Jack Priestley’s Family History
This site is a work-in-progress. There is a massive amount to cover. I have included both male and female lines. Keep coming back for more.
I have numbered the generations working backwards from Jack’s as (1)
ISAAC KIRKHAM and MARY MAYER (8)
ISAAC KIRKHAM. There were many Kirkhams in the Staffordshire town of Leek and the nearby village of Meerbrook. They favoured biblical names, such as Jeremiah and Esther, with some being used repeatedly. This sometimes makes identification of individuals difficult. Isaac Kirkham is one of these.
Isaac married Mary Mayer in 1785. We should expect a birth date around 1760
There are two possible baptisms for Isaac Kirkham, both in Leek.
1762 Mar 21 Isaac Morris son of Isaac and Mary Kirkham of Nab Hill
Nab Hill is on the north-west side of Leek.
1765 Feb 28 Isaac son of Isaac and Sarah Kirkham
We do not hear of Isaac Morris again. He may be recorded subsequently as simply Isaac. The second of these two is perhaps more likely.
Leek is a market town in the southern uplands of the Pennines. It was known for its silk industry.
We know from the baptism register that Isaac’s wife’s name was Mary.
MARY MAYER. Mary was married in Leek, but her baptism has not been found there. The most likely baptism is in the village of Horton, 3 miles west.
Baptism. St Michael, Horton
1761 Feb 4 Mary Daughr of Wm and Jane Mayer.
She was the second of six children.
Her youngest brother was baptised in Feb 1767. Ten months later, when Mary was only six, their father died, , and six months after that, their mother. It may have been Hugh and Jane Mayer, who we believe to be their uncle and aunt, who took care of the children. If so, then Hugh was a husbandman and Mary would have lived on a small farm.
The burial entries for both William and Jane Mayer give their abode as Parkhouse. Park House Farm is on the west of the parish, on the Meerbrook road. Isaac’s parents were from Meerbrook.
Marriage. Leek.
1785 Nov 24 Isaac Kirkham of this parish bachelor and Mary Meyer of this parish spinster.
Both bride and groom signed their names.
The witnesses were Rich Myott and Samuel Hulme. Mary’s aunt was originally Jane Myatt.
They had two, possibly three, children.
Baptisms. St Edward, Leek.
1786 Oct 26 Mary
1789 Dec 23 Martha daughter of Isaac and Mary Kirkham
In 1790 Jun 1 Isaac Kirkham infant was buried. The parents are not named.
In 1805 Jan 15 Isaac Kirkham was buried aged 39. This would make him the son of Isaac and Sarah Kirkman, baptised in 1765.
Mary’s burial has not been identified.
[1] http://www.bbc.co.uk/staticarchive/0c3820b244581e8b870b7a6456f7c061194c7599.jpg
NEXT GENERATION: 7. KIRKHAM
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