james garrett frost + jane whitley
James Garrett was born on 28 November 1795 at Castle Rising and baptised the following March. He was the youngest of four sons born to Meadows Frost and his second wife Anne Willis. James left Norfolk along with two of his brothers and moved to Chester where they started a flour mill together.
James married Jane Whitely at St Oswald’s in Winwick, Lancashire on 11 May 1819. Jane was born in Warrington, the daughter of William Whitely, an iron monger, and his wife Margaret Birkett, and she was baptised at St Elphin, Warrington on 5 June 1795.
James and Jane had six children and their first son, James Garrett, was born on 10 April 1821 followed by Jane on 7 September 1822, Mary Whitley 20 April 1824 and Thomas William on 11 May 1825. All four children were baptised at the Cross Street Presbyterian Church in Manchester on 12 June 1826; the baptism record notes that their father was employed as a corn merchant and the family lived on Regent Road in Chorlton-on-Medlock near Manchester city centre.
Sadly, little Thomas died of measles on 14 February 1828 and was buried at the Rusholme Road Cemetery, a Dissenters burial ground in Chorlton-on-Medlock, four days later. John Whitley was born on 26 January 1830 and Charles Wardell was born on 31 January 1837 and baptised at St John in Chester on 5 June 1848. James and Jane lost a second child when their daughter Mary died of rheumatic gout on 15 December 1838; fourteen year old Mary was buried next to her brother Thomas at Rusholme Road Cemetery.
James died of heart disease in Manchester, aged only 45 years, on 17 July 1840 and he was buried in the family plot at the Rusholme Road Cemetery. One year later, Jane and her sons, James and Charles, were living at Trafalgar Place in Salford; her occupation is listed as ‘Independent’ and the household included three female servants so it appears that the family was still relatively well off following James’ death. Twenty year old son James’ occupation was simply listed as Warehouse but whether he worked in the family business or elsewhere is not known. Jane has not been located in the census but John Whitley was attending school in Broughton and was listed in the household of John Relly Beard, a Unitarian Minister, along with seven other boys.
Unitarianism
Unitarianism was a theological movement that grew out of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century and appeared first in Poland and Transylvania before spreading to England, Wales and America. As it transitioned from a movement to a denomination, it adopted a congregational form of governance whereby each congregation governed itself free from a central church authority. Unitarian beliefs contain key differences including the belief in the unity of God in one in contrast to the key Christian doctrine that defines God in the Trinity — Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Unitarian theology also questioned the divinity of Jesus, the notion of original sin and predestination and these beliefs put the early adherents in direct conflict with the established Catholic and Protestant churches. The first Unitarian church in England was established by Theophilus Lindsey and Joseph Priestley at the Essex Street Chapel in London in 1774 but they and other non-conformist churches were prohibited by law and often faced persecution. Unitarians gained some relief with the Doctrine of the Trinity Act of 1813 but they did not achieve full legal standing until the Dissenters' Chapel Act was passed by Parliament in 1844.
In 1851, Jane was living at Curzon Park in Chester along with her daughter Jane but her sons have not been traced in the census. Her son Charles married Edith Chapman in Chorlton in early 1858 and several months later, they had a son also named Charles Wardell. The marriage was shortlived however as the couple divorced only two years later. John Whitley was living on Swinton Avenue in Plymouth Grove when he died of epilepsy, aged only 29 years, on 17 October 1859. He was also buried in the family plot at Rusholme Road Cemetery.
By 1861, Jane had moved back to Chorlton and was living in Swinton Grove with her eldest son James who was employed as a merchant. One year later, her youngest son Charles died in Birkenhead but his body was returned to Manchester to be buried in the family plot. His will was proved by his brother, James, on 4 November and he left an estate valued at £16 000. Jane Whitely died on 1 May 1866 and she too was buried at the Rusholme Road Cemetery in Manchester.
Her daughter Jane has not been traced beyond the 1851 census but James Garrett remained in Chorlton-on-Medlock and worked as a corn merchant but it is not known if he worked for the family firm or elsewhere. He never married and died on 4 September 1872 leaving an estate valued at £80 000 and his will was proved the following month by his cousins Robert Frost and Francis Aylmer Frost. James Garrett left a number of large bequests to medical charities including £5000 to the Royal Infirmary Manchester, £3000 to the Salford Dispensary, £2000 to Manchester General Hospital and Dispensary for Sick Children and £2000 to the Barnes Convalescent Home in Cheadle.