Welcome to my family history website.  This page covers the family of Harriet Ellen Jones’ mother, Sarah Ann (“Annie”) Liptrot and her parents, Richard Liptrot and Sarah Crook. The Liptrot family were an industrial working-class family from Lancashire, England where their ancestry can be traced back to the early 1800s.  The surname Liptrot is not found in the online indexes for the 1881 or 1901 censuses for Canada, thus it is believed that this family is the first of the surname Liptrot to immigrate to Canada.

Origin of the Surname Liptrot

The name Liptrot may seem rather obscure to us here in Canada, but in Lancashire, England, where the name is believed to originate, it is rather common. The name has many different variations. It can be rendered as Liptrot, Liptrott, Lyptrot, or Lyptrott, and is related to Liptrap and Liptrat as well as every possible spelling variation of each.

The origin of the name has led to some interesting speculation. Some have suggested that it could be a characteristic surname combining lip + trot, implying an ancestor whose lips “trotted” – that is, someone who talked a lot or possibly couldn’t keep a secret. The problem with that explanation is that the name is also related to the surname Liptrap which could come from lip + trap, implying an ancestor whose lips were like a trap — quite the opposite connotation as someone with “trotting” lips.

However it is more likely that the name is not English at all, but an Anglicization of the German name, Liobtrut or Liebetraut, which comes from the Old High German liub, meaning “beloved” or “dear” (related to the Old English leof) and trut, meaning “a friend” or “sweetheart” (related to the English word “true”). The combination could mean “dearly loved”, “beloved friend”, or “trustworthy”. The variants Liubtrut and Liebtrut are sometimes used in Germany today as women’s given names. In the Middle High German dialect, the name became Lieptrut, Lieptraut, and even Lieptrap.  The name Liebetraut would have been pronounced something like “LEEB-uh-troot” (with a rolled “r”) and was apparently too German sounding for English folks to pronounce and it evolved into Liptrot (and variants).

It has been speculated in other Liptrot sources (and previously reported here) that sometime in the mid-16th century an eponymous German protestant named Liebetraut migrated to Lancashire, England to escape religious persecution at the height of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.  It has further been suggested that this Liebetraut is the one whose name morphed into Liptrot and was the ancestor of all English Liptrots.  However no such person has ever been found and such an explanation now seems overly simplistic.

As shown below, the surname Liptrot and its variants can be found in Lancashire records as early as 1409 — fully 150 years before the Reformation.  The name can also be found outside of Lancashire in 1584 in Nottingham and in 1602 in London.  However, it does appear that the name Liptrot probably does have its origins in the parish of Chorley, Lancashire as that is the location of the earliest occurrences of the name and it is not found outside of Chorley until the late 16th century.  If an eponymous German immigrant, named Liebetraut, did come to England, he was certainly here by the first decade of the 1400s at the latest.  Since the name is likely based on a German characteristic surname, which itself is probably not unique in origin, it seems far more likely that there were several people named Liebetraut (or similar) who immigrated from Germany to England as early as the the 14th century and probably well through the Reformation period.  To suggest that all persons of the surname Liptrot are descended from one such German immigrant is probably too simplistic. 

However, the story of an eponymous German Protestant refugee is not entirely to be dismissed either.  Stories like this that get passed down in families often have some basis in historical fact, albeit often exaggerated or embellished.  What is plausible is that such an eponymous German Protestant refugee named Liebetraut (or similar) may have fled Germany during the early Reformation period for a safe haven in England, and that he may have settled in Chorley where others of his surname already lived, and that he MAY be the ancestor of one family of Liptrots.  But there were clearly other Liptrots in England nearly two hundred years before the Reformation.

Liptrot Family Photo

Photo taken ca. 1907, just prior to emigration.
Back Row: Joseph Kay, James Liptrot, Alice Anne Liptrot, Richard Evan Jones, Maude (wife of Richard Liptrot Jr), Richard Liptrot Jr, Robert Henry “Harry” Davies.
Middle Row: Thomas Crook Liptrot, Elizabeth Ellen Liptrot, Richard Liptrot Sr., Sarah Annie Liptrot, John (Jim) Groves, Rhoda Liptrot
Front Row: Elizabeth Bradley, Mable Howarth

The Liptrots in Bolton, Lancashire, England

Our Liptrots originated in the Bolton area of Lancashire, England. Bolton is part of the Greater Manchester area. The reader is referred to the Jones Family History for a description of Victorian Manchester area. The same description given for Manchester would also apply to Bolton as well, though to a somewhat lesser degree.

The earliest confirmed ancestor of our Liptrot family is James LIPTROT, born 1823 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He is believed to be the son of Charles and Nancy Liptrot of Bolton, Lancashire, England, but his birth is not confirmed.

James Liptrot and Mary Ann Openshaw

James LIPTROT was born in 1823 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He lived most of his life in Little Bolton working as an engine driver and engine tenter (I have no idea what that is) in a cotton mill.  It is believed that he was rather poor as he spent his final years living as a widower and inmate in the Bolton Union Workhouse in Farnworth, Lancashire, England.  James Liptrot married ABT JUN 1844 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Mary Ann OPENSHAW b: 1819 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  It is believed that Mary Ann was the daughter of Richard Openshaw, but this is not confirmed.  James and Mary Ann had the following children:

1.  Richard LIPTROT b: ABT DEC 1844 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He married Sarah Crook and their story continues just below.
2.  Elizabeth LIPTROT b: ABT JUN 1847 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  Elizabeth is not living with her parents in 1871. It is presumed that she was married by this time.
3.  James LIPTROT b: 1852 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  James worked in a cotton mill, but his occupation is illegible in the 1871 census records.  Two possible occurrences for our James can be found in the 1881 census, both born about 1852 in Bolton. Earlier records show the other of these to be the son of Matthew Liptrot formerly of Cheshire. However there is no way at present to determine which of the two James Liptrots found in 1881 is the son of James and which is the son of Matthew.  James is not found in the 1891 census for England or Wales. He is presumed to have died or emigrated.
4.  Esther Ellen LIPTROT b: ABT 14 AUG 1853 in Bolton Le Moors, Lancashire, England.  Esther Ellen Liptrot is believed to have married in the March Quarter of 1875 to either Edward LONSDALE or John TODD, however neither can be found in the 1881 census. It is presumed that she either died between 1875-1881 or emigrated.
5.  Robert LIPTROT b: 1863 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  Robert has not been found in the 1880/81 censuses for UK, USA, or Canada. He is presumed to have died or emigrated elsewhere between 1871-1881.

Richard Liptrot and Sarah Crook

Richard Liptrot was born about December 1844 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He worked for most of his life as a machine operator in the cotton mills of Bolton.  He married about 1865 probably in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Sarah CROOK, but no record has been found of this marriage.  Sarah Crook was born 1845 in Bolton, Lancashire, England as the daughter of Thomas Crook and Alice Tonge.  Sarah died between 1894-99.  In 1901 Richard is shown as a widower working as an assistant in a fried fish shop. 

In 1907, most the children of Richard Liptrot and Sarah Crook made the decision to leave Bolton and move to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It’s likely that they were moving to escape the poor living and working conditions in late Victorian Lancashire. Hamilton, Ontario promised to offer similar industrial employment to that of Bolton, but with less of the poverty, exploitation, and corruption� well, at least somewhat less.

Richard and Sarah Liptrot had the following family:

1.  Alice Anne LIPTROT b: ABT SEP 1864 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married ABT SEP 1889 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to John GROVES b: 1863 in Bolton, Lancashire, England, however family tradition recalls his name as Jim Groves.  They immigrated in 1907 to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.  Family tradition further records that they had five children.
   1.  Wilfred GROVES b: 1892 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   2.  Harold GROVES b: 1895 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   3.  Child GROVES b: AFT 1901 in England
   4.  Child GROVES b: AFT 1901 in England
   5.  Child GROVES b: AFT 1901 in England
2.  James Openshaw LIPTROT b: ABT MAR 1870 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  James did not immigrate to Canada, but remained in Bolton.  He married ABT SEP 1892 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Mable HOWARTH b: 1870 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  They had the following children:
   1.  Ethel LIPTROT b: ABT DEC 1894 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   2.  Herbert LIPTROT b: ABT SEP 1896 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
3.  Elizabeth Ellen LIPTROT b: ABT JUN 1871 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She was called “Pellen”.  She married ABT JUN 1892 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Joseph KAY , Sr. b: 1868 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  They did not immigrate to Canada, but remained in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  They had the following children:
   1.  Beatrice Alice KAY b: ABT JUN 1893 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   2.  Thomas Haworth KAY b: ABT JUN 1903 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   3.  Joseph KAY , Jr. b: 1906 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He married ANNE, b: ABT 1906 in England.  They had the following child:
      1.  Living KAY.  This person’s descendant information is withheld for privacy reasons.
4.  Thomas Crook LIPTROT b: 18 JUN 1875 in 20 Hibbert Street, Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  In England he worked as a coal dealer.  He married firstly ABT JUN 1903 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Elizabeth BRADLEY b: 1877 in England.  They had one son before immigrating to Hamilton, Ontario, where they had two more children.  Thomas worked initially as a brick-layer with his brother-in-law Richard Jones.  He then went to work for Proctor and Gamble in Hamilton.  Thomas’ descendants moved to Windsor, Ontario.  (Thomas Crook Liptrot should not be confused with his contemporary, another Thomas Liptrot, who was a competitive cyclist in Hamilton.)  After the death of Elizabeth in 1928, it is believed that Thomas married secondly in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to a woman named Mary, with whom he had no children.  Thomas and Elizabeth had the following children:
   1.  Thomas LIPTROT b: 31 MAY 1904 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  He married about 1937 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to Peggy GRAHAM b: 1920 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  They had the following children:
      1.  Donald Thomas LIPTROT b: 1939 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  He died at birth.
      2.  Bradley LIPTROT, b: 1940 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada.  Brad was formerly a fellow researcher on this project.  He passed away in 2009.
   2.  Walter LIPTROT b: 1911 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  He died as a child.
   3.  Lillian LIPTROT b: AFT 1911 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario
5.  Rhoda LIPTROT b: ABT DEC 1877 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married ABT JUN 1900 in Bolton, Lancashire, England to Robert Henry “Harry” DAVIES.  He was born 1877 in Tintwhistle, Cheshire, England and worked as a waterworks labourer.  They had the following children and then immigrated to Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada:
   1.  Annie DAVIES b: ABT 1902 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   2.  Harry DAVIES b: 1905 in Bolton, Lancashire, England
   3.  Edith DAVIES b: 1910 in Probably Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  She married William BATCH and had the following children:
      1.  Betty BATCH b: UNKNOWN
      2.  Living BATCH
6.  Sarah Annie LIPTROT b: 22 DEC 1880 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She went by “Annie”.  Annie worked as a cotton winder with her father in the cotton mills.  She was a beautiful contralto singer in their local church choir at Ulswater Street Methodist Church in Bolton. It was in the choir that she met a gallant tenor and flute player named Dick Jones. Annie married on 12 JUL 1902 in Ulswater Street Methodist, Bolton, Lancashire, England to Richard Evan JONES b: 6 NOV 1879 in Harpurhey, Manchester, Lancashire, England.  In 1907 they immigrated to Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada along with most of both of their extended families. They had the following children.  This is the author’s family and their story is continued in the Jones Family History.
   1.  Edna Anne JONES b: 24 NOV 1903 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  For more information please refer to the Jones Family History.
   2.  Harriett Ellen JONES b: 13 OCT 1906 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  For more information please refer to the Jones Family History.
   3.  Hilda Mae JONES b: 10 MAY 1910 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  For more information please refer to the Jones Family History.
7.  Richard LIPTROT , Jr. b: 1883 in Bolton, Lancashire, England.  Richard worked in England as a coal carter, probably for his brother Thomas who was a coal dealer.  He married on 3 JUL 1906 in All Souls’ Church, Bolton, Lancashire, England to Maude Edith JONES b: 30 JUN 1883 in Red Lake, Wellington, England.  Richard must have been the last of the Liptrots to emigrate. His siblings emigrated in 1907, but Richard’s daughter was born in England in 1912, so Richard must have emigrated after 1912.  Richard and Maude settled in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  In Hamilton, Richard worked for CIL for 29 years. He was a member of Calvary United Church where he served as a trustee.  Richard and Maude had the following children.  (Photos at right: Richard, Maude, Leslie and Sarah; 2. Richard and Maude at a later date.)
   1.  Sarah Ann LIPTROT b: 2 JUN 1912 in Little Bolton, Lancashire, England.  She married ABT 1937 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario to Donald Percy ELLIS b: ABT 1912 in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  Donald worked as an electrician for Westinghouse.  His obit reads: “A man of high ideals, Don was an active unionist and a dedicated socialist. His sudden passing is a distinct loss to the movement and to all with whom he came in contact.” Don was an active member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Party (for-runner to the New Democratic Party). The home was a popular place for socialist politicians and activists.  In 1940, during the Westinghouse strike, a neighbouring house was vandalized and painted with “SCAB”. Because of Don’s politics and proximity he was arrested on suspicion, but later released.  They had the following children:
      1.  Living ELLIS – not published for privacy reasons.
      2.  Living ELLIS – not published for privacy reasons.
   2.  Leslie LIPTROT b: AFT 1912 probably in Hamilton, Wentworth, Ontario.  Leslie’s exact dates of birth and death are uncertain. Itis believed that he was born in Canada, but even this is not certain.  Leslie died tragically at age 13. He was attending summer camp and received severe sunburn. The camp nurse burst his blisters and he contracted blood poisoning and died.

This concludes the known descendants of our Liptrot family.

Early Records of the Surname Liptrot

Records of the surname, Liptrot, prior to the mid-1600s in Lancashire include:

	In 1409, the Parker Estate Records of Hawkshead-Talbot of Chorley, Lancashire record a Thomas Liptrot Sr. on a title deed.
	In 1487, the Parker Estate Records of Hawkshead-Talbot of Chorley, Lancashire record a John Liptrot on the losing end of a dispute with James Parker worth 6 marks.
	As early as 1552, parish records from Chorley, Lancashire show births and marriages for Liptrots.
	In 1607/08, the Brook Estate Records of Hawkshead-Talbot of Chorley, Lancashire record a William Liptrot involved in a dispute regarding church pews. (!?!)
	On 9 Jan. 1616/7, Clifton family records of Lytham, Lancashire, list a William Liptrot of Chorley as a witness in a post-mortem inquisition regarding William Browne, a yeoman.
	On 2 January 1623/24, Lancashire County records show an Alexander Liptrot, a linen-webster from Chorley, Lancashire, as listed in an inheritance from William Hodgkinson of Hesketh (gentleman, son and heir of Henry Hodgkinson of Garstange, gentleman, son and heir of Richard Hodgkinson of Preston)
	In the summer of 1650, Lancashire County Quarter records show an Alice Liptrot suing Edward Wishawe, the father of her bastard child, for support.
	In 1658, the Assembly Records for the city of Chester, Cheshire, show a William Liptrot as the head schoolmaster of the Free School, with an annual salary of �20.
	In the summer of 1666, Lancashire County Quarter records show a petition in Ormskirk to Richard Charnock for the habitation of Myles Liptrot, a collier.
	The variant surnames of Liptrap and Libtrot do not seem to show up in records before the mid-1700s in Lancashire.

Other early occurrences of the surname Liptrot prior to the mid-1600s outside of Lancashire include:

	On 28 May 1584 records from the Cavendish family, Dukes of Newcastle upon Tyne, show a Thomas Liptrat as a witness to a land transaction from Gilbert, Lord Talbott to Edmund Ayre of Carberton, gentleman, in Milnthorpe, Nottinghamshire.
	In 1604, Luke Liptrapp, son of Richard Liptrapp was christened in the parish of St. Giles Cripplegate, in London. Two years earlier, the same Richard, then known as Richard Lyptrit, married Sarah Powstar at St. Margaret Moses Church in London, April 11, 1602. Their first son, Jonas Liptratt, was baptized at St. Giles Cripplegate on January 30, 1602.

Research Leads

The family James Liptrot and Mary Ann Openshaw are not found in the 1851 census.

There are three James Liptrots found in Bolton in 1841 all b. ca. 1826

Thomas LIPTROT, 55 (1786), Lancashire, Labourer, res Great Moor Street, Great Bolton, Bolton Le Moors, Lancashire, England. Wife, Nancy, 55 (1786), Lancashire

1. Thomas LIPTROT, 25 (1816), Lancashire, Labourer
2. Charles LIPTROT, 20 (1821), Lancashire, Cotton Carder
3. James LIPTROT (1826), Lancashire, Cotton Piercer

Charles LIPTROT, 55 (1816), Lancashire, Weaver, res Oliver Row, Little Bolton, Bolton Le Moors, Lancashire, England, Wife, Nancy (1786), Lancashire.

1. Richard LIPTROT, bap 31 DEC 1815 in St. Peter, Bolton Le Moors (not found in 1841)
2. Thomas LIPTROT, 20 (1821), Lancashire, Mechanic (bap 19 APR 1818, St. Peter, Bolton Le Moors)
3. Alice LIPTROT, 15 (1826), Lancashire, Mill (bap 22 APR 1821, St. Peter, Bolton Le Moors)
4. James LIPTROT, 15 (1826), Lancashire, Grinder (bap 12 OCT 1823, St. Peter, Bolton Le Moors)

(Father Robert LIPTROT, d bef 1841) Betty LIPTROT, 50 (1791), Lancashire, Independent, res Lane End, Tonge with Haugh, Bolton Le Moors, Lancashire, England. (Living next door to Alice Bradley and son John)

1. Thomas LIPTROT, 27 (1814), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 5 MAR 1815 in St. George, Bolton Le Moors)
2. William LIPTROT, 22 (1819), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 18 JUN 1820)
3. John LIPTROT, 20 (1821), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 8 FEB 1818)
4. Betsy LIPTROT, 19 (1822), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 1 SEP 1822)
5. Richard LIPTROT, 17 (1824), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 4 JUL 1824 in St. George, Bolton Le Moors)
6. James LIPTROT, 15 (1826), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 20 JAN 1827)
7. Robert LIPTROT, 13 (1827), Lancashire, Cotton Carder (bap 21 MAY 1829)