Abraham Mosley Bastow and chartism

It is very rare to find any narrative about family members outside formal and statutory records.
This is generally true for any activism, beyond religion anyway.
Peterloo is a noticeable event in early 19th century political stifle with accounts of Bastow family
members attending. Although these Bastow brothers were very definitely silk weavers hailing from
Middleton1, actually being at the demonstration may be apocryphal.

Abraham Mosley Bastow moved from Middleton to the Littlemoss2 area of Droylsden around 1828 3
bringing all his family with him. Abraham Bastow probably followed one of his sisters to the Droylsden /
Ashton under-lyne area as Esther Taylor (nee Bastow) is recorded living in the St Peters area of Ashton
on the 1841 census.

On 27th January 1839, the following advert was placed in The Operative newspaper by Abraham Bastow.
It is a brief synopsis of an evening public meeting held on Thursday 17th January which had
Timothy Higgins of Ashton as a speaker4.

The Operative_London Sun 27-Jan-1839

Essentialy, they demanded voting rights for all adult males while also considering funding for their campaign.

Without going into extensive detail, Chartism was a political struggle of the working classes which started
in the late 1830's. Emanating from industrial centres of England & Wales during the industrial revolution,
it continued the demands for reforms seen at the meeting at Peterloo in 1819 and through to the
reform act of 1832.

There is no record of any political activity in the family before then and it takes until 1929 for this to change
when Herbert Harry Arundel Barstow becomes a Liberal party agent5. This is in addition to
Robert Barstow some years later after that as an elected representative from the 1950's on.
Abraham Bastow died of TB 10 years following this Chartism involvement while still living in Droylsden,
on Ashton new road.

Abraham Barstow death certificate 1849


The Barstow family moved to Hooley hill, Audenshaw about 15 years later where most of the Arundale family lived.

Sources
1. A Bastow Family by Way of Peterloo - Don Bastow, ISBN ISBN 095299061X, page 38.
2. England and Wales Census 1841 HO 107/581/8 folio 23a Public records offfice website.
3. Death entry for Burial of Edwin Bastow - Son of Abram Bastow & Mary - 23 Oct 1828 St Leonard, Middleton. Abode: Droylsden - see lancs opc.
4. Chartism Ashton under-lyne.
5. The Kent and Sussex Courier Friday 8th March 1929, p10 British newspaper archive.

Thanks to Alison & Don for source material.

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Last updated 05-October-2023