The Children of Samuel Jackson

Between the years 1780 and 1795 the Registers of Knutsford in Cheshire record the baptisms and burials of the children of several men named Samuel Jackson.

The entries are:  Ellen Dr of Samuel Jackson of N Knutsford Carrier buried 30 Dec 1781  Roger son of Saml Jackson Husbandman Nether K baptised 28 Dec 1782  Wm son of Saml Jackson of N Kd carter baptised 4 Jan 1784  Peter son of Samuel Jackson of n Knutsford carter baptised 28 Mar 1784  Peter son of Saml Jackson Senr of N Knutsford buried 20 Feb 1785  Lucy Daugr of Samuel Jackson Senr of N Knutsfd Carrier baptised 25 Sep 1785  Lucy Daugr of Samuel Jackson Senr of N Knutsfd Carrier buried 13 Oct 1785  Thomas, Son of Samuel and Elizabeth Jackson of Tatton Born Septr 7 baptised 24 Sep 1786  Mary, Daughter of Samuel Jackson of Nether Knutsford Carrier and Ruth his wife, Born May 10th baptised 1 Jul 1787  Mary, Daughter of Samuel & Ruth Jackson of Nether Knutsford buried 29 Apr 1788  Peter, Son of Samuel Jackson of N.K. Carrier & Betty his wife, Born June 25 baptised 12 Jul 1789  Jackson Mary Daughter of Samuel of N Knutsford (Carrier) & Ruth his wife, Born April 20 baptised 9 May 1790  Jackson Samuel son of Samuel of N. Knutsford (Carrier) & Elizabeth his wife, Born July 14th baptised 31 Jul 1791  Jackson Peter Son of Betty (Widow) N. Knutsford buried 22 Aug 1792

There is only one relevant marriage at Knutsford:

Samuel Jackson of this Parish Carrier and Elizabeth Curbishley of this Parish were married in this Church by License, 6 January 1782.

The marriage license, dated 5 January, 1782, describes the groom as Sam Jackson Junr Carter of Nether Knutsford, both parties were single and both were aged 21 years and upwards. Samuel could sign his name.

The second couple appearing in the Registers is Samuel and Ruth Jackson. Their marriage can be found in the Bishops Transcripts of Prestbury, Cheshire and in the registers of Saltersford-cum-Kettleshulme:

Samuel Jackson of Lower Withington of this Parish Widower and Ruth Dicken of the same place Widow were married by Banns 20 February 1781.

Samuel signed the register with a mark and the marriage was witnessed by Samuel Jackson, who has the same signature as Samuel the husband of Elizabeth Curbishley. Lower Withington is about 8 miles from Knutsford.

Based on these marriage dates and the children whose parents are named, the following children can be assigned to each couple:

Samuel & Ruth Samuel & Elizabeth Ellen 1781 Thomas 1786 Mary (1787-1788) Peter (1789-1792) Mary 1790 Samuel 1791

This leaves the parentage of the remaining four children. Roger, William, Peter and Lucy, in doubt.

Both Peter and Lucy are the children of Samuel Newman Senior and so they are brother and sister. William (January 1784) and Peter (March 1784) are born too close together to be the children of the same couple. Roger could belong to either couple, or, as his father was a husbandman, he may be the son of a third Samuel Jackson.

As one of the two Samuels is called Senior he is older than the other one. While that usually means he is the father of the younger, it may only mean that he was the elder of the two.

There are three Samuel Jacksons in the Registers of Knutsford who could be these men: 1. Samuel Jackson, baptised 1724/25, who married Ellen Reade at Knutsford and had children born between 1755 and 1765; 2. Samuel Jackson, son of the previous Samuel, baptised in 1758; and 3. Samuel, son of Peter Jackson, baptised in 1761

There are only two relevant burials: 1. Samuel Jackson of N Knutsford, Carrier, 11 April 1791; and 2. Samuel Jackson carrier of Nether Knutsford, 14 March 1808.

As Betty Jackson (née Curbishley) was a widow in August 1792, Samuel buried in 1791 can be identified as her husband. Therefore Samuel who died in 1808 was the husband of Ruth Dicken. If Ruth’s husband had been born in 1724/5 he would have been aged 83 in 1808 and still working as a carrier.1

Samuel Jackson who married Elizabeth Curbishley was called “Junior” and was aged 21 and upwards in 1782. However, while Elizabeth’s age is given as 21 and upwards, she was baptised in 1758 and was therefore aged 24, consequently Samuel’s age should be viewed as indicative and so could include either of the baptisms of 1758 and 1761.

Therefore the only indicator as to which Samuel married Elizabeth Curbishley is the epithet “Junior.” This normally means that the man named is the son of a man of the same name, and that therefore the husband of Elizabeth Curbishley was Samuel, son of Samuel Jackson, baptised 1758. Therefore Samuel Jackson Senior is his father, baptised in 1724/25.

So the families of the two couples can be established as:

Samuel & Ruth Samuel & Elizabeth Ellen 1781 William 1784 Peter (1784-1785) Thomas 1786 Lucy (1785-1785) Peter (1789-1792) Mary (1787-1788) Samuel 1791 Mary 1790

1 Samuel who married Ruth Dicken in 1781 was a widower. A possible previous marriage can be found in the registers of Saltersford-cum-Kettleshulme, 9 May 1780, when Samuel Jackson of Rainow, Collier, married Sarah Potts. The marriage was signed with a mark as was the marriage in 1781.

It is not possible to establish whether Roger, baptised 1782, is the child of either of these couples or of a third Samuel Jackson.