Hi, I'm researching the family tree, and family on my mothers side, surname Cross.

Looking at some census records for 1901, we think a relative, John Cross, was listed as a station master, and I'm assuming this was at the station. (the address was 12 Mooregate (with an 'e')).

Looking at the details of the station master Robert Smith, he was appointed 1902, so after the census.

Any pointers where I could get some info?

Hello Adrian,

I'm just trying to unravel this one, and I think I have found the John Cross you're referring to on the 1901 census for Maghull. He is said to be 47 years old (so, born about 1854), born in Maghull, and was married to Agnes. I notice that their eldest four children were said to have been born at Bescar Lane between about 1880 and 1883, which would make sense, because there is a station at Bescar Lane, Scarisbrick. (That family do seem to be living at Bescar Lane in 1881.)

However, I can't see him linked to the Moorgate address; do you know whether the record that you found was definitely part of the Ormskirk census?

The first thing that struck me as being potentially useful would be the trade directories that covered Lancashire during the 1880s to early 1900s; there are some at the Lancashire Archives in Preston but you can also find some on Ancestry etc, and these often give information about the names of teachers, station masters, vicars, and others with significant roles in the community, so you may be able to trace John's arrival in different places that way (using the birthplaces of any children as a guide).

Best wishes,
Kate Hurst
ODFHS Chair

Helllo Kate,

Thanks for your reply and some new information.

John and Agnes had 4 children (we think), and one of the kids was also called Agnes and would have been my great grandmother.

Agnes had a son, Horace, thats my grandfather, and his birth certificate doesn't list a father (scandal in the family!). We knew him as a Cross, so his mothers name, and also my mothers maiden name, although we are struggling to find anything in his service records.

The 1901 census is where we got the Mooregate address from, for Agnes the daughter of John and Agnes Cross.

The Scarisbrick station is a good tip, thats something to delve into, we'd assumed it was Ormskirk.

The birth certificate for Horace lists Agnes's profession as a confectioners assistant. Were there any confectioners of note in the area, or could you point us somewhere?

Hello Adrian,

Sorry for the short delay in replying to you. The fact that Agnes was noted to be a confectioner's assistant is interesting; I think I've now found Horace's birth record (in the March quarter of 1915 in Ormskirk), so I'm now getting a better idea of what sort of timeframe you're looking at. I've also found Agnes on the 1911 census, living on Moss Delph Lane, Aughton, with a Mary Mercer Norris and her two small sons; that record definitely shows Agnes working as a confectioner.

As Horace's birth certificate seems to suggest that Agnes moved to Ormskirk by 1915, I am starting to wonder whether she could have been involved in making Ormskirk gingerbread? There were quite a number of confectioners living in Ormskirk when the 1911 census was taken, and some were known to have made gingerbread. (In most cases, they were what we'd now call "sole traders" rather than employees of a larger company, but I know that at least one bakery - Coulton's - was established somewhere around 1903, so that could be another possibility.)