My Rigg Family History
Muncaster Castle by Allom.
"To be forgotten is to die twice"
Paul Ricoeur
The part of the Rigg family from which I am descended are first recorded in the mid 1770s in what is now south-west Cumbria (until 1974 in the County of Lancashire) in North Western England.
Following my Rigg family line back in time has been made easier because many of my direct ancestors and their associated families lived in the Kirkby in Furness area and worked in the slate quarries there. This can though on occasion can provide difficulties in understanding which individual in my family a reference refers to as there are other Rigg families in the area and hence there are multiple George and John Rigg's and not all belong to my own branch of the Rigg family!
I have been greatly assisted and am very grateful to have access to the information included in R. Stanley Geddes (the quarry's General Manager from January 1938 - October 1962) book 'Burlington Blue-Grey, A History of the Slate Quarries, Kirkby-in-Furness' which was published in 1975. This book contains a full narrative of the development and exploitation of the slate deposits of this area and additionally a Valette listing many of the employees at the quarries and their family relationships.
I now describe my line of ascent by generation setting out the known information.
Paul Ricoeur
The part of the Rigg family from which I am descended are first recorded in the mid 1770s in what is now south-west Cumbria (until 1974 in the County of Lancashire) in North Western England.
Following my Rigg family line back in time has been made easier because many of my direct ancestors and their associated families lived in the Kirkby in Furness area and worked in the slate quarries there. This can though on occasion can provide difficulties in understanding which individual in my family a reference refers to as there are other Rigg families in the area and hence there are multiple George and John Rigg's and not all belong to my own branch of the Rigg family!
I have been greatly assisted and am very grateful to have access to the information included in R. Stanley Geddes (the quarry's General Manager from January 1938 - October 1962) book 'Burlington Blue-Grey, A History of the Slate Quarries, Kirkby-in-Furness' which was published in 1975. This book contains a full narrative of the development and exploitation of the slate deposits of this area and additionally a Valette listing many of the employees at the quarries and their family relationships.
I now describe my line of ascent by generation setting out the known information.
My Rigg Line of Ascent
My Direct Line of Ascent.
From myself, Antony Michael Rigg (Generation 2 on the line of ascent chart below):
Third Generation (my Father)
Name Raymond Sydney Rigg
Born: Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire 3 November 1919
Married: Dorothea Hill 26 March 1952
at St. Mary’s RC Church, Fleetwood, Lancashire
Occupation: Railway Goods Agent, Financial Officer.
Death: 19 January 2006
Hospital, Lancaster, Lancashire.
Pen Portrait
My Father was born in Devon Street, Barrow-in-Furness, (then part of Lancashire) to Sydney and Hilda Rigg (nee Allington), he was their first child. They lived in Devon Street, Barrow in Furness. During his early childhood, the family moved to Bushey in Hertfordshire and Goole in East Yorkshire before settling at Fleetwood in Lancashire. On leaving school in Fleetwood in 1933 he joined the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a ticket boy working in the local area.
Third Generation (my Father)
Name Raymond Sydney Rigg
Born: Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire 3 November 1919
Married: Dorothea Hill 26 March 1952
at St. Mary’s RC Church, Fleetwood, Lancashire
Occupation: Railway Goods Agent, Financial Officer.
Death: 19 January 2006
Hospital, Lancaster, Lancashire.
Pen Portrait
My Father was born in Devon Street, Barrow-in-Furness, (then part of Lancashire) to Sydney and Hilda Rigg (nee Allington), he was their first child. They lived in Devon Street, Barrow in Furness. During his early childhood, the family moved to Bushey in Hertfordshire and Goole in East Yorkshire before settling at Fleetwood in Lancashire. On leaving school in Fleetwood in 1933 he joined the London, Midland and Scottish Railway as a ticket boy working in the local area.
TO SEE A FULLER DESCRIPTION OF HIS LIFE, PLEASE FOLLOW THE BLUE LINKS BELOW, OTHERWISE READ ON BELOW:
1). Early Life
Army Service
2). 1939 -Joining Up and Basic Training
3). 1941 - to the Middle East
4). 1941- Egypt
5). 1942 - Palestine
6). 1942- Officer Training - Middle East OCTU
7). 1943 - The Italian Campaign
8). 1943 - 1946 Greece
9). 1946 - The Way Home
1). Early Life
Army Service
2). 1939 -Joining Up and Basic Training
3). 1941 - to the Middle East
4). 1941- Egypt
5). 1942 - Palestine
6). 1942- Officer Training - Middle East OCTU
7). 1943 - The Italian Campaign
8). 1943 - 1946 Greece
9). 1946 - The Way Home
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Lieutenant RS Rigg - photo taken in Naples, Italy in 1943.
Ray joined the army before the outbreak of WW2 and following completion of initial training he was posted to Egypt in the Middle East.
He was selected for officer training and in October 1941 was commissioned in the Royal Engineers. He was posted to the Movement Control Allied Force (MCAF) Organisation, planning and delivering troop and materiel movements in the North African and later the Italian and Greek Theatres.
.The Italian Campaign 1943 - 1945
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British Troops coming ashore from an LST during the Sicily landings.
Ray took part in the landings at Syracuse in the east of Sicily, waiting below deck in a landing ship overnight before the landings and hearing bombs being dropped nearby.
As the scale of his role grew, Ray found himself involved in the planning and preparations for the major campaigns of the Mediterranean theatre. This included the planning prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) which took place in July 1943. Operation Husky was the largest amphibious operation of World War II in terms of size of the landing zone and number of divisions to be put ashore on the first day. The US Seventh Army were to be landed in the south of the island and British Eighth Army in the east.
MCAF Map of the Italian Campaign landings and railway routes opened.
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The Mess at Perugia.
As the Italian Campaign progressed, the MCAF headquarters moved northward through Italy and were quartered either at the headquarters location or nearby in an appropriate building. One such quarters was a villa which was requisitioned and used for a period in Perugia.
Ray was progressively promoted and at 26 years old and at the end of the war in 1945, he was the youngest Lieutenant Colonel in Italy.
During his service he worked for General Brian Hubert Robertson, later 1st Baron Robertson of Oakridge, later the Chairman of the British Transport Commission (1953-61) and with Denis Healey the Labour Politician, Marcus Sieff later Lord Sieff of Brimpton, the Chairman of Marks and Spencer.
His surviving papers show his demobilisation in 1945 was deferred due to 'shortage of officers' in the Central Mediterranean area. He travelled back home to the UK though on leave overland in the back of an army lorry.
In July 1946 he finally travelled home, leaving Greece on board the HMT Empire Pride which sailed from Piraeus to Toulon and then onward overland to the English Channel.
After a period of leave in Fleetwood, he rejoined the London, Midland & Scottish Railway having gained a place on the company's Traffic Apprenticeship Scheme. He spent the rest of his career working for the railway until his retirement at Preston in 1977. He was retired for 29 years.
During his service he worked for General Brian Hubert Robertson, later 1st Baron Robertson of Oakridge, later the Chairman of the British Transport Commission (1953-61) and with Denis Healey the Labour Politician, Marcus Sieff later Lord Sieff of Brimpton, the Chairman of Marks and Spencer.
His surviving papers show his demobilisation in 1945 was deferred due to 'shortage of officers' in the Central Mediterranean area. He travelled back home to the UK though on leave overland in the back of an army lorry.
In July 1946 he finally travelled home, leaving Greece on board the HMT Empire Pride which sailed from Piraeus to Toulon and then onward overland to the English Channel.
After a period of leave in Fleetwood, he rejoined the London, Midland & Scottish Railway having gained a place on the company's Traffic Apprenticeship Scheme. He spent the rest of his career working for the railway until his retirement at Preston in 1977. He was retired for 29 years.
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Sydney Rigg Lieutenant RGA Barrow in Furness 1918.
Fourth Generation (my Grandfather)
Name Sydney Rigg
Born: Kirkby in Furness, Lancashire 7 October 1892
Married: Hilda Allington 5 February 1918
Occupation: Dock Manager
Death: Beach Road, Fleetwood, Lancashire 22 June 1970
Pen Portrait:
Sydney Rigg was born at Kirkby in Furness in NW Lancashire in 1892, the child of George and Sarah Ann Rigg. He was the eldest of their four children, his brothers and sister being; Frank (1894), Elizabeth - known as Bessie (1899) and George (1906). Sydney grew up in the village of Beckside in the parish of Kirkby in Furness. He is recorded there in the 1901 Census, aged 8.
By 3 February 1908, when he was 16, Sydney had joined the Furness Railway Company, breaking the Rigg family tradition of a working career in the Burlington Slate Quarries at Kirkby. He initially worked in the Barrow Goods Depot as a Clerk. When, in August 1910 he transferred into the Goods Managers' Office at Barrow still as a clerk, he was being paid 11/6d (eleven Shillings and Sixpence) a week.
During the Great War he served in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Records show that in November 1917, the Siege Artillery Reserve Brigade RGA No 3 was formed and was based at Prees Heath Camp, at Whitchurch in Shropshire and that Sydney spent time there. The brigade was formed due to the special demands of the war, as its title implies for replenishing the depleted ranks of battery establishments, especially after The Battle of Cambrai and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). The camp also encompassed a formation and training centre from Dec 1916 and some 78 Siege Batteries were formed there during the war.
Although his medal record card does not have detail of where he fought, it is known that following his commissioning on 21 January 1918, Sydney served with the 197th Siege Battery in Northern Italy where he served from 30 March 1918 until 20 March 1919. British forces had been deployed there from late 1917 to assist the Italian Army who were resisting the Austro-Hungarian offensive. During his time there he would have taken part in the operations on the Piave and Asiago rivers. He ended his war as a 2nd Lieutenant, his war service being recorded in the Furness Railway Company's Roll of Honour, where his rank is given as Bombardier.
Name Sydney Rigg
Born: Kirkby in Furness, Lancashire 7 October 1892
Married: Hilda Allington 5 February 1918
Occupation: Dock Manager
Death: Beach Road, Fleetwood, Lancashire 22 June 1970
Pen Portrait:
Sydney Rigg was born at Kirkby in Furness in NW Lancashire in 1892, the child of George and Sarah Ann Rigg. He was the eldest of their four children, his brothers and sister being; Frank (1894), Elizabeth - known as Bessie (1899) and George (1906). Sydney grew up in the village of Beckside in the parish of Kirkby in Furness. He is recorded there in the 1901 Census, aged 8.
By 3 February 1908, when he was 16, Sydney had joined the Furness Railway Company, breaking the Rigg family tradition of a working career in the Burlington Slate Quarries at Kirkby. He initially worked in the Barrow Goods Depot as a Clerk. When, in August 1910 he transferred into the Goods Managers' Office at Barrow still as a clerk, he was being paid 11/6d (eleven Shillings and Sixpence) a week.
During the Great War he served in the Royal Garrison Artillery. Records show that in November 1917, the Siege Artillery Reserve Brigade RGA No 3 was formed and was based at Prees Heath Camp, at Whitchurch in Shropshire and that Sydney spent time there. The brigade was formed due to the special demands of the war, as its title implies for replenishing the depleted ranks of battery establishments, especially after The Battle of Cambrai and the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele). The camp also encompassed a formation and training centre from Dec 1916 and some 78 Siege Batteries were formed there during the war.
Although his medal record card does not have detail of where he fought, it is known that following his commissioning on 21 January 1918, Sydney served with the 197th Siege Battery in Northern Italy where he served from 30 March 1918 until 20 March 1919. British forces had been deployed there from late 1917 to assist the Italian Army who were resisting the Austro-Hungarian offensive. During his time there he would have taken part in the operations on the Piave and Asiago rivers. He ended his war as a 2nd Lieutenant, his war service being recorded in the Furness Railway Company's Roll of Honour, where his rank is given as Bombardier.
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He had married Anne Hilda Allington during the First World War, on the 5 February 1918 at St. Cuthbert's in Kirkby in Furness. The Allington family of which Hilda was part had moved to Barrow in Furness in the 1880s originated from the area around Winchcombe in Gloucestershire where the family had lived for many generations, going back to her Great, Great, Great Grand Uncle Anthony Allington who was born there in about 1704, and on the maternal side to a John Stephens - my 10th Great Grandfather - who was christened at Caversham, Oxfordshire on 7 July 1605.
To read more about my Allington Ancestors, please click here.
After the Great War, Sydney returned to work for the Furness Railway Company in the Barrow in Furness area.
To read more about my Allington Ancestors, please click here.
After the Great War, Sydney returned to work for the Furness Railway Company in the Barrow in Furness area.
In the 1930's the family moved to Bushey in Hertfordshire when Sydney took a transfer of his job. The photo left, taken in the garden of their house at 35 Victoria Road, Bushey shows from left to right, Ray, Joan, Sydney, Hilda (with Nancy on her knee), Aunt Tilly - Matilda Attwood (nee Allington), and Ray's brother Eric.
Whilst living in Bushey, Ray and his younger brother Eric were members of Bushey Parish Church Choir.
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From Bushey, the family moved in 1934 to Fleetwood in Lancashire, where Sydney became an Assistant Dock Manager. Later he moved to Goole in East Yorkshire, where he became Dock Manager. The family lived there in Boothferry Road.
Before WW2, Sydney finally relocated, again back to Fleetwood where he became Dock Manager. The family lived in Milton Street and later moved to Beach Road. During the Second World War Sydney led the Fleetwood Home Guard. He retired from the railwys in 1953 aged 62. In retirement he played golf at Fleetwood Golf Club, took up gardening and was also the chairman of the Fleetwood British Legion Social Services Committee. He had many friends who were connected with Fleetwood's fishing industry and who lived in the town. Fish was often on the table at home thanks to the generosity of Fleetwood's trawler owners and skippers! Sydney's youngest son John followed his father's association with the fishing industry working for the Ministry of Fisheries (later part of MAFF and DEFRA) initially in Fleetwood and elswhere in the UK.
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George Rigg
Fifth Generation (my Great-Grandfather)
Name George Rigg
Born: Boltonground, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire 17 January 1855
Married: Sarah Anne Atkinson 4 July 1891
at the Parish Church of St. George, Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire
Occupation: Slate River then an Assurance Agent.
Death: Mount Pleasant, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire. 16 January 1931
Pen Portrait:
George Rigg was born in January 1854 at Boltonground, Kirkby in Furness. He was the second child in the family of John Tyson Rigg and Elizabeth Casson. The eldest child of the family noted in the 1861 census being Mary born in 1852 at Broughton West and described as an 'imbecile'. Mary was still living with her mother Betty Rigg at Henschal Terrace, Kirkby Ireleth at the time of the 1891 census.
The family home was at Boltonground, a small group of houses (now derelict) where about 10 families were living in 1861 near the quarries at Kirkby. George worked in the Kirkby quarry from 11 years of age, becoming a Slate River; pronounced 'reever'. Quarried blocks of slate are 'rived' into thin slates, by splitting them with a hammer and chisel, they are then dressed to the various sizes used as roofing slates, it is a very skilled job.
At some point, George became a member of the Band of Hope, a Christian temperance movement which advocated teetotalism and taught the young about the 'evils of alcohol'. George attended their meetings and sang in public recitals given by the Band of Hope in Kirkby.
Name George Rigg
Born: Boltonground, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire 17 January 1855
Married: Sarah Anne Atkinson 4 July 1891
at the Parish Church of St. George, Barrow-in-Furness, Lancashire
Occupation: Slate River then an Assurance Agent.
Death: Mount Pleasant, Barrow in Furness, Lancashire. 16 January 1931
Pen Portrait:
George Rigg was born in January 1854 at Boltonground, Kirkby in Furness. He was the second child in the family of John Tyson Rigg and Elizabeth Casson. The eldest child of the family noted in the 1861 census being Mary born in 1852 at Broughton West and described as an 'imbecile'. Mary was still living with her mother Betty Rigg at Henschal Terrace, Kirkby Ireleth at the time of the 1891 census.
The family home was at Boltonground, a small group of houses (now derelict) where about 10 families were living in 1861 near the quarries at Kirkby. George worked in the Kirkby quarry from 11 years of age, becoming a Slate River; pronounced 'reever'. Quarried blocks of slate are 'rived' into thin slates, by splitting them with a hammer and chisel, they are then dressed to the various sizes used as roofing slates, it is a very skilled job.
At some point, George became a member of the Band of Hope, a Christian temperance movement which advocated teetotalism and taught the young about the 'evils of alcohol'. George attended their meetings and sang in public recitals given by the Band of Hope in Kirkby.
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George Rigg's signature from the 1911 Census
In his later life George and Sarah lived at a cottage in Soutergate.
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George Rigg's Prudential Employment Record (Courtesy Prudential Archive)
By the 1901 census, George was describing himself as an Insurance Agent. His Prudential Insurance employment record shows a previous occupation with Pearl Assurance prior to the Prudential - the UK's largest life assurance company. It's unclear whether he chose to completely leave his working life in the slate quarry although his Prudential employment record does indicate that he was a part-time agent. He was the last of my direct Rigg ancestors to have worked for the majority of his life in the Burlington quarry. As the record notes him as 'part-time', he may have still worked in the quarry whilst also acting as a Prudential Agent. Ray Rigg who knew his grandfather George in his later years said that his grandfather worked in the quarry all his life, he did not know of him being 'a man from the Pru'. The role of a Prudential agent was to visit the homes of Prudential policyholders and collect the weekly premium payments. He would also have discussed and sold new policies.
To the right is a copy of George's employment record from the Prudential Company's archive.
In the notes section at the bottom of the page the text reads;
1910 Apr Operation for cancer on lip
Oct Influenza and abcess
1914 May Gave up £7.5- debit
1919 Oct Offered gratuity £15 - £20 the whole of debit
1920 Jan Cycle accident
Apr Resumed duties
1921 Apr Resigned
The other information from this record notes that George's previous occupation was as an agent with Pearl, and that his security (presumably an amount of money to be held as a bond whilst the person acted for the Prudential) was provided for his role by John Atkinson of 2 St. George's Square, Barrow. John was George's Father-in-Law. John's occupation is noted as 'Foreman (Goods Yard), Furness Railway Coy'.
To the right is a copy of George's employment record from the Prudential Company's archive.
In the notes section at the bottom of the page the text reads;
1910 Apr Operation for cancer on lip
Oct Influenza and abcess
1914 May Gave up £7.5- debit
1919 Oct Offered gratuity £15 - £20 the whole of debit
1920 Jan Cycle accident
Apr Resumed duties
1921 Apr Resigned
The other information from this record notes that George's previous occupation was as an agent with Pearl, and that his security (presumably an amount of money to be held as a bond whilst the person acted for the Prudential) was provided for his role by John Atkinson of 2 St. George's Square, Barrow. John was George's Father-in-Law. John's occupation is noted as 'Foreman (Goods Yard), Furness Railway Coy'.
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George and Sarah Rigg's gravestone at Kirkby.
George and Sarah are buried in St. Cuthberts churchyard by the church tower.
'Faithful unto Death'
Sixth Generation (my Great, Great - Grandfather)
Name John Tyson Rigg
Born: Boltonground, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire about 1830
Married: Elizabeth Casson 28 May 1853, at the Register Office, Ulverston
Occupation: Slate River
Death: Sandside, Kirkby in Furness 4 May 1877
Pen Portrait:
John was the illegitimate son of Ann Rigg, he was born at 'Boulton Ground' and was baptised at the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert at Kirkby Ireleth on Sunday 21 March 1830. John's son George only shared the fact of his Father's illegitimacy with my own grandfather Sydney Rigg towards the end of his own life. John had also told George that his father was from the owning family at Holker Hall, the house where Ann worked at the time. The only other information regarding John shared about his parentage being that being that his father suffered from insanity. This piece of my family history remained not widely discussed; I was only told by my father when an adult.
From census returns, it is clear that John was raised by Ann's parents, George and Eleanor as their own offspring. In the 1841 census he is recorded as 'Tyson', his age is given as 12 years, and he was living at Boltonground with his grandparents George (65) and 'Ellenor' (50). The other offspring there at that time being; William (26), John (19), Hannah (17) and James (14). All the men of the household excepting John Tyson being described in the census as 'slate rivers'. That he was seemingly brought up by his maternal grandparents is supported by Ann, John Tyson's mother's early marriage and the arrival of other children in that marriage. See her own pen portrait below.
In the 1851 census he is living with his widowed grandmother at Marshside and is again named as John, his occupation being a 'slate river (journeyman)'. Interestingly, in the census his relation to the head of family (Eleanor Rigg) is correctly quoted there as 'Grand Son'.
Name John Tyson Rigg
Born: Boltonground, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire about 1830
Married: Elizabeth Casson 28 May 1853, at the Register Office, Ulverston
Occupation: Slate River
Death: Sandside, Kirkby in Furness 4 May 1877
Pen Portrait:
John was the illegitimate son of Ann Rigg, he was born at 'Boulton Ground' and was baptised at the Parish Church of St. Cuthbert at Kirkby Ireleth on Sunday 21 March 1830. John's son George only shared the fact of his Father's illegitimacy with my own grandfather Sydney Rigg towards the end of his own life. John had also told George that his father was from the owning family at Holker Hall, the house where Ann worked at the time. The only other information regarding John shared about his parentage being that being that his father suffered from insanity. This piece of my family history remained not widely discussed; I was only told by my father when an adult.
From census returns, it is clear that John was raised by Ann's parents, George and Eleanor as their own offspring. In the 1841 census he is recorded as 'Tyson', his age is given as 12 years, and he was living at Boltonground with his grandparents George (65) and 'Ellenor' (50). The other offspring there at that time being; William (26), John (19), Hannah (17) and James (14). All the men of the household excepting John Tyson being described in the census as 'slate rivers'. That he was seemingly brought up by his maternal grandparents is supported by Ann, John Tyson's mother's early marriage and the arrival of other children in that marriage. See her own pen portrait below.
In the 1851 census he is living with his widowed grandmother at Marshside and is again named as John, his occupation being a 'slate river (journeyman)'. Interestingly, in the census his relation to the head of family (Eleanor Rigg) is correctly quoted there as 'Grand Son'.
On Saturday 28 May 1853, John married Elizabeth Casson at the Register Office, Ulverston. Elizabeth was 19 years old. Both made 'their mark' in the register, showing that they were then at most only semi-literate. John also very probably incorrectly gave his father's name as 'John Rigg, a husbandman'. Elizabeth stated her residence as Broughton West, John as Boltonground. No parental information being given by Elizabeth.
Civil marriages had become possible in Britain following the passing of the Marriage Act of 1836, but continued to be very rare in Victorian Britain with only a small percentage of couples choosing a non-religious ceremony throughout the era.
Broughton West - Elizabeth's place of residence, is the civil parish at the head and to the North East of the River Duddon estuary. The parish includes Broughton in Furness, Foxfield, Lower Hawthwaite, Broughton Mills and Woodland.
Civil marriages had become possible in Britain following the passing of the Marriage Act of 1836, but continued to be very rare in Victorian Britain with only a small percentage of couples choosing a non-religious ceremony throughout the era.
Broughton West - Elizabeth's place of residence, is the civil parish at the head and to the North East of the River Duddon estuary. The parish includes Broughton in Furness, Foxfield, Lower Hawthwaite, Broughton Mills and Woodland.
Apart from Mary and George, their other children were Hannah (born about 1858, no record after the 1861 census), John (born about 1860), Helen (born 1862), William (born 1866), Isabella (born 1868, no record after the 1871 census), Sarah (1871) and Robert (born about 1874).
The 'Red Book' (The Earl of Burlington's note book, in use from 1848-1856 which was kept in connection with the quarry business) records a John Rigg taking the Fisher East End Quarry contract for 1852. If this is John Tyson he would have been 23. There being no other likely John Rigg's in the Valette within R. Stanley Geddes 'Burlingon Blue-Grey', it is tantalising to ponder whether this is my ancestor John Rigg and also if he was known to the Cavendish family and was given these rights at the quarry because of it. It will though never be known.
He died on Monday 4 May 1877 aged 47 of Phthisis; an archaic name for Consumption or Tuberculosis, and was buried at St Cuthberts Church at Kirkby Ireleth. The exact location of the grave in the churchyard is not known.
The 'Red Book' (The Earl of Burlington's note book, in use from 1848-1856 which was kept in connection with the quarry business) records a John Rigg taking the Fisher East End Quarry contract for 1852. If this is John Tyson he would have been 23. There being no other likely John Rigg's in the Valette within R. Stanley Geddes 'Burlingon Blue-Grey', it is tantalising to ponder whether this is my ancestor John Rigg and also if he was known to the Cavendish family and was given these rights at the quarry because of it. It will though never be known.
He died on Monday 4 May 1877 aged 47 of Phthisis; an archaic name for Consumption or Tuberculosis, and was buried at St Cuthberts Church at Kirkby Ireleth. The exact location of the grave in the churchyard is not known.
John Tyson's death was announced in the Lancaster Gazette on Saturday 12 May 1877.
The site of Boltonground in 2002 - now just a copse by an quiet lane.
Seventh Generation (my Great, Great, Great - Grandmother)
Name Ann Rigg
Born: Beckside, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire about March 1809
Occupation: Domestic Servant
Death: Cartmel Holker Upper, Lancashire 11 May 1895
Pen Portrait:
Ann Rigg was born to George and Eleanor Rigg of Beckside and was christened at St Cuthbert's, Kirkby Ireleth on Thursday 16 Mar 1809. Ann is said to have worked at Holker Hall, the country house in southern lakeland still owned by the Cavendish family.
Name Ann Rigg
Born: Beckside, Kirkby-in-Furness, Lancashire about March 1809
Occupation: Domestic Servant
Death: Cartmel Holker Upper, Lancashire 11 May 1895
Pen Portrait:
Ann Rigg was born to George and Eleanor Rigg of Beckside and was christened at St Cuthbert's, Kirkby Ireleth on Thursday 16 Mar 1809. Ann is said to have worked at Holker Hall, the country house in southern lakeland still owned by the Cavendish family.
Following the birth of her illegitimate son John Tyson in 1829, she very probably married John Thompson of Great Urswick in Low Furness at the Church of St. Mary and St. Michael, Great Urswick, on Saturday 25 May 1833. He then being described as a 'house carpenter, bachelor, aged 23', she being described as a spinster, also aged 23. The witnesses at their marriage were James Hall and Thomas Simpson. Given the dates, she was 2 months pregnant with her son Richard at the time of their marriage.
She and her husband John went on to have at least 3 children;
- Richard Christened at Urswick 29 December 1833
- John Born 1842
- Ann (Annie) Born 1850 (married name Wildman) - who was a domestic servant (as Annie Thompson) at Grange House, Kents Bank Road, Upper & Lower Allinthwaite in the 1881 census. Annie was living in Cartmel by the time of the 1901 census and was a widow.
Ann Rigg (Thompson) passed away at Cartmel Holker Upper, Lancashire on Saturday 11 May 1895 aged 65. She had lived for 18 years longer than her son John. She was buried in the churchyard of St Mary and Michael Parish Church at Urswick.
She and her husband John went on to have at least 3 children;
- Richard Christened at Urswick 29 December 1833
- John Born 1842
- Ann (Annie) Born 1850 (married name Wildman) - who was a domestic servant (as Annie Thompson) at Grange House, Kents Bank Road, Upper & Lower Allinthwaite in the 1881 census. Annie was living in Cartmel by the time of the 1901 census and was a widow.
Ann Rigg (Thompson) passed away at Cartmel Holker Upper, Lancashire on Saturday 11 May 1895 aged 65. She had lived for 18 years longer than her son John. She was buried in the churchyard of St Mary and Michael Parish Church at Urswick.
Eighth Generation (my Great, Great, Great, Great - Grandfather)
Name George Rigg
Born: about 1776
Married: Eleanor White 08 Feb 1807 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Occupation: Slate River
Death: 23 April 1850
Burial on 26 April 1850 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Pen Portrait:
George Rigg first appears in my family record at the time of his marriage which was recorded in the register of St Cuthberts, Kirkby Ireleth, where on Sunday 8 Feb 1807 he married Eleanor White, he a bachelor she a spinster. The witnesses were Thomas Myers and John James. Eleanor came from the 'Isle of Walney' and was born there at Biggar, being christened on 19 July 1789 at the Parish Church of St Mary, Dalton in Furness. As they chose to marry in Kirkby Ireleth and not in keeping with tradition in Dalton, the bride's parish, it seems that George was then living in Kirkby and would have regarded it as his home parish.
The only UK census in which George appears is that of 1841 (taken on June 6), where his age is given as 65, therefore his year of birth would be 1776, although it was the practice to round down age by up to 5 years in the 1841 census, so this age may not be accurate and he may have been older. By the time of the 1851 census, taken that year on 30 March, George is not present in the household.
Eleanor was the daughter of George White & Anne. She died in about 1852. The burial register for St Cuthberts at Kirkby has an Ann White aged aged 80, buried there on 19 July 1824 and also a George White aged 83 who was buried there on 16 Jan 1825. They were both of Boulton Ground. These may be Eleanor's parents. If so, this takes this side of my family line back to about 1742.
Name George Rigg
Born: about 1776
Married: Eleanor White 08 Feb 1807 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Occupation: Slate River
Death: 23 April 1850
Burial on 26 April 1850 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Pen Portrait:
George Rigg first appears in my family record at the time of his marriage which was recorded in the register of St Cuthberts, Kirkby Ireleth, where on Sunday 8 Feb 1807 he married Eleanor White, he a bachelor she a spinster. The witnesses were Thomas Myers and John James. Eleanor came from the 'Isle of Walney' and was born there at Biggar, being christened on 19 July 1789 at the Parish Church of St Mary, Dalton in Furness. As they chose to marry in Kirkby Ireleth and not in keeping with tradition in Dalton, the bride's parish, it seems that George was then living in Kirkby and would have regarded it as his home parish.
The only UK census in which George appears is that of 1841 (taken on June 6), where his age is given as 65, therefore his year of birth would be 1776, although it was the practice to round down age by up to 5 years in the 1841 census, so this age may not be accurate and he may have been older. By the time of the 1851 census, taken that year on 30 March, George is not present in the household.
Eleanor was the daughter of George White & Anne. She died in about 1852. The burial register for St Cuthberts at Kirkby has an Ann White aged aged 80, buried there on 19 July 1824 and also a George White aged 83 who was buried there on 16 Jan 1825. They were both of Boulton Ground. These may be Eleanor's parents. If so, this takes this side of my family line back to about 1742.
Ninth Generation (my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great - Grandfather)
Name Francis Rigg
Born: about 1731
Married: Mary Towers 12 May 1770 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Occupation: Slate River?
Death: Buried on 15 January 1820 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Pen Portrait:
Name Francis Rigg
Born: about 1731
Married: Mary Towers 12 May 1770 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Occupation: Slate River?
Death: Buried on 15 January 1820 at St Cuthberts Parish Church, Kirkby Ireleth.
Pen Portrait:
The rather shadowy figure of my GGGGG Grandfather Francis Rigg appears in my family record in parish records on a number of occasions.
Francis married Mary Towers of Kirkby Ireleth at St Cuthberts Parish Church there on
Saturday 12 May 1770, he being a bachelor of the parish of Millom in the County of Cumberland, she a spinster. The witnesses being recorded rather grandly as 'Fardynando' Bourns - possibly a form of the first name Fernando - and Agnes Towers. Agnes was also the name of an illegitimate daughter of Mary. Agnes was baptised on 23 May 1764 at St Cuthberts.
Francis and Mary subsequently had 2 children according to the records, George was born
about 1776 and Francis in 1782 - he died July 1783. Mary his wife, who was born in 1749, died in 1808.
St Cuthbert's parish records show Francis' burial there on 15 January 1820 - which was a Saturday, at the fine age of 89 - this would mean he was born in 1731. At the time of his death, Francis' abode was given as 'Hallsteads' - which was a farm situated to the north of Chapels in Kirkby and below the quarry. Having been left to the parish, it was for some time used as the place where the parish gave 'indoor relief' in those pre-Workhouse days.
Francis married Mary Towers of Kirkby Ireleth at St Cuthberts Parish Church there on
Saturday 12 May 1770, he being a bachelor of the parish of Millom in the County of Cumberland, she a spinster. The witnesses being recorded rather grandly as 'Fardynando' Bourns - possibly a form of the first name Fernando - and Agnes Towers. Agnes was also the name of an illegitimate daughter of Mary. Agnes was baptised on 23 May 1764 at St Cuthberts.
Francis and Mary subsequently had 2 children according to the records, George was born
about 1776 and Francis in 1782 - he died July 1783. Mary his wife, who was born in 1749, died in 1808.
St Cuthbert's parish records show Francis' burial there on 15 January 1820 - which was a Saturday, at the fine age of 89 - this would mean he was born in 1731. At the time of his death, Francis' abode was given as 'Hallsteads' - which was a farm situated to the north of Chapels in Kirkby and below the quarry. Having been left to the parish, it was for some time used as the place where the parish gave 'indoor relief' in those pre-Workhouse days.
The Rigg Family of Southwestern Lakeland © Michael Rigg 2021