Christopher

As Christmas is approaching and as Joseph and I have decided to have the night off from revising ........
I shall turn my attention to the mysterious, elusive, compulsive, frustrating - the only clue to going back Christopher Steele.

What do we definitely know about him so far?
Well we have his baptism, it is on IGI

Chrstphr Steel
16 Jun 1811
Holy Trinity Salford
Wm Steel + Mary
C020872 1708-1738 book

Christopher was one of the first people I became interested in when I started doing family history he was both fascinating and frustrating. I spent a week trying to track down his baptism. I was then a complete novice. Firstly it is not called Holy Trinity, rather Sacred Trinity. And this is the church that I pass on my way into Manchester. The link shows the church

www.mbbcanal.demon.co.uk/trail/salford/sacredt/P001218.JPG

Manchester library has the film the record is suppose to be on but it was not there so........as a last resort I went to Salford Local History library, the gentleman who works there is marvellous. They have a few photocopied sheets of some kind of record for this church. And yes there he was ........ but what a disappointment ! I have a photocopy of this but it gives no more information just a single line :- 16 Christopher son of William & Mary Steel. The single sheet I have is all in the same handwritting somehow it does not resemble other parish records that I have seen so I must at some stage return to the library and ask its origins (I wonder if it is a transcript).

It is interesting to note the number of baptisms on this sheet July 3 all on the same day, August 1, September 5, November 4, December (up to the 25th) 4.

There are other Steels baptised at this church but none with the same parents.

Next we turn to the census information for Christopher.

1841 HO107/502/3 Blackburn, Blackburn 6
Folio 41, page 31, line 20

Christ. Steele 25 occupation ?
Ann 25 Cotton winder
Sarah 7

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1851 HO107/2190/338/46 West Derby, Everton 2a
Kirkdale, Boundary Street
Factory Cottages No. 17

Christopher Steele 38 Maker of Yarn, Cotton factory born Salford
Ann 39 born Blackburn
Sarah 17 cotton reeler born Blackburn
Mary Anne 7 born Blackburn
Martha Alice 3 born Eccles
Richard 1 born Eccles
***********************************************
1861 RG9/2799/125/29
Lowton, Leigh 6
School lane

Christopher Steel 48 Maker up in cotton factory
Ann 50 born Blackburn
Jane 16 Cotton factory worker born Blackburn
Martha Alice 12 Cotton factory worker born Eccles
Richard 10 born Eccles
William 7 born Blackburn
James5 Grandson born Lowton
***********************************************
1871 RG10/4172/34/11
Blackburn, Blackburn 9

Christopher Steele 57 Widow Lodger at the house of Mary Toothey 75,
packer in cotton warehouse born Manchester
***********************************************

His younger children went to live with Sarah, and we know he returned to Golborne to marry Mary Dawson in 1872.

From free BMD deaths :-

Ann Steel Mar 1864 Leigh 8c 137
Christopher Steel age 65 Jun 1877 Leigh 8c 162

Please feel free to check the census entries, some of them are very faint and I am not very good at reading them. If you have any suggestions please make them.

Why did he keep returning to Blackburn?
Was it family? Anns or Christophers. Why leave his children after Anns death?

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Who was he named after?
I will return to this topic..........