Second Generation - Thomas Horner

 Thomas Horner was born on 8 March 1840 in Commercial Street, north of Water Street in Skipton [1] . He was the eldest son of George Horner and Elizabeth Bramley, and was christened in Skipton on 29 March 1840 [2] . He was probably named after his grandfather Thomas Horner. His elder sister Anne was only two years older and they probably spent a lot of time in each other’s company, in their early years [3] .

Thomas and his sister and their parents lived in his grandmother’s house in Commercial Street when he was one year old. His grandmother Esther probably watched over him and his sister Anne when his mother went out to work as a cotton weaver [4] . Anne died in her fifth year, and the three-year-old Thomas would have turned to his one year old brother James for comfort [5] . Anne was named after her aunt Anne Horner who also did young [6] .

Early Life

                 Esther Horner, Thomas’s grandmother, was only one of seven adults who shared the house in Commercial Street with Thomas, his parents and his sister. These houses were back-to-back houses, and had one room downstairs and one room upstairs. Conditions would have been extremely cramped with seven adults and two young children. It is possible that the Horners may have worked in shifts throughout the day and night at the local mills, and one can imagine Thomas Horner having to play quietly so as to not disturb the adults. Thomas’s Aunts Margaret, aged fifteen, Harriet, aged ten, and Elizabeth, aged twenty, and his Uncle John, aged twenty, also lived in the house. Apart from Esther, all the adults in the household worked as cotton weavers in the factory. This factory would probably have been in J & W Birbeck & Company’s factory in Commercial Street [7] .

Uncle Mark's Family

       Four doors down Commercial Street Thomas’s Uncle Mark lived with his bride Mary (nee Oldfield), their nine month-old son Robert, the bride’s elderly father, James Oldfield aged sixty-five and younger brother James Oldfield aged fifteen [8] . Mark Horner worked as a wool comber, probably in Birbeck’s [9] . Mark and Mary had a son Thomas in 1842, but he died within two weeks [10] . Mark’s wife Mary was buried on 17 October 1842, less than a month after the death of her son Thomas, perhaps as a result of complications in childbirth [11] . Mark Horner was buried on 26 July 1846, leaving his six-year-old son Robert Horner who was soon taken in by George Horner and his family [12] .

     Thomas Horner probably joined his family in work in the cotton mills when he was eight years old and would soon have begun to contribute to the family income. Children could work from the age of eight in the textile factories but could only work about six and a half hours a day until they were thirteen and were entitled to fifteen hours a week schooling. Under the Factory Act of 1844 children were required to attend school on a half-time basis for five days a week [13] .

So Thomas would have begun attending school at the age of about seven or eight. By 1845 the British School, Christ Church School, and the Wesleyan Methodist School had opened. The nearest school to Millfields would have been the Water Street School opened by Christopher Sedgewick, of the High Mill, in 1838 in a bungalow [14] . This school then moved to the Croft, Christ Church School in 1844.

Uncle John and Aunt's Mary and Elizabeth

In 1851 Thomas’s uncle John Horner had moved to Cook’s Yard and married Jane [15] . Their son Mark was born in 1846 perhaps named after John’s brother Mark [16] . Thomas’ aunts Mary and Elizabeth had also left his home and set up their own homes. Elizabeth married James Robinson and Mary married Samuel Overend [17]

Life After Grandmother

Thomas’s grandmother Esther died in August 1848 and by 1851 his parents had set up their own household at 104 Millfields, Skipton [18] . These were also back-to-back houses and were to the South of Water Street. By 1851 Thomas, aged twelve, and James, aged ten, had been joined by their younger brothers William, aged three, and James, aged nine [19] . They had lost two younger brothers, John in 1848 aged three, and Mark only eighteen months old in 1851 [20] . Thomas’s cousin Robert, aged ten, his uncle Mark’s son, also lived with them. All the children attended school except the youngest, William, who was watched by his mother Elizabeth Horner.

Unmarried Aunts Margaret and Harriet

Living with Elizabeth and her husband George were George’s unmarried sisters, Margaret aged twenty-six, and Harriet, aged twenty-three. Working as Cotton Power loom weavers Margaret and Harriet and would have contributed substantially to the family income, each earning about seven shillings a week [21] . George’s father-in-law James Bramley also lived with the family, and although aged sixty-two he still was able to earn a living as a cotton Warper [22] . This would have added another fifteen to twenty shillings to the family income [23] . With four adults in the household earning life would have been comfortable, although a little cramped.      

       In April 1861, Thomas was preparing for his marriage to Sarah Ann Harrison later in May that same year. He was obviously saving money for the marriage, as in April 1861 he still lived at home with his parents at 120 Westgate, Skipton. Thomas had lost more members of his family. His brother James had died in 1857 and his cousin Robert Horner in 1856 [24] . A younger brother George had also died in 1856 aged two [25] .

Thomas’s unmarried Aunts Margaret, aged 35, and Harriet, aged 22, still lived with the family, and worked as cotton power loom weavers [26] . A sister Esther, probably named after her grandmother, had joined Thomas, and his brother William [27] . Esther was 9 years old in 1861 and was at school with William. At 13, William was lucky to be still at school, as children usually left at eleven to help earn additional money for the family income. William may have been working in one of the local factories and was a part time scholar in his last year of school. In addition, their cousin Margaret Robinson also lived with the household. Margaret was only three years old in 1861 and was probably cared for by Thomas’s mother Elizabeth. Margaret was the daughter of Thomas’s aunt Elizabeth Robinson [28] .

Thomas did not work in the cotton factory, as did the other earning adults of the household. He was a watchmaker, although he may have been learning the rudiments in 1861 as the census returns add (cleans them) as a qualifying phrase to the occupation. The Fattorini family, who first established their business in Skipton in 1827, may have employed Thomas [29] . In 1902, on the marriage certificate of his son George, Thomas is also described as a watchmaker [30] . However, on his marriage to Sarah Ann Harrison a month later his occupation changed to that of a weaver [31] . Cleaning watches may not have brought in sufficient income to keep a wife and family [32] .  

Married Life

       On 28 May 1861, Thomas married Sarah Ann Harrison, daughter of Thomas Harrison and Margaret Scott, at Skipton Parish Church [33] . Thomas’s aunt Harriet Horner was a witness to the marriage. As Harriet was only ten years older than Thomas was, their relationship was probably close [34] . Thomas was obviously affectionate towards his aunt.

       Thomas and Sarah Ann proceeded to build a home and start a family. Their eldest son James Horner was born in 1862, followed by Harrison Horner in 1867, and finally George Horner in 1869 [35] . By 1871, Thomas had set up his own household at 89, Millfields in Skipton, with his wife Sarah Ann Harrison and his three sons George, Harrison and James Horner [36] .

Thomas, aged 32, worked as a Warpdresser in a local factory. This may have been James Wilson’s Worsted factory in Millfields [37] . This may have involved producing goods from Worsted, or Worsted mixed with Cotton and silks. Cotton was certainly used by the mid nineteenth century to warp worsted goods, and as a Warpdresser, Thomas would have been the one to set up the threads on the looms in the patterns needed to produce the cloths [38] . This was a highly skilled job and Thomas would have brought home between fifteen and twenty shillings a week for his work. This was one of the highest wages a worker in a factory could earn. Thomas Horner’s job certainly paid sufficient to support the whole family. His wife Sarah Ann did not work and cared for their youngest son George who alone of the boys did not attend school.

Brother William Horner

      By  1881, Thomas’s brother William Horner had set up his own household at 7 Queen’s Street, Skipton with his wife Elizabeth. William worked as a Cotton Warpdresser, not a photographer, probably to maintain his wife Elizabeth, and his children Thomas, aged two, and Margaret, aged 10 months [39] . In 1891, William and his family continued to live in Queen Street, and William still worked as a Cotton Warpdresser. Two more sons had joined William’s family, John, aged seven, and Fred, aged two. As the house on Queen Street had two rooms conditions must have been very crowded.

       In 1872 Thomas’s sister Esther married Thomas Hudson in Skipton and proceeded to have a large family of seven children [40] .

       Thomas Horner died in Skipton in June 1873, at the age of thirty-three, leaving his widow Sarah Ann, and three sons, the youngest of whom, George Horner, was only four years old. [41] .