The Family of Betsy Haslam of Bolton, Lancashire
John Haslam’s mother was Betsy Haslam and his father
was William. In a letter from Jennie Weeks, a genealogical researcher in
Salt Lake hired by the Haslam family in the 1960s, to Edith Norris, a genealogical
researcher in Bolton, England, Ms. Weeks states: “He gave his mother’s
name as Elizabeth Haslam, and listed his father as William with no surname
given.” The letter continues with additional clues: “We have definitely
proven that the English family that he was connected with, who wrote him
many letters after he left England, was the family of John Hardman and
his wife Jane. We have a record showing that Jane had an illegitimate son,
Thomas, born 16 July 1815. She then married John Hardman and had five children,
including Elizabeth, James, Rodger, Giles, and Sarah. We know that this
is the family he calls brothers and sisters.”
Betsy’s parents were John
and Alice Haslam. Research in Bolton is challenging
because Haslam is a common name, and during this time period there were
four John and Alice Haslam’s having children. They were:
1. John Haslam and Alice Draper, married in 1779, in Bolton.
2. John Haslam and Alice Crompton, married in 1782, in Deane by Bolton.
3. John Haslam and Alice Roscoe, married in 1786, in Bolton le Moors.
4. John Haslam and Alice Halliwell, married in 1794, in Bolton le Moors.
Dividing out the many Haslam children among the proper families has been difficult, as the mother’s maiden name is not given at the christening. These christenings took place in St. Peter’s in Bolton, and in Deane by Bolton. On occasion, the townland is given, which can be helpful in grouping the families. Notes from Mrs. Morris, along with the townlands propose the following family groups:
John Haslam and Alice Draper
John Haslam and Alice Crompton
6. Ruth, christened 19 October 1794; died 2 September 1795, buried in Deane.
7. Betty, christened 1 January 1795 in Deane.
8. Abraham, christened 5 November 1795 in Deane.
9. Thomas, christened 25 September 1796 in Deane.
10. John, christened 30 April 1797 in Deane.
11. John, christened 18 May 1800 in Deane.
12. Lettice, christened 18 September 1802 in Deane.
13. Hannah, christened 7 August 1803 in Deane.
14. George, christened 6 September 1804 in Deane.
15. James, christened 15 September 1805 in Deane.
16. Elizabeth, christened 7 February 1806 in Deane.
17. Mary, christened 17 May 1807 in Deane.
18.
John, christened 15 October 1809 in Deane.
John Haslam and Alice Roscoe
Marriage of John Haslam and Alice Roscoe in St. Peter's parish
John Haslam and Alice Roscoe’s marriage is recorded in the St. Peter’s
parish register: “John Haslam of Deane, weaver, married Alice Roscoe of
this parish 25 December 1786.” Their children were:
6. Jane, christened 10 May 1794 of Great Bolton at Bolton Le Moors Methodist Church on Bridge Street; married John Hardman.
Sources: IGI, St. Peter parish register, FHS# 559176.
John Haslam and Alice Halliwell
Marriage of John Haslam and Alice Halliwell, St. Peter's parish
John Haslam and Alice Halliwell’s marriage was recorded in the St. Peter’s
parish register: “John Haslam of this parish, widower, and Alice Halliwell
of this parish, spinster were married in this church by banns this fifteenth
day of October in the year 1794.”Mrs. Norris proposed that this is the
second marriage for John Haslam, with the first marriage being to Alice
Roscoe. The children, all christened in St. Peter, were:
6. Samuel Haslam, christened 24 February 1805 of Tong; died 11 December 1883.
Sources: IGI, St. Peter parish register, FHS# 559176.
There are several possible Betsy Haslams in the families of John and Alice Draper, Alice Crompton, and Alice Halliwell. John S Haslam’s mother Betsy had a sister, Jane, who raised John after her death. Only the combined families of John Haslam and Alice Roscoe, and Alice Halliwell meet this requirement.
Other information related to Jane Haslam confirm this assumption. The Bolton parish register shows the birth of “Thomas, son of Jane Haslam, Haulgh, spinster” on 18 June 1815. (FHS# 559176) The townland of Haulgh is listed at the christenings of several of John and Alice Roscoe and Alice Halliwell’s children.
In addition, a death certificate for Jane Hardman on 28 February 1838, at the age of 44 years has Thomas Haslam, brother listed as the informant. (Death certificate of Jane Hardman) Betsy has a brother, Thomas, two years older than her in the family of John Haslam and Alice Halliwell.
Another clue in the letters
of Jennie Weeks and Edith Norris is the fact that John S Haslam was related
to Job Openshaw. Ms. Weeks states: “Another fact that has been established
shows that John was related to Catherine, the wife of Job Openshaw, and
several of these connections you have been able to authenticate with actual
dates and places.” Catherine was the daughter of John Haslam and Alice
Roscoe. She was actually the wife of Thomas Openshaw, and the mother of
Job Openshaw. Job was born in 1819 in Tong, Bolton, and died 1901 in Salt
Lake City.
The combined families of
John Haslam and Alice Roscoe, and John Haslam and Alice Halliwell meet
all of these conditions.Betty Haslam, christened 25 May 1800 to John Haslam
and Alice Halliwell is the most likely person to be Betsy, the mother of
John S Haslam.
The letters from Edith Norris propose this parentage for John Haslam and Alice Roscoe:
John Haslam, christened 3 July 1761 to James and Ellen Haslam.
Alice
Roscoe, christened 14 September 1760 to Robert and Ellen Roscow of Tong.
Alice Halliwell, Betsy’s
mother, is most likely the daughter of Thomas Halliwell and Betty Marsh,
and was christened 28 April 1771 in St. Peter's, Bolton le Moors. While
there were other Alices born within the right time period around Bolton,
this Alice is the only one born in St. Peter's parish. In addition, her
parents were Thomas and Betty. These were the names given to Alice Halliwell
Haslam's first two children.
FAMILY GROUP SHEET OF
JAMES HASLAM AND
ELLEN HEYWOOD
JAMES HASLAM married Ellen Heywood 23 December 1760 in Bolton Le Moors, Lancashire. Ellen was christened 23 June 1731 in St. Peter, Bolton, the daughter of Hy Heywood and Elizabeth Rothwell. James and Ellen had the following children:
1. John, christened 3 July 1761 in Little Bolton; married 1) Alice Roscoe 25 December 1786 in St. Peter, Bolton; married 2) Alice Halliwell 15 October 1794 in St. Peter, Bolton. John was a weaver.
2. Thomas, 24 Oct 1762 in St. Peter.
3. James, christened 3 July 1763 in St. Peter, Bolton le Moors, Lancashire, of Tong.
4. Peter, christened 14 July 1765 in St. Peter, of Little Bolton.
5. Richard, christened 2 November 1766 in St. Peter, of Tong.
6. Mary, christened 15 February 1767 in St. Peter, of Little Bolton.
7. Hannah, christened 9 February 1772 in St. Peter, of Sharples.
8. James, christened 25 February 1774 in St. Peter, of Sharples.
9. Alice, christened 29 October 1775 in St. Peter, of Sharples.
10. Betty, christened 15 November 1777 in St. Peter.
SOURCE: IGI; St. Peter parish register.
Betsy Haslam
When Betsy was in her early twenties she was employed as a “lady worker and teacher at the Duke of Bridgewater’s estate at Worsley. William, the Duke of Clarence, was a visitor at the Duke of Bridgewater’s home. William later became King William IV of England. While in the Duke’s employ, Betsy became pregnant. At the age of 23 she gave birth to a son, John. John gave his father’s name as William. William, the Duke of Clarence, may have been the father. (See the discussion of John S Haslam’s birth for research on his parentage.) Some family stories indicate that Betsy received financial support for her son John.
Betsy raised her son. When John was only nine years old Betsy died. She was 32 years old when she died on 6 May 1832. There is no record of a marriage or other children for Betsy.
Betsy’s son, John, was then raised by Betsy’s sister Jane. Jane had an illegitimate son, Thomas in 1815, when Jane was 21 years old. Jane married John Hardman on 13 May 1832, just seven days after Betsy’s death. Jane and John Hardman had six children: Elizabeth, James, Rodger, Sarah and Giles, who were twins, and Martha. John Haslam considered the Hardman children as his brothers and sisters. (Click here to see letters to John Haslam from his family in England.)
If John was the son of William
IV, then financial support may have stopped in 1837, when William died.
John would have been 14 years old at that time. Stories of John’s childhood,
as told by his wife Mary Ann Kay, say that John “had to work in the coal
mine as a child…Later at the age of 14 his mother bound him over to a Mr.
Wordley to learn the blacksmith trade.” Jane must have been the mother
mentioned, as Betsy had died by then.
Jane Haslam died just six years later, on 28 February 1838, of asthma. After Jane died, “When John was 16 years of age, he served in the British Navy.” He would have left home to join the Navy one year after Jane died. (Coincidentally, William IV served many years in the British Navy, and had a great love for the sea.) John stayed in touch with his adopted “brothers and sisters”, actually cousins, and several fond letters from the Hardman children are in descendants' possession.
If you have any additional information about this
family, please contact me at alice@boydhouse.com.