Leighton, William Brogg (1810-1884)

William Brogg Leighton - 1879
Jubilee of the PM Sunday School Ballast Hills
Leighton PM Church Trustees in 1876
Jubilee Souvenir, 1927
Leighton PM Church Trustees 1896
Jubilee Souvenir, 1927
'In Memoriam' card
James Coltman - first class ticket

Early Life

William was born on 27 July 1810 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland to parents Thomas Leighton and Isabella Liddell. William was baptised on 26 August 1810 at All Saints, Newcastle upon Tyne.

Business Life

William worked as a printer and bookseller, building society treasurer (Northern Counties Building Society) and valuer. He carried on a country butter and egg retail trade on market days.

He was a member of the first School Board of Newcastle and a director of the Byker Bridge Company.

Contribution to the Connexion

William was a pioneer of the temperance movement and a local preacher. His wife, Mary, was the first female in Newcastle-upon-Tyne to sign the pledge!

William started a Sunday School (of which he remained superintendent for fifty-one years) in 1829 and was instrumental in establishing the Ballast Hills chapel in 1841. (The chapel continued in existence until 1955) When a new place of worship was opened in 1877 it was named Leighton PM Church in recognition of William’s significant contribution to the cause. (The church closed in 1965.)

Family

William married Mary Hedley (1814-1866) on 10 July 1836 at Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne. Census returns identify three children. See the attached obituary for Mary which provides an interesting insight into her life and death.

  • Elizabeth (1837-1909) – married James Coltman on 23 March 1859
  • Isabella (1842-1906) – married Joseph Wootton, a furrier and general merchant, in 1863
  • Mary Jane (abt1850-1925) – married Alexander Morton, a railway clerk (1881)

William died on 25 April 1884 at Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland.

There was no obituary in the Primitive Methodist magazine for William, which seems unusual for such a prominent Primitive Methodist. There is a hint in his probate record suggesting that at the end of his life there may have been some financial difficulties. His estate was relatively modest £172 and the executor was not one of the family but a creditor.

References

Primitive Methodist Magazine 1857/445 (brother Joseph); 1867/737 (Mary)

W M Patterson, Northern Primitive Methodism

Jubilee of the Primitive Methodist Sunday School, Ballast Hills, Newcastle upon Tyne, 1879

Leighton Primitive Methodist Church Jubilee Souvenir, 1877-1927

Census Returns and Births, Marriages & Deaths Registers

 

Note: James Coltman was a grocer by trade, becoming a city councillor and Justice of the Peace. Although he had been a Wesleyan in 1849, after his marriage he and his wife were prominent workers in the PM Church.

James and Elizabeth had a daughter, Amelia Jane (1866-1944). Amelia married Charles Frederick Hunter (1852-1935) on 23 March 1886. Charles was a local preacher and trustee of Leighton OM Church. Three of their sons were killed in WW1: Charles Frederick, jnr (1887-1918), Arnold Coltman (1891-1917) and Arthur Lawrence (1893-1918).

Their daughter Edith Amelia (1889-1961) married John William Telford (1891-1973) on 25 March 1919. Their daughter Edith Kathleen (Kay) was born in 1925. The pictures on this page have been provided by Kay.

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