I am trying to find information about Joseph Howarth who was known as Blind Joe, He was the parish bellman in Oldham and there is a statue in the local park in remembrance of him. he was born in Prestwich-cum-oldham (ie the old name for oldham) in approx 1786 and died in oldham may 1862 at the age of 75 in his 76th year. pete
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Have you tried a google search? Or contacted the local records office?
Quite a few hits for him on google - he was a lay preacher, guess you know that.
ERE is a statue in Alexandra Park of Joseph Howarth (Blind Joe) the last Oldham Bellman. Joe was born blind and took to the church, becoming a lay. preacher.
He made up for his disability by having a wonderful memory, They say that you could read him a passage of the bible (his favourite book) and he could recite it back word perfect and he never forgot any passage read to him. A handy asset when you were the bellman and had to give out the news each day in the market place. .
One of his duties was declaring the market open every Saturday morning and declaring it closed at 11.30pm on a Saturday night, making sure all the stall-holders and customers had gone home. It must have been an early form of late night shopping, and that was over 150 years ago.
Joe died in 1862 and a collection was started to erect a memorial to him. This took the form of a statue, unveiled in 1868, and was said to be the only statue in England with a top hat. They used to say that at midnight on the night of a full moon. He raised his right foot and their was a ten shilling note under it, but that might have just been an excuse for staying out late in the park.
The only criticism of Joseph was that he had no sense of humour and insisted that everything must be done by the book - a trait that didn't endear him to everyone.
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1861 - says "Blind from Firth!!" Occupation: Town Crier
e: Joseph Howarth Age: 74 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1787 Relation: Boarder Gender: Male Where born: Oldham( Blind From Firth,) Lancashire, England Civil Parish: Oldham Ecclesiastical parish: St Peter Town: Oldham County/Island: Lancashire Country: England Street address:
Occupation:
Condition as to marriage: View Image Registration district: Oldham Sub-registration district: Oldham Below Town ED, institution, or vessel: 18 Neighbors: View others on page Household schedule number: 220 Household Members: Name Age Joseph Howarth 74 Elizabeth Kinnerston 15 Edward Kirby 34 George Edward Kirby 4 Joseph Henry Kirby 1 Mary Anne Kirby 28 Sarah E Lawson 5
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1841: Occupation Bell man Living alone in but same house as 2 other families.
me: Joseph Howard [Joseph Howarth] Age: 55 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1786 Gender: Male Where born: Lancashire, England Civil Parish: Prestwich Cum Oldham Hundred: Salford County/Island: Lancashire Country: England Street address:
Occupation: View Image Registration district: Ashton and Oldham Sub-registration district: Oldham below Town Neighbors: View others on page Household Members: Name Age Joseph Howard 55 View Original Record
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1851 - Bell Man, interestingly lodging with some of the same people as the house in 1861:
Joseph Howarth Age: 63 Estimated Birth Year: abt 1788 Relation: Lodger Gender: Male Where born: Oldham, Lancashire, England Civil Parish: Oldham Below Town Ecclesiastical parish: St Peter Town: Oldham County/Island: Lancashire Country: England Street address:
Occupation:
Condition as to marriage:
Disability: View Image Registration district: Oldham Sub-registration district: Oldham ED, institution, or vessel: 1jj Neighbors: View others on page Household schedule number: 124 Household Members: Name Age Joseph Howarth 63 Mary Ann Lawson 15 Alice Ramsden 52 Henry Ramsden 54 Mary Taylor 11 View Original Record
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Hi Thanks for your reply I am interested in Joseph because when I was young we lived near Alexandra Park and my father always said he was a relation. He was buried in Chadderton Cemetry in the family grave of the Ramsden and Kirby family so I assume he was more than just a lodger. I have visited the Oldham local history centre and discovered he also sold Muffins on the market ( a type of bread cake if you don't come from oldham) His father was a hatter which was quite a big industry before the cotton mills.
were it says blind from firth I assume it should read blind from Birth.
Interestingly the engraving on the statue states he was the last bellman, but there was one more after him who was not as famous in the town. Pete
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Lol, yes, it means blind from birth. It may well be one of the Ramsdens married into his family. The only way to find out would require a bit of money spent on certificates to find a connection.
You may find that the local records office has more info on this man.
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