The Wife of Edmund Culshaw (1782–1811), a Scarisbrick Yeoman
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1 MASSAM of ALTCAR The most recent Massam with whom we are concerned is Catherine Massam (1783–1828), the wife of Edmund Culshaw (1782–1811), a Scarisbrick yeoman. Both families seem to have been Roman catholic recusants from an early period.1 Catherine was a daughter of John Massam (1752–1817) and his wife Anne Formby (died 1792). Catherine and Edmund Culshaw were married at Scarisbrick Roman catholic chapel on 24 August 1806 (with the necessary legal ratification of the marriage next day at Ormskirk parish church). The witnesses were William Oliverson (Edmund’s brother-in-law) and Margaret Massam (probably Catherine’s sister). Origins Around Altcar Our Massam family are first found in and around the south-west Lancashire coastal parish of Altcar, although it has been suggested that the name is a locative one, deriving from Masham in the North Riding of Yorkshire.2 Altcar means simply ‘the carr’ (marshland) ‘beside the [river] Alt’. Its flat, low-lying land was drained by ‘numberless ditches’ into a main sluice and the water pumped by a windmill (and later a steam engine) into the Alt. The soil is light and mossy, producing much inferior hay, together with corn and root crops. There was much flooding in winter, requiring protective flood gates on the river. There was much use of boats inland and stepping stones were needed in winter to pass between cottages. Large amounts of oak and poplar have been found buried in the moss lands and carrs. Bordered on the south by the river Alt and the parish of Sefton, on the west by the township of Formby (a detached part of Walton) and on the north and east by the Halsall townships of Downholland, Lydiate and Maghull, Altcar comprises 4078 acres. The road eastwards over the Alt bridge, by a devious route through Great Altcar and Lydiate to Aughton and Ormskirk was already of immemorial use in 1598. Great Altcar’s long, crooked street is only 12 feet above sea level, although Hill House, east of the village stands at 40 feet. Until the reformation Altcar belonged to Merivale Abbey in Warwickshire, who had a grange (with a chapel) at Little Altcar. Altcar subsequently became part of the estates of the Molyneux family, earls of Sefton.3 Although the Altcar parish registers survive only from 1663 and those of the adjacent township of Formby from 1620, there is ample evidence from other sources of the presence of the Massam family in Altcar in earlier years and of their recusancy. In 1531–2 Edward Massam of Altcar was 60 (born c. 1472) and William Massam of Altcar was 50 (born c. 1482).4 Henry Massam occurs in the 1569 muster for Altcar.5 Francis Massam paid £5 4s 4d in goods for the lay subsidy at Altcar in 1585.6 Francis Massam of Altcar, husbandman took a lease from the Formby estate in 1569/707 and leased out a cottage in 1610.8 On 5 January 1612/13 depositions were taken at Altcar from Francis Mossom, William Mossom and others, regarding the rights of the Molyneux family to wrecks washed up on the shore.9 The will of Antony Hey, husbandman of North End in the adjacent township of Ince Blundell (made on 25 October 1617 and proved 8 November ), left £10 in equal shares to the children of John Massam: John owed him £10.10 On 29 January 1619 William Massam of Altcar (together with John Livesey, Roger Barton and Henry Leatherbarrow) appraised the inventory of Henry Goore of Lydiate. Altcar recusants in 1626 included Jennet Massome, spinster.11 The 1641 recusants roll for Altcar includes John Massam de Woodcut infra Altcar and his wife Ann; John Massam, his wife Elizabeth and Francis their son; and William Massam, husbandman; and John Masom, Francis Massom and John Massom, junior: none occur at Formby.12 On 24 May 1640 Francis, son of Frances Mason of Altcar, spinster was baptised at the adjacent parish of Halsall;13 and on 28 January 1630/1 William, son of Frances Massame was baptised at Formby.14 1 2 Members of the family also occur in the records at Walton, although it is hard to distinguish in such cases between Walton proper and its chapelry at Formby. In 1652 there was an order removing John and Jennett Massom and their five children from Sefton to Walton,15 where Jenetta wife of John Massam and Alice Massam, spinster were found as recusants in 1668/71:16 ‘Francis, son of John Mossam’ was buried on 19 December 1655.17 Jennet, wife of John Massam was buried at Walton on 7 December 1671 and John Massam of Walton on 27 November 1672. ‘Elizabeth, daughter of Jams Massam of Walton’ was buried there on 13 March 1675/6; James’ wife Jane on 4 November 1705 and James himself on 19 January 1712. In 1637 John Massam owed 20s to John Wilson of Lydiate.18 One Ralph Massam was active in civic affairs at Liverpool from c. 1650. He was elected to the council and also presented for keeping ‘inmates’ that year. He was a juror in June 1651 and presented for tethering in the Town Field. As ‘Ralph Massam, gent.’ he occurs as mayor in 1652 and October 1653. Thereafter, as an alderman, he paid a burgage rent for Potter’s House and occurs as a free burgess.19 In May 1652 Francis Massom had become constable of Altcar: it was reported in December that he had been in constant sickness since, and he was replaced.20 On 16 July 1655 Francis Mossam was witness to a Molyneux estate lease in Altcar.21 None of the family occur in the surviving Altcar hearth tax returns, although Francis Massam occurs at Burscough from 1663–1666:22 Francis Massam, yeoman and his wife Mary were recusants at Burscough in December 1663.23 Frances Massam of Burscough was buried in the ‛royal chancel’ at Ormskirk on 20 March 1667/8 and Mary Massam of Burscough in Ormskirk church on 25 October 1668. ‘Franciscus Mason’, yeoman was a Burscough recusant in 1668/71.24 In 1668 Francis Massam, yeoman was buried at Altcar.25 Elizabeth Massam, spinster was a recusant at Downholland in 1665.26 Lawrence Massam and Thomas Massam and his wife Ann were presented as recusants at Altcar in the 1671 and 1672 visitations.27 Anne Massam and William Carter (both of Ince Blundell) were married at Sefton on 9 May 166628 and in 1666 Jo: Massam paid tax on a hearth at Scarisbrick.29 On 11 December 1675 William Lydiate of Litherland bequeathed the hire of a cow to James Massam. We shall see that James Massam and his wife Jane were at Ainsdale in 1715 (see below), perhaps at what later became known as Massams Farm. Christenings and burials of Massam/Mason family members from Snape, Scarisbrick occur in the Halsall parish registers for 10 years from 1669. Margaret, wife of John Massam of Snape was buried on 23 September 1669; John Massam of Snape on 1 November 1678 (will proved by Thomas Massam in 1679);30 and Edward Mason of Snape on 15 March 1678/9. By 1682, when there was an attempt to distrain the cattle of two of the parish’s recusants, there was a riot ‘Most of the town being papists or popishly affected’. The protestant party in Altcar was ‘so slender that they dare not deny the Roman’.31 Thomas Massam of North End The first generation of Massams in the Altcar area whom we can reconstruct as a family unit (and from whom our Massams probably descend) is that of Thomas Massam (described in his will as a ‘husbandman of Altcar’), who died in 1716 at North End. (North End was a hamlet south of the Alt and in the township of Ince Blundell and parish of Sefton and most other North End families seem to have used their parish church at Sefton in this period.) There are no indications of Thomas Massam’s parentage or of his year of birth. He was probably married, perhaps to Ann (or to Elizabeth Linaker?), by 1675 when William, son of Thomas, recusant was noted in the Altcar register to have been born and ‘reputed to have been baptised’. Among Altcar recusants indicted at Ormskirk on 2 February 1681/2, following a disorder was Thomas Massan, husbandman.32 The returns of recusants for Altcar in 1682 included entries for Thom. Massam, husbandman and Anna his wife; Thoma. Mason and Anna his wife; Thom. Mason, husbandman; and Thomas Massam, husbandman; while at Lathom Thomas Masom, husbandman was marked ‘dead’.33 In 1690 Thomas Mossam witnessed a deed conveying ‘a quarter of the south side of Altcar wood’ to Bridget Reynould, widow.34 2 3 The 1705 return of papists for ‘Formby, Aynsdale and Ravenmeals: the inhabitants whereof are mostly Fishermen and illiterate Rusticks’ includes Wm Mossom and wife; and Tho Mossom and wife.35 The Altcar highways accounts from 1717 refer to William Massam as one of the two supervisors for the Town Row division in 1717 and 1719. His accounts for 1717 include expenditure on guttering the highway, repairing causeys, cleansing some water courses belonging to the highways and ditching the Little Lane End. Thomas Massam was to be a supervisor in 1737 and in 1747 one James Rigby served ‘for Massams’.36 Making his will on 8 May 1716 Thomas Massom had a wife Elizabeth; sons William, Robert (married to Elizabeth) and James; a daughter Mary; and a brother-in-law Richard Linaker: Thomas left his North End estate to Robert.