My Old Ohio Home - Arlidge

William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees

2019-07-23T00:00:00-04:00

Below are brief family trees for William Arlidge of Deddington, Oxfordshire, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania, and his son Samuel Arlidge of Deddington, and of Lower Heyford and Weedon, Northamptonshire. The information came mainly from censuses and parish registers. The family name is poorly indexed in the US censuses on familysearch.org and ancestry.com.

I am not related to this family. For how I became interested in them see the articles William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania and Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

William Arlidge (c 1795, England - after 1880)
+ Lucy Bennett (1788 - bur 19 June 1822, Deddington)
1. Samuel Arlidge (bap 11 May 1818, Deddington - bur 25 Mar 1892, Nether Heyford)
  - see below
2. Lucy Arlidge (baptized 26 Dec 1819 - )
  + Benjamin Arlidge
3. Thomas Arlidge (1822 - bur 8 Sep 1822)

William Arlidge (c 1795, England - after 1880)
+ Elizabeth Gregory (c 1794, England - after 1850)
1. Charlotte Arlidge (bap 30 May 1824, Deddington - after 1841)
  - 1841: with family in Oxfordshire
2. Ann Arlidge (bap 11 Mar 1825, Deddington, Oxfordshire - after 1841)
  - 1841: with family in Oxfordshire
3. Elizabeth Arlidge (bap 11 Apr 1830, Deddington, Oxford - after 1870)
  - 1860: Census, McClure, Allegheny County, seamstress
  - 1870: Census, Ward 2, Allegheny City, dress maker
4. Mary Arlidge (8 Jul 1832?, Oxfordshire - 24 Jan 1905, Pennsylvania)
  - bap 20 Apr 1835, Deddington
  + Theodore Wilson
5. Hannah Arlidge (bap 20 Apr 1835, Deddington, Oxfordshire - 19 June 1909, Pittsburgh)

Samuel Arlidge (c 1818, Deddington - bur 19 June 1892, Nether Heyford)
+ Rhoda Billing (1818, Heyford, Northampton - after 1891)
1. Hannah Arlidge (c 1837, Heyford, Northampton - )
2. Lucy Arlidge (c 1840, Lower Heyford - )
3. Sarah Arlidge (c 1843, Lower Heyford - )
4. William Arlidge (c 1848, Lower Heyford - )
5. Comfort Arlidge (1850, Lower Heyford - )
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon
6. Thomas Arlidge (c 1852, Heyford, Northampton - )
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon
7. Samuel Arlidge (c 1855, Heyford, Northampton - )
  - baptized 1 Dec 1866, Weedon
8. Joseph Albert Arlidge (4th Qtr 1862 - bur 7 July 1870, Weedon)
  - baptized 29 May 1868, Weedon

Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England

2019-07-22T00:00:00-04:00

1870 Letter, Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, PA, back

On July 18, 1870, a letter edged in black was mailed from Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, Pennsylvania. A handwritten note on the back says that it was received in Pennsylvania on August 4, 1870. Who sent this letter, and what news did it probably contain?

As noted in the last article, William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania, the baptism records of two of William Arlidge's daughters recorded his residence as the Brick Kiln or Brick Yard in Deddington, England. While looking for William, I found a short autobiography of a Samuel Arlidge, organ builder, who was born in Deddington and brought up at the brickyard there. In 1842 he left for the United States and spent some time in Allegheny City, Pennsylvania. He returned to England in 1847.(footnote)You can find the complete autobiography in the PDF at The Tracker, Journal of the Organ Historical Society, Inc., Volume 21, Number 1, Fall 1976, page 15, or in The Organist and Choirmaster, Volume 4, Number 42, October 15, 1896 at Google Books.

This information matched that of William so closely that I felt they must be related. I decided to learn more about Samuel. It turned out that Samuel was William's son from his first marriage.

Samuel Arlidge

Samuel Arlidge was baptized 11 May 1818 in Deddington parish, the son of William and Lucy (Bennett) Arlidge. On 25 Dec 1836, he married Rhoda Billing in Heyford, Northamptonshire. In 1841 Samuel, Rhoda, and two daughters, Hannah and Lucy, were living in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire. And in 1851 they were in Nether Heyford, Northamptonshire, with children Lucy, Sarah, William, and Comfort.

At this point I should point out that Samuel's autobiography was signed "Samuel Arlidge, husband of Rhoder Arlidge" and was written in 1855. The typescript copy I had access to said he was from Lower "Flyford", Northamptonshire. I suspect this was an error in transcribing "Heyford." So the place and the name of his wife match the Samuel Arlidge on the 1851 Census listed above.

The only step remaining to identify Samuel as the sender of the letter was to put him in Weedon in 1870: He and his family, including a son Thomas and grand daughter Lucy Faulkner, are found in a cottage in Weedon on the 1871 census of Daventry, Northamptonshire.

The Letter

The postal cover was $25 to purchase, and I almost would have been tempted to spend the money if there was a letter enclosed. But the owner of the site (see the credits below) informed me in the past that the accompanying information would have mentioned a letter if there was one. Still, I think we can make an educated guess as to its contents:

Joseph Albert Arlidge was born in the fourth quarter of 1862 in Northampton Union, his mother's maiden name being Billing. He was baptized 29 May 1868 in the parish of Weedon Bec, the same day as his sister Comfort. Their parents were Samuel, an organ maker, and Rhoda. They lived in Weedon. On 7 July 1870, Joseph Arlidge, age 7, was buried from the same parish.

The letter to Pennsylvania was mailed 11 days later. So sadly, William Arlidge learned of the death of his grandson Joseph Albert via this letter. Hopefully this article will tie up a few loose ends of the Arlidge family history, especially if someone is wondering what happened to William Arlidge of Deddington.

There is a brief family tree for William and Samuel Arlidge at William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees.

Sources

Censuses of England
Church of England Parish Registers, Deddington and Weedon Bec
The Tracker, Journal of the Organ Historical Society
General Records Office of England and Wales, website.
Google Books

Credits

The image of the envelope sent from Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, Pennsylvania, is from Jim Forte's Postal History site and is used with his permission. It was for sale at the time of this writing. I am not connected with that site in any way.

William Arlidge of Deddington, England, and New Brighton, Pennsylvania

2019-07-21T00:00:00-04:00

1870 Letter, Weedon, Northamptonshire, to New Brighton, PA

On August 4, 1870, Mr William Arlidge of New Brighton, Pennsylvania, received a letter edged in black from Weedon, Northamptonshire, England. Who sent William this letter, and what sad news prompted its sending?

William Arlidge

The 1870 US Census finds William Arlidge and his daughter Hannah in Ward 2, New Brighton, Pennsylvania. William was a male citizen, age 70, who was born in England and worked as a clock repairer. Hannah's age was given as 25, though she was actually 10 years older, as we shall see. She also was born in England. The date on the census sheet was June 30, 1870, not long before the letter William received was mailed.(footnote)For the date and place of mailing, see the next article, Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

The Arlidges had moved to New Brighton sometime after 1867 or so, since William is listed in the Pittsburgh City Directories through 1868 as a clock maker in Allegheny City.(footnote)Allegheny City, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, was annexed by its neighbor, Pittsburgh, in 1907.

William Arlidge, clockmaker, Benton Ave, Allegheny City,
1868 Pittsburgh City Directory

The 1850 Census of Allegheny City provided the names of other members of the Arlidge family. William, age 57, is joined by his wife, Elizabeth, age 56, and daughters Elizabeth (21), Mary (18), and Anna or Hannah (16). All were born in England.

This gave me enough information to find the Arlidges in England in 1841, in Barford St Michael, Oxfordshire. William was a pot maker, age 40. His wife Elizabeth and daughters Charlotte (15), Ann (15), Elizabeth (11), Mary (7), and Hannah (5) complete the household. All the daughters were born in Oxfordshire, but William and Elizabeth were born outside the county.

Images of the Church of England parish registers for Oxfordshire were available at ancestry.com, and provided a wealth of information about William and his family. He and Elizabeth Gregory were married 28 January 1823 in the parish and all the children's baptisms were recorded there as well. William was a widower when he married Elizabeth–his earlier marriage to Lucy Bennett was on 17 April 1817. The marriage register noted that parental consent had been given, evidently for William, since Lucy's burial record (19 June 1822), said she was 33 when she died.

There is a brief family tree for William at William and Samuel Arlidge Family Trees.

Where next?

All well and good so far, you say. We have William Arlidge traced back to within 30 miles of Weedon, Northamptonshire, where the letter originated, but who sent it and why?

One clue in William's records that will lead us to the answer is his residence at the time of Charlotte and Ann's baptisms. On Charlotte's record it said her parents were living at the Brick Kiln, Deddington. On Ann's record "Brick Yard" was crossed out, leaving just "Deddington." Keep that in mind as we continue to the next article: Samuel Arlidge, of Deddington, Weedon Bec, and Nether Heyford, England.

Sources

US Federal Censuses
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, City Directories 1876 Weyand and Reed's Beaver County Centennial Directory
1841 Census of England
Church of England parish registers for Oxfordshire, England.

Credits