Golconda Mine was one time owned bvy the Gell family of my distant kin and by the 1870s Edward Miller Wass had dealings there as in this period he must have owned the Freehold of the property as my Gr Gr Uncle Samuel Joseph Sheldon purchased the Grehold and rights of Golconda Upper and Nether Mines from Wass. (I have record of this)

S J Sheldon also owned Chance Chariot and Tenement Mines on the Carsington Pastures side of the road which along with Golconda he sold in 1915 to George Henry Key Colour Merchant of Cromford

S J Sheldons sister Martha married my Grt Grandfather Joseph Walker as his 3rd wife she my true Grt Grandmother
Joseph Wlker was a Master Stonemason and founded Joseph Walker & Sons Building Contractors in 1855
His 1st wife Anne Wright was my blood kin by my fathers family of Frost and Wheatcroft Aannes Grt Uncfle and Aunt were Anthony and Hannah Alsop nee Wright Anthony along wqith his brother John Alsop of Lea Bridge being Lead Merchants and Smelters at Bonsall Wensley and Lea Bridge
Anthony Alsop was Barmaster of the Soke & Wapentake of Wirksworth his daughter Lydia and John Alsops son Luke Alsop married thier hiers being the Miller and Wass family
Luke Alsop was also Barmaster ..Up to recent months i had his diary in my care which I donated to Derbyshire C C Archives Library along with other documents ..

Samuel J sheldon was Deputy Barmaster Soke & Wapentake of Wirksworth and Barmaster of Crich Liberty
I have many of his private documents in my care..
My7 Grt Grandfather and S J Sheldon owned the full shares also of Snake Mine Hopton Wood ie S J 22/24ths Joseph Walker 2/24ths

My Grt Grandfather was also a partner with his brothers George Wigley Walker and William Walker at Bullestree and Moletrap Lead mines Willersley Cromford which are situated near Cromford Railway Station and Willersley Castle
Joseph was a silent partner...

My 7X and 6XGrandfathers Thomas and William Hoades were owners of Browns Wood near Lea Bridge 1700s which they purchased from my kinsman John Spateman of Roadnook Farm Wessington (Wood End House built by Peter Nightingale 2nd is built on the land ) They were also partners with the Greensmiths of Steeple Grange (Manor House ) 1680s - 1750s at Ratchwood Founder Orchard Grove and Raventor Mines Colehills and Rise End Middleton
Herberet Greensith Beard of the Greensmioth family sold the manor House Steeple Grange to Sir Richard Arkwright who had the estate demolished and with the dressed gritstone quarried locally at Bolehill built his first Cotton Mill on what is now Mill lane Cromford (known in Arkwrights time as The High Road ) My wifes 6XGrandfather Benjamin Pearson was Arkwright's Bailiff at Cromford Moor Sough which along with Bonsall Brook fed the water wheel at his MIll.. Benjmin Pearson was also Agent at The Dovegange Mine Richard Arkwrights son Richard married Mary Simpson of Bonsall she Grt Neioce of my 5XGrandfather Peter Simpson Fulling Miller at Mill House Green Wirksworth on land he leased from his Gell family and where Sir Richard built a Mill in the 1770s on land which he leased from Gells which by 1810 was known as Haarlem Mill when John Hackett of Derby leased the mill from Richard Arkwright son of Sir Richard, Richard 2nd having purchased the land by then
The Simpson family are hiers of the Blackwall Berresforde Gell and Wigley family

many thanks for the information john kyle
[email protected]

Good information Henry, thanks. I'm sure far more are reading and appreciating them than replying. Hope to see more :flowers:

---

I was particularly interested to read about Benjamin Pearson being a bailiff and agent for Richard Arkwright. This is probably a silly question - but how do you know this? Are there records of employees?

Also I wondered if you have any more information about the Pearsons around or before 1769? I am interested in how knowledgeable and skilled people moved from using engineering skills in mining to cotton spinning, and I am interested in the Pearsons for genealogy reasons. So any more information would be very appreciated.

Thanks.

As no-one else seems to be answering this, I will post a basic answer.

The Derby Mercury newspaper of 15 July 1784 p4c3 has an advert for calico workers. Apply to Peter Nightingale Esq at Lea, or Benjamin Pearson at Lea Cotton Mill. Benjamin Pearson is frequently mentioned in the Barmaster’s Books for Cromford Liberty during the 1770s as agent for Gang Mine. He also acted as agent for Peter Nightingale in taking mines in Cromford Liberty.

The book “The Arkwrights: Spinners of Fortune” by R.S. Fitton, published 1989, on p.105 states that Benjamin Pearson had worked for Arkwright for 7 years up to 1782 when he was poached by Nightingale, who was later fined 20 guineas for this. Benjamin Pearson’s partnership with Nightingale ended on 28 March 1785.

If you consult Google Booksearch and put
“Benjamin Pearson” +Arkwright
into the search box, it will bring up Fitton’s book and one is allowed to see the relevant pages.

As for researching the genealogy of the Pearson family, this is covered in Ince’s Pedigrees which are available on the Wirksworth.org website. The genealogy is rather difficult because of the frequency of some names, e.g. Thomas Pearson, which is very common in Matlock Parish.

Benjamin Pearson would have been using man-management skills to direct the workforce at the mill, which he would also do to a certain extent when acting as a mine agent. Engineering skills wouldn't really come into managing the mill - he would have needed a degree of mining knowledge to deal with miners working for him, as this would tend to be done by negotitating a price with a partnership of miners to work a length of vein or sink a depth of shaft, whereas the mill workers would be waged employees on set tasks.

---