Esther Stone was the eighth child of James Stone & Mary Ann Sutton born Oct-December, 1862 at Bradford, Manchester, Lancs.
By 1871 the family had returned to Staffordshire & were living in the High St, Tunstall, Wolstanton. Esther had 2 older brothers, Joseph & James who were both iron workers like their father. Esther had 2 younger sisters, Rachael (4) & Catherine (3).
The family had returned to Lancashire by 1881 & were living at 5 Enys St, Pendleton, Salford. Esther was still at home & she & sister Rachel were both cotton weavers. Sister Catherine was also at home.
Esther married William Hilton in April-June 1882 at Salford, Lancs. William was born in 1862 in Pendleton, Lancs, the son of Elizabeth & William Hilton, a bleacher.
In 1891 Esther & William, a cotton spinner, were living at 54 Venice St, Rumworth, Bolton, Lancs. They had a 4 year old daughter, May.
William died at 107 Turton Rd, Bolton on February 7th, 1901. Administration of his estate was granted to widowed Esther & his effects were £83. William was described as a ‘self-actor-minder’ – this means he watched & minded the ‘self-acting mule’, the name of a multi-thread spinning machine.
The 1901 census shows widowed Esther living at 6 Rigby Lane, Turton, Lancs. At home was daughter May, & sons John (9) & William (7). With them was niece Rachel Stone (14), a cotton weaver, the daughter of Esther’s brother John David Stone [st.1.5.1]. Also with them were nieces May E (16) & Ann (13) Davis, both cotton weavers.
The children of Esther Stone & William Hilton were:
st.1.5.8.1 May Hilton born April-June 1886 at Bolton, Lancs
st.1.5.8.2 John Hilton born 1891 at Bolton, Lancs
st.1.5.8.3 William Hilton born Oct-December 1893 at Bolton, Lancs
Esther remarried in July-September 1907 at Bolton, Lancs. Her new husband was Edward Hughes born c1863 in Ewloe, Flintshire, Wales. At the time of the 1901 census Edward was a brickmaker & living with his wife Elizabeth & family in Buckley, Wales.
In 1911 Esther & Edward were living at 13 Chorley Old Rd, Bolton & Edward & Esther were described as ‘having boarders’. With them was Esther’s son William Hilton, now a draper’s apprentice, & Esther’s niece Annie Davi(e)s, a cotton mill weaver. Esther & Edward had a 3 year old daughter Dorothy Emily. In their 8-roomed boarding house they had 3 boarders – Mary Ramsbotton, a mission sister with the Church of England, Bridget Warren, a teacher in a Roman Catholic school & Frank Shirley, a ventilating & humidifying engineer.
Daughter Dorothy married George Samuel Massey in April-June 1932 in Bolton. The 1939 register shows Dorothy, a dress machinist, living with Gertrude & Amos Massey, at 963 Alum Rock Rd, Birmingham.
The children of Esther Hilton (nee Stone) & Edward Hughes were:
st.1.5.8.4 Dorothy Emily Hughes born January 16th, 1908 at 64 Chorley Old Rd & christened April 22nd, 1909 at St Barnabas. Bolton, Lancs