Events
Date of Baptism: 30 March 1646.
Place of Baptism: Bolton, Lancashire.
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Burial: 12 October 1704.
Place of Burial: Bolton, Lancashire.
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: Thomas Crompton.
Mother: Elizabeth.
Thomas is named in James’s baptism record. Elizabeth is named in the baptism and burial records of some of James’s siblings. James’s mother was alive when he made his will in 1704. She is probably the Elizabeth Crompton, widow, aged 77, of Little Lever, recorded in about 1701 in the Quarter Sessions.
Spouse: Ellen Clarke. Married 4 October 1670 in Bolton, Lancashire.
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.)
Katherine Crompton (baptized 21 May 1671 in Bolton - buried 25 December 1708 in Bolton ) married Thomas Walkden 19 August 1691 in Bolton.
Ann Crompton (died 17 February 1678)
James Crompton (died 20 May 1682)
Matthew Crompton (buried 26 March 1683 in Bolton) "supposed son of James Crompton"
Joshua Crompton (buried 20 October 1743 in Bolton) married Alice Lever 23 April 1700 in Bolton.
Joseph Crompton (buried 4 September 1726 in Bolton) married (1) Mary Crossley 8 June 1703 in Bolton; married (2) Susannah Gregory 3 February 1707/8 in Bolton.
Adam Crompton (born 1683 - buried 23 July 1737 in Bolton) married Alice Heap 7 October 1707 in Bolton.
John Crompton
Ellen Crompton
An "abortive" (buried 14 September 1688 in Bolton)
Elizabeth Crompton (buried 10 February 1694/5 in Bolton) "was hanged"
Evidence
from the parish registers of Bolton-le-Moors (St Peter):
March 1645
James Crompton S of Tho. de pva leavr 30
October. 1670.
James Crompton
Ellin Clarke [both] of Little Leaver, were married in Boulton Church 5.
May 1671
Katherin Crompton of Little Leaver D: of James & Ellen --- 21.
Buryed in May 1683
Mathew the supposed sonne of James Crompton of Little Lever
Buryed in February 1694
Elizabeth daughter of James Crompton of Little Lever was hanged dyed 7 buryed 10
Burials October 1704
James Crompton of Little Lever -- 12
from Oliver Heywood’s diaries:
December 22 1677:
Saturday I went to little Leaver, dispatcht some worldly busines, visited, prayd with James Crompton (my tenant that came for me into Yorkshire) suddenly fallen sick, lodged at sister Esters, Will Kirkam came from Mr Aspinal to desire me to preach in Cocky chappel the day after, which I did
Memoranda:
James Crompton of Walkmill his rent wch is 8li a year is to be paid at Micaelmas and Lady-day March 25, made May 1677, for 7 yeares, nothing behind this July 1678.
From the Lancashire Order Books for 1696:
The ord’r made at a special sessions at Bolton the 22d instant for James Crompton of Little lever yeo’ to serve the office of overseer of the poor there for the year ensueing (Justices then present being the right honorble the Ld Willoughby James Chetham & the Tho Lever Esq) is by that Court rattifyed & confirmed/
from Oliver Heywood’s Prison-Book:
… at last Oct 14 came our tenant James Crompton brought me a letter from my sister, dated Oct 7 1701…
James’s will:
May the 15 1704
In the name of god amen: I James Crompton of little laver being in [...] being in parfect memory First doo give my sowle to the allmighty god my maker & my body to the grave, now for my worldly goods I bequeth to my wife & Children first my daughter Katrin hath had five pounds then my Sonne Joshow hath received five pounds then my sonne Joseph hath received five pounds now for my Sonne Adam & my Sonne John & my daughter Elin it is my will to have them three to receive five pound apeece when the come to here age now if it plase god that any of theese three should dye before the receive there monie there mother is to bringe them forth & pay there axpenies & my wife Elin to have all the remondar of my astate so long as shee is my wife now if that shee should mary againe shee is to receive ten pounds & so get of ll onley having hir bed & the remender of my astate to bee devided amongs all my Children after my wives decese now as for my higor Mill I would have it devided amongest my fower Sonnes & as for my two daughters I would have my Sonns to pay them in monie acording to the rent of the mill in monie & all to be equall
now Thomas Waldon hath received two pounds ten shillings & hee is not to receive any thing of the mill till the all have received as much as hee
now as for my house in the bank that my mother dwels in I leve it to my Sonne Joshow
now if my Sonne Adam should mary & bee for him Iosso that hee should pay the monie Consarning the Child out of his part of the rent of the mill or out of his owne geft whilst I am alive now I would have my debts to bee paid before any receive any thing Sald Signed & Delivered in the presencs of us
James Crompton his mark
Thomas T Waldon his mark
Joseph J Crompton his mark
James Haywrads
Moreover [...]
further if it plase god that my wife Elin should dye before my sonne John & my daughter Elin come to here age that the shall have the rent of the both mills till the Come to there age
further my sonne Joshow & my sone Joseph shall pay unto my wife Elin the rent of the lower mill which is either of them fower pounds a yeare till the tack [..ee] out[...]
the rent dayes is alady day & michel mas
witness
James [JC] Crompton
Adam [t] Crompton his mark
James Heywood
20.o Octobris 1705
I desire & save[?] my brother Robert Crompton to asist my wife Elin consarning my will now if Robert refuse that my sonne Joshow shall
[proved 20 October 1705]
Commentary
James’s parentage
From James’s will we know that he lived at Little Lever, his wife was named Ellen, and his eldest daughter named Katherine. This is consistent with the 1670 marriage of James Crompton and Ellen Clarke of Little Lever, whose first child, Katherine, was baptized in 1671. From James’s will we also know that he had a brother named Robert. Robert must have been much younger than James: comparing the information from Robert’s 1737 will with parish registers makes clear that Robert must have been married twice – first in 1687, and secondly in 1729. Robert’s youngest child was baptized in 1736.
All this information is consistent with James’s and Robert’s father being Thomas Crompton: the Bolton register records the baptism in 1646 of James Crompton son of Thomas of Little Lever, and the birth and baptism in 1666 of Robert Crompton son of Thomas and Elizabeth of Little Lever.
Thomas is one of two Cromptons listed under Little Leaver in the 1642 Protestation Returns (The other is Adam Crompton.) Thomas’s wife is named Elizabeth in a Recognizance Roll from 1642 as well as in the baptism records of her younger children.
It is possible that some records of baptisms, marriages, and burials of this family may have been recorded in early registers of Cockey Chapel, which are now thought to be lost.
Lyddon and Marshall (p. 18) propose a “second possible theory” about James’s and Robert’s parentage. They note these facts in support:
(1) A Robert Crompton married Katherine Howell in Bolton in 1645. Their place of residence was not noted and they had no children baptized in the area.
(2) James’s eldest daughter was named Katherine.
(3) James in his 1704 will named his mother, who was living in his “house in the bank”.
(4) The Bolton parish register records the burial in 1706 of “Katherin the mother of Robert Crompton”. [Actually, the parish register reads “Katherine w: of Robert Crompton of Bolton”.]
I think this theory doesn’t really work very well. The naming pattern appealed to in (2) is weak evidence in itself, and in any case the first daughter would be more likely named after the (unknown) mother of James’s wife Ellen Clarke than after James’s mother. The Katherine Crompton whose burial is recorded in 1706 was residing at Bolton, whereas we would expect that James’s mother would be living in Little Lever. And finally, James’s mother is very likely the Elizabeth Crompton, widow, aged 77, of Little Lever, recorded in about 1701 in the Quarter Sessions, and also the Elizabeth Crompton listed directly after James Crompton in a list of 150 recipients of Oliver Heywood’s Book of General Assemby made by Oliver’s wife Abigail in 1700. (Oliver Heywood’s diary shows that James Crompton was a tenant of his.)
Lyddon and Marshall themselves seem to regard their “second theory” as less likely their (first theory) that James and Robert were sons of Thomas and Elizabeth Crompton. I suspect that, if they had been aware of the evidence from the Quarter Sessions, they would have abandoned it entirely.
References
Heywood, Oliver. The Rev. Oliver Heywood, B.A. 1630-1702; His Autobiography, Diaries, Anecdote and Event Books, illustrating the general and family history of Yorkshire and Lancashire. 4 volumes (1881-2).
Lyddon, Denis, and Peter Marshall. Paper in Bolton: A Papermaker’s Tale. (Altrincham, 1975)
Parish registers of Bolton-le-Moors (St Peter). Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 20 May 2020.
Will of James Crompton of Little Lever. Proved 1705 in the Consistory Court of Chester.