Great Grandfather James Danson in the Stocks - A Black Sheep in the Family

  

The only photograph of my great grandfather James Danson, came from his daughter's shoebox collection. 

James, sitting in the stocks in the square at Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire  is the merry bearded figure on the left, clearly enjoying life.

Poulton is a small town east of its more famous neighbour the seaside holiday town of Blackpool.  Poulton, though had the far longer history, noted for the church of St. Chad's and its market square with a stone slab table for selling wares, and for those who fell foul of the law the old whipping post and stocks.

By all accounts of his grandchildren, James was something of a ne'er do well with anecdotal comments that "Granny had a hard time with him".

James was born in 1852 at Trap Farm, Carleton, the nineth child  of Henry Danson and Elizabeth Calvert. A joiner, he married 18 year old Maria Rawcliffe in 1877 at St. Anne's Church,  Singleton  and in 1881 they were living at Potts's Alley, off Poulton Square. It was ironic that Maria,  one of seven daughters,  and James with six sisters (and two brothers) should go on to have ten sons before their only daughter Jennie in 1897.   

James died in 1906 at the age of 53.  

See other blog postings for more tales of the Dansons and Rawcliffe families.