This is by way of describing what became of Robert Walker's nine brothers and sisters.

Alice Walker
His eldest sister, Alice, married George Hargreaves, himself born in Lancashire. They married at Mottram St Michael in 1836 and had four children. Of these I have only really traced Hannah who married Charles Tetlow at Bredbury St Mark in 1861. Charles was a baker and confectioner in Newton and the couple remained childless. Alice, died in 1878 and George Hargreaves married widow, Sarah Mellor, in 1880 and continued his furniture business until his death in 1892.

James Walker
James married Lucy, possibly before reaching Hyde, but there is as yet no record to confirm this. The couple had two children, Mary and John, but both died in infancy. Lucy died in 1875 and James married Sarah Bradbury in 1876 and he died himself in 1882 aged 66.

Sarah Walker
Sarah married James Dixon at Manchester Cathedral in 1842. They had a daughter, Jane Elizabeth, although the family seems to vanish after the 1851 census, possibly due to emigration.

John Walker
John married Mary Kenyon in 1852 at St Mary's, Stockport. She already had three children from a previous marriage, or more likely they were illegitimate. John and Mary had a further seven children. Of those, the eldest, Joseph died in infancy while Jane Alice Walker married David Firth in 1879 and their only son, Arnold, married chemist's daughter, Ultima Chloe Sellers at St Mary the Virgin, Haughton Green, in 1907.

Jesse Norris Walker married Harriet Lees, originally from Wombwell, Yorkshire, in 1881 and they had three daughters, Martha, Alice and Mary. Jesse died in 1919. George Walker married Harriet Hudson and they had two daughters, Melinda and Leah. Finally, there were Mary and Amelia Walker, both of whom I've struggled to trace beyond 1881.

Daniel Walker

Ashton Brothers Mill – © Tameside Image Archive

Daniel Walker and his offspring probably deserve special mention as their stories are generally interesting ones. Daniel married Cecily Oldham in 1844 at St Mary's, Oldham where they were both living and they had eight children over the following twenty years.

The report on Daniel's death says that he worked at Ashton Brothers Mill for 57 years as an overlooker. He was also prominent in the Hyde Temperance Society and the White Hart Benevolent Burial Society. He had also been the organist at Flowery Field Church and had been succeeded by his brother, William.

Daniel and Cecily's eldest child, Janet, married William Steele in 1872 at Staley St Paul's. At some point in the 1870s, the couple took themselves to America. Their son, Albert Edward, was born in New Jersey about 1877, while their daughter, Cecily, was born in Georgia according to the 1880 census when the family was living at St Marys, Camden. It isn't clear what happened to William and Albert, but Janet returned to the UK and in 1891 was living with her sister-in-law, Hannah Walker (nee Bradley).

On the census return, Janet is described as married and I wondered whether she might have just been visiting, but she appears a year later as a witness at Hannah's second marriage to William Eccles at Mottram St Michael. By 1891, Janet was living at 154 Mottram Road, Godley caring for her 79 year old father. By then she was widowed and also living with her was her daughter, Cicely, an American subject.

Both mother and daughter seemingly disappear at this point, although there was a Janet Steele who died in 1904 in the Chorlton district of Manchester aged 53 who could be one and the same. Alternatively, there was a Janet Cook Steele buried at Hyde St George on 19 May 1932 aged 83. This Janet appears to have been comfortably off and was living at what looks like 'Glen Ora', Hawthorn Avenue, Timperley.

Daniel's next eldest was Elizabeth Walker who did not have much luck with husbands. She first married Edward Hibbert, although I have still to find out when and where. At the 1871 census, they were living at Clarendon Street, Hyde with their eldest child, Fred. They had another, Cicely, in 1872, but Edward died in 1874 in Haughton aged 28. Elizabeth married again in 1877 to John Hibbert. As far as I can tell, he was not related to Edward, but it can't be ruled out.

They had a daughter, Janet Helena, in 1878, but by the 1881 census, Elizabeth was widowed again and living with her parents in Newton. She married again in 1888, this time to widower Charles Williamson. By 1901, the couple were running a tobacconist and sweet shop at Bolton Street, just off the Promenade in Blackpool.

As yet there is little to report on Daniel's third child, James. Next is Thomas Oldham Walker who had a relatively straightforward life. Born in Newton, he married Mary Jane Lockett of Denton and moved to Haughton where he worked in the hatting industry. They had three known children, Harry, Cicely and Minnie. Having said that they had a straightforward life, Thomas and Mary emigrated to New Zealand around 1901/02 and died in Dunedin in 1929 and 1949 respectively. (Source: Melinda Walker)

Next is fifth child, Daniel, already touched upon through his wife Hannah mentioned above. Daniel Walker born in Hyde in 1856. He was living with his parents, Daniel and Cecily, in 1861 and 1871, but by 1881 he was in Mexico having been recruited to mange a calico printing business there even before he had finished his apprenticeship at F W Ashton and Co, Newton.

He ran the business for Messrs Lyons and Rueday, printers, in "Puebela", which I suspect is Puebla, the first Mexican city to industrialise, particularly in textiles. When that contract ended, he took up a similar position in Mexico City. He returned to the UK to marry Hannah Bradley at Mottram St Michael in 1884 before the couple returned to Mexico. They returned to the UK in 1888 with their children, Thomas and Cisley, and their youngest, William, was born in Hyde later that year.

Daniel even then had health problems, suffering from a liver complaint, but he returned to Mexico in June 1888 accompanied by his sister, Janet. He was joined by Hannah and his family in March 1889, but died soon after on Sunday, 2 April at the Callejon de San Cipriano (Alley of Saint Cyprian), City of Mexico, according to his death certificate. No cause of death was given and the informant was John Henderson, merchant, gas works, City of Mexico. It was signed by Lionel Carden, Her Britannic Majesty's Consul.

Hare and Hounds, Hyde, run by the Bradley Family

He left his family well provided for from his earnings in Mexico, including a row of eight houses, San Cipriano Terrace, that he had built in Shepley Fields, near St Thomas' Church. (See the North Cheshire Herald source article.)

His wife Hannah was the daughter of Torkington Bradley, landlord of the Hare and Hounds, Fernally Street, Hyde, where Morrisons supermarket now stands. His wife Ann took over pub after her husband's death and was in turn followed by her sons, Samuel and Thomas. Incidentally, Hannah's grandfather, Thomas Bradley, was Hyde's first registrar of births and deaths.

Hannah next turns up in 1891, a widow living in Hyde with three children - Thomas and Cisley Walker born "City of Mexico" about 1886 and 1887 respectively and William born Hyde - and her sister-in-law, Janet Steele (nee walker).

Cisely seems to disappear after 1901 when she and her elder brother were the step-children of William Eccles, Hannah Bradley having remarried in 1892 before she too died in 1899. Thomas Bradley Walker appears in 1911 boarding in Lancaster where he was also living when he married Ellen Ellis in 1912 at Hyde St Thomas, but there the trail goes cold for now. William appears to be boarding with publican, Nathan Lees, in 1901 aged 12, but again there is no positive sighting of him beyond then.

As to what Daniel was specifically doing in Mexico, my favourite theory comes from Colin Harrison: "At the time you mention---1880's---there was a great turmoil between the peasant class and the church that had the wealth in Mexico. A pure guess would be that Daniel from Hyde was employed by the church to print banners, posters, flags and the like on cloth to be used in parades, demonstrations and whatever supporting the church's position. I know that a good many of the saints were put on large sheets of cloth."

Joshua Oldham Walker was the sixth eldest. He lived out his life in Newton working as a clerk first for Messrs Fairbrother's builders and contractors and them for Messrs Ridyard's sawmill in Ashton before retiring through ill-health at the age of 72. He was a supporter of the Liberal party from his youth and was the oldest member of Flowery Field Liberal Club, acting as secretary for over twenty years, being presented with a gold guard and watch in recognition.

Julian Walker's Medal Card

He married Mary Jane Marsland of Dukinfield at Mottram St Michael on 1 January 1884. They had three sons, all of whom served in World War One. The eldest, Julian, was a Fitter Staff Sergeant with the the Royal Field Artillery and joining up in 1915. He was killed by a shell burst on 8 December 1917. He is buried at Peronne Cemetery on the Somme. Julian was unmarried.

The newspaper report of his death also confirmed that his brothers, William and Harry, were also conscripted. It is likely that William was also killed, or died after the war, as only Harry survived his father's death in 1936. William married Ethel Bowker in 1914.

Harry Marsland Walker suffered from trench fever and was treated at a Canadian Hospital in France before being discharged as being medically unfit at the age of 21. he went on to work as a clerk at Ashton Brothers. He married Alice Phillips in 1926 at Rosemount Trinity Methodist Church, Bennet St, Newton, and died in 1949 aged 52 after a short illness.

He worked at Ashton Brothers for over 38 years and was secretary of the Hyde and District Overlookers' Association. He was a past president of Hyde Reform Club and was secretary of the British Legion Band and president of the Building Fund Committee. He had one child, Josephine Margaret, who married Donald Hutton in 1952.

The two of Daniel's children I am unsure of are Mary and Julian and more research is required.

Joseph Walker
Joseph married Rachel Pilling in 1850 at St Mary's, Stockport, however I believe she died in 1866 apparently childless. Joseph remarried to Alice Ashton in 1868 and the couple had one daughter, Mary Ann. Joseph died between 1871 and 1881 when his widow was living in Heyrod, Ashton.

The Olive Tree Inn circa 1910

William Walker
William married Amelia Robinson at St Mary's, Stockport in 1849. She was originally from Cadishead, west of Manchester. William was a boot and shoe maker, or cordwainer as his son described him when he married. However, in 1851 he was a beer seller at the Nag's Head on Water Street, Hyde, a pub which no longer exists. This was a short interlude as he was back making shoes by 1861, but it did set an unusual precedent. Four of his sons where to go on to become publicans by the 1901 census — John at the Olive Tree Inn, Godley; Joseph at the Hare and Hounds, Compstall; William at the Lord Tollemache in Mottram until at least 1906, according to the Kellys Directories, and; George at an un-named pub at 252 Wilmslow Road, Handforth.

William's daughters did not leave home until after the death of their mother and father in 1879 and 1885 respectively. By the time of the 1891 census, Elizabeth and Amelia were living together at Beeley Street in the centre of Hyde. However, Elizabeth was to marry late in life at the age of 43 to widower, Charles Ashmole, and in 1901 the couple lived with Amelia at 3 Kensington Avenue in Gee Cross. As far as I am aware, Amelia didn't marry.

Ellen Walker
Ellen married James Burgess at Manchester Cathedral in 1858. The couple lived in Newton throughout their lives and had six children. Of these, there was another US connection through the second eldest, Nancy, who married Joshua Shard in 1879. Of their four children, the youngest, Cordelia and Ellen, were born in America in 1888 and 1890 respectively. In 1891, Nancy was in widowed and living in Newton with her sister, Elizabeth, but as yet there is no sign of the family beyond this time.

Her older sister, Jane, married Andrew Rayner in 1869. The couple are quite elusive as far as the censuses go and I only have a sighting of them in 1881. They had seven children and Jane died in 1896 and Andrew remarried three years later.

John Burgess was a coal miner and after marrying Mary Ann Kinsey in 1872, he left Hyde to live and work in her home town of Barnsley where the first four of their ten children were born. The family returned to live in Newton by the early 1880s.

Jane Walker
Finally, Robert's youngest sister, Jane, has proved elusive. An LDS member has posted a marriage to Samuel Greenhalgh on the IGI in about 1857. Assuming this to be correct, the couple lived most of their lives in Manchester, living in Ardwick, according to their census returns. They had two sons, Frederick and Walter, the former making his way to Ontario, Canada.