Persons of Interest – Charles Hiley Posted 13 May 2019 by Tessa Keough Charles Hiley, a great great grandfather, was born in Walsden near Todmorden, once part of Lancashire but now in Yorkshire, in 1822. As soon as he was old enough he started working in the Cotton Mill. All the official records during his lifetime show him as a Power Loom Weaver apart from the 1861 census when he was listed as a Hair Cutter. Charles married Betty Harrison, the daughter of a Woodcutter, and between them they brought up 11 children. Until his marriage Charles’s surname was always spelt Highley, but after that he was generally known as Hiley. – Alma Street in Walsden – where Charles lived at the end of his life Charles helped to found the local Wesleyan Methodist Chapel and served it as trustee, class leader and teacher. He was a Radical and would walk for miles to listen to political agitators such as Feargus O’Connor, the Chartist leader. Lanebottom, Walsden, Wesleyan Chapel and School No photo remains of Charles but there was a picture of him on the wall inside the Chapel, sadly lost when the Chapel was demolished in the 1960s. The Todmorden Advertiser remembered him as ‘one of those quiet, unostentatious men who are welcome in every community.’ Charles died in 1899 and is buried along with Betty and other family members in the graveyard at Mankinholes, a wild setting high up on the moors above the Calder valley. The graveyard at Mankinholes Written at the bottom of the gravestone are the words ‘They Rest From Their Labours’. Christopher Hiley, Member 7772 On the second and fourth Mondays of each month, we share a short story provided by a member about a person of interest in their one-name study. Whether your person is good, bad, or simply interesting or unusual, please send us your story. This post is from Guild member Christopher Hiley, who is working on his Hiley ONS. Christopher is a member of the Guild’s Lancashire Region. His Hiley ONS is a category 1 with 1 variant, and it has a profile, a registered/members’ website, and he publishes a newsletter/blog. Christopher has been a member of the Guild since 2017. Why not submit a story (200-300 words OR a bit longer if need be) about a person of interest in your own one-name study. Email each story and image(s) to marketing@one-name.org.