Dear Ernest/Linda, and of course everyone else, My 'ear's pricked up when I read something about Harley Wood - this is where my house is, and therefore where many of the people I have investigated have lived. Harley Wood is in Lineholme near Lydgate, which is now just called Lydgate, is situated 1.5 miles along the Burnley Valley from the centre of town. I can't open my database to check on names just at the moment, but I will soon and see if I can find anything on William Fielden. Have you already posted a message about him, or do you have any other information about him that could indicate a match? Out of interest, the Ramsbotham family owned a large proportion of land and property at Harley Wood (among other parts of town including Centre Vale). A lot of the people living in this area were either farmers or mill workers (or both). There were many mills up this part of the valley including the rather large Robinwood Mill (owned by the Rambothams, but later sold to the Fieldens). And what's this about story's of bell ropes? Am I missing out?! I would also love to collect stories about Todmorden if any one would like to send me some, as I am a bit of an oddball in that I am not actually researching my own family - just the social and geneological history of the people of Todmorden in anyway linked to the original owners of my house, their workplace, their friends & relatives. And it's surprising where it has led me - the most interesting find was a link to Constance Brocklehurst, who ended up as mother of the 9th Earl Fitwilliam of Wentworth Woodhouse (the largest stately home in the country at the time). Constance was the neice of John Fielden (of Dobroyd Castle); it was John who bought up Constance and her younger brother when they were orphaned. Regards Andrea ---------- From: Linda[SMTP:Linda.Briggs1@btinternet.com] Sent: 02 June 2002 14:48 To: ENG-TODMORDEN-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [ENG-TOD] William Fielden / Harley Wood Ernest, Thankyou for the attachment. It makes very interesting reading. I love the story of the bell rope with a mind of its own. I am gaining quite a collection of stories about events in Todmorden. I have looked through my data for your William Fielden. Most of my data is of Walsden, a little from the Stansfield side of Todmorden, but not much. Harley Wood is Stansfield which is in Yorkshire in Halifax Parish. I'm pleased to say that most of my crew were from the Rochdale and Lancashire side!! (Only joking - to those of you Yorkshire folk). The only William I found was aged 20 to 24 in 1841, living with wife Martha (same age) and daughter Ruth aged 6 months. The family was living with my family at Ramsden Wood in Walsden. William was a grocer. The shop was owned by Betty Law (nee Crossley). Could this be the family? I know you have a Ruth somewhere. If you think they may still have been in Stansfield in 1841 you need someone with the Yorkshire 1841 CD to help you. Thanks again, Linda ==== ENG-TODMORDEN Mailing List ==== Interested in Modern Newspaper Indexes? http://www.dreamwater.net/genealogy/Newspapers.htm ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237