Esther Ashcroft Bayley, 1837-1879

The Ashcroft family has it’s roots in the English counties of Lancashire, Cheshire and Staffordshire. Samuel and Mary Ashcroft,1 both born about 1740,2 lived at Cross Street, Sale, south of Manchester.3 Samuel and Mary had eleven children.4 The first two sons named Samuel died very young.5 The seven surviving sons all became slaters, or roofers,6 the occupation of their father. Samuel and Mary both died in 1821, both age 80, Samuel in January and Mary in February, and were buried at St. Martin's Church, Ashton on Mersey, Cheshire, the same church where all their children had been baptized. There is no gravestone for them.7

Joshua, their eighth child, born in 1777,8 first married Sarah Barber in 1796 and they had one child, Mary Sarah9. Sarah died not long after giving birth to Mary Sarah in 1800. Mary Sarah died about a month after her mother. Mother and daughter were both buried at St. James Church, George Street, in Manchester.10

Joshua married again, this time to Esther Harrison. William Harrison, Esther's father, was living in the Dolefield area in 1788 and by 1800 he was in Hulme, a dyer at 4 Water St.11 Joshua and William's daughter Esther, christened in Mossley, Manchester 11 April 1784,12 were married in Manchester Cathedral 19 May 1802.13 In 1804 their first child, William, was born.14 Two years later, another son, John, was born. John was still a baby when Joshua fell from the roof of a warehouse in Manchester and died.15

The Manchester Mercury and Harrop's General Advertiser, which came out every Tuesday at that time, reported his death in the Tuesday 22 July 1806 issue, on the fourth page at the bottom of the fifth column, as follows:

On Thursday last a man accidentally fell from the roof of a very lofty warehouse in Crow Alley, St Anne's Square, and was so dreadfully maimed that he expired in less than half an hour.16
Joshua was buried at St. James's Church, George Street, Manchester, where his first wife and child were buried. The inscription on his tombstone read:

Joshua Ashcroft July 17 1806 a 28 y. His death was occasioned by a fall from a Warehouse. An awfull warning to us of the uncertainty of human life. Take heed watch and pray for ye know not when the time is.17

It is not known what happened to Esther after Joshua's death, but William Ashcroft, Joshua and Esther's oldest son, did well and was recorded at various times and places as a shoemaker, excise officer, auctioneer, appraiser, and innkeeper.18 William Ashcroft and Hannah Smith19 had seven children (John, Mary, Hannah, Ann, Joshua, William and Esther), born in Cheshire, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire - the family seemed to move fairly often. In 1851 the family had settled in Wolverhampton in Staffordshire and they were still there in 1861 and 1871. Hannah died in 1869. In November 1778 William wrote his will and died about two weeks later.20 Both were buried in the Merridale Cemetery, Wolverhampton.21

In the will two of his three sons were mentioned: Joshua and William, but not John. One of his daughters, Mary, died in 1878,22 but her children were all mentioned in the will. Esther, who must have been ill when her father wrote the will, is mentioned in the will, but her father makes provisions for her three children inheriting her share if she were to die before he did.23 She died about seven months after her father, in June 1879.24 The other two daughters, Ann and Hannah, were the executrixes of the will, which was proved in London, January 1879.

Ann was married to John Lawrence Duckworth; Hannah was married to a Mr. Hughes; Mary was married to Joseph Wheatley; and Esther was married to Hamlet Bayley.25 It is unknown if John and William married. Joshua married Prudence Beardmore and the couple left with their young daughter, Annie, not long after for Australia.26


  • Index of Ashcroft family members on this web page
  • Ashcroft descent from Samuel Ashcroft, d.1821
  • Record of marriage for Samuel Ashcroft and Mary Rudd, 1764
  • Family group sheet for Samuel and Mary Ashcroft
  • Family group sheet for Joshua, son of Samuel
  • Records of marriage and death for Joshua Ashcroft, son of Samuel
  • Family group sheet for William, son of Joshua
  • Will of William Ashcroft, son of Joshua, d.1878


    Photograph: Esther Ashcroft, 1837-1879, was the great-granddaughter of Samuel and Mary Ashcroft, and the granddaughter and namesake of Joshua Ashcroft's second wife, Esther Harrison. Photograph of Esther Ashcroft Bayley provided thanks to Hope Healy Koontz, Esther's granddaughter.

    With many thanks to Rodney Kerr and Tony Ashcroft for information on the Ashcroft family. They have done a lot of research and generously shared it.



    1. The marriage of Samuel Ashcroft to Mary Rudd is an assumption based on the information found so far. Samuel might have been married to a different Mary. We know her name is Mary from the baptismal registers of their children. This marriage took place in October of 1764 and their first child was born in July 1765. The marriage was in Stockport, which is in the same general vicinity in which they lived and died. This was the only marriage found for that time period in that area that seemed to fit. Marriage record of Samuel Ashcroft and Mary Rudd, 1764, Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church [Church of England], 1584-1901, Stockport, Cheshire, FHL Br MF 2146002, Page 185, #53. Both are of the Parish of Stockport in the County and Diocese of Cheshire. They were married by published banns. Day of marriage looks like the 23d, but the word "third" is smudged. Samuel signed his name, Marry signed with her mark.

    2. Email from Tony Ashcroft, researcher in England, to Anne Healy Field, 29 May 2007, "They appear to have lived in Cross Street all their married life and were buried there in 1821 when they died within a month of each other both aged 80. This takes them back to having been born around 1740. There is no gravestone for them at St Martin's Church."

    3. In the parish registers of St. Martin's Church, where all of their children were baptized, their "abode" or place of residence was listed as Cross St., Sale. Parish registers for St. Martin's Church [Church of England], Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire, 1636-1950, Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998. FHL Microfilm 2107086. The baptisms stretched over nearly twenty years, from 1765 to 1784.

    4. John, 1765, Mary, 1766, Thomas, 1768, George, 1770, Samuel, 1772, Samuel, 1774, Martha, 1776, Joshua, 1777, Henry, 1779, Samuel, 1781, and William, 1784.

    5. Parish registers for St. Martin's Church [Church of England], Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire, 1636-1950, Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998. FHL Microfilm 2107086, The first Samuel was buried 31 December 1773; the second Samuel was buried 23 February 1779.

    6. Occupations were listed in the marriage registers.Except for John, who was married in St. Martin's Church, and Mary, who either did not marry or whose marriage has not been found, were married in the Manchester Cathedral.

    7. Email from Tony Ashcroft to Anne Healy Field, 29 May 2007. See note #2 above.

    8. Parish registers for St. Martin's Church [Church of England], Ashton-on-Mersey, Cheshire, 1636-1950. Salt Lake City, Utah: filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1998. FHL Microfilm 2107086. Baptized 21 December 1777, "Joshua, son of Samuel and Mary Ashcroft of Cross Street, Sale."

    9. Parish registers for the Cathedral Church [Church of England], Manchester, Lancashire, 1573-1946, Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966-2004, Marriages and banns, April 1795-February 1801, p.315, #692, FHL microfilm 2356676, "Joshua Ashcroft of this parish and town of Manchester,slater, and Sarah Barber of Manchester, spinster, were married in this church by Banns... this 17th day of July, 1796." Joshua signed his name, Sarah signed by mark.

      Information on Mary Sarah's birth in 1800 came by email from Tony Ashcroft to Anne Healy Field, 29 May 2007.

    10. Parish register transcript, St. James [Church of England], Manchester, England, compiled by Bertram William Tuff Norman. FHL book 942.72/ M1, V26mja vol.4 [includes burials, Dec. 1786-Dec. 1812]; p.62, Sarah Ashcroft, wife of Joshua, died 5 April 1800, buried 8 April 1800, age 21 years; p.63, Mry [sic] Sarah, daughter of Joshua, Sarah Ashcroft, died 24 May 1800, buried 25 May 1800, 9 Wks.

      Mary Sarah's cause of death was "fits" and her mother Sarah's cause of death was "decline" according to information found by Tony Ashcroft: Lancashire Parish Register Society, Vol. 134, "The Registers of St James's Church, George Street , Manchester" (published 1993), Burials 1800, Page 114:
      "Died Apr 5, Buried Apr 8, Sarah, w. Joshua Ashcroft [slater, Hulme], 21yr; Decline."
      "Died May 24, Buried May 25, Mary Sarah, d. Joshua & Sarah Ashcroft [Hulme], 9 weeks; Fits."
      The information in square brackets is from the Bishop's Transcripts and the rest is from the Registers.

    11. Emails from Rodney Kerr, Australian researcher, to Anne Healy Field, December 2005.

    12. Bishop's transcripts, 1769-1838, Chapelry of Mossley [Church of England], Lancashire, England, Baptisms and burials, 1769-1838. Microreproduction of original manuscripts housed at the Lancashire Record Office, Preston. FHL MF 1545445, Esther, dau. of Wm. Harrison, weaver, Bradford (looks like), by Sarah. The chapelry of St. George, Mossley is in the parish of Aston-under- Lyne. It is on the mutual border of Lancashire, Cheshire, and Yorkshire.

    13. Parish registers for the Cathedral Church [Church of England], Manchester, Lancashire, 1573-1946. Salt Lake City, Utah: filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966-2004, Marriages and banns, February 1801-December 1804, Marriage record #599. FHL microfilm 2356677. Joshua Ashcroft, slater, and Esther Harrison, both of Manchester, married by Banns 19 May 1802. Joshua signed his name, Esther signed with her mark.

    14. Parish registers for the Cathedral Church [Church of England], Manchester, Lancashire, 1573-1946. Salt Lake City, Utah: filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1966-2004, Baptisms, November 1798-January 1808. William was christened 24 June 1804, and John was christened 26 May 1806.

    15. According to Tony Ashcroft in his email, 29 May 2007, the warehouse Joshua was working on was near St Anne's Square in the center of Manchester. Two brief newspaper reports of the accident appeared in the days immediately following.

    16. Email from Tony Ashcroft to Anne Field, 27 July 2007.

    17. Parish register transcript, St. James [Church of England], Manchester, England, compiled by Bertram William Tuff Norman. FHL book 942.72/ M1, V26mja vol.4 [includes burials, Dec. 1786-Dec. 1812]; p.83, Joshua Ashcroft, [died] 17 July 1806, [buried] 17 July 1806, 28 Y [years], killed.

      According to Tony Ashcroft, St James's Church was demolished in 1928 and presumably the gravestone was lost. The site now lies at the heart of Manchester's Chinatown. The genealogically important inscription was recorded in documents known as Owen's Manuscripts before the demolition and microfilms of these are kept at Manchester Central Library: "Monumental Inscriptions - St James's, George Street, Manchester, Volume 24, Page 97, line 74."

    18. William Ashcroft's occupations can be found in census records as well as in the baptismal records of his children.

    19. Hannah Smith was born in Meifod, Montgomery County, Wales, according to the census records. Her birth date of about 1798 is ascertained from the ages given in the census records and in her death record. William and Hannah's first child, John, was born out of wedlock on 5 October 1825. This fact was noted in John's christening record. Hannah's place of residence at that time was Lime Kilns, located near Disley. William's residence was given as Disley. Their second child, Mary, was born in Runcorn, Cheshire, according to the census records. No christening record has been found yet. The third child, Hannah, was christened 12 April 1829 in Wednesbury, Staffordshire. Her parents were listed in the record as William and Hannah Ashcroft and no mention was made of illegitimacy. William and Hannah were possibly married sometime between the births of their first and third children. No record has yet been found.

    20. Will of William Ashcroft, d.1878, Great Britain. Principal Probate Registry. Record of will in Somerset House, London, England. Will written in Islington, Liverpool, 16 November 1878; proved in London 16 January 1879. FHL MF 1851003.

      According to Rodney Kerr, a will entry from an index in the Birmingham Library records the date and place of William's death as 28 November 1878, Liverpool.

      An entry in the Index to the Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths for England and Wales, 1837-1980, Registrar General, Great Britain, shows that William died during the December Quarter, 1878, age 75, in the district of Liverpool. The record can be found in vol. 8b, p.207.

    21. Cemetery Records of Merridale Cemetery, Register of Exclusive Rights of Burial, 1850-1886. Merridale Cemetery, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England. FHL MF 2299868, Page 212, #848, Date of grant: 3 December 1869, Wolverhampton General Cemetery Company. William Ashcroft paid four pounds and six pence for an unbricked grave nine feet long, four feet wide, and seven feet deep to hold two adult bodies in consecrated ground. Location: 2609, square 21. Dates of interment were 8 July 1869, when Hannah was buried, and 4 December 1878, when William was buried.

    22. Correspondence from Merridale Cemetery Office, Wolverhampton, Lancashire, England, 1979, Notes the interment of Mary Wheatley, aged 50 of Snow Hill, Wolverhampton, wife of Joseph Wheatley, ironmonger. She was buried in 1878. Plot was purchased by her father, William Ashcroft.

    23. Esther's three children were Annie, Howard, and Neville Bayley.

    24. Registrar General, Great Britain. Index to the Civil Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths for England and Wales, 1837-1980, Microfiche copy of originals at the Office of Population and Census, Merseyside, England; fiche from the British Isles Reference collection, Family History Library, Salt Lake City, UT, June Qtr., 1879, Esther Bayley, age 42, district of Aston, Warwickshire, vol. 6d, p.240. Aston is just north of Birmingham. A handwritten note on the back of her picture, handed down in the family, gives her death date as 23 June 1879. Both Esther Bayley and Mary Wheatley were buried in the Merridale Cemetery, Wolverhampton.

    25. Record of Marriage for Ann Ashcroft and John Lawrence Duckworth, 1859, Parish Register, St. Leonard's Church, [Church of England], Parish Church of Bilston, Staffordshire, England, Marriages, 1841-1873. FHL Br MF 1040827, Page 190, #379, John is a widower, age 40; Ann is a spinster, age 27. Both signed their own names.

      A record of marriage for Hannah has not yet been found. She was married after 1861 (appearing in that census as unmarried), but was listed as a widow when named as an executrix of her father's will in 1878.

      When Mary Wheatley died in 1878, her husband was listed as Joseph Wheatley, ironmonger. A marriage record has not been found yet for Mary and Joseph Wheatley. In the 1851 census, Mary was unmarried. In the 1861 census, Hannah Wheatley, age 9, was in the household of her grandfather, William Ashcroft. In the 1871 census, Mary Wheatley and three of her children, Ann, William and Joseph, are listed in the household of William Ashcroft. Mary is a daughter and the housekeeper. It is not known where Joseph Wheatley is or if he is still alive.

      Marriage Record for Hamlet Bayley and Esther Ashcroft, 1859. Free BMD. England and Wales, Civil Registration Index: 1837-1983 [online database based on data from the GRO, London, England]. Provo, Utah: MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004. Accessed via Ancestry.com. Marriage was recorded by the GRO in September 1859 so the marriage probably took place within the previous 3 months.

    26. Marriage of Joshua Ashcroft and Prudence Beardmore was on 03 November 1860, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire. Emails from Rodney Kerr to Anne Healy Field, December 2005.

      Parish registers, 1861-1914, Church of England. St. Luke's Church (Wolverhampton, Staffordshire), Baptisms 1861-1865. Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1981, 1987, FHL microfilm 1040913, Items 5-6 , p.2, #12, 1 September 1861, Annie, [dau of] Joshua & Prudence Ashcroft,abode/name of street starts with B, ends with ley; occupation, clerk.

      According to Rodney Kerr, Joshua and Prudence migrated to Australia on board the “Montmorency”, which arrived in Moreton Bay, Australia, on 28th December 1861. Joshua was 27 and Prudence was 25. Their daughter Annie was a baby.

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