Hi List The above names and their antecedents are my mother's side of my family, all from Preston. HER father James ATKINSON (1894-1963) and his father George ATKINSON (1863-1943), and probably George's father James ATKINSON (born c.1840) all worked in the cotton mills in Preston. I'd love to know more about that. My g-grandfather, George ATKINSON married Alice SLOANE (1867-1930) in 1889. Alice's parents were Francis SLOANE (born c.1832) and Jane BAIN(E)S (born c.1832). Francis's, father Thomas SLOAN/E, came from Woolwich in Kent and married Elizabeth (surname unknown) in Preston about 1829. My grandfather James ATKINSON married Agnes MOXHAM daughter of Joseph MOXHAM (1864-1936) and Mary WALMSLEY (c.1860-1900). I cannot find a record of Mary's birth. She is the daughter of James WALMSLEY (born c.1835) and Ann BALDWIN (born c.1835) who married in 1856. I also cannot find birth or death dates for these either. James WALMSLEY's father was also James, mother unknown. Joseph MOXHAM was a butcher and grocer, and his father Thomas MOXHAM (born c.1837) was, I believe, a grocer. Thomas MOXHAM married Sarah SMITH in 1862. Thomas's father was another Joseph MOXHAM. The MOXHAM family have been particularly hard to find. Even though I'm certain they lived in or around Preston, neither Joseph's nor Thomas's families appeared in the 1881 or 1851 censuses. If anyone has any information on any of these families I would love to share what I have with you. Linda Holland in Burra, South Australia

Hi, Linda, You wrote about James ATKINSON and Alice SLOAN. With the sort of information you supplied, it should be possible to find your great-grandfather George (1863-1943) on the 1881 Census Transcript CD. The closest match in my view is - Dwelling: 27 Morgan St Census Place: Preston, Lancashire, England Source: FHL Film 1342012 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 4231 Folio 49 Page 1 Marr Age Sex Birthplace James ATKINSON M 31 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Head Occ: Cotton Minder Ann ATKINSON M 44 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Wife Occ: Cotton Winder Mary ATKINSON U 19 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Occ: Cotton Warper George ATKINSON U 17 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Son Occ: Cotton Piecer Alice ATKINSON U 15 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Handicap: Deaf & Dumb Occ: Cotton Winder Ellen ATKINSON 13 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Occ: Cotton Winder James ATKINSON 12 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Son Occ: Cotton Creeler Albert ATKINSON 8 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Son 1881 British Census However, the father, James, seems to be rather young relative to the rest of the family and his occupation is rather vague - a cotton minder. I would have expected to be told what he minded. If you think this may be the family then I would strongly urge that you try to see a film copy of the original census document, rather than the transcript. I would suspect that the father James is really 51 and that he was a Cotton Winder. '3' and '5' can be very similar, and upper case 'M' and 'W' can almost impossible to distinguish in some hands. If you have access to the LDS (Mormon) Library service, they will be able to obtain the film for you - FHL Film 1342012, but you may have to explain that you want to see the original, NOT the transcript. James' (son) wife, Alice SLOAN is found with her mother Dwelling: 25 Lutwidge St Census Place: Preston, Lancashire, England Source: FHL Film 1342012 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 4231 Folio 16 Page 25 Marr Age Sex Birthplace Jane SLOAN M 47 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Head Occ: Cotton Weaver Thomas SLOAN U 20 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Son Occ: Cotton Piecer Jane SLOAN U 19 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Occ: Cotton Weaver Robert SLOAN U 17 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Son Occ: Cotton Spinner Alice SLOAN 13 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Occ: Cotton Weaver Ann SLOAN 7 F Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Daur Occ: Scholar George AKERS U 24 M Preston, Lancashire, England Rel: Boarder Occ: Cotton Winder Her father was not at home on the night of the Census and you may have to use the National Index to find him 1881 British Census. Hope this helps If anything is not clear, send me a note Jim Lancaster (Bury, LAN, ENG)