Slater Family History

THE SLATERS OF SHOTTLE, HAZELWOOD, DUFFIELD AND BELPER

I became aware of my connection with this family sometime in 1996 when I turned over the photographs in a very old album which had come to me via my grandparents JBMason Snr and his wife Emily nee Oakden. One photo showed a very old couple and on the back was written "Great grandparents Slater. I knew this album, full of ladies in crinolines, had come from the Goodwin family of Hazelwood. Mary Goodwin was my gt. Grandmother.

About the same time I looked in a bookshop in Belper and examined a book by George Barrass about Methodism in Belper. It told me about Thomas Slater of Chapel Farm Blackbrook/ Shottle who had a vision of Christ in 1758 and became a Derbyshire travelling evangelist. Thomas was in Belper with his daughter Pollie aged 9 years when John Wesley came in 1786 and they walked through Belper arm in arm to the place where a Methodist Chapel was to be built on Slater land.

Thomas had held services in his kitchen at Chapel Farm, Plains Lane Blackbrook. In 1816 he had a chapel built which has recently been very sympathetically restored. Putting this information together it dawned on me that the Mary Slater born 1777 and christened in Duffield Church on 10 Aug 1777 who married John William Goodwin in 1798 at St Michael's Derby was in fact my 3x great grandmother. Mary Slater, Pollie Slater and Mrs John William Goodwin were one and the same person. John and Pollie Goodwin were tenant farmers at Chapel Farm, Goodwins Lane, Hazelwood. They had a small chapel, built on farm land which was still there in the 1950s. Goodwins Lane is very narrow at that point and my father would always sound his horn in case children were running across the road. John W Goodwin lived from 1774 until 1869 and wife Pollie outlived him. No wonder they looked so old in my photograph.

In recent years Belper, Derbyshire has become became twinned with Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Samuel Slater, a management trainee of Jedediah Strutt in his Belper Cotton mills went to the States in 1789. Samuel (1768-1835) served his apprenticeship with Strutt. He lost his father William Slater in 1782. His apprenticeship over, Samuel went to London and boarded a ship for America. In his head he carried information on how to set up Cotton machinery. It was industrial espionage. Samuel found partners. Mills were set up and Samuel Slater is known as the "Father of the American Cotton Industry. Samuel married and raised a family in Pawtucket.

I was very interested in finding out Samuel's ancestors. I knew his parents were William Slater (1726-1782) and Elizabeth Hitchcock. Consulting my cousin Mary Fletcher, an expert on Shottle. I found out that William Slater (father of Samuel) was the elder brother of Thomas Slater, preacher and farmer. They lie side by side in Duffield Churchyard. The parents of William Slater and his brother Thomas were Thomas Slater and Mary Allcock. Examining the will of Thomas Slater, I found reference to his eldest son William Slater otherwise Allcock. He must have been born before his parent's marriage. It was exciting to know that Samuel Slater of whom Belper is so very proud was the cousin of Pollie. To me he is 1st cousin 5 times removed.

I found lots Slater wills. They were tenant farmers. The whole village was and is owned by the Dukes of Devonshire. The wills helped me greatly in piecing together this family tree. The Slaters over the years did not move very far, with notable exceptions. Tremendous repeated usage of Christian names Thomas, William, Samuel and John was a hindrance.

Several years ago I met, through Derbyshire Family History Society a lady who was researching her "Land" Family of Hazelwood. She and I were distantly related though the Slater connection. In the 1940s my family of Masons had a neighbour Bert Bowman who was the tenant of Flaxholme Farm. He had a mother named Phoebe Land (1880-1953). My father John Bernard Mason (1909-1972) was a fifth cousin of our neighbour Bert Bowman. My parents would have been fascinated.

My dear cousin,
I was delighted to receive the copy of the photo of JOHN WILLIAM GOODWIN and his wife POLLIE nee SLATER. She would be my 5X Great Aunt. I am descended from her sister GRACE and then from SARAH nee WOOLLATT. SARAH was born on Nov 9th 1809 and baptised on 23 Feb 1810. She married WILLIAM KNIGHT at Duffield on 24th March 1835 and she died 17th July 1843 at Swinney Lane, Belper. Sarah and William Knight had 3 children and I am descended through their daughter MARYANN born 1835, baptised at St Peter's Belper. They had 3 daughters --my ancestor was SARAH GRACE KIRK born 22nd Dec 1854. Sarah Grace married ENOCH PRITCHARD on 28th May 1871 at St Paul's Nottingham and had 13 children. My great-grandmother was their daughter ELIZABETH who had 10 children with two husbands.

My grandmother was NELLIE PRITCHARD SMITH born 7th July 1898 at Leicester. She married CHARLES HOLSHAM at Leicester on 8th Jan 1918 and they had 6 children my mother VIOLET HILDA PATRICIA born 27th Dec 1923 at Leicester. She married my GI dad there on 8th April 1944 and I was born 29th July 1947 in New Jersey. I have a sister JUDITH born 11th June 1953 in New Jersey and a brother GREGORY born 25th July 1959 in Leicester. I married JIM on 9th May 1970 and our two daughters are JENNIFER ELIZABETH born 7th Nov 1973 and ALLISON MARGARET born 8th Jan 1976. As you can see it's a direct female line from GRACE SLATER. So dear cousin, our common grandparents are THOMAS SLATER and ELIZABETH nee HITCHCOCK. The tree you sent me was very good. I wonder if you know MARY SMEDLEY from Belper, she is another Slater cousin. Do you by any chance have any details on Elizabeth Hitchcock or Mary Alcock? Any help you could offer would be greatly appreciated. My e-mail address is patz@home.com.. All the best from your Cousin Pat Zipf.

Dear Margaret,
Please accept my sincere apologies for not replying to your letter received 12 December re SLATER family of Shottle/Duffield/Hazelwood. It has been an awful year for us, my husband was made redundant last Feb and is still out of work. I did appreciate you printouts and yes we are related through the Alcock/Hitchcock/Slater lines. My 5X grandmother GRASE (Grace) nee Slater bapt 25th Apr 1773 was daughter of THOMAS SLATER and ELIZABETH nee Hitchcock. Grase married JOHN WILLOTT at Duffield in Feb 1791 (or 1792). I descend through their daughter Sarah bapt 23rd Feb at Belper Wesleyan (most other children were baptised at Turnditch All Saints). My mother was born 27 Dec 1923 at Leicester though I was born in New Jersey. I have resided twice in England and went back and forth a lot. I liked the "extra bits" in your letter. It helped to put "flesh on the bones".

I took a day trip to Pawtucket RI a year ago and visited the home and mill factory of our "Cousin" SAMUEL SLATER (cousin of my Grase and your Pollie). It's a lovely place. I see some of the family is still in Derbyshire. I visited Duffield once but sadly the church was not open. I ordered the MI microfiche for Turnditch All Saints from Derbys F H S, but the quality was so poor I wasn't able to glean very much info off it. It is very difficult to do research transatlantic-ally if there is such a word.

I do believe that besides my Grace and your Pollie our Thomas and Elizabeth (Farmer/ Preacher) had at least two more children, MARY bapt 3rd Oct 1758 and the first ELIZABETH bapt 8th Sept 1760 who perhaps died soon after birth and consequently they named the next girl ELIZABETH also. I think we are 6th cousins, Margaret and send you best wishes and many thanks. Best regards,