Ancestors of Winster : The family of Thomas Boam 1829-1898

Heres another page for the Winster Book

Thomas Boam was the second son of  Thomas Boam . Like his father before him he was a Lead Miner. Lead mining had declined significantly by the mid 19th century, however in the area around Wnster there were still productive mines, including that of Mill Close which didnt close until 1939.
Our first record of Thomas comes in the 1841 census where he is living with his widowed father of the same name and his siblings Martha and John.  Thomas’ mother Ellen had died in childbirth when he was just 6 years old. The family lived next door to Ellen’s brother Thomas Fryer, and his wife and family. Its probable the Fryers gave Thomas’s father assistance in rasing his children, as unusually, he did not remarry until well after his children were grown.
Thomas married Mary Wilson, on Feb 12 1849 at St John the Baptist church in Winster, however for reasons unknown at he time of the 1851 census she was living with her parents outside of Winster and Thomas is living alone, though still in Woolleys Yard, the street he had been born in, and the street his father still lived in.
Why both Thomas’ first 2 children are born in 1852 and 1844 in the Manchester area of Lancashire  is a mystery, however other members of the Boam family had lived in Lancashire at one time or another . All the remaining children though, were born in Winster, and the family are residents of Woolleys Yard for decades afterward , according to census records, right next door to his father Thomas who by 1861 had remarried the younger sister of Thomas’s own wife Mary making a very confusing family connectionwhere Thomas was not only son, but brother-in-law to his father!!
Thomas only had 2 sons,George, and Benjamin,but tragically Benjamin was to die young, in an accident at Mill Close Mine.
A George Boam (possibly Benjamins brother), was the first to venture in to recover the bodies.
Records show Thomas is still living in Woolleys yard in 1871, 1881 and 1891.
His wife Mary died in 1884. Of his 8 children  6 lived to adulthood, and as mentioned youngest son Benjamin died aged 23. Of the two youngest daughters, Lucy died within a month of birth and is baptised just a week before her death, and Harriet died aged 2 years.
Elizabeth is still living in 1871 at the time of the census , and in 1881 appears to be working as a servant for the Bates family in the Edinburgh Hotel in Salford, Lancashire. She married Richard Tatlock but died without issue.
His surviving 4 children though provided him with at least 37 grandchildren. In 1891 Thomas has grandson George Heathcote, 9 year old son of Eliza Boam staying with him in Woolleys Yard.
Thomas died in 1898, 14 years after the death of his wife Mary. He is buried in St John the Baptist churchyard with Mary, and their youngest daugther Harriet  and grandson Lewis Edwin Boam, who was a son of George, and who died during World War 1. He was killed while a Prisoner of War in Poland. Their Gravestone is in the churchyard beside his son Benjamin.
The transcription of the gravestone reads:

In Affectionate Remembrance of Mary,Wife of Thomas Boam of Winster,who died April 11th 1884.Also of Harriett, daughter of the above who died April 3rd 1872.Also of Thomas Boam..... died April 28 1898 .Also of L/Cpl Edwin Boam, interred at M?glowitz Oct 18 1918, Aged 27.

Ancestors of Winster: The Family of Thomas Boam 1803-1874

2 pages in 2 days. Im on a roll!
This is the promised page on Thomas Boam my 4x Great Grandfather whose 2nd marriage meant his son's sister in law was also his step-mother!!- Yes I know that is complicated!!
Thanks to Dawn Scotting for her research on this branch of my family because I dont think I would ever worked it out myself!!
Not to mention its hard to distinguish when your 5x, 4x and 3x great grandfathers are all named Thomas Boam!!

Thomas Boam was the second son of  Thomas Boam and Martha Walker. He was baptised at St John the Baptist at Winster on 18th September 1803 and lived his whole life in Winster. He was a Lead Miner by trade.
Thomas married Ellen Fryer at St John the Baptist on 26th January 1826 and she would bear him 4 children, but died on the same day the youngest child James was born so I have surmised, that she died giving birth to James. She died on September 7th 1835, and was buried on September 10th. Baby James was baptised on September 8th and then there is no further record of him so perhaps he was buried with his mother. No burial record for him can be found. Thomas was left to brng up his 3 children, aged 8, 5 and 3 . In the 1841 census he is living in Woolleys Yard, and appears to be living next door to his brother in law Thomas Fryer, Ellen's older brother, so perhaps the Fryer family helped look after the children while Thomas was at work. Of course by the time of the 1851 census the children were much older. Living with Thomas are youngest son John aged 19 and daughter Matha, now married, and her husband Daniel and their 2 daughters Ellen and  Esther. Thomas was a grandfather by 1849 when he was only 46.  on 12 Feb 1849 son Thomas marries Mary Wilson, daughter of William Wilson at St John the Baptist in Winster.  Confusingly in the 1851 census, Mary is living with her parents in St Werburgh in Derby, and Thomas jr is living alone in a house near his father in Woolleys Yard.
The connection to the Wilson family though is to take on a much more powerful meaning, as the next mention of Thomas Boam senior is his 2nd marriage.   Thomas marries Sarah Wilson the youngest daughter of William Wilson - yes the same man who is the father in law of son Thomas.!  Sarah is 38 years younger than Thomas, in fact she his 9 years younger than Thomas’s youngest child! This makes Sarah Wilson both the sister in law of Thomas Jr, but also the Step mother!!
Thomas Sr. must have had plenty of life left in him because Sarah provided him with another 7 children between 1858 and 1874, including Sarah’s first child Mary who was baptised with the surname Wilson but who Thomas claimed was his daughter in each subsequent census.
The two Thomas Boam families lived next door to each other in Wooleys yard until the death of Thomas Sr. in 1874 Sadly Thomas would never live to see the birth of his youngest son Alfred Albert who was born in October 1874, 5 months after the death of his father.

My Winster Ancestry - The Family of William Wilson 1801-?

I finished another page for my book about the branch of my family who came from Winster, Derbyshire.
This page is about William Wilson, born 1801 - my 4x G Grandfather.
He is a bit of a frustration because I lose him and his wife, after the 1851 census. I cant pinpoint either his nor Marys death.
I suspect they died before 1861 as their two youngest living children are both back living in Winster, despite the family having moved into Derby for the 1851 census.

William Wilson was my 4x Great Grandfather, and eldest son of Joseph Wilson and Grace Ashton. Born in Winster, he was baptised at St John the Baptist church there on 21st September 1801.
Once again little is known of his early life until 1822 when his name is mentioned in the High Peaks Quarterly Sessions. He is accused of “Riot and Assault” but the chargers are later dropped.
Perhaps this was enough for William to leave Winster, as he is next seen in Prestbury Cheshire where he marries Mary Short on the 28th November 1824. However by the next year with the birth of his eldest daughter Jane, he is back in Winster.
Several of the children are born in Oldham Lancashire . When his son William was born in 1836, the family residence is noted as Fenleach and William’s occupation is listed as a Joiner
In the 1841 census this move to Lancashire is confirmed by the birthplace of son William being listed as not from Derbyshire.  The family residence in 1841 is Market Street, which is now  Main Street, and he is the last house on the schedule before West Street which is likely now West Bank.
It is entirely possible the house on the facing page which is on the corner of Main Street  and West Bank is the one lived in by William Wilson and his family.

Like his father Joseph, William is a Carpenter. By 1851, he has moved the family away from Winster yet again and is living at 12 Macklin Street St Werbaugh and his occupation is noted as Master Carpenter.  His son George is following in his footsteps 

William and Mary had 9 children, but several of them died in infancy or childhood. Eldest daughter Jane died aged 14, Then in 1835, they lost 2 children, Joseph aged 3 and Ann aged just one . Youngest child Henry died in the same year he was born, 1848. 

I have been unable to find either William or Mary in the 1861 census and can not confirm a death date for either . Youngest living son Thomas has moved back to Winster in 1861 and is living with his elder sister Mary and her husband Thomas Boam in WInster, which might indicate both William and Mary have died before 1861.

The Family of Joseph Wilson 1776-1859

I finally got time to complete another page for my Ancestors of Winster book.
Its nice to now be recent enough to finally have some census records to work with. Luckily for me Joseph and Grace, my 5x Great grandparents, lived into their 80s and appear in both the 1841 and 1851 census returns.
We also finally have a Wilson living in Winster.

Joseph Wilson was probably born at the very beginning of 1776 as he was baptised on February 4th of that year at Longnor. He was born at Dunbrook where his parents David and Jane Wilson lived . Joseph was the third of 11 children born to the couple. At some point probably in early adulthood he moved to Winster, in Derbyshire, perhaps to be apprenticed as a carpenter /joiner which is a trade he was still practicing into his 60s.
He married Grace Ashton at St John the Baptist Church, Winster, Derbyshire, on 8 Jun 1801. Grace was the daughter of William Ashton and Margaret Hodgkinson. Grace had been born in Winster.
The first real record I have of Joseph, apart from his marriage and the births of his children is his record in the 1841 census.  Joseph was listed as age 65 and his occupation that of Joiner. He is living in Bankside which could possibly later known as East Bank , in fact at the end of the lane later known as East Bank there is a block of terraced houses is now known as “The Flat”  It is thought this part of the road used to be known as Wilson’s Row so it is likely Joseph and family lived here .
Still living with Joseph and Grace in 1841 is son George aged 36 and Edward aged 28. Both following the same trade as their father.  Additionally a 6 year old child named Grace is living with them. Grace was the daughter of their eldest daughter Jane, who had died not long after the birth of her daughter.

By 1851 Joseph has become a Wheelwright - perhaps the work was less labour intensive, By this time he is in his mid 70s. Unlike many from their generation, all but the last of Joseph and Grace’s children lived to adulthood and married and had children, infact by 1851 it appears they had at least 31 grandchildren including Grace who was still living with her grandparents at the time of the 1851 census.  Eldest son William had 9 children, most of whom lived elsewhere in Derbyshire. Jane unfortunately died after the birth of her only daughter Grace, as mentioned before. George had 6 children  who lived in Lancashire. Joseph stayed in Winster and had 9 children . Mary moved to Lancashire like her elder brother, and had 3 children before her death in 1874 but was helping raise the children of her husband John Taylor as well . Edward stayed in Winster and he and his wife also had 3 children . Joseph  lived a long life, making it to 83 when he died in 1859, and was buried at St John the Baptist churchyard in Winster on October 1st of that year . His wife Grace had died a year earlier It was noted in 1851 on the census that she was blind but it is unknown how long she had been this way.

The family of David Wilson 1747-1795 - updated- and the family of Simon Wilson

Its been a busy week genealogically speaking for me.
This was prompted by my last weeks layout on David Wilson and the discovery of a whole new branch of the family which necessitated me redoing last weeks layout

David Wilson was my 6x Great Grandfather. He was baptised at Longnor Staffordshire on 22nd November 1747, and married Jane Sleigh at Alstonefield . Very early in their marriage they lived at Under Longnor Edge, probably in the same house or close to Davids father who also lived at this location, however before long they moved to Dunbrook, where most of their children were born, and remained there for the rest of David’s life as his burial record attests. After Davids death, Jane remarried to William Slack but they dont appear to have remained in the district.
It is unknown what occupation David held, however we do know from his marriage record that he could at least write as se has signed his name. The marriage of David and Jane Sleigh was witnessed by Peter Wilson who was Davids brother .
We do not know for sure what occupation David held but it is likely he was either a farmer, or a miner, or even a stone mason, as his son Simon was and his grandsons Edward and Isaac.  based on the location of his cottage at Dunbrook, and the occupations of his children some of whom became lead miners.  Davids son Joseph, my 5x Great Grandfather, was the first in my direct line to move to Winster in Derbyshire.

The cottage that the Wilsons probably lived in along with its detached 2 story barn, at Dunbrook is still standing and though it has had significant modernisation, it still retains the character it likely had when it was lived in by my 6x Great Grandparents David and Jane had a total of 9 children. The eldest, Elizabeth, baptised as Betty was born while the family still lived at Under Longnor Edge however all the rest were born at Dunbrook .Later it seems youngest son Simon, with the help of his son Issac, built another house just across the road - a more modern 2 story stone cottage which he left in his will to his son Edward.  One of the conditions of the will was that if Isaac wished to build a similar house Edward should pay half towards it. Apparently Isaac took his father up on that offer, because now 2 stone houses are on the same property. Isaac stayed at Dunbrook until 1866 when he emigrated with his family to New Zealand.





I will probably do a separate layout which covers the following information about Simon - but before I forget all Ive learned this week I will post it here



While there is no record of his birth, it is presumed that Simon Wilson - who is living at Dunbrook in the 1841 and 1851 census is the son of David Wilson.
Unfortunately we are not likely to ever prove this conclusively as the records from the church at Longnor where Davids children were all baptised are missing several years covering the period where Simon was born, however the fact he is living at Dunbrook, and his children all take names strongly linked with Davids family ( including one named David) would indicate that our assumption would be correct.

What we discovered is that there is more than one house at Dunbrook - we originally thought just the old cottage now known as Poole Cottage was where David lived.

However we also discovered a cottage called Dunbrook Cottage- this apparently is a 19th century dwelling so probably not Davids,- it is far more likely he lived in the cottage above, which dates from the 1700s  The house below - called Dunbrook cottage was most likely built by Davids son Simon who was a stone mason

On the same section as Dunbrook Cottage, just behind it hidden in the trees is another very similar house called Dunbrook House

 

From Simon's will we know that he left his house to his son Edward, and that his son Isaac had helped him build the house . One condition of this was that Edward should pay for the building of another house for his brother Isaac if Isaac wished.

One of the two houses is obviously the first house that Simon and Isaac built, and the other is the one Isaac built after his father died . 

We know Edward was for some time living at Dunbrook as there seems to have been an disagreement between Simons daughter Elizabeth and Edwards wife Jemima 

 

However Edward is not living at Dunbrook in any of the census records- In 1861, 1871 and 1881  he is living at Sheen ,about 3 miles away. 

Here is a transcription of Simon Wilsons will

This is the last will and Testament of me Simon Willson of Dunbrook in the township of Longnor in the parish of Alstonfield in the County of Stafford. First I direct that all my just debts funeral and testamentary expenses be paid by my executors hereinafter named out of my personal estate. I give and bequeath subject to the privisoes hereinafter made until my son Edward Willson his heirs and assigns for ever All that my freehold Dwellinghouse in which I now reside situate at Dunbrook aforesaid together with one morety or have part and sall be set off and divided by my executors of my Cow house, Coal house Garden adn Croft with all rights roads and appurtenances thereunto belonging I give and bequeath unto my son Isaac Willson his heirs and assigns for ever all that other morety or half part of my said cow house coal house garden and croft as shall be set off or divided by my executors with all rights roads and appurtenances thereunto belonging provided always my will and mind is that if in case my son Isaac shall within Twelve calendar months make up his mind and elect to erect therafter upon the premises hereby bequeathed to to him a Dwellinghouse I do hereby charge my Dwelling house which is bequeathed to my son Edward with half the cost of the materials and workmanship of the masonry plastering flagging tiling or staking for a similar dwellinghouse as to value as that now in my occupation. This charge I consider equivalent to Issacs share for help in the erection of my dwellinghouse but in the event of my son Isaac Willson electing to receive the sum of Forty Pounds at the end of Twelve Calendar months next after my decease in lieu of the half or morety of my cow house coal house garden and croft and for the share of building materials and workmanship as a ove provided and charged I wish my son Edward or his heirs and assigns to accede to the terms and pay that sum to my son Isaac in lieu of his morety and Building Materials as above bequeathed to him with charge for workmanship and the erection of a Dwellinghouse and the release of my said son Isaac his heirs and assigns shall be a good discharge to his brother or his heirs or assigns for the same after which being executed my son Edward or his heirs and assigns will take the whole of my real property. Provided further in the event of either of my daughters Elizabeth or Sarah being left Widows and needing a dwelling house my wish and desire is and I do hereby will and bequeath that one or both of them my said daughters as the case may happen may have free use and tenure during her life or lives respectively of my parlour and my bedroom over my parlour with ingress and egress to and from the said rooms without any payments of rent whatever or it may be optional with all parties concerned for my son Edward his heirs and assigns to allow rent to one or both of my said daughters equivalent to the value of the above named rooms for her or them to reside elsewhere in case of needing a Dwelling house in widowhood only and as to the rest and residue of my property whether in Money Book Debts Stock Implements or other effects whatsoever, except tools which I wish my two sons to take equally between them, I hereby give and bequeath the same to be equally divided between my two daughters Elizabeth and Sarah as soon as convenient after my decease.  I dp hereby nominate constitute and appoint my two friends Joseph Millward and Joseph Grindey both of Tunstead in the township of Longnor aforesaid Executors of this my last will and testament and direct that they shall be the arbitrators in the division of my cow house coal house garden and croft as herein before declared I do hereby revoke and make void all former and other wills by me at any time heretofore made and declare this alone to be my last will and testament contained on two sides of this sheet of paper in witness whereof I have to this my last Will and Testament set my hand this third day of March in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and Sixty. 

Isaac marries Ann Chedwick   in Alstonfield before heading to Lancashire to an area which is now part of Downtown Manchester, for reasons yet to be known, however likely to be work related as the people around him are all in the brick, stone  or masonery business. 

After his fathers death in 1860 he is back in Dunbrook with his 6 children, but by the end of 1865 he had made the decision to emigrate to New Zealand and the family with wife and 5 children  packed up and left the small village his family had lived in for over 100 years and aboard the Mermaid they arrived in Canterbury on 1st January 1866. 

Isaac and Ann had 2 more children in New Zealand before Isaac died in Christchurch aged only 59 in 1879.

Simons daughter Elizabeth had already emigrated to New Zealand in March 1860. Later she married a second cousin - David Wilson Hamilton, who had also chosen to emigrate to New Zealand sometime before. David Wilson Hamilton, owned a house, “the Grange”, and was proprietor of a coach service, the precursor of the tramway system, which ran from Sharlands Corner via Stanmore, Shirley and the New Brighton roads to the New Brighton Hotel in Seaview Road where he was “mine host”.

My thanks to Dawn Scotting and Hugh Stark for their assistance in this research which will no doubt be ongoing!

 

The families of Winster Book - The family of Francis Wilson 1690- 1795

My last layout was the first I had done for a book Im planning on the families of the branches of my family tree who lived in Winster in Derbyshires Peak District.
I started last week with the Boam family and today I start with a branch that marries into the Boams - the Wilsons.
I must thank and acknowledge Dawn Scotting for her work on researching this family that we share.
I have started with Francis my 7x Great Grandfather.
Of course once again we know very little about the day to day lives of our ancestors back in the 17th century, but Dawn has pieced together as full a story as we can write based on the little information at hand which consists almost entirely of birth, marriage and death records.

The Family of Francis Wilson 1690-1795

Firstly, the dates of birth and death above are NOT a typo. Francis Wilson, my 7x G Grandfather did in fact live till the amazing age of 105. His age was noted in the burials in the parish records at Longnor Edge  where he died on 11 March 1795.
He was born miles away in Eccleshall, Staffordshire to father Francis and mother possibly Elizabeth, but when he moved to Longnor is not known except that it before 5th October 1728 when he married his first wife Elizabeth Burton . Together they had 8 children, and then Elizabeth died weeks after giving birth to the 8th child James.
With multiple young children, Francis need to remarry and he did to Mary Redfern, on 7th May 1747 . Mary and Francis went on to have at least 6 more children.
It is noted on the baptism records of Francis’ children that he lived at “Under Longnor Edge” 
Top of the Edge is a hill area on the outskirts of Longnor Village and at the bottom of the hill, at the end of High Street, there are a small group of very old cottages. I wonder if Francis and his family lived in one of these cottages.
Eccleshall, Staffordshire is over an hours drive from Winster on modern roads, so for the family of Francis Wilson in the 18th century it would have been a long distance away, however the family moved progressively closer to Winster over the next century. It wasnt until 2 generations later that the family end up living in Winster.  As we know so little about the daily lives of people this long ago we can only surmise as to why Francis moved from Eccleshall where he was born to Longnor where he married his first wife Elizabeth. This was a huge distance away . The walk between the two would take over 10 hours, but he was definitely a resident in the village of Longnor when he married so had not just moved there in order to marry.  Perhaps his trade was more needed in Longnor than Eccleshall. From Longnor the distance to Winster is much less ,so the various branches of the family would not  had more than a 3 hour walk across the hills of the Peak District.

Benjamin Boam 1864-1887 and the Tragedy of the Mill Close Mine

I hope to be lucky enough in mid 2017 to visit the village of Winster where many many of my fathers ancestors once lived. The Boam family have a long history in Winster and many of them were Lead Miners.
In starting some pre-trip research I discovered the story of Benjamin Boam who died in an explosion at the nearby Mill Close Lead Mine .
I hope to photograph his headstone myself in the Winster Churchyard but in the mean time I found the wonderful work of Michael Greatorex who has photographed many if not all the gravestones there including that of Benjamin which you can see here
https://www.flickr.com/photos/winsterderbyshire/3439508390/in/album-72157617740830814/

Benjamin was born  in 1864 in Winster. I have yet to find his baptism record but he was the second son and 5th child of Thomas Boam  and Mary Wilson. Thomas was also a Lead Miner, as was his father also named Thomas.
Benjamins 2 younger siblings, Lucy and Harriet both had died in childhood, so Benjamin was the youngest child of Thomas and Mary at the time of his death.

I created a simple layout for this sad story which is directly taken from a newspaper account of the day.

Benjamin Boam was the 2nd son, and 5th child of Thomas Boam and his wife Mary Wilson. He was the younger brother of my GG Grandmother Mary Jane Boam.  Benjamin was a Lead miner, like is father, and his grandfather and many many of the men in the village of Winster, Derbyshire  where he was born. He was employed at the Mill Close Mine, in nearby Darley, where a shaft had been sunk in 1860 and was one of numerous men who worked below ground in shifts around the clock.
On November 3 1887 the mine would take the lives of 5 of the men of Winster including that of Benjamin Boam
HIGH PEAK NEWS SATURDAY 5TH  NOVEMBER 1887
Shocking Accident at Mill Close Lead Mine  Five Men Killed

From  what  can  be  ascertained  it  appears  that  a  shift  was  commenced  at  midnight  on  Wednesday.  There  would  be  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  men  on  duty.  Before  they  began  work  the  mine  had  been  officially  examined  by  the  deputy,  William  Webster.  He  found  a  quantity  of  gas  in  the  heading,  and  duly  reported  the  occurrence  to  the  company  who  took  the  particular  route in which the explosion happened. The men were in charge of Job Stone, and the company was known as Stones's. They were warned of the presence of gas on going down. It seems they were  engaged  on  the  top  level,  or  84  yards  from  the  surface.  The  distance  they  had  to  travel  underground  was  between  500  and  600  yards  before  reaching  the  face  of  the  rock.  Upon  a  portion  of  the  road  they  would  be  able  to  use naked  lights,  but  were  compelled  to  have  safety  lamps  whilst  at  their  work.  There  were  for  getters  and  two  waggoners  working  in  the  stall  or  heading,  and,  unfortunately,  all  the  six  were  within  measurable  distance  of  the  force  of  the  explosion. Had it happened a few minutes earlier or later the waggoners would have been away from the spot conveying the ore to the exit from the mine. There was nothing perceptible of the approaching  danger  when  the  men  began  their usual  occupation.  Several  shots  of  dynamite charges had been fired. This powerful explosive is regularly used at the mine to blow down the rock, with which the ore is mixed. The heading is about six yards high, and a charge of dynamite
is inserted into a hole which is drilled for it. The charge is fired with "touch", and the men retire out  of  danger,  as  they  consider.  They  would  move  away  to  a  distance  of  about  40  yards.  The  shot went off in the usual manner, and was immediately followed by a terrific explosion of gas. The force of the concussion was felt all over the mine, the head trees, forks, and scores of tons of rock being removed. The fall of bind killed the men, debris covering them.
The shock was not felt on the surface, and it was not until one of the men, Marsden, who is injured, made his way
in the dark to the bottom of the shaft, that the disaster was known. He was the only one spared to  tell  of  the  sad  accident  which  befell  his comrades.  The  men  engaged  in  the  heading  were  Robert  Marsden,  Birchover;  Job  Stone,  Elton; George  Stone,  Elton;  George  Allen,  Winster;  Benjamin  Boam,  Winster;  and  George  Needham,  Wensley.  Boam  and  Needham  were  the  waggoners.  They,  as  we  have  previously  said,  were  unfortunately  along  with  the  other  group  when  the  gas  was  ignited.  The  lights  were  all  blown  out  with  the  force  of  the  explosion,  but  Marsden, though injured, made his way in the darkness to the bottom of the shaft. He signalled
to be drawn out, and then the intelligence became known. He displayed conspicuous bravery by going down the shaft again along with a stoker named George Boam. These two men were thefirst to venture down the mine. They were stated to have felt the effects of the after-damp, but not  to  any  serious  extent.  The  explosion  took  place  a  few  minutes  before  three  o'clock.  It  was some  time  before  any  of  the  bodies  were  discovered.  Lights  were  procured  and  a  search  party  was quickly formed, under the leadership of John Heathcote. He arrived on the premises about five  o'clock,  and,  being  one  of  the  deputies,  organised  the  relief  party.  Messengers  were 
despatched  as  quickly  as  possible  to  Mr.  Joseph  Greatorex,  of  Winster,  the  agent,  who  was  speedily  at  the  mine.  A  verbal  message  was  also  sent  to  Mr.  A.M.  Alsop,  of  Wirksworth,  the  manager.  When  Mr.  Greatorex  arrived  he  took charge  of  the  search  party,  and  went  down, finding  the  deputy  there.  It  was  discovered  that  the  men  were  almost  entirely  buried  in  the debris.  The  bodies  were  fearfully  crushed.  After  the  bind  had  been  removed  the  remains  were  brought  out.  The  first  person  to  be  conveyed  up  the  shaft  was  Job  Stone,  who  could  be  seen  under  the  refuse,  but  was  quite  dead.  In  the  meantime  Dr.  Stubbs,  of  Darley  Bridge,  and  Dr. Cantrell,  of  Winster,  were  summoned,  but  their  services  were  of  no  avail  except  in  the  case  of Marsden,  who  was  bruised  about  the  head.  He  was  taken  to  the  Warren  Carr  Farm,  and,  after  attention,  conveyed  home.  The  men  were  sent  up  as  speedily  as  possible,  and  taken  to  the office.  There  they  were  stripped  and  laid  on  stretchers.  The  bodies  presented  a  shocking  spectacle, being fearfully crushed. It took until seven o'clock to recover all the deceased miners.