Events
Date of Baptism: 17 February 1711/2.
Place of Baptism: Padiham, Lancashire.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Burial: 3 October 1791.
Place of Burial: Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel, Fence in Pendle, Lancashire.
The burial is given by Lancashire Online Parish Clerks, citing the original registers.
Relationships
Father: John Hargreaves.
Mother: uncertain.
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Martha Whittaker. Married 1 December 1739 in Burnley.
The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Alice Hargreaves (baptized 12 October 1740 in Padiham, Lancashire - buried 29 March 1775 in the Wheatley Lane Inghamite chapel) married Richard Stuttard 1 August 1767 in Newchurch in Pendle.
John Hargreaves (baptized 10 October 1742 in Padiham)
Thomas Hargreaves (buried 24 December 1742 in Padiham)
Michael Hargreaves (baptized 23 October 1743 in Padiham - buried 18 April 1824 in the Wheatley Lane Inghamite chapel) married (1) Martha Clegg 15 November 1783 in Padiham; married (2) Susannah Roberts 7 February 1790 in Padiham.
Mary Hargreaves (baptized 6 April 1746 in Padiham)
William Hargreaves (baptized 21 June 1747 in Padiham) married Ann Hall 23 May 1774 in Padiham.
George Hargreaves (baptized 4 February 1749/50 in Padiham)
Elizabeth Hargreaves (baptized 22 March 1752 in Padiham - buried 18 August 1832 in the Wheatley Lane Inghamite chapel) married Richard Broughton 11 October 1781 in Padiham.
Ann Hargreaves (baptized 2 June 1754 in Padiham - buried 3 August 1758 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel)
John Hargreaves (baptized 2 October 1756 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel - buried 9 October 1756 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel)
Benjamin Hargreaves (baptized 20 May 1758 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel) married Elizabeth Blackwell 23 February 1784 in Padiham.
Joseph Hargreaves (born 10 April 1760, baptized 18 May 1760 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel) married Martha Hoyle 27 November 1783 in Padiham.
Mary Hargreaves (born 7 May 1763, baptized 5 June 1763 in Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel) married James Singleton 24 February 1784 in Padiham.
Evidence
from the Padiham St Leonard parish register:
[1711 February]
Christopher son of Jon: Hargreaves of Pendle Bapt: the 17th
from the Burnley St Peter parish register:
1739
December
Christopher Hargreaves of Higham & Martha Wittaker of the Chapelri of Burnley married the 1.st
from the Padiham St Leonard parish register:
1740 Octob.r
Alice Daughter of Christopher Hargreaves of Higham Weaver and Martha his wife Baptized 12.th
1742 Octobr
John son of Croffer Hargreaves
1743 Octobr
Michael Son of Croffer Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 2d
1746 April
Mary Daughtr of Croffer Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 6
1747 June
William Son of Christopher Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 21
1749 Febry
George son of Christopher Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 4th
1752 March
Elizabeth Daugtr of Croffer Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 22d
1754 June
Ann Daughtr of Christopher Hargreaves of Higham Baptiz’d 2
from Oates’s index of the Conference Books of the Inghamite Societies, Volume 1 (1757-59):
Hargraves Christopher Higham 10 Jan 57* 31 Mar 60*
Hargraves John Higham 10 April 57 married
Hargraves Mally Higham 01 Oct 59 married
Hargraves Neddy Watermeetings 7 Apr 57 married
Hargraves Jane Watermeetings 7 Apr 57 married
Hargraves Margaret Watermeetings 7 Apr 57 single
Volume 2 (1760-61) (Wheatley Lane had absorbed some other groups by this time):
Hargraves John Wheatley 19 Dec 60 14 Apr 61
Hargraves Mary (Molly) Wheatley(?) 10 Oct 61 14 Apr 61 married
Hargraves Martha Wheatley 14 Apr 61 married
Hargraves Neddy Wheatley 14 Apr 61
Hargraves Wm Wheatley 14 Apr 61
Hargraves Richard Grunsagill 10 Oct 61
from the Wheatley Lane Inghamite Chapel registers (I am taking this information from Lancashire Online Parish Clerks. I have not seen the actual registers. The wording is mine, not the original.)
2 October 1756 Baptized John daughter of Christopher and Martha Hargreaves
9 October 1756 Buried John son of Christo. Hargreaves of Westclose
20 May 1758 Baptized Benjamin son of Christopher and Martha Hargreaves of Westclose (Born 3 May)
2 August 1758 Buried Ann daughter of Christo. Hargreaves of Westclose
18 May 1760 Baptized Joseph son of Christophr. Hargraves and Martha (Born 10 April)
18 December 1762 Baptized Mary daughter of Christophr. and Martha Hargraves (born 23 November)
22 May 1790 Buried Martha wife of Christopher Hargreaves of West Close
3 December 1791 Buried Christopher Hargreaves of West Close
from the Lancashire Archives Catalogue (DDHCL/1/28):
Surrenderors (person or persons conveying property): HARGREAVES John
Surrenderees (person or persons receiving the property): HARGREAVES Christopher & another: Absolute
Location of property: Higham Booth &c
Court session: Easter 1777
This index entry relates to a transaction made in the manorial court of the Forest of Pendle, part of the Honor of Clitheroe.
Surrenderors (person or persons conveying property): HARGREAVES Christopher
Surrenderees (person or persons receiving the property): HARGREAVES Joshua, Feo:
Location of property: Higham booth
Court session: Easter 1783
This index entry relates to a transaction made in the manorial court of the Forest of Pendle, part of the Honor of Clitheroe.
Commentary
Christopher’s parentage:
John Hargreaves had four surviving sons (Richard, John, Christopher, and Robert ) and one daughter (Elizabeth) baptized in Padiham in the early 1700s. His residence is described as either West Close or Pendle in the Padiham register. This John, as “John Hargreaves of Height within Higham Booth in the Forest of Pendle and County of Lanc.r yeom’”, left a 1739 will which names Richard, John, Christopher, Robert, and Elizabeth, and two other daughters, Grace and Mary.
Richard, John, Robert, Elizabeth, and Mary all seem to have married in Padiham in the 1730s, and had children baptized there. Grace was married elsewhere, but some of her children were baptized in Padiham. The registers fairly consistently that these children were living in Higham, Pendle, or West Close. The Christopher of this page was described as of Higham at his marriage in Burnley in 1739, and in the baptism records of his children, he is described as of Higham.
The Wheatley Lane Conference books mention three Hargreaves from Higham in the late 1750s: Christopher, John, and Mally. John, as “John Hargreaves (the elder) of Higham in the Forest of Pendle and County of Lancaster Yeoman”, left a 1777 will which mentions his wife wife Mary and his children. Registers make clear that the first of these children were baptized in Padiham (residence Higham), and the last ones in Wheatley Lane.
The first children of the Christopher of this page were baptized in Padiham (residence usually Higham), and the last ones in Wheatley Lane.
The evidence seems fairly clear and consistent that the Christopher Hargreaves and the younger John Hargreaves described above were brothers, sons of the John Hargreaves who left the 1739 will. In the pedigree of “Hargreaves of Broadoak, Hallbarn Park, &c” in Whitaker’s History of Whalley (4th ed., 1872. after p. 12), the John Hargreaves who was buried in Wheatley Lane in 1777 is shown as a son of the John Hargreaves who left the 1739 will. I am not sure if Whitaker or his revisers were aware of additional evidence showing this, but I think the evidence already mentioned seems enough.
I don’t see any evidence that the younger John or Christopher moved away from the Higham area, or any other serious conflicting evidence. The one piece of evidence that might raise a bit a doubt is that an Edmund Hargreaves who was buried at Wheatley Lane in 1765 mentions his brothers John and Christopher his will. That Edmund was probably baptized at Newchurch in Pendle in 1707, and his brothers John in 1697 and Christopher in 1701. Although Edmund was definitely an Inghamite, his will doesn’t show that his brothers were, and the baptisms for Edmund’s brothers seem a little early for them to be the John and Christopher discussed above. Both John and Christopher would have to be having children in their sixties. This is, of course, not impossible, but it reduces the likelihood that these are the correct baptisms for John and Christopher.
Overall, I think that the evidence for the Christopher of this page being the Christopher baptized in Padiham 17 February 1711/12, the son of John Hargreaves, is good enough.
In his 1739 will, John Hargreaves names his wife Jane. I have not been able to find a record of their marriage. It may be that Jane was John’s second wife. A John Hargreaves of Pendle married Elizabeth Ingham of Barrowford 31 January 1699/1700 in Colne. Christopher’s father John is described as of Pendle in most of the baptism records of his children, which began in March 1699/1700. There are other possibilities.
References
Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives. [Digital images at Ancestry.com.]
Lancashire Online Parish Clerks. URL: http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/ (accessed 27 March 2014).
Oates, P.J. My Ancestors Were Inghamites. (Society of Genealogists Enterprises Ltd., 2003)
Whitaker, Thomas Dunham. An History of the Original Parish of Whalley, and Honor of Clitheroe. [4th ed., revised and enlarged by John Gough Nichols and Ponsonby A. Lyons] Volume 2. 1876.
Will of John Hargreaves of Height, Higham Booth, yeoman. Proved 1739 in the Consistory Court of Chester. [D gital image on FHL Film # 004426548 image 392 of 509.]
Will of John Hargreaves (the elder) of Higham in the Forest of Pendle and County of Lancaster, yeoman. Proved 1777 in the Consistory Court of Chester. [Digital images on FamilySearch.org Film #04422446, images 144-149 of 569.]