John Beardmore was born in Burslem on February 14th 1845. In the 1851 census John and his younger brother Edward Beardmore were living with parents George and Elizabeth in Thomas Stevenson’s house at 125 Garden Street. Stevenson was Elizabeth’s uncle who was 82 at the time.
By the time of the 1861 census John and Edward had moved with their parents to 143 Waterloo Road, but they were living at 1 Bleak Street when John married Emily Hancock at the Wesleyan Chapel, Burslem on November 25th 1868. They moved to 5 Bleak Street and the 1871 census has them there with their two eldest boys. At the same time John’s father and mother still at 1 Bleak Street and Frederick Hancock, Emily’s brother, was at 7 Bleak Street. Eventually they moved to Aspley House, 188 Waterloo Road.
Click for map showing Waterloo Road, Bleak Street and the Bleak Hill works.
Altogether John and Emily had nine children:
- Edward Henry (born September 5th 1869, died 1932)
- Francis William (born October 19th 1870, died 1936)
- John Ernest (born December 3rd 1871)
- Maria (stillborn December 31st 1872, buried January 1st 1873)
- George Harold (born April 12th 1874, died January 12th 1875)*
- Charles Edgar (born February 27th 1876, died June 25th 1877)*
- Emily Mary (born October 29th 1878)
- Ada (born June 28th 1884, died September 1884)
- Agnes Ethel (born June 28th 1884, died November 17th 1970)
*According to Agnes Ethel the two boys died of whooping cough.
The details above were taken from a Bible presented to John Beardmore in 1856 by the Association for the Advancement of Education on the Mining and Manufacturing District of North Staffordshire: “Having attended school for at least two years and having been examined and approved by H.M.Inspector JP Norris”
Edward Henry never married. Francis William (Frank) married Frances Gertrude (Sissie) Bennett in April 1897, Emily Mary (May) married Sydney Marsden in April 1905, Ernest married Martha Jane (Pattie) Dickinson in September 1905 and Agnes Ethel married Leonard Arrowsmith in April 1910.
John was a partner in Pidduck and Beardmore’s Ironmongers in Burslem. It appears that his partnership with John Pidduck was dissolved in 1876 but the trading name was kept. John passed the business on to his sons. Edward Harry and John Ernest continued with it, but Frank moved on to found his pottery business.
John died on October 4th 1908. It appears that he left £33,523 10s. 4d to his three sons. That’s about £3.6 million in today’s money.
Emily died on July 13th 1923. John and Emily are buried at Burslem together with their eldest son: Edward Henry.
