From Bacup to New Bedford

In 1869 Greenwood and Ann with children, Greenwood's mother and his half brother and family sailed from Liverpool aboard the HMS Palmyra of Glasgow and arrived in Boston on October
24th. The ship weighed 1389 tons and carried a total of 489 passengers mostly from Ireland and
England.

Steve Bickerton of Liverpool writes:

"Most emigrants usually spent between one and ten days waiting for their ship in a Liverpool lodging house. In the mid-nineteenth century some of the emigrants passing through Liverpool were subjected to harassment and fraud by local confidence tricksters, who became known as 'runners'. Runners frequently snatched emigrants' luggage and would only return it if the emigrant paid a large fee. In the late 1840's and 1850's, lodging houses were often inhospitable, dirty and overcrowded.

From the 1860's the situation began to improve as steam started to replace sail on the Atlantic route. The steamship companies looked after the emigrants during their stay in Liverpool and their representatives them on their arrival in the city. The emigrants were taken to lodging houses which were frequently owned by the steamship companies, but delays still occurred and there continued to be complaints about treatment in Liverpool even in the early 2Oth century.

Until the early 1860's most emigrants left Liverpool on a sailing ship. The voyage to the USA and Canada took about 35 days and to Australia 10 to 17 weeks. Most emigrants traveled in the cheapest class of accommodation, known as the steerage. This was similar to a dormitory with bunks down the sides and tables in the centre. It was frequently overcrowded with poor ventilation. Emigrating in a sailing ship could be unpleasant, particularly during a storm; it was only better in degree in the early days of steamships! Seasickness was a particular problem on the stormy North Atlantic westbound voyage. Diseases such as cholera and typhus frequently reached epidemic proportion as infection spread through the confined decks. Scores of emigrants died on this account.

The 1855 Passenger Act helped to improve conditions, laying down minimum standards for rations, space and sanitation. By 1870 virtually all emigrants to the USA and Canada went by steamship and the voyage was consequently reduced to between 7 and 10 days."

An asterisk by Mary's name indicated her poor health. She was listed as having very sore eyes and being infirm. Perhaps she did not fare well on the journey. Mary was to live a little more than 4 more years in the New World. She saw her last day on 23 March 1874 in New Bedford at the age of 72.

A Short Stay in Fall River

From Boston, the Hartleys and Wilkinsons moved to Fall River. This may come as a surprise to some who only know of the Hartleys as being from Rochester. Greenwood Hartley was listed as living on 7 Eighth Street in the 1870-71 City Directory. Eighth Street ran off of Bedford Street where the Wilkinsons lived. Eighth is a short street and the Union Mill is at the end of it. The Durphy Mills were between Ninth and Eleventh Streets. Greenwood and his older 2 children were listed as working in the cotton mills in 1870 - perhaps at one of the two mills just mentioned.

Greenwood’s family and mother were listed in the 1870 Census, but they are found with great difficulty. Greenwood’s surname was taken down as Harteliffe and his mother’s surname was listed as Wilkison. The census taker may have had trouble understanding their strong Lancashire accent and Trawden dialect.

The 1870 census gives some more information about the Hartley family in Fall River. Greenwood and Ann could not write but they could read. This is hard to imagine having learned to read and write at about the same time but was probably not uncommon at the time. The second fact is the census shows that Greenwood had personal wealth of $600 which was quite a lot of money for the time. For the 9 families on the census page, the total personal wealth was $1,000 and the next highest amount of personal wealth to Greenwood was $300. This seems to indicate that Greenwood and family was quite thrifty and hard working.

While the United States provided opportunities for the Wilkinsons and Hartleys it was also likely the reason they emigrated. The Civil War in the U.S. resulted in a cotton famine in England which resulted in a great amount of hardship. While many emigrated to the U.S., many more Britons emigrated to Canada or Australia which was under Great Britain's jurisdiction.

Figure 6 The Wamsutta Mill Area of New Bedford in 1871

I wonder how people learned of opportunities of work in Massachussetts. Perhaps they heard by word of mouth or there was some type of advertisements from Massachusetts to England for workers. Also one wonders how relatives between the countries communicated without being able to write. Did they use literate friends or relatives to get letters across? In addition to John Pilling coming to New Bedford before the others, there were Wilkinsons living in New Bedford (no known relation). There was also a mysterious James Hartley listed in the New Bedford Directory in 1849 as working in the Wamsutta Mills. Remember that Greenwood's Grandfather was named James Hartley. Was there any connection?

The New Bedford Years (1870-1879)

The Hartley's lived at the rear of 200 Ray Street in New Bedford probably as early as 1870 and soon after moved to 23 Austin Street. Ray Street was one street East of Purchase Street near the new Wamsutta Mills on the 1871 map (Figure 6). Although Austin Street is now in the middle of the City, at that time Austin Street was about a block away from the countryside. A map from 1876 shows a railroad track where Ray Street used to be. The houses they lived in were likely factory housing owned by the Wamsutta Mills. Those Mills were located near the present intersection of Routes 195 and 18. This was the Mill where John Pilling was an overseer.

Four deaths occurred for the Hartley, Wilkinson, and Pilling families while in New Bedford. 12 year old Esther died of typhoid fever on 30 October 1870. John and Robert Wilkinson were about 11 and 9 when they drowned on 21 January 1872. The matriarch died on 23 March 1874 at the house of her son Greenwood. John and Robert Wilkinson, Esther Hart1ey and Mary Pilling Hartley Wilkinson are buried in the Oak Grove Cemetery in New Bedford along with other relatives. Two years before the Hartleys moved to Rochester, John Pilling , believed to be Greenwood's older half brother, left his family with money belonging to the purchasing and dividing association of Wamsutta operatives.

From The Textile Mills to a Sawmill

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