Years ago, while in Dublin, I came across an image of Abigail CROFTON and immediately wondered if she might have been the Abigail born as Abigail JACKSON (1683-1763), the grand daughter of Rev. Richard JACKSON (1602-1681). In her midlife, as a widow, this Abigail had married Oliver CROFTON, a family of Castle Moate. I later saw the same image mentioned in Crofton Memoirs and am still undecided. So, here goes. What can we learn?
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The assumption made by Henry Thomas CROFTON, author of Crofton Memoirs (p.67), was that this miniature could not have been made of Abigail CROFTON because at age 80 in 1763, she was much older than the woman in the image. Even so, it is possible that the miniature could have been commissioned after her death and was based on an earlier image of her. I can find no other Lady Crofton who fits neatly into this time frame.
More recently, as part of trying to learn more about the back story of Abigail CROFTON née JACKSON, I uploaded a post on my website of Townland Clusters – a tool for unearthing women’s history. It followed clusters of townlands which included ones that Abigail had held title to in the counties of Dublin, Cavan, Meath and Monaghan. All these properties were mentioned in her January 5, 1737 marriage settlement (concerning her marriage to CROFTON), and had included the same names of townlands which had been listed in the 1705 will of her uncle Samuel JACKSON (1641-1706). These properties had landed in her hands as a result of all of her brothers predeceasing her. She also held title to some English properties, but their origin is less clear to me. Were they handed down to her from her parents, her Uncle Samuel, or had they become hers because of her earlier marriage to William BUCKLEY?
Curiously, the researcher and likely co-author of Crofton Memoirs, Rev. William Ball WRIGHT, had also been hired in the early 1900s by Amelia Oliver JACKSON when she was researching the family history of her father Sir Thomas JACKSON (1841-1915). Even though Abigail may (or may not) be related to Sir Thomas, it is worthwhile to focus first on Abigail.
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[Abigail] was possessed of much property in Ireland, and also in the Counties of Lancaster, York, and Westmorland, in England. SOURCE: Crofton Memoirs, An account of JOHN CROFTON, Of Ballymurry, Co. Roscommon Queen Elizabeth's Escheator-General of Ireland and of His Ancestors and Descendants, and others Bearing the Name. Compiled by Henry Thomas Crofton, Ex-president Lancashire and Cheshire Antiqn. Society, Assisted by The Rev. William Ball Wright, M.A. Author of " The Usher Memoirs," " Ball Family Records", etc., and Helen Augusta Crofton, Author of "The Slacke Family in Ireland." Published: 1911. |
Clearly, Abigail was a woman with significant inherited wealth so she would have enjoyed as much independence as any woman of her era. She is however also worthy of our attention for other reasons. At the time of her marriage to Oliver CROFTON (1710-1780), she was 54 years old and he was 27. What is the story here? Was there a quid pro quo, either in money or social benefit to either one of them? Or was this a marriage based on passion? Does this shed light on the experiences of other privileged women or was it a one-off?
I will explore her CROFTON marriage in a later post. For now, the purpose of this post is to lay out some of the context for it, the prequel as it were.
What the data in Townland Clusters reveals, when seen in aggregate, is that her death at age 80 was a pivot year for the history of her holdings. Lands which historically had been owned for several generations by members of the JACKSONs of Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmorland and Coleraine, Londonderry, were thereafter inherited and passed onto several future generations of the NORTH family of Kirkby Lonsdale. What was most unusual in this pivot was that the rights to these lands had not gone to her husband.
As with most women of her time, place and class, the breadcrumbs of clues are few and far between. She was born in 1683, probably at Burley, near Leeds, Co. Lancashire. When she was growing up, Burley had been where her parents Nathaniel JACKSON (1640-1698) and Elizabeth WOODS lived. Although many members of her extended family had already put down roots in Ireland in the mid-1600s, her childhood would have been protected from much of the upheaval of the Irish economic and political turmoil of the time. Even so, she was probably not oblivious to its impact. Her uncles were well-heeled merchants in England and Ireland, and/or minsters in the Established Church and the instability would have profoundly shaped their lives. While she likely visited her Irish relations, it seems that she did not settle permanently in Ireland until after 1733. She was the executor of her brother Rev. Robert JACKSON’s (1690-1733) will, a task which granted her some power. That seemed to be the last year that she lived in Tatham Parish.
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Viewing Abigail’s life through the context of her times, it is worth noting that she was born in 1683, the same year as the future King George II of England. 1763, the year that she died, was the year that the Seven Years’ War ended. Because she was literate and belonged to a family known for the extent of their libraries and their free-thinking, she likely would have been aware of Rousseau, whose ideas were all the rage as were Voltaire’s. Voltaire had just published his Treatise on Tolerance. With respect to women’s rights, although it may have been the dawning of a totally new era, it would still take another three decades for Mary Wollstonecraft’s A Vindication of the Rights of Woman to be published. Given all this, how would Abigail have seen herself in the context of her rights? Would her concept of rights have had anything to do with the reason why Oliver CROFTON did not end up with her family’s properties after she pre-deceased him (he would have been the expected beneficiary)? Or, in spite of the records of subsequent land transfers, had he at least temporarily inherited some lands from her?
The following info in Cumbrian Lives was unsourced and needs to be verified.
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Crofton, Sir Oliver, 5th Bt of the Mote (17xx-1780), only son of Oliver Crofton (d.1709), of Lissanarre, co Limerick (yr son of Sir Edward Crofton, 2nd Bt) and Katherine Armstrong (d.1750), residing at Galbally and Lissanarre in co Limerick, marr (6 December 1737) Abigail Jackson Buckley (died in December 1763), heiress of estates in Cumberland, Yorks, Lancs, and Dublin, and owner of the Bull, Market Square, Kirkby Lonsdale, which he rebuilt as a private house, known as Jackson Hall (which then descended after her death to Richard North, of Newton, to his son Myles North, and to his son Richard Toulmin North, of Thurland Castle), died s.p.leg. 9 November 1780 |
To understand her 2nd marriage, it helps to start with her 1st marriage in Jan 20, 1718 to the wealthy widower, William BUCKLEY Esq.. In his position as the Tatham Parish landlord, he was also the advowsen (aka landlord with power to appoint clergy) of the Parish where they were married. At the time of their marriage, we do not know how old he was, but she was thirty-five years old, which was pretty old given the marriage practices of the day. NOTE: Her uncle Rev. Leonard JACKSON’s (1650-1726), the rector who performed the service, had earlier been appointed to the post of rector by BUCKLEY.
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William Buckley, Esq., widower of Wennington Hall and Mrs. Abigail Jackson mar by bans 20 Jan 1718/19 Tatham, Lancashire; by Mr. Leonard Jackson, Rector, by Mr. Andrew Phorbas, vicar of Melling and Mr. Sharp, curate of Tatham SOURCE: Marriages at St. James the Less, Tatum. |
There is one word that mystifies me in this marriage cert.: Why was Abigail referred to as Mrs. Abigail Jackson? Back then, women had the option of two prefixes: Miss or Mrs.. Was the recording of Mrs. a clerical error or had she been already widowed? If so, then a previous husband would have been a JACKSON, likely a cousin-level relation. But if so, then who?
The Wennington Hall connection to William BUCKLEY probably came about as the part of the marriage agreement made prior to his previous marriage to Mary BUTLER, the widow of Charles MARSDEN of Wennington Hall.
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SOURCE: The History of the Parish of St. Michael’s-on-Wyre. SEE also WIKI: Buckley – Greater Manchester |
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A mid-1800s etching, and a description prior to the Victorian rebuilding: |
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24th
October 1840 - WENNINGTON HALL ESTATES - TO
BE SOLD BY AUCTION |
Although we know something of the who and the where of William BUCKLEY, it is hard to say what kind of man he was, although perhaps something of his temperament can be inferred from a news account four years after he and Abigail had married:
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[1722] Captain BUCKLEY had a lethal dispute with Major Samuel COOKE, the High Sheriff of Lancashire, regarding a right of way in Higher Walton, Lancashire. Buckley and Cooke entered a duel at Rochdale in which Cooke was killed. Buckley was tried at the assizes in Lancaster and found guilty of manslaughter, but received "only a light sentence.” SEE: WIKI: Buckley – Greater Manchester |
NOTE: Abigail’s second husband also engaged in a duel which was triggered by a similar provocation. Duels were one of the dubious privileges of men of their time and class. It meant that such quick-tempered men, unlike quick-tempered men of lesser classes, could kill or inflict grave injuries on an opponent and not suffer from any legal sanction. It was part of the historic tradition that was pretty much outdated but was a leftover from a society based on honour-codes. In much the same way, there are still societies practicing such inherited codes even today.
Eight years after this duel, BUCKLEY died in 1730 of unrecorded causes at an unknown age. He and Abigail had no known children. Part of the dearth of information is because at his death, he was the last member of the main branch of the Buckleys of Buckley. SOURCE: Buckley Hall Orphanage Rochdale 1888 — 1947, Pat Gallacher (2003), Preston: Lisieux Hall. NOTE: This meant that he had no descendants to retain memory of him, a frequent contributor to lost history.
It is of consequence that in his will the only mention of his wife Abigail was in a codicil:
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CODICIL: Whereas I have made my last will and Testament bearing date nineth day of May last Now I do by this my codicil give and devise unto Abagill my wife all my Tea potts cups and china and China Ware and Six Silver Tea Spoons and my Gold Watch & Chain and the sum of fifteen pounds to be paid to her by my Executors out of my personal Estate and in all other respects hereby ratify and confirm said will In Witness whereof I have sworn to put my hand and seal this fourth day of June one thousand seven hundred and thirty. Wm. Buckley |
This small payment of £15, plus a smattering of crockery and such makes me think of William Shakespeare’s will, one which generations of scholars have wrestled with: “Item I gyve unto my wife my second best bed with the furniture”. In both wills, there was no mention of my dear wife, or other such expressions which were commonly included – but not always – in such documents. It is worth asking: Had there been a breakdown in the marriage? As it is with Shakespeare’s wife, perhaps there will be no clear cut provable answers.
Interestingly, there were a few properties which were specifically mentioned in William BUCKLEY’s will, but along with the rest of the chattels, these were put into a trust overseen by James HOLAND and James BUCKLEY sr to be managed on behalf of BUCKLEY’s infant cousin Thomas FFOSTER and Abigail got no benefit from them. NOTE: Buckley Hall passed from Captain William BUCKLEY to his nephew Thomas FOSTER (who assumed the surname of BUCKLEY), and then on to his son, Edward BUCKLEY, who in 1786 sold the hall and estate to Robert ENTWISTLE … The original building was demolished in the early-1990s and HM Prison Buckley Hall was opened in its place. [SOURCE: Buckley, Greater Manchester.]
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Brief Excerpts from the will: I give and decise all my Messuages Lands Tenements [?] and Hereditaments situate lying or being within Spunderfield Butterworth and Castleton and elsewhere in the said County of Lancaster and all other my real estate whatsoever in the said County with my Cousin Thomas Ffoster an infant (son of Thomas Ffoster of Preston in the said County Esquire by my aunt Ann his wife) for and during the life of the said Thomas Ffoster … Thomas Ffoster Thomas Holland William Holland … whereas the advowson of the Rectory of Windermere in the County of Westmorland was devised to me and my heirs in trust for Girlington Butler & Barton Clarke now rector hereof … William Holland Thomas Holland and to their sister Ffrance Holland and my said godson John Buckley the sum of five pounds sterling .. AND I give and devise all my household goods silver plate and other goods chattles credits and other Rents issues and profits of my said Messuages Lands Tenements Rent Hereditments and real estate whatsoever to … James Holland and John Buckley the elder till the said Thomas Ffoster the son shall attain his age of twenty one years. … 1 Oct 1730 |
There is a reason that Why is usually placed last in the chain of the usual questions: Who. What. Where. When. Why. In seeking the Why, focusing on the Where is a useful starting point. Out of the three townlands of Spunderfield Butterworth and Castleton I have only located Castleton.
 SOURCE: Rochdale, Lancashire ROCHDALE, a town and a district in Lancashire, and a parish partly also in W. R. Yorkshire - 10½ miles N N E of Manchester. |
Since the named townlands of Butterworth and Castletown are in the Parish of Rochdale, it is possible that Spunderfield might have been as well. Perhaps it was known as Spotland.
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ROCHDALE, a parish, market town, and parliamentary borough in the honor of Clitheroe , in the Middleton division of the hundred of Salford , and the polling district of Rochdale . The parish is divided into seven townships : Castleton , Butterworth [Butterworth, Greater Manchester], Spotland, [District of Rochville, Greater Manchester] , Wardleworth, Weurdle with Wardle , and Blatchinworth with Calderbrook, in the poor law union of Rochdale ; and Todmorden with Walsden , in the poor law union of Todmorden ; the four latter are in what is called Hundersfield . — Spotland is divided into Spotland Nearer Side , Spotland Further Side, and Whitworth with Brandwood, which are sometimes stated to be townships . The parochial chapelry of Saddleworth, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is in this parish . Number of acres in the parish, exclusive of Saddleworth, about 40,300 , inclusive of Saddleworth 58,500. |
Although the geographic proximity of relations can lead to clues, in this instance they actually raise more questions. For example, in the two maps beneath, although Wennington Hall is the expected distance - walking distance - from Tatham, Rochdale is 54 miles south of there:
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The supply chain requirement of the clothing industries coupled with the family connections to the clothing trades – linen and wool – are the most likely reasons behind these locations being key for both the JACKSONs and the BUCKLEYs. More research may reveal more.
One last bit. Although there is no mention of Abigail inheriting more than teacups and such from William BUCKLEY, she at least had some kind of marriage jointure. This jointure was mentioned in 1737, in the marriage agreement formalizing the financial aspects of her 2nd marriage, the one with Oliver CROFTON. Curiously, there had been no mention of such a jointure in BUCKLEY’s will – unless it was related (unlikely) to the single-time payment of £15.
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[ROD: 91-158-63780: a sexpartite deed bearing date and perfected the 5th and 6th day of January 1737 between Oliver CROFTON of Lissanarrow [possibly Lissanarhoor, Parish Galbally, Barony Coshlea – he also lived at Galbally, Parish Galbally, Barony Coshlea] Co. Limerick Esq. of the 1st pt; Abigail BUCKLEY als JACKSON of the City of Dublin and relict of William BUCKLEY late of Buckley in Co Lancaster England Esq deceased of the 2nd pt; ] … whereas the said Abigail BUCKLEY was seized in fee of and in certain Lands Tenements and Hereditaments in said indenture mentioned situate in the Kingdom of England and that the said Abigail was also seized and Intitled to a Jointure for her life out of the estate of William BUCKLEY. |
Family connections are likely the reason that Abigail moved to Dublin after the death of her brother Rev. Robert JACKSON. With her sister Jane JACKSON, she co-owned the Irish townlands that had once been the property of their uncle Samuel JACKSON. The lands that she held in England at the time of her second marriage may have originated in bequests from her parents, from her uncles or else may have been connected to her first husband. Nailing all this down can help us to better understand the reasons why clusters of her lands ended up belonging to several generations of her “cousins” after her death.
In my next post, I will track what can be learned about Oliver CROFTON and Abigail’s life during their marriage. At least there will more available facts during this stage of her life.
POSTSCRIPT:
The last record I have that would indicate that William BUCKLEY was still alive is the mention of him in the 1726 will of Rev. Leonard JACKSON. So far, I do not have a verifiable birth or death date for him.
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1726 Nov 5th Will of Leonard JACKSON NAMES: Rev. Leonard JACKSON of Tatham, Lancashire; Richard JACKSON, son; BRIGGS – likely Rev. John BRIGGS & Mary BRIGGS née JACKSON; Vigessima BOUCH[E] née JACKSON; Elizabeth DAWSON née BOUCHE; Josias DAWSON; HUTTON; William HUTTON; Jane wife of Roland WALLIS; Widow SLATER of Whittington; Widow LAURENCE; Bryan DOWNIE aka DOWNEY; Elizabeth JACKSON née WOODS; [cousin WADE, wife & daughter & son Benjamin WADE; nephew FOXCROFT; Richard JACKSON, Dublin & daughter (Susannah JACKSON?); cousin [Bolder?] JONES of Westhouse; James JACKSON; William BUCKLEY; Cousin ASH and her daughter BRIGGS; wife of cousin [WITHER?] of Evertown; Mr. SHARP (probably a minister); godson Leonard JACKSON; Robert MAYER Schoolmaster of Wray; Robert JACKSON nephew of Rev. Laurence JACKSON; Thomas CHARNLEY; Isaac ATKINSON. |
Abigail’s younger brother Rev. Robert JACKSON (1690-1733) succeeded their uncle Rev. Leonard JACKSON as rector of Tatum in 1726. Since Robert GIBSON was now the patron of Tatham Parish, it seems likely that this was the year that William BULKLEY had died (which would have been shortly after Leonard JACKSON’s death).
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1726 – Robert JACKSON, presented in succession by Robert Gibson, the patron for that turn, was instituted December 7, 1726, and held the living until his death, which occurred in 1733, in which year an administration bond was filed at Richmond, from which it may be inferred he died intestate. SOURCE: The History of the County Palatine and Duchy of Lancaster, Volume 5. Edward Baines p.555. NOTE: Abigail was the executor of Robert’s will. |
