The Book of Isaiah -
Part One
“Now
go write it before them in a table, and
note it in a book, that it may be for the
time to come, for ever and ever.”
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From what has been
discovered so far, our story begins in the 18th
century in Cadishead, Lancashire, England, a small,
mainly rural and very poor town near Manchester, England.
Moulsdale appears to be a common name in the Hollins
Green area of Cadishead, and the parish register for
Hollinfare (St. Helen’s) lists the children of
a Betty Moulesdale as follows:
Margaret Molesdale, born 1 March 1784,
bapt. 14 March 1784, daug. of Betty of Hollins Green
Ellen Moulesdale, born 28 1787, bapt.
29 May 1787, daug. of Betty of Cadishead
Mary Moulesdale, born 20 August 1792,
bapt. 2 September 1792, daug. of Betty (pauper) Cadishead
Ellen Molesdale, buried 26 September
17??, daug. of Betty MolesdalePeter Moulsdale, buried
1 January 1803, son of Betty
Other baptismal records
list a George Moulsdale (bapt. 30 July 1758) and Joseph
Moulsdale (bapt. 28 February 1761) as the sons of a
John and Ellen (Wright) Moulesdale. From the dates,
they could possibly be Betty’s brothers, which
would provide another generation back, but further documentation
is needed.
Also in the same parish
register are the children of Betty’s daughter Mary:
Samuel Moulsden, born 27 April
1811, bapt. 12 May, son of Mary of Cadishead
Eliza Moulsden, bapt. 3 December
1815, son of Mary of Cadishead
Isaiah Moulsdale, bapt. 16 August
1818, son of Mary of Cadishead
Elisabeth Moulsdale, bapt. 18
February 1821
All of Betty and Mary’s
children are described as "base" or "illeg", but this
was far from uncommon based on other entries in the
same register and was apparently a practice not frowned
on by the community or church. Since this was a poor
area, it could suggest that "living over the brush"
could have been common.
The number of children
of each woman could imply that they were born into a
stable relationship or they could have been the products
of several men. One clue, perhaps, to the last name
of the father of isaiah (son of Mary) is that on almost
every document in the United States, he lists his name
as Isaiah Whitfield Molesdale.
Book
of Isaiah — Part Two >>>>
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