< Back to Part 1.
The 1871 census provides evidence of many changes to the Ryley family of Market Drayton occurring after the previous decennial record of the population (and since the conclusion of the first part of this story). Edward Ryley senior and his wife Mary Ann had both died. All four of their children had married, three had children of their own, and two had moved away from the area. The Ryleys remaining in Drayton were Thomas Heath, and Edward – ‘junior’ no more, since the passing of his father. In fact, he had become Edward senior, for among the six children born to him and his wife Mary Ellen, née Atcherley, was the next generation’s Edward Ryley.
Let’s take a closer look at Edward and his brother Thomas Heath Ryley on the census of 1871. Edward, now 34 and a “Hair Seating Manufacturer”, had moved from The Mount and was living in Shropshire Street with Mary Ellen (30) and their six children: Robert Atcherley (written as Acherley on the census schedule), age 8; Mary Ellen junior, 6; the new Edward junior, 5; William Henry (probably named after his maternal uncle William Henry Atcherley), 4; Harry, 2; and Elizabeth Maude, 1. (The photo above shows part of Shropshire Street as it appears today.)
Thomas Heath Ryley, 38 and a “Horse Hair Manufacturer employing 29 women 2 men & 2 boys”, appears to have taken up residence in his brother’s former home at The Mount, as he was living there at number 2 with wife Mary (née Duckers) and their offspring Francis Heath (age 4), Edith May (2) and Frances Elizabeth (9 months). As an aside, Thomas’s next door neighbour at 3 The Mount was William Francis Swinchatt Sandbrook, Wine & Spirit Merchant, a son of the late Benjamin Bailey Sandbrook and nephew of the late William Sandbrook, former business partner of Thomas’s father Edward Ryley!
It would appear then that Ryley brothers Thomas and Edward, the ‘Sons’ in ‘Edward Ryley and Sons’ and the heirs of its hair manufacturing operations, had taken on the family business and kept it going after their father’s death, working together in partnership. Before we determine whether or not this was actually the case, by looking at other records besides the census, let’s first examine a more straightforward element of the Ryleys’ enterprises first – milling.
You will remember that the Ryley family had moved from Oakley Mill, near Betton in Drayton parish, to Victoria Mills (formerly the Walk Mill) at Little Drayton, probably in the late 1850s but certainly by 1860. Also that when Edward Ryley married Mary Ellen Atcherley in 1862, he described both himself and his father as millers. He described himself in the same way when his first child Robert Atcherley Ryley was baptised in 1863. Milling had probably been the one constant through the Ryley family’s changing business operations, which is not too surprising given that the family were always living in a mill or a house attached to one during this time. Various pieces of evidence show that it continued to be so well into the 1860s, the first piece being this notice published in the Staffordshire Advertiser on 6 February 1864 (which just happened to be the date on which Mary Ann Ryley, née Heath, wife of Edward and mother of Thomas, Frances, Edward and John, was buried following her death on the 2nd of that that month):
AT a MEETING of MILLERS supplying the Staffordshire Potteries District with Flour, held at the Castle Hotel, Newcastle, January 25th, 1864, Mr. DICKINSON in the Chair.
Resolved,—
That the amount of loss and inconvenience arising from the delay in the return of empty sacks, increased as it now is by their enhanced value, has become so serious that the system of lending Sacks with Flour can no longer be tolerated.
That in the sales of Flour made on and after the twenty-eighth day of March, 1864, all Sacks shall be Charged in Invoice with the Flour at Two Shillings each, which shall be re-payable on the return of the sack or sacks in good condition.
That the form of Agreement now read be adopted and signed by all present.
Newcastle, January 25th, 1864. […]
The notice went on to give the full text of the agreement, and the names of those businessmen or partnerships which had signed up to it. One of the 27 names was that of “E. Ryley and Sons”.
Bridge over the River Tern by Victoria Mills (colourised).
Just a few months later the family of Edward and Mary Ellen Ryley was joined by a second child, a daughter named after her mother Mary Ellen, and when she was baptised at Christ Church, Little Drayton on 20 June 1864 the baptism register confirmed that this family was still residing at The Mount, and that Edward was a Miller. It was a similar story when the third addition to the family, another Edward Ryley, was baptised at Market Drayton St Mary on 1 September 1865 (following his birth on August 13th): although the Ryleys’ address was recorded simply as “Drayton”, baby Edward’s father was again recorded as being a Miller.
Next, the following appeared in the “Situations Wanted” columns of the Staffordshire Advertiser of 16 December 1865: “WANTED, by a young Man, a Situation as STONEMAN, or GENERAL MILLER. Good character.—Apply to Messrs. Ryley, Victoria Mills, Market Drayton.” Lists of “Persons of whom the [Banking] Company or Partnership consists”, which were published in newspapers each February and did not always reflect the most up-to-date status of those persons included, but “Ryley Edward, Victoria Mills, near Market Drayton, miller” and “Edward Riley [sic], Market Drayton, miller” appeared in such lists for the Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company published in the Staffordshire Advertiser in 1866 and the Staffordshire Sentinel in 1867 respectively. Finally, in the London Gazette of 12 April 1857, the following notice was published:
NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership [heretofore] subsisting between us the undersigned, [Edward] Ryley, Thomas Heath Ryley, and Edward [Ryley the] younger, carrying on business at the Victoria [Mills,] Market Drayton, in the county of Salop, as Horsehair Seating Manufacturers and Millers, under the style or firm of Edward Ryley and Sons, was by mutual consent dissolved from the 1st day of January, 1867, and all debts and liabilities from that date will be paid, and all moneys due from that date to the late firm, will be received by the said Thomas Heath Ryley and Edward Ryley the younger, by whom the said business is now and will in future be carried on.—As witness our hands this 5th day of April, 1867.
Edward Ryley.
Thomas H. Ryley.
Edw. Ryley, jun.
At 70 years of age, and with a son and grandson both bearing his name, Edward Ryley senior was perhaps feeling very senior. He enjoyed – or at least I hope he enjoyed – two and half years of retirement before he passed away, at Victoria Mills, on 20 October 1869.
Several events of interest took place during Edward Ryley senior’s retirement. There was an election in 1868, in which he did not vote but his sons Thomas Heath and Edward junior did (qualifying to do so by virtue of being “£12 Occupiers”). The Ryley brothers both voted for the Liberal candidate R G Jebb Esquire (who came third and was not elected), but not for either of the two Conservative candidates (who won the two seats in Parliament for Shropshire North).
On 28 May 1869, the following was included in the Birmingham Daily Post: “WANTED, a MAN or WOMAN, who understands Dressing Mexican Fibre, Monkey Bass, &c.—Apply, Ryley and Sons, Market Drayton.” Mexican fibre or Istle (from the plant Agave hetercantha) and monkey bass (from the Brazilian plant Leopoldinia piassaba) were both used for making brushes (the latter was “used commercially in strong brushes, such as those for grooming horses”) which suggests that brushes were being made either for sale, or perhaps for use in processing the horse hair used for Ryleys’ chief product. As we will see, the Ryleys certainly expanded their product range to include sieves.
Four more grandchildren also joined the ranks of Edward’s descendants before his death: William Henry Ryley, son of Edward, a Horse Hair Manufacturer, and Mary Ellen Ryley, of Victoria Mills, baptised 17 February 1867 at Little Drayton (Christ Church is pictured above); Francis Heath Ryley, son of Thomas Heath, a Factor (manufacturer), and Mary Ryley, of Little Drayton (pity a more specific place of abode was not given!), baptised 12 April 1867 at Little Drayton; Edith May, daughter of Thomas Heath, a Horse Hair Manufacturer, and Mary Ryley, of The Mount (Edward Ryley junior’s former place of residence), baptised 4 June 1868 at Little Drayton); and Harry Ryley, son of Edward, a Corn Dealer (the only time I have seen him described as such), and Mary Ellen Ryley, of Victoria Mills.
Although the above baptism records indicate that Edward Ryley junior and his family were living with Edward senior at Victoria Mills during this time, it appears that the younger Edward also had an interest in the Shropshire Street property where he would be enumerated in 1871. Notice of an “Important SALE of valuable FREEHOLD RESIDENCES, BUILDING SITES, and LAND, situate in SHROPSHIRE-STREET, MARKET DRAYTON, and LITTLE DRAYTON” published in the Staffordshire Advertiser of 31 July 1869 included:
Lot 6
All that newly erected and desirable FREEHOLD MESSUAGE or DWELLING-HOUSE, containing dining, drawing, and sitting-rooms, kitchen and five bedrooms, with the Coach-house, Stable, and other Outbuildings and Garden (very productive, and well stocked with fruit trees) thereto belonging and adjoining, situate on the north side of Shropshire-street, in Drayton-in Hales aforesaid, containing 36p [= 36 perches, a little under a quarter of an acre] or thereabouts, late in the occupation of Mrs. Mullineux, deceased, but now of Mr. Edward Ryley.”
Edward was also the occupier of Lot 8, a “desirable plot of BUILDING LAND, situate in Longslow-lane,” which adjoined Lot 6. My guess is that Edward junior’s rental of lease of the dwelling house continued after its sale, and that he moved there with his family from Victoria Mills after the death of his father. He was certainly in residence by 10 March 1870, according to that day’s entry in the Little Drayton baptism register for his daughter Elizabeth Maud (or Maude) Ryley. In that entry, Edward was described as a Hair Manufacturer, which tallies with the inclusion of “Edward Ryley junior, Market Drayton hair seating manufacturer” in the list of “Persons of whom the [Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company] consists” which was published in the newspapers during February that year. The baptism of Thomas Heath and Mary Ryley’s daughter Frances Elizabeth Ryley at Little Drayton on 22 September 1870 meanwhile, seems to confirm that family’s uninterrupted residence there prior to the 1871 census.
But I’m getting ahead of myself (again!). There was one other event of interest which took place during Edward Ryley senior’s period of retirement – one which might explain why Edward Ryley junior was a “Corn Dealer” at the time of his son Harry’s baptism in October 1869. Here is another notice from the London Gazette, published on 18 August 1868:
NOTICE is hereby given, that the Partnership heretofore subsisting between us the undersigned, Thomas Heath Ryley, of Market Drayton, in the county of Salop, Horsehair Seating and Sieve Manufacturer, and Edward Ryley the younger, of the same place, Horsehair Seating and Sieve Manufacturer, and carrying on business at the Victoria Mills. Market Drayton aforesaid, under the style or firm of Edward Ryley and Sons, as Horsehair Seating and Sieve Manufacturers, has been, as from the 30th day of June last, dissolved by mutual consent. All debts due to and owing by the said copartnership will be received and paid by the said Thomas Heath Ryley, by whom also for the future the said business will be carried on, on his own account.— As witness our hands this 14th day of August, 1868.
Thomas H. Ryley.
Edwd. Ryley, jun.
Imagine my surprise on finding this! It shows that Edward Ryley junior and his older brother Thomas had taken on the family business and kept it going after their father’s death – but not by working together in partnership as they went their separate ways after just 16 months. This surprise was just the start however: more twists and turns in the lives of the Ryley family were to come as the 1870s progressed.
> On to Part 3.
Footnote: Although the other Ryley brother, John, appears to have played no part in his family’s horse hair manufacturing business, it is tempting to believe that he was the John Ryley of Nottingham, engineer, who in 1866 applied for (and was granted) a patent for his invention of “Certain Improvements in Apparatus to be Employed in the Manufacture of ‘Hair Cloth.’” (Part of a diagram accompanying his application is shown above.) However the births of John’s first two children with his with his wife Emmeline Sophia Alcock, on 16 April 1865 Edward James Ryley) and 11 Jun 1866 (Mary Ann Ryley) took place in Manchester. Although he was described as an engineer when Mary Ann was baptised (other records from that time describe John as a draughtsman), John’s residency in Manchester would seem to rule him out.
Picture credits. Shropshire Street, Market Drayton: Original photo © Copyright Jonathan Hutchins; taken from Geograph, adapted, used and made available for re-use under a Creative Commons licence. River Tern by Victoria Mills: From an old postcard, image believed to be out of copyright; enhancement of colourisation. Little Drayton Christ Church: Original photo © Copyright Peter Fleming; taken from Geograph, adapted, used and made available for re-use under a Creative Commons licence. Part of Diagram accompanying John Ryley’s patent application, 1866: Copyright expired.
References.
[1] Death of Mary Ann Ryley registered at Market Drayton, March quarter 1864; volume 6a, page 626.
[2] Staffordshire Advertiser, 13 Feb 1864, page 5. “Deaths. […] On the 2nd instant, Mary Ann, wife of Mr. Edward Ryley, Victoria Mills, Market Drayton, aged 65 years.” Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive (search term “Victoria Mills”).
[3] Market Drayton St Mary, Shropshire, burial register covering 1864. Entry dated 6 Feb 1864 for Mary Ann Ryley, abode Drayton, age 65. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives.
[4] Death of Edward Ryley registered at Market Drayton, December quarter 1869; volume 6a, page 551; age given as 72.
[5] Wellington Journal, 23 Oct 1869, page 8. “DEATHS. […] RYLEY—20th instant, aged 72, at Victoria Mills, Market Drayton, Mr. Edward Ryley.”
[6] Market Drayton St Mary, Shropshire, burial register covering 1869. Entry dated 23 Oct 1869 for Edward Ryley, abode Little Drayton, age 72. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives.
[7] 1871 census of England and Wales. 2 The Mount, Market Drayton, Shropshire. Piece 2801, folio 40, page 1. Head: Thomas Heath Ryley, 38, Horse Hair Manufacturer employing 29 women 2 men & 2 boys, born Market Drayton. Wife: Mary Ryley, 30, born Adderley. Son: Francis H Ryley, 4, born Market Drayton. Dau: Edith May Ryley, 2, born Market Drayton. Dau: Frances Elizth Ryley, 9 mo, born Market Drayton. Plus 2 servants (domestic servant, nurse).
[8] Marriage of Thomas Heath Ryley and Mary Duckers registered at Wem, September quarter 1865; volume 6a, page 1203.
[9] 1871 census of England and Wales. Hill House, Sound, Cheshire. Piece 3716, folio 121, page 11. Head: William Furnival, 36, farmer of 106 acres, born Naply Farm, Shropshire [= Napley Farm, Mucklestone, Staffordshire]. Wife: Frances Furnival, 36, born Betton, Shropshire. Plus a visitor and 5 servants (2 domestic servants, 3 farm servants).
[10] Market Drayton St Mary, Shropshire, marriage register covering 1865. Entry dated 18 May 1865 for William Furnival, of full age, Bachelor, Farmer, of [W__bury ?], father Daniel Furnival, Farmer; and Frances Ryley, of full age, Spinster, of Drayton in Hales, father Edward Ryley, Miller. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives. Note: Witnesses Thos Heath, Anne Mary Smith.
[11] 1871 census of England and Wales. 318 Ordsall Lane, Salford, Lancashire. Piece 4024, folio 165, page 21. Head: John Ryley, 30, Mechanical Draughtsman, born Betton, Shropshire. Wife: Emmeline S Riley, 32, born Manchester. Son: Edward J Riley, 5, born Manchester. Dau: Mary A Riley, 4, born Manchester. Dau: Susan M Riley, 1, born Manchester. Son: John A Riley, 7 mo, born Salford. Plus a visitor.
[12] Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire, marriage register covering 1865. Entry dated 4 Feb 1865 for John Ryley, 24, Bachelor, a Draughtsman of 168 Brunswick Street, Ardwick, father Edward Ryley, a Miller; and Emmeline Sophia Alcock, 26, Spinster, of 25 Ducie Street, Greenheys, father James Alcock, Warehouseman. Copy viewed at Ancestry – Manchester, England, Marriages and Banns, 1754-1930 (Cathedral).
[13] 1871 census of England and Wales. Shropshire Street, Market Drayton, Shropshire. Piece 2801, folio 34, page 16. Head: Edward Ryley, 34, hair seating manufacturer, born Market Drayton. Wife: Mary Ellen Ryley, 30, born High Ercall. Son: Robert Acherley [= Atcherley] Ryley, 8, born Market Drayton. Dau: Mary Ellen Ryley, 6, born Market Drayton. Son: Edward Ryley, 5, born Market Drayton. Son: William Henry Ryley, 4, born Market Drayton. Son: Harry Ryley, 2, born Market Drayton. Dau: Elizabeth Maude Ryley, 1, born Market Drayton. Visitor: Mary Jane Brooks, unmarried, 28, annuitant, born High Ercall. Plus 2 general domestic servants.
[14] 1871 census of England and Wales. 3 The Mount, Market Drayton, Shropshire. Piece 2801, folio 40, page 1. Head: William F S Sandbrook, 29, Wine & Spirit Merchant, born Market Drayton. Wife: Jane Sandbrook, 28, born Manchester. Son: William Sandbrook, 6, born Market Drayton. Son: Frank Sandbrook, 5, born Market Drayton. Son: John Sandbrook, 4, born Market Drayton. Dau: Ida Jeannie Sandbrook, 1, born Market Drayton. Plus 2 servants (domestic servant, nurse).
[15] Staffordshire Advertiser, 6 Feb 1864, page 1. “AT a MEETING of MILLERS […]”. Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[16] Birth of Mary Ellen Ryley registered at Market Drayton, June quarter 1864; volume 6a, page 757; mother’s maiden name Atcherley.
[17] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1864. Entry dated 20 Jun 1864 for Mary Ellen Ryley. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives.
[18] Birth of Edward Ryley registered at Market Drayton, September quarter 1865; volume 6a, page 711; mother’s maiden name Atcherley.
[19] RYLEY Edward 1864-1950 & Caroline C. 1875-1951. At: eGGSA Library (website, accessed 18 Oct 2019). Note: Photo of gravestone shows Edward’s date of birth (although the year is incorrect the day and month are likely accurate).
[20] Market Drayton St Mary, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1865. Entry dated 1 Sep 1865 for Edward Ryley. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives.
[21] Staffordshire Advertiser, 16 Dec 1865, page 4. “Situations Wanted.” Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[22] Staffordshire Advertiser, 24 Feb 1866, page 8. “Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company.” Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[23] Staffordshire Sentinel, 23 Feb 1868, page 7. “Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company.” Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[24] The London Gazette, issue 23239, 12 Apr 1867, page 2266.
[25] Leake and Evans (1868), Poll Book of the North Shropshire Election. Page 12. Copy viewed at Ancestry – UK, Poll Books and Electoral Registers, 1538-1893.
[26] Frederick Walter Scott Craig (ed.) (1977), British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885. Page 446. Copy previewed at Google Books.
[27] John Reader Jackson (1890), Commercial Botany of the Nineteenth Century. Page 143. Modern facsimile previewed at Google Books.
[28] United States Department of Agriculture (1964), Farmer’s World, the Yearbook of Agriculture, 1964. Page 248. Copy viewed at Google Books.
[29] Birth of William Henry Ryley registered at Market Drayton, March quarter 1867; volume 6a, page 742; mother’s maiden name Atcherley.
[30] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1867. Entry dated 17 Feb 1867 for William Henry Ryley.
[31] Birth of Francis Heath Ryley registered at Market Drayton, June quarter 1867; volume 6a, page 772; mother’s maiden name Duckers.
[32] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1867. Entry dated 12 Apr 1867 for Francis Heath Ryley. Copy viewed at Findmypast – Shropshire Baptisms.
[33] Birth of Edith May Ryley registered at Market Drayton, June quarter 1868; volume 6a, page 778; mother’s maiden name Duckers.
[34] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1868. Entry dated 4 Jun 1868 for Edith May Ryley. Copy viewed at Findmypast – Shropshire Baptisms.
[35] Birth of Harry Ryley registered at Market Drayton, December quarter 1869; volume 6a, page 754; mother’s maiden name Atcherley.
[36] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1869. Entry dated 26 Oct 1869 for Harry Ryley. Copy viewed at Shropshire Archives.
[37] Staffordshire Advertiser, 31 Jul 1869, page 8. “Important SALE of valuable FREEHOLD RESIDENCES […]”. Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[38] Birth of Elizabeth Maud Ryley registered at Market Drayton, March quarter 1870; volume 6a, page 792; mother’s maiden name Atcherley.
[39] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1870. Entry dated 10 Mar 1870 for Elizabeth Maud Riley. Copy viewed at Findmypast – Shropshire Baptisms.
[40] Shrewsbury Chronicle, 25 Feb 1870, page 3. “Manchester and Liverpool District Banking Company.” Copy viewed at British Newspaper Archive.
[41] Birth of Frances Elizabeth Ryley registered at Market Drayton, September quarter 1870; volume 6a, page 746; mother’s maiden name Duckers.
[42] Little Drayton Christ Church, Shropshire, baptism register covering 1870. Entry dated 22 Sep 1870 for Frances Elizabeth Riley [= Ryley]. Copy viewed at Findmypast – Shropshire Baptisms.
[43] London Gazette, issue 23413, 18 Aug 1868, page 4590.
Footnote.
[44] HMSO (1866), English Patents of Inventions, Specifications: 1866, 401 – 452. No. 418. Copy viewed at Google Books.
[45] Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire, baptism register covering 1865. Entry dated 13 May 1865 for Edward James, born 16 Apr 1865, parents John and Emmeline Sophia Ryley, abode Manchester, father’s occupation Draughtsman. Copy viewed at Ancestry – Manchester, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1901 (Cathedral).
[46] Manchester Cathedral, Lancashire, baptism register covering 1866. Entry dated 30 Jun 1866 for Mary Ann, born 11 Jun 1866, parents John and Emmeline Sophia Ryley, abode Manchester, father’s occupation Engineer. Copy viewed at Ancestry – Manchester, England, Births and Baptisms, 1813-1901 (Cathedral).
