95 Bastardry in Hoscar Moss Part 1, Section 3: 16 November 2024
-
Burscough,
Wednesday 3 April 1775 -
The
Orders say that James Hankin, father of the unnamed child, lived in Lathom. Only one James Hankin lived in Lathom in 1775.
James Hankin was the oldest son
of Thomas Hankin and he was baptised on 18 February 1749, probably in Lathom
Chapel. Thomas Hankin, father of James, was
my five times removed great grandfather.
Thomas had inherited the Hankin farms at Hoscar Moss and two other farms
at Burscough and Scarisbrick. James Hankin
was my great uncle five times removed and his mother was Elizabeth Culshaw, who
was baptised on 30 October 1720.
Identification of the
forebears of James Hankin is relevant to this astonishingly sad story of bastardry.
Elizabeth Culshaw’s father –
James’s maternal grandfather - was William Culshaw, baptised on 9 August 1702.
When his daughter was born on
8 January 1776, James was 27 years old, and possibly older, allowing for
possible delays between birth and baptism.
James was probably 26 or 27 when his daughter was conceived.
By 1775, James had assumed a
significant role in running the Hankin family farms at Hoscar Moss, Scarisbrick
and Burscough; he was the eldest son and the heir apparent. The expectation was that he would inherit everything
when his father died. Thomas father of
James was baptised on 3 March 1722 and in 1775 was at least 52, probably older
– and worn out by a lifetime of hard physical work.
By 1775, Thomas was ready to
transfer some responsibilities to his eldest son. Probably one of these responsibilities was management
of the Burscough farm. Although the date
James took over the Burscough farm is unknown, it probably happened from about
1769 when James was 20.
James was certainly running the
Burscough farm when he got Catherine pregnant because Catherine’s family had
their own farm at Burscough and lived there.
Conception of the child
occurred on about Wednesday 3 April 1775, probably at Burscough.
Who Was Catherine Culshaw?
There
are no surviving birth records for Catherine, but she can be clearly
identified.
Becoming pregnant outside of
marriage was no more unusual in 1775 than it is now, but having a baby outside
of marriage was much rarer then than it is now.
Massive social stigma and shame was reserved for any woman who was not
married when she gave birth to a child. Stigma
was also directed at a woman who became pregnant before marriage – but this was
dissolved if she married the father of the child, preferably before the birth. The shame of pregnancy disappeared if there
was a marriage. This required paying
money to the local Bishop and getting a licence to marry without the delays caused
by having to read the marriage banns.
****
The most significant aspect
of the Court Orders made in 1778 is that James Hankin and Catherine Culshaw did
not marry before their child was born.
****
In the world of 1775, Lathom was a place where
everybody, quite literally, knew everybody else. There had to be a reason to
account for the failure of James and Catherine to marry. Without a reason making it impossible to
marry, social pressure would have forced them to marry each other.
The most obvious reason for
their non marriage is that perhaps James or Catherine were already married to
someone else, but neither James nor Catherine was married to someone else in
1775. Being already married to someone
else did not cause the failure of James and Catherine to marry each other.
If James and/ or Catherine
were not already married to someone else, there is only one possible
explanation for their failure to marry.
They did not marry because they were so closely related to each other
that the law would not permit them to marry each other. There is no other logical explanation.
In 1775, marriage between
first cousins was illegal and there were no exceptions. Catherine and James did not marry because
they were first cousins living in a community where everyone knew they were
first cousins.
Knowing James and Catherine were first cousins makes it relatively easy to identify Catherine’s parents.
Catherine Culshaw was the
daughter of William Culshaw who lived in Burscough.
****
William Culshaw from Burscough
was baptised on 23 May 1731 and he had married Mary Almond on 4 January 1755 under
the banns system. Mary Almond was baptised
on 12 July 1730.
There are records for only three
of the children of William Culshaw and Mary Almond and they do not include
Catherine.
·
Ann was baptised
on 6 June 1756;
·
Cicely was
baptised on 2 May 1762; and
·
Mary was baptised
on 4 August 1763.
The
2 April 1778 Orders say that James and Catherine’s daughter was born on 8
January 1776.
Assuming
Catherine was at least 16 years old when she became pregnant and at least 17
when she had the baby, Catherine was born no earlier than April 1775 and no
later than 1758. Because her sisters Ann
and Cicely were baptised on 6 June 1756 and 2 May 1762, Catherine was probably
born between 1756 and 1758.
If Catherine was born about when her sister Ann was baptised in 1756, she was perhaps 20 when her daughter was born in January 1776. She was probably not 20 but somewhere between 18 and 19.
Conception of the child probably happened when
Catherine was aged between 17 and 19.
****
Hoscar Moss Road, where James Hankin lived when he impregnated his 1st cousin Catherine Culshaw in 1775.
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