Robert Hebden and Anne Paley’s eldest child was the third generation to be called ROBERT and he was born in Stalling Busk in 1857.

A view over Semerwater from Stalling Busk

The Gold Rush in America was over as was the Crimean War, that had been fought and won. 1857 was the year of the Indian Mutiny. Not that that would have had much of an impact on the folk in Rydale except for a topic of conversation on market day.

Robert, being the eldest child, would probably have had a lot of responsibility given to him as he and the number of his siblings grew. He was one of eleven children born to his parents but over the years he saw all his sisters die in infancy, with only three of his brothers surviving the sickness and poverty.

By 1881, when Robert was 24, he was still living in Stalling Busk with his family and working as a farm labourer. By 1891 he had moved, along with his parents and brothers, to Burnley in Lancashire where he obtained work as a coster. I don’t know whether he was working for himself or for someone else but it began to be quite a turning point for his family.

He was living at this time at Arthur St and was married. I have to admit to being a little confused over Robert’s marital situation and need to clarify a few details but as I understand it, over the years he married three times.
His first wife was Marie and they had one son FRANK WINSTON HEBDEN who died about aged 10 in 1888. Marie had died when Frank was very small because Robert had, by 1885, married again though I don’t know the name of his second wife. She too died but not before she had given him twin sons, ROBERT and RICHARD. Only one of the twins survived though, Robert dying as a baby in 1886.

The turn of the century the death of Queen Victora and a third wife, Emma and with that marriage came five more children to add to Richard who was the only surviving son of Robert up until that time.

The first child of Robert and Emma was another ROBERT and he was born in 1900 and lived to almost a hundred, outliving his brothers and most of his cousins. This Robert became known in the family as "Old Bob". ERIC STANLEY was born in 1902, followed a year later by ERNEST VICTOR.
1904 saw the birth of SIDNEY DOUGLAS and ROLAND was born the following year.

Robert died in 1922 would appear to have cared for his elderly parents till they died in 1906, when they were all living on Accrington Road.

A gravestone showing names of many of the Accrington Road Hebdens as well as Robert Hebden and Ann Paley.
The eldest of Robert’s six surviving sons, Richard, lived until 1975 and was, I believe, a travelling salesman. He had one son MALCOLM .

"Old Bob", who lived to age 98 began a motor franchise of "Hebden Motors" which became a very lucrative business which he passed on to his sons.
He had married HILDA ROBINSON and they had had three sons, "Young Bob" (the fifth generation of consecutive ROBERTs), JACK & GEORGE.

ERIC STANLEY HEBDEN married Ellen but there were no children from this marriage

SIDNEY DOUGLAS HEBDEN (1904 – 1960) married Annie and they had two boys, JOHN and ALLAN.

ROLAND HEBDEN (1906 – 1950) married Marion and produced “Old Bob’s” only granddaughter, SUSAN.

I know that Jack, John and Roland’s children went on to provide future generations of Hebdens but I have no knowledge of any other offshoots, though there may well be some.