10. WADDINGTON-HOUGHTON

Tootle Tree

JEREMIAH WADDINGTON and MARGARET HOUGHTON (10)

 

JEREMIAH WADDINGTON was the son of Nicholas Waddington of Padiham and Anne Stanworth of Colne in Lancashire. His birth was recorded at St Leonard’s, Padiham in 1655.

Birth. St Leonard, Padiham
1655 May 29  Jeremiah Waddington sonne of Nicholas Waddington of Padiham.

This was during the Commonwealth period following the Civil War. There was a registration of births. Jeremiah was baptised as well, but the date cannot be read because of the poor state of the register.

Jeremiah was the third known son in a family of at least five. There were more children, but because of interruptions to the registers in the Commonwealth period the true number is uncertain.

We know from his marriage bond that he was a yeoman, like his grandfather, so it is highly likely that his father was too. Because of the heavy clay soil, farming there was almost entirely stock raising, rather than agricultural.

Padiham is a town on the River Calder, 3 miles west of Burnley.

A Who’s Who of the Waddington family says that Jeremiah was of Read.[1] This is a village on the road from Padiham to Whalley to the west. I have found no evidence to connect him to Read. All the register entries have him as of Padiham. We do, however, find his eldest son William living at Read as a yeoman. It is possible that Jeremiah owned or rented land in Read.

 

MARGARET HOUGHTON was also baptised in Padiham.

Baptism. St Leonard, Padiham.
1665 Dec 31  Margret daughter of John Houghton.

Her mother was Alice Bromerly.

Margaret’s father’s family goes back to the start of the Padiham registers in the 1570s. There are numerous entries for Houghton, so they were already well-established. Her mother’s origins are more obscure. Her parents married in Haslingden, but their marriage is only the second entry in that register for the surname Bromerly.

Margaret was the second of three daughters. The youngest of these seems to have died before marrying.

There is some evidence that she grew up in a Calvinist family.

Jeremiah and Margaret grew up under the restored monarchy of Charles II.

On 19 May 1683, Jeremiah Waddington of Padiham, yeoman, and Paul Greenewood of Wicholler in the chapelry of Colne, yeoman, entered into a bond with the Bishop of Chester for £100. This was to ensure that there was no impediment to the marriage between Jeremiah Waddington and Margrett Haughton, both of Padiham, and that their parents or guardians had consented to this marriage.

Jeremiah was 28, so there was no question about him being free to marry. Margaret was only 18, and therefore required her parents’ permission.

“Wicholler” is Wycoller, 3 miles east of Colne. We do not know what Paul Greenewood’s connection to Jeremiah was. He may have been a friend, or related through marriage.

Jeremiah signs his name with a stylish signature. Paul can manage only a P.

In their marriage bond, both are said to be of Padiham. It is not quite clear why they married in Whalley, 4 miles away. Couples sometimes married away from home if the bride was noticeably pregnant. This does not appear to be the case with Margaret. Her first child was born a year after the marriage. Nor do they seem to be in any hurry to marry.

We have three alternatives for the date of their wedding. All are agreed that the year is 1683. Lancashire Online Parish Clerks has it on 10 Aug, based on the parish register. A marriage index makes it 10 Oct.  Findmypast’s transcription of the register has it as 8 Dec. A scan of the register shows the page to be mutilated, but the October date looks the most likely.

Marriage. St Leonard, Padiham.
1683 Oct 10  Jeremiah Waddington and Margrett Houghton

 There were three known children from this marriage.

Baptism. St Leonard Padiham.
1684 Dec 4  Anne
1686 Dec 24  William
1694 Sep 2  Nicholas

In all these entries, the Waddingtons are living in Padiham.

There is a long gap between William and Nicholas. It is possible that there were other children whose baptisms are on pages of the register no longer legible. Some sources give Humphrey son of Jeremiah Waddington.[2] Parts of the register for this period are in a poor condition.

 

Jeremiah died in 1696, less than 13 years after marrying Margaret.

Burial. St Leonard, Padiham
1696 Jun 24  Jeremiha Waddington of Padiham

Two years later, Margaret’s father died. He held properties in the manor of Ightenhill, adjacent to Padiham, and in the manor of Tottington, east of Bolton, where it is likely that Margaret’s mother came from. The income from Ightenhill he left to Margaret’s elder sister Ann, with  payments to Margaret of £4 yearly, with £1 for four years after his decease, and £3 yearly for four years to his granddaughters Ann and Mary Waddington, daughters of Margaret and Jeremy Waddington.

Margaret inherits the income from the Tottington premises, passing on her decease to her eldest son William.

Margaret was ten years younger than Jeremiah. She was still only 30 when he died. Four years later, she married again.

Marriage. St Leonard, Padiham
1700/1 Feb 27  Will. Robinson and Margret Wadington both of Padiham.

We have found no record of William Robinson marrying earlier or having children baptised.

He appears to be a farmer. In 1712 he brought 21 loads of corn to be dried at Padiham Kiln. The range of loads was from 1 to 48, suggesting that William’s farm was of an average size.

The corn kiln at Padiham was in existence at least as far back as the 14^th century. Corn needed to be dried before it was ready for milling.

Margaret had five more children from this marriage. For all these baptisms the family was living in Padiham, and not in one of the outlying townships.

The use of Old Testament names suggests that William may have come from a Puritan family.

Baptisms. St Leonard, Padiham
1701 Oct 4  Mary
1703/4 Jan 5  John
1706 May 14  Thomas
1708 Dec 12  Aaron. Aaron was buried on 11 Apr 1710.
1712 May 29  Moses.

The birth of Moses cost Margaret her life. She was buried on 29 May, the same day Moses was baptised.

Moses himself lived less than a year. He was buried on 2 Mar 1712/3

We do not know who looked after the three surviving children.

 

William himself lived another 34 years. He was buried in Padiham on 1 Feb 1746/7.

 

[1] Waddington, John, Who’s Who in the Family of Waddington. Wada Ltd, 1934. http://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G007475.pdf
[2] Waddington.
[3] https://www.britainexpress.com/images/attractions/editor/Preston-Mill-4118.jpg