Thomas Ashmore

1805 - 1884


Thomas's signature at the time of his marriage in 1832 ^(MARRIAGE)

Thomas was born in 1805 in Monyash ⁽¹⁾, the first child of John and Elzabeth Ashmore. A sister Mary, his only known sibling, was born in 1808 ⁽²⁾.

Thomas married (the already heavily pregnant) Ellen Hatfield, also from Monyash, in November 1832 ⁽³⁾, and their first daughter, Mary, was born the following March ⁽⁴⁾.

Thomas worked as a miner at Magpie Mine in Sheldon. There was an ongoing animosity between the miners from Magpie, and the miners from the nearlby Red Soil Mine, mainly because the two mines met underground, and hence there were disputes over rights. In Septemeber 1833, this all came to a head when miners from Magpie set a fire underground which suffocated 3 miners in the Red Soil mine. Thomas was one of about 20 Magpie miners accused of murder. He was probably remanded to the County Gaol in Derby until the case was heard at the Lent Assives the following March. Thomas, and indeed everyone invovled, was acquitted of the charge, and he returned home, to pick up where he left off, continuing to work at Magpie.⁽⁵⁾

Their next daughter Eliza was born in 1835 ⁽⁶⁾, followed by Hannah in 1837 ⁽⁷⁾, then Harriot in 1839 ⁽⁸⁾, but unfortunatley she died the following year ⁽⁹⁾. Elizabeth was born in 1841 ⁽¹⁰⁾, about a month before the census of that year shows the family still living in Monyash ⁽¹¹⁾. His daughter Eliza died in the summer of 1843 ⁽¹²⁾, then his only son, William, was born towards the end of the year ⁽¹³⁾. Finally his youngest daughter, Maria, was born in 1846 ⁽¹⁴⁾.

At around the time that the last of their children were born, the family moved to Magpie Mine House ⁽¹⁵⁾, probably as a consequence of Thomas being promoted. He was certainly an overseer by the time of Ellen's death in 1858 ⁽¹⁸⁾ (which came the year after his father's ⁽¹⁷⁾, a a couple of years before his mother's ⁽¹⁹⁾). By 1861 he was calling himself a Mine Agent ⁽²⁰⁾.

Sometime over the next few years he re-married, to a woman called Mary ⁽²¹⁾. He lived out the rest of his days at Magpie Mine^(21)(22), until he moved back to Monyash shortly before he died on 30th July 1884 ⁽²⁴⁾. He was buried in Monyash two days later ⁽²⁵⁾.

• Mary was born in Monyash in 1833. In 1860 she married John Stone, also from Monyash, and they settled in Priestcliffe, where they had 4 children - Hannah, William, Joe and John. In the 1870s, they moved just up the road to Taddington, where Mary spent the rest of her life, dying there in 1894 aged 61.
• Eliza was born in Monyash in 1835. She died in 1843.
• Hannah has her own page.
• Harriot was born in Monyash in 1839, but died the following year.
• Elizabeth was born in Monyash in 1841. In 1868 she married Francis Harrison, a shoe maker from Tideswell, and settled there. They had three children - Francis, Martha and Thomas. Sometime in the late 1890s, they moved to Buxton, where Francis was working as a dometic gardener at the time of the 1901 census. Nothing later is known of them.
• William was born in Monyash in 1843. Little is known of him other than that he was living in Derby, working as an engine driver, at the time of his father's death.
• Maria was born in 1846 in either Monyash or Sheldon. In 1873 she married Matthew Morton, a stone mason from Great Longstone, and settled there. They had six children - Hannah, Thomas, Matthew, Elizabeth, Ellen and Eliza.

1. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   [1805] Nov 10^th Bapt^d Tho^s, Son of John Ashmore Weaver of Monyash & Elizabeth his wife, born Nov 1^st 1805.
2. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   [1808] July 3^d Bap^d Mary D^r of John Ashmore Labourer & Betty his wife, Born June 29^th 1808.
3. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   Thomas Ashmore of this Parish
   & Township Bachelor
   and Ellen Hatfield of this Parish
   & Township Spinster
   were married in this Chapel by Banns with Consent of
   - this twenty-sixth Day of
   November in the Year One thousand eight hundred and thirty-wo
   By me John Pickwoad
   

   The Marriage was solemnized between us	Thomas Ashmore
   	Ellen X Hatfield's mark

   In the Presence of	William Wainwright
   	Ann Finney

4. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   		Christian	Surname
   March 11 [1833]	Mary	Thomas & Ellen	Ashmore	Monyash	Miner

5. Details of the incident between miners from the Magpie and Red Soil mines can be found on a seperate page
6. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   		Christian	Surname
   7th June [1835]	Eliza	Thomas & Ellen	Ashmore	Moniash	Miner

7. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   		Christian	Surname
   April 30th [1837]	Hannah daughter of	Thomas & Hellen	Ashmore	Monyash	Miner

8. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   

   When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
   		Christian	Surname
   Apr 28 [1839]	Harriot daughter of	Thomas & Ellen	Ashmore	Monyash	Miner

9. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
   

   Name	Abode	When buried	Age
   Harriot Ashmore	Monyash	Dec 29 [1840]	yr 1¾

10. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    		Christian	Surname
    May* 30th [1841]	Elizth daughter of	Ellen & Thomas	Ashmore	Monyash	Miner

    * Difficult to read - probably "May", but could be "Mar".
11. Census of 7th June 1841 reads:
    Place: Monyash
    

    Thomas Ashmore	30	Miner
    Ellen Do	30	.
    Mary Do	5	.
    Eliza Do	5	.
    Hannah Do	4	.
    Elizabeth Do	5 weeks	.

12. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
    

    Name	Abode	When buried	Age
    Eliza Ashmore	Monyash	July 8 [1843]	yrs 9

13. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
    

    When baptized	Child's Christian Name	Parents Name		Abode	Quality, Trade or Profession
    		Christian	Surname
    Dec 17 [1843]	William son of	Thomas & Ellen	Ashmore	Monyash	Miner

14. No baptism has been found for Maria, but the birth of a Maria Ashmore was registered in Bakewell in the first quarter of 1846. This ties up fairly well with her declared age on later censuses etc.
15. The family were certainly in Sheldon by the time of 1851 census ⁽¹⁶⁾, but may have been there by the time of Maria's birth in 1846, as she gives it as her place of birth in the 1881, 1891 and 1901 censuses.
16. Census of 30th March 1851 reads:
    Place: Magpie Mine House, Ashford
    

    Thomas Ashmore	Head	Mar	42	Lead Miner & Farmer	Derbys, Monyash	.
    Elizabeth do	Wife	do	41	Wife	do, Elton	Deaf
    * Maria do	dau	U	17	-	do, Monyash	.
    Hannah do	do	U	13	Scholar	do, Ashford	.
    * Emma do	do	U	8	do	do, do	.
    William do	Son	U	6	do	do, do	.
    * Mary do	dau	U	4	do	do, do	.

    * "Emma" is almost certainly an error on the part of the enumerator, and should read "Elizabeth". There is no other record of a daughter Emma, and Elizabeth is otherwise missing from the 1851 census.
    * Daughters Mary and Maria, also appear to have been entered the wrong way round.
17. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Twenty third November 1857 Monyash	John Ashmore	Male	78 years	Farmer	Apoplexy 16 hours no medical Attendant	William Ashmore Present at the Death Monyash	Twenty fifth November 1857

18. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Sixth January 1858 Magpie Mine Sheldon	Ellen Ashmore	Female	47 years	Wife of Thomas Ashmore an overlooker at a Lead Mine	Enteritis (4 or 5 weeks) Certified	Mary Ashmore - Present at the Death Magpie Mine near Sheldon	Eighth January 1858

19. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Fifth February 1860 Monyash	Elizabeth Ashmore	Female	84 years	Widow of John Ashmore - Farmer	Old age - No medical attendant	Thomas Ashmore - Present at the Death Magpie Mine near Sheldon	Seventh February 1860

20. Census of 7th April 1861 reads:
    Place: Magpie Mine, Ashford
    

    Thomas Ashmore	Head	Widr	52	Mine Agent (Lead)	[Derbyshire], Monyash
    William do	Son	Un	16	Labourer	do, do
    Maria do	daug	un	13	House maid	do, do

21. Census of 2nd April 1871 reads:
    Place: Magpie Mine, Ashford
    

    Thomas Ashmore	Head	Mar	66	Lead Miner	[Derbyshire], Monyash
    Mary do	Wife	Mar	51	.	do, Elton

22. Census of 3rd April 1881 reads:
    Place: Magpie Mine, Ashford
    

    Thomas Ashmore	Head	Mar	76	Lead Miner	[Derbyshire], Monyash
    Mary do	Wife	Mar	59	.	do, Elton

23. Contemporary probate copy of Thomas Ashmore's will (amongst post 1858 contemporaory probate record copies @ DRO) reads:
    This is the last Will and Testament of me, Thomas
    Ashmore of Monyash in the County of Derby, Miner. First
    I direct that my Executors hereinfater named in this my will
    do as soon after my decease as may be convenient pay all my just
    debts and funeral expenses togerther with the expenses incurred in a
    Law suit between Joseph Swindell of Tideswell and the Duke
    of Devonshire, Secondly I give devise and bequeath unto my dear
    wife Mary, my son William Ashmore of High St, Derby, Engine
    Driver, and my four daughters Mary Stone the wife of John Stone
    of Taddington; Hannah Swindell wife of Joseph Swindell of
    Tideswell; Elizabeth Harrison wife of Francis Harrison of
    Tideswell; Maria Morton wife of Mathew Morton of Gt Longstone,
    all and every my real and personal estate whatsoever and
    wheresoever that I may be possessed of at my decease each to have share
    and share alike, and if any of my children do not survive me then the
    share of such son or daughter to be equally divided amongst his of
    her children, if my dear wife should not survive me then her share
    to be divided amongst my children. I hereby appoint my son William
    Ashmore and my son in law Joseph Swindell of Tideswell, Executors of
    this my will, hereby revoking all former wills. In Witness whereof
    I have hereunto set my hand this twentyeight day of June one
    thousand eight hundred and eighty four - Thomas Ashmore -
    Signed by the Testator Thomas Ashmore and for his his last will and Testament
    in the presence of us, present at the same time who in his presence at his request
    and in the presence of each other have hereunto set our names as
    witnesses - Mary Ashmore; Philip Heaton Flint, Tideswell
            Proved at Derby the 26th day of November 1884 by the
            Oaths of William Ashmore, the son, and Joseph
            Swindell the Executors to whom administration
            was granted
    The Testator Thomas Ashmore was late of Monyash in the County
    of Derby Miner and died on the thirtieth day of July 1884 at Monyash
    aforesaid
            Gross value of Personal Estate £545:0:0
    Extracted by William Briggs, Solicitor , Derby.
24. Death Certificate from Registration District of Bakewell states:

    When and where died	Name	Sex	Age	Occupation	Cause of death	Signature, description and residence of informant	When registered
    Thirtieth July 1884 Monyash RSD	Thomas Ashmore	Male	77 years	Lead Miner	Old Age Certified by Philip S Stinton	The mark of Mary Ashmore Widow of deceased Present at the Death Monyash	Thirty first July 1884

25. Parish Register of St Leonard's, Monyash includes the entry:
    

    Name	Abode	When buried	Age
    Thomas Ashmore	Moniash	Aug 1 [1884]	79 years

Red soil incident details to do on seperate page.