First, are there any known Horrocks family connections to the Chartists?

Second, Ann left England in 1872, which means that she lived through the Lancashire Cotton Famine which was triggered by the American Civil War and put up to 60 percent of the textile labor force out of work. How did the family weather those difficult times?

Third, any clues as to where she worked? It may or may not be evident from census or other records. Some of those textile mills are still standing and are run as museums.

Fourth, for an interesting view of what her life might have been like, I’d recommend the miniseries North & South starring Richard Armitage and others.

“…One bright Sunday afternoon in July 1912, while the people were enjoying Sacrament meeting [in Pacheco], a runner came up from Juarez with a message which was for everyone to leave for the United States. He told them to just take one trunk and one roll of bedding per family, and to all gather at the public square Tuesday morning by sun-up…Chicken coop doors and corral gates were opened that the animals might go free. Prayers were said, the doors closed, and they left for the public square. Instructions were given the people by the Bishop and again prayer was offered in the group, and one by one the wagons pulled out and formed a line…When the wagon train was out a few miles from home, a band of Mexicans rode up and stopped it. They were checking for fire arms. Some of the men had their guns with them, but they were cleverly hidden. Had the Mexicans found them, some of the group may have lost their lives. It was with a sigh of relief and a prayer of thankfulness in their hearts when the Mexicans rode away. The wagon train wended its way through the mountains and down a very rough, San Diego Canyon, across the flats to Dub1an where they boarded a train and was taken to E1 Paso, Texas. The first place they stayed was in a big lumber yard shed which was cleaned out to accommodate the refugees. Each family was given a section to stay in. Quilts and canvasses were hung up for partitions, to get what privacy they could….It looked like the people weren’t going to get back to their homes, so the government offered to send them anywhere in the United States they would like to go…They travelled by train to Richfield, Sevier County, Utah, where they were greeted by many relatives and friends. They never did get to go back to their home in Old Mexico…”

I posted this bit on Facebook last week because I thought it was funny:

Birmingham (England) Daily Post, 5 Sept. 1872: “Yesterday no fewer than five hundred and ninety Mormons left Liverpool for New York, en route for Utah. If, therefore, any husband has to mourn the loss of a truant wife, he may adapt the refrain of a song very popular at the music halls, and say — ‘Perhaps she’s on the railway, perhaps she’s on the sea, perhaps she’s gone to Brigham Young, a Mormonite to be.’”

To which Jeff added:

My ancestor, Ann Horrocks Marsh and her four daughters, left Liverpool on 4 September 1872, sailing on the “Minnesota.” Elder Thomas Dobson, a returning missionary, served as the group leader for 203 Mormons.

It just seems appropriate to memorialize that here.