30 - The Ferns Family

At Household 30 lived the parents and siblings of James Ferns, who married Eliza Swindells from the Friendship Inn. 56 year old Joseph Ferns was a Mill Warper (in charge of setting the warp threads at the cotton mill) and his wife was 57 year old Anne Whittle.

Joseph was born in Annagh, County Cavan, Ireland but came to England as a young child. He worked as a Mill Warper for his whole life, retiring in Ashton-Under-Lyne where he died aged 76.

Anne Whittle was born in Wigan and died aged 70. She spent her life caring for her 8 children who survived infancy. In 1871 6 of those children were still living at home with Alice working as a dress maker, Ann and John as Cotton Weavers, Joseph, aged 14, working as a Cotton Spinner and Arthur and Ellen still at school.

Alice appeared in the newspapers a number of times for misdemeanours. In April 1875 she was prosecuted for procuring alcohol from the Craven Heifer outside of licensing hours. She claimed it was for her sick sister but was heard saying she would "have a spree" with it. On the 16th February 1876 she was arrested for being drunk and riotous. She told the court that she had been "greatly provoked" to get drunk. The same year in January she was also in trouble for defrauding the railway, described in the newspaper as "A Dishonest Dressmaker".

Joseph Ferns was involved in a workplace accident in 1878. He was working at Oakwood Cotton Mill when his finger was drawn into the workings of one of the mules. He shouted for help but his young colleagues thought he was joking. He had to pull the finger out of the machine and it was almost completely severed. He was taken to Stockport Infirmary to have it amputated. Despite the accident he continued to work at the cotton mill for some years, but then changed to a safer career as an Insurance Agent. He married Catherine Roche and had 7 daughters. He lived to 81 years of age.

Arthur Ferns had the saddest story of the family. In April 1881 he was working as an assistant to Mr Hope the butcher. He was sent to the home of Ann Joddrell, who lived in a cellar of a house on Lancashire Hill, to ask her to do some cleaning for the Butcher's. He put his head through a broken pane in her window and saw that she was dead, her eye damaged and covered in blood. A few years later Arthur was in the newspaper again for beating a pony. In 1890 Arthur, still working for Mr Hope on Love Lane, became unwell with an ulcerated throat. He struggled to continue working and 4 weeks after the illness began he cut his throat from ear to ear and died. He was 30 years old.