Frederick William Verity

1819 – 1874

✓ Validated against records · 2026-07-09

Frederick William Verity was baptised at Burnsall, high in Upper Wharfedale, on 27 October 1819 — the eldest son of the Kettlewell-born shoemaker Abraham Verity and his first wife, Mary Holliday. He followed neither his father's last nor his grandfather's cartwright's bench: Frederick became an iron moulder, and it was the moulder's trade that carried him out of Yorkshire.

He married young. At Calverley, near Bradford, in 1838, he and Mary Harrison were wed; but by 1851 the two were living apart. The census of that year finds him a lodger far from home — an iron moulder at Oldham, the enumerator setting him down as “Frederick Verdey” — while Mary kept to her widowed mother's house back in Bradford. From 1861 he gave his birthplace as Baildon in Airedale, where his people had come to rest (in 1851 he had said Bradford), rather than the Burnsall of his font.

In the cotton towns of the Tame valley he made his life with Harriet Penrose, a gamekeeper's daughter. Two girls were born to them before they married — Elizabeth Penrose Verity in 1854 and Clara Penrose Verity in 1856, each carrying their mother's maiden name — and on 20 August 1859, at Holy Trinity, Stalybridge, Frederick, a widower of full age, married Harriet after banns. He signed his name; she made her mark. The censuses that follow hold the family at Dukinfield: in 1871, at 88 Kenworthy Street, Frederick was still a moulder at fifty-one, his daughters in the cotton mills, and a nephew and niece — Verity children carrying the Penrose name — taken into the house.

He died at Oldham in 1874, of pneumonia, at 3 Cemetery Street — the same street his daughter Clara would give as her home two years later, when she married the Hull iron moulder Thomas Wilson. Through Clara the Verity line runs on into the Wilsons, and the foundry trade she had grown up beside became theirs.

Composed from validated records · 2026-07-09

Baptism: October 27th 1819 Burnsall Yorkshire (Parish Records)
Marriage: 1. Mary Harrison March 18th 1838 Calverley Yorkshire (Parish Records) 2. Harriet Penrose August 20th 1859 Stalybridge Cheshire
Death: November 14th 1874 Oldham
Parents: Abraham Verity and Mary Holliday
Siblings: Frederick Verity baptised October 27th 1819 Burnsall, Yorkshire Ann Verity baptised July 8th 1821 Guiseley, Yorkshire Sarah Ann baptised August 26th 1821 Burnsall, Yorkshire Edon Thomason Verity baptised September 9th 1827 Bradford Bridget Verity baptised October 28th 1831 Bradford Esther Verity baptised September 12th 1834 Bradford
Children: Elizabeth Penrose Verity born 1854, Horton, Bradford Clara Penrose Verity born January 1856 Ashton under Lyne
1838: Marries Mary Harrison in Calverley, Yorkshire Parish records note that at the time of marriage, Frederick was 20 years old and Mary was 20 years old
1841c: Living in Bradford Frederick Verity born 1821 Yorkshire Mary Verity born 1821 Yorkshire Address: George Street Occupation: Iron Moulder J
1841-51 1851c: Moves to Oldham, Lancashire Living in the parish of Werneth, Oldham Ellis Jackson, Head, aged 60 born Oldham, Slater Sarah Jackson, Wife, aged 59 born Lancashire Frederick Verdey (sic) Lodger, aged 31, Married, born Bradford Address: Long Lee, Oldham below Town Occupation: Moulder
1851c: Living in Bradford, Yorkshire Elizabeth Harrison, Head, aged 60, widow, born Bradford+ family Mary Verity, visitor, aged 30, married, born Bradford Address: 46 Threadneedle Street, Bradford Occupation of Mary: Reeler Worsted Factory
1856: Frederick is living at 69 Canal Street, Ashton under Lyne
1859: August 20th marries Harriet Penrose in Stalybridge Cheshire Frederick Verity of full age Widower, Iron Moulder, living at Stalely Bridge and Harriet Penrose of full age, spinster, also of Stalely Bridge , were married after banns in the presence of Margaret(x) Hopkins and John Holroyd. Frederick signed his name. Harriet made her mark(x)
1861c: Living in the parish of Castle Hall, Dukinfield Frederic Verity, Head, aged 38 born 1823, Baildon, Yorkshire Harriet Verity, wife, aged 28, born 1833, Bishop I-fill Junior, Yorkshire Elizabeth P. Verity aged 7 born 1854, Little Haughton (sic) Yorkshire Address: Forester Street, Dukinfield, Stalybridge, Cheshire Occupation: Iron Moulder
1871c: Living in the parish of Castle Hall, Dukinfield Frederic Verity, Head, aged 48, born Baldon (sic) Harriet Verity, Wife, aged 37, born Yorkshire Elizabeth P Verity daughter aged 17, born Bradford, Cotton Frame Tenter Clara Verity , daughter aged 15, born Stalybridge, Cotton Weaver Henry P. Verity nephew aged 12, born Spelton, Yorkshire Ellen P Verity niece aged 15, born Friargate, York, Cotton Weaver Address: 88 Kenworthy Street Occupation of FredericK: Iron Moulder
1874: Death of Frederick William Verity in Oldham aged 54 years. Died of pneumonia at 3 Cemetery Street, Oldham

In your grandmother’s words · from her notebook

Family

Parents

AVFatherAbraham Verity1798–1868

The children of Abraham & Sarah Bentley

· · · ·

Marriage

HPSpouseHarriet Penrose1833–1892

Children

CVChild · the line continuesClara Penrose Veritymain line1856–1890

Historical context

The moulders and the cotton towns

The iron moulder's trade took Frederick Verity west — out of Yorkshire, over the Pennines, into the run of towns where Cheshire meets Lancashire: Stalybridge, Dukinfield, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham. It was not the cotton he went for. A moulder cast metal in sand — machine frames, gearing, the heavy iron of the spinning mules and looms — and the mills that spun Lancashire's cotton were built and kept running on the output of the foundries beside them. Where there were mills there was ironwork, and where there was ironwork there was a living for a man who could make a mould.

It is a road others of this family would take. A generation on, Frederick's daughter Clara married Thomas Wilson, a Hull-born iron moulder who had come to Oldham for the very same reason — to cast the machinery of the cotton trade. On both sides of that marriage the work was the same: iron, for cotton, in a town neither family was born to.

Composed for this site from published local history — the family’s world, not one of Mum’s records.

Life

Confirmed — anchored to a recordEstimated — inferred

1819

Baptised at Burnsall — Upper Wharfedale

27 October 1819

Frederic Verity — baptism 27 October 1819, Burnsall — father Abraham, mother Mary.— Baptism — Burnsall, Upper Wharfedale (27 October 1819)

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

Baptism — Burnsall, Upper Wharfedale (27 October 1819) — England, Yorkshire, Parish Registers 1538–2016 — Burnsall (West Riding), baptisms, page 20, ref N-PR-BNS1-4; North Yorkshire County Record Office. FamilySearch ark 66BJ-BV89, read 9 July 2026. The NYCRO register image is not viewable online, so this is the transcription, not the leaf; the mother is entered simply “Mary” — corroborating Mum's placement of Frederick under Mary Holliday (Abraham's first wife) rather than the second. index entry — original not yet seen

1838

Married Mary Harrison — Calverley

1838 at Calverley

Frederick Verity married Mary Harrison, 18 March 1838, Calverley — father Abraham Verity.— First marriage — Mary Harrison, Calverley (18 March 1838)

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

First marriage — Mary Harrison, Calverley (18 March 1838) — England Marriages 1538–1973 (FamilySearch) — Frederick Verity married Mary Harrison, 18 March 1838, Calverley, near Bradford; father Abraham Verity. Read 9 July 2026. Mum's page records both as twenty years old; by 1851 they were living apart. index entry — original not yet seen

1841

Census · 1841

1841

Living in Bradford Frederick Verity born 1821 Yorkshire Mary Verity born 1821 Yorkshire Address: George Street Occupation: Iron Moulder J— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1841

In 1841

1841

Moves to Oldham, Lancashire Living in the parish of Werneth, Oldham Ellis Jackson, Head, aged 60 born Oldham, Slater Sarah Jackson, Wife, aged 59 born Lancashire Frederick Verdey (sic) Lodger, aged 31, Married, born Bradford Address: Long Lee, Oldham below Town Occupation: Moulder— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1851

Census · 1851

1851

Frederick Verdey (sic) — lodger — aged 31 — married — born Bradford — Moulder — Long Lee, Oldham. / Mary Verity — visitor — aged 30 — married — born Bradford — 46 Threadneedle Street, Bradford (her mother Elizabeth Harrison's).— 1851 census — a lodger at Oldham, apart from his wife

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:

1851 census — a lodger at Oldham, apart from his wife — 1851 Census — Mum's finding (not re-read at the image this pass; Frederick was enumerated under the mis-spelling “Verdey”, which defeats a plain search). Two households a county apart: Frederick a lodger at Long Lee, Oldham; Mary back at her widowed mother Elizabeth Harrison's, 46 Threadneedle Street, Bradford. from Mum’s research

1856

In 1856

1856

Frederick is living at 69 Canal Street, Ashton under Lyne— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1859

In 1859

1859

August 20th marries Harriet Penrose in Stalybridge Cheshire Frederick Verity of full age Widower, Iron Moulder, living at Stalely Bridge and Harriet Penrose of full age, spinster, also of Stalely Bridge , were married after banns in the presence of Margaret(x) Hopkins and John Holroyd. Frederick signed his name. Harriet made her mark(x)
— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1859

Married Harriet Penrose

20 August 1859 at Holy Trinity

No. 126 — 20th
August 1859 — Frederick Verity, full age, widower, Iron Moulder, of Staley Bridge; father Abraham Verity, Farmer. And Harriet Penrose, full age, spinster, of Staley Bridge; father Henry Penrose, Game Keeper. Married after banns by me, Thomas Floyd, minister. Solemnized between us: Frederick Verity [signed]; Harriet ✕ Penrose, her mark. In the presence of: Jonathan Castle; Amanda ✕ Hardman, her mark.
— Marriage — Harriet Penrose, Holy Trinity, Stalybridge (20 August 1859)

Harriet Penrose, full age, spinster, of Staley Bridge; father Henry Penrose, Game Keeper — married Frederick Verity, 20 August 1859, after banns. Solemnized between us: Frederick Verity [signed]; Harriet ✕ Penrose, her mark. Witnesses: Jonathan Castle; Amanda ✕ Hardman.— Marriage — Frederick Verity, Stalybridge (20 August 1859)

The record image is with the family — family sign-in

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

Marriage — Harriet Penrose, Holy Trinity, Stalybridge (20 August 1859) — Cheshire, Church of England Marriages & Banns — Stalybridge, Holy Trinity (Castle Hall), page 63, entry No. 126; Cheshire Archives P 217/2/1. Ancestry image, read at full resolution 9 July 2026. Two readings correct Mum's page: the witnesses she recorded (Margaret Hopkins, John Holroyd) belong to the entry above (No. 125); and the father's trade is entered “Farmer” — an unreliable field, since Abraham was a shoemaker in every record of his own. read at the image
Marriage — Frederick Verity, Stalybridge (20 August 1859) — Cheshire, Church of England Marriages & Banns — Stalybridge, Holy Trinity (Castle Hall), page 63, entry No. 126; Cheshire Archives P 217/2/1. Ancestry image, read at full resolution 9 July 2026. The entry names Harriet's father Henry Penrose and his calling, gamekeeper. read at the image

1861

Census · 1861

1861

Frederic Verity — head — 38 — born Baildon, Yorkshire; Harriet — wife — 28; Elizabeth P. — daughter — 7. Forester Street, Dukinfield. (Clara, then five, is not in the household.)— 1861 census — Forester Street, Dukinfield

Confirmed in index record Evidence

Found in an index or transcript — the original page not yet read:

1861 census — Forester Street, Dukinfield — 1861 Census — TNA RG9/2998, folio 12, page 23; Dukinfield (Castle Hall), Ashton-under-Lyne district; schedule 125. Ancestry structured record, read 9 July 2026. index entry — original not yet seen

1871

Census · 1871

1871

Frederick Verity — head — married — 48 — Iron Moulder — born Yorkshire, Baildon; Harriet — wife — 37 — born Yorkshire; Elizabeth P. — daughter — 17 — Cotton Frame Tenter — born Yorkshire, Bradford; Clara — daughter — 15 — Cotton Weaver — born Cheshire, Stalybridge; Henry P. — nephew — 12 — Scholar — born Yorkshire, Skelton; Ellen [P.] — niece — 15 — Cotton Weaver — born Yorkshire, Friargate [York]. 88 Kenworthy Street.
— 1871 census — 88 Kenworthy Street, Dukinfield

The record image is with the family — family sign-in

Read at the image record Evidence

Confirmed against the original record, read at the image:

1871 census — 88 Kenworthy Street, Dukinfield — 1871 Census — TNA RG10/4085, folio 59, page 6; Dukinfield (Castle Hall), town Stalybridge, Ashton-under-Lyne district; schedule 54. Ancestry image, read at full resolution 9 July 2026. Clara — the same Clara Penrose Verity who married Thomas Wilson in 1876 — is here at fifteen, a cotton weaver; the “P.” initials all mark the Penrose kin. read at the image

1874

In 1874

1874

Death of Frederick William Verity in Oldham aged 54 years. Died of pneumonia at 3 Cemetery Street, Oldham— From Janet Brock’s research

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research notebook.

1874

Died at Oldham — an iron moulder

14 November 1874

Died 14 November 1874 at 3 Cemetery Street, Oldham — of pneumonia — aged 54. (Clara and Thomas Wilson gave Cemetery Street as their own address at their 1876 marriage — the family's Oldham anchor.)— Death — Oldham (14 November 1874)

Mum’s record Evidence

From Janet Brock’s research, cited — not yet re-verified at the image:

Death — Oldham (14 November 1874) — Death of Frederick William Verity — Mum's record (from the certificate detail on her page; the GRO death index for Q4 1874, Oldham, and the Oldham burial register remain as round-two corroboration). from Mum’s research

Our research

Frederick, and the road west

Research · Wharfedale to the Tame valley

The 1859 marriage to Harriet Penrose and the 1871 Dukinfield census are read at the register and enumeration images this pass; his Burnsall baptism (1819) and first marriage (Mary Harrison, Calverley 1838) are confirmed in the FamilySearch indexes, and his 1861 household in the Ancestry record. His death — Oldham, 14 November 1874, pneumonia, 3 Cemetery Street — rests on Mum's record. Still to find: his GRO death certificate (Q4 1874, Oldham) — a purchase, and the informant it would name; the 1851 census leaf re-read at the image, to set the Oldham lodging against Mary Harrison's Bradford household; where his first wife Mary Harrison died (1851×1859); and where Clara was on census night 1861, when she is absent from the family's house.