120 – Looking for Eliza Hankin Part 1: 14 December 2024
My search for the Moon Man began with my search for the antecedents of Eliza Hankin. I reasoned that if I found out where Eliza came from, it might lead me to the Moon Man.
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Eliza Hankin was a distant relative of mine and she was born on 6 February 1895 and baptised on 10 April 1895 at Saint Leonard Anglican Church, Bootle.
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Saint Leonard Church was founded in 1889 but was destroyed by Nazi bombing in World War II. This is a photo of Saint Leonard Church before the Nazis destroyed it.
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This is a photo I took on 24 September 2024 of the more
modern “new” Saint Leonard Church. it is
much more modest looking than the destroyed Saint Leonard.
The sign above the
red car on the right of the photo says this.
|
St Leonard’s Church
Services
here every Sunday at
11 am Come &
join us |
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At the time of her baptism, Eliza’s parents lived at
62 Marsh Lane, Bootle and her father John Hankin was a labourer. John Hankin had been born in Bootle on 12
July 1872. That John Hankin outlived his
daughter Eliza; he died in 1954, 5 years after Eliza.
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Eliza’s paternal grandfather (the father of John Hankin) was
Joseph Hankin. Joseph was born on 7 July 1835 at Bispham
Green. Bispham Green is near Hoscar
Moss, which is part of Lathom. Hoscar
Moss is where the Hankin family farm was located. The original family farm is still a family
farm called Sandyways Farm.
Lathom (of which Hoscar Moss was a part) is not a town
but the name of a geographical area which is close to the town of Ormskirk. Ormskirk is about 40 kilometres (25 miles)
north of Liverpool.
Eliza’s grandfather Joseph Hankin from Bispham Green, died
on 4 February 1883.
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Eliza Hankin’s great grandfather (the father of Joseph
Hankin) was Thomas Hankin, who was baptised
on 3 April 1806 at Bispham Green.
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Eliza Hankin’s great, great grandfather (the father of
Thomas Hankin) was also John Hankin.
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My personal family connection to Eliza Hankin is some generations back from Eliza Hankin. My four times removed great grandfather was Thomas Hankin who owned what is now Sandyways Farm. This Thomas Hankin was born in 1753 and lived until 1828. He farmed the family farm carved out of the swamplands in Hoscar Moss.
Before the Lancashire farmers turned this part of England into the very fertile farmland it is today, swamplands used to surround Ormskirk
and most of the countryside around Ormskirk. The
Hankin family farm was in easy walking distance of Martin Mere – or it would
have been if the land had not been so full of water that wading rather than walking would have
been required.
Martin Mere had ancient connections with the legends of King Arthur. When Arthur lay dying, he directed his sword called Excalibur to be thrown into Martin Mere. When it was, a female under the water lifted her arm and caught it. Excalibur has never been seen since.
Although there
is still a lake called Martin Mere, the current lake is a faint echo of the mighty lake
that once existed in this region. The first
comprehensive attempt to drain Martin Mere took place as early as 1697. In October 2024, I drove over what was once
the lakebed of Martin Mere. The road runs for
miles across very flat land with farmland on either side. The land is so flat it is obvious that
if the pumping station ever fails, the former Martin Mere will return very
quickly. Modern technology is the only
thing preventing the return of King Arthur’s legendary lake.
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Eliza Hankin had these siblings were.
·
Thomas Hankin was
baptised 25 August 1893 in Saint John Church Bootle.
·
John Hankin was born
in March 1898 but died in September 1898.
·
The birth of George
Hankin was registered between 1 July and 30 September 1901.
·
Joseph Hankin was
born on 1 December 1905.
·
The birth of John
Hankin was registered between 1 October and 31 December 1910.
·
Harold Hankin was
born 16 February 1917.
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When Eliza’s parents married on 24 May 1893, they were
living at Richmond Row, Liverpool.
When Eliza’s brother Thomas was born in 1893, the
family was living at 38 Chaucer Street, Bootle.
When Eliza was born in 1895, the family lived at 62
Marsh Lane, Bootle.
When Eliza’s (first) brother called John was born in
1898, the family was living at 71 Gray Street Bootle.
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I took this photo of Gray Street on 24 September 2024.
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This is a
photo of 71 Gray Street (painted red) on 24 September 2024. The current 71 Gray Street may or may not look
the same as the 1898 version of 71 Gray Street.
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By the date of the 1911 Census, the family was living at 76 Beechwood Road, Litherland.
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It is obvious that Eliza’s parents rented all of the houses they lived in at these addresses and that the family often had to move frequently. Throughout all of these house moves, Eliza’s family continued to live in Liverpool - mostly in Bootle and Litherland.
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