 | How naive I was when I assumed it would be easy to research my 2nd G-grandfather, the watchmaker Joseph Dumbell, who was born in ~1823 in Liverpool, and his close relatives. The surname was unusual and with having an occupation of watchmaker (rather than something more common such as labourer or painter), I expected it would be pretty easy. But I was wrong. Trying to work out who belonged to which family and how all the watchmakers were related was the start of my interest in the Dumbell family of Liverpool, especially those who were clock and watchmakers. I've identified at least 10 who had that profession and plan to write up something detailed about them on how I believe they were all related. |
One branch lived in Staffordshire, via Nathaniel Dumbell who moved to Wolverhampton, but I'm still trying to work out how the Prescot/Liverpool Dumbells (Joseph Dumbell [x3], John Dumbell/John Dumbill [x3], William Dumbell [x2], Samuel Dumbell, and Thomas Dumbell) were related to the watchmakers John, Joseph, and Thomas Dumbell, with places of business in Rochdale in various trade directories from 1818-1840. I was not able to locate any of them in Rochdale on the 1841 Census (or anything subsequently). Prescot, the area in Liverpool known for clock and watchmakers (see Prescot and Watchmaking), is approximately 36 miles from Rochdale. With finding Dumbells with the same names over the same time period in Liverpool, I suspect that they had family businesses both in Liverpool and Rochdale. See Pocket Watch for photographs of an overhauled silver pocket watch made by Thomas Dumbell, Rochdale, hallmarked in 1840.
Question: Does anyone know anything about the Rochdale Dumbells?
The following four watchmakers were my direct-line relatives:
- 2nd G-grandfather: Joseph Dumbell (born ~1823, Liverpool), who married Sarah Aspinall (born ~1826). I "lost" them after the 1861/1871 censuses and haven't been able to locate the correct death certificates. Likewise for 2 of their 3 children, John Dumbell (born 1846) and Margaret Ellen Dumbell (born ~1850), who were on the 1851 Census, but no other definitive records have been found.
Question: Can anyone shed any light on on what happened to any of them?
I'm descended from their middle child, Sarah Emily Dumbell (1848-1922), who married John Norris Corlett (1841-1908). - 3rd G-grandfather: Joseph Dumbell (1794-1866), who married Sarah Makin (1799-1863)
- 4th G-grandfather: Joseph Dumbell (1769-1831)
- 5th G-grandfather: John Dumbill (1737-?)
