Anne Hill

Anne Hill was born on February 19th 1811 in Pendleton, Salford, Manchester. On June 29th 1835 she married the young engineer and machine builder Thomas Gadd (Salford, Manchester, 04.11.1810 – Salford, Manchester, 05.12.1859) in Eccles, Salford, Manchester. Thomas Gadd founded his own machine building company in 1843, first on a self-employed basis, later on with financial support of his brother-in-law Richard Hill (Pendleton, Salford, Manchester, 1808 – 16.09.1857, Eccles, Salford, Manchester), Anne’s brother. According to census records of 1841 and 1851 the couple lived on Garden Street in Eccles, Salford, Manchester. According to the 1861 census Anne Gadd was living with her family at Cornbrook Park, Princess Street, Hulme, Manchester. The couple had five sons and three daughters, one of them was Georges William (Pendleton, Salford, Manchester, 28.12.1842 – Zanesville, Muskingum, Ohio, USA, 12.06.1921) who was taught by Gezelle. The couple also adopted a son, Michael, who was later ordained as a priest in London. After her brother and fellow shareholder Richard Hill died in 1857 and her husband Thomas Gadd passed away in 1859, Anne Gadd continued to manage the machinery building company “Gadd & Hill”, Regent Ironworks, 1 Regent Road, Salford. She supervised the company alongside farmer William Proctor, Richard Hill’s brother-in-law, and her son, priest Charles Joseph Gadd from December 5th 1859 – the day her husband passed away – until June 30th 1865. Both were appointed as manager of his shares. When the partnership ended on June 30th 1865, Anne Gadd continued as sole executor of her late husband’s testament and remained in charge of the company now known as “Thomas Gadd”. In the meantime her sons, the engineers Georges William Gadd – an alumnus of Gezelle at the ‘Minor Seminary’ of Roeselare – and Edward Thomas Gadd had also joined the firm. Later on they were in charge of the company. The “Thomas Gadd” firm built engines for the textile industry, steam engines, hydraulic engines, lathes etc. The cooperation between Georges William and Edward Thomas Gadd ended in mutual agreement in 1884. Georges William Gadd continued running the company. The management changed in 1891. In 1895-1896 the firm was definitively acquired by the nearby Hulse & Co. Anne Gadd maintained an extensive correspondence with Gezelle. She died on February 5th 1879 in Barton-on-Irwell, Salford, Manchester, at her son’s house, priest Charles Joseph Gadd. She was buried in St. Mary the Virgin Church Yard, Eccles, Salford, Manchester.