William was born about 1836 in Kearsley near Bolton and was baptised at St Saviour Church in Ringley on the 27th March 1836. He was the son of John Mangnall (HM009) and Ellen. He is shown in the 1841 Census living at Dyehouse Brow in Kearsley with his parents and two oldest sisters.

In 1851 at the time of the census he was 15 years old and working as a Mule Piecer in a cotton mill. By the time of the 1861 Census he had married Mary (GM113), he was working as a Railway Points Man and they were living in “Railway Side” in Abram with their first son John.

They had at least eight children:-

  • John (FM118), born about 1858;
  • Annie (FM119), born about 1863;
  • William (FM120), born about 1866;
  • James (FM121), born about 1869;
  • David (FM251), born about 1870;
  • Frances (FM122), born about 1873;
  • Robert (EM083), born about 1877;
  • Mary (EM084), born about 1881.

In 1871, at the time of the Census, William and Mary were living at Foggs Fold in Hindley with their five oldest children. William was a Coal Agent.

The 1881 Census shows that William was still a Colliery Agent but now they had moved to 49 Lord Street, Balmoral Villas in Hindley.

The family had moved to 1 Catherine Street in Abram by the time of the 1891 Census, William still working as a Colliery Agent.

The 1901 Census shows that William has retired and is living with his daughter Mary at West Brook Cottage in Bolton-Le-Sands, he is a widower.

The Slater’s Lancashire Directory of 1895 records William as Coal Agent of “Bickershaw lane, Abram”.


[Last updated 16 Feb 2021]