Ian C Pidgeon

The town of Stockport grew in size and importance during the industrial revolution.   Located on the River Mersey at the confluence of the Rivers Tame and Goyt it straddles the border between Lancashire and Cheshire.   In Cheshire, to the south, lies Macclesfield, the centre of the silk industry.   In Lancashire, to the north, is Manchester, the heart of the booming 19th century cotton industry.

In 1792 Henry Pidgeon and Ann Basketfield, a widow, were married in Stockport.   We now know that Henry came north from Cullompton, Devon where his father John Pidgeon was the village miller.  Ann may have been Ann Baskervyle, the widow of one of the sons of David Baskervyle and Ann Washington, who were married in Middlewich, Cheshire about 1764.  A pre-marital agreement of that year between David and Ann has been found in the Pidgeon Archives. However, a new suggestion is that Henry's wife may have been the unmarried daughter of David and Ann.

The Pidgeons of Stockport (my family tree) shows the descendants of Ann & Henry Pidgeon.

The Pidgeons of Cullompton (Henry's family tree) shows the descendants of Joan & John Pidgeon, the miller of Cullompton, without the descendants of Ann & Henry Pidgeon.

In Stockport, Henry and Ann Pidgeon produced eight children, at least three of whom survived to have children of their own, providing Henry and Ann with 17 grandchildren.   Many of their descendants were cotton weavers and spinners.   Some moved to Macclesfield where cotton was replacing silk in the mills;  but they didn't stay there long and moved on to Burnley.   However, most stayed in Stockport for most of the 19th century, moving just a couple of miles south into Hazel Grove as the 20th century dawned.