Author: Cronhelm, Frederick William
Biography:
CRONHELM, Frederick William (1787-1871: findmypast.com)
He was baptised at Exeter, Devon, on 28 May 1787, the son of a German father and an English mother, William and Sarah Cronhelm. The family moved to Halifax, Yorkshire, when he was ten years old. Nothing is known of his education but he became a book-keeper and later confidential clerk to Sir Henry Edwards, MP (1812-86); he was also the editor of the Halifax Guardian for many years. He married Elizabeth Wigney (1794-1846) at Halifax on 14 Sept. 1811; they appear to have had only one child, Catharine, born in 1828. After the death of his first wife, on 5 Sept. 1848 he married Mary Jane Thwaite (b 1814) and with her had two sons before his death at the family home, Crow Wood, Skircoat, near Halifax, on 2 June 1871. Cronheim developed and popularised the system of double-entry book-keeping. His other publications include religious treatises and an 1858 speculative book, Thoughts on the Controversy as to a Plurality of Worlds. (findmypast.com 21 Oct. 2025; Michael E. Scorgie & Therese Joiner, “Frederick William Cronhelm,” Abacus 31 [1995] 229-43; Morning Advertiser 7 June 1871; Bradford Daily News 21 Aug. 1893) HJ