Events
Date of Birth: 27 December 1802.
Place of Birth: Wigan, Lancashire, England.
The date is given in the baptism record. The place is given in the 1851 census.
Date of Baptism: 2 January 1803.
Place of Baptism: Wigan.
The baptism is recorded in the parish register.
Date of Burial: 14 February 1860.
Place of Burial: Southport, Lancashire (Holy Trinity).
The burial is recorded in the parish register.
Relationships
Father: James Molineux (about 1777 - 1834).
Mother: Betty Almond (1781 - 1831).
See the Commentary section.
Spouse: Jane Ball (1803 - 1855). Married 19 May 1823 in North Meols, Lancashire.
The marriage is recorded in the parish register. The will of Jane’s father mentions his daughter “Jane Molineux the wife of James Milineux of Southport aforesaid Painter.”
Children:
(Complete source citations for facts about the children on this page are currently outside of the scope of this project.)
James Molineux (baptized 23 November 1823 in Southport).
Richard Molineux (baptized 26 March 1826 in Southport - died 15 January 1891 in Wigan) married Margaret Todd 26 March 1848 in Manchester.
William Molineux (baptized 7 September 1828 in Southport - buried 5 March 1829 in Southport).
William Molineux (baptized 21 March 1830 in Southport - died 2 February 1878 in Southport) married Elizabeth Eccleston (his brother Thomas’s widow) 6 October 1858 in Liverpool.
Thomas Molineux (baptized 25 July 1832 in Southport - died 16 March 1854) married Elizabeth Eccleston 22 April 1852 in North Meols, Lancashire.
George Molineux (baptized 7 December 1834 in Southport - buried 17 May 1880 in Ormskirk) married (1) Mary Ann Rimmer 25 December 1855 in Southport; married (2) Alice Bimpson 15 September 1862 in Liverpool.
Edwin Molineux (baptized 12 May 1839 - buried 27 November 1840 in Southport).
Evidence
James Molineux baptism (from the parish register)
Infant's Name and Seniority: James third Son of
Father's Name, Abode, and Profession: James Molineux of Millgate Mason
Mother's Name and Descent: & Betty his Wife Dau.r of Roger & Betty Almond
Born: 27th of December [1802]
Baptized: 2d of January [1803]
(from the Bishop’s Transcripts, Wigan, January 1803)
2 James 3d Son of James Molineux of Millgate, Mason, & Betty.
James Mulyneux - Jane Ball marriage (North Meols parish register)
James Mulyneux of this Parish Jane Ball and [blank] of this Parish were married in this Church by Banns with Consent of [blank] this Ninteenth Day of May in the Year One thousand eight hundred and twenty three Be me Tho.s Rowlandson.
This Marriage was solemnized between us James Moleneux Jane Ball
In the Presence of Peter Ball + his mark Rich Turner
from Baines Directory 1824-1825 (Southport, Painters & Plasterers):
Molyneux James
from Perry’s Bankrupt Gazette (24 October 1835, page 6):
Court house, Lancaster, 3d Nov. ten.
Molineux, James, of Southport, painter
1841 census (North Meols)
Hoghton Street
James Molineux, 35, Painter, Y [ “Y” means born in Lancashire]
Jane [Molineux], 35, Y
James [Molineux], 17, Y
Richard [Molineux], 14, Y
William [Molineux], 11, Y
Thomas [Molineux], 9, Y
George [Molineux], 6, Y
1851 Census (Southport)
East Bank Street no 19
James Molineux, Head, Mar., 48, Painter Employing 8 Men, [born] Lancashire, Wigan
Jane [Molineux], Wife, Mar., 48, [born Lancashire] Southport
James [Molineux], Son, U, 26, Painter, [born Lancashire Southport]
William [Molineux], Son, U, 21, [Painter], [born Lancashire Southport]
Thomas [Molineux], Son, U, 19, [Painter], [born Lancashire Southport]
George [Molineux], Son, U, 15, [Painter], [born Lancashire Southport]
Baptisms of children (Southport):
When Baptized: 1823. Novr 23
Child’s Christian Name: James
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molyneux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Per. Curate
When Baptized: 1826. 28 March
Child’s Christian Name: Richard
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molyneux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Per. Curate
When Baptized: 1828. Septr 7
Child’s Christian Name: William
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molyneux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Curate
When Baptized: 1830. March 21
Child’s Christian Name: Richard
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molyneux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Thos Garratt off: Minister
When Baptized: 1832. 25 July
Child’s Christian Name: Thomas
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molyneux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Curate
When Baptized: 1834. Decr 7
Child’s Christian Name: George
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molineux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Per. Curate
When Baptized: 1839. May 12
Child’s Christian Name: Edwin
Parents’ Names: James & Jane Molineux
Abode: Southport
Quality, Trade, or Profession: Painter
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Wm Docker Per. Curate
James Molyneux burial (Southport, Holy Trinity, 1860)
Name: James Molyneux
Abode: Southport
When buried: Feb 14th
Age: 58 years
By whom the Ceremony was performed: Jonathan Jackson Incumbent
Commentary
James’s parentage:
The censuses give this information about James’s date and place of birth:
1841 (taken 6 June): age 35, born in Lancashire. [Ages in this census were rounded down to the nearest multiple of 5.]
1851 (taken 30 March): age 48, born Lancashire, Wigan.
The informant for both censuses was probably James himself.
Only one surviving James Molineux was baptized in Wigan (with the abode of Wigan) in the five years around 1802: in 2 January 1803, born 27 December 1802. The baptism record states that James’s parents were James Molineux and Betty (formerly Almond). James’s three brothers appear in later records in Wigan, but James does not.
There is very good DNA evidence that James Molineux’s parents were James Molineux and Betty Almond. I am a paper-trail descendant of James. I share DNA with several well documented paper-trail descendants of James’s siblings: two descendants of James’s brother Roger (20 cM over 1 segment, 29 cM over 2 segments); three descendants of James’s sister Sarah (11 cM over 2 segments, 14 cM over 1 segment, 13 cM over 1 segment); one descendant of James’s sister Hannah (24 cM over 2 segments); and one descendant of James’s sister Mary (18 cM over 3 segments).
The evidence for James’s parentage is sufficient.
References
“AncestryDNA ThruLines for James Molineux database report, AncestryDNA. Accessed 22 February 2025.
Lancashire OnLine Parish Clerks
James Molyneux baptism, baptism registration, Wigan bishop’s transcripts; digital image Ancestry.com (accessed 1 April 2014) citing Lancashire Anglican Parish Registers. Preston, England: Lancashire Archives.
James Molineux household, 1841 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, North Meols, HO107, piece 514, book 3, folio 19, page 31, 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 1 April 2014).
James Molineux household, 1851 census of England. Lancashire, Ormskirk, Bickerstaffe, North Meols, ED 1b, piece 2196, folio 422, page 9, 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 1 April 2014).
North Meols parish register. Digital images available on FamilySearch, accessed 15 January 2018.
Wigan parish register. Digital images on Ancestry.com accessed 14 March 2018.