The social reformer and benefactor John Fielden – aka: Honest John Fielden, John Fielden of Dawson Weir - was born at Millbrook House, Todmorden [17th January 1784].
He was the third son of Joshua Fielden, and began working in his father's mill at the age of 9.
With his brothers, he expanded the family cotton business at Todmorden to become a wealthy businessman.
He was MP for Oldham [1832-1847] / a JP for Lancashire / a cotton merchant in Manchester, Liverpool & New York.
On 12th September 1811, he married (1) Ann Grindrod [17??-1831] in Rochdale.
Ann was the daughter of John Grindrod, a Rochdale grocer
Children:
On 14th April 1834, he married (2) Elizabeth Dearden [1788-1851].
Elizabeth was the daughter of Edward Dearden
The family lived at Dawson Weir, Todmorden [1811].
In turn, a Quaker, Methodist, and Methodist Unitarian, he was a Radical MP for Oldham in 1833, 1835, 1837, and 1841.
In 1829, the family firm introduced the power loom to the Calder valley.
Fielden fought for shorter working hours, promoting the Ten Hours Act, and protested against the new Poor Law. He described the effects of the long hours and the exhaustion he experienced as a child working in the mill.
In 1832, William Milner published his The Mischiefs and Iniquities of Paper Money.
In 1833, he seconded a resolution to remove Sir Robert Peel from the Privy Council.
In 1836, he published a pamphlet entitled The Curse of the Factory System, an account of the origin of factory cruelties.
An opponent of the Poor Law, he argues that many workers were not responsible for their own poverty.
Following the Mankinholes Riots, the government sent a group to investigate whether John Fielden had incited, encouraged or supported the rioters.
During the Cotton Famine, he and his family paid unemployed workers to build roads, such as London Road, and buildings, such as Dobroyd Castle.
John died at Skeynes, Kent [29th May 1849] (aged 65) and was buried at Unitarian Chapel, Todmorden [4th June 1849].
Elizabeth died October 1851 (aged 63) and was buried at Christ Church, High Harrogate [29/10/1851]
Page Ref: QQ_174
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