distance of Witton-Gilbert is another village named Barlow that is apparently a bedroom community for Newcastle upon Tyne, a large industrial city in northeast England. This village was larger than the village of Barlow in Derbyshire. There were many residential side streets and it appeared to be more densely populated. The main street was so narrow that we couldn't pull over and talk to a woman walking her dogs without blocking traffic. We pulled into a parking lot beside the Black Stallion Pub where we thought we could have a drink and engage in conversation, but the Pub didn't open until six in the evening. The result was that we didn't get to talk to anybody about the town, which was disappointing. We would recommend a visit to England to anybody. The people
were friendly, the scenery was beautiful, and the villages
and towns were historical. |