The Trip of a Lifetime - Part 1 Ormskirk

After talking about doing a family history trip back to the UK, finally earlier this year I set out on my adventure. I didn't take my husband - archive offices and cemeteries were not going to be his thing.
Not being a lover of driving, I chose public transport as the way to get around for the 6 weeks I was away. My plan was to spend most of my time in a few key locations where I wanted to do family research and immerse myself in the places where some of my ancestors lived, and finish up in London. 

First stop Ormskirk, in Lancashire... my WIGNALL ancestors. I explored the market town, walked from Ormskirk up the hill to Aughton, and also visited the Lancashire Record Office in Preston.

These were my research goals:
- to find the baptism and therefore the parents of my gr gr gr gr grandfather, John Wignall in about 1787.
- to find out if his son, John Wignall, married a second time to Elizabeth Barton in 1846, after his wife Ellen Parr died, and just prior to his own death.
- to find out if William Wignall, curate of Aughton, was related to my Wignall family.

The Windmill Inn in Mill Lane

I stayed just around the corner from where my great great grandmother, Margaret Wignall aged 2, lived in 1841 with her parents, in Mill Lane in Ormskirk. 
Margaret's early life was very sad. Her grandmother died in 1839, her grandfather in 1840, her mother, Ellen (Eleanor) Parr in 1845, her father John Wignall in 1846. She had only one sister, Ann, that I have been able to find, and Ann died in 1852, aged 16. By the time Margaret was 14, she had lost all of her closest family.  

St Peter and St Paul Church at Ormskirk

When I went to the Lancashire record office, I found the will of John Wignall yeoman of Ormskirk in 1846. It confirmed that John did indeed marry Elizabeth. He left his estate under 300 pounds to his two daughters, Ann and Margaret and the interest to his widow, so long as she looked after his daughters and remained his wife.

Page I of the Inventory of John Wignall (1787 - 1840)

I was hoping to find out more about Margaret's grandfather, John Wignall, born in about 1787, a miller and farmer of Aughton, who died in 1840. John Snr died intestate. I found his administration, which was gave a window into his life, as it included a 3 page inventory of all his belongings. I didn't find any other clues to his parents.

As for the Rev William Wignall, I confirmed from the wills of his siblings that he was one of the sons of John Wignall, the clockmaker. Whether the Ormskirk clockmaker family and my Wignall family are related is still a question.