Harriet Louisa Horton was the fourth child of Henry Horton & Sarah Ann Hancock born in 1854 at West Bromwich & christened February 26th, 1854 at Greets Green, Staffs.
By 1861 the family had moved to the High St, Knutton, Silverdale, Staffs. Harriet had 3 sisters & 3 brothers at home.
In 1871 Harriet was listed as a boarder at the home of Jabez Fitchfall, a brick maker, & his family at Marsh, Wolstanton, Staffs. Harriet was a tailoress.
Harriet married Enoch Buckley on August 6th, 1872, at Christ Church, Tunstall. Enoch was christened October 11th, 1846 at Christ Church, Tunstall, Staffs, the son of Hannah & Thomas Buckley, a potter.
In 1881 Harriet & Enoch were living at 69 Liverpool Rd, Burslem, Staffs where Enoch was a potter & Harriet a dressmaker. They had 2 children – Henrietta (8) & Thomas (6).
They were still at the same address in 1891 & Enoch was now described as a potter presser. Son Thomas was a potter printer & also with them was niece Clara A Heath (13), the daughter of Harriet’s sister Sarah Ann. Daughter Henrietta had married Richard Turner Clowes, a groom, in 1890 & at the time of the 1891 census they were living in Burslem.
Enoch died on February 5th, 1900, aged 53. The Staffordshire Sentinel of February 9th, 1900 reported that Enoch was for many years a bandsman with the Burslem Borough Prize Band & was buried at Tunstall Cemetery. The band preceded the funeral cortege as it made its way through Burslem. Enoch had been employed by Wood & Barker Ltd, Queen Street Pottery for more than 30 years. Tributes were paid by many fellow workers & friends.
The children of Harriet Louisa Horton & Enoch Buckley were:
h.1.10.4.1 Henrietta Buckley born Oct-December 1872 at Tunstall, Staffs; died November 23rd, 1917 at Foaming Quart Inn, High St, Burslem
h.1.10.4.2 Thomas Buckley born April 9th, 1874 at Tunstall, Staffs;
h.1.10.4.3 Enoch Buckley born at Sytch, Burslem & christened May 22nd, 1881 at St Paul’s, Burslem, Staffs; died July-September 1882 at Burslem
In 1901 Harriet was living at 50 Scotia Road, Burslem & she appears to have been running a lodging house with 3 guests at the time of the census who were all listed as actors. Daughter Henrietta & husband Richard Clowes were living in Tunstall in 1901 with their son, Albert V (9). Son Thomas had married Maria Kelsall in 1895 & at the time of the census they were living in Burslem with their 5 year old son, Frank, & Thomas was still a potter's printer.
Harriet remarried in July-September 1903, the marriage being registered at Wolstanton. Her second husband was James Kirkham. James was born April 13th, 1856 at Burslem, Staffs, the son of James Kirkham, a grocer.
James had previously been married, but his wife Emily died, aged 37, in 1899. James & Emily had 3 children who were all with James & Harriet at the time of the 1911 census – Ernest James (22), Colin (17) & Laura (20). They were all living at 1 Ward St, Burslem in 1911. James was an ironmoulder & Harriet was now a tailoress. They also had 2 boarders.
Harriet's son Thomas & wife Maria were still living in Burslem in 1911. Thomas was now working for the borough corporation as a stoker (electricity) & Maria was a selector at the pottery. As well as Frank, they had another son Thomas Albert (4). Harriet's daughter Henrietta had sadly lost her husband Richard in 1903. She remarried at Christ Church, Cobridge in 1907, her second husband being William Henry Simcoe. In 1911 Henrietta & William were living in Burslem where William was a publican.
Sadly Henrietta died in 1917, aged 45. Interestingly her widowed husband William married her step sister Laura Kirkham in 1919!
Harriet died on January 27th, 1933, aged 78, at 1 Ward St, Burslem. Probate was granted in London on May 12th, 1933 to her son Thomas Buckley, a dustman, & her grandsons Frank Buckley, a factor & Thomas Albert Buckley, an insurance agent. Her effects amounted to £894.17s.11d.
The 1939 census shows widowed James, now a retired iron moulder, living with his son Colin Kirkham & family in Stoke-on-Trent. James died in 1941.