Francis Anthony Wrathall's Family

In March 2002, Trudi Wrathall (née Craig) of Gisburn, Lancashire, contacted us with new data on Yorkshire/Lancashire Wrathalls. Starting with John Wrathall and Anne Pickersgill of Linton, Yorkshire, Trudi shows her husband Frank's line of descent, and includes additional information on other Wrathalls of this branch:
John Wrathall
Spouse: Anne Pickersgill
Francis Anthony (Frank) is my husband and was born 7 June 1962. His father Francis Haworth (Frank) was born 30 September 1924 and was the youngest of Francis’ (b. 1887) children. Frank died 30 September 1993. His father Frank died in January 1926 after calving a cow. He had a cut on his finger which went septic and he caught pneumonia. When Frank died, Lily was left with three children: Robert born 9 August 1917, Annie born 12 September 1920 and Francis Haworth, only 18 months old. Frank’s brother John Isaac married Ruth Butler in 1918; Ruth died a few years later. Lily went on to marry John Isaac (b. 20 August 1892) on 11 September 1929. They had two daughters, Lily (b. 4 March 1932) and Dorothy (b. 15 October 1933). John Isaac died 3 June 1972 and Lily died 17 July 1970.

Francis (b. 1887) was the eldest child of John (b. 18 September 1863). John married Annie Haworth, and their children were: Frank, James (b. 1889) and John Isaac (b. 20 August 1892). Annie died suddenly from pneumonia in 1892. The widower John went on to marry Frances Violet Humphreys and their children were: George (b. 1894), Stephen (b. 1896), Edward (b. 1899), Jane (b. 1904) and Harry (b. 1906). Frances Violet died from a fever following the birth of Harry, who was taken by Frances Violet’s sister back to Bootle (Merseyside). Following his second wife’s death John married again and had a daughter Alice Mattinson (b. 1909). John died in November 1914 from a brain tumour. John’s parents Isaac and Jane lived and farmed at Westhouse. Isaac was born 9 January 1837 and died 22 April 1908.

I have various pieces of information which I am slowly bringing together. I am in the process of talking to John Isaac’s daughters, who are full of information and stories. Alice Mattinson Wrathall is alive and well. She lives in the North East and we last saw her in 1998 when she was staying with John Isaac’s youngest daughter. If anyone wants more information then please email me at fandt.wrathall(at)tesco.net.

We live and work at Moor Laithe, which is where George farmed, John Isaac and Robert before Francis Haworth, who bought it from his step-father John Isaac.
Trudi has done considerable genealogical research, including the transcription of a family history of the Wrathalls in her husband Frank's line. She had this to say about the life story of Edward Wrathall (b. 1899), which was also mentioned by Helen Kenna of Suffolk , a descendant of Edward's older brother Stephen (b. 1896):
I have transcribed a life story written by Edward Wrathall called A WRATHALL FAMILY HISTORY . Edward was the son of John Wrathall (b.1863), and was known as Uncle Ned by John Isaac's family alone; everyone else called him Teddy. The narrative has brought names to life for me and I understand from Auntie Lil (whom I got it from) that it is written just as Uncle Ned would have spoken. When she reads it, she can hear him talking. Auntie Lil has also shown me a picture of the children of John Wrathall (b.1863) at her wedding.
Click HERE to view a scan of the photo mentioned above. Trudi provided this description of the photo:
From left to right: John Isaac, Jane, George, Jim, Alice and Edward.

This photo was taken in 1954 at the wedding of John Isaac's daughter Lily. Stephen was not present. Francis had, of course, died previously. I am told that George and Stephen were almost doubles in appearance. Edward always wore a passion flower in his buttonhole, as he grew them. He was a great gardener. There is only Alice still alive.
In April 2002, Trudi sent some new information regarding Edward's father John Wrathall (1863 - 1914):
We have been hunting gravestones recently and we found Frank's great-grandfather John in Hyde Cemetery, Lancashire (east of Manchester). I attach a photo of the same and also a copy of his obituary as written in the local paper at the time of his funeral. His first wife is being tracked down and I am in the process of obtaining her death certificate - unfortunately the wheels of power move very slowly in this part of the world!
Click HERE to view a scan of Trudi's photo of John Wrathall's headstone and to read his obituary. Trudi also sent a scan of a photo of John's third son John Isaac (b.20.8.1892) and Ruth Butler on their wedding day; click HERE to view it.

In Aug/Sep. 2002, Trudi supplied the following information about her research into the marriages of John Wrathall of Hyde:
I have now received a copy of the marriage certificate for John Wrathall (b. 18.9.1863) of Hyde and his second wife, Frances Violet Humphreys. The names of Pendrigh and Hayhurst on the transcript are the best I can come up with, as it is a copy of the original handwritten certificate that I received from the Registration District of West Derby. In fact they have copied the original document onto the Certified Copy of an Entry of Marriage form, so I can see all the original handwriting and signatures!

The details of John Wrathall's marriage to his first wife, Annie Haworth, are at present somewhat elusive but I am on the trail! I am also waiting for the birth certificate of their eldest son Frank to help me in my quest.

I have also received a certified copy of the original Death Certificate of Annie Wrathall (neé Haworth) stating date of death to be 12 March 1894 at 39 Lower Breck Road, Walton (note the difference of address from the marriage certificate of John and his second wife, Frances Violet Humphreys) at the age of 32 years from peritonitis bronchopneumonia. The informant was John Wrathall, widower of deceased and in attendance.

I can now confirm John Wrathall's third wife was Alice May Broadbent and I made a transcript of the certified copy of an entry of marriage, which I received from the Registration District of Ashton Under Lyne. Following finding John's grave, which also included wife numbers 2 and 3 and a man, I am coming to the conclusion that the man is the husband of Alice Wrathall Mattinson (his youngest child who is still alive) and I am pursuing my enquiries regarding that.
Click HERE to read Trudi's transcriptions of the two marriage certificates mentioned above.

In Jan. 2003, Trudi mentioned some details she learned during a visit to Alice Wrathall Mattinson, daughter of John Wrathall of Hyde and Alice May Broadbent:
At long last I have a little more information to share. In the autumn of last year I went to see Great Aunt Alice. She is the youngest child of John b.18 Sept 1863.

She gave me a little information on her uncle Frank b. 1865, who was John's brother. Apart from the fact that he emigrated to America, little more is known. Aunt Alice told me that a relative had visited his son Everett somewhere in New York State. She knew that Frank had had two sons and that Everett was married, also that Everett lived in New York State.

I now have a scanner and once I master it, or at least comprehend it, I will forward some photos I have of John b. 1827, his children and also a photo whom I believe to be John's mother.
The relationships of John, Frank and Aunt Alice are shown in Helen Kenna's descendancy of John Wrathall and Anne Pickersgill. The L.D.S. FamilySearch site has several records concerning Frank and Everett: Further information on Frank, Everett and their spouses is available at In Jan./Feb. 2003, Trudi scanned some old photos of John Wrathall of Hyde, his brother Frank and their mother Jane. Trudi describes the photos as follows:
At long last I have spent some time with my scanner! I attach the following photos: At the moment I am on the trail of Stephen and Sarah Annie Gorst's offspring. I have been talking to one of their grandchildren and further visits are planned.