Sarah BROADHURST was born on 03 May 1881 in Leigh, Lancashire and baptized on 07Jan 1882 in Newchurch, Lancashire. Sarah is the third child of eleven of Richard BROADHURST and Sarah Ann JONES. She married James WOODWARD, born about 1878 in Blackburn, in 1900 at St. James in Haslingden. Sarah and James had two children:

1. Sarah Alice (b abt 1901, Haslingden, Lancashire)
2. Frances (b 10 Mar 1908, Dover, NH)

1891 England Census. Sarah BROADHURST (9) lived at 2 Spadescroft (sp?) in the civil parish of Crompton, Lancashire. Her father, Richard BROADHURST, was a farm laborer and siblings Fanny (14) and Annie (12) were cotton mill workers. Crompton was a major cotton mill town. Also at home were her younger siblings; John Richard (8), Gertrude (4), Mary (3), Peter Ernest (2) and Nellie (1 month).

1901 England Census. Sarah is now Mrs. John James WOODWARD living in Haslingden, Lancashire at 465 Blackburn Road with her husband and 7 month old daughter, Sarah A. WOODWARD. The ecclesiastical parish is St John Stonefold. Sarah’s older sister, Fanny CROSSLEY nee Broadhurst and her husband Frank, live just around the corner at 2 Pilling Street. John James works as a cotton weaver and Sarah works in the cotton card room.

To America – 1907. Sarah’s husband John J. WOODWARD is aboard the Empress of Ireland which arrived into New Brunswick, Canada on 16 February 1907 in from Liverpool. Also on board were Frank CROSSLEY (31) and Violet CROSSLEY (likely Violet BROADHURST, 11) I don’t find Sarah listed on board but many of the pages of this manifest are illegible. Also on the manifest near John is James BROADHURST, he is an unknown Broadhurst at this time. Both John and James are headed to “Valleyfield.” There is a Valleyfield in Newfoundland.

1910 US Census. Sarah and James WOODWARD lived in Dover, New Hampshire at 130 Payne Street, now Henry Law Avenue along with their two children, Sarah A. (9) and son Francis (7). Also living with them at the time of the census is John Richard BROADHURST, his wife Edith Mary, their son Harold and 53 year old Irish servant, Margaret Scanlon. James Woodward works as a laborer in a cotton mill and Sarah is a cotton mill “Carder.”

Back To America -1919. Sarah WOODWARD nee Broadhurst (39) makes a return trip to America aboard the S.S. Vauban. With her are daughter Alice (18) and son Frances (10). They sail from Liverpool on 28 May 1919 and arrive in New York on June 8^th. Sarah’s calling is listed as “clerk” and Alice’s as “textile.” Sarah’s contact in England is recorded as Uncle John WOODWARD, 29 Hollin Street, Blackburn. Sarah is headed to her husband, John J. BROADHURST at Oakland Ave in Methuen, Massachusetts. Sarah is noted as 5′-2″ with brown hair and blue eyes. She notes that she “doesn’t know” if she intends to become a US citizen and that she’d previously been in America from 1908 to 1916.

1920 US Census. The family of John (42), Sarah (38), Alice (19) and Frances (11) BROADHURST live at 8 Oakland Ave in Methuen, Massachusetts. The residence is rented. John is a laborer in a print works facility, Sarah’s a “card room hand” in a cotton mill and Alice is a cotton mill (looks like) “luller”.

A daughter back from France. Twenty-one year old, single daughter, Frances WOODWARD returns from France aboard the S.S. Leviathan. She leaves from Cherbourg, France on 02 June 1929 and arrives in New York on 08 June 1929. Her address is “95^th & West End Ave, New York, New York.”

What then? Not much else is known of this family at this time except that, according to other family obituaries, Sarah WOODWARD lived in New York City in 1951 and in California by 1962.

The deaths of Sarah and John James. The Social Security Death Index lists Sarah Broadhurst WOODWARD passing away on 14 November 1968 in Los Angeles, California. Sarah was 87. The same index records John James WOODWARD‘s death on 05 January 1970, also in Los Angeles. He was 92.