Joseph Coward

Joseph Coward (occasionally known as Joseph Coward, Jr in order to distinguish himself from his uncle Joseph) was born in Coniston, Cumbria, to William Coward and his wife Mary Ann in 1858. He presumably lived in the Far End cottages with his parents, and lived in Coniston until his death in 1934.

Joseph was the eldest of ten children. Like his father, William, he became a Joiner, and lived at home until his marriage to Agnes Jane Shuttleworth, the daughter of the licensee of the Black Bull at the time, in 1883.

Sadly, his first wife died giving birth to their only son, Percy. After her death, Joseph can be found on the 1891 census living with his father in law, Thomas Shuttleworth. An interesting fact was that his younger sister, Annie, did not like the Black Bull and called it "a den of iniquity". It is not known why this was, and possibly is mainly to do with her aversion to drink, but it makes an interesting story nonetheless.

Joseph married Agnes Bowness in 1895. According to the 1891 census, Agnes was Thomas Shuttleworth’s housekeeper. They had two daughters together, Lily and Florence. It is likely that Joseph was close to his youngest sister Maud Emma, or at least that she was close to his daughters, as they are both named in her will.

Joseph died in 1934 and is buried in St. Andrew, Coniston, alongside both of his wives.