King Tree

in 1851 William was a Cotton Manufacturer Employing 180 operatives

Census 1861
64b 153 7 Lowerfold BIRTWISTLE William Head Marr 43 Cotton Manufacturer employing 148? Men Lancs Gt Harwood
64b 153 7 Lowerfold BIRTWISTLE Rachel Wife Marr 41 40 boys, 80 Women, 40 Girls Lancs Padiham
64b 153 7 Lowerfold BIRTWISTLE Henrietta Daur 10 Scholar Lancs Gt Harwood
64b 153 7 Lowerfold BIRTWISTLE Hampden Son 6 Scholar Lancs Gt Harwood
64b 153 7 Lowerfold BIRTWISTLE Alfred Son 4 Lancs Gt Harwood
64b 153 7 Lowerfold DICKINSON Hannah Servant Unmarr 17 House Servant

Census 1871
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE William Head Marr 54 Cott Manuf. Empl oying 702 hands Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Rachel Wife Marr 51 Lancs Padiham
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Albert Son Unmarr 31 Cotton Manufacturer Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Henrietta Daur Unmarr 20 Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Arthur Son Unmarr 18 Bookeeper Cotton Mill Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Hampden son 16 Scholar Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold BIRTWISTLE Alfred son 14 do Lancs Gt Harwood
19b 167 7 Lower Fold THOMPSON Ellen Visitor Unmarr 20 Derbyshire Woodhead
19b 167 7 Lower Fold LIDDON John T. Visitor Unmarr 22 Mining Engineer Lancs Liverpool
19b 167 7 Lower Fold DUGDALE Ann Servant Unmarr 21 Domestic Servant

Census 1881
Dwelling: 6 Lower Fold Census Place: Great Harwood, Lancashire, England
Source: FHL Film 1342001 PRO Ref RG11 Piece 4177 Folio 133 Page 34
Marr Age Sex Birthplace
Wm. P. P. BIRTWISTLE M 65 M Gt Harwood, Lancashire, England
Rel: Head
Occ: Colliery Proprietor & Farmer
Rachel BIRTWISTLE 61 F Padiham, Lancashire, England
Rel: Wife
Occ: Colliery Proprietor & Farmmer
Albert BIRTWISTLE U 31 M Gt Harwood, Lancashire, England
Rel: Son
Occ: Colliery Proprietor & Farmer
Aurthur BIRTWISTLE 27 M Gt Harwood, Lancashire, England
Rel: Son
Occ: Colliery Proprietor & Farmer
Alfred BIRTWISTLE 24 M Gt Harwood, Lancashire, England
Rel: Son
Occ: Colliery Proprietor & Farmer
Ethel SEDDON 7 F Gt Harwood, Lancashire, England
Rel: G Dau
Emma WHITAM 20 F Accrington, Lancashire, England
Rel: Servt
Occ: Cook
Alice MORTLOCK 20 F Norfolk, England
Rel: Servt
Occ: House Maid
(NK) (NK) 45 M Ireland
Rel: Visitor
Occ: Cattle Dealer

Marriage: 23 Sep 1847 St Bartholomew, Great Harwood, Lancashire, England
William Birtwistle - 30 Cotton Manufacturer Bachelor of Great Harwood
Rachel Holland - 27 Milliner Spinster of Padiham
Groom's Father: David Birtwistle, Farmer
Bride's Father: Thomas Holland, Grocer
Witness: Anne Holland; Moses Birtwistle
Married by by Licence
Register: Marriages 1837 - 1862, Page 104, Entry 208

Decorations: DSO Profession: Chairman of Birtwistle & Fielding Co Ltd. and J A Leight Co. Ltd.

Name: William Birtwistle
Sex: M
Birth: 1816 in Great Harwood, Lancashire, England.
Death: in England
Event: 1 Source See also http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=*v107t0369&id=I1584&ti=4317
Note:
See also http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/b/i/r/Lester-A-Birtwhistle/GENE3-0084.html#CHILD611
611. WILLIAM23 BIRTWISTLE (DAVID22, JAMES21, WILLIAM20, JAMES19, THOMAS18, JOHN17, HENRY16, HENRY15, JAMES14, HENRY13, RICHARD12, OLIVER11, JOHN10, NICHOLAS9, RICHARD8 BRIDTWISEL, WILLIAM7, RICHARD6 DE BRIDTWESELL, WILLIAM5, JOHN4, JOHN3, REYNER2, RALPH1) was born 1816 in Great Harwood. He married RACHEL HOLLAND September 23, 1847 in Great Harwood. She was born Abt. 1826 in Great Harwood.

More About WILLIAM BIRTWISTLE:
LDS: Verified
Occupation: Cotton Manufacturers of Great Harwood, Blackburn & Preston

More About RACHEL HOLLAND:
LDS: Verified

Children of WILLIAM BIRTWISTLE and RACHEL HOLLAND are:
i. CLARINDA24 BIRTWISTLE, b. 1847; d. 1852.
824.ii. ALBERT BIRTWISTLE, b. 1849; d. 1921.
iii. HENRIETTA BIRTWISTLE, b. 1851; m. JOHN FREDERICK SEDDON, 1973.
More About JOHN FREDERICK SEDDON:
Occupation: Mining Engineer

825.iv. ARTHUR BIRTWISTLE, b. 1853.
v. HAMPDEN BIRTWISTLE, b. 1855; d. 1856, KILLED IN DOG CART.
vi. ALFRED BIRTWISTLE, b. 1857; d. 1891.
More About ALFRED BIRTWISTLE:
Occupation: Cotton Manufacturer of Great Harwood
UNMARRIED: No Issue

Before leaving this section on Great Harwood, a special mention ought to he made of the two sons of James and Betty Birtwistle, whose descendants were to play such an important role in the cotton manufacturing industry of Great Harwood and North East Lancashire. These families form into two branches who, after 1840, founded firms which were to become one of the largest employers of labour in the districts of Great Harwood, Blackburn and Preston for well over a hundred years.
The family descended from David Birtwistle whose son William, born 1816, founded the firm of Birtwistle and Fielding, built St. Lawrence Mill at Great Harwood in 1844. They were successful from the start, and after 1860. took over another large spinning and weaving mill at Delph Road and then ventured into Blackburn where, by 1900, they were running three more large mills. After 1900 the family became involved with J. A. Leigh Ltd. of Preston, and by 1914 were running ten milk and employing many thousands of workpeople in Great Harwood, Blackburn and Preston, and continued to do so into the second half of the twentieth century.
The family were also responsible for training and passing on the 'know how' to other members of the family, especially the sons-in-law, who went on to found large cotton manufacturing firms in their own right. James Boardman, who was a manager with Messrs. Birtwistle and Flelding, also built six new and very large weaving mills at Great Harwood,
Rishton and Clayton between 1900 and 1910.
Page 53.

"The Birtwistle Family, 1200- 1850 AD"
by William A Birtwistle assisted by Ray Aspden.
Including Birtwells of Accrington and Whalley, Birtwhistles of Yorkshire and other local spelling variations.
(c) William A.Birwistle 1989. Published in Great Britain 1990.
ISBN 09515337 0 3
W.A. Birtwistle, Brier Nook, Park Cresent, Blaclkburn, Lancashire. UK
Printed by Caxton Printing Co. (Accrington) Ltd., Tremellen Street, Accrington, UK.
Pages 49-53

St. Lawrence Mill, Mill Street.
Established in 1844-45 by William Birtwistle and William and Haworth Fielding. A spinning and weaving mill it employed 280 workers in 1857 and ran 9004 mule spindles and 445 looms in the 1870s. Spinning ceased in 1887 and a shed extension in 1895 increased loom numbers to 792. The mill closed in 1929 and some of the buildings were demolished but it was later used for waste processing and felt manufacture and in 1948 HARDURA Ltd, maker of floor coverings used extensively by the motor industry, took over employing 200 people in the 1960s.
http://www.great-harwood.org.uk/cotton+mills.htm

Saw Mill, Britannia Street/Water Street.
A weaving shed built 1856-7 by Moses Birtwistle and William Brogden which had 80 employees in 1860. There were 428 looms in 1878 rising to 650 after the shed was enlarged in 1904. Closed between 1931 and 34 then again in 1941 under wartime regulations but reopened after the war and 360 looms were running in 1956. Weaving finally ceased at the end of 1979 and it was demolished in 2006.

Butts Mill, Delph Road.
The foundation-stone was laid 29th June 1861 for the Great Harwood Cotton Spinning and Manufacturing Co. Ltd. but was only completed in 1865 by the Great Harwood Butts Spinning Co. Ltd. Originally a spinning mill with 42,000 mule spindles in 1880 a large weaving shed, Jubilee Mill, was added in 1896-7 housing 748 looms.

This is the original Butts Mill the ninth mill opened in twenty years.
Obviously a green field site compare this with the much extended Butts Mill and town in 1950.

The above advert is from "Our Town, 1951" and despite the attractive working conditions some workers in other mills didn't consider the products or processes "proper" weaving. The mill was closed in 1968, 500 losing their jobs, and was demolished in 1972.

See also http://awtc.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=*v107t0369&id=I1584&ti=4317

HintsAncestry Hints for William Birtwistle

10 possible matches found on Ancestry.com Ancestry.com

Father: David Birtwistle b: 11 APR 1791 in Harwood, Lancashire, England.
Mother: Letty Hayes b: ABT 1786 in Great Harwood, Lancashire, England.

Marriage 1 Rachell Holland b: ABT 1820 in Great Harwood, Lancashire, England.
Married: 23 SEP 1847 in St Bartholomew, Great Harwood, Lancashire, England
Children
Has No Children Clarinda Birtwistle b: 1847
Has Children Albert Birtwistle , of Nothcote, Langho b: 1849 in Lancashire, England
Has No Children Heniretta Birtwistle b: 1851
Has No Children Arthur Birtwistle b: 1853
Has No Children Hampden Birtwistle b: 1855
Has No Children Alfred Birtwistle b: 1857