Georgian Gentleman Nathaniel Milner (1718-1797)

A Century of Trade, Technology & Tort Law

caution !! this is an initial draft ... these notes are on my server for safe keeping !!

 

 

 

The Hindley and the Birchall families of Cheshire certainly had some roots in an agricultural revolution which developed and produced some meagre food surpluses and freed up a little time from toil on the land to spend on the acquisition of craft skills. Some families of Cheshire certainly had some roots in an agricultural revolution which developed and produced some meagre food surpluses and freed up a little time from toil on the land to spend on the acquisition of craft skills. Some Hindley ancestors learned cheese making & shoemaking skills and some Birchall ancestors were workers of wood and acquired new industrial skills in the East Cheshire manufactories.

For sure it was patchy progress as fortune ebbed & flowed but hard work, honesty & thrift seemed a good survival strategy.

It appeared both families produced skilled craftsmen but latterly in the Hindley family there was a significant entrepreneur; Edward Hindley.

Edward was part of a fascinating flow of progress at a riparian site on the River Weaver at Acton Bridge in Cheshire. This was industrial progress which was an important part of the industrial revolution. A flow which escaped the foibles of fate and bankruptcy and cashed in on a series of propitious mergers, takeovers & reorganisations which could be traced forward to the modern company, Croda; an international producer of speciality chemicals. This flow of progress could also be traced back into the mists of ancient craft skills forged by the side of the river at Acton Bridge.

Two other families added interest to this story of industry & enterprise at Acton Bridge; the Milners and the Whittakers both approached the industrial revolution, not as craftsmen, but as merchants of cloth. It was the merchant class who accumulated sufficient funds for investment in the estates and factories of mass production in Mid & East Cheshire. Of course they had some assistance from the bankers in London who earned their trust and backed their ventures with hard cash.

It was clear both the Milners and the Whittakers played an important part in this local progression; they were risk takers who succeeded big time ...

The Milners

The Milner family genes were well dispersed & diversified ... the Milners were everywhere, perhaps such profligacy was unsurprising as this occupational name of Germanic origin was derived from the old English 'mlyn' or 'mill' ... they were also found in Holland; good Anglo Saxon stock?

The family Milner of our local interest emerged originally as an English family of great antiquity in Yorkshire. First records indicated that Pudsey in the West Riding of Yorkshire was one of the family hot seats ... but later there were also Milners in Acton, Stretton & Moore ... and Milners in Hartford Hall just up the road.

The ancient inheritance of the Duttons was passed by marriage to the Gerrards and the Fleetwoods. It was sold to a Mr Scarfe or Scrasse from whom it was purchased by Richard Ashton Esq. In 1640 the land was sold, and became part of the Milner estate until 1918, when these properties were sold to individual householders.  

Nathaniel Milner (1718-1797) of Acton was right in the middle of the dramatic change in rural Cheshire as the industrial revolution got underway ... Nathaniel was steeped in an 18th century of almost continuous confrontation with France and its alien culture of absolutist Bourbon Kings and mercantilism ... he was well aware that some individuals appeared to be omnipotent but he mused that they were only dwarfs standing on the shoulders of institutional giants ... the revolutions of the 17th century were over ... Nathaniel was a free spirit, he strived, coped & contributed.

Nathaniel was a merchant, a free trader, but little detail of his activities emerged from the mists ... however it seemed his family roots were in Yorkshire where ancestors and distant cousins left much more recorded evidence. Pudsey in the West Riding of Yorkshire was wool country ... and this was where the search for Nathaniel of Acton started; how was he connected to the wool merchants of Leeds and the Hanseatic League?

It seemed the story of the Milners and wool were inseparable, a story which was well researched -

'The Wool Trade in English Medieval History' by Eileen Power, 1941.

'Gentlemen Merchants: the Merchant Community in Leeds, 1700-1830' by Richard George Wilson, 1971.

'Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders 1550-1653' by Robert Brenner, 2003.

'The English Wool Trade in the Middle Ages' by T H Lloyd, 2005.

The pedigrees of West Riding families were outlined in 1874 by Joseph Foster and in Volume 2 was listed - MILNER, of Pudsey, now renowned of Nun Appleton.

The Baronetage of England by William Betham covered the Milner Nun Appleton branch ... however in 'The Registers of the Parish Church of Calverley' by ‎Samuel Margerison, 1887 the connection between Pudsey and Nun Appleton was questioned - 'Joseph Foster erroneously made the family of Nun Appleton spring from that of Pudsey, and called Marmaduke Milner, of Maker, in Richmondshire, the brother of Samuel Milner, of Pudsey, who died in 1643. This perfectly gratuitous assumption is not justified by facts; for the Milners of Calvert House in Muker, Swaledale can be traced a long way back, and have a perfectly independent origin'.

The History of Pudsey by Simeon Rayner, 1887 confirmed the Pudsey Milner lineage.

Yorkshire deeds, Volume 2 by William Brown, Cambridge University Press, 1909 adds more grist to the mill ... the ancient documents confirmed the Milner family were essentially a Halifax family and later acquired lands in Pudsey ... and identified an important player in our story ... Robert Mylner who had a son Samuel and left a Will in 1588 ... and a propitious place to start for the Yorkshire Milners?

No doubt, for the Acton Milners, the most interesting record came from Rosa Louise Stromeyer the wife of Edward John Milner of Hartford Hall, Director of Brunner Mond. Sometime around the turn of the last century, Rosa commissioned an intriguing research project into the ancient Milner clan for her four sons, Charles Edward, George Fell, Dennis & Geoffrey ... this beautiful manuscript confirmed the Milner lineage and the link from Pudsey to Woodhouses, Cheshire ...

This Rosa lineage must be the best and only place to start so we can place the generations as they tick by from Thomas de Molendarius de Pudsey to Nathaniel Milner (1718-97)!

Here we go -

1 Thomas de Molindarius de Pudsey ...

2 Richardus Mylner of Pudsey = Ciceley of Pudsey ...

3 John Mylner ...

4 Robert Mylner of Pudsey 1416 ...

5 Richard Mylner of Pudsey 1459 ...

6 Robert Mylner of Pudsey 1541 = Ann Wharton of Hapwood

7 John Mylner = Ann Waterhouse of Hollins, Halifax

8 Robert Milner = Mary daughter of Co. heiress of Thomas Draper of Broadbotham, Halifax

9 Samuel Milner 1643 = Grace daughter Edward Oldfield of Woodlands, Calverley

10 John Milner of Woodhouses Frodsham Will 20 April 1630  Proved 1630 = Ellen ???? Will Aug 15th 1630 Administered 1646

children - Richard - William - John - Thomas died 1630 - Margaret - Mary - Sarah

Richard - Thomas - John Milner of Woodhouses = Margaret Dutton

10 John Milner.    

11 Daniel Milner of Woodhouses Frodsham son of John Will dated Feb 9th 1710 Proved Chester 1717 = marr June 23rd 1662 Mary Waine

12 Daniel Milner Gentleman of Acton Will April 1760 Died April Will proved May 10th 1778  = (Sarah Barrow)          

children - Daniel [Tightrope] - Nathaniel - Thomas - Mary - Rachel - Sarah

13 Thomas Milner of Tarbock son of Daniel = Martha Antrobus   
brother Nathaniel Milner of Hall Green son of Daniel Will dated 15 June 1797 proved 1 May 1798 = Sarah Dennis

All the heavy lifting on the lineage of 13 generations was done by Rosa Louise ... there remained the exciting task of uncovering the story behind this epic diaspora.  

Generation 7 -

John Mylner (1518-86) of Pudsey was born 1518 (aged 63 in 1584) and 28 May 1543 he
married Ann Waterhouse (1524-) of Hollins, Halifax, born in Moot Hall, Halifax, West Riding, Yorkshire, England. Daughter of Robert Waterhouse (1498-1578) of Moot Hall and of Shibden who died 1578. He was the son of John Waterhouse (1469-1539), who was the eldest son of Richard Waterhouse, and founder of the Waterhouse family. The propitious marriage of John Milner and Ann Waterhouse was clearly recorded by John W Clay in 'Familiae Minorum Gentium', lineage 'D'. The same document established the connection to John & Anne's son John Milner of Whitwell, Derbyshire ... another destination for the Milner diaspora. And the Will of Robert Waterhouse in 1617 confirmed more intermarriage ... as Robert Waterhouse married Mary the late wife of Francis Milner of Whitwell, Derbyshire ... and identified John & Richard the sons of his brother in law.  

Ann's father, Robert Waterhouse, married Sibel Savile, and inherited the Manor and Shibden Hall from the Saville family, they had 5 children including Ann - (1) John (1523-83) in 1545 he bought the Manor of Halifax-cum-Heptonstall - (2) George (1525-1???) who's son Robert (1554-1617) married Grace Milner, John & Ann's son  - (3) Gregory - (4) Ann who married John Milner - (5) Richard.

All this intermarrying was obviously both fun and lucrative but a bit worrying for the genes.

The early Waterhouse family were heavily involved with the Priory of Lewes and had land leases &  churches under the Priory. In May 1532 on the dissolution of the monasteries, Prior Robert granted to Robert Waterhouse, of Halifax, his heirs and assigns, the right of advowson of this church, together with all manner of tythes. Robert pushed his luck and became very wealthy and a person of note. The family made their fortune from sheep, the wool trade and as tax collectors.

Shibden Hall, Halifax was the home of the Waterhouse family until it was sold by Edward Waterhouse in 1612.

John Milner had married well and started the intertwining of the Milners of Pudsey & Waterhouses of Halifax. John Crabtree told the story of wool, Halifax and the Waterhouses in 1836 ... the Waterhouses were numerous ... it was Robert Waterhouse who triggered off a dispute over tithes in 1535 when he demanded a tenth of the harvest instead of the fixed sum of money which had become the custom.

John Milner & Ann Waterhouse had children  -

Generation 8 -

1. Robert Milner (-1588) of Pudsey
married Mary Draper (-), daughter & co-heiress of Thomas Draper of Broadbotham, Halifax. They were married on the 29th of November 1573. Robert died in 1588 and left a Will identifying wife Mary, Brother-in-Law Robert Waterhouse and eldest son Samuel (1577-1643) and sons John (1579-), Robert (1581-) and Thomas (1582-) ... and an unborn child.

A receipt of 1573 (DD12/I/2/127) confirmed Brian Ferrer of Halifax and Robert Ferrer his son received £891 10s, the balance of the purchase money of their lands in Pudsey which were sold to Robert Milner. Endorsed with a note of enrolment in the West Riding registry. The whole was a copy certified by John, Robert and Francis Milner.

2. Gregory Milner BD died in 1615 ...

3. Anne Milner married Christopher Lindsey of Snawden

4. Grace Milner (1555-) born in Pudsey, in about 1586 Grace married her cousin Robert Waterhouse (1554-1617) of Harthill. Robert Waterhouse (1554-1617) of Harthill, first married Grace, daughter of John Milner of Pudsey. But second married Mary, widow of Francis Milner?
Robert Waterhouse (1554-1617) was the son of George Waterhouse (1525-1???) of Harthill, who was the son of the elder Robert Waterhouse; George  married Effame Wilkinson, daughter of Richard Wilkinson of Bradford.

 Will of Robert Waterhouse of Harthill, Gent, 17 July 1617 - 'To May my wife, late wife of Francis Milner of Whitwell, clerk, deceased, and to every son that I have begotten or shall beget on her body. Son John Waterhouse alias Lindley, daughter-in-law Ann W, my son Maximilian's wife, brother-in-law John Milner and my sister, his wife. John Milner & Richard Milner sons of my said brother John M; Alex M my brother-in-law, Margaret & Martha, daughters of my son Maximilian's daughter Mary; to son Maximilian all leases, advowsons, tithes etc; Wife Mary to be guardian to all my children in their minority; residue to his sons John Waterhouse alias Lindley and George Waterhouse, and appoints his kinsmen and friends George Blount, Esq, Jasper Blitheman, Esq, Thos Cotes, Gent. Supervisors, to each a double sovereign'.

5. John Milner (-) of Whitwell Derbyshire. N B - John Milner of Whitwell, Derbyshire was the son of John Milner of Pudsey.
His mother was Ann, daughter of Robert Waterhouse of the Moote Hall in Halifax and of Shibden Hall (d1578). John Milner's cousin Robert Waterhouse was MP for Aldborough and 'loving friend' to George, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury (1528-90).

Thomas Sowthwaites alias Milner (1525-89) was John's cousin see Thomas Milner of Skutterskelfe: the life & times of a Tudor Gentleman' researched by Alice Barrigan in 2014 - 'my cousin John Milner' was one of the men that Thomas Milner named to assist his daughter in the execution of his will. This John Milner 'of Whitwell, gentleman' was also a trustee in his daughter's marriage settlement. He was the son of John Milner of Pudsey and first cousin to Robert Waterhouse of Shibden Hall, Halifax (1544-98). According to Waterhouse's will, the Whitwell in question lay in Derbyshire; it is a village in the north-east of the county.
WYL100/HX/A/106 - 14 Jan 1595. Parties 1. Nicholas Waterhouse of Bowlsheye co York, gent, Robert Waterhous of Harthill co York and John Milner of Whitwell co Darbye gent. 2. Robert Waterhouse of the city of Yorke esq,
Reciting that Nicholas Waterhouse was seised of a messuage or tenement in Halifax called the Old Hall with its appurtenances (described) and 2 fulling mills in Southowram late in occupation of Edward Lillye and George Stocke and that on 30 Jan. 33 Eliz. (1590/1) he conveyed all his premises in Hallifax Southowrom and Northowrom to Robert Waterhous and John Milner to uses there set out, with proviso for alteration.

Generation 9 - did brothers John and Thomas leave Pudsey for Cheshire?

The union of Robert Milner & Mary Draper was fortuitous with considerable issue 4 strapping sons of note, all baptised in Calverley with the same FHL no -

Samuel Milner (1577-1643) son of Robert baptised 22 Dec 1577 Calverley ... (1696585) ... this was Samuel of Pudsey
married Grace Oldfield (-), daughter of Edward Oldfield of Wadlands, Calverley.

John Milner (1579-1629) son of Robert baptised 23 Aug 1579 Calverley ... (1696585) ... was this John of Woodhouses, Frodsham who died in 1629? John of Woodhouses left a Will proved in Chester 1630 ... excellent transcription service from the CRO scan of the original

Robert Milner (1581-1631) son of Robert baptised 18 March 1582 Caverley ... (1696585) ... 
died 11 July 1631 St Peters Leeds

Thomas Milner (1582-1630) son of Robert baptised 2 June 1583 Caverley ... (1696585) ...... was this Thomas the Yeoman of Helsby who died in 1630? Certainly not the Thomas who left a Will proved in Chester 100 years later in 1736!! 

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But was Marmaduke Milner part of this family? Perhaps not? 'The Registers of the Parish Church of Calverley' by ‎Samuel Margerison 1887 suggested tthat the Marmaduke clan had an independent origin?

The Marmaduke clan - cloth merchants of Leeds, Amsterdam & Rotterdam.

Marmaduke Milner (-) of Calvert House, Muker, Swaledale established an estate which descended according to the custom of gavelkind ... gavelkind was a system of land tenure where the inheritance pattern bears a resemblance to an ancient Germanic tradition. Under this law, land was divided equally among sons or other heirs.

Richard Milner (-) son of Marmaduke
married Alice Jenkinson and settled in Leeds.

William Milner (1630-95) son of Richard born 24 March 1630 died 5 Oct 1691
married Ruth Belton (-)

William Milner (1662-1740) son of William born 29 Nov 1662 died 23 Dec 1740. Marmaduke's great grandson, made a fortune from his merchant activities and sponsorship of the Aire & Calder Canal. In 1709 he purchased the estate of Nun Appleton. A Leeds clothing merchant, who made his money from the wool trade and the Aire & Calder Canal and became an established part of the landed gentry, ensuring respect and security for his family. It was easy to understand William's motivation ... it was not profit from the dark satanic mills but rather the founding of a secure dynasty based on idyllic lands of milk & honey. Perhaps there was little security in the wool trade as bankruptcy and cotton were around?

This insight had important economic consequences as R G Wilson explained; perhaps this social mobility from the marriage of trade success and land ownership sparked a transformation as new ideas & synergies led to betterment of land & condition which underpinned the economic success of the industrial revolution. Interestingly Wilson also compared & contrasted this early social mobility with the problems of entrenched privilege in France ...

Sir William Milner (1696-1745) was educated at Eton & Cambridge and became the first baronet of Nun Appleton in 1717, an MP for York in 1727 and Grand Master of the Freemasons in 1728. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of the Archbishop of York ... the Marmaduke clan had made it!

R G Wilson was to the point - 

'William Milner, so wealthy he was known as 'Alderman Wealthy', he lived next to his cloth packing shops and warehouses beside the grimy River Aire in Central Leeds for over 30 years after he had bought Nun Appleton estate in 1709. In the next 3 years he rebuilt the great tumbledown mansion of the Fairfaxes, who had fallen on hard times. But it was his Eton educated son who was given the estate and created a baronet in 1717 on marrying the daughter of the Archbishop of York, and returned as MP for York 5 years later, who enjoyed a landed lifestyle. Thereafter the latter's most obvious connection to Leeds was to be buried in the parish church with his forebears'.

Nun Appleton Priory.
The Nun Appleton Priory was acquired by The 1st Lord Fairfax of Cameron, a Yorkshire man with a Scottish peerage, following the Dissolution of the Monasteries. In 1711 the estate was sold to Alderman William Milner of Leeds who carried out many alterations to the house. In 1717 his son Sir William Milner (1696-1745) was created the 1st Milner Baronet, of Nun Appleton Hall in the County of York. The estate then descended in the Milner family until 1875, when the estate's owner, Sir William Mordaunt Milner, 6th Baronet, was more interested in gambling than looking after it!

The Aire & Calder Canal.
The Aire & Calder Canal made navigable the Rivers Aire & Calder in the West Riding. In 1704 the Aire was improved to Leeds and the Calder to Wakefield, by the construction of 16 locks. Earlier the river Aire had been partly navigable where it was tidal and carried boats up to 30 tons. The traders of Leeds, including, of course, the Milners were all keen on a navigable link to the sea to make their exports of wool easier.

Interestingly the Milners were also involved with the merchants of Liverpool in the Weaver Navigation a little later in 1720 ... unsurprisingly exactly the same issues arose - the lobbying of parliament, the raising of capital, the protectionist shenanigans of existing transport systems and existing riparian facilities, the Thomas Telford surveys ...

The Milners were mixing with a formidable peer group!

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Visitations of England & Wales - Frederick Arthur Crisp 1915 ... also covered the Marmaduke Clan -

Richard Milner of Boar Lane, Leeds, York, gent (son of Marmaduke Milner of Calvet House, Swaledale, York). Alderman of Leeds 1652, died at Hoar Lane 6 December, buried at Leeds 9 Dec 1659. Will dated 12 April 1658, proved at York in 1660.
Susan Milner bapt. at Leeds 30 June 1620; buried 28 Oct 1627.
Peter Milner bapt. at Leeds 1 Jan 1621; buried 18 June 1625.
Richard Milner bapt. at Leeds 9 Dec
William Milner of Leeds, cloth merchant; bapt. at Leeds 30 Oct 1625; named sole executor to his father's will 12 April 1623; buried there 26 Dec 1658; died 5 Oct bur. at Leeds 7 Oct 1691.
Will dated 20 June 1691, proved at York 20 Feb 1691
Joseph Milner of Rotterdam, married Anne Goodenough, dau. of Smart Goodenough of Hackney, Middlesex, merchant; marriage licence 17 Feb 1681, executrix to her husband 26 Sept 1700.
merchant; born 7 Feb 1651 bapt. at St Johns, Leeds, 12 Feb 1651; died 15 June 1700. Will dated 3 June 1684, proved 26 Sept 1700
Rachel Milner, bur. at Leeds 25 May 1662.
Sophia Milner, born 9 May, bapt. at St Johns, Leeds, 19 May 1661 bur. at Leeds 27 May 1664.
William Milner of Nun Appleton, Beeston and Bolton Percy, York, Alderman of Leeds born at Boar Lane, Leeds, 29 November 1662, bapt. at Leeds 5 December 1662;
executor to his father's will 20 February 169; Mayor of Leeds 1697 ; received Grant
of Arms in 1710; died 23 Dec 1740. Will dated 7 October 1740, proved at York 13 January 1740.
married Mary Ibbetson, dau. of Joshua Ibbetson, Mayor of Leeds (1685), by Mary his
wife, dau. of Christopher Brearey, Lord Mayor of York (1616): born 6 October, bapt. at Leeds 15 October 1673; marr. there 23 October 1690; died 22 November 1745. Will
dated 10 July 1744, proved 24 July 1746.
John Milner, bapt. at Leeds, York, 7 Oct 1627; bur. 29 July 1629.
Samuel Milner, bapt. at Leeds 27 September 1629; bur there 11 Nov 1630
Sarah Milner, bapt. at Leeds 17 August 1631; bur. there
8 April 1636.
Benjamin Milner Amsterdam, merchant ; aged about 25, 21 Sept 1689 ; bur. at Wakefield, York, 24 June 1721.
married Sarah Goodenough, dau. of Smart Goodenough of Hackney, Middlesex, merchant marriage licence dated 21 Sept 1689, then aged 16.
Joseph Milner, born 1 June bapt. at Leeds 10 June 1692 bur. there 28 July 1692.
Mary Milner, born 18 Aug 1693 bapt. at Leeds 7 Sept 1693; mentioned in her father's will 7 Oct 1740; executrix to her mother 24 July 1746.
Sir William Milner of Nun Appleton, York, baronet; born 13 March 1693 bapt. at Leeds 3 April 1695; of the Middle Temple, admitted 9 July 1713 ; created a baronet 26 February 1719; M.P. for York 28 March 1722 to 17 April 1734; Grand Master of the English Freemasons 1728
executor to his father 13 January 1743; died 23 November 1745, bur. at liolton Percy, York. Will dated 26 July 1743, proved at York 19 April 1746
Sir William Milner of Nun Appleton, baronet. Mentioned in his grandfather's will 7 Oct 1740; executor to his father's will 19 April 1746; succeeded his father as 2nd baronet
23 November 1745; Sheriff of York 1747; Receiver-General of the Excise 29 Nov 1748; died 8 Nov 1774, bur. at Leeds. Will dated 12 July 1768, proved 3 Nov 1774 and 2 March 1775 (
married Elizabeth Mordaunt, dau. and coheir of the Rev the Hon W George Mordaunt (son of John, 1st Viscount Mordaunt of Avalon, by his 3rd wife, Elizabeth, dau. of Lieut Colonel Collyer, Lieut. Governor of Jersey; marr. at Midgham, Berks, 30 April 1747; executrix
to her husband's will 2 March 1775 ; died in 1785. Will dated 1 Feb 1785, proved 12 Sept 1785.
William Poyntz Milner. Jane Milner. Anastasia Maria Milner, died, aged 84, in Bryanston Square, London, in January 1838.
Joseph Milner, bapt. at Leeds, York, 28 Dec 1633 living 12 April 1658.
Timothy Milner, bapt. at Leeds 5 Sept 1635; living 12 April 1658.
Mary Milner, bapt. at Calverley, York, 27 September 1638.
Richard Witton of Lupset born 10 Dec, bapt. Wakefield, York, esquire bapt. at Wakefield 1 May 1682 ; mentioned in will of William Milner 7 Oct 1740; died 20 July, bur. at Wakefield 23 July 1743. Will dated 6 January 1745, proved at York 24 July 1746.
at Leeds 31 December 1696; marr. there 29 April 1713 mentioned in wills of her father 7 Oct 1740, and of her mother 10 July 1744; bur. at Wakefield 28 May 1778.
Joshua Milner, born 8 Sept bapt. at Leeds 7 Oct 1698 bur. there 11 Oct 1698.
Sir William Mordaunt Milner of Nun Appleton, York, baronet; born 6 Oct 1754; Cornet loth Dragoons 10 June 1772; succeeded his father as 3rd baronet 8 Nov 1774; Lord Mayor of York 1787 and 1790; M.P. for York 18 June 1790 until his death; died, aged 56, at Nun Appleton 9 Sept 1811, bur. at Bolton Percy, York. Will dated 7 July 1810, proved 2 October 1811.
Crakemarsh, Giffard, Co Stafford mentioned in wills of William Milner 7 Oct 1740, and of Mary Milner 10 July 1744.
1699, bapt. at Leeds, York, same day ; married 29 Nov 1716; mentioned in wills of her
father 7 Oct 1740, of her mother 10 July 1744, and of Elizabeth Milner 21 Oct 1775.
Frances Milner, born 23 June bapt. Leeds 17 July 1701; mentioned in her father's will 7 Oct 1740; executrix to her mother 24 July 1746; living 21 October 1775-
Richard Milner, bapt. at Leeds 15 Jan 170J bur. there the next day.
General George Milner of Mickleham, Surrey; born 1760; entered the Army as Ensign 3rd Foot Guards in 1776; Lieutenant and Captain 21 May 1778; Captain and Lieut. Colonel 1792; Colonel 1796; Major-General 1 January 1801 Lieut-General 1808; General 12 Augt 1819; served in Flanders in 1793-94; died in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, 13 May 1836.
married Charlotte Columbier; marr. at St George's, Hanover Square, London, 18 Sept 1786; died, aged 96, in Upper Grosvenor Street, London, Nov 1844. She married fistly Robert Edward Fitzgerald.
Sir William Mordaunt Sturt Milner of Nun Appleton, York, baronet born 20 Oct bapt. at Bolton Percy 22 Nov 1779; educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, matriculated 19 February 1798; succeeded his father as 4th baronet 9 September 1811 Sheriff of York 1817 ; died at Nun Appleton 24 March, bur. at Acaster Selby, York, 4 April 1855. Will dated 24 April 1854 to 8 December 1852, proved 14 May 1855
married Harriet Elizabeth Bentinck, dau. of Lord Edward Charles Cavendish Bentinck (son of William, 2nd Duke of Portland), by Elizabeth his wife, dau. of Richard Cumberland, the dramatist born 9 April 1787; marr. 8 May 1809; died at Townshend House, York, 31 Dec 1862, bur. at Acaster Selby 6 Jan 1863. Will dated 29 Jan 1859, proved at York 29 Jan 1863, by her son, Henry Beilby William Milner. 2nd wife.
Rev Henry Stephen Milner, D.C.L., Rector of Thribergh, York; of Christ Church, Oxford, matriculated 13 July 1781, aged 17, B.A. 1785; Fellow of All Souls', B.C.L. 1788; D.C.L. 1793; Rector of Monks Risborough 11 May, and of Dinton, Buckingham, 4 June 1801 ; Rector of Thribergh and Vicar of Adwick-le-Street, York, 1 Nov 1811 ; died, aged 79, 6 May 1843.
Elizabeth Milner, died in 1829.
Georgina Milner.
Lieut-Colonel Charles William Mordaunt Milner of Mickleham, Surrey; born 20 May 1788 entered the Army as Cornet 18th Light Dragoons 28 March 1805; Lieutenant 1806; Captain 1810 ; Major 1815 ; Lieut-Colonel (retired) 22 June 1830; died, aged 59, at Mickleharn 31 May 1847.
married Mary Jane Moore, dau. of Richard Moore of Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex marr. at Hampton 10 Oct 1843 died at Eastbourne, Sussex, 16 May 1881.
Rev George William Thomas Milner, Rector of Larling, Norfolk; educated at Eton and at Christ Church, Oxford, matriculated 17 Oct 1811, aged 18 ; Rector of Larling 25 Aug 1817 died at Sandgate, Kent, December 1824.
married Sarah Georgina Buckston, 2nd dau. of the Rev George Buckston of Ashbourne, Derby
born 24 Jan 1793 marr. 4 Sept 1816; died at 58 Eaton Square, London, 9 Dec 1878, buried at
Cheriton, Kent.
Mary Amelia Milner, died, aged 72, in Grosvenor Street, London, 3 April 1855.

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Elizabeth Milner (1777-1866)

Elizabeth was another woolly Pudsey Milner that we need to 'fit' into the family tree.
Pat Hastings has been researching a ggggrandmother Elisabeth Milner (25 Dec 1777-10 Jan 1866). What a splendid photograph from 1866! Pat's grandmother (Florence Roberts/Hutton) always contended that her mother told her that the Milner's 'had money from their wool business'.
Elizabeth's father was John Milner (1743-1796) and they lived and worked in Tong, Pudsey and later in the Fulneck Moravian Settlement.
Elisabeth met her husband a Welsh blacksmith (Zachariah Jones from Llangollen) when she went to a market with her father to buy sheep and Zac was there shoeing horses. Initially the family were against her marrying a 'welsh tradesman' but they relented as he was a lay preacher. Elizabeth & Zac went onto have 16 children who all survived.
Elizabeth had a brother was called Joseph Milner (-) who was a woollen journeyman and lived in Calverley and then moved when to Lowtown Pudsey where other Moravian worshipers lived who were not in the Fulneck settlement.

There may be a link to Cheshire Milners through the Moravians who had settlements at Fulneck, Pudsey and at Droylsden, Fairfield, Manchester in that dates from 1785. A fascinating link to Cheshire moves?

I wonder which market launched the Elizabeth & Zac liaison?

Travelling to markets for sheep & wool, and the associated social intercourse, could be a route to the Milner diaspora ... Welsh sheep & Pudsey wool exchanged in markets half way ... in Cheshire?
Local markets could be a route for the Milners of Pudsey wool to end up in Cheshire cheese?

I wonder if we will ever know?

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The Samuel Clan - of Pudsey Manor.

Pudsey Manor.
In the Domesday Survey of 1086-7 Podeschesaie (Pudsey) had land worth 40 shillings before being laid waste by Normans, while Caverleia and Ferselleia's land was worth only 20 shillings.
For the next 500 years Pudsey, while retaining its identity as a separate township, developed as a sub manor of Calverley, held by the Scott family of Calverley. This family, which soon took the surname 'Calverley', paid dearly for its papist sympathies during the Civil war. To help meet his debts Walter Calverley sold the Pudsey manor to Tempest Milner in 1650/51 and confusingly resold them later in 1663 to Robert Milner? An indenture of 1650/51 between Henry Calverley & Walter Calverley his son & heir, and Tempest Milner & John Kay, led to a recovery by Robert Milner (brother of Tempest) and Maurice Dethin of tenements in Upper & Lower Pudsey with Pudsey Chapel and to the ultimate devolution of the same, viz to Henry Calverley for life, to Tempest Milner & heirs for 50 years and remainder to Henry Calverley & his heirs. It appeared Tempest purchased the Manor of Pudsey & estates there from Henry Calverley, & Joyce, his wife, in 1649, and reconveyed them to Henry Calverley, in 1650.
Robert Milner, brother of Tempest, then purchased the Manor of Pudsey & estates there from Walter Calverley, in 1663.

Pat Hudson identified the important role Sir Walter Calverley played in the wool business around 1700 -

'Sir Walter Calverley at the beginning of the century induced many clothiers to come and reside on his estate by providing fulling mills and by making it possible for the farmer to be a clothier and the clothier to be a farmer'.

The Milners subsequently sold most of their Pudsey estate during the early 19th Century, the remnant of the manor eventually being acquired by a local eccentric destined to die in the workhouse.

'Registers of the Parish Church of Calverley' ... RPCC 

Notes - Robert Milner of Pudsey bought the manor of Pudsey and estates there from Walter Calverley in 1663.
Walter Calverley's name appears in the list of disclaimers not entitled to bear arms, in the Herald's Visitation of 1666. His wife, Anne, was the daughter of Robert Ferraud, of Harden.
Richard Milner was chief alderman of Leeds in 1652. He served under Sir Thos Fairfax. He married Alice, niece of Josiah Jenkinson, of Leeds, and died 5th Dec 1659.

Baptisms -
-- 1575 Grace daughter of Robert
-- 1557 Samuel son of Robert
-- 1579 John son of Robert
-- 1585 Marie daughter of Robert
-- 1598 Marie daughter of Samuel
-- 1603 Tempest son of Samuel
-- 1635 Christoffer son of Rowland
-- 1636 John son of Rowland
-- 1638 Marie daughter of Richard
-- 1640 Grace daughter of Rowland
-- 1641 Marie daughter of Rowland
1642 Jonas son of Mathew 1642

Marriages -
-- 1637 Rowland married Anne Thornton 1637
1640 Christoffer married Dorothy Harper 1640
1545 Thomas married Grace Illingworth 1646

Burials -
1597 Mrs Anne
1588 Elizabeth daughter of Samuel
-- 1633 Grace wife of Samuel
-- 1635 Elizabeth wife of Rowland
-- 1642 Samuel of Pudsey Gent
-- 1641 Christoffer son of Christoffer  

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Generation 8 -

Robert Milner (-1588) of Pudsey ... see RPCC note above ...
married Mary Draper (-), daughter & co-heiress of Thomas Draper of Broadbotham, Halifax. They were married on the 29 Nov 1573. Robert died in 1588 and left a Will identifying wife Mary, Brother-in-Law Robert Waterhouse and eldest son Samuel (1577-1642) and sons John (1579-), Robert (1581-) and Thomas (1582-) ... and an unborn child.

Generation 9 -

- Grace Milner (1575-) daughter of Robert -- RPCC 

- Samuel Milner (1577-) son of Robert

Samuel Milner (1577-1642) son of Robert baptised 22 Dec 1577 Calverley ... (1696585) ... this was Samuel of Pudsey
married Grace Oldfield (-), daughter of Edward Oldfield of Wadlands, Calverley.
Samuel died 1632 ... RPCC

- John (1579-) son of Robert  -- RPCC 

John Milner (1579-1629) son of Robert baptised 23 Aug 1579 Calverley ... (1696585) ... was this John of Woodhouses, Frodsham who died 23 April 1629 John Milner de Woodhowses. 

- Robert (1581-)

Robert Milner (1581-1631) son of Robert baptised 18 March 1582 Caverley ... (1696585) ...
died 11 July 1631 St Peters Leeds

- Thomas (1582-)

Thomas Milner (1582-1630?) son of Robert baptised 2 June 1583 Caverley ... (1696585) ... was this Thomas the Yeoman of Helsby who died in 1630?
... who was Thomas Milner buried 29 May 1564 Frodsham ... and Thomas Helsbie Milner buried 30 Dec 1617 Frodsham of Catte'hall?

- Marie (1585-) daughter of Robert -- RPCC 

Samuel Milner (1577-1642) son of Robert
married Grace Oldfield (-1633) daughter of Edward Oldfield of Wadlands, Calverley
Samuel died in 1642 -- RPCC 

1. Robert Milner (1601-) the first son of Samuel & Grace, born in Calveley, bought the Manor of Pudsey from Walter Calverley in 1663
married Anne Ferrand (1597-1674) daughter of Robert of Harden, Bingley in 1647. The Ferrands were another Yorkshire family of note as described by J Horsfall Turner in 1897. And it was Robert Ferrand who purchased Old Harden Grange in 1636. The Ferrands had spread down Airedale from Skipton to Bingley during the sixteenth century and Robert Ferrand, a Merchant who made his money in London, was able to purchase Harden Grange in 1636.

Wikipedia recorded that the St Ives estate near Bingley was originally divided between the monks of Rievaulx Abbey and Drax Priory. After the dissolution in 1540 the land was purchased by a Walter Paslew and was subsequently owned by the Laycock and Milner families. The St Ives mansion house was built in 1616. In 1636 the Ferrands purchased St Ives, at the time known as Harden Grange, and it was in 1858 that the names of Harden Grange and the local St Ives were interchanged.

Robert & Anne had descendants who settled in Preston Hall, Maidstone, Kent.

John Milner (-1710/11) son of Robert, was the next Lord of the Manor, and he was one of the witnesses who signed the will of Elkana Wales, at Leeds, in 1669. Elkana Wales (1588-1669) was a faithful pastor at Pudsey Chapel for half a century. Educated at Trinity, Cambridge from 1605, he was an excellent preacher with profound judgment. As an ardent non conformist The Act of Uniformity of 1662 resulted in the loss of his job but nothing could remove his passions & beliefs.

John (-1724) son of John was an MD who died intestate in 1710-11, the heir-in-law of the estate was his brother Charles (-) of Preston Hall, who had no children and in turn left the estate to his great nephew Charles Cottam who assumed the name Milner and was living in Preston Hall in 1815

2. Tempest Milner (1603-73) the second son of Samuel & Grace, born in Calverley RPCC, went to London to make his fortune. He was a linen draper of Islington, Master of the Merchant Taylors Company in 1655, Alderman of London and Sheriff in 1656
married Mary Turner (1615-), a London girl daughter of Richard Turner in 1632/33. A reformed Protestants with an offensive interregnum record.
His 1st son, John Milner (1657-1712), of Thames Ditton, MP, was English Consul at Lisbon, in Portugal. He married Elizabeth Corall of Lincoln in 16??.
His 2nd son, James Milner (1658-1721), of Weston Green, Thames Ditton, a merchant of London, involved in overseas trade with Portugal. On 23rd of November 1721 James, ‘shot himself in the head, and died the next day’. His will of 1721 left his fortune to his nephew and his nieces; the children of elder brother, John Milner.

Tempest second married Rebecca Burn, on the 25th of October 1662.

Tempest Milner was buried on the 14th of November 1673; Allhallows Bread Street, Islington, London, Middlesex, England.

3. Richard (1604-59), chief Alderman of Leeds 1652. Served under Sir Thomas Fairfax. Married Alice niece of Joshua Jenkinson of Leeds. Marie (1638-), Elizabeth (1639-), Gregory (1640-)

4. Thomas (1607-) ... son of Samuel ... not Samuel's brother Thomas the Yeoman of Helsby?

5. John Milner (1611-) ... son of Samuel baptised 1611 Calverly ... not Samuel's brother John of Woodhouses, Frodsham? who married Ellen?

Samuel & Grace also had daughters -

Mary (1598-) daughter of Samuel baptised 25 June 1598 Claverley RPCC ... (1696585) ...
married John Kay (-) of Wakefield, Yorkshire??

Susan (1600-) daughter of Samuel baptised 13 May 1600 Claverley ... (1696585) ...
married Mansfield Hazell (-) ??

Alice (1609-) daughter of Samuel baptised 23 Nov 1609 Calverley ... (1696585) ...

Grace (1613-) daughter of Samuel baptised 27 Jan 1613 Calverley ... (1698585) ...

It looks like maybe after Samuel had been established at Pudsey Manor his younger brothers John and Thomas ventured to Cheshire and brother Robert stayed in Leeds?

Elsewhere in Calverley ... RPCC ... and Skircoat -

Rowland Milner (1610-63) son of
married Elizabeth Fletcher (-1635) ... 1635 Elizabeth wife of Rowland ... RPC
married Anne Thornton (1613-54) 20 Jan 1637 Calverley ... RPCC
children - Elizabeth - Mathew - Grace (1640-) - Christoffer (1635-) - Dorothy - John (1636-) - Marie (1641-) - Jane   
Probate ... ?

John Milner (1628–1702) born at Skircoat, Ssouth Halifax, the second son of John Milner & Mary, daughter of Gilbert Ramsden
this learned divine was perhaps the most famous Milner of all?

By the start of the 17th century it looked like Pudsey and Yorkshire could no longer contain the extensive Milner families as their restless youngsters searched for opportunities elsewhere ... 

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The Diaspora of the Milners from Pudsey to Cheshire?  

Large families of prolific enterprising Yorkshire men fed a diaspora which was well underway before the Marmaduke and the Samuel clans. Primogenitor left young restless maverick Milners eager to seek their fortune as entrepreneurs any place where a crumb or two could be earned to feed the production lines of new generations. Clearly the Milners went from farmers to merchants to bankers ... and for sure one clan ventured to Woodhouses, a rural backwater near Frodsham in Cheshire where they created waves.  

The Milner Estate of some 1,100 acres in Acton, Weaverham, Stretton & Moore was sold in 1918. This was a propitious occasion as The Weaver Refining Company purchased the riparian site at Acton Bridge with a long fascinating history which inspired our interest in the Milners ... see the ancient documents involved which started it all!

The Milner Estate in Acton Bridge was referenced in 'Snapshots in Time', 2000.

The Milner Family Estate - The ancient inheritance of the Duttons in Acton was sold in 1640 and became part of the Milner Estate. The Milner family owned land and property, not only in Acton but also in Weaverham, Stretton and Moore.
We know from parish records that a child was born to Daniel Milner in 1698, also called Daniel. His will, in 1779, makes bequests to 26 nieces, nephews and cousins, obviously a large and prosperous family. They continued to farm in Acton for at least 200 years, and were the largest landowners with an estate extending to an area of about 1,100 acres, until it was sold in 1918. Many of the most imposing houses in the area such as Hall Green and Lower Green, as well as Long Orchard (once known as The Hollies) and Wall Hill Farm, were built for the Milners.
In the manner of many large landowners, they had their moments of munificence when they gave the land for the Parish Room, in 1909.
Significantly Daniel Milner left a sum of £30 in his will of 1778, to be invested at 4% interest, this to be distributed to the poor 'on St Johns day for ever'. In 1916 Mary Milner four generations later made a similar bequest, but stipulated that bags of coal were to be distributed to the poor of the parish. In 1990 the parish council changed the details of the trust and reverted to paying cash.
Lower Green was built around 1790 by the Milner Estate, and over the years was tenanted by numerous members of the family. Later the Priests and then the Edgerleys occupied it. During the Second World War it was home to an American Colonel, and was purchased in 1958 by Clifford and Mamie Hunt who opened their house and gardens for coffee mornings and garden parties.
Now the home of Ann and Martin Hunt, it remains largely a typical Georgian three storey house, with the sitting room on the first floor. The kitchen scullery is Victorian.
Wall Hill Cottage was built in approximately 1780 by the Thomas family. Hugh Dyer a nephew of Mary Milner, occupied the house in 1847. He was described as a shopkeeper, a gardener of four acres, and an Ale and Porter merchant.
The Milner family owned the property until 1880 when William Phipps arrived with his family from London. It is believed that he was employed as a metal worker at the zinc works situated at the foot of the hill on the River Weaver, but by 1881 he is described as a painter. This was a fortunate change of profession as the zinc works appears to have closed down a few years later. The census of 1881 describes William as a Master Painter, assisted by two sons of his eight children. Three generations of this family lived and worked at Wall Hill Cottage until 1955. Older residents remember the shop selling wallpaper and paint.
Extensive changes were made in 1956 when electric light was installed and the stables were converted to a garage. The land adjoining the property, measuring three and a quarter acres, was sold in 1961 and the houses in Wall Hill Way were built. The present owner, Malcolm Timms has lived there since 1966.

On Feb 23rd 2008 the Liverpool Daily Post announced the sale of an ancient farmhouse in Acton Bridge -

'The property, Hall Green Farm, Cliff Road, dates from the late 1600s and was originally a farm building.
The black & white wattle & daub house in Acton Bridge, Northwich, dates back to 1674. And this grade II listed building is one of only a few remaining period properties in the country to contain fully surviving naive murals painted directly on to the walls. Similar works of art can be found in Blenheim Palace.
'The house has two fully preserved murals, as well as a partially surviving one on the walls of one of the upstairs bedrooms; they are protected under the house's listed status', says seller Steve Fishwick.
Each of the murals depicts a different landmark from the local area. One of the complete murals shows a carriage in the hall and grounds of the now demolished Marbury Hall, and another shows a winter scene of Frodsham marsh at the foot of Helsby Rock. The partially surviving image shows a cliff top scene believed to be of Neston.
Nobody knows who painted the murals but the first owners of the house were the Milner family and it is thought that the mural paintings were commissioned by Daniel Milner between 1725 and 1740'.

Another interesting lead to Milner connections to Liverpool came from The John Newton Project and diaries which indicated John Newton met Mr Milner in Liverpool in 1757, then with Mr Milner in 'Chipping' later that year, then of visiting him in Acton in 1758 and of Milner coming to stay with him in Liverpool at the end of 1758, and 1759. There were powerful influences at work in Acton ... to be explored further?

The most compelling romp thru the Cheshire Milers came from the publications in the City University Journal by Karen Milner wife of Vice Chancellor John Milner a descendent of John Miner of Lower Green Acton - Thomas and Ann Milner of Liverpool - Odd Turn of Events - Anglican Milners of Cheshire - Mural at Hall Green

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The early Milner Wills in Cheshire up to the census in 1841 should help to burnish the story -

William Milner (-) 1617 Husbandman of Netherton Frodsham   

John Milner (-) 1630 Woodhouses

Ellen Milner (-) 1630 Woodhouses Widow

Richard Milner (-) 1636 Newton Frodsham   

John Milner (-) 1646 Woodhouses

Mary Milner (-) 1661 Kingsley Widow

Ralph Milner (-) 1669 Newton Frodsham   

John Milner  1706 Yeoman Kingsley

Daniel Milner (-) 1717 Yeoman Woodhouses Frodsham

John Milner (-) 1728 Yeoman Woodhouses

Margaret Edwards Milner (-) 1734 Woodhouses Frodsham

Thomas Milner (-) 1736 Yeoman Helsby Frodsham

Sarah Milner (-) 1766 Acton

Thomas Milner (-) 1767 Gent Torbock

Ellen Milner (-) 1768 Widow Frodsham

Ellen Milner (-) 1768 Widow Helsby

Daniel Milner (-) 1778 Gentleman Acton   

Daniel Milner (-) 1779 Gentleman Acton

Nathaniel Milner (-) 1798 Gentleman Acton

Richard Milner (-) 1808 Gentleman Newton Frodsham

John Milner (-) 1810 Silk Manufacturer Sutton        

John Milner (-) 1811 Gentleman Acton

John Milner (-) 1820 Yeoman Acton 

Thomas Milner (-) 1827 Farmer Moor

Sarah Milner (-) 1830 Widow Acton

Nathaniel Milner (-) 1837 Gentleman Acton Weaverham

Dennis Milner (-) 1838 Esq Acton Weaverham

Nathaniel Milner (-) 1841 Agent Manchester

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Burials at St Lawrence Frodsham 1558-1812 -

- Milner Baptisms -

Ales Mylner (1567-) baptised 13 April 1567 Frodsham

Rauph Mylner (1569-) baptised 15 Nov 1569 Frodsham

Bridget Milner (1571-) baptised 20 Jan 1571 Frodsham

Ryc Mylner (1572-) baptised 22 June 1572 Frodsham

Nicolas Milner (1574-) baptised 12 April 1574 Frodsham

John Mylner (1576-) baptised 21 April 1576 Frodsham

William Milner (1578-) baptised 20 Aug 1578 Frodsham

Hugh Milner (1592-) baptised 20 Aug 1592 Frodsham

John Milner (1619-) son of John of Woodhouses baptised 1619 Frodsham

Thomas Milner (1624-) son of John of Woodhouses baptised 10 Oct 1624 Frodsham

Daniel Milner (1627-) son of John of Woodhouses baptised 10 June 1627 Frodsham

- Milner Marriages -

 

- Milner burials -

 John Milner 30 May 1561 - Thomas Milner 29 May 1564 - John Milner of Woodhouses 26 March 1619 ... and John Milner of Woodhouses  23 April 1629 ... 

Marriages in Frodsham - 1681 Mary Milner to John Barlow - 1684 Elizabeth Milner to John Wilkinson - 1685 Thomas Milner to Sarah Fluit - 1685 Thomas Milner to Anne Lloyd - 1685 Samuel Milner to Catherine Cottingham @ Ness - 1687 Eleanor Milner to Edward Churchman - 1690 John Milner to Mary Dutton. 

Elsewhere -

Thomas Milner (1576-) baptised 30 March 1576 and Thomas Milner (1584-) baptised 16 July 1584 Frodsham and Thomas Milner (15??-) married Margaret Trafford 14 Feb 1602 Frodsham  

Thomas Milner son of Thomas b 1613 Lymm - Thomas Milner b January 1614 Weaverham - Thomas Milner son of Willym b 1622 Heswell -

Thomas Milner (1624-) son of John baptised 10 Oct 1624 Frodsham
Other children of John @ Frodsham - Sarah (1621-), Thomas (1624-), Daniel (1627-), Richard (1636-), Elizabeth (1642-), John (1660-), Richard (1662-), Anne (1666-), Ann (1690-), Mary (1693-), Richard (1695-), Elizabeth (1696-), Martha (1697-), Margaret (1702-)

Mary Milner (1735-) baptised 1735 Frodsham ... (1655670) ...
married John Earl (-) 28 Sept 1758 Frodsham  

Elizabeth Barrow Milner (1797-1830) married William Lombe (-) 14 Nov 1818 Liverpool (from the well known Lombe family of Liverpool) she died on the voyage to Australia on the sailing ship 'James'.    

The Monument inscriptions from St Mary's, Weaverham helped to configure the local family -

Daniel Milner (1739-71) of Tarbock, Lancashire, aged 34 years, 22 Dec 1771 (grave no. 430 ref. old 312) son of Thomas, baptised in Weaverham, 9 March 1739.
Sarah Milner (1786-1806) of Acton, aged 20 years, eldest daughter of Nathaniel & Sarah, 27 June 1806. (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)
Rachel Milner (1791-1804) of Acton, aged 13 years, 3rd daughter of Nathaniel & Sarah, 3 Dec 1804. (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)

The Crowton Chapel also contains memorials to the members of the local families. Over the vestry door is a memorial to Lieut Aston, who 'died the death of the brave on the field of Waterloo', and on the north wall just outside the Chapel Screen is a copper plate recording the death of Daniel Milner, ancestor of the late Viscount Milner, with a very eulogistic inscription which concludes, 'Such virtues, reader, are the more valuable because they are rare; that they might not die with the dead they are here recorded; not through ostentation, but for thy contemplation and practice'.

There were lots of Milners around to be fitted in to the Woodhouses Clan ...

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The Acton & Hartford Clan - to Acton & Hartford via Pudsey & Woodhouses?

The union of Robert Milner & Mary Draper was fortuitous with considerable issue, generation 9 -

Samuel Milner (1577-1643) son of Robert baptised 22 Dec 1577 Calverley ... (1696585) ... this was Samuel of Pudsey
married Grace Oldfield (-), daughter of Edward Oldfield of Wadlands, Calverley.

John Milner (1579-1629) son of Robert baptised 23 Aug 1579 Calverley ... (1696585) ... was this John of Woodhouses, Frodsham who died 23 April 1629 John Milner de Woodhowses. 

Robert Milner (1581-1631) son of Robert baptised 18 March 1582 Caverley ... (1696585) ...
died 11 July 1631 St Peters Leeds

Thomas Milner (1582-1630) son of Robert baptised 2 June 1583 Caverley ... (1696585) ... was this Thomas the Yeoman of Helsby who died in 1630?
... who was Thomas Milner buried 29 May 1564 Frodsham ... and Thomas Helsbie Milner buried 30 Dec 1617 Frodsham of Catte'hall?

Maybe perhaps 4 generations were of interest to the riparian site at Acton bridge -

1 John Milner, son of Robert descendent of Thomas of Pudsey ... settled in Woodhouses ... and g g grandfather of our man Nathaniel Milner (1718-1797) ?

2 John Milner, son of John of Woodhouses ... and great grand father of our man Nathaniel?

3 Daniel Milner, grand son of John Woodhouses ... and grand father Nathaniel Milner?

4 Daniel Milner, great grand son of John Woodhouses ... and father of our man Nathaniel Milner (1718-1797) ?

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Late in the 16th century the diaspora starts?

Milners were around the Frodsham Parish before John of Woodhouses. Did John John join some of the Milner pioneers or was he born in Frodsham?

In 1617 William Milner left a Will identifying - I William Milner of Netherton, Husbandman - burial in the church yard in Frodsham - wife Marie - married brother John - married sister Katherine - married sister Elizabeth - married sister Marie - sisters Katherine, Margaret, Elizabeth and Mary - father John Milner - Richard Key of Kingsley & Marie his wife - Randle Smith

Excellent transcription service from the CRO original scan.

John Milner (-) 3rd son of William? ... was born in Pudsey? moved to Frodsham?

William Milner (1578-1617) son of John? baptised 20 August 1578 Frodsham
married Mary Pike (-) 1 Sept 1610 Frodsham 

1 John Milner (1579-1629) of Woodhouses, Frodsham ... 3rd son of who? ... the  g g grandfather of our man Nathaniel Milner (1718-1797) ?   
was this John Milner (1579-1629) the brother of Samuel? 

We can rule out John Milner (1611-) son of Samuel baptised 1611 Calverley ... as surely not the one who died in 1629, who married Ellen who died in 1646? ... this guy was only 18 in 1629 when he died ... can't be right? Also reference The Visitation of London, anno domine 1633, 1634, and 1635, edited by Joseph Jackson Howard & Joseph Lemuel Chester ... the John of Woodhouses was  buried in St Lawrence Frodsham? Not a Quaker ...

John Milner (1579-1629) son of Robert baptised 23 Aug 1579 Calverley ... (1696585) ...   ...    
married to Ellen ?? ( -1630) ...
John Milner de Woodhowses was buried 23 April 1629 Frodsham
Ellen Milner, Widowe, was buried 23 Aug 1630 Frodsham
John left a Will proved in Chester in 1630 which confirmed at some time at least one Milner had left Yorkshire and the wool trade for Woodhouses, a hamlet close to the River Weaver at Frodsham ... John Mylner of Woodhouses - buried at Frodsham - copyhold land at Astmoor, Runcorn - leased from Lord Savage - wife Ellen - son Richard - daughters Margaret, Mary, Sarah - son William - son John - son Thomas  - Executrix Ellen ... Robert Nangreave

Ellen also left a Will dated the 23August 1630 ... administered in 1646? Ellen died in 1630? ... were there two Ellens? ... Will yet to be transcribed?

John & Ellen had children -

Richard Milner (-1681) 
Richard son of John baptised 27 Dec 1662 Frodsham ... (0823624) ...
Richard married Elizabeth Wareton (-) 18 April 1619 Farndon ... (1655670) ...  
Richard married Elizabeth Wareton (-) 18 April 1619 Frodsham ... (0823625) ...
Richard married Ellen Amery (-) Aug 1597 Frodsham ... (0823625) ...
Richard married Elizabeth Johnson (-) 22 Dec 1603 Frodsham  ... (0823625) ...
Richard married Anne Amery (-) 29 Aug 1601 Frodsham ... (0823625) ... 
Richard son of Daniel died  19 March 1682 Frodsham ... (1655670) ...
... Marie daughter of Richard b 1638 RPCC

William Milner (-)   ...............................................................................????????????

John Milner (-)   

Thomas Milner (-)  

Margaret Milner (-) 

Mary Milner (-)

Sarah Milner (-) 

...  but there were others including John Milner of Woodhouses buried 26 March 1619 Frodsham ?

 

2 John Milner (-) ... 3rd son of John, Gentleman of Frodsham ... (Nathaniel's great great grandfather?) 
married   
children -

Daniel (-) eldest son of John

 

John Milner (-1706) son of John baptised ...  ??????????????                             
married Mary ???????????
John of Kingsley? ... was not our man, this was John Milner (-1705) son of John died 20 Oct 1705 Frodsham ... (1655670) ...

John & Mary had children -

Richard Milner (-)  

Joseph Milner (-)

Margaret Milner (-) 

Mary Milner (-) 

Elizabeth Milner (-) 

John left a Will 1706 John Milner of Kingsley - Will transcript ... no Daniel!

3 Daniel Milner (-1717) ... eldest son of John, Gent of Frodsham ... (Nathaniel's grandfather?)
baptised ...                 
married Mary Waine (-1700) 23 June 1662 St Oswald's Chester (was Mary Waine his cousin, Sarah Milner's daughter???)
Mary died 1700 Frodsham
Daniel left a Will ... in the will Daniel confirmed his abode in Woodhouses, Frodsham and his Brother-in-Law Samuel Waine as executor -  Son John (-) and his daughters Elizabeth and Margaret - and son Daniel (Tightrope) with no issue. 

Daniel & Mary had children -

Daniel Milner (1676-1778) of Acton, Gentleman ...              ... (eldest son of Daniel, Gent of Acton) ...  (Nathaniel's father?) ...

John Milner (-1728)
married Margaret Dutton in 1690 they had three daughters -

Elizabeth (-)

Margaret (-) and

Mary (-) ...

John left a Will in 1728 mentioned estates Gno, Farral, Traffords and Woodhouses Brother-in-Law John Dutton.
Dutton estate acquired by Milners in 1640?

Elizabeth (-) 

Margaret (-) 

Thomas Milner (-1736) younger brother of Daniel (-1717) Yeoman of Helsby
married Ellen (-)
Thomas left a Will identifying some of his family ... including his wife Ellen ... and Daniel, Sarah, Thomas, John, Mary & Nathaniel, sons & daughters of Daniel Milner of Acton, yeoman!

4 Daniel Milner (1676-1778) ... eldest son of Daniel, Gent of Frodsham ... Gentleman of Acton ... of Hall Green in 1690 ... Anglicans ... (Nathaniel's father? ... moved from Frodsham to Acton)
married Sarah Barrow (1675-1744) 5 August 1697  
A  Will proved in 1778 identified - his late wife, daughters Sarah, Mary & Rachel & sons Daniel & Nathaniel.
Sarah, wife of Daniel, died in Weaverham on May 30th 1744.

Daniel & Sarah had children - 3? sons -  

Daniel 'Tightrope' Milner (1698-1779) son of Daniel of Acton ... 
baptised 29 August 1698 Weaverham. With his dad he was charged to 'provided for' Thomas & Nathaniel and their 9 sons ... marrying heiresses and inter marriage was the only way!
An extensive Will identified - brother Nathaniel & six sons and brother Thomas & a son John. and a sister Mary Clare (-)

'Tightrope' ... why 'Tightrope'? ... he never married and brother Nathaniel's eldest son John Milner (1753-1810) took over the family leadership ... but John produced only daughters destined to be old maids? However all was not lost as daughter Ann married her cousin Nathaniel Dennis Millner (1786-1878) see below.

Nephew Nathaniel was doing well in Tarbock where in 1785 Lord Sefton contributed £57 to the land tax of £145; but running second was Nathaniel Milner, with £5!

In 1774 Daniel was a subscriber to the pious writings on providence by his local vicar, Thomas Hunter. Some of his fellow subscribers were big in the locality and included his mate, William Gibson from down the road ...

Sarah Milner (1700-) daughter of Daniel baptised 9 Feb 1699 Weaverham ... (1736164) ...

Thomas Milner (1705-67) son of Daniel of Acton baptised 24 January 1705 Weaverham 
married Martha Antrobus (-) Frodsham 1733.
Son John (1735-1820) of Acton married first cousin Katherine and were given the house at Lower Green sired a famous lineage ... see below ...
Son Nathaniel (1737-) born in 25 July 1737 Weaverham.
Son Daniel (1739-71) born in 9 March 1739 Weaverham.

Thomas died in 1767. Thomas of Tarbock, Lancashire, left a Will in Chester dated 6 Aug 1761 proved 16 Feb 1767.

Mary Milner (1706-)
married Peter Clare (-) of Appleton
daughter Sarah Clare (1727-) baptised 17 Aug 1727 Great Budworth, Cheshire ... (1655825) ...
daughter Katherine Clare (-) married cousin John Milner (1735-1820) of Lower Green ... son of Mary's brother Thomas (1705-67) ... they had the terrible twins -
-- John and Daniel Milner 1775
-- Sarah Milner 1776
-- Thomas Milner (1777-) of Liverpool who married Ann Smith in 1803 - sons
-- -- John Philip married Mary Allsop 
-- --William Edward married Jane Fell their Edward (1837-1902) and Walter

Rachel Milner (1708-) daughter of Daniel baptised 7 Dec 1708 Weaverham  
married Richard Bruce (-) 1740 Chester

John Milner (1710-) son of Daniel baptised 16 Jan 1710 Weaverham   
married Martha Brookes (-) 6 Nov 1761 Weaverham ... (1736164) ... Martha daughter of John & Ester baptised  1737 ... (1736164) ... in 1761 John was 51 ... Martha was 24 ... too young for John?

Nathaniel Milner (1717-) our man ...

Margaret Edwards Milner (-1734) of Woodhouses, Frodsham ... Admon was granted in 1734. A Letter of Administration was granted to give an executor the authority to administer an estate after someone had died intestate, although there may have been other circumstances.

Nathaniel Milner (1717-97) of Hall Green, Acton, Weaverham son of Daniel baptised 19 Jan 1717 Farndon?????????  
married Sarah Dennis (1733-66) an heiress of Moor 1 Jan 1753 Weaverham 

MI - Nathaniel Milner (1718-97) of Hall Green, Acton, aged 79 years, 5 Dec 1797 (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)
Sarah Milner (1733-66) of Hall Green, Acton, aged 33 years, wife of Nathaniel, 25 March 1766. (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)

A man of considerable property in the county and connections to the merchants of Liverpool.

Nathaniel had six sons and left an estate to each, four settled in Cheshire. The other two, Daniel & James became Manchester merchants. 

Daniel died probate 1798. Buried at Weaverham in 1797, aged 79. The Monthly Magazine reported Nathaniel's death in 1798.

Nathaniel's Will identified the family and properties -

1 John Milner (1753-1810) son of Nathaniel baptised 1 Jan 1754 Weaverham ... (1736164) ... of Acton became head of the family ...   
married Sarah Akerley (-) 18 Dec 1785 Weaverham ... original ... 'Sarah Akerley' was clear ... witnesses were Mary Bancroft and Sarah Bancroft..
or married Sarah Aberly (-1830) ? 19 Dec 1785 Weaverham ... again ... (1736164) ...   
died 4 April 1811 Weaverham aged 57 ... (1736164) ... 

MI - John Milner (1753-1810) of Acton, aged 57 years, eldest son of Nathaniel & Sarah, 4 April 1810 (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)  

Sarah died at Acton in 1830 
John left a Will ...

1786 Land Tax Assessment for Acton, Eddisbury identified some familiar names - Nicholas Ashton - Charles Scrase - George Leister - John Milner - Nathaniel Milner - John Akerley - Joseph Thomas - Thomas Plumb - John Gandy ...

Indenture of 1786 sum £1,000. The sale of John Milner's house at Kitchen Croft was reported in 1820.

John & Sarah had only daughters -

Mary Milner (1789-1856) daughter of John & Sarah baptised 18 April 1789 Weaverham ... died 29 March 1856 Weaverham aged 67 ... (1736164) ...
Mary died at Lower Green, Acton 1856 aged 67 ... (1736165) ... a spinster too scared to marry?

1841 census - @ Lower Green, Acton Mary Milner (-) aged 40 Farmer with servant 30 year old Mary Hughes

1851 census - still @ Lower Green, Acton Mary Milner (-) aged 50 Farmer & Landed Proprietor 80 acres 1 labourer with 19 year old Mary Littlemore from Crowton

MI - Mary Milner (1789-1856) of Acton, aged 67 years, daughter, 25 March 1856 (grave no. 876 ref. old 299)

Ann Milner (1801-73) daughter of John & Sarah baptised 24 Dec 1801 Weaverham ... (1736164) ...
married cousin Nathaniel Dennis Milner (1801-1878) of Daresbury 28 Feb 1824 Weaverham

Dennis Milner Esq (1801-78) of Daresbury married Anne Milner (1801-73) of Acton 28 Feb 1824 Weaverham ... witnesses James Widdows and Ellen Milner (sister-in-law?)

2 Nathaniel Milner (1758-1837) son of Nathaniel baptised 6 April 1758 Weaverham ... of Moor Hall & Warrington
married Ellen Cawley (1768-1859) 12 Dec 1796 Warrington 
Nathaniel died 6 Feb 1837 -

MI - All Saints, Daresbury -
Nathaniel Milner of Moor died 6 Feb 1837 aged 78 years. Also Ellen his wife died 1 May 1859 aged 91 years. Also Ellen their daughter died 4 Nov 1828 aged 20 years.
Also William son of Nathaniel Dennis and Ann Milner of Moor died 10 April 1828 aged 2 months. Also Emily their daughter died 14 March 1838 aged 18 months. Also Ellen their daughter died 28 July 1844 aged 15 years. Also John their son died 7 June 1847 aged 21 years. William Cawley their son 11 Dec 1881 aged 47 years. Also Sarah Ann their daughter died 10 April 1882 aged 49 years. Also Dennis their son died 15 May 1888 aged 63 years. Also Mary Milner daughter of Nathaniel Dennis and Ann Milner of Moor born 6 Dec 1831 died 17 Sep 1916. Also Nathaniel Dennis Milner died 14 Dec 1878 aged 77 years. Also Ann his wife died 16 July 1873 aged 71 years.

Nathaniel & Ellen had children -

Nathaniel Dennis Milner (1801-1878) son of Nathaniel & Ellen and heir ... died 14 Dec 1878 aged 77
married his cousin Anne Milner (1802-73) daughter of John & Sarah Aberly see above ... died 16 July 1873 aged 71

Nathaniel Dennis Milner (1801-78) Esquire of Moore ... married cousin Ann Milner (1801-73)
Nathaniel Dennis Milner found circumstances most propitious ... the Milner Estates in Acton and Moore were combined. When his dad died in 1837 he naturally inherited the estate but he also married his cousin Ann and ended up with the estates of -
- John (1753-1810) &
- Mary (1789-1856) ...
and there's more ... both issue his uncles -
- Thomas (1763-1827) &
- Dennis (1766-1838)
 died without issue and so their shares of Milner wealth ended up with Nathaniel Dennis! He did well with his wealth, he was concerned with 'great advantage to the district', amply proved by his active involvement in the Daresbury Farmer's Club which was not only improving the land but also encouraging industry ... the Acton Bridge riparian factory site could not have wished for a better landlord! 

Nathaniel Dennis & Ann children -

Dennis Milner (1825-88)
married Frances Stubs (-) 7 June 1849 Daresbury ... in the Manchester Courier marriage to Frances Stubs younger daughter of William Stubs Esq of the Elms, Acton Grange ...
Dennis was remembered, as a young buck, for an escapade on 'pleasure excursion' in Runcorn which was unfortunately reported in the local paper. A few years later he respectably married and became a successful London solicitor. After initial gainful employment with Messrs Wagstaff, Marsh & Barratt, Warrington. Dennis died at Beel House, Amersham, Bucks in 1888 ... published in the Yorkshire Gazette, confirming the family links to the county?

William Cawley Milner (1835-81) 2nd son of Nathaniel & Ellen ... died 11 Dec 1881 aged 47
married Eugenie Alphonsine in Geneva in 1875   

Sarah Ann (1833-82) died 10 April 1882 aged 49

3 James Milner (1760-1830) son of Nathaniel baptised 30 January 1760 Weaverham ... (1736164) ... Merchant of Manchester then Patricroft.
married Mary Richardson (-) 22 Nov 1781 Manchester daughter of Thomas of Pendlebury House ... original ...
He lived on his Patricroft patrimony and was a borough reeve of Patricroft
died in Eccles ... his wife Mary was later buried with in the chancel of Eccles church 

1851 census - at Liscard St John Cheshire unmarried 59 year old annuitant born in Patricroft holidaying at a Liscard boarding house 'Bootle View'! Born in Patricroft? Was this widow Mary Milner née Richardson?     

James left an extensive Will in 1830

James & Mary had a son -
James Richardson Milner (-) joined his dad in import/export business in Germany 
married Sophie von Rappard ...  they had 6 kids ... including

-- Alfred Milner (1854-1925) of Balliol Oxford and diplomatic success ... and author of the Balfour Declaration ... and the words 'national home for the Jewish people' and 'nothing shall be done which to prejudice the rights of of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine or the status enjoyed by Jews in any other country' ...     

Sarah Milner (1761-) baptised 10 Sept 1761 Weaverham    ... (1736164) ... 
married

4 Thomas Milner (1763-1827) son of Nathaniel baptised 21 April 1763 Weaverham ... of Moor   
died 20 April 1827 Weaverham aged 64 

MI - Thomas Milner (1763-1827) of Acton, aged 64 years, 4th son of Nathaniel Milner, 27 April 1827 (grave no. 875 ref. old 298)  

5 Daniel Milner (1764-97) son of Nathaniel baptised 25 October 1764 Weaverham ... (1736164) ... Merchant of Manchester
married Frances Barrow (1771-1811) by licence 1791. At the time of the wedding Daniel was a fustian manufacturer living in Martinscroft, Warrington. Josh Ryle was a witness.
Daniel & Frances then moved to resident in Ardwick Manchester. The Universal Trades Directories list the business at 2 Market Lane.
died in Hamburg.
They had four children; sons Nathaniel (-) and John Barrow (1793-) daughters Frances (-) and Elizabeth Barrow (1797-1830).

Elizabeth married William Henry Lombe (1788-1824) in 1818 in Liverpool, who was a bookseller in the High Street in Worcester. They had two children William Henry (1820-) and Frances Louisa (1822-). William died in 1824 in Liverpool and Elizabeth remarried to William Stuwart (-) and they emigrated to Australia in 1830. Tragically Elizabeth died on the journey aboard the ship 'Bombay' / 'James' en route to Perth.

6 Dennis Milner (1766-1838) son of Nathaniel baptised 26 March 1766 Weaverham ... (1736164) ... of Acton 
died at Acton and buried at Weaverham in 1838, aged 71

MI - Dennis Milner (1767-1838) of Acton, aged 71 years, youngest son of Nathaniel, 10 Feb 1838 (grave no. 875 ref. old 298)

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Nathaniel & Dennis Milner declared their support for the Cheshire declaration reported in the Chester Chronicle 1835.

Evolution, a prolonged process of cumulative growth. The modern individual is foolish but the inherited rules and institutions embody the cumulative knowledge and experience of preceding generations. Civilization is not the creation of the reasoning mind, but the unintended outcome of the spontaneous play of innumerable creative minds. An inherited immanent moral law to which all valid positive law must conform.

Lord Melbourne, Mentor to Queen Victoria, 'Why not leave it alone?' to avoid 'a heap of modern additions, interpolations, facts and fictions'. 

The whig principles of the Glorious Revolution of 1688 were alive and well ...

 John Locke -

'freedom to have a standing rule to live by, common to every one of that society, a liberty to follow one's own will in all things, where that rule prescribes not; and not to be subject to the inconstant, uncertain, arbitrary will of another man. Whoever has the legislative or supreme power of any commonwealth is bound to govern by established standing laws promulgated and known to the people and not by extemporary decrees. Even the legislature has no absolute arbitrary power, but is bound to dispense justice, while the supreme executor of the law has no will, no power, but that of the law. The ultimate aim is to limit the power and moderate the dominion of every part and member of that society'.

Nathaniel & Dennis Milner declared their support for the commutation of tithes in Weaverham as reported in the Chester Chronicle 1836.

The Act for the Commutation of Tithes was passed in 1836.  This Act replaced the ancient system of payment of tithes in kind with monetary payments and substituted a variable monetary payment, 'corn rent', for any existing tithe in kind. Surveys were made and maps produced of the areas affected. The owner, tenant, area, name, description, state of cultivation, rent charge payable and the tithe owner were listed.

The tithe maps for Acton Bridge & Weaverham identified the owners of land around 1840 and included Nathaniel & Dennis Milner ...

Nathaniel's nephew John certainly stirred the pot, and his branch of the family were movers and left significant marks on the local Cheshire history of -

salt  

Weaver Navigation 

Brunner Mond & Co 

Quakers and

Labour Party ...

Nigel McKendrick was busy researching the pedigree of this lot which included a superb photo of Thomas Milner (1777-1807) ... nephew John's son ... who was the grandfather of Edward John Milner (1837-1902) who married Rosa Louise Stromeyer (1858-1949) and left an exciting legacy around Cheshire ... and in Canada!  

Let's start with nephew John; the pot stirrer - John was a Quaker, and there had been Milner Quakers in Yorkshire at Bingley since at least 1682.

John Milner (1735-1820), a Yeoman of Acton, married Catherine Clare (-), his cousin from Great Budworth in 1773 by licence.  Daniel Milner (younger brother) & Thomas Clare were witnesses.

John left an important Will, dated 1820, which identified the Milner branch which was destined for Hartford Hall. Executrix, daughter-in-law Ann Milner of Liverpool. Executor, Samuel Blain of Liverpool, merchant. Sworn by people commonly called Quakers.

The Chester Chronicle reported that John was in trouble in 1808, 'an opulent farmer' had been smuggling salt! And what was the source of the trouble that John junior and Daniel were immersed in, with a raft of others, in 1817 which landed them in the debtors gaol in Chester? And did this fiasco lead to the liquidation of their estate?

John was buried in Weaverham in 1820 aged 85 years, and his Acton estate up for sale - 'The lots are well wooded, and watered, and in a very respectable neighbourhood, a fine fertile and sporting country, abounding in game, distant from Northwich four miles, Frodsham 5 and one mile to Acton Bridge upon the River Weaver, on which a packet sail daily from Northwich to Weston Point where it meets the steam packets from Liverpool' ...

John and Anne had four children Sarah (1776-), twins John (1776-) & Daniel (1776-) ... the mad twins ... & Thomas (1777-1807) -

Sarah Milner (1774-)

John Milner (1775-) baptised Weaverham

Daniel Milner (1775-) baptised Weaverham

Thomas Milner (1777-1807), son of John was born on 30th October 1777 in Weaverham, married Anne Smith (1776-1852) of Liverpool in 1803. Anne born 1 Feb 1776.
Thomas & Ann had three children; John Philip (1804-), William Edward (1805-51) & Ann (1807-). The children were all Christened at Newington Chapel, Renshaw Street, Liverpool ... built in 1618 this was the oldest nonconformist church in the Liverpool.

Thomas died 19 May 1807 aged only 30.

After Thomas died Anne moved to Warrington and joined the Quaker Milners and died in Grappenhall 27 Jan 1852.

William Edward Milner (1806-51)
married Jane Fell (1813-47) in Warrington in 1836. Jane was the daughter of Joseph & Elizabeth Fell. William & Jane had six children, their son Edward John became a director of Brunner Mond & Co in 1881.  

William Edward Milner was a shareholder in the 'Manchester & Liverpool District Banking Company' in 1838.

Jane died in Warrington in 1847and William died in 1851 after a tragic accident; they were both Quakers.

Edward John Milner (1837-1902) of Firgrove, Latchford then Hartford Hall, Northwich. Educated at Tulketh Hall, Preston and Bootham School, York. JP for Warrington; County Councillor for Northwich; Vice Chairman of the River Weaver Trust and Chairman of the Northwich Salt Compensation Board.
married Rosa Louise Stromeyer (1858-1949), daughter of Charles Stromeyer of Hamburg. Edward Milner died August 21st 1902. Edward had four sons including Dennis (1892-1956) ...

John I Watts confirmed a little recognised truth of the industrial revolution in England, a problem which confronted B M & Co in 1873 -

'the problem of converting an interesting chemical experiment into a lucrative commercial process had baffled all the earlier manufacturers'.

 W F L Dick noted that -

'The search for land continued in vain until Edward Milner, a friendly salt manufacturer with a works at Anderton, suggested that land at Winnington might be suitable. One day late in June, Milner drove John Brunner and Ludwig Mond in his trap to visit his small works. As they stood upon the edge of the high bank looking out over the oak trees at Winnington Park, Ludwig Mond said, 'this is the spot'. The land was freehold and belonged to Lord Stanley of Alderley. It had a long frontage to the navigable River Weaver and therefore easy access to Liverpool docks and it had a railway connection to Cheshire Lines'.

W J Reader commented,

'Milner discharged managerial functions, mostly in connection with property'.

However original letters and enclosures from John Brunner to Edward, relating to affairs at Winnington & Sandbach works, and within the alkali industry in general; and a letter from Parr's bank, Northwich related to advances to the firm relating to a scheme to build a salt works on the Preesall salt deposit in Lancashire, in 1883; indicate Edward was heavily involved in all aspects of the business. DIC/BM 7/11 22 Aug 1885-1815 Nov 1888.

When B M & Co Ltd was formed in 1881 the first Board of Directors comprised John Crosfield (Chairman), E Milner, C M Holland, J T Brunner, L Mond with T H Fogden (Secretary). John Crosfield, of course, represented the customers. Edward Milner & Charles Mensies Holland represented the 'investors', as W J Reader noted -

'new capital came chiefly from investors living locally, nearly all of them in Lancashire & Cheshire'

Parrs Bank in Warrington provided the working capital ... Edward Milner was on the ball ...

There were important economic principles underlying these Milner initiatives.

The Milners were firstly traders who invested their profits in landed estates for ongoing security of the family. But things didn't stagnate in idle rent seeking activities, they exploited their new resources through ongoing investment in technological innovations which fed the agricultural revolution and the industrial revolution -

investment in the productivity of their farms increased the surpluses to feed the cities by improved husbandry (wool) & cultivation (crops)

as merchants they organised distribution & markets, locally & internationally

from under their land they extracted salt, added value by refining and traded internationally

industrial activity was unleashed as they opened up the Aire & Calder Canal and River Weaver Navigation

the fiasco of price fixing & monopoly at the Salt Union was avoided as they promoted & partnered Brunner Mond in innovative high value chemical manufacturing

A proud record; the Milners moved with a trader's nous, they avoided the cul-de-sac of rent seeking and discovered new added value as comparative advantage relentlessly moved ... every problem became an opportunity for the agile ...

Dennis Milner (1892-1956) of 404 Finchley Road, married Mabel in 1914.

Dennis wrote with Bernard Pickard in 1920.

Milner's State Bonus - In the same year, the young engineer, Quaker and Labour Party member, Dennis Milner (1892-1956), published jointly with his wife Mabel a short pamphlet entitled 'Scheme for a State Bonus' (1918). What they argued for, using an eclectic series of arguments, was the introduction of an income paid unconditionally on a weekly basis to all citizens of the United Kingdom. Pitched at 20% of GDP per capita, the 'State bonus' should make it possible to solve the problem of poverty, particularly acute in the aftermath of the war. As everyone has a moral right to means of subsistence, any obligation to work enforced through the threat of a withdrawal of these means is ruled out. Milner subsequently elaborated the proposal in a book published by a respectable publisher under the title 'Higher Production by a Bonus on National Output' (1920). Many of the arguments that played a central role in later discussions can be found in this book ... from the unemployment trap to labour market flexibility, from low rates of take up to the ideal complement of profit sharing; but the emphasis is on the 'productivist' case. The state bonus can even be vindicated on grounds of efficiency alone. Milner's proposal was enthusiastically backed by fellow Quaker Bertram Pickard, supported by the short-lived State Bonus League (under whose banner Milner took part in a national election), discussed at the 1920 British Labour Party conference and definitively rejected the following year.

It seemed the productivist ideas of hard work, honesty & thrift are beyond religious divides and party politics - Dennis Milner was a Quaker & Labour Party member.

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The Milner Church Institute, Moore  

The Milner family were residents in the Woodhouses area of Frodsham from as early as 1571. A third son Daniel (1676 to 1760) married Sarah Barrow at Frodsham & moved to Acton Bridge as a yeoman farmer.
The family prospered at Acton, acquired land in & around the village & built several fine houses.
By judicious marriages, two between cousins, ownership of the estates passed into the hands of a very few descendants who sold all in Acton, Moore & Stretton in 1918.The sale included 58 lots, 1100 acres with 12 farms, 6 large houses in Moore, about 25 cottages & the Maypole Inn in Acton. The houses in Moore were named ‘The Grove’, ‘Ivy Bank’, ‘South Bank’, ‘Bridge House’, ‘Beechwood’ & ‘Moore House’.
The family connection with Moore arose from the marriage of Nathaniel Milner (1718 to 1797) to Sarah Dennis & of their son Nathaniel (1758 to 1837) to Ellen Cawley, both brides being heiresses to land & property in the locality. The latter’s son Nathaniel Dennis Milner (1801 to 1878) of Moore married his cousin Ann heiress to all the Acton estates. They had 3 daughters Ann, Mary (1831 to 1916) & Sarah Ann who all continued to live in Moore House after the death of their parents.
Miss Mary Milner was a devout churchwoman who worshipped at Daresbury Church all her life. In 1907 she presented the village of Moore with the Milner Church Institute in memory of her mother & father. There is also a stained glass window in the Church dedicated to them.
She died on 17th September 1916 & is buried in the Milner family vault in the churchyard.
The Milner Institute remains, to this day, as a place of worship & a much used community facility.

1911 census - @ Moore House Mary Milner (1831-1916)

Mary Milner (1831-1916) died at Moore House 17 Sept 1916 Moore

The Milner Church Institute, Moore.
A service of Holy Communion is held every Thursday morning at 9.30 in the Milner Church Institute in Runcorn Road, Moore. Access to the car park is in Moss Lane.
The 'Milner' was founded in 1907 by the late Mary Milner of Moore 'for the religious purposes of the Church of England and for recreational activities.' It is a registered charity (number 1078366) separate from but closely associated with Daresbury Church and is managed by Trustees (who must be communicant members of the Church of England) assisted by a Management Committee composed of representatives of the various groups which use the building which include a pre-school play group, Brownies, WI, Earl of Stamford Morris dancers, whist, Over 60's, Keep-fit and Pilates.
It is in fact, the village hall of Moore. The Milner is a building of character ideal for the holding of meetings and private parties. It has a license for public entertainment, music and dancing but patrons must make their own applications for drinks licenses.

The Milner Church Institute, Moore.
A service of Holy Communion is held every Thursday morning at 9.30 in the Milner Church Institute in Runcorn Road, Moore. Access to the car park is in Moss Lane.
The 'Milner' was founded in 1907 by the late Mary Milner of Moore 'for the religious purposes of the Church of England and for recreational activities.' It is a registered charity (number 1078366) separate from but closely associated with Daresbury Church and is managed by Trustees (who must be communicant members of the Church of England) assisted by a Management Committee composed of representatives of the various groups which use the building which include a pre-school play group, Brownies, WI, Earl of Stamford Morris dancers, whist, Over 60's, Keep-fit and Pilates.
It is in fact, the village hall of Moore. The Milner is a building of character ideal for the holding of meetings and private parties. It has a license for public entertainment, music and dancing but patrons must make their own applications for drinks licenses.

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Miscellaneous Milner snippets ...

The Acton Bridge Parish Rooms.
The owners of the land on which the Parish Room was to be built were William Milner of Chateau d'Isques, Pont de Briques in the Department of Pas de Calais in the Republic of France, and Reginald Ernest Dennis Milner of Sutton Cottage, Hounslow in the County of Middlesex, a Captain in His Majesty's Army. They appear to have 'given' The Council of the Parish of Acton in the Ecclesiastical Parish of Weaverham, a piece or parcel of land, upon which the building intended to be used as and for the purposes of a Parish Room by the Parishioners had been built. The land, 332 square yards, together with the building was conveyed to the Council for the benefit of the residents of Acton in perpetuity.

Mary Milner (-) married William Barker Gresty 27 Dec 1785 Weaverham

Mary Milner (-) a Minor married Samuel Webster (-) 6 July 1842 Manchester ... father Nathaniel Milner an accountant and Thomas Webster a dyer ... witnesses William Milner and Sarah Milner

Elizabeth Barrow Milner (1797-1830) who married William Lombe ( From the well known Lombe family of Liverpool ) she died on the voyage to Australia on the sailing ship 'James'.

H Milner & Co, 87 Mosley Street, Pendlebury. Graces Guide 1891.

Braithwaite Milner & Co, New Road, London. Loco builders 1836.

Gamiel Milner (-) was a Quaker iron master of Attercliffe, Thurlston cotton spinner at Hoyle Mill.

After the death of his first wife, Gamaliel Milner, Attercliffe, married on 6th Dec 1659 to Isabel Jenkinson. They had 3 children -
Tobias b. 1st Oct 1661
Daniel b. 14th Oct 1663
Michael b. 7th Sept 1665 m. Sarah Jeffery of Tyers Hill 18th Nov 1686.

William Milner of Chateau d'Isques, Pont de Briques in the Department of Pas de Calais in the Republic of France, and Reginald Ernest Dennis Milner of Sutton Cottage Hounslow in the County of Middlesex, a Captain in His Majesty's Army.

Marriage: 22nd May 1808 St Oswald, Winwick, Lancashire, England.
Nathaniel Milner - of this Parish
Ellen Clare - of this Parish
Witnesses - Gilbert Marsh and Thomas Walker

 

Late 16th Century - Abstracts of Grants (c 1315 - dating by Bulkeley parties).
1 William son of Robert of Halton to William of Bulkeley the younger, of all the land, moor, marsh and water in Halton within the specified boundaries.
2 John son of John the Milner of Halton and Angharet his wife, to the said William and Margaret his wife, of their share of the above lands. 
3 William Burndeleigh to the said William and Margaret, of lands and tenements in Halton.
4 Robert of Halton to Robert of Bulkeley, of all the lands which he had or might have enclosed between the stipulated boundaries of Bunbury, Beeston, Peckforton, Bulkeley and Cholmondeley. (DCH/E/150) 

1676/77 - Lease for 3 lives by Rt Hon Thomas Earl Rivers to Daniel Milner of Woodhouses in the parish of Frodsham, yeoman - 1/6 part of the close or great pasture in Frodsham called Twyne or Tweene Mills as the same now lies within and without the Copp of the said pasture to the River Weaver, 50 acres in the whole of the large measure, reserving to the said Earl liberty of way from the land called the Busipoole over the same premises; for lives of William Blinston of Burtonwood, yeoman, and William Witter and Robert Witter, sons of William Witter, late of Frodsham, at an annual rent of 5/5 for all heriots, services and demands. Cons surrender of former lease and £60. Seal, red, armorial. (DCH/F/260) 

 1684 - Lease for 2 lives in reversion by Rt Hon Thomas Rivers to Richard Done of Overton, Lordship of Frodsham, yeoman - a cottage or small tenement in Overton now holding of said Richard Done, heretofore called Hollands and late called Duttons Cottage, now in possession of ?? and 1 cowgate in the great pasture in Frodsham called the Marsh with 26 perches adjoining same heretofore parcel Thomas Milners Tenement; to hold from death of said Thomas Milner, for lives of the said Richard Done and Thomas ?? son, at annual rent of 6/6½, 1 rent hen or 6d and 20/-. Cons. £11. Seal, red. (DCH/F/598)

1691/2 - Lease for 3 lives by Rt Hon Thomas Earl Rivers to Mary Fleetwood of Netherton, widow - a close called Swinlake, the lane or way leading to great Synipoole called Synipoole Lane and 1 day math of mowing heretofore 1 gate in a close called Little Synipoole, all in Netherton, Frodsham, now/late in tenure of the lessee; for lives of Mary Fleetwood and Martha Fleetwood, daughters of the said Mary, and Thomas Milner son of Thomas Milner of Woodhouses, yeoman, at annual rent of 1/8, 1 rent hen and heriot of 33/4. Cons surrender of former lease (DCH/F/726) and £7. Seal, red. (DCH/F/731)  

1696/7 - a lease for 3 lives by Rt Hon Richard Earl Rivers to John Harrison of Woodhouses, Lordship of Frodsham, yeoman - a messuage or tenement with appurts in Woodhouses, late in possession of James Huson deceased; for lives of said John Harrison, John Harrison his son and John Milner, son of Daniel Milner of Woodhouses. (DCH/F/881) 

1718/19 - Lease for 3 lives by Rt Hon Robert Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer (trustee) to Catherine Fluitt - a messuage or tenement with appurts. in Overton anciently in possession of of William Hill and now of the lessee, and 6 cowgates in the great pasture in Frodsham called the Lordship Marsh and 26 perches of ground in Overton near the cottage anciently belonging to one Richard Taylor; for lives of Thomas Milner, said Catherine Fluitt and Randle Fluitt her son, at annual rent of 16/3, 1 rent hen or 12d and heriot of best beast or good or 4 marks. Cons surrender of former lease (DCH/F/597) and £79-3-4. Seal, red, crest, a unicorn's head. (DCH/F/612)  

1747 - Lease for 3 lives by Hon James Cholmondeley of Rocksavage Esq to Thomas Harrison the younger of Frodsham, husbandman - a cottage in Frodsham with 20 perches of land thereto belonging adjoining a yard called Clough's yard or backside, and heretofore parcel of a messuage of one Richard Gamons; for lives of Thomas Harrison, surviving life in a former lease (DCH/F/349), Thomas Harrison the lessee, and Ellen Milner, at annual rent of 1/- and heriot of best beast or good or 10/-. Cons. surrender of said former lease and £11. Seal, red, a man's head. (DCH/F/450)  

Miscellaneous original letters addressed to T Winstanley (Time Office, Winnington works), chiefly requesting money, employment etc; with a series of letters from Rosa Milner, of Hartford Manor, relating to her charitable work among poor employees and the Northwich poor in general 1903-1909. (DIC/BM 8/13)

John Milner, Woolstapler of Halifax, Yorkshire left a will in 1802. (PROB 11/1382/200) 

John Milner (1628–1702) was an English clergyman, known as a nonjuring minister, scholar and opponent of John Locke.

William Milner (1803-50) was Halifax grocer and merchant who became a bookseller and publisher.

 

William Milner burial 27 Jun 1756 Frodsham, Cheshire, England ... John, Elizabeth
John Milner burial 20 Oct 1705 Frodsham, Cheshire, England ... John
John Milner burial 25 Mar 1619 Farndon, Cheshire, England
Daniel Milner burial Jan 1628 Farndon, Cheshire, England Johis
Richardus Milner burial 25 May 1681 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Richard Milner burial 28 Aug 1800 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Thomas Milner burial Dec Frodsham, Cheshire, England
William Milner burial 01 Sep 1617 Farndon, Cheshire, England
Richard Milner burial 19 Mar 1682 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Daniel
John Milner burial 15 Jun 1728 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Richard Milner burial 13 Feb 1691 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
John Milner burial 13 Feb 1703 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Thomas Milner burial 19 Feb 1730 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Raphe Milner burial Aug 1607 Farndon, Cheshire, England
Joseph Milner burial 10 Jun 1756 Frodsham, Cheshire, England John, Elizabeth
John Milner marriage 18 Apr 1619 Farndon, Cheshire, England Marie
Thomas Milner marriage 13 Feb 1731 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Elizabeth Sheppard
Thomas Milner marriage 19 Dec 1733 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Martha Antrobus
Richard Milner marriage 18 Apr 1619 Farndon, Cheshire, England Elizabeth
Raphe Milner marriage 18 Apr 1619 Farndon, Cheshire, England Margaret
Camell Milner christening 10 Jun 1627 Farndon, Cheshire, England Jo
Richard Milner christening 30 May 1633 Farndon, Cheshire, England Ricard
Nathaniel Milner christening 19 Sep 1742 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Thomas Elizabeth
John Milner christening 02 Jun 1695 Frodsham, Cheshire, England John
Thomas Milner christening 28 May 1699 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Thomas
Richardus Milner christening 08 May 1666 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Richardi
Daniel Milner christening 07 Nov 1676 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Danielis
D Milner christening 07 Jan 1625 Farndon, Cheshire, England Ric
John Milner christening 15 Oct 1769 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Nathaniel, Sarah
John Milner christening 28 Oct 1619 Farndon, Cheshire, England Johes
John Milner christening 11 Nov 1787 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Joseph, Alice
Richard Milner christening 21 Jan 1691 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Thomas
Milner burial 27 Apr 1675 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Richardi
Radulphus Milner burial 07 Dec 1669 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Milner burial 18 Dec 1668 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Danielis
Dan Milner burial 05 Aug 1697 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Sarah
Radulphus Milner burial 04 Jun 1670 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Richardi
William Milner burial 27 Mar 1730 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Richard Milner burial 24 Oct 1636 Farndon, Cheshire, England
Richard Milner marriage 27 Dec 1792 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Elizabeth
Thomas Milner christening 31 Oct 1697 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Tho
Johannes Milner christening 20 Aug 1665 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Richardi
Thomas Milner christening 30 Aug 1674 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Richardi
John Milner christening 03 Sep 1633 Farndon, Cheshire, England Johan
Richard Milner christening 01 Jan 1800 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Thomas, Eleanor
Richard Milner christening 01 Jan 1684 Frodsham, Cheshire, England
Johannes Milner christening 01 May 1665 Frodsham, Cheshire, England Danielis

 

Any corrections and additional information gratefully received contact john p birchall

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