The 8 main family lines as defined by my grandparents are STREET, SHENTON, 
LOWE, GREEN, SHARPLES, RIMMER, WRIGHT & BENSON

STREET
I have traced the STREET family back to Shropshire in the 1780's. the family 
moved to Hanley, Staffordshire sometime in the 1830's and worked in the 
potteries there. Around 1902 Leonard Street moved to Silverdale via Newcastle 
under Lyme to work at the Co-op. Mainly pottery workers.

SHENTON
A very high density of Shenton's live around Cheadle, Staffordshire. William 
Shenton took his family to Mow Cop in the late 1830's to work in the newly 
opened Towerhill Colliery; they may have previously worked in the coal pits 
around Cheadle. In the latter half of the 19th century various members of the 
family moved to Silverdale, although there continued to be a to and fro 
movement between Mow & Silverdale. Most of the family were miners and Gilbert, 
a collier, moved his family to Blackpool in the 1920's where he had purchased 
a guest house. Mainly coal miners & colliers with quite a few Methodist 
preachers thrown in.

LOWE
This family seemed to originate at Madeley, Staffordshire and moved to 
Silverdale via Finney Green and Keele over a hundred or so year period. 
Catharine Lowe, my 3x Gt Grandmother was unmarried at the time she had all her 
children, they are all listed in the Keele Parish Registers as bastard. Mainly 
coal miners.

GREEN
The Green family seem to be almost exclusively in Audley, about 10 miles NW of 
Newcastle under Lyme, although a recent contact with another researcher placed 
an early branch of the family into Shelton/Hanley. There are Green's in 
Silverdale & Keele but I'm not sure where they fit in - if at all. Mainly coal 
miners.

SHARPLES
Traced back as far as Catforth & Woodplumpton near to Preston, and possibly 
also to Goosnargh. They lived later in Wharles, Treales & Wesham. There is a 
Sharples family in Kirkham/Wrea Green but the doesn't appear to be any 
connection. Mainly farm labourers.

RIMMER
Please note that there are some serious errors with the family of 
Richard Rimmer b.1830-32 - his parents are incorrect. This is awaiting 
sorting
Rimmer from Southport/North Meols - Oh Dear! Rimmers are to 
this area as rabbits are to warrens - there's hundreds of them. 
Many people moved from Southport in the mid 1800's as the port was silting up 
and it is likely that Peter Rimmer b.1802 moved his family to Fleetwood as the 
children of at least 3 of his sons were born there. 
There is a branch of the Rimmers who movd from Hesketh Bank (not far from 
Southport) to the mid Fylde & Blackpool, but this family is not connected.
Mainly fishermen.

WRIGHT
This family did the same as the Rimmers, presumably for the same reason. John 
Wright b.1843 moved his family to Fleetwood. Isabella, one of his daughters, 
married Robert Ashcroft Rimmer, my Gt Grandfather who was a Grandson of Peter 
Rimmer mentioned above.
Be careful! There are some Wright's in the family tree who do not connect with 
Fleetwood - they are married into the branch of the Shenton family who moved 
to Co Durham. Mainly fishermen.

BENSON
The Benson's lived around the Kirkham/Wrea Green area (near Preston) and later 
seemed to settle at Greenhalgh to the north of Kirkham.
Proving the ancestors of Thomas Benson who married Ann Eccles was difficult as 
Thomas married & died between censuses. His son Richard was born at Helmshore, 
near Accrington in 1877 & in 1881 his wife is back living in the Kirkham area. 
married to Henry Holliday; I presume that Thomas died in Helmshore and that 
his widow moved back to Kirkham. Only after careful examination of the facts 
and the discovery that he married Ann at Barton, 3 miles east of Inskip, that 
his family could be ascertained from the information on his marriage 
certificate. Mainly farm labourers.

I am frequently asked what STS stands for, the answer is Staffordshire. It is 
part of the Chapman Coding for counties which tries to ensure a uniformity of 
abbreviations for counties. Thus Lancashire is LAN, Northumberland is NBL etc. 
Please see the links section for a link to a page which will give you all the 
codes.