A DESCENDANT of Peterloo victim Edmund Dawson has issued an appeal through the Independent to help find more relatives of the Saddleworth-born political reformer.
Su Bindless also hopes to find the grave of the Strines-raised teenager, one of 18 victims of the massacre in St Peter’s Field, Manchester on August 16, 1819.
Edmund, the ninth of 13 children was thought by the family to have been only 17 years and 10 months when sabred to death in a cavalry charge that caused injury to more than 400 other crowd members.
Research by Su and subsequently further investigations by a genealogist has revealed the young mill worker was her four times great uncle.
His name is already engraved in stone as part of a recently unveiled memorial just metres from where the massacre took place 200 years ago.
Last month Su, a retired schoolteacher, travelled from her home in Kendal, Cumbria, to read out Edmund’s name at the memorial service.
He was buried at St John the Baptist Hey, Owen Fold, Lees. So far though, the grave remains undiscovered.
“I am proud to come from a family passionate about parliamentary reform,” said Su.
“We were told as children we had ancestors at Peterloo and that there were actually twin brothers.
“Mum and dad used to say, ‘You have always got to vote because people in our family died trying to get the vote’.
“It was always in the back of my head but we never really bothered until I had reason to go and visit a family grave in Waterhead.
“I saw the name Edmund Dawson and then last year I want to commemoration – the naming of the dead in St Peter’s Square and the name of Edmund Dawson was read out.
“So, I started to research it and then got a genealogist in to confirm it for me.
“The family story was true apart from the fact there weren’t twin brothers.
“Edmund was one of 13 children but none of boys were called William.
“My four times great grandfather was called David Dawson. He had a son called Samuel who was my three-times great granddad. Samuel was Edmund’s brother.
“Samuel had son a couple of years after Peterloo who he called Edmund most likely after his brother.
“David Dawson, who was Edmund’s father, had 13 children. So, there must be a lot of other descendants of the family and I have not heard of anything of them. I would love to find them.
“Edmund’s sister Ann is buried at St John the Baptist and there are burial records but they haven’ found the grave yet.
“My sister has been in touch with the church administrators to see if they need any help to clear stones to find where Edmund is buried.”
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