Events
Date of Birth: 1 March 1831.
Place of Birth: Eccleston, Lancashire, England.
The birth is recorded in the baptism register. In the censuses, Elizabeth is 20 in 1851, 30 in 1861, 40 in 1871, and 50 in 1881. The birth place is given as St Helens, St Helens, Southport, and Eccleston. Southport is most likely an error, given the rest of the family in 1871 was born in Southport. Eccleston was a township within St Helens.
Date of Baptism: 6 March 1831.
Place of Baptism: Our Lady, Portico, Prescot, Lancashire (RC).
The baptism is recorded in the register.
Date of Death: 15 January 1885.
Place of Death: Southport, Lancashire (Hoghton Street)
The date and place are given in the National Probate Calendar.
Relationships
Father: Roger Eccleston (born 1806).
Mother: Ann Mary Swift (born about 1808).
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Thomas Molineux (about 1831 - 1854). Married 22 April 1852 in North Meols, Lancashire (St Cuthbert’s).
The marriage is recorded in the parish register.
Spouse: William Molineux (about 1830 - 1878). Married 6 October 1858 in Liverpool (St Peter’s).
The place and date are from William and Elizabeth’s marriage certificate. (See the Commentary section below).
Children (with Thomas Molineux):
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
Emma Molineux (baptized 29 August 1852)
Thomas Molineux (baptized 22 October 1854 - buried 29 November 1856)
Children (with William Molineux):
Ada Jane Molineux (baptized 13 March 1859 - died 1902) married Alfred George Standish in 1879.
Thomas Henry Molineux (baptized 13 January 1861 - died 25 July 1897) married Martha Holt in 1880.
Annie Eola Molineux (baptized 10 August 1863).
Alfred Edwin Molineux (born 13 December 1868 - died 1911) married (1) Alice Ann Rimmer in 1888; married (2) Harriet Hinde 12 September 1896 in Southport, Lancashire.
Annie Louisa Molineux (born 1872) married Richard Street in 1894.
Evidence
from the Our Lady, Portico, Prescot, register:
1831
Mar 6 [born 1] Elizabeth Eccleston D. Roger& Ann
1841 census (Eccleston)
Rodger Eccleston, 35, Engineer, Y [“Y” means born in Lancashire.]
Ann [Eccleston], 35, Y
William [Eccleston], 15, Y
Thomas [Eccleston], 13, Y
Elizabeth [Eccleston], 10, Y
Isice [Eccleston], 6, Y
Henry [Eccleston], 5, Y
//Samuel [Eccleston], 3, Y
1851 census (Southport)
154 Lord Street
Sarah Roberts, head, Mar, 63, Lodging House Keeper, [born] Northwood Lanc
Emma Roberts, daur, u, 22, [born] Burnley Yorkshire
Elizabeth Eccleston, Serv., U, 20, General House Serv., [born] St Helens Lancashire
Daniel Macauley, Visitor, Mar, 76, Merchant, [born] Sarawak, US America
Mary L Macauley, [Visitor], Mar, 50, [Merchant’s] wife, [born] New York, [US America]
Sarah Fitzsimon, Serv. do, U, 16, General House Serv., [born] Liverpool Lancashire
Catharine Pennington, Visitor, U, 40, Gentlewoman, [born] Preston [Lancashire]
Jane Yates, [Visitor], U, 17, Seamstress, [born Preston Lancashire]
1861 census (Southport)
East Bank St
William Molineux, Head, Mar, 30, Painter, [born Lancashire Southport]
Elizabeth Molineux, Wife, 30, [born Lancashire] St Hellens, Lancashire
Emma Molineux, Daur, 8, Scholar, [born Lancashire] Southport
Ada Jane Molineux, Daur, 2, Scholar, [born Lancashire Southport]
Thomas Henry Molineux, Son, 4 mo, [born Lancashire Southport]
1871 census (Southport)
9 Hoghton St
William Molineux, Head, Mar, 41, Painter &c, [born] Lancashire, Southport
Elizabeth Molineux, Wife, Mar, 40, [born Lancashire, Southport]
Emma Molineux, Daur, Unm, 18, [born Lancashire, Southport]
Ada J. Molineux, Daur, Unm, 12, Scholar, [born Lancashire, Southport]
Thomas H. Molineux, Son, Unm, 10, Scholar, [born Lancashire, Southport]
Alfred E. Molineux, Son, Unm, 2, [born Lancashire, Southport]
1881 census (Southport)
11 Hoghton St.
Elizabeth Molineux, head, widow, 50, Painter employing 4 men & 1 boy, [born] Eccleston, Lancs
Alfred E. [Molineux], son, 12, [born] Southport
Annie L. [Molineux], daughter, 8, Scholar, [born Southport]
Ada Eccleston, niece, 17, Dom Nurse, [born] Caergwrle, Flint, Wales
Alice M. Davy, 2, niece, [born] Ramsbottom, Lancs
Parish registers of North Meols (St Cuthbert's):
1852. Marriage solemnized in the Parish Church of in the Parish of North Meols in the County of Lancaster
No. 353.
When Married. April 22.nd
Name and Surname. Thomas Molineux
Age. 21
Condition. Bachelor
Rank or Profession. Painter
Residence at the Time of Marriage. Southport
Father’s Name and Surname. James Molyneux
Rank or Profession of Father. Painter
Name and Surname. Elizabeth Eccleston
Age. 21
Condition. Spinster
Rank or Profession. –
Residence at the Time of Marriage. Southport
Father’s Name and Surname. Roger Eccleston
Rank or Profession of Father. Mechanic
Married in the Parish Church according to the Rites and Ceremonies of the Established Church after banns by me, Br[..] S Clarke
This Marriage was solemnized between us, Thomas Molineux Betsy Eccleston in the presence of William Molineux, Mary Rimmer
National Probate Calendar entry for Elizabeth Molineux
Molineux Elizabeth
Personal Estate £ 133 18s. 6d.
2 February. Administration of the Personal Estate of Elizabeth Molineux late of Hoghton - street Southport in the County of Lancaster Widow who died 15 January 1885 at Hoghton - street was granted at Liverpool to Thomas Henry Molineux of 61 Hall - street Southport Plumber and Painter the Son and one of the Next of Kin.
Commentary
Elizabeth’s parentage:
Elizabeth’s gravestone gives her date of death as 15 January 1885 and her age at death as 53 years. The stone was possibly erected by Alfred Edwin Molineux, as it also notes the 1895 death of Alfred’s first wife.
In the 1881 census (taken 3 April), Elizabeth is recorded as 50 years old and born in Eccleston, Lancashire. Elizabeth herself was the probable informant.
In the 1871 census (taken 2 April), Elizabeth is recorded as 40, and born in Southport, Lancashire. Elizabeth’s husband William was the probable informant.
In the 1861 census (taken 7 April), Elizabeth is recorded as 30, and born in “St Hellens, Lancashire”. William was the probable informant.
The place of birth in 1871 conflicts with the other two censuses. (Eccleston was basically a part of St Helens.) Since the rest of the family in the 1871 census was in fact born in Southport, and the census was taken there, it is reasonable to conclude that the place of birth recorded by the enumerator in 1871 is in error, and that Elizabeth was in fact born in Eccleston.
There is more seriously conflicting information about Elizabeth’s surname, but this too can be resolved.
Elizabeth was married 6 October 1858 to William Molineux in Liverpool. She and William both gave their residence, surely temporary, as “Christian Street”, and Elizabeth gave her father as John Molineux, engineer.
Elizabeth’s maiden name is also recorded as “Molineux” on the birth certificate of her first child with William, Ada Jane. However, on the birth certificates of the rest of her children with William (Thomas Henry, Annie Eola, Alfred Edwin, and Annie Louisa), Elizabeth’s maiden name is recorded as “Eccleston”.
Other evidence indicates that Elizabeth’s maiden surname was in fact Eccleston. Elizabeth’s son Alfred named a son “Eric Eccleston Molineux”. In the 1881 census, Elizabeth Molineux, widow is the head of the household, and “Ada Eccleston, niece” is living with her. Also living with her in 1881 is another niece, “Alice M. Davy”. Other records show that Alice’s mother was Annie Mary Agnes Eccleston.
Yet more evidence exists that can resolve the conflict.
On 22 April 1852, an Elizabeth Eccleston married William Molineux’s younger brother Thomas. Elizabeth gave her father as Roger Eccleston, mechanic. Roger is described in censuses and his marriage record as an “engineer”. He was the grandfather of both the Ada Eccleston and the Alice M. Davy mentioned above. Thomas Molineux died 16 March 1854.
Elizabeth “Molineux” was 4 months pregnant when she and William travelled to Liverpool, not their home parish, to get married. In the Church of England at the time (in fact until 1921), it was forbidden for a woman to marry her late husband’s brother. (This is shown in the “Table of Kindred and Affinity” in the Book of Common Prayer for the period – it is “forbidden relationship” #18 for men and #17 for women. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, this prohibition is actually the origin of the term brother-in-law.)
What clearly happened is this: Elizabeth was pregnant by her late husband’s brother William. They travelled to Liverpool, where they could get married without worrying about an objection from a local who knew them. Elizabeth stated that she was a spinster and that her father was John Molineux, engineer. As is usual with inexperienced liars, there are truths mixed in with the lie. Elizabeth’s surname was in fact Molineux, since she was the widow of Wiliam’s brother. And her father was in fact an engineer.
There is further census information about Elizabeth’s date and place of birth:
In the 1851 census (taken 30 March in Southport), Elizabeth is said to be 20 years old and born in St Helens Lancashire. She was a servant in the household of Sarah Roberts, who was the probable informant.
In the 1841 census (taken 6 June in Eccleston), Elizabeth is aged 10 and living in the household of Roger and Ann Eccleston.
The above information allows us to identify Elizabeth’s baptism: 6 March (born 1 March) 1831, in Our Lady, Portico, Prescot, a Roman Catholic chapel. Her parents are recorded as Roger and Ann. Ann’s surnamed is identified as Swift in her marriage record, and on the birth certificates of Elizabeth's siblings Peter, Annie, and Thomas.
There is also DNA evidence that Elizabeth is the daughter of Roger Eccleston and Ann Mary Swift. I am a paper-trail descendant of Elizabeth, and I share DNA with two paper-trail descendants of Elizabeth’s brother Henry (41 cM over 2 segments and 16 cM over 1 segment) and a paper-trail descendant of Elizabeth’s brother Roger (25 cM over 1 segment).
Taken together, the evidence for Elizabeth’s parentage is satisfactory.
References
“AncestryDNA ThruLines for Roger Eccleston database report”, AncestryDNA. Accessed 25 February 2025.
Rodger Eccleston household, 1841 census of England. Lancashire, Prescot, Prescot, Prescot, piece 516, book 6, folio 5, page 2, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1841. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1841; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 7 April 2014).
Sarah Roberts household, 1851 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, Bickerstaffe, North Meols, ED 1c, piece 2196, folio 459, page 5, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1851. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1851; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 7 April 2014).
William Molineux household, 1861 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, North Meols, ED 12, piece 2762, folio 31, page 5, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1861. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1861; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 1 April 2014).
William Molineux household, 1871 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, North Meols, ED 23, piece 3876, folio 98, page 32, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1871. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1871; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 1 April 2014).
Elizabeth Eccleston household, 1881 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, North Meols, ED 17, piece 3749, folio 129, page 3, in Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 7 April 2014).
Molineux, Elizabeth, entry in the National Probate Calendar; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 7 April 2014) citing Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England.
Otterstrom, Joyce L.C. “Thomas Molyneux” in RootsWeb's WorldConnect Project: Park, accessed 5 April 2014. Otterstrom gives a transcription the record of Elizabeth’s marriage to Thomas Molineux.
William Molineux - Elizabeth Molineux marriage certificate, (certified copy). General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).
Thomas Eccleston entry of birth, (certified copy). General Register Office. England and Wales. Civil Registration Certificates. (London, United Kingdom: General Register Office).