A family history spanning the Atlantic is bringing a Dallas woman to Warrington in the hope of reconnecting with relatives whose roots lie deep in Burtonwood’s brewing past.
Amy Bartlett, living thousands of miles away in Dallas, Texas, is hoping Warrington Worldwide readers can help her uncover the missing branches of her family tree – a family with a remarkable connection to the history of Burtonwood and its famous brewery.
Amy contacted Warrington Worldwide after tracing her ancestry back through generations to Lancashire, and ultimately to the Forshaw family associated with the historic Burtonwood Brewery.
Her search is not simply about names and dates on a family tree. It is about reconnecting with a part of her family’s history which has survived across generations and an ocean.
Amy’s grandfather was Nolan Daniel Forshaw, born in Texas on September 6, 1912, whose father was Walter Edward Forshaw, born in 1881.
Walter’s father was James Forshaw, born around 1845 in Lancashire, placing Amy’s direct ancestral line firmly back in the Warrington area.
James Forshaw is particularly significant because genealogical research indicates that he belonged to the same family tree as James and Jane (Parr) Forshaw, who purchased land on Bold Lane in March 1867 and established what would become the historic Burtonwood Brewery.
The brewery became an important part of the area’s industrial and social history, with the Forshaw name subsequently becoming synonymous not only with brewing but also with the development of a successful regional business.
Because James and Jane Forshaw had no children of their own, the brewery passed to their nephew Richard Forshaw, whose descendants continued the family enterprise for generations.
For Amy and her family, however, the story goes much deeper than the history of a brewery.
She says her branch of the Forshaw family has lived in Texas for more than a century, but the Lancashire connection has never been forgotten.
She grew up hearing stories about the family’s origins and has spent considerable time researching her ancestry in an attempt to establish exactly where the American branch fits into the wider Forshaw family story.
Now, the search has become a very personal one. Amy’s mother, Laverne Caroll Forshaw, was born on January 23, 1946, and is the daughter of Nolan Daniel Forshaw.
Together, mother and daughter are currently going through their family photographs in the hope of finding images which could help bring the story to life.
The photographs could provide a fascinating visual link between the Texas descendants and the Lancashire family from which they originated.
Amy is particularly keen to hear from anyone connected to the Forshaw, Dutton-Forshaw or Gilchrist families, as well as local historians or anyone who may have photographs, documents or memories relating to the Burtonwood Brewery and its former employees and dray crews.
She has no Facebook account and therefore cannot easily access the many local history groups where such information can sometimes be found.
Instead, she is turning to the Warrington community itself.
Her appeal is simple: “Does anyone in Warrington or Burtonwood know where the American branch of the Forshaw family fits into the wider family tree?”
And somewhere in an old family album in Warrington or Burtonwood, there may even be another photograph waiting to be discovered – one which could help bridge a family divide that has lasted for more than a century.
Amy said she would be “absolutely thrilled” to hear from any distant relatives or anyone who can shed light on her family’s Lancashire past.
For a family whose journey took them from Lancashire to the American South and ultimately Texas, the search has now come full circle.
Amy Bartlett can be contacted at calilove3939@gmail.com
If you have photographs, documents, family stories or information which could help Amy trace her Forshaw ancestry, Warrington Worldwide would also be interested in hearing from you.
Amy’s great great grandmother and father and their family
