This stone now lies flat, but the grave it marks is one of the “sweetest” graves at Christ Church. This confectioner, his wife, and two of their sons helped keep the town supplied with biscuits and candies.
Abraham Crossley was born in Todmorden in 1832 to Abraham and Esther (Haigh) Crossley. Abraham Sr. was a cotton mill worker and the family were situated at Frithswood Mill Bottom along Bacup Road, just at the bottom of Gorpley Clough. Times were tough and some of Abraham’s siblings who appear on the 1841 Census don’t appear on the 1851 Census anymore. By 1851 it was just the two Abrahams, mother Esther, and sisters Hannah, Esther and Deborah. The family had by then moved to Knowlwood and Abraham Jr. had trained as a cabinet maker.
Meanwhile, in 1835 in Burnley, Margaret Hudson was born. Her father John was a worsted wool sizer and the two of them plus her mother Mary and her six siblings grew up in Habergham Eaves. Eventually the Hudsons made their way down the Burnley Valley to Todmorden and settled at Hallroyd, where Margaret became a power loom weaver. By the time she and Abraham were married, in 1856, Abraham had already moved out of woodwork and into confectionary. How did they meet? Did Margaret have a sweet tooth? One certainly hopes so as Abraham was wasting no time in building a proper business out of baking. By 1861 the happy couple had a “family” of six: three children and three employees.
Abraham went all out and by 1875 had built a business so successful that it scored a major contract; that of feeding the Sunday School scholars from around town at the grand opening of Todmorden Town Hall. 1015 children and 15 masters were catered for, paid for by Fielden Brothers (as was everything else in relation to the Town Hall), and Abraham walked away with a nice line on his CV and £25 richer.
It’s always interesting to see how retailers were keen to offer as diverse a range of wares as possible, and the mention on Abraham’s invoice that he also sold British wines. As if you need help washing down sweets…but hey, it didn’t hurt the family at all.
By 1875 the last of Abraham and Margaret’s children, Lavinia, had been born…and the first one to be lost had been lost. Esther Ann, named after Abraham’s mother and sister, had died in 1872 aged two and been buried here. The next year, 1876, they lost their daughter Mary, aged nine. And the year after that, their eldest daughter Deborah died, aged 17. Remember how we mentioned diversification of trade before? Well in the 1860s Abraham was also supplying funeral hearses and carriages, aka conveyances, from his shop at Pavement. By 1871 he seems to have moved fully into confectionary, which is good, because the prospect of providing your own children’s hearses for their funerals is bleak indeed.
A second shop opened near Dobroyd, later moving over to Cross Stone, and son William went to work for the family business. By 1876 Abraham was boasting that his premises were so large and he had so many ovens that he could do pretty much anything. That Town Hall gig really did help him. This advertisement from December 1876 says it all:
By 1881 the family were still together. Margaret and William helped in the business but son John had trained as a joiner (possibly using some cabinet-making tips from dad), daughter Emmy was a dressmaker’s apprentice, daughter Betsy a pupil teacher, and Lavinia still in school. And John was one year off from getting married to Mary Jane Pickles, the only daughter of James and Rachel Pickles. Mary Jane was living with her sister, sister’s family, and widowed mother at Hallroyd. You can read some of her background story at the story of her parents and brother linked above. The couple settled at Cambridge Street. At first it was just them, but in time sister Lavinia would join them. Why? Because in December 1883 Abraham died, and in 1885 Margaret followed him.
Margaret and William had valiantly kept the business going after Abraham’s death, and after Margaret died John stepped in at first to help out, at least as much as he could alongside his other work. Afterwards it seems as though he went back to work, now as a pattern maker in a cotton weaving mill, and William carried on as Abraham had before. His time with the business as a sole concern was short though, as in April 1890 he died.
And what a death! An inquest was held into the circumstances, and a little reading between the lines shows some concern and suspicion over the manner of William’s death. He was at work late on the night of April 3rd when an employee, Albert Glasse, arrived at the premises very late indeed after having been out all day delivering baked goods. He came back to bank his takings and William asked him why he’d been so long. Albert said the horse was tired after a long day. William came out from behind the counter to see Albert but must have leaned backwards or sideways to swipe up a pen from the counter as he went, and lost his balance. He fell and hit his head against an iron safe and lost consciousness, and a few days later died from a fit. Questions were asked at the inquest about whether William was angry with Albert, did Albert see him hit his head, did anyone else notice anything…various witnesses, including John, were called and asked about whether they’d seen anything on the floor that would account for William slipping. Was there really suspicion on Albert as possibly having fought or shoved William over? In the end the jury found that the death was accidental.
John began the process of slowly taking over the running of the business, although he seems to have continued to work as a pattern maker at the same time. The business had never changed its name in all this time, by the way, still being referred to as Abm. Crossley Confectioners. Mary Jane busied herself helping out at various functions, and if it’s the same John Crossley, John busied himself playing the piano at various functions! He also became active with the local Conservative Association. Soon Mary Jane had another job on her hands; their only child, Alice Margaret, was born in 1893. The Crossleys moved to Hawthorn Place but their new status and life would not last long. In December 1898, John died at the age of 40.
Mary Jane did not wish to carry on running any sort of business the way Margaret had, and moved in with her half-sister Sarah Ellen and her family. Sarah Ellen had also been widowed and was living at the Navigation Inn, although seemingly not running it as a pub, with her two teenage children. Mary Jane and Alice joined them and this new family unit persisted through a major move. By 1911 Sarah Ellen, Mary Jane and Alice had moved to Blackpool where Mary Jane was engaged as a “company house keeper” on Reads Road (now Reads Avenue) in Blackpool. Sarah Ellen assisted her, and Alice…well, 18 year old Alice had become a confectioner.
Mary Jane died in April 1914 and was buried here along with her husband and his family, and that finished off the burials in this plot.