THE SEARCH GOES ON

I knew there were many Cowards in the Lake District, and not so many in Liverpool and so I wondered whether that could be the answer, but wondering was as far as I had got since I had no evidence. I also knew that there was a marriage between a John Lunt and Mary Coward in 1806 in St Peter’s Church, Liverpool, although John isn’t in my direct family and I have yet to connect him to it, it seemed too much of a coincidence to suppose that Mary Coward isn’t related in some way to Isabella, possibly a niece?

So I tried a combination of “Coward/Lunt” in google, the National Archives and A2A sites and up popped an entry for a will of a Samuel Coward of Ulverston making mention of a William John Lunt within it. I had to send for the details. Paperwork was held at Barrow Record Office but I had to wait longer for the Will to be delivered from York. I have transcribed these documents as accurately as possible below.

William John Lunt of Liverpool was named as Executor to the Will of Samuel Coward who died in December, 1878, also he was named as a beneficiary and “friend”. Could they just be friends, or was it feasible to suspect that there may be a family relationship between them, albeit cousins far enough distant that they claim friendship rather than kinship? I was hoping that this could provide a clue about Isabella Coward’s roots.

I first followed as much as I could about the life of Samuel Coward, Hairdresser of Ulverston and found that he was born on 22nd May, 1803 and christened on 19th June, 1803, and his father was called William. These details provided by the IGI, were confirmed by evidence subsequently shown in the censuses. He also had a sister Margaret, christened on 10th November, 1799, who married Benjamin Williamson, a sawyer and whose children are named in the Will of Samuel. A brother called William Harrison Coward christened 2nd August, 1801, two of whose children Thomas and Ann (Hutchinson) are also mentioned in Samuel’s Will. There may of course be other siblings, a possible name and date found in the IGI being Elizabeth christened 22nd September, 1805. There is another listed, Ann christened 30th May, 1790 but this date may be a little early, particularly in view of the marriage of the parents, which would fit in of William Coward to Ellinor Harrison dated 8th January, 1799.

Samuel’s Niece Isabella Williamson and her husband William Henry Briggs had certainly moved to Liverpool by 1881 and were living in Boaler Street with their nieces Isabella and Margaret J Williamson, these two girls are cousins, not sisters. By 1901 William Briggs the father has died and the younger William has married Frances Ann Marsden. Living with them are his mother Isabella, and a great aunt (possibly of his wife) Margaret Brandon, and sister in law Mary E Marsden, in Deysbrook Lane. Strangely they are living very close to where Richard and Hannah Lunt and Thomas and Ellen Lunt were living in previous censuses. Frances family, parents Joseph and Betty and quite a number of siblings are also to be found in Deys Lane in 1861, Joseph’s occupation is a Watch Jeweller, at the time employing 1 man.

I can follow this Joseph back to the 1841 census, parents Joseph, a music teacher, and Frances, Joseph is a watchmaker’s apprentice, they live in Belle Street, in the St Martin District. I won’t continue any further with these unless I feel it necessary at a later date as the presence of Margaret Brandon with members of the Marsden family in early censuses confirms that she belongs to the wife’s side of the family.

There are enough links here to Liverpool to suppose that Samuel Coward may have become acquainted with William John Lunt through this family. In 1901 William C Briggs was noted as being the Steward, West Derby Union Infirmary. Could it be that William Briggs was also involved in similar circles as William Lunt – see transcripts of obituaries below.

It wasn’t difficult to identify William John Lunt, merchant tailor, in the censuses until it came to 1851. He died in 1892, after a second marriage to Mary A Adamson, he had two sons, Samuel Towers Lunt and George Towers Lunt to his first wife, Ellen Towers. From his obituaries it was possible to identify his brothers and so establish his family in the 1851 census identifying his parents as Samuel Lunt, tailor and Mary. The reason for William John’s absence in the 1851 census is made clear later by the stories of his life told in the newspapers at the time of his death – see below.

From the IGI then a search for Samuel Lunt’s birth brought forward the names of his parents as John Lunt and Mary Coward.

Information from a descendant of this family confirms the parentage of his direct ancestor, Henry as being John Lunt and Mary Coward, and Henry's brother Samuel was father of John William Lunt.

There is a christening entry for a Mary Coward in Ulverston dated 19th June, 1779, father Thos. Coward. Possible siblings are Wm 24th August 1777, John 10th March 1784, Thomas, 9 June 1787, James, 26th September 1791, although there is another Mary christened 24th May, 1789 which could mean that the first Mary had died, would this one be too young to be the wife of John Lunt, as the first child Richard was born 1806?

There is also a Mary Cowherd born 5th December, 1774, christened 10th January, 1775 St Peter’s, Liverpool. Father Thomas Cowherd.

Information from the descendant states that he believes she was born in Liverpool, but we have no details? Is she still alive on any censuses?

Assuming our Isabella Coward to have been born prior to 1760 or a little earlier (first child Henry born 1779), the IGI doesn’t give us any entries for Liverpool, however there is a christening dated 22nd December 1751 in Ulverston, father named as Samuel.

I am unable, via sources online only, to establish any connection between Isabella and Mary Coward, there doesn’t appear a christening for a Thomas Coward, born Ulverston at an appropriate date, who could be brother to Isabella, so maybe the relationship, if there is one, is more distant than siblings.

From all of the above I can only conclude that there is a possibility that the Cowards originated in the Ulverston area, meaning that we are no further along than we were before. I can only apologise that this research has had to be done online due to my inability to spend enough time at the Records Office, but I wonder if it has given a basis for some thought. I’d appreciate any ideas you may have. I wonder if there would have been any obituary in an Ulverston newspaper for Samuel Coward, despite his death taking place in North Wales.

Below are the transcriptions of documentation and Will of Samuel Coward of Ulverston, and newspaper obituaries about William John Lunt. Enjoy!