40.2 – Thomas Greenwood

Thomas Greenwood was one of the children of Robert and Fanny Greenwood who are buried in grave 43.8 with three of his siblings and one of their wives. We’ve heard their stories, but what about his? And why is he here alone?

Thomas was baptised at St Mary’s on the 22^nd December 1807, and after that nothing is known about him until the 1841 census when he is shown as living at the Black Swan with his mother, who was the innkeeper, and three of his siblings, John, Hannah and Henry. At that time Thomas was working as a joiner.

In 1841 Thomas’s brother, John died from suicide and on the 30^th May 1847 his mother, Fanny and his brother, Henry both died (from different causes). Fanny’s death was due to bronchitis and Henry’s death was from Adynamic Fever. (It may have been typhoid, but there don’t seem to have been any reported cases of it in Todmorden at the time).

On the 17^th April 1848 Thomas, described as an innkeeper, married Mary Ann Greenwood (who does not seem to be related) the daughter of William Greenwood, a land agent from Halifax, at St. John’s, Halifax. It was a double celebration as his sister, Hannah, married Thomas Lord Sutcliffe, a cotton manufacturer, at St. John’s on the same day. Neither Thomas nor Hannah gave their address, they just said they were from ‘Todmorden in Rochdale’.

Thomas and Mary Ann had been married for just short of three years, and didn’t have any children, when Thomas died on the 12^th March 1851. His death certificate gives his death as “Organic affection of the Heart”.  The death notification in the newspaper said he was “much and deservedly lamented by a large circle of friends”.

Mary Ann continued as the innkeeper of the Black Swan for another twenty years, but on the 25^th May 1871 she remarried. Her second husband was Peter Thomas Ratcliff, a Station Inspector.  In August that year the licence of the Black Swan was transferred to him and Mary Ann moved to Wellington Terrace where she lived until her death in 1889.  She is buried with her second husband, and her sister here at V11.8, leaving Thomas alone in his grave.