Connections: A Family History

Joseph Hill, the eldest son of George Hill and Sarah Dearnley was born in Darfield, Yorkshire in 1832.  He was baptized on the 8 September 1832 at All Saints Church, Darfield.

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There is believed to have been a settlement of some kind in Darfield for hundreds of years and indeed dating back to Roman times. Many Roman coins have been found in Darfield – records show that in 1691 a farm labourer unearthed a pot containing nearly 500 gold Roman coins while he was in the middle of ploughing a field.

 

In 1950, while digging foundations for a house, a labourer dug up another pot – this one contained 500 Mark Anthony silver coins which dated back to the 3rd Century AD. These finds are recorded locally in the South Yorkshire Archaeology Unit and other official records have declared traces of Roman earthworks in the lower reaches of Darfield.

 

How Darfield got its name is attributed to the Anglo Saxons. The word ‘feld’ refers to a large area of pasture land while the term ‘dere’ describes the deer which roamed the former forests. Combine these together to make Derefeld and this was later to become Darfield.

 

In the Domesday Book the village is referred to as Derewelle. For centuries the village appeared to be a quiet place with its inhabitants making their living on the land. 

 

The census of 1851 showed that the population of 600 was evenly split, 300 men and 300 women, and a further breakdown of figures showed there were 100 children, six landowners and a mix of farm labourers, domestic servants, quarrymen and railway workers.

However in the 1860’s major changes were to come for Darfield and its people with the sinking of mine shafts into the Barnsley Bed seam of coal which had already proved profitable for many other pits in the local area.

 

While this was happening, the nearby Houghton Main Colliery Company was developing a major colliery on the village’s north eastern border.  Darfield in the 20th Century was all set to increase its population to 4,000 and coalmining was to become the major employer.

 

By the early years of the 1900s around 60% of the male population was working in nearby mines. As more people moved into the village, the growth of Darfield could be seen in three stages.

 

The ‘old Darfield’ on top of the hill by the parish church remained, while housing for the incoming miners at Darfield and Mitchell Main collieries was built on the village’s low-lying land. Most of these homes were ‘two-up, two down’ small brick houses built in rows with primitive sanitary arrangements often shared by three or four families. Infant deaths were very high and working conditions of the miners often led to early deaths. This part of the village was known as Low Valley, an area where life expectancy was very low.

 

Other housing for the miners who worked at Houghton Main and Dearne Valley collieries was built on the hillside between the other two areas. This tended to slightly bigger, less dense housing with better sanitary provision and the area became known as Snape Hill.

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Naturally over the years the three districts merged into one and various shops opened including Barnsley Co-operative Society which first came to Darfield in 1880.

 

The age of coal saw many wealthy owners who built splendid houses including Bretton Hall, Cannon Hall, Nostell Priory etc in the Barnsley and Wakefield areas. They lived in splendour while the workers lived in poverty and squalor.

 

Working conditions in the mines were grim and dangerous to say the least, wages were poor and people were killed and injured in tragic accidents. In 1838 at Husker Pit, not far from Darfield there was a tragedy which saw 26 children drowned. After that a public inquiry ruled that women and children under 10 would no longer work in the mines.

 

 In 1857 at Lundhill Colliery an underground explosion killed 189 men and boys, today an obelisk still stands in Darfield churchyard as a monument to the disaster.

 

The role Darfield played in the mining industry was to provide labour for the four pits on its borders, along with several other pits within easy travelling distance of the village. At one time some 65% of men and boys from Darfield worked in the mining industry. Houghton Main colliery was to become the biggest employer, situated just two miles out of the village.

 

In 1841 at the age of 8 Joseph was living at Millhouses, Darfield with his parents and siblings.  His father George was a stone cutter and worked in the quarry at Low Valley.

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By 1851 the family lived at Clubhouses, Darfield where Joseph, age 18, was employed as a stone quarryman probably working alongside his father who was also a stone quarryman.

 

In 1852 Joseph married Emma Birkinshaw a spinster from Billingley, Yorkshire.  They were married on the 2 December 1852 at All Saints Church, Darfield and the witnesses at their wedding were Emma's brother Charles Birkinshaw and Joseph's brother Henry and sister Ann.  Their marriage certificates states that both Joseph and Emma were 20 years of age when they married, but although Joseph was age 20, Emma was in fact only 17.

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By 1861 Joseph and Emma were living at Snape Hill, Darfield with their family, where Joseph was employed as a fire clay miner digging the raw material for bricks from shallow seams.  Fire clay is a specific kind of clay used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick.  Also living with them was Joseph's younger brother John who was 18 years of age in 1861.  It could be that John had been living with his brother after the death of their parents in the 1850’s.  

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Emma sold the Rising Sun Inn and at the time of the 1891 census she was living next door to the pub at 4 New Street, in one of the houses she owned.  Also living with her were her son John age 17 who worked as a quarryman, daughter Ada age 15, her grandson Harry Bissett Hill age 19 who was the illegitimate son of Emma and Joseph's daughter Elizabeth Ann (more of Elizabeth Ann and Harry later).  Harry was employed as a coal miner. 

 

Also living with Emma was her other grandson Fred Lapidge who was the illegitimate son of Joseph and Emma's son George.  (more on Fred later) Fred was 15 years old and worked as a colliery pony driver.

 

The Rising Sun Inn was then owned by a chap called James Stables.

 

At the time of the 1901 census Emma continued to live at New Street and living with her was her grandson Fred Lapidge, a boarder by the name of William Shaw and a servant called Rosehanna Hilton.   

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Emma died on the 1 November 1905, the cause of death was senile decay.  Her son Fred Hill was in attendance. Emma was buried on the 5 November 1905 at All Saints Church, Darfield. 

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Joseph and Emma's children

 

Gen 5.1 Elizabeth Ann Hill b 19 Nov at Millhouses,  bap 18 Dec 1853  All Saints Church, Darfield.  At the age of 17, Elizabeth Ann gave birth to an illegitimate son Harry Bissett Hill (get 6.1). Harry born on the 21 July 1871.  On his birth certificate there is no father recorded, but he is believed to be Richard Bissett. Harry lived with his grandparents Joseph and Emma Hill until his marriage.

 

Elizabeth married Enoch Ellis Davies 8 Nov 1875.  Enoch was 24 at the time of the marriage and his occupation was a miner.  At this time both Enoch's father also named Enoch and Elizabeth Ann's father were publicans.  This could be how the couple met.   Elizabeth Ann and Enoch Ellis were married, as seems to be the tradition of all our family, at All Saints Church, Darfield.  Elizabeth Ann's brother George and friend Harriet Lapidge (who will feature later) were witnesses at the marriage. 

 

Unfortunately, Elizabeth and Enoch's marriage was a short one and she died on the 7 April 1876 only 5 months after the marriage.  The cause of death was phthisis pulmonalis (tuberculosis of the lung) which she had been suffering from for 1 year.  She was buried on the 10 April 1876 at All Saints Church, Darfield.  She was 22 years old. Elizabeth's death was registered by her husband Enoch Ellis Davies, who was present at the death. 

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