52 Ancestors # 45 Ann Fielden

Ann Fielden was born in Todmorden, Lancashire, on 30 January 1745. Her parents were Joshua Fielden (1707-1781) and Mary Merrick (1706-1753). Like the Lord family, the Fielden family had lived in the Todmorden area for many generations. The direct family line with the Fielden name can be traced back to the mid 1500s.

Ann's parents married at Penketh, Lancashire, on 20 March 1743. The Fieldens were Quakers and there was a Quaker Meeting House in Meetings Lane at Penketh. A listing of names of Quakers in the Todmorden region includes many members of the Fielden family. Ann's great grandparents, Joshua Fielden and Martha Greenwood became Quakers in the latter part of the 1600s. Information about the Quaker Fiedens of Todmorden and Walsden can be found on the Todmorden and Walsden website.

Joshua and Mary had six children - Ann Fielden (1745-1786), Elizabeth Fielden (1746-1846), Samuel Fielden (1747-1831), Joshua Fielden (1748-1811), Thomas Fielden (born 1751) and Mary Fielden (born 1753).

The family lived at Edge End Farm and Joshua's occupation when he married was listed as a clothier - a person who makes or sells cloth. Edge End Farm consisted of 38 acres on the hillside above the Walsden branch of the Calder River. Joshua was a tenant of the farm owned by another family member.

In the book, the Fieldens of Todmorden by Brian Law (1995), the author initially discusses the beginnings of the family in the Todmorden area:

They were no different from many others inhabiting the small farms and associated cottages in the upland townships of the Pennine parishes of Halifax and Rochdale. They made a living partly by farming, partly by weaving woollen cloth, whether for others or for their own account. ... generally the family were farmer-weavers, leading a hard, frugal and simple life. (page 17)

Ann Fielden was 18 when she married Simeon Lord (1744-1787) on 28 February 1762. What Ann's family thought of her marrying a non-Quaker is unknown. Hopefully she was not cut off from her family as her father's cousin had been forty years earlier.

Ann and Simeon had ten children - John Lord (1765-1801), Mary Lord (1766-1790), Joshua Lord (b. 1768), Simeon Lord , Betty Lord (1773-1774), Samuel Lord (1774-1792), Thomas Lord (b. 1777), Richard Lord (1778-1778), William Lord (1778-1778) and Sarah (1778-1798). There may be some confusion about the date of birth for the last three children - hopefully some additional information will come to light as more records become available to the public. However it appears that Betty, Richard and William all died when babies. From the information currently available Sarah was 20 when she died and Mary was only 24. John died when he was 36. However their third son, Simeon Lord, was 69 when he died in Sydney, Australia, where after his convict beginnings he became a successful merchant and manufacturer.

In the nineteenth century the sons of Ann's brother, Joshua Fielden (1748-1811), became prominent and successful industrialists in the cotton industry operating the company, Fielden Brothers.  One of the sons, John, became a member of parliament and worked to implement factory reforms for workers.

Ann was 41 when she died at Todmorden on 14 March 1786. Her husband, Simeon died the following year.

Ann Fielden was my great (x4) grandmother.