John Marsden Simpson.

Mary's nephew, James' youngest son.
He married at 22.
1887 John Marsden Simpson + Eliza Walsh St John Darwen Blackburn CE139/2/330

Children
1888 Hubert Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/96/26
1893 Reginald Walsh Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/107/15

1881 census
RG11,4207,125,61
Blackburn Darwen 20
7 Primrose Terrace.

Rachel Simpson 22 cotton weaver born Darwen
On the census Rachel is over a crossed out James, maybe James lived here before he married Ann then returned to Primrose Terrace after his little adventure at Cat Leach.
John Simpson 15 brother blacksmith

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1891 census
RG12,3415,151,33
Blackburn Darwen 25
2 Highfield St.
John M. Simpson 26 Blacksmith employer born Darwen
Eliza 25
Hubert 2

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1901 census
RG13,3924,53,1
Blackburn Darwen 33
20 Highfield St.
John M. Simpson 35 Blacksmith employer born Darwen
Eliza 36
Herbert 12
Reginald W. 7

John was living near Thomas his brother, who appears on the next page living on Starkie St.

Using the Parish online Clerk site, John and Eliza had their children baptised at St. John The Evangelist Church, where most of the Simpson marriages seem to have taken place.
They had another son Ralph who died.

Hubert Simpson c.20 Jan 1889 son of John Marsden Simpson + Eliza 2 Highfield Blacksmith
b.7 Dec 1888
Ralph Simpson c. 20 Sep 1891 son of John Marsden Simpson + Eliza 2 Highfield St Blacksmith
b.14 Aug 1891
Reginald Simpson c. 20 Aug 1893 son of John Marsden Simpson + Eliza 2 Highfield St "
b.20 Jul 1893

Using Lanc. BMD
Death 1892 Ralph Simpson age 0 Darwen Blackburn D/62/79

Thomas Simpson

Mary's nephew. James' son.
He married when he was 26.
Like his father and grandfather he was a blacksmith.

Marriage
1878 Thomas Simpson + Sarah Heley Darwen St John Blackburn CE/39/1/450

1881 census
RG11,4208,82,18
1 Starkie St
Thomas Simpson 28 Blacksmith born Darwen
Sarah 28
James 1
Martha A. Healey sister in law 25 unmar. cotton weaver born Darwen
Margaret J. Healey sister in law 22 unmar. cotton winder born Darwen

on the same page
13 Highfield St.
William H. Cooper 26 Grocer born Darwen
Mary A. 26 born Oldham
(I have not checked who this cooper is yet)
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1891 census
RG12,3415,149,29
Blackburn Darwen 25
2 Starkie St
Thomas Simpson 38 blacksmith born Darwen
Sarah 39
James 11
Thomas 9
Ann S. 7
Ellen M. 4
Margaret Helley Boarder 32 Cotton Warper

Interestingly Thomas is down as neither employer nor employed, did that mean he worked for himself?

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1901 census
RG13,3924,53,2
Blackburn Darwen 33
2 Starkie St.
Thomas Simpson 48 Blacksmith worker Darwen
Sarah 49
James 21 Grocer, shopkeeper
Thomas 19 apprentice blacksmith
Ann S. 17 cotton winder
Ellen M. 14 cotton weaver

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Children of Thomas Simpson and Sarah Heley.
1879 James Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/74/68
1881 Thomas Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/79/52
1884 Ann Sheard Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/85/69
1886 Ellen Marsden Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/90/99

James Simpson.

Mary was 15 when baby brother James was born, she had already seen two brothers buried. However this one was to live to raise his own family in Darwen. He followed in his fathers footsteps and became a blacksmith. He was 21 when he married in 1847.

1851 census
H0107,2261,208,16
Blackburn, Darwen 2g
Dangerous Corner
James Simpson 24 Blacksmith born Darwen
Ellen 24
Mary 3
Ellen 4m

Marriage 1847 James Simpson + Ellen Marsden Blackburn St Mary CE12/9/380
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1861 census
RG9,3109,88,24
Blackburn Darwen 7
3 Highfield House
James Simpson 34 Blacksmith born Over Darwen
Ellen 34
Mary 13 cotton weaver
Ellen 10 cotton weaver
Thomas 8
James 4
Rachel 2
Issac 4m
William Cooper Boarder 15 cotton weaver ******

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1871 census
RG10,4187,151,50
Blackburn Darwen 6
3 Highfield house
James Simpson 44 Smith at Quarries born OverDarwen
Ellen 44
Mary 23 weaver of cotton
Thomas 18 ? factory
James 14 joiner at a builders
Rachel 12 half time and scholar
John M. 5
Ellen 84 Mother. born Sharples.

Where had daughter Ellen gone?
Where had son Issac gone?
Why was the family split up?

RG10,4187,16,26
Blackburn Darwen 1
57 Hannah St.
James Pilkington 37 Joiner + Builder born Over Darwen
Sarah 38
Henry 16 joiner
James 13 bookkeeper
Ellen Simpson 20 adopted dau. unmarried housemaid born Over Darwen.
I did wonder if Sarah the wife may have been some relative, so looked up their marriage
1853 James Pilkington + Sarah Cross Blackburn St Mary CE12/16/434.
I wonder if Ellen's brother James the joiner was also working for the Pilkingtons.
It seems so strange that she is described as adopted daughter.

RG10, 4189, 173,55
Blackburn, Darwen 20
Princes??
John Marsden unmar 36 Farmer 12acres born Over Darwen.
Alice sister 35
Timothy brother 25 quarryman
Issac Simpson nephew 10 born Over Darwen.

These must have been mother Ellen's brothers and sister.

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1881 census
RG11,4208,87,28
Blackburn Darwen 24
14 Cat Leach.
James Simpson 54 Farmer of 11 acres beerseller and blacksmith born Darwen
Ann 58 born Clitheroe
Ellen Cockohutt servant 24 general servant born Clayton le Moors
Richard Eccles servant 32 farm lab born Darwen

I wasn't sure if this was the right James. The 1870's had not been kind to James. His mother, wife and son all died. Well I am assuming Ellen his wife died - I think the following may be her but the age is not correct and by this time other Simpsons had moved into Darwen.

1871 Ellen Simpson age 84 Darwen Blackburn D/33/38
1875 James Simpson age 18 Darwen Blackburn D/38/2
1879 Ellen Simpson age 37 Darwen Blackburn D/44/35 (age incorrect so may be a different Ellen)

Possible second marriage for James.
1880 James Simpson + Ann Green Darwen St John CE139/2/41

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1891 census
RG12,3415,68,31
Blackburn Darwen 21
7 Primrose Terrace
James Simpson 64 Blacksmith (employed) born Darwen
Ann 68 born Clitheroe
Rachel 32 cotton weaver born Darwen

I think James died in 1895.
1895 James Simpson age 68 Darwen D/67/32

I think his son Issac died in 1890.
1890 Isaac Simpson age 30 Darwen D/60/26

To complete Isaac
1881 census
RG11,4208,93,40
Blackburn Darwen 24
2 Princess Farm

Timothy Marsden 36 Farmer 10 acres born Darwen
Alice 43 sister domestic servant
Isaac Simpson 20 carter

Maybe Isaac married before he died?

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The children of James Simpson and Ellen Marsden

1847 Mary Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/13/29
1850 Ellen Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/17/52
1852 Thomas Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/20/30
1856 James Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/26/76
1860 Issac Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/33/36
1865 John Marsden Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/43/7

Of course the census give us a snapshot of families every 10 years and do not tell us of the children who were born and died between the census. There are other registered births which I have not been able to match up to families. It would be a case of looking for them in church records to find their parents. There were also some Simpson families which passed through Darwen, having a child there before moving on to another town.

Lost children - I have not listed all of them.
Birth 1849 William Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/15/65
Death 1849 William Simpson age 0 Darwen Blackburn D/9/63

Birth 1855 Ruth Simpson Darwen Blackburn D/23/92
Death 1856 Ruth age 1 Darwen Blackburn D/15/29

A mysterious Cooper family.

Looking at the Simpson family in the census.
1841
H0107,503,6,5
Blackburn Darwen 9
Highfield House
William Simpson 50 Smith
Ellen 50
Ellen 15 Cotton weaver
James 14 smith
Ruth 12 cotton corder
William Cooper 25 Engineer
Betty Cooper 20
John Cooper 4
James Cooper 2
Joshua Watson 8

(Using the familysearch site Batch No M007086)
The following marriages took place at St Mary's Blackburn-

25 Dec 1831 Mary Simpson + Joseph Cooper
23 Apr 1832 Margaret Simpson + Joshua Watson (printer)
3 Jul 1836 Betty Simpson + William Cooper

Who was this WILLIAM COOPER? Is there a link to Joseph? I have not found one yet.

It looks like poor Peggy married in 1832, Joshua her son was born about 1832/3 (not found a christening for him yet) and she died in 1837, her son going to live with his grandparents.
Death
1837 Margaret Watson age 22 Darwen Blackburn D/1/21.

The Simpson family.

Starting point.
Just to recap. Your direct line goes back :-
grandfather Richard Cooper + Ada Clapham
greatgrandfather Richard Cooper + Ellen Adcroft
greatgreatgrandfather Joseph Cooper + Mary Simpson

We are going to look at the family of Mary Simpson. What do we know about her? Well, she married Joseph in 1831 in Blackburn. And we know from the census she was born about 1811 in Darwen. Looking on the 1851 census there is only one Simpson family living in Darwen although there are plenty living in Blackburn.

Putting Mary Simpson 1811 in the familysearch site I found the following :
Turton (batch no. P005511)
Mary Simpson christened 20 Oct 1811
parents William Simpson and Ellen.
The parents match the family living in Darwen.

We will look at the 1851 census first because it gives information on birthplace.
Ho107,2261,209,18
Blackburn Darwen 2g
Highfield house.
William Simpson 63 Blacksmith born Gargrave Yorks.
Ellen Simpson 63 born Sharples Lancs.
Ruth Simpson 22 powerloom weaver born Over Darwen, Blacksnape
Jonathan Watson 18 grandson Blacksmith born Tottington

Mary's mother Ellen came from Sharples which is in the parish of Bolton Le Moors, today known simply as Bolton. Again on the familysearch site I found the following marriage.
Bolton Le Moors (Batch no M007151) St Peter
Willm. Simpson + Ellen Booth
26 Aug 1811.
[so Mary was christened less than two months later]

Looking on the Parish Clerk online site, for Turton St Anne Baptism
20 Oct 1811 Mary d. William+Ellen Simpson Darwen
So they were living in Darwen at that time.

What about Mary's father? Well he put Gargrave Yorks for his birthplace.
Again using the familysearch site I found:
Gargrave (Batch No. P007691, 1558-1812)
16 Sep 1787 William Simpson, parents Thomas and Mary Simpson

Possible siblings for William from this batch :
James Simpson c. 2 Apr 1786
John Simspon c. 16 May 1784
Molly Simpson c. 8 Dec 1782
Jane Simspon c. 1 Oct 1789

and a possible marriage for William's parents.
Gargrave (Batch No. M007691)
Thomas Simpson + Mary Crahe
2 Apr 1782

(also possibly Mally Craike c. 25 Mar 1757 Gargrave, parents John Craike +Margaret)
(possible marriage Gargrave 15 Jun 1756 John Craike + Margaret Cockshot)

possible brother of William 1851 census
H0107,2278,196,4
Skipton, Kettlewell 4b
Barnoldswick
Rock cottage?
James Simpson 65 Limestone quarryman employing 2 born Gargrave Yorks.
Jane 58
James 26 Limestone quarry labourer
Jane 24
Catherine 23
Thomas 20 Tin maker
Chester? 14

Whilst I would be quite happy to say that your greatgreatgreatgrandparents are
William Simpson + Ellen Booth, I would say that a lot more research in the Gargrave area would have to be done before confidently saying Thomas and Mary belonged to you. I have put the information on in case someone else from your family would like to investigate further. It would require looking at the parish registers for Gargrave in Yorkshire somewhere, and also researching the local history.

So we have Mary's parents, did she have any brothers and sisters?
Using the wonderful Parish Clerk Online, Mary's parents used Darwen Chapel, St James.
An outline of her family would be :-

William Simpson born 1787
Ellen Booth born 1788

Mary Simpson c. 20 Oct 1811
Betty Simpson c. 16 Jun 1813 - buried 5 Dec 1815
Peggy Simpson c. 27 Nov 1814
Anne Simpson c. 18 Aug 1816 - buried 18 Aug 1818
Betty Simson c. 26 Apr 1818
Thomas Simpson c. 29 Oct 1820 - buried 24 Aug 1824
Ellen Simson c. 27 Oct 1822
William Simpson c. 31 Jul 1825 - buried 18 Feb 1826
James Simpson c. 31 Dec 1826
Ruth Simpson c. 8 Mar 1829

This is the same Darwen Chapel that Mary and Joseph used for their children Betty and William (the records stop on the internet for this Chapel in 1836).

Oh what a tangled web

we weave. Oh yes. Guilty Sir. I have done it again - I have a file bulging with scraps of paper and last night I was looking through it. Who was that? What was I thinking there? I am sure I found their marriage but where did I write it? Disorganised, disorganised, disorganised. This is what has happened to my own research. I get so carried away chasing that I get myself lost. So I am going to put it up on here sort of unfinished. Please remember when you are reading it that vital clues to affirm or disprove my thinking probably lie in the parish records.

History Book.

Well I managed to get to my local history library to start reading :-
History and traditions of Darwen and its people by J.G. Shaw published in 1889.
It is the original book and is in rather a sorry state but that all adds to the experience of reading it. I find it rather odd that people in 1889 were interested in local history and I wonder what people will be saying about us in 2089. I went twice. The first day I skimmed through the whole book to get a feel for it and on Friday I went and concentrated on the chapter about churches. Yes Jimmy, I know you will appreciate the irony. I am very confused about the church records of Darwen and to try to decide how they fit together I think it is necessary to understand what was happening in Darwen to the peoples faith - well I'm not much wiser I must say.
******************************************************
I find it quite difficult to appreciate just how much relevance to the understanding of our ancestors lives depends on looking at the impact of religion. I am picking up little bits of information rather ad hoc as I am doing research and so it is a bit like an electric light bulb going off in my head - ohhhhh so that's what that means, or now there's an interesting thought. People did not have a choice back in history - so marrying in the parish church in the 1800s did not mean necessarily they themselves were religious. I read somewhere that many people during the Victorian era went to Church because that was the main venue for social events at the time. I was also ignorant of the struggles people went to in this country for their faith in particular the Quakers. I did not realise ordinary people struggled for the right to practise their faith risking loss of property and imprisonment. Largely a quiet struggle their names are not remembered but their fight has (I believe) resulted in much of our freedom today. The trouble is I need a 'simple' book to explain these things to me. As I understand it originally people had no choice the country was Roman Catholic and the church was an establishment of much power over peoples lives - indeed controlling both spiritual and economic worlds. The Protestant movement developed on the back of disatisfaction with the corruption within the establishment and the development of printed material which led to the spread of 'ideas'. The Church could also be seen as the forerunner of local government.
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Now back to Darwen - on a simple level this is what I think I have gleaned so far.
In 'Chapels' (an area in Darwen) there are three chapels. The Higher and Lower Chapels and Yates Chapel. The first reference in history 1577 is to a Darwent Chappell. This was a daughter chapel to the mother church (The Parish Church) in Blackburn. It would have been built by the people of Darwen and not the established church and a visiting curate from Blackburn would occasionally come to preach. This would save the people having to traipse all the way to Blackburn for services but they were required to travel to St Marys to marry. By 1650 money had been raised by the people of Darwen who wanted their own resident minister. A Josiah Barnards (or Bernard) a Presbyterian was ordained at the Chapel of Over Darwen in 1649. It is unclear what happened to him, he may have remained until 1660 when he possibly emigrated to America or he may have been the Josuha Barnet later ordained by the Presbytery at Tockholes.
The Chapel seems to have fallen into a state of disrepair. In 1672-3 a License was granted to use a house as a Presbyterian meeting place.
The year 1687 was a critical year. The nonconformists of Darwen who had changed from being Presbyterian to Congregational applied for a new licence from the King. They believed this gave them the right to use the old Darwen Chapel and asked for the keys held by the Vicar of Blackburn who refused to give them saying the license referred to the meeting house of 1672. The nonconformist reacted by breaking into the chapel and establishing the Congregational church there. However a Magisterial order restored the chapel to the Vicar of Blackburn and the Chapel has remained Church of England ever since. The Vicar wanted to repair the chapel and raised money from the people of Darwen. (But there appears to have been resistance?? not too sure about my understanding of this bit) The old Darwen Chapel was pulled down and the Church of St James built about 1722-3 nearby because vaults had been built beneath the old Chapel for burial purposes. (This was another eyeopener, whilst in Ingleton over the summer I found that people there were buried inside the church, when it had to be rebuilt they found hundreds of skulls within the church. I knew rich people paid for the privilege of being buried close to the alter but did not realise ordinary people were interred there.). In 1851-3 St James was restored. This Church has had several names ; St James of Over Darwen, the Chapel, Higher Chapel, Darwen Chapel, Upper Darwen Chapel.
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I had not expected to find any information about the Cooper family in Darwen but in this section found three references to Cooper. There is NO suggestion that these Coopers belong to you. But are included here as a note of interest. A Richard Cooper made his mark as a churchwarden witnessing a document (he probably was from Blackburn).
In 1719 there is a list of people subscribing towards the rebuilding of Darwen Chapel. John Cooper gave £5 and Thurston Cooper £1. In 1733 a donation of £200 was given by Henry Feilden, Thomas Whalley and J. Cooper, gents.