Abbott watchmakers, Prescot, Widnes

[taylor]

I am trying to solve a 100 year old puzzle. Fragments of a story were passed to me as a child, to the effect that someone in the Abbott branch (my gt grandmother's family) had a connection to Knowsley Hall, by marriage or employment.

Building the Abbott branch of the tree has proved very difficult to date, particularly at two critical points in the tree, as follows:

1) William Abbott (watchmaker, b 11 Nov 1807 Prescot, bapt 17 Nov) married Margaret, who must have died prior to his remarriage on 13 Aug 1849 to Mary Finch (b 1829 Bold). Who was Margaret? Margaret was either:
a) Margaret Brindle (1) mar. William Abbott 30 Oct 1830 Walton le Dale, Preston.
b) Margaret Brindle (2) married William Habbott 9 May 1828, Wigan.
c) Margaret Hewitt (widow) married William Abbott 2 Feb 1829 at All Saints Rainford. If so, who was her first husband?

2) William's father was John Abbott (watchmaker, b 1777 Widnes, d 1811 Prescot). John's wife was Isabella (b abt 1778 Sutton, Liverpool). What was her maiden name? She married a Patrick Murphy after John's death (appears in census records).

I've checked all the usual online resources. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, including those involving travel to Prescot.

[northmeols]

Baptism: 24 May 1801 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
John Abbott - Son of John Abbott & Isabell
Born: 5 Apr 1801
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker


Baptism: 3 Mar 1805 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
Joseph Abbott - Son of John Abbott & Isabel
Born: 12 Jan 1805
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker


Baptism: 20 Apr 1800 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
Mary Abbott - Daughter of John Abbott & Isabel
Born: 31 Mar 1800
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker

Baptism: 10 Apr 1803 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
Margaret Abbott - Daughter of John Abbott & Isabel
Born: 27 Mar 1803
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker
you may already have these

Baptism: 17 Apr 1808 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
William Abbott - Son of John Abbott & Isabel
Born: 11 Nov 1807
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker

Baptism: 17 May 1812 St Mary the Virgin, Prescot, Lancashire, England
Thomas Abbott - Son of John Abbott, Late & Isabel
Born: 26 Sep 1809
Abode: Prescot
Occupation: Watchmaker

[taylor]

Thanks for the quick reply. This is certainly one of the two families I'm interested in. I already had the children listed (from the Lancs Parish Clerk Online). Finding mother's and grandmother's maiden names is proving difficult. There are too many options in the case of the mother, and too few options in the case of the grandmother!

[taylor]

This thread continues on the Widnes area of the forum.