Nancy Arrowsmith nee Beswick.
Born c. 1880, she married Mr Arrowsmith but produced no children, and died c. 1946. The marriage seems not to have been happy, with one anecdote of her fighting off a determined attempt to throttle her.
Her parents are unknown, but it is known that she had 2 siblings: Rachel Beswick and Jonathan Beswick My mother Elizabeth Shaw remembers this lady as Aunt Nancy, a formidable Royton character. Aunt Nancy lived in Glen Grove, Royton, and walked everywhere. She thought nothing of walking over to Rochdale in any weather, and never took a lift even when offered. The photo above features a dark skinned person (not a feature of Royton in the 1920s), and was probably taken in the USA in the 1920s.
In her house was a home-made tapestry (showing a hunting dog with a decorated border) signed Nancy Beswick 1847, now in my mother's house. The date is too early to be the same Nancy Beswick - but who made it? My mother's guess is that this could have been Aunt Nancy's aunt on the paternal side, perhaps being the origin of her name (and Elizabeth Shaw's middle name?). A family mystery hanging on my mother's wall.
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