John BARBER

1810 - 1879  (69 years)

• Name	John BARBER
  Birth	1810	Prestbury, Cheshire   [1]
  Gender	Male
  1841 Census	Crompton Road, Prestbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire   [2]
  	At 1841 Census, he is "30", occ "Silk Weaver"
  1851 Census	Park Lane, Macclesfield, Cheshire   [1]
  	At 1851 Census, he is 41, occ "Silk Weaver"
  1861 Census	42, Back Bond St., Macclesfield, Cheshire   [3]
  	At 1861 Census, he is 51, occ "Silk Weaver"
  1871 Census	42, Lyon St., Macclesfield, Cheshire   [4]
  	At 1871 Census, he is 61, occ "?Iron Founder?"
  1881 Census	had died by 1881 Census  [5]
  Reference Number	V224
  Death	8 Oct 1879	Manchester   [6]
  	home at 2, Catherine St., Macclesfield
  Burial	15 Oct 1879	St. Peter's, Prestbury, Cheshire   [7]
  	aged 68
  Person ID	I224	VaughanDavies
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2025

  
  

  Family	Ann REDDISH,   b. Abt 1811, Macclesfield, Cheshire
  Marriage	31 May 1830	Prestbury, Cheshire   [8]
  Children	1. James BARBER,   b. 1835, Macclesfield, Cheshire  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   2. Ann BARBER,   b. 1837, Macclesfield, Cheshire  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   3. John Thomas BARBER,   b. 1842, Macclesfield, Cheshire d. 14 Nov 1923, West Derby Union Workhouse, Liverpool (Age 81 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   4. William BARBER,   b. 1843, Macclesfield, Cheshire d. 1922, 277, Crompton Road, Macclesfield, Cheshire (Age 79 years)  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   5. Harriet BARBER,   b. 1847, Macclesfield, Cheshire  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   6. Elizabeth BARBER,   b. 1850, Macclesfield, Cheshire  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]   7. Ralph BARBER,   b. 1832, Macclesfield, Cheshire  [Father: natural]  [Mother: natural]
  Family ID	F172	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	30 Jul 2025

  
  

• Event Map

  Birth - 1810 - Prestbury, Cheshire 1841 Census - At 1841 Census, he is "30", occ "Silk Weaver" - - Crompton Road, Prestbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire Marriage - 31 May 1830 - Prestbury, Cheshire Death - 8 Oct 1879 - Manchester Burial - 15 Oct 1879 - St. Peter's, Prestbury, Cheshire  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Notes

  The occupation in 1871 is very difficult to read but the probate register records him as "Iron Founder", and this is looks like the occupation in 1871. His son John T's occupation is the same, and is similarly difficult to read. At John's probate John T is a "moulder". It would seem that the Cobden Treaty with France on 1860 allowed French silks to come in duty free meant a dramatic decrease to the industry in the UK. (see https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/middx/vol2/pp132-137). The silk industry is also set out in https://www2.cs.arizona.edu/patterns/weaving/articles/ehr_slk1.pdf. Actually the treaty of 1860 only continued the reduction of tariffs from the 1820s. Presumably the burgeoning manufacturing industry was able to take up at least some of the slack. A more detailed treatise on the silk industry in Macclesfield comes from Stephen Barnes' dissertation (https://oro.open.ac.uk/75791/22/BARNES_A826_RVOR_V2.pdf). The document is too long to summarise, but it shares the gradual decline since the 1820s albeit touches on the effects following the 1860 treaty. John appears to have been murdered in a robbery in central Manchester. Refer to separate documents about this, but the newspaper reports make it clear that he was with his son in law Thomas Jackson (note his daughter Ann married a Thomas Jackson), and he is also noted as an Iron Founder. His home address does not match the Censusses but this is ok. There is a gap of 20 years between death and probate, albeit there is a grant in 1879, so maybe there was a dispute. Possibly there was some issue relating to the murder investigation. Since John T ended up with £10, it was probably not worth disputing, perhaps allowing for the costs that the dispute took from the estate!!! (Note that in 1879 the estate was valued at under £200).

  
  

• Sources

  [S279] 1851 Census :- Park Lane, Macclesfield, Cheshire. [S1261] 1841 Census :- Crompton Road, Prestbury, Macclesfield, Cheshire. [S280] 1861 Census :- 42, Back Bond St., Macclesfield, Cheshire. [S281] 1871 Census :- 42, Lyon St., Macclesfield, Cheshire. [S282] 1881 Census :- 4, Riseley Street, Macclesfield, Cheshire. [S412] Probate register :- John Barber (1899). [S1413] Burial Register :- St. Peter, Prestbury (1879). [S278] Marriage register :- Prestbury (1830).